The church was warm; the Rodgers organ was in place on the chancel steps; the audience was ready: a few introductory words from organist Ralph Cullen preceded the opening hymn, Praise the Lord, ye heavens adore Him (to the tune Austria) and the afternoon was off to a strong start.
The singing complemented Ralph's playing, both being of the raise-the-roof variety in hymns such as A Mighty Fortress Is Our God , Tell Out My Soul and the final hymn, Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah.
Ralph's passion for the old and theologically sound hymns shone through as he related short histories and origins to introduce each one. Prolific is a word that falls seriously short when describing some hymn writers; for example, Charles Wesley wrote over 6000 and Fanny Crosby over 8000!
There were quiet, contemplative hymns such as Jesus, The Very Thought Of Thee and How Sweet The Name Of Jesus Sounds and a couple of brackets which Ralph played by himself, partly perhaps to rest the enthusiastic 'choir'.
My personal favourite of all that Ralph played, was the stirring To God Be The Glory, which he interpreted in a stunning way, with thundering bass drums and a magnificent string section added to the powerful organ voices. Spine-tingling indeed!
Hymns ranged from the twelfth century to the 1980s and included hymns from England, Germany, America, France, Wales and Scotland.
In the end it wasn't a concert, but a gathering of lovers of hymnody, all expressing their Christianity through word and melody.
