Nestling in the beautiful little fishing village of Beer, in East Devon, lies the Congregational Church. Situated in Fore Street, the church has been home to Britain’s oldest Wurlitzer theatre organ for the last fifty years.
The little Wurlitzer organ was the first to be imported into this country from the U.S.A. in 1925. While the Picture House in Walsall was being rebuilt following a fire in 1924, the owners Provincial Cinematograph Theatres ordered a brand new 2-manual 6-rank organ from the Rudolph Wurlitzer Manufacturing Company for installation at the refurbished cinema. The organ cost in the region of £3,900.
Continue Reading…
Related posts
Posted 3 weeks, 6 days ago. Add a comment
The latter half of the Middle Ages (circa 1000 CE to 1500 CE) was a turning point in European history. Having finally emerged from the Dark Ages (circa 500 CE to 1000 CE), European civilization finally began to recover the ground it had lost when Rome fell. One of the results of this recovery was the re-emergence of recorded music, or sheet music in both religious and secular life.
During the Middle Ages, Catholicism was the central power in Europe. It was incorporated into every aspect of life and its power stretched to every corner of the known world. And one of the methods through which the Church asserted its power was music. Although modern churches regularly use music as a natural part of worship, the pairing of music and Christianity has not always been so straightforward. A thousand years ago, music was often regarded as sinful. The problem was, churchgoers tended to enjoy it, and the fathers of Catholicism understood that it could be used to strengthen people’s ties to the Church.
Continue Reading…
Related posts
Posted 3 weeks, 6 days ago. Add a comment
When you have 6 children and 15 grandchildren like my wife, Judy, and I have, you don’t have to look very hard to find someone, actually more than one, in fact, who loves karaoke and gets a big kick out of entertaining themselves, and all within their hearing, at any opportunity. Actually, I have to admit, as embarrassing as it is sometimes to watch, and sometimes even more painful to listen to, we have on numerous occasions been thoroughly amused by karaoke performers achieving a measure of the fame and stardom they envision themselves claiming.
Perhaps because of that interest, one of our many, I can assure you, I follow the previous week’s news on the topic from Google Alerts. This past week, I noted with satisfaction a brief report in the Feminine.co.uk feed that Charlotte Church is a very big fan of karaoke herself. In fact, she has apparently begun seriously considering pursuing a return to the spotlight as she has contemplated her growing obsession with singing karaoke.
Continue Reading…
Related posts
Posted 3 weeks, 6 days ago. Add a comment