Tony Newnham

Hi The mystery is solved - NPOR builder search - like all computer searches, has to be given the exact information. A search for %Compton% will bring up the whole list - Compton% will - logically - ignore the entries that start "John Compton ..." Every Blessing Tony

Hi It looks like you'[ve uncovered a bug in the "Builder" search section - entering "The John Compton Organ Co Ltd" does find Ilkley (and around half a dozen other locations). I suspect that either this is down to the lack of a BOA link for Compton at these locations - or the computer looking just for "Compton". I will pass this on the the person who maintains the software for NPOR and see if it can be sorted in due course. With ref to NPOR, there are relatively few Compton theatre organs listed (yet!!!) - and also, I suspect that many of the smaller jobs - especially the Minatura range - are missing because people sometimes think that they're too small to be of interest. There are also gaps in listings of organs in free churches and in Scotland, Wales & Northern Ireland. Please, if you have any info for NPOR, send it to the office, and it will get dealt with (it may take a while though - we do have a rather large backlog!) Every Blessing Tony

Hi I didn't say "impossible" - I said difficult - which it is. Pieceing together bits of information relying on secondary sources or memories is fraught with problems - I know, I did it once! (For a church history). I hope someone can find the time and energy to write the definitive book about Compton - it's long overdue. Every Blessing Tony

Hi There's no listing of Compton material at the British Organ Archive - although there may be some stuff that hasn't yet reached the on-line index. Much of R&D's archive was destroyed by them immediately before Willis took possession of the factory in Liverpool (which was supposed to have been sold complete with contents from what I heard). What remains of those archives is still with the Willis company. The lack of archival material is one thing that will make writing the full Compton story somewhat difficult! Every Blessing Tony

Hi The correct reference is vol 10, no.39 p.166f. I have that and If you confirm you still need it I'll scan it and e-mail it to you later today (don't forget to let me have your e-mail address! A PM might be best). I acquired a few back numbers recently to help complete my collection, and this is in one of them. BOA also has another ref. the Organ Vol.53, no.212 p.119, which I also have - it's part of the "Buckingham's Travels" series so anything included in it will refer to an early organ. Let me know if you want the relevant page(s) from that as well. Every Blessing Tony

Hi Nothing to be ashamed of! I too sometimes play Simper. They're not great music, but they're tuneful - and simple enough to sight read - and they transfer well to Harmonium or American Organ - and go down well with my congregation. Since I'm still getting over a hip replacement, and pedalling isn't yet totally comfortable, I used 2 of Simpers pieces on Sunday, so I didn't have to practice for too long! Every Blessing Tony

Hi You'd need to search for address. If it's was a portable organ, if it's in NPOR, it will be listed under the address of the owner. If it was a temporary organ (i.e. in place for less than 3 years, it's unlikely that there's an NPOR listing, but there might be a note in the survey(s) for other organs in the building. If you're doing an address search, put in just the minimum information - and beware of county names! In many cases, the name of the town is all that's needed. Every Blessing Tony

Thanks John I've had a suggestion - based on the pictures - of Bevington as a possible builder. Also, I've found a reference in the on-line index of the British Organ Archive to a Wadsworth going to a R.C> church in Rio - I'm following that one up. Thanks for the offfer of translation, if needed. I'll let you know if I or my colleague needs anything. Every Blessing Tony

Hi Labial reeds have been around at least since the 1800's - often in organs in rural locations where tuner visits were relatively rare. I've come across a handful. The labial "Clarinet" is probably the most common from what I've seen, but "Oboes" are also around. Every Blessing Tony

Church of São José, Rio di Janeiro:- A fascinating inquiry has come my way from a colleague in the Reed Organ world who has been help the above church try to track down information on their pipe organ, which appears to be of English origin. There is no visible makers plate or any other information on the instrument, but recently documentation has come to light that reveals that the London firm of Moore and Moore received payment for the instrument. This raises a number of questions. Moore and Moore were perhaps best known as a piano manufacturer, founded from the cabinet making business of John & Henry Moore in 1838. (This date comes from a number of web pages that all seem to be based on a common original source!) According to the same web page, the firm was taken over by Kemble in 1933. The DBOB entry reveals that Moore & Moore were also reed organ builders, at least from before 1884 until 1921. It appears that they built at least one enharmonic reed organ So the question is, why did this firm get involved with the supply of a pipe organ to Rio de Janeiro? Did they in fact build the organ? Or did they act as agents? If that was the case, who were the builders? Pictures of the organ in question can be seen at http://www.arteorganistica.org.br/saojose.html. Any information as to the builder of this organ, and any further information on Moore & Moore would be gratefully received.

Hi May I echo Philip's comments. NPOR, in the main, relies on information from organists and others - if an organ isn't listed, it's simply because no-one has told us of its existence! Please send info to the NPOR office - preferably by e-mail, but hard copy is also acceptable. We do have rather a backlog at present - but we will get to everything eventually! Tony Newnham (One of the NPOR Editors)

Hi As another of the resident clerics, I thoroughly agree with Quentin. I had a case recently - a service at one of the local Crematoria - where there was a hymn. This was one of those jobs where the undertaker had phoned and asked me to take the service - not one of my congregation. The undertaker was well aware of the hymn - but chose, without bothering to tell me until I arrived at the crem, that they were using a CD, not a live organist. And as if that wasn't bad enough, the words on the CD didn't match those in the hymnbook! I was not amused. There are times when a pre-recorded accompaniment is appropriate - but NEVER where it's possible to use live music. (My "other" church is a case in point - there's no way we could afford to pay a pianist (no organ), and most weeks, no-one to play - but the weeks I'm there, there's live music. Every Blessing Tony

Hi Another perhaps more common term for these instruments is "Claviorgan" or "claiviorganum" or various variations on these names. I have a link to a web site - www.claviorgano.com - but this appears to be dead today. A quick web search reveals http://www.harpsichords.co.uk/claviorganum.html. There is an entry in Wikipedia, but it seems to be somewhat questionable on a quick look. I've heard of a handful of these instruments, but not yet had the opportunity to play one, so I can't help you with the issue of activating the harpsichord - I would have expected stops or small levers. Every Blessing Tony

Hi Broadcasting or putting material on the web does not put it into the "public domain". Recordings etc. only become "public domain" once the various copyrights expire. Strictly, ANY re-recording, either from radio/TV, CD or any other source of a recording less than (IIRC) 50 years old is an infringement of copyright - on top of that, there are the performers' rights (I'm not sure what the legal position is there) and often the composer/arranger, whose copyright runs for 70 years after their death (and there are moves to make it 100 years). Even personal recordings - or ripping your own CD's to an mp3 player or similar is, strictly, illegal. Sadly, many people seem to think they can post whatever recordings they like on web sites, etc. - this is not the case. Every Blessing Tony

Hi Peter I suspect that the British Organ Archive might be interested in copies of the documentation - as would I. Every Blessing Tony

Hi Sorry - I don't know, the 2 that I have come across are in Barnsley (Baptist Church) and "Our lady and the First Martyrs" in Heaton, Bradford - and that one is far too underwpoered for the 500+ seater round church. Every Blessing Tony

Hi There are a couple of examples of these organs not too far from here. The article in "The Organ" was, as I remember it, pretty comprehensive (I have the back numbers somewhere on my shelves). I think the Walker archives are in private hands. Every Blessing Tony

Hi I think you'll find that it's only priests and ministers who benefit from this bit of tax law. (From reading the tax updates & advice that the Baptist Union send out regularly). The quickest way to get a definite answer is probably phoning your local tax office - or an accountant who deals with this aspect of taxation, but from what I've read, it would be a taxable benefit. You might also need to consider the implications when you retire/move on - if the house goes with the job, then the problem becomes obvious. Every Blessing Tony

Well - I've certainly stopped using Bradford libraries for inter-library loans. The price hike is ludicrous. Every Blessing Tony

Hi Yes - free reeds stay in tune for decades - and then usually only need cleaning. The correct way to tune (which I've seen but never needed to try) is to support the reed (bending the tongue means it's a write off!) - a sheet of writing paper works well (and also is a good way to clean the gap). GENTLY scrape near the tip of the reed to sharpen - and near the heel (fixed end) to flatten the pitch. To do this properly needs a great deal of skill and practice - and ideally a "tuning bench" where the organ action can be mounted on a wind (or vacuum) supply at a rock solid constant pressure (which is very difficult to acheive with the foot treadles!) The stability of tuning of reed organs was one of the selling points back in the days when they were popular (and ISTR the same thing being said about electronic organs). Every Blessing Tony

Hi Speaking as an enthusiast for reed organs - (although not everyone in the reed organ fraternity will agree with me) - the reed organ, and especially the Harmonium, is a different type of instrument to a pipe organ. It was designed to be expressive - and the main way on a harmonium of providing the expression is by disconnecting the wind reservoir and manipulating the treadles to change the volume. This is a technique that takes a lot of practice! But it does allow, for example, the "grand Jeu" the 4 basic Harmonium ranks) to be played at a whisper - and with deft manipulation of the treadles, go smoothly to an ff that can, on some harmoniums, exceed 100dBA! The American organ developed from the Harmonium, using a different mechanical arrangement, which does take some of the harshness out of the basic reed sound. (Later quality Harmoniums and American organs also tend to have more voicing variety than the early ones, as techniques improved) A good many of these instruments were built to a price (cheap) for the undemanding and unsophisticated amateur player, whilst a Mustel could cost more than a modest house of its period. They do make adequate instruments for church service accompaniment - but only if the player is prepared to learn how to get the best out of them (just the same as any other organ really!). Many French churches used a Harmonium as the "Orgue de Choer" The 2mp variants, which came a little later were aimed at the "pipe organ substitute" market - and will, with a little care and attention, outlive any electronic - but they will always sound like a reed organ. Personally, I'd rather have a good Harmonium or Suction reed organ and take advantage of the expressiveness than play a 2mp reed organ - but others differ on that point! As to their suitability vs electronics (or the increasing - and I find very worrying - trend to pre-recorded accompaniments) depends mainly, IMHO, on the style of music that's needed - and the availability of a GOOD reed organ (restoration doesn't come cheap!) Every Blessing Tony

Don't worry - the chances are that no one will be listening - or even singing any hymns! Every Blessing Tony

Hi Organists’ Review Feb 2011 p.25f - interesting description of the instrument in current form. Every Blessing Tony

Hi The Little Waldingfield was probably actually an "American organ" (i.e. suction reed organ, rather than a true harmonium - but they can still be interesting & effective instruments - except for the Bell (Canadian) 2mp's - I've played a couple of these, and they - unlike Holt - have the usual reed organ divided stops (split treble & bass) - the upper manual having the distinction that not one rank runs through - the bass & treble halves are different sounds! And yes - I do remember Philicorders! Every Blessing Tony

The preface in the book is "signed" Walter & Thomas Lewis, Bristol. Hence they are probably the two characters listed in DBOB:_ LEWIS Thomas William Floruit: 1900-1940D Located: Liverpool; Bristol Trade: ob see also LEWIS [bRISTOL] - firm Addresses used by this firm Address From To 10 Trinity Str, Bristol [birthplace] 1863 10 Tyndall Ave, Bristol 1881 8 Princes Place, Clifton, Bristol 1887 Santley Str, Brixton, London 1890 121 Rupert Str, Norwich 1891 20 Kimberley Str, Norwich 1894 11 Spottiswoode Rd, Edinburgh 1902 55 Bishop Rd, Redland, Bristol 1909 11 Byron Pl, Clifton, Bristol [residence] 1926D 1942 References for the information above Musical Standard 1900 /11, No.1893 Organs in Edinburgh: D.A.Stewart [1991] BOA corres Carnill, Yvonne (granddaughter), e.g. 5.9.2000 BIOS J24 (2000): Carnill-Lewis, Yvonne, '... Thomas William Lewis 1863-1942: Organ-builder and Author' Cross references for this firm Lewis, T.C. - worked for (1890) Norman & Beard - worked for (1892-1903; Liverpool rep in 1900) Scovell, Charles Percy - partner with (1903-1909) Vowles, W.G. - trained with (poss apprentice 1875-82) LEWIS Walter Located: Bristol Trade: ob Addresses used by this firm Address From To 11 Byron Place, Clifton, Bristol 1942< 1950 References for the information above BOA corres Carnill, Yvonne (granddaughter), e.g. 5.9.2000 BIOS J24 (2000): Carnill-Lewis, Yvonne, '... Thomas William Lewis 1863-1942: Organ-builder and Author' Cross references for this firm Lewis, Thomas William - son of & successor to Hence there IS a link between Thomas (William) Lewis and T.C. Lewis (the firm) and with T.C. Lewis himself between 1890 & 1892 TC left Lewis & Co (the London firm) in 1901. Every Blessing Tony