Over the weekend of September 25 and 26, Michael
Servant, organist of St. Mark’s English Church
in Florence,
broke the Guinness world record for the longest organ-playing session. The
previous record, held by Ingrid Irslinger of Norway,
was 36 hours and 3 minutes. Servant broke her record by playing for 40 hours
and 4 minutes.
Three nurses flew in from Scotland
and England
to be on-site medical staff, as mandated by Guinness guidelines, and more than
33 witnesses and stewards were on duty. The church, on via Maggio, was open all
night and more than 300 people stopped in during the 40-hour period to watch Servant
in action.
As Servant worked his way through the English Church
Hymnal, he called out the numbers and many people joined in singing the hymns
all through the night. Servant was allowed a five-minute break each hour, time
which he could accumulate. Periodically he refueled on strawberry milkshakes
and lasagna.
