Organs & Organists: Their Inside Stories

Although a comprehensive coverage of the world of the pipe organ, this is anything but a solemn or boring volume. Filled with fascinating photos and enlivened by entertaining and at times laugh-out-loud text, this book is a refreshing and different view of a world that even those who inhabit it find hard to understand.

What really goes on behind these beautiful organ façades? Are those the only pipes? Why are there so many keyboards? Why do organists play using their feet? What happens when organs go wrong? What happens if organists get locked in a building overnight? What should they do when their organ catches fire? And why did the Archdeacon of Winchester get stuck in a pipe?

Join Jenny Setchell as she unravels these and many other mysteries of the 'King of Instruments'. Lively cartoons by Al Nisbet and more than 450 exquisite photos help unveil the secrets of this 'wondrous machine' and those who play it. The ups and downs of international concert organist Martin Setchell are mercilessly exposed, while dozens of other musicians world-wide (including popular blogger Adrian Marple) confess their most embarrassing, infuriating, hilarious or uplifting times with anecdotes that will make you howl with laughter or gasp in disbelief at what they get up to behind the scenes.

Whether you are fascinated by the instrument, the music, or are just curious, "Organs & Organists: Their Inside Stories" is a compelling and fascinating peek into a hidden world.

New Zealander Jenny Setchell is the author of three books about organs. "Organ-isms: Anecdotes from the World of the King of Instruments" has sold over 3000 copies worldwide and was translated into German. Her photographs of organs and their ceilings from cathedrals and concert halls around the world was published as an opulent coffee table book by Butz Music Publishers in 2015.

416 pages, 400+ full colour photographs and cartoons.