Andrew Lucas

Oh, well that's me told. What would I know about what constitutes a good Cathedral organ?

You wrote: I have always (well, for a long time) wondered what the Choir Flauto Traverso 8' sounds like at St. Albans. Can Mr. Lucas confirm whether or not it is as drop-dead gorgeous as the Harmonic Flute 8' on the Choir at Coventry? (I have long considered this stop to be the sexiest sound I have ever heard - a sort of audible Angelina Jolie - however it is just possible that I have a diseased imagination.) Reply: I have looked at the pipes and the mouths are nothing like Angelina Jolie's. The pipes are conical and the stop is one of the gentlest in the organ, quite neutral in quality in the tenor and middle octaves, becoming more round and flutey in the treble. I doubt that it sounds like the stop you mention in Coventry at all. It is however very versatile and is the main stop that can comfortably accompany a piano or pp solo on the Swell. I'm amused by the threads about Canterbury and Gloucester Cathedral organs in another part of this site. Surely playing music is more important than making sound effects?

As we are in the first stages of the process of negotiations with all interested parties I cannot give any more information because it could easily be misleading. Fortunately the organ is not in a state where we need to do this work urgently, but I am keen to stay ahead of that position, not least because the organ needs to be in top condition to sustain the Organ competitions. I have high hopes, and am quietly confident, that we will achieve a restoration within the next 5 or so years. Therefore it is best not to speculate on detail. I just don't remember using the word "soft" or half-length!

There is no intention to change the character of the organ at all - on the contrary I am well aware of its fabulous integrated character and wish to preserve that at all costs. But the truth is that the organ is now 40 years old and was last cleaned 15 years ago, so it is mechanically worn. The speech of the pipes is getting quite uneven due to dirt and age. In order to allow it to be the focal point for the International Organ Festival and to be reliable and in good working order it needs a thorough restoration of the actions and soundboards. St Albans has never been a wealthy Cathedral so some of the work done in 1962 was done to a very tight budget (for example the casework was altered in a very inexpensive way - and certainly looks like it). We would like to address this. Later on, in the 1970s, a few stops were altered (mainly the manual Mixtures pitches were raised) and some of these alterations create a problem with blend. We would like to restore these stops to their original style and voicing (fortunately Downes left copious notes, of course, and there are many examples of similar styles and balances for us to make good comparisons, not least at the RFH). Finally, the organ does have a few weaknesses - chiefly a Fanfare Trumpet which tries (and fails) to be both part of the Great chorus as well as a fanfare/solo reed. The sensible option would be to provide proper balanced chorus reeds and leave the Fanfare Trumpet to do what it does best. The Pedal organ is very good as far as it goes, but in the longest nave in England it does sound like there is something missing in the tutti combinations, rather like not having timpani in a performance of "The Messiah". The full organ sound can sound as if it isn't really 'grounded'. We believe that a suitably scaled and voiced 32' reed is what is needed. Our advisor (and organ builders) tell us that there is room within the organ to add such a rank without compromise. Peter Hurford, one of the orginal designers, also thinks these additions would be suitable enhancement of what is still a great organ. Unlike the RFH organ it sings into an acoustically sympathetic building which is partly why it sounds so good.

To answer Mark Wimpress: both pedal 16 reeds are full length. It is hoped to add a 32' reed (certainly not a fortissimo one!) when the organ is restored in the near future as this was on the wish list in 1962 ,but the combination of funds and perceived lack of space meant it didn't happen. The same goes for a complete Great reed chorus in the same 'french' style(additional 8 and 4 reeds were planned but then omitted at a later stage), otherwise the organ is just perfect, and as you say the Cathedral's warm but very clear acoustic makes all music sound very good. Something to do with the long flat wooden roof in the nave. The whole point about this organ is that you can make it sound like anything you wish : English, German/Dutch or French by careful registration and using your ears and imagination. Ben van Oosten made it sound like it was built to play Vierne whereas Peter Hurford does the same for Bach! I suppose the answer is that it was built to do both equally well. And play Elgar. What more could I want? AL

I am sorry but I forgot to add that you need to draw the stop marked C (for competitions) to get the link to the specifications page. The url again is: http://www.organfestival.com/

I am pleased to see that people like the organ at St Albans which was indeed built by Harrison and Harrison in 1962 and designed by Ralph Downes and Peter Hurford. I find it to be an extremely versatile musical instrument that is more than the sum of its parts. To my mind no other cathedral organ is as flexible - it plays so much of the organ literature with such a sense of authority and integrity with appropriate colours and balances. In spite of remarks made by other contributors in this discussion it does have a strong neo classical flavour and most of the reeds have domed French shallots. I don't know what else you would have to do to make them much more French in style! And yet in the Nave on a Sunday evensong it can sound like a classic Edwardian English Cathedral Organ. I have just come in after practising Elgar's Sonata on it this evening. It is amazing how suitable it sounds even without all the orchestral colours of most cathedral instruments. It spawned the International Organ Festival in St Albans which still flourishes in its 42nd year (the next one is July 2005 from the 7th - 16th). Do please come and join us! You can find more information about all the events from the middle of next year (around April) but I promise you that it will be a great festival. We have John Scott, Ludger Lohmann, Jane Watts, Jos van der Kooy, Erwan Le Prado, David Briggs and Peter Hurford all performing. Take a look at our website: http://www.organfestival.com/ The organ specification is on there. Andrew Lucas