harrispeter@onetel.com

I was never lucky enough to hear Germani live in concert but it was his Bach recording at Alkmaar which lit my musical fires at the age of 16. My school music department had a copy which I must have worn out comprehensively playing it over and over again in sheer excitement at the novelty of the sounds I was hearing.

Ian and Tim, may I add our thank you for a most memorable and enjoyable afternoon. As a one time organ student at MC it was a most revealing and fascinating experience to hear in such detail and see around the new instrument and to have it put so comprehensively through its paces by such a wealth of talented and knowledgable enthusiasts. Wandering around the familiar pews and gallery on Saturday afternoon was a stirring and at times most moving occasion. A rare treat indeed and a real privilege to have been in your company one and all. Once again congratulations Tim and Ian on a wonderful achievement and thank you MC for making it all possible. Peter, David and Diana Harris

What a magnificent achievement the new Chapel organ is. I was fortunate enough to attend both the Festal Evensong and Recital. Despite sitting well down the Chapel the organ sounded clear and precise throughout which the old HN&B would not have managed. Yes there was an unfortunate and persistent cypher but this did not marr the occasion, nor Simon Preston's performance which was as electric and exciting as I recall his previous appearance was in 1965. He declared the Beckerath a very fine instrument indeed and a complete joy to play. I would have thought that for the player, placing the console back under organ case would have been a retrograde step but SP said that Beckerath had managed to make the instrument speak clearly to player and congregation alike. I know I have a thing about pedal quints (a la StLaurensKerk Alkmaar) so cannot quite understand why a 10 2/3 stop was not included. Was there not a 5' quint on the HN&B? Greatly looking forward to the Open day on the 24th Feb. Thanks for making this possible. Peter H