Tony Newnham

Even some of the organ groupes on Facebook have been quieter than usual - there have been a few posts on "Organ Matters", but otherwise, everywhere is pretty quiet - just one of those things. Maybe everyone is busy frantically trying to get Christmas repertoire sorted & practiced! Every Blessing Tony

VERY SAD Pit they weren't restored properly.

Wish I was still in the area Peter. David is well worth hearing. Every Blessing Tony

Hi This Thursday (8th October) I'm giving a lunchtime recital on the Willis organ of St Michael the Archangel, Retford. Programme is:- Rondeau (from Abdelazer) (Henry Purcell arr. Christopher Morris) Prière à Notre-Dame (from Gothic Suite) Leon Boëlmann Andante Semplice (Eric Tomlinson) Short Prelude & Fugue in D minor BWV 554 (J.S. Bach (attrib) Lied ohne Worte (Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Transcribed by Maurizio Machella) Variations on “Happy Land” (George Shearing) Introductory Voluntary & Fugues (James Nares 1715-1783) Faith (Duncan Macleod) Every Blessing Tony

Well said Philip As one of the editors who has been unable to do much recently, I find it frustrating (a house move with all the sorting out that entails, plus retirement and my wife being largely out of action for 6 months due to a very badly broken arm), not to mention my own health issues. I'm hoping to get back into some sort of routine shortly. Please keep information coming to NPOR. We will get to it eventually Every Blessing Tony

Maybe Sue & I will go there for a day out sometime - depends on the addmission charge & what else there is to see. Every Blessing Tony

Hi It looks like E00108 is a basic survey - but it does need a stop list. Every Blessing Tony

Such damage should be covered by the church's insuracne - although I do know that several insurers have tightened up on their criteria for paying out following lead thefts, as they've become very common, sadly. Every Blessing Tony

David The NPOR source for St George Brandon Hill was from a propsal - hence the query. The comment reads "it's not known if this organ was ever installed". An e-mail to NPOR to confirm that it was indeed there, and the correctness (or otherwise) of the stop list will allow us to update the record in due course. Every Blessing Tony

Hi The Blakeney organ is definitely 1913, as can be seen on the NPOR entry by clicking on the BOA link, which gives a brief transcript from the Norman & Beard records - a primary source. Wikipedia is clearly wrong on that score (and is always a source to be treated with great caution!). I don't know how extensive the rebuild was. I agree that Norman & Beard organs are well built (aside from a layout issue that I've come across) and have a good sound. I used to get to play the pre-1900 rebult 1908 example in St Leaonard, Southminster (NPOR E00428). The only problem with it being the strange layout, with the front pipes on the Chancel front being mounted on a rail slightly behind the organist at the attached console, and the off note chest's faceboard for the Small Open being behind the pipes of the Pedal 16ft Open - making access for maintenance all but impossible! (There were a number of notes off on that rank in the jid-'90's when I lived in Southminster). Every Blessing Tony

Hi When I was minister at Ashdon Baptist Church, I had occasional access to the organ at St Mary. Saffron Walden for practice. In some ways, it's a strange instrument - the Positive division (on the screen behind the console I think) seemed to be rather out of step with everything else. As to the Chamade - it's an immensely powerful stop - and one that can easily catch out the unwary player, as at the console, you mainly hear it reflecting from the West End - which is a very long way away! Played in chords, it can be physically painful if you're in line of fire! A fantastic stop for solo lines though. I've heard some famous players use it in chords in recitals - to the discomfort of those sitting towards the front of the South side of the Nave! The best place to hear the organ is a few rows back on the North side of the Nave, where ou have direct line of sight to the front pipes of the organ case. I enjoyed playing the instrument - even if, having the Chamade as a floating division - it was all too easy to leave it coupled to the Positive manual and get a surprise when you were expecting a nice quiet stop! The organ was cleaned & overhauled by Peter deVille in 2007 (Peter also looked after the small organ at Ashdon Baptist). I never got to play at Thaxted - the Lincoln organ was effectively out of use when I was in te area (1999-2003), and I never heard the England organ. There was no sign of an electronic at that stage. Another interesting church (and organ) worth visiting if you're in the area is Radwinter Parish Church - the ornate interior is worth a visit - and the organ, a 3 manual by Miller of Cambridge - is an instrument that I get to play quite frequently, and enjoyed. Every Blessing Tony

Sorry - I can't get there. Hope it goes well. Every Blessing Tony

Hi Re Wesley's (reputed) organ - have you looked on NPOR? If there's a survey, look also at the BOA links - there might be info there to confirm or deny the rumours, and if there's anything there, it will be quicker than going through organ builders lists (if BOA have the relevant ones). Re: Jesus Joy - the version in the "Oxford Book of Wedding Music" (which I've had for years, so it might be an older edition) has the melody as a tenor solo, pretty much ruling it out in a single manual only scenario without a lot of re-arranging. Thankfully, they haven't asked for that. Every Blessing Tony

Hi Thanks David for the correction - I really don;t know why I wrote Quentin MacClean - I do know the Moller was Reg. Foort's. Must be old age! Thinking a little more, there have been articles in "The Organ" at least on the 2 concert organs - there may have been one on the theatre organ as well. Piano attachments are usually found on theatre organs. As David surmises, dynamic control is either very limited (maybe soft & loud) or, more commonly, non-existent. There is often a button on one of the swell pedals to control the piano's sustain pedal mechanism though. Every Blessing Tony

Thanks - just what I need.

Hi I've just had confirmation that I'm playing for a wedding in a couple of weeks. The organ is a single manual, no pedal job - a 1960's rebuild by our hosts of an earlier organ. Can anyone point me in the direction of legal (and preferably free) downloads on manuals only versions of "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba" & the Mendelssohn "Wedding March"? Unless I've got something lurking in the depths of my collection of Harmonium music (and I don;t recall anything) I only have arrangements for organ with pedals, and I don;t really want to have to pay out for new copies of something I'm not likely to use again. Thanks in anticipation Every Blessing Tony

Hi Compton built 3 organs for the BBC. 2 survive - Maida Vale, which I understand is still sometimes used; Broadcasting House - in what used to be the Concert Room - \IIRC, this space is now called the Radio Theatre or something similar. Organ is still in situ but unusable; and a theatre organ in St. George's Hall which was destroyed by bombing during WW2. These 3 are among the earliest organs designed specifically for broadcasting, and maybe the 2 survivors deserve preservation & historic restoration on those grounds. The Theatre organ was replaced with Quentin MacClean's touring 5 manual Moller, which after the war was installed in the former Jubilee Chaoel, Hoxton, and was later sold to the Dutch National Broadcasters, and subsequently it went to the USA, where I understand it still exists. An NPOR search for "BBC" brings up details of the 3 Comptons (and a Tickell Box Organ). NPOR R00818 has details of the Moller. In more recent years there was another Theatre Organ owned by the BBC in the Manchester area - but further info escapes me at present. Every Blessing Tony

Hi This came to my attention this morning. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-32070733 Happy Easter! Every Blessing Tony

Hi I agree with Colin - a list of what you have available would be very useful. Every Blessing Tony

Hi There used to be a web site listing T.S. Jones organs - the link I've had is no longer working. Maybe it's been moved - or just taken down (it looks like it was on a free hosting site that's no longer functioning). If you know the previous locations of the organ in question, there may be some info on NPOR. Every Blessing Tony

Hi I wonder if the recent Klais rebuild at Leeds Cathedral will have any influence in the design. That's a 4 manual console, effectively controlling a 2mp choir organ & a 3mp Nave organ (7 departments). Interesting concept. http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=E01605 Every Blessing Tony

Hi Not sure why you had trouble finding it on NPOR - a search for "Pershore" reveals the situation a few years back - see http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N12480 (2009) Every Blessing Tony

Hi It all sounds very interesting Alex. Almost makes me wish I was still in Bradford. I can certainly vouch for the need for the Nave organ, having once played for a funeral with a sizeable congregation when the digital department was unusable. Since the large congregation sang well, it needed a lot of organ (including the chamade for "thine be the Glory" - although at the console the Solo Trumpet sounds a little louder. A larger congregation would have left the organ inaudible at the back I guess. Hopefully I will be able to visit once the work is complete/ Every Blessing Tony (former President, Bradford Organists' Assoc)

Hi One of the organs I used to play quite often had a retractable keyboard. The pedalboard was always in place when I played it, and I never thought to look & see if it slid into the case. I wouldn't be surprised it it did. Details & pictures at http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=D00785 The pedals were 13 notes GG-G - great fun (see the picture on NPOR). It was formerly a residence instrument. Every Blessing Tony

Hi I did wonder that - the 2nd touch cancelling on the Hastings example being the same in concept (but not in implementation) as Compton's system. Every Blessing Tony