ABSTRACT
The use of the organ in the parochial service was governed by convention. In some respects the role of the organist in the cathedral service was even more circumscribed in the early years of the nineteenth century than in the parochial service. Organists used various strategies for accompanying congregational singing. Although organs were usually sited in the west gallery of the church and consequently spoke directly down the main axis of the building, most were modest instruments with choruses voiced on low wind pressures and only limited pedal provision. Organ interludes between the verses of hymns fell steadily into desuetude; Curwen in 1888 reported that they were 'now generally given up', though in some places 'the interlude before the last verse has not wholly gone out of fashion'. In some respects the role of the organist in the cathedral service was even more circumscribed in the early years of the nineteenth century than in the parochial service.
