We've had two fabulous organ experiences in the space of a week.

On Sunday 14, Jonathan Scott (whom Radio 3 has described as "the leading British organist" -- not that we knew) gave a concert at St Matthew's Church, down in Douglas.

He performed for us Mozart, Bach, Smetana, Widor, Handel, and Liszt (many of the pieces his own arrangements). It's a good organ, and he was fascinating to watch. The way organists manage hands and feet, stops and keyboards, is just mesmerizing.




Then, tonight, we wheeled out the tickets at the top. Phil Kelsall, who has been playing the Wurlitzer organ at Blackpool's Tower Ballroom since 1975, was over here to play the Isle of Man's very own Wurlitzer, which is situated in the Villa Arcade.



A Wurlitzer organ would once have been part of the furniture in 90 per cent of the cinemas across the British Isles. At its peak, in 1926, the company was shipping out an organ a day.

The one we heard was signed out of the factory in November 1929, went to a cinema in Leicester, and then had a bit of a varied career before being acquired by the Manx Government in 1989. It weighs about 10 tonnes, and fields an impressive 754 pipes (not to mention the range of percussion instruments it's connected to, which you can see responding to the organist's commands through the glass screen at the back).



Kelsall is a great entertainer. Medley after medley, all performed without a note of music, showcased the various features of the instrument.

And again, it was fascinating to watch him at work (we booked early, and had ring-side seats). He's almost spider-like when both arms and legs are working full belt. And in the most rollicking of the pieces, you almost fear for the old instrument, rattling and swaying under the enthusiastic action.

What he told us about the rise and fall of the Wurlitzer was also interesting (and sounded uncannily contemporary). When these theatre organs burst on the scene, they replaced the orchestras that would have accompanied silent films. There was resentment. Organs were sabotaged. But cinema-owners were obviously going to prefer to employ one person than several, so the organ trend was hard to reverse.

It was a brief heyday, though. When sound was added to movies in 1927, the writing was on the wall. By the mid-1930s, most cinemas had traded their organs in for speaker systems.

We humans are just so fickle...


Anyway, it was a fun night out. I'd never heard a theatre organ, so it was a completely new experience. And we also paused to think of Nigel's late dad, who was a great fan of the organ, and would have enjoyed tonight's performance immensely.

We walked home through one of these extraordinary light evenings that we still can't quite believe. The sun doesn't go to bed until nearly 2200 at the moment, so it's only the final little shady cut-through that gives any impression of being "dark".

I'll close with one of PT's rare tips: Both organists this week looked markedly younger than their age, and awfully slim and fit. It's not hard to figure out why... Playing one of these babies for an hour or so must be a champion workout. So, if you want to stay on top form physically and mentally, sign up for organ lessons...