My Little Gnudren,
Today Old Gnu wants to talk about Sick Visiting. These days we are required to have policies about everything. Conveniently the Bible has a few accounts of Sick Visits. But it would not be wise to think they can be formulated into a coherent Christian Sick Visiting Policy.
When the prophet Elisha was very ill, King Joash paid him a regal sick visit during his final illness. It was a strange one to say the least. [Read 2 Kings 13:14-19]. The King was desperately sad and acknowledged that Elisha’s presence had been the real defence against the military might of their neighbouring aggressors. Then there seems to have been some archery practice,
and weirder still, some smiting of the earth. From this Elisha foretold that King Joash would smite the Syrians only 3 times. Apparently, King Joash had not been zealous enough in his smiting practice. Today, prophets might well get into trouble if they spoke of smiting other nations. But there was a lot of smiting in the Old Testament, and one day soon God will explain to dull Old Gnu what it was all about, although Gnu has erroneous private theories already.
Sometime between 1973 and 1975 – Old Gnu has lost his diaries so he can’t be exact – Young Gnu also did a sick visit. Like Elisha, Mr. Parkinson
…who lived in Sheffield, at 83 Upper Hanover Street,
…was on his resurrection-bed with his final illness.
This too was a very strange visit, but mercifully there was no archery practice and no talk of smiting Syrians or anyone else.
Even so,Young Gnu was very reluctant to go. He had never met Mr. Parkinson before and didn’t know him from Adam. [Come to think of it, if he had met him alongside Adam he would probably be able to guess who was who by their attire or lack of it.] He was a musician and a church organist. Gnu was a musician of sorts, but in those days he didn’t know one end of a pipe organ from another. That knowledge came on 1st September 1976 when he became the organist at Christ Church Clifton with little previous knowledge.
Young Gnu politely mentioned that he didn’t play the organ, and sinfully, inwardly thought, “I don’t want more junk.” Mrs. Parkinson retorted, “Well one day you might be asked to play at a wedding.” Young Gnu politely accepted just one volume, little realizing that Mrs. Parkinson was a prophet in disguise even though she didn’t recommend smiting Syrians. He left it to Mr. Parkinson to choose which volume Gnu should take.
He left with the book under his arm and promptly put it to one side when he got home and didn’t give it another thought till September 1976. Then it fell out of one of the boxes as he was unpacking. Miraculously it survived the pre-move cull from Sheffield. The book was a selection of 25 organ pieces by English composers, plus at the end 5 standard Wedding Marches and processionals by non English composers. Mr. Parkinson had had them specially bound into one volume [by the The Priory Press, Printers & Stationers, Heeley, Sheffield 2].
This was volume was obviously his core repertoire at a moments notice. For two decades it was used at many weddings at Christ Church Clifton. Middle aged Gnu didn’t take any notice of the other pieces. And then in 1997 it miraculously survived a second cull. It went back into a box when Holy Orders fell upon an unsuspecting Gnu, [just as the lot fell on Matthias. Old Gnu is fairly sure the selection process was roughly the same as that for Matthias, only it took 4 days. Matthias was sorted in 10 seconds. Just shows how unspiritual we have become.] In this box it journeyed from Clifton to Pilning, Severnside, where it enjoyed 7 years peace. The box then travelled to the house on the left in the picture below, in 2008, [to Cote Lane, Westbury on Trym] where the volume luxuriated in beautiful surroundings for a further 8 years.
Finally it saw the light of day in the year 2016 in Old Gnu’s shed where his massive organ lives. A little more than 40 years after receiving Mr. Parkinson’s parting gift, Old Gnu delved deep into every page of the volume of organ music. A number of familiar names of composers of English Church music from the Victorian era appeared; and some from the 20th century: Alfred Hollins (1865 – 1942), George William Henry Faulkes (1863–1933). The last two composed workman like, but charming pieces for organ [and much else besides. But they were by no means light weight musicians. Alfred Hollins performed the solo piano part of the Beethoven Emperor Concerto at the Crystal Palace etc…he was blind from birth.]
Old Gnu thought, “Ah, Mr. Parkinson was a typical church organist of his time.” But then a few pages further on he discovered music by Orlando Gibbons (1583 – 1625) , Matthew Locke (1621-1677) and John Blow (1649-1708). Admittedly this was all stuff Novello was dishing up at the time but it showed Mr. Parkinson to be a man of broad tastes. The pieces were well thumbed, and while I can offer you no photo of Mr. Parkinson, here is a picture of his finger marks:
The fascination with these pieces has led Old Gnu on an exploration of the Early English Organ repertoire. He has discovered many saints and sinners and much organ music and come across such names as Dr. John Bull [sinner, & marvellous composer], Mr. Henry Purcell [definite sinner, but damn good composer – his wife was a saint], Dr. Maurice Greene[saint], Mr. John Travers [can’t be sure], Dr. Benjamin Cooke [definitely a saint], Dr. James Nares[not enough info], Mr. John Hook [saint], and loads of others – Wiliam Croft,, Thomas Roseingrave, John Reading….
Finally Mr. Parkinson’s parting gift came into its own. Wherever you are, Mr. Parkinson, Old Gnu is unspeakably grateful. He is minded to put an inscribed Blue Plaque on the box that held your wondrous gift for so long. Forty five years on it is still the source of much pleasure and has set old Gnu on the trail of pastures new.
Now why didn’t I take the whole boxful that was on offer way back in the mid 1970s? Some man, this Mr. Parkinson! And I don’t even remember his first name. What does C. F. stand for I wonder? What a parting gift it turned out to be at the 11th hour and 59th minute! Any information about Mr. Parkinson would be gratefully received. The world’s a small place. Let’s hear it for Mr. Parkinson!
Vetus Pater Gnu
Musicorum et Theologia
Turris LA
XX Mense Augusta MMXXI