WHAT would you ask an organist to play for a wedding – or a funeral – in church?

Michael Farley, whose firm looks after the organ at St Mary’s in Hemyock, is now asked to play tunes that would have been refused a generation ago.

What about the bride entering to the Match of the Day theme tune? Or the bridegroom requesting to ‘Get Me to the Church on Time’? They were part of a medley he played on a recent Sunday afternoon.

Other items were transcriptions from opera – ‘The Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves’ – or from orchestral items – ‘Prelude to a Te Deum’ – as well as works written for organ – ‘Nun Danket’.

The great thing was that the audience knew the tunes and found his choices ideal for a Sunday afternoon. They were amazed by the variety of sounds he produced from the organ.

In spite of a storm outside more than 30 people inside showed their appreciation of the music and the delicious cakes by donating more than £160 to the Friends of St Mary’s.