by Carl-Aage Eliasson 

I sit at the organ bench after having played a voluntary, which I am not totally happy about. The introit prayer has just sounded. Now the important role for the organist begins.

Just in time I set in the prelude to the first hymn; I can feel that it still does not come out exactly as I would like it to. The hymn begins, and the choir and congregation start to sing. They don’t follow me completely, and it is my experience that it's because I'm not playing optimally. I say to myself, relax, do not use so much effort, and just strike the keys. Remember to hear the tones the moment they are stroked and be aware of which finger that makes the stroke. All movements goes down, never up. Remember that the value of a note shows when the next tone has to appear and not how long it has to last. Now I focus too much on the pulse. It has to be easy to play. Sense the chords and the cord change. Listen, listen, listen and let go. It is still not good enough. I relax my arms and hands, and suddenly it is as if the fingers themselves find their way, it is as if I see with my fingers, and then it is right on. I stop thinking. My ego is no longer controlling my body, something greater occurs. The choir and congregation follow exactly now, everything is simple, all are united in the moment of now, an amazing feeling.

It's great to accompany the hymn singing. 

Every time I sit by an instrument, I go through a process like this, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. Now after many years I almost always end up, so to say, to be united in the music.

To accompany hymn singing has been of interest for me ever since I have started as an organist in Bryndum Church near Esbjerg in 1969, and by the years I become more and more aware of the facts that connect hymn singing to a greater unity, where you just sing without thinking. Once the poet Klaus Høeck has asked me to play at a church service in Ry Church during a summer course at Ry Folk High School. He has stated that when I accompany the hymn singing, it happens to be as if you just sing without noticing my accompaniment.

Do you accompany or lead the hymn singing?

I think, it is more a question of finding the fundamental musicality within all people. All people follow more easily an accompanist with a sense of beat, than one without. All people understand more easily a music phrase performed by a musician who delivers it understandable rather than a series of tones that tell nothing. All people need time to breathe after each verse, and they never start singing too early. It is only possible for one to do that, mostly the organist or a singer who will take the lead. At the same time, the music interpreter shall be aware that insecure, fear, boredom and indifference are contagious, so therefore these emotions have to go away for joy, secure, high spirit and good energy, which also are contagious. All these emotions clearly make their appearance via the music. It's all about everyone sharing here and now, without thought and without force, just by being.

Once ago in Sædden Church at Esbjerg there was a man who had an incredible big voice. He sang so loud that you almost could not her the rest of the congregation. Konrad kept the last tone very long after each verse line. He loved to sing. What to do? I had a small organ with 4 stops without pedals. After the first verse. I lifted my fingers from the keys and made a pause so Konrad song alone. I started the next verse line in my sense of pulse without attention to Konrad and then the rest of the congregation and I joined in the line. After a little while Konrad joined in again, and at the end he made again a long tone. I made the same procedure again and Konrad again was too late. After that it never happened again. He began to listen and follow me. Later I have been told that he felt it was fantastic to sing in Sædden church. I have many tricks of similar nature.

Now I'll just talk about few technical details of the art of accompanying hymn -singing. When you sing every syllable heavily, it becomes heavy and the meaning of the text disappears. If you follow the emphasis of the words with iambic and trochee etc. it becomes a little easier, but the result is a little 'la-di-da', as when we read poems at school. Some words in a sentence are more important than others so therefore some words must be more accentuated than others. It is similar with a melody. Yet another option is the cords influence on the tempo too. If you have many chord changes during a measure, the song becomes slower than if there are few. Furthermore you must practice a lot to become a good accompanist. Accompanying hymns is difficult, but easy when learned. Performing music is a craft where you have to play appropriate and without bad habits in order to be able to open up the channel to your own musicality.

All songs live their own lives

All songs live their own lives, out of stillness. When you empty soul and mind, the music and pulse appear from deep inside without words and thoughts. What comes up is true and universal. The deeper you get inside the more the music reach out and is transformed into a unity perceived by body and mind.