21st Century Folk

I follow the Welsh singer/songwriter Martyn Joseph on social media and it was a pleasure to see him perform in Aylsham recently, so I was delighted when I saw news of a new song from him today! Martyn is one a a group of folk artists who have been asked to write songs as part of a BBC Radio 2 inititative '21st Century Folk' - other artists include the Unthanks!. 

Each song seeks to address some of today's issues through the lens of an individual person and their experience. All the songs are fabulous, and I would encourage you to go and check them out here 

The reason for today's post is that Martyn Joseph's song was so incredibly moving! As someone who often works with people in genuine need, it was fantastic to hear Martyn giving voice to the issues we can all see around us. Well done Martyn and thank you to Andrea and the people like her, up and down the country, who are trying to make the world better, one act of kindness at a time. Here's the song:

Sing a New Song!

A disturbing trend is evident on this blog. At or around the new year, I seem to be full of good intentions. The evidence is that the intentions don't last, but despite this reality I'm having another go. The English Country Parson idea didn't seem to go anywhere so I've decided to concentrate on LankyAnglican as a place where I can spout all of my drivel.

So at the busiest time of year in a uniquely challenging set of circumstances brought by COVID-19, I decided to put up a new Podcast episode. Follow the link to find a chat between me and James Walton, the winner of the 2020 BBC Radio 3 Christmas Carol Competition.

I'm making no promises about frequency of posts, but now I have the gear to do good remote interviews and the podcast is set up, there's really no excuse! 

Here's James' carol in its Radio 3 incarnation:

Moved by the music

I love music. Of many different kinds. I hate musical snobbery. I'm not a purist. But I love music.

I love being moved by the power of music. It's one of the things I love about the church. In some places, we have remembered the power of music to move people, and have continued to use it appropriately in church.

Anyway, that's not the point of this post. Thanks to a Facebook post by Maggi Dawn earlier in the week, I came across this song by Sheffield band, Native and the Name. I was stunned. Stopped in my tracks. For me, the experience was reminiscent of the first time I heard Allegri's Miserere sung live, or Saint-Saens organ symphony performed at the Bridgewater in Manchester. It was like discovering the angelic voice of Kate Rusby earlier in the year, or wandering past the Greenbelt Mainstage in the summer and wondering who was making the superb music this time.

With Plain Song, I can't quite work out why I haven't already come across it before. Nick Park's video is beautiful, and it's creation to mark the release of the band's new album, is why it's come to my attention now. Anyway, I've discovered it now, and have followed the various twitter streams and Facebook pages to keep me up to date with the band. I will probably buy the album once we've got past the financial pinch-point of Christmas.

I know musical taste is a subjective thing, and my recommendation doesn't count for much. All I can say is that I like it a lot, so maybe you should give it a listen.

So that's it for procrastination. Back to the books.

Greenbelt, my faith and music

Back in the nineties, I was a Greenbelt regular. At that time, it was for the music, and for one band in particular, that I made the journey. I recall a number of very damp Northamptonshire weekends where we'd pitch up ridiculously early at mainstage so we could get a spot right at the front.

As I continued to do the Greenbelt thing, I also stumbled across John Bell and the Wild Goose Worship Group. I recall many late night events in cold tents where we were taught new and exciting music in multiple voice parts. This led to me going on a week long course run by John and his colleagues to teach people how to teach music to others).

In some way, these two small snapshots of my Greenbelt memory are quite telling in terms of where I am now. Many people think that Westcott students all fit neatly into an Anglo-Catholic shaped box, but like others, I find the truth is more complex and more interesting. Whilst Greenbelt has grown into a something of a phenomenon in the world of social justice, attracting names like Mark Thomas and Billy Bragg, when I started going it was all about the music (for me anyway). It was about modern and exciting Christian music from bands like Eden Burning, and it was about challenging the way I thought about music in church, through John Bell and his colleagues.

There was a big gap between my last Greenbelt in the nineties, and my return to GB11. Many things have changed: the venue, my circumstances (I had neither a wife nor a child the last time), the festival content, the quality of the loos... the list goes on. But for me, the important thing was still the music.

Going to GB11 with LittleLanky was a very different experience from GB in the nineties. We didn't actually get to many sessions over the weekend. What we did manage, though, was a Big Sing and Monday night at mainstage with Kate Rusby and Iain Archer (amongst distinguished others).

I suppose what I'm getting at (in a roundabout way) is that music is central to who I am as a Christian, and it isn't possible to fit me into a neat #choralevensongonlyplease Westcott shaped box (and the same is true for many of my colleagues). I'm intrigued about music and its role in my spirituality. I'm intrigued that I'm perfectly at home leading fairly charismatic worship with a guitar round my neck (albeit of dubious musical merit), I'm happy teaching songs from Africa and South America in parts and I'm comfortable directing a choir for a traditional Anglican choral service. There's something in all of those that speaks to me of God, and of worship. There's something that compels me to want to be involved! I seem to need all these and more!

I suppose that's what I like about Greenbelt. It allows me to be myself in a way that I haven't found elsewhere - even after a break of more than 10 years. It provides me with the unpigeonholeable selection of music that fleshes out my particular and peculiar faith.

The Cambridge Theological Federation could be a similar place for folk. It's a collection of people doing academic work in different branches of our complicated church. As well as institutions from pretty much all the major denominations in England, it also contains two theological colleges from the Church of England, each representing a different aspect of Anglicanism. Despite this diversity, we easily slip into a scary silo mentality. "They won't like that because they're from (insert name of institution)". Sometimes, these prejudices are born out in behaviour and conversation, but I sometimes wish we could get past the petty territorial nature of being human, and get onto the business of being a better church! Maybe if we spent more time worshipping together; understanding each other's spirituality by experiencing it, we might learn more.

Rediscovering Greenbelt has been great for me, and it has been wonderful to see DrLanky, LittleLanky and other friends of mine enjoying it too. I feel that it will become again for me what it seems to be for others; a special weekend in the year where much of the nonsense and conflict of life in the church is left outside. Where I can express the full complex and unfathomable diversity of my own faith in a safe, supportive and well resourced place.

Too busy? Take on a new hobby

I know it might sound counter intuitive, but it's what a few of us Westcott ordinands have done. Three of us have got together to try a group approach to learning the guitar (ukelele in one case).

Now, I have a couple of guitars (along with a bundle of unfulfilled rock star ambitions), and I know a few chords and the basic technique, so we met last week for our first bash. Amazingly, despite the busy-ness of life here, it provided a wonderfully normal release from the hectic daily grind. Concentrating on something that isn't theology, but concentrating nonetheless, was good!

We made a sound - I can't say it was the most fluent playing, but it was musical; and it was a start! Alas, this week's schedule means that we may not all be able to meet up, but it already feels like we're going somewhere.

I suppose my point isn't musical, it's simply that however busy we are, maybe we need to find some time in the week to do something different from the norm; something that stretches our minds in a different direction. For a professional guitarist, maybe that would be reading theology.

Obituaries in brief

RIP Pete Postlethwaite - An absolute giant of the British acting world has died. He had a presence on screen that was unmistakable, along with a wonderfully expressive voice. I suppose the role that stands out most in my mind is Danny from Brassed Off; a classic role in a classic film.

RIP HMV - DrLanky and I wandered past the Cambridge branch of HMV just the other day, and we wondered who actually buys stuff from there anymore. We certainly don't, when we can usually buy the same products much cheaper on-line. Anyway, it seems that the recession has bitten the cute little dog in the behind, and they are set to close a number of stores. This is a sad sign of the times, and I wonder how long it will be before the company is forced to fold its entire high street operation (remember Woolworths?).

RIP Australian cricket - for now anyway! I've been very impressed by the manner in which the England team have attacked the latest Ashes series. I just hope they don't take their eye of the ball when they resume today to finish the job. I do have something to say about some comments recently made by KP, but I'll save them for another post.

RIP Liverpool FC - After a complete hammering from Blackburn Rovers last night, this must surely be the end for Roy Hodgson.

RIP Paul Collingwood - no he's not dead, but he's retiring from Test cricket - a bold and commendable decision. Rather than try to play himself back into form with the bat, he's accepted that now might be the time to move on and to make way for someone else. What a mature point of view! And what a player. I think we can safely call him the most remarkable fielder of his generation, raking some of the most ridiculous catches you've ever seen. He's also been there when it counts with bat and ball. Thanks for the memories Colly. Google 'collingwood catch' and see some glorious fielding.

And finally, RIP Gerry Rafferty - I can't say I know more than two of his songs, but they are both crackers! From what I've read since his death, it seems that he struggled with the fame brought through his musical talent, and that's a real shame. At least with a musician, a powerful legacy is left for us to remember.

A busy weekend

Last weekend was completely insane! We had five house guests, a meal with friends from the chaplaincy on Saturday, a farewell service at the Chaplaincy and a bring and share barbecue on the Sunday, finished off with Reflect. I meant to post about it yesterday, but I spent most of Monday trying to stay awake!

It's been a while since we had a weekend with lots of friends from the past visiting us, and it was great to do it again. It was notable, though, that life has changed in a massive way for some of us. The addition of small children puts a different emphasis on life, and bedtimes are a little more sensible than they used to be on similar weekends.

Another highlight of the weekend was our farewell service, which was the regular Chaplaincy (non-term-time) service with a liberal scattering of old faces who came back to wave us off. Since LittleLanky arrived, I've had a bit less to do with music in the morning services at Chaplaincy, and it was really good to team up with an old chaplaincy friend to plan and lead the music (with the accompaniment of RevKev on the guitar).

At this point I need to issue a **Blog Etiquette Warning**. I'm not usually one for posting the lyrics of songs and hymns on the blog, but I will do so shortly. Please turn away from the screen if you are offended by such things.

In worship, I find I am readily 'affected' by good music, and although Sunday wasn't necessarily a virtuoso performance, the final hymn was an emotional roller-coaster for me. We sang 'The Summons' by John Bell and Graham Maule from the Iona community. It's a hymn that I've always liked, despite the mauling (pardon the pun) it often gets by English organists and choirs, but on Sunday the words spoke to me in a spine tingling way that made it hard to sing - let alone lead.  If you don't know it, or need a reminder, here are the words:

Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don't know and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown? Will you let my name be known,
will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?
 
Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?
 
Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name?
Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean and do such as this unseen,
and admit to what I mean in you and you in me?
 
Will you love the "you" you hide if I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?
Will you use the faith you've found to reshape the world around,
through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?
 
Lord your summons echoes true when you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.
In Your company I'll go where Your love and footsteps show.
Thus I'll move and live and grow in you and you in me.

It was one of those situations when the writer speaks so clearly and poignantly that it feels as though the words could have been commissioned for that particular service, and for me personally. I certainly felt that God was speaking through the words of Bell and Maule, directly to my family and me as we prepare to take a massive step into the unknown. The words reminded me that although we don't know the details of how the next few years will pan out, we're being sent as God's people, under God's care, and that the journey will be one of growth and incredible change. It might be scary, but it's good-scary!

The other high point of the weekend was the barbecue after the service. We were joined by friends and family, and the weather was great! We had a wonderful time in each other's company, and I'm very grateful to all the people who pitched in to help with setting up and cleaning away. It always seems to be the same selfless individuals who disappear into the kitchen, without a sound, to do the washing up. You know who you are, and so do we! We notice your service to others, and we appreciate it.

Seeing so many friends from past and present made me reflect on the fact that although we are moving from Lancaster, the friends we have will support us wherever we go. We've offered the use of our spare room in Cambridge to many people now, and we really hope that at least some of them take up the offer. Our house in Lancaster has been a happy house with a sometimes revolving door, and although it can be hard work to keep on top of sheet washing and furniture re-arrangements, I'd like that to continue as we move to Cambridge. We need to start with a housewarming party, perhaps to coincide with LittleLanky's first birthday in October.

8 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thursday roundup

I know my custom of late has been to post a Monday roundup, but on Monday I didn't have anything of interest to warrant it. Today, however, I'm bursting with interesting thoughts.

A night at the opera - Until Monday I had never been to an opera, so when the opportunity presented itself I was keen to explore. Heritage Opera were touring with a performance of Puccini's Madame Butterfly, and a number of folk from the postgrad group went along for a bit of 'culture'. Like many, I have been put off opera for a number of reasons: language, musical style, class association... Despite my prejudices, I really enjoyed it (the subtitles helped). The production was hardly lavish, with much evidence of Gaffer tape and improvised props, but I was impressed by the way in which the cast coped with the very limited performance area. The venue was Lancaster Castle, in an actual Court room - Shire Hall. The 'stage' was assembled over the desks where the clerks would sit in a court case (I think), and due to the imposing nature of the Gillow furniture, the space they had was sparse. In the end, the success of the performance hinged on the skill and talent of the performers, and I was blown away by the quality of the singing! I know Madame Butterfly is not hardcore opera, but I do feel like my prejudices have been successfully challenged by my night at the opera.

The ban is ended - Not that a hosepipe ban has made a lot of difference to folk during a very wet August in Lancashire. When the rain comes down like it has recently, there is certainly no need to water the garden. Anyway, it's good that the stocks are back up to normal levels.

The end of a winning run? - Matt Prior and Stuart Broad came to the rescue yesterday to avoid an embarassing collapse at the Oval. England have now gone a long time without suffering a Test defeat, and I did think we were going to see an end to this run until Prior came to the crease. What we need now are favourable seam bowling conditions and a repeat of the recent successes of the fast bowling attack. Either that or Swann will have to work some magic towards the end of the match. This is the kind of situation England need to come through if they are to have any hope of retaining the Ashes in Australia.

Changing times, changing Church? - Bosco Peters posts about a wedding he went to where the rite included promises between one of the spouses and the child of the other spouse. This made me think that we really need to look at our rites and liturgies in light of the situations we actually encounter in the Church, rather than naively clinging to an ill-remembered image of how it used to be. It makes perfect sense to me to add something like this to a marriage ceremony where one or other party already has children; it reinforces the value and importance of 'the family' in the Church and wider society, and it reassures people that the Church is not blind to the changes in society.

Gareth Malone and my telly face, part 2

Regular readers will remember my glowing praise for the Gareth Malone series about the South Oxhey Choir. Well he's back on the telly again, and this time he's trying to bring together a young people's chorus for a new opera at Glyndebourne.

As a rule, MrsLanky and I are not opera fans; I'm certainly not sure what I think about modern opera. I can say, however, that we have been very impressed by this latest BBC series. The best moments of the show are when Malone works one to one with someone who is struggling, or who thinks they can't sing. He shows how, in many cases, the issue is not ability but confidence. And Malone has the disarming ability to give people confidence in their ability to sing.

The particularly interesting aspect of this series is the fact that Malone has been asked to work with a piece that is still a work in progress. It hasn't been completed by the time he needs to start teaching it! 

I don't know if it makes me a bad person, but it's affirming to see such a capable person working at the edge of his ability. It gives me confidence from watching him; especially seeing him receive coaching on conducting! His balance of humility and confidence is an inspiration. The telly face was definitely in evidence last night.

Anyway, iPlayer has the first 2 episodes, and you can catch it on BBC2 at 9pm on Thursdays.

82 days

Pining for my piano

Since I left home at the age of 19, I have been without my piano. It was a gift to me from my Grandparents, and I learnt to play on it. Though I must admit, I didn't learn very well! I got to Grade 2 and decided that all those exams and hours of practice (not that I ever did an hour of practice) were too much effort.

Since going to university, my music-making has gone in a more choral route (despite the purchase of a lovely electro-acoustic guitar). The voice is the only truly portable instrument, and you don't struggle to fit it in a university bedroom! Through singing, and teaching songs to others, my music reading has got a lot better. I used to be ok on the pitch of notes, but I was easily confused by rhythms. This is still true to an extent, but I find that a bit of concentration soon sorts it out.

When we move to Cambridge in September, we will have enough space to accommodate the piano which now sits in my parents' dining room. I can't wait to have it! It's not that I will play it every day, but I do think that I will enjoy being able to try a bit of sightreading, and bashing out the accompaniments to Taize chants or Iona songs. The weakness of the voice is that harmony cannot easily be achieved when you're on your own (with a few exceptions). This is where the piano comes in! you can hear how the different parts relate to each other, and get prepared for any accidentals or clashes before they happen.
So there you go. I'm pining for my piano, but this will soon come to an end in September. I bet it needs tuning.

Preach, preaches, preaching, praught?

On Sunday, I was aked to preach at the united service at the Lancaster University Chaplaincy Centre. The service took the form of a Roman Catholic Mass, but was attended by members from all denomintions represented in the Centre. We followed the RC lectionary, and as such, we celebrated the feast of Corpus Christi. So an Anglican preached at an ecumenical Mass on the subject of the eucharist.

Hmmm. No difficulties there then!

I'll post the sermon when I've located a the final copy - I'm told it wasn't terrible - but the point I wanted to make in this post is one about comfort zones. Sunday's sermon was only my second ever attempt at preaching and, unsurprisingly, I still felt like I was well outside my confort zone.

The thing that highlighted this feeling for me was my inclusion of music in the sermon. I'm well accustomed to teaching and leading unaccompanied singing with congregations, and I noticed that the moment I started to teach the song was the moment I started to relax a little. Until this point, I felt locked to the script and quite nervous. As soon as the music started, I felt more able to go off-piste and make a few impromptu observations and witticisms.

It occurred to me that this is all about what I am used to, and what I am comfortable with. I lead people in song on a weekly basis, but I've only ever preached* twice. I'm hoping this is something that will change as I have more opportunities to preach, and according to what I know about Westcott House, I will have many such opportunities during my training.

* Does anyone else think that the past tense of 'preach' should be 'praught'? As in 'teach' and taught'. 

John Bell in Barton

For those who are intersted in such things, John Bell of the Iona Community is going to be in Barton (near Preston) on the 23rd April, using the title 'Stumbling Blocks and Stepping Stones' to explore the ways we worship and encourage more lay involvement. Find out more here and here.

Gareth Malone, and my telly face

I really enjoyed the final episode of 'The Choir' on BBC2 last night. It was one of those occasions where MrsLanky and I break out what we call our 'telly faces'. This is where there's something on TV which is really captivating and inspiring, and it causes an inane open-mouthed smile to appear on each of our faces. We know we're doing it, but we just can't help ourselves.

Last effect night this was exaggerated further by the compelling nature of the programme. MrsLanky and I both sing, and we both believe in the value of singing in churches and communities. So you might say this was a match made in heaven even before the opening titles finished.

On last night's show, Gareth Malone showed again how a little bit of vision, and a huge amount of energy and enthusiasm, can bring together even the most hopeless (and I don't mean that in a pejorative sense) groups of people. He also showed the value of caring and compassionate leadership, and I think that's what the people of South Oxhey were really craving; the music was an excellent vehicle which was, in a sense, incidental.

In an age where the church has faded into the background for many people, it's not surprising that there are places and people in need of this type of leadership. We just need to clone Gareth Malone, or maybe get him to lead a module at theological colleges, on the subject of leadership in communities.

UPDATE - It looks like someone else agrees with me

Singing in the emerging church

Maggi Dawn has posted about the role of live singing in an emerging church setting, and I agree with her. Live singing is a wonderfully adaptive aspect of worship, and I'd add that you don't need to be restricted to the model of a choir. I've been working for ages with the music of the Iona and Taize communities, and if you want to get people engaged in part singing really quickly, then this is the way to do it. One strong and confident leader and a roomful of people who think they can't sing can do some amazing things with an african chant or a simple Taize canon.

Maggi also mentions Gareth Malone, star of the BBC series The Choir. If you haven't already seen the programme, you can catch the final episode on Tuesday next week. From watching the programme, I recognise the joyful feeling when a roomful of people really click with a piece of music.

The final thing I want to do is to encourage anyone who can hold a tune that they can actually lead people in singing. I only have an average singing voice; I'm certainly not a soloist. I do, however, have a loud voice and I can sing in tune. Along with a good knowledge of the piece you're teaching, this is all you need!

Having said all of this, I also accept that there are people for whom participating in singing doesn't 'float the boat', and I think as leaders and teachers, we need to respect that. This is why I always try to make it a relaxed affair with as little pressure as possible.

Guitar Hero

This is a story that the sadly missed BigBulkyAnglican would definitely have recorded on his blog. And even though I posses the guitar skills of an otter (despite owning two guitars), I thought I should mark the passing of Les Paul on this blog.

I played in a band for a while when I was at school, and although I was a keyboard 'player', I was inevitably exposed to electric guitar culture - all bands have guitars! It appears to me that Les Paul was much more than just a person who played and made guitars. He was an icon in the world of rock music.

He was an innovator in musical technology and developed one of the first solid bodied electric guitars. The move away from a resonant sound box opened up massive stylistic possibilities that hadn't existed before! He and his contemporaries changed the course of rock and roll music with this innovation. Les Paul's 'log' (yes that's what he called this guitar) was the forerunner of the Gibson Les Paul; a guitar that nearly all your favourite rock musicians will have played on stage at some point in their career. This is what many people mean by a 'Les Paul'; in my teenage years, I remember the dawning realisation that a 'Les Paul' wasn't just a guitar!

Lester William Polsfuss (to give him his full name) wasn't just a guitar maker though. He continued to innovate with musical effects and recording techniques which have gone on to shape modern music even more than his guitar design! He experimented with multitracking well before there was a convenient, all-in-one machine that would do the hard work for you! Les Paul will go down in musical history for his contribution to music. I just hope that future generations of musical geeks have the same realisation I did. There was a man behind the guitar, and he was great!

The final thing to say is that in reading about his life today, I discovered that I've spent some time in his neck of the woods. He was born and raised in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Just down the road from New Berlin, where some good friends of ours live.

Back to the blog!

I've been 'enjoying' a break from blogging over the last few weeks. No doubt the avid readers of this blog will have been heartbroken at the break in inspirational and witty banter. The reason for the break has been something of a change in pace at work, which has been tiring, along with the ongoing pressures of Mrs Lanky's growing bump. Incidentally, all is well with the bump. According to the ultrasound scans everything is the size it should be for the stage we are at, and LittleLanky appears to be as near to average as s/he can be.

I felt as though today was the right day for a post for 2 reasons. The first is the timely return to batting form of Andrew 'Freddie' Flintoff. Thanks to our Ashes-inspired resumption of a Sky Sports subscription, I watched Lancashire's victory over Derbyshire in the T20 championship last night. It's the first time since the famous 2005 Ashes series that I've seen him dominate a bowling attack in such an intimidating way. Hopefully the Aussies were watching and beginning to get a little bit nervous.

The second reason for my post is to mark the passing of the troubled superstar, Michael Jackson. I don't have much to say about him apart from that I feel sadness for him and his family. I know lots of people have opinions about his lifestyle and his alleged misdemeanours, but I can't help feeling sorry for him. There must have been reasons for the way he was, and they are likely to have been linked to his unconventional upbringing. Can we all just leave it there? Can we let him rest in peace and leave his family to grieve?

Surprise package

I love this clip from 'Britain's got talent'! I'm not a fan of the music; I dislike most music from musicals, and indeed most musicals! The thing that I like about this, though, is that it demonstrated on prime time TV that you can't always judge a book by its cover. I like the fact that everyone was completely surprised by her ability.

It has to be said, though, that the majority of 'talent' on display on such TV shows amounts to nothing more than car-crash TV. The producers know they are going to get a large number of unoriginal and uninteresting 'talents', and that's why people watch - for the cringingly bad bits, not for the genuine talent.

Poor old Graham

I never thought I'd be posting in defence of Graham Kendrick, but he seems to have got a bit of a raw deal in being named as one of the top 50 people who have ruined Britain. He's not mentioned in the online article, but Jonathan Wynne-Jones of the Telegraph gives a few more details (thanks to Dave Walker for the link).

I have a couple of issues with the original Daily Mail article. For starters, has Britain actually been ruined? If it has, I didn't notice. Secondly, if Britain has been ruined, I can't imagine that any church music (or service book) could be responsible for this sad state of affairs.

Rapping physicists

Thanks To Rose for this link to the LHC Rap.

Please provide a fresh sample

I remember when the science behind instrument sampling was still in its relative infancy, though not as far back as people like Rick Wakeman and their mellotrons. The birth of digital sampling was a massive leap from the tape based systems like the Chamberlin and the Mellotron, but it seemed to take a while for the technology to develop. It seems that one of the barriers to the creation of ultra-realistic samples has been storage space. The sounds produced by analogue instruments are extremely rich and variable. This richness and variability is what makes them sound authentic, but it also makes the resulting sound files 'large' in terms of data storage. Large used to mean slow, but now that mass storage is cheap and quick, it looks like instrument sampling might finally have been sorted out.

Maybe this will mean that digital 'pipe organs' will start to sound a bit more convincing. Let's hope so.