Henry Willis

There are a few obviously well-informed who seem to wish to adhere to the notion that 'Dippy, Dopey, Downes' was, variously, a Genius or Messiah come to rescue us simpletons from ourselves. Personally I thought he was a Berk, easily fooled. To get this topic back onto its track - the two loudest organs which I have encountered in the UK (quite different both in locations and type) are 1/ St. Giles (Cathedral) Edinburgh - ear-splitting and headache-giving at the console 2/ The Royal Hospital School, Holbrook - just LOUD DW

Coincidentally, we've been putting some archive photographs on our website (http://www.willis-organs.com/history.htm) over the past few weeks - last week we prepared some of the Salisbury job and I'll see if I can get Alexandre to upload them this week. One is particularly interesting regarding the present discussion and shows everything commented on, I think. The "large, ugly black metal panel, which now disfigures the (right-hand) stop jamb" seems to be a feature of some firms' console 'refurbishments' these days. David Wyld

A fiver in. Here are the pieces but can't remember the running order:- Prelude & Fugue in B Maj - Dupré Tu Es Petra - Mulet In Paradisum - Mulet Moto Ostinato - Eben Fugue in A flat min - Brahms Variations on Nun Komm der Heiden Heiland - Anton Heiller Prelude in G (BWV 568)- Bach Pièce Héroïque - Franck Processional - Mathias DW

This seemed to die out pretty quickly but in the hopes of getting it going again: Friday 7th September at 8pm The Collegiate Church of St. Peter in Ruthin 4th Anniversary Recital given by Huw Williams (St. Paul's Cathedral). And the church's own video screen WILL be in use! specification and details of the organ at http://www.willis-organs.com/ruthin_general.html David Wyld.

http://www.users.dircon.co.uk/~oneskull/3.6.52.htm David Wyld.

You can believe it if you like but it's not true and I think we generally prefer fact : David Wells took over the care of the organ at Liverpool from Harrison & Harrison in 1978, during the reign of Noel Rawsthorne - IanT had nothing to do with it. I sometimes held keys for David for the mammoth tuning job on a more-or-less monthly basis - reeds for days! As to doing a great job - absolutely. David Wyld.

Ah - because this is how the perpetrators of these monstrosities convince themselves that they are worth anything at all. Similarly, they hide their 'stuff' behind sham pipes so it pretends even more. Not only here though: I was at the monastery at La Verna in Tuscany last week (the retreat of St,. Francis) and in a wonderfully-decorated chapel with works by Luca Della Robbia and spectacularly carved stalls etc., there sits a one-foot-deep 'organ' case with a nicely-arranged 4ft front of tin pipes and two keyboards (colour-reversed). The game is given away by the fact that this thing has almost twenty stops and THREE 'swell' pedals. Question: if the electronic stuff is "every bit as good as" a genuine pipe organ and if the electronic stuff "doesn't sound any different from" a genuine pipe organ, WHY is it dressed up with sham pipes to give the impression of its being a genuine pipe organ? At least the La Verna thing doesn't have 'Theatre' on it!! Thank god for small mercies. David Wyld

The Apostrophe is quite the least of their worries I think - I've never read such a lot of bull in my life. Nonsense. David Wyld.

sorry - pushed the wrong piston!.......................................... I was going to say: I'll be seeing him again very soon and will ask again ( it has been 17 years since the last time, on a train to London to make a recording of him playing all of the Whitlock Sonata at the RAH) if this would add verisimilitude. There are so many of these stories and so many of them ARE good, but with little basis. DW

Yes. I asked FJ if it was true. He asked "which version?" so I told him and he said "No.". So I asked him which version WAS true and he said "None of them!". David Wyld.

It was purchased a couple of years ago by Philip Smith, Organist of St. Peter's, Ruthin as a stop-gap and until we make his new three-manual house organ in about three years time. David Wyld

In our jargon, Willis that is, the "Twelfth" will usually be between 4 and 6 notes smaller than the 15th, at 2ft C - thereby still allowing the 12th to look bigger than the 15th at the bottom note - if there is a Great Double, then the 2ft C pipe of the 16ft will usually be the same diameter (not scale, note) as the bottom C of the 12th. I am not aware of any conical pipes, especially tierces, in any Willis organs, with the exception of but a few rather cranky Henry 3 Mixtures and the odd Gemshorn made between 1945 and 1965, often zinc to the top note! David Wyld.

I too have sent a reply: when one looks at how many of 'Ranter' Bowden's letters they've published, I couldn't possibly begin to imagine why they shouldn't print ours too!! DW

I have never heard of Hartford in Cheshire, but I'd hazard the guess that it's on the Wirral. They specilaise in people like that on the Wirral. MM No, it's actually further south than that - nearer to Northwich and Alsager, but the Wirral does indeed specialise, as you say! If you go to the letters page of the Times-on-line and do a search on his (the writer's) name, he's not a newcomer! David Wyld.

I spoke to Dr. J. on the telephone at 6.30 this evening and he is, though predictably abashed, thoroughly delighted. Not before time and if it hadn't been for the intervention of a certain 'other' musical Knight, I venture to suggest that a higher honour would have been offered much earlier - a long story! For those interested: FJ is in concert again at Emmanuel, Wylde Green on Sunday 24th, almost a year to the day since his last visit there when he received such applause and ovation that he was literally forced to encore! David Wyld.

This is become tedious: If trhere is a better way of doing it, try it - with you own money (as those of us who do it, do it) and see how THAT ends up - I hesitate to mention PERFLEX! A Guarantee, of course, is what it says. Willis!

I know a lot about cars too and I think you mean Daracq. :angry: Actually, pretty though they are, they're bloody awful cars. I think that the Craftsmanship v Technology argument can't be used to explain why some of us prefer to do things 'traditionally' while others like to poke fun at that view: the romantic engagement with the past which is a part of human psychology isn't able to be explained (and shouldn't be ridiculed). David Wyld.

Why should we eat our haerts out Gary - you might like to know that we've just signed contracts for a 54-stop, 4-manual organ for St. Matthew-in-the-City, Auckland (closely following on the heels of our new organ for St. James's church in Florence) - details will be published shortly but it is certainly a Willis! We also have another, larger, project in the offing but no contract yet: be certain that it'll be well publicised as soon as there is!! I agree with Nigel - the rather narrowly-telescoped view of what represents an 'English' case is really very sad. Perhaps the design will be decided BEFORE the organbuilder is chosen, and there goes any attempt at artistry. C'est la vie. David Wyld

Coincidentally, this morning came through the post a notice of increases in 'service charges' made by the company which we use for the maintenance of our shop equipment: table saws, pillar drills, planers/thicknessers, spindle moulders etc.... Labour charge: £45.00 per hour Travel charge: £26.00 per hour Mileage charge: 52p per mile Overnight stay: £90.00 per night Their 'Travel charge' is higher, considerably, than our charged-out labour rate, per hour. Their workshops are smaller than our premises and they employ fewer staff and therefore, one presumes, that their cost-overhead should be lower than ours, yet it seems that their charges are acceptable. They are STILL cheaper than plumbers or contracting electricians! Much of what David says is certainly reasonable but takes little account of the fact that a cost-overhead (as opposed to prime cost) has to be added to every hour spent in work-related time by EACH employee of the firm - otherwise the calculation of the minimum overhead to be added across the board is made a nonsense. What is not in doubt is that there is much which does get left untended, by many concerns: we recently took over the maintenance of a large three-manual job, south of London, which had been left in a partially playable state by those supposedly maintaining it. Yes, it does need overhauling but our first visit, two days on site for two men, knocked ALL of the faults off and they now have the whole instrument playable again for the time required to raise the funds for the work. Not difficult to see what was going on there really. David Wyld

Do you want the work guaranteed Q? David Wyld.

Ooooh! I think you'd better contact me privately dw@willis-organs.com or 0151-298 1845

I don't know about the design copyright bit but we still have them in stock and have recently had 25 of each made (the scroll is different, i.e. opposite, for bass and treble jambs). David W.

Expect 8 pistons plus cancel per manual ...... Aah - nice to see a Willis idea in use, notwithstanding all the years that many stressed the complete unimportance of a "0" piston on each manual