DAVID Briggs, who was assistant organist at Hereford Cathedral under Dr Roy Massey in the 1980s, returned on Saturday evening to give an astonishing demonstration of his improvisational skills.

The film was the 1925 epic Phantom of the Opera, starring Lon Chaney and Mary Philbin, which was projected on to a screen in the nave. David Briggs provided the musical accompaniment on the organ, improvising to the action as he watched it unfold on a small screen in the organ loft.

I have always marvelled at the skill of organists who can cope with various manuals, dozens of stops and even a range of pedals, while reading music. To do all that, without music but created on the spot to match an intense melodrama, acted out with all the eye-bulging histrionics and sweeping gestures that were the norm in silent film dramas, almost beggars belief.

There were moments when the background music did not quite coincide with the action on screen but the best thing for the audience was the 'spot that tune' element.

We heard strains of Tchaikovsky's Romeo and Juliet in the intensely romantic scenes. We caught hints of Mendelssohn's wedding march when Mary Philbin and her co-star Norman Kerry were talking about getting married. And we even got a few notes of God Save the Queen when they were plotting to make their escape to England.

During the final climactic scenes - stretched out for maximum effect of course - the organ provided some ear-bending crescendo sequences that certainly demonstrated the renovated instrument's muscle.

Frank Page