mwl1
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Posts posted by mwl1
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I've experienced this too. Makes me wonder what they're so busy doing! Once they finally got in touch with me though, I was "in", and my contributions now appear very quickly!
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Is the church still in good use? I remember they used to have regular organ recitals there, just after the date of that Lindley recod you mentioned probably. What does he play on it?
The church is indeed still in use. It's a smells-and-bells Anglo-Catholic church, with incense etc
. It's wonderful! 
St Mark's, however, is empty and neglected...
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I can't really offer a lot with regard to the organ, but I know that St Mark's is in a rather bad state and apparently will be converted into offices at some stage...
Has anyone played the organ at All Souls, Blackman Lane? This is very close to St Mark's. It's an impressive organ in an impressive church. The organ has a huge repair estimate. It's not likely to get done any time soon, given that the area is one of the most deprived in the city.
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Well, it had occurred to me to shorten the existing bench, but it's a very old thing that belonged to the family that built the church in the 1850s, so I don't really want to start chopping it up!! It might actually be worth something...
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The bench of the main organ I play is far too high. I can barely reach the pedals, and other people have commented on its excessive height. Thus, I feel I need another one.
Does anyone by any chance have an organ bench that is surplus to requirements, that they are giving away or selling? Is there anywhere I could get a bench for a reasonable price? I would be very grateful if you could PM me or add here any help you may be able to offer!!
Thanks
Matthew
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Afraid I can't help, but just thought I'd share that I play four organs, and none of them have "standard" pedalboards. I have a 25 note straight and flat pedalboard, a similar 27 note one, a 30 note straight and flat one, and a 30 note radiating and convex one. Not ideal for learning!
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A man was running through the church but they caught him by the organ!
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We visited Everingham today. It's no longer in use and standing empty. The hall next to it is still inhabited, and so we asked to look round. He wouldn't let us. Not impressed.
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Thanks for that - I'll have to try and visit Everingham sometime! It looks interesting. The spec is very similar to Scarthingwell.
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The organ I play at Scarthingwell is an 1854 Carolus Allen. I can't find any information about them, nor have I heard of any other organs made by them. Any ideas?
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Two of the organs I play seem to have small bits of metal adrift in one of their Open Diapason pipes. They rattle in an irksome fashion when the note is played.
Remember me - the organist from Scarthingwell with no tuner!! So is there an easy way to put this right?
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Glad we got that cleared up!
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There are some pictures here
http://s148.photobucket.com/albums/s22/mwl.../Scarthingwell/?
Where did you find those?! That's my photobucket site! I took those!!! I'm famous!!!!!!
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The priest is in contact with some fellow from down south who has on occasion come up to Scarthingwell to look at it and then not done anything about it. I have to remind the priest on a weekly basis to get something done. So far, he hasn't.
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My church is too cheap to get the organ tuned - they prefer to let it fall apart instead. I'm only 15, so my voice carries no weight when I nag. How can I persuade them?!
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Pulling out the Swell to Great coupler on the organ I play provokes the top B on the Swell to emit an excess of unwanted sound, as if someone evil is holding it down. Of course, this increases with the number of stops pulled out. What gives?
Here is the spec...
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I like "On Eagles wings" too. But it's not easy for a congregation to sing and many will find it a little swine to play on the organ as every verse is different.
Agreed! We did it last week and I wouldn't do it again! It's a very nice hymn, but folk found it difficult to sing, and I found it difficult to play and the page turns were very awkward. It really needs a piano or guitar backing.
At the RC church I play for, we use Laudete, which I think is very good (although I'm not entirely sure how to pronounce it!
) At two of the Anglican churches I play for, they use Hymns Old and New. I didn't realise it was such an offensive publication! At the other Anglican church where I occasionally play, they use Common Praise, which I like apart from the fact that the words are not written in the music. -
Hello! I'm new!
I'm Matthew. I'm 15 years old, and play the organ in various local churches. I live near Tadcaster, in North Yorkshire.
. It's wonderful! 
Forster and Andrews
in The Organ
Posted
One of the organs I play, at All Saints, Saxton (North Yorkshire) was built by Forster and Andrews and suitably listed in their opus list. There are no great mysteries surrounding its history - it was clearly built for the church in which it continues to reside - yet it is very different from any other F&A organ I have ever encountered. It's quite an early work of the firm - 1859 - and has a few period quirks such as a tenor C Swell and a tediously irregular pedalboard - 25 pedals but the pedal stop (a Bourdon) only goes an octave and one from the bottom. The remaining pedals still work with the Great-Pedal coupler. Also, this organ does not have the classic F&A rounded accidentals. The keyboards are very old and worn, with some amazingly deep grooves in places, and look as if they've been on the organ since conception. An electric blower has been fitted by Wood Wordsworth at some point. Where does one go to find details of exactly when and by whom all this happened? The Borthwick Institute?
Of course, this is an organ for largely Early English repertoire and it could be delightful, but its position in the building (under the tower) means that it's like a rose in a bed of weeds. The acoustic is dead - the organ sounds like it's in a small room. If it were moved to somewhere else in the building, such as its former location in the south chapel, I'm sure it would be a pleasing instrument of great historic interest.
Does anyone know of any other F&A organs like this? I'd be very interested to hear anything anyone might be able to suggest about this one, or similar ones. The organ in the next village to this, at Scarthingwell, generated much interest when I posted about it a few years ago. They share quite a few period traits but Scarthingwell sounds wonderful and Saxton sadly doesn't sound brilliant in its current location.
Here is the NPOR entry, which I complied a while ago...
Best wishes,
Matthew