Loving your channel. It ticks so many boxes: travel, scenery, old churches, history and lush gorgeous organ music. Wishing you a wonderful 2024!

@roland6954

6 ай бұрын

Same for me!!

@lilylipianostudio

6 ай бұрын

same here.

@timothygalbraith9900

6 ай бұрын

Yes it highlights all our modern life seems to ignore, old places of worship, ,natural beauty, craftsmanship, beautiful natural non electronic sound and music, AND God himself. Thanks a lot for these videos. TG, Australia.

@romanarseniy

6 ай бұрын

all of these plus good looks of an organist 😊

@christinegreene687

6 ай бұрын

Thank you so very much from Michigan, USA

It takes real skill, taste and appreciation to bring the best out of these small village organs, and yet they have made so, so much musicality over the century (or more) that they've served their churches. Thank you for highlighting them, their people, their places, their history, and their repertoire.

Happy New Year! Thank you so much for your you tube channel. We must keep classic church hymns and music alive. I also love seeing the old English churchyards and landscapes you provide. Just stunning!

@noragilotti3646

6 ай бұрын

Doreen, I couldn't agree more. Are you also a church musician? Nora Gilotti

@laramaui4114

6 ай бұрын

Indeed this is a rare glimpse of your country's beautiful legacy.

@doreen.linder

6 ай бұрын

@@noragilotti3646 I sing with the choir but I am a soloist as well at my church in the US. I love it!

Beautiful musicianship in another beautiful church! I can’t decide which is my favorite thing about your videos. The history you provide, the beautiful scenery, the historic churches, your masterful organ playing, or your delightful wit? Love it all so much!

Another beautiful church and sublime organ playing. You make everything about these videos so interesting and gives us the opportunity to learn of the existence of these wonderful church’s that we might not necessarily know about. Thank you for all the wonderful music and videos this year. All the best for 2024.

We love you as a story teller. What a pleasure to listen and beautiful environments. Thank you. “Happy Holiday.”

I come for the stories, the scenery, the churches and stay for the wonderful music. Thank you, God bless you, and Happy New Year.

Just stumbled across your channel and addicted already. The standard mould of cathedral organists was certainly broken when you came forth 😊 - remain jolly, informative and pompous-free!

I live in a farming community where we raise cattle. I love the underlying feeling of the farming community and feel so much kinship with these tiny English communities. Of course, we don’t have your deep cultural roots, but, for better and worse, farmers are farmers! Haha. Your appreciation of the small atmospheres of life is deeply appreciated. Thanks for your work, and totally happy New Year.

@laramaui4114

6 ай бұрын

Ae are more alike in the end

Hi Ben. As usual, a WONDERFUL and heartwarming creation from you. Happy new year to ALL here.

Your presentations are most enjoyable and I look forward to each and every one of them. Thank You so very much for sharing these with us.

Happy New Year Ben! That finale was simply grand! “We plough the fields and scatter the good seed on the land” Thank you for reminding us of this beautiful hymn that was part of my childhood growing up in India- “All good gifts around us, Are sent from heaven above!!” ❤

Really loved hearing this magnificent organ, and thinking of the thousands of people who have taken their joys and sorrows with them into that church, hearing the organ to ease their sorrows or celebrate their joys.

Omega and Alpha he! Let the organ thunder. From squeaky harmonium to fantastic restored Walker organ is contrast indeed. I once attended a New Year service in Spanish Town Cathedral, Jamaica, where Mr Beckford had played the Walker organ for 60 years. Onwards and upwards in 2024, Ben!

Lovely playing, lovely organ. I played "Unto us a boy is born" at last night's vigil mass. At the start of the last verse I went to "make the organ thunder" by adding a duel voice to the keyboard, got the wrong button, missed my intro and the result was silence. Fortunately the congregation are well used to my mistakes and carried on singing anyway.

Happy New Year Ben. I came across your channel just before advent. Consequently I have had a glorious experience with your inspiring organ music. I am a Churchwarden of a church going through a difficult time, you have really cheered me up. God Bless You Ben. You are the crown prince of Church Music.

Will some television company give this man a show? He does more for the Church than than the Church does . Avid Welsh watcher.

I have been enjoying your videos. I love the reverence and love you have for these various old churches, and the passion you have for the instruments. Happy New Year :) -Rebecca

I just LOVE your travels…..hits close to my heart. You are a gem!!!!! Rob

Every one of your videos makes me want more and more to visit your part of the world and experience for myself those environs and fascinating organs. Maybe this year it will be possible.

Beautifully presented, as always. Such a lovely setting. I especially enjoyed hearing "We Plow the Fields" which is a long time favorite. Thanks again.

Many thanks Ben. You are doing us all a fine service with your gifts, and each is a gift, of music, travel and history. Country England is truly beautiful. Oh thank the Lord for all good gifts around us!

Excellent Ben. Happy New Year to you, and thank you for showing us all these beautiful Churches and Organs. Take care. 🙂

Well done Ben I’ve enjoyed your videos this year this one no exception! All good wishes to you for 2024

There are some wonderful Churches tucked away in quiet parts of the UK, as a non stipendiary Priest, past retirement age, I have taken services in quite a few in my area. Last summer I was asked to take a service at Wormegay, Which Google has never heard of ( not far from Kings Lynn ). Fortunately I did a recce by motorcycle before hand and eventually found the church one and a half miles from the village down a small track , It had been a plague village of course. A lovely little Church. I find it sad that the villagers I spoke to were all retired people from cities who never knew they had a Church

@judithmalan1502

6 ай бұрын

Well done for now making that CHURCH KNOWN to the Locals. Well said...

You make the world a better place. Please continue with your words and your music Best wishes from prince EDWARD ISLAND, CANADA

I'm the daughter (aged 80) of S E Gilks organ builder of Peterborough, one-man band. Latterly in his career he built small organs and installed one for choir practise in St David's Cathedral. When I was little I used to help with Christmas and Easter tunings. I would be pressing the keys and he would be inside the organ tuning the pipes. Before we could leave I had to wait for ages while he played the organ to test if everything was OK. You have brought back such precious memories for me, thank you.

How lovely. I just recently discovered your channel and am soooo happy I did. I love seeing the old churches still standing and to hear these great hymns of the church. Thank you for what you are doing. Happy New Year to you and blessings to you and yours as well. I look forward to seeing more of this to come. Cheers!

We would welcome you to the beautiful island of Barbados where there are beautiful small churches with lovely organs! Since we were British...the architecture is much the same! Love your visits around!

This is definitely my favourite KZread channel of 2023 and something tells me it’s going to be my favourite channel for 2024 as well. A breath of fresh air in this crazy world.

@fluteceleste

6 ай бұрын

Agreed!😊❤

Lovely, Ben. Thank you. Enchanting, charming and a little bit cheeky. Perfect for New Year's Eve. Plus 'We ploughed the fields and scatter.' Wonderful. Hope that cheese and pickle sandwich was as good as it sounded (my lunch too today! You must have known)

Truly beautiful playing of these marvellous instruments, Ben! And indeed, yes, we thank THE LORD! For all HIS LOVE

Absolutely wonderful as usual. Keep up the good work.

This is just perfect for my solitary New Years Eve in grey rainy Pittsburgh. By coincidence, I'm having some Tea with Cheddar, Crackers and Scallions... Thank you for this and all your lovely videos! 🎉

Such a gift Ben, that you have such great command of the workings of the organ, to highlight all its different sounds in different parts of the piece. Printing the hymn on screen to go along with your playing is a nice touch. Thanks for all your efforts. Your subscribers are growing exponentially.

HAPPY NEW YEAR. THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WONDERFUL MUSIC. GOD BLESS AND ALL THE BEST FOR 2024.

Fascinating intro to the church per usual, and lovely to download another 3 complete pieces to my growing collection. Even Elgar is tolerable under your care 😊

Loved the last hymn, always enjoy that one

Thank you so much. I love your channel. Elgar's piece is beautyfull, quiet and humble... I'm a musician myself, a singer living in France. Warm greetings from Paris and best wishes for a happy, joyful and peaceful 2024. Till Fechner.

@DD-bx8rb

6 ай бұрын

"a society that is slipping away"? My friend, England started slipping away 500 years ago when these churches were desecrated and stolen from the Catholic population, persecuting them, murdering them, and penalising them. Anglicanism is simply a watered-down version of the Faith, a half-way house between belief and disbelief.

I am so grateful that you use your skill, artistry, and creativity to make these marvelous videos!

By seeing and listening to organ music in an old church in English countryside this brings through the passage of time into the reality of 1st January 2024 .We acknowledge new beginnings and to go onwards to the blessings of the present day.The thrush calls early morn to bring peace to all mankind . May the love of organ music and the simple English churches fill us with more energy to overcome the ills of this world.Peace to all mankind.

What a wonderful way to start the New Year! Ben, I hope you will be richly blessed in 2024 and thank you for bringing such delight into our lives! It must be the pickle and cheese sandwiches.....carry on! Gabrielle

I love visiting churches and your channel hit all the marks, I enjoyed this, thank you 🙏🏼, my favourite channel for 2024!

Love this organ Ben. Thanks❤😊

I’ve sung in this church, when I was in the choir in the Woodford Valley. I’ve sung in each of the Woodford churches

So beautiful... the music you played, the church, it's setting. May you prosper in the New Year ❤

What can I say other than I now feel hungry after hearing about your cheese and pickle sandwiches. Oh and yes beautiful churches and sublime organ playing - what a combination of right on music and good nosh. Thanks.

Absolutely wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing. Happy New Year!

Absolutely love these videos . Ben you are such a natural presenter, the way you speak, your charm and subtle humour and the tid-bits of information you share as we tour these wonderful English churches and their organs. Last but not least your beautiful music. I am now craving a cheese and pickle sandwich!

Hi Ben, and hello from North Carolina in the United States. I just want you to know that it’s been a delight discovering your channel. You’re such a talented musician, and I simply adore the old churches, and rich history you present for your viewers. Have a Happy New Year, and keep this excellent content coming! 😊

Hello Ben. Happy New Year from Montreal. Thank you for your playing today. I'm sure the souls around the church were glad for it. Alas, no wanderers to come in and hear you play.

Another beautiful, outstanding video. Your talents go far beyond the keyboard, and your videos contain so many fine elements. The pipe organ has its own unique tone and sound qualities and I love how you make it come to life. Being American though, I had to google "cheese and pickle sandwich" which I discovered not only is decidedly British, but the pickle component is actually a type of root vegetable chutney - not at all what we Americans think of as pickle. And to think I only recently discovered the cheese and pimento sandwich popular in the American south...

Dear Ben Pls can you please continue playing the organs of the historical chapels you visit. I do thoroughly enjoy it.

Happy New Year! Thank you for sharing another wonderful church music experience with us!

Who knows of any other notice board of its kind ... virtually invisible from the road? I drove past just such a board for six months thinking there must be an interesting church hidden in the trees … when autumn came and the leaves dropped I could just glimpse an insignificant little building … a tin tabernacle as we used to call them. Now I had to stop and investigate ... and what a delight! It’s the gypsy church on Bramdean Common, near Alresford, across the border from Wiltshire in Hampshire! I wonder if it has an organ Ben!!

Happy New Year, Ben! Another lovely video, perfect listening for knitting a sweater on a chilly Sunday afternoon in Michigan. Looking forward to seeing more of your travels to these beautiful churches. ~Kimberly

Happy New Year Ben! This is yet another brilliant video. Lovely Church and looks so nicely kept. As usual your playing was top notch!! John

Happy New Year! I learn so much from your channel. My mother was a lover of all the classic Hymns, I remember as a child I would listen to her play the piano and sing, with one piano key out of tune. LOL, I'm happy to learn about British hymns that aren't often heard in America. "We Plough The Fields and Scatter" is a new one for me. It reminds me of paintings and drawings by Vincent Van Gogh of farmers and "The Sower". 😊🙏

Thank you for sharing this lovely church with us. It breaks my heart that so much beauty is “disused”. I would certainly love to worship here if I lived nearby. Thank you for your thoughtful program and a very Happy New Year to you.

The scenery, the history, the music, the architecture, your charm ... please continue. It's so delightful.

Thank you for your videos. I look forward to watching them after church every Sunday. This one is particularly nice. Best to you in the new year!

A pal recommended I listen to you Ben, I’m glad he did, what a lovely thing to do bringing life to little churches by playing their organs so beautifully! Being an x choir boy in Bath Christ Church you bring back so many musical moments for my enjoyment! Thanks & I look forward to much more!🎹🎼

I am moved by your video, it shows us glory history (but forgotten by morden society) and beautiful music ! Thank you,!

Happy New Year, Ben. May you continue to make such delightful music and videos for many years to come! Greetings from South Africa

A wonderful end to my Sunday evening. Thank you.

Delightful! Looking forward to another year of joy and powerful music! Thank you!

All the best for 2024 Ben.

Have a Happy and Blessed New Year!

No one could mistake that for anything but an English organ. And yet so different in timbre from a Willis or Hill, Norman and Beard.

Thank you for this series. Your nostalgic allusion to a world that is gradually disappearing offered an assurance that I am not alone in this nostalgia.

Haha, didn't know the hymn 'Unto Us a Son is Born' mentioned the organ in the last verse! Cool! And nice video as always, I love seeing these organs

How happy you must be, being able to draw such magnificent music out of all those magnificent instruments! Thank you for bringing us all along on your explorations of the English countryside. It doesn't look too different than my area here in Oregon, especially on these cold wet days, but, of course, we don't have centuries old buildings, and most of the churches here have generic electric organs. Happy New Year. I can't wait to see where you'll take us next!!! 🎶🎵🎶

I am loving the music, history, poetry, wit, and romance you bring to us, happy New Years in the English country side. Loving thanks.

You got me. Subscribed. I once planned to walk the full distance of the Thames River. There are several books on it. At 60 it was easily manageable. At 77 now, maybe it is another missing link on my bucket list. Fill in for me, okay. Get back to me in St. Thomas, USVI. I give tours of the historic Synagogue. We have an organ too! Sort of >.. but all electric. ... “Cheese and pickle sandwich”? I’m in.

It's been only a couple months i've been watching your videos, but i look forward to each new one. I've gone back to see some of your older content which is wonderful also. You seem like an old soul, comfortable with old things. i share your appreciation for old churches, organs and hymns. God bless!

Happy New Year from Canada! Ben thank you for continuing to share such a great combination of music along with composer, church and local history. Keep up the great content and your obvious passion for it all.

The birds and scenery at the end 💛💛💛💛💛!

Thanks ben! And thank you so much for the hymn we plough the fieldsand scatter the good seed on the land... this year I was thinking what has happened to celebrating harvest??? And here it is, doesn't matter that's its new year at all...all the seeds are in the ground just waiting for the spring....xx

Ben, please continue to add the words as you play. We will then be able to sing along with you from wherever we are across the world! Such a poignant yet hugely positive thing you are doing for us. - Robert Heath, (yet another former village organist.)

Ben,I wish you a very happy new year! Greetings from Austria and good luck for you and your work!

What a wonderful channel you have. You give all your viewers not only beautiful organ music but so much history of the area and the churches. I check everyday to see if you've posted any new content. Thank you so much !!!

A very happy new year, Ben. A beautiful location, church and organ playing. You are my kitchen company for preparing Sunday dinner, continuous repeat of this wonderful presentation.

Thank you for these wonderful respites, from far away.

Thank you sir. Love your passion in the music. Excellent selection choice.

Another delighhtful video, Ben. You said nostalgia was your intent - well you succeeded in my case with nostalgia for my days as a chorister and bellringer in a village Church....Thank you! Happy New Year and we look forward to the delights you will present in 2024.

It's a good day! I've just now discovered your presentations and I am enjoying them immensely. And Thank You for the added effect of the helicopter. You think of everything.

There is another Wilsford in Wiltshire and its Church of St Nicholas a Medival Church, part of Cannings Redhorn Team of 8 Churches East of Devizes, it only has a domestic electric organ. I do enjoy your Church visits. Happy New Year

@DD-bx8rb

6 ай бұрын

"a society that is slipping away"? My friend, England started slipping away 500 years ago when these churches were desecrated and stolen from the Catholic population, persecuting them, murdering them, and penalising them. Anglicanism is simply a watered-down version of the Faith, a half-way house between belief and disbelief.

Back in 1975 I visited a few of the locations you highlight, myself suitably armed with "Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England" to note a gargoyle here, or a Norman window there, but I somehow missed these instruments despite being a pipe organ enthusiast. Thank you Ben for drawing attention to these subtle hidden gems!

Happy New Year! I really enjoyed your playing of the Elgar Vesper voluntary - one of my favourites. Thank you for all your efforts - much appreciated. Surely though you’ll soon exhaust supply of smaller churches surrounding St Martin’s! You’ll have to drive further afield!

Thank you for sharing that love.

From Germany your English sounds marvellous, and the music angellike ❤

thank you for your channel and your music. watching this channel gives me a very powerful nostalgia and they radiate a peace that is hard to find living in a city. thank you for exploring such gorgeous parts of England and sharing your journey with us.

Thank you! I truly enjoyed your show, the organ, and hearing you play. Jane B.

I am learning so much about organs, thank you, Ben,for explaining all the details. I have had a great appreciation of pipe organs all my life without anyone ever teaching me anything.

I enjoyed the video about the Hidden Church and Pipe Music. There must be many Churches around Salisbury that go back in History. With Best Wishes. Colin

Happy new year from Italy

A wonderful example of s man who is alive!

Thank you Ben. Just got back from church here in Houston. Wishing you a Happy and successful new year.

Ben, I’ve really been enjoying your channel. Your warm, pleasant interactions with the camera remind me very much of Mister Rogers. Thanks for sharing your talents and all of these lovely churches!

I love watching your VLOGS as you give a feel for the location and always make wonderful choices in music selection!! I also really like the timber of your voice, you make a very pleasant narrator,