David Drinkell

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, had a set which they used all the time - pretty boring stuff in my opinion, but quite well-known in the Church of Ireland through having appeared in festival service books.

It's 'horses for courses" - it all depends on the instrument and the occasion. There are times and organs where an "authentic" performance might not have the presence it deserves and an arrangement could put the music over to best effect. There are, of course, arrangements and arrangements. Oxford's versions of The Trumpet Voluntary, "Purcell's" Trumpet Tune (that's by Clarke too, I believe) and Stanley's Trumpet Tune by Willcocks, Hurford and I can't remember the other one have their place. Henry Ley's "Two Trumpet Tunes and an Air" remain popular with some players in the right place and there is a set of Purcell arrangements by Drummond Wolff which one encounters quite often over here. And what does one do with the Handel Concerti when playing without other instruments? There are lots of arrangements, besides the straight versions and one has to interpret as best one can. I tend to use the Hinrichsen version and do varying amounts of re-arranging as I go along, but I'd do it differently on a Snetzler than on a Casavant!

The Responses are fun - more so if you double dot like mad and go a bit overboard with the underlay. I have an arrangement of the Lord's Prayer put together from the Responses which I originally encountered at Chester Cathedral and tarted up a bit more. Date-wise, there's not much else in the Responses line as late as that - Ebdon's, perhaps, which are ok in Lent.

The organ referred to is the Byfield chamber organ which was in the Finchcocks Collection in Kent (the collection was sold off in 2015 when the owners retired). Of all the instruments at Finchcocks, this made the deepest impression on me. The chorus was broad and singing - a big sound although not excessively loud. It was a complete contrast to the steely brilliance of a Snetzler (e.g. St. Andrew by the Wardrobe, City of London or John Wesley's House, Bristol) or, indeed, the Avery chamber organ in the same collection, which was a good deal less full-sounding. It gave me food for thought about whether this was the sort of organ upon which Handel played his concerti (I've never met the "Handel" organ at Great Packington) and also how different it was from the continuo organs which lurk around the quires of most great churches these days, beautiful though many of them are.

Thank you very much! Most interesting. I will download and study it, as well as consulting the thread you mention.

The current threads on pre-pedal English organ music reminds me that I have often wondered what the Choral Song ("Steamship Wesley sails again" as Gordon Reynolds put it) looks like in an authentic edition. The one published by Novello is a transcription of a transcription, having been edited and thinned-out by (I think) Watkins Shaw from an earlier version.

Not so long ago, I noticed a suggestion by an eminent authority (although I can't remember where or by whom), that the nearest one could get to the sort of sound Bach was used to might be a Victorian Town Hall organ. Quite a difference from opinions of some years ago! I guess one has to be pragmatic and do whatever suits the instrument one happens to be driving at the time. Getting back to the topic - how does one register "Corno" on an organ that isn't Christ Church, Spitalfields? In my notoriously and uncurably flippant mind, a little voice is saying, 'Diapason Phonon', but I have one of those here on the Swell and it sounds just like an ordinary Swell diapason to me and (because the beast behaves herself reasonably well) I haven't been inside to take a look yet. When I was a choir-boy at the local parish church, the choir-mistress (a heavily-tweeded, ultra Anglo-Catholic and initially scary lady by the name of Miss Virginia du plat Taylor - known to us as D flat) said that when she was a student at the RSCM Gerald Knight told her that current editions of music from the period in question should be played on manuals with the left hand taking the pedal part and the right hand playing the melody without much infilling. No authentic editions in those days, but at least the wind was beginning to blow in the right direction. Incidentally, I haven't heard Spitalfields yet. Any opinions from those who have? It sounds like an exciting job. I see that Thaxted has also been restored. I knew this one quite well before the restoration - it had been in the last stages of decrepitude for very many years. It was very mild in its effect. Has it perked up at all since it was renovated? Another such was the Flight at Harwich (which according to legend sank in the North Sea on its way from London and had to be salvaged). it had been on its last legs for about fifty years until Peter Bumstead restored it, and it is still very quiet. Same at Ashridge House (although I haven't played this since about 1973 and I think it has been restored in that time). On the other hand, Christ Church, Durham Street, Belfast (a Robson which I helped to remove a few days before the local yobs torched the building and now in Queen's University) was quite bold, especially the Great Trumpet. So is Little Bardfield, whoever the builder was (I suspect an early job by Miller of Cambridge).

I know what you mean, and generally I'd go for the original if I could get the right ambiance. But sometimes the effect doesn't match up to the stature of the music and in such cases, I find that the puffed-up version has a better effect. I would probably not regard the score as sacrosanct in such cases, and might well thin out the texture, modify the registration and use my imagination with regard to ornamentation. The so-called Purcell Trumpet Tune ("Cheer, boys, cheer, me mother wants the mangle"), which I believe is now reckoned to be by Jeremiah Clarke, is a case in point. A subtle point about old English voluntaries is that the generally sparse textures can sound more full on an old instrument with "authentic" tuning because the tierces harmonize in a way that they fail to do in equal temperament, thus filling in the thirds of the chords. I have in the past been surprised at otherwise highly qualified (FRCO and various other types of war-paint) organists who played from authentic editions but didn't know how to register for a cornet voluntary. One would hope that this sort of thing would not happen these days, but I have observed some amazingly inept registrations over here from advanced students. A lot of it is about remembering to listen to the sound rather than pulling out what one considers to be the right stops....

I can understand the oxymoron if one was subjected to a surfeit of this repertoire, particularly on an organ which wasn't built for it. I would guess that one could listen to all the above at Spitalfields and still want more, whereas at the Temple Church a little would go a long way. I use the Temple as an example, though, because I remember hearing George Thalben Ball playing a Stanley voluntary there in a full-blown three-stave edition and, of course, it sounded absolutely right. I think, these days, we can play from such editions without feeling guilty, depending on the occasion and the instrument. If I were back home in Essex, I would take the original edition to Bardfield (Little or Great), but the three-stave version along the road to Haverhill (Old Independent - the best Binns I have ever met).

I wonder if what you have in mind is akin to that at the Ulster Hall, Belfast, of which Lord Dunleath (the consultant when our hosts rebuilt the instrument in 1976, as well as the great-great-grandson of the donor, Andrew Mulholland) said: "The main departure from original in the Solo department was the addition of a Cornet, which Hill used to provide in his earlier days but seems to have given up by 1860. He would have a fright if he heard this one which beats all the Great Reeds hands down and is virtually equal to the Tuba. One of these days I suppose that it will have to be tamed to make it more versatile, though I will be sad as I like loud exciting noises. Cecil Clutton I suppose was right in saying that its main role, at present, would be to lead the singing of "Rule Britannia" as it is out of proportion for the Grand Jeu job or for other works where a balance with the Great Reeds is required." (The Organ Volume 59, Number 233, July 1980) Knowing the organ well, I think Lord Dunleath was exaggerating slightly (the two big Solo mixtures, especially the Cymbal, are rather more over-the-top), and his sheer joy in jolly noises was something which I think is important. It is said that, when the Fanfare Trumpet was installed (the original pipes were dummies), they sat him up in the rear gallery and fired it off at him, whereupon he jumped six inches, said, "Gad! That's really something!", or words to that effect, and wrote out the cheque for it there and then. As far as I know, the Ulster Hall Cornet has not yet been tamed.

Mea culpa! I should have remembered that! An important need has been addressed (two if you count the new Tuba). I know it's naughty of me, but I liked the massive Great foundation at Peterborough as left by HN&B in 1930 - Sub Bass 32, Double Open, Bourdon and Double Dulciana 16, Diapason Phonon, three Opens, Geigen, Harmonic Clarabella, Hohl Flute, Stopped Diapason and Dulciana 8.....

Clutton & Niland (The British Organ): "All Father Willis's mixtures [they were forgetting Lincoln and a few others] contain 17, 19, 22 at bottom C and break to 12, 15, 17 at middle C. These make quite a useful solo cornet when combined with 8 ft and 4 ft flutes, or the 8 ft flute and principal. Many of these tierce mixtures (Willis's excepted) are of larger scale than is really desirable for chorus purposes, and are therefore more effective in solo use." Henry Willis III (letter to Emerson Richards July 1935):"...the appalling mixtures as carried out by Hill's for instance..." Amen to that, especially those where the tierce appears in the bass and disappears further up (e.g. St. Thomas, Belfast), resulting in the worst of both worlds. I observe in passing that there is no separate tierce at Peterborough Cathedral, neither was there in the old organ at Worcester, although both had Great Cornets. The Willis Mixtures on Great and Swell at Canterbury have tierces. Nevertheless, I would agree that it is useful in so many ways to have a good range of mutations n different divisions of a large organ. Paul Hale, among others, has more than once emphasised the difference between a wide-scale cornet and a narrow-scale sesquialtera. I myself would miss a larigot very much (the present one seems to be coming out). Apart from its usefulness without the tierce (8.4.1 1/3 is nice, and so is 4. 1 1/3 - mutation effects don't always need an 8'), French cornet combinations often benefit from having a larigot on top to take the rough edge off the tierce. For myself, I would sooner see some sort of tierce effect in place of the Great Piccolo, although the original Willis had a Piccolo (I have rarely been on good terms with any 2' flute that was actually fluty in tone), but here is the heart of the matter. As S_L pointed out above, the scheme has doubtless been carefully prepared by those who know the building and its requirements. Speculation by such as myself is idle gossip, although quite fun. I hope no one in authority takes any notice!

It rather reminds one of the control "Oberwerk unenclosed" on the Grant, Degens & Bradbeer organ at the Servite Priory, Brompton (I think), with visions of a little man in a flat cap sitting up in the organ with a screwdriver.... The danger with detached divisions is that one can forget that they are on. I once sat in the nave at Canterbury on a Sunday morning when the organist for a visiting choir forgot that he had the Nave Organ coupled to the Pedal although it was not sounding on the manuals. It's the sort of thing that could (and probably has) happened to all of us.

King's College, Cambridge has announced that a new Director of Music is being sought, to take over on October 19th 2019.

As always, one can't always tell from the name on the stop whether a 32' is resultant, either for the whole 32' octave or for part of it, so a degree of circumspection is needed among people (like myself) who find information in articles and on the internet.

One person who could have helped was the late Colin Hele, organ-builder of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, who sadly passed away last year. He was a member of the Hele family of organ-builders who operated in Plymouth for many years and had a wide connection with organs in South Africa. In particular, he looked after the large Brindley & Foster organ in Pietermaritzburg City Hall. Durban City Hall also has a large Brindley. Johannesburg City Hall has a very large organ, the last built by Norman & Beard before their amalgamation with Hill. Its rebuild by Henry Willis IV seems not to have met with universal approval, to say the least, but it remains a big job, complete with 32' stops (I'm told that the 32' open wood was converted to a sub bourdon at the rebuild). St. Mary's Cathedral in the same city has a big Rushworth with a Double Open Wood. Pretoria City Hall has a 4 manual Kimball with 32 flue and reed. The Feather Market Centre in Port Elizabeth has a large organ built in 1999 incorporating parts of the previous instrument, but whether it has 32' stops, I don't know. There may be other big civic organs. This link mentions the organ in the Anglican Cathedral in Durban as having 32' pipes https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/kwazulu-natal/durbans-largest-organ-turns-100-1276864

And the Celestina 4', I should imagine.

There's a lovely lady in Fredericton Cathedral Choir called Anne Rutter (besides having a nice voice, she comes from East Anglia and, even after forty years in Canada, has a beautiful accent which reminds me of home). Her late husband's name was John - he met his namesake ("John Rutter, meet John Rutter!"). Anyway, Anne is away in Toronto for a few days to meet her new grandson, another John Rutter. Kind of nice, I think!

This works nicely on many organs, and reminds us that Father Willis Hautboys tend to be sweet and not too assertive, thus becoming chorus registers which have a definite place in the build-up. One usually finds an Hautboy provided before a 4' Flute in a smaller Father Willis Swell. I use the Oboe as a chorus stop much more often than as a solo - when I solo on it, I tend to add the Vox Humana (I live in North America!) to rough it up a bit....

The Flageolet is more of a fifteenth, I'm glad to say. A Swell which is used for accompaniment needs a 2' of principal (or near-principal) tone, otherwise there is a hiatus at a dynamic level which is needed quite often. A lot of instruments are let down in this way. Personally, I rarely care for a 2' flute anywhere except on the Solo (or the Pedal). Many forumites will remember the 2' flute on the Great at the RCO in Kensington Gore. To get Great to Fifteenth, you had to couple the Choir!

My experience is that the Nave Organ at Canterbury, while not particularly loud in itself, seems to draw the sound of the main organ down into the nave. It is certainly very effective for its purpose, providing a firm but not oppressive accompaniment for congregations in that part of the building.

If I understand Hollins's opinion, with drawstops one can feel if a stop is on or off, but with luminous touches, they are always in the same position. However, Hollins wrote that, after a little practice, he was able to tell whether the registers were on or off on an Estey luminous console by the slight warmth generated by the bulbs in the stops that were on. The Norman & Beard "disc and button" form of control was apparently evolved after consultation with Hollins and was found to be easier to operate by blind organists than ordinary drawstops.

Still not quite as awful as the amplified harmonium they used to have for outside services at the Anglican Shrine at Walsingham!

I've just checked in Charles Callahan's "The American Classic Organ", where there are several letters from Henry Willis III and G. Donald Harrison relating to a proposed grand organ. HWIII states that Fernando Germani wants a Willis organ but because of local pressure and exchange rates, there was a proposal that the instrument should be built jointly by Mascioni and Tamburini, with Willis supplying the reeds and the voicing. This is slightly odd, because some years earlier Willis had declined to supply reeds to Steinmeyer for the organ at Trondhjem Cathedral on the grounds that this was contrary to the traditions of his firm (although he did provide detailed instructions so that these stops could be made to his specification by an outside pipe-maker - this sideline was charmingly completed a few years ago when the present Willis firm supplied superb new reeds for Kuhn's restoration of the Trondhjem organ). Willis refers to a specification having been drawn up which looked like Liverpool Cathedral and then some (more mixtures and mutations). The organ was to be at the east end of the building and its position would require higher than usual wind pressures. It would be interesting to see this scheme if it has survived, and it is also intriguing to speculate just how serious the St. Peter's authorities (rather than just Germani) were about such an instrument. In the same book, Willis mentions one or two other jobs that "got away" - Southampton Guildhall (Thalben-Ball recommended Compton as providing so much more for the money) and the Temple Church (again, GTB wanted to wait until "Daddy" Rothwell passed on before having the organ rebuilt by other hands). Stephen Bicknell says in his "History of the English Organ" that HWIII only had two stabs at really monumental organs - Westminster Cathedral (where he may to some extent have inherited the job through amalgamation with the Lewis firm) and Liverpool Cathedral (planning of which had begun many years before the instrument materialised). He appears to have forgotten Sheffield City Hall, which was all new and, with 75 speaking stops, fairly monumental (at least, to anyone outside the USA), although cursed with a dreadful acoustic. It would thus be even more interesting to see what Willis had in mind for St. Peter's, as well as others which slipped through his fingers.

Cavaillé-Coll had at least two tries at persuading St. Peter's to have one of his organs, even having an expensive scale model made of a proposed instrument, which the Pope refused to let him have back. Henry Willis III was favoured by Fernando Germani and wrote that proposals had been mooted for him to supervise two Italian firms to do the construction, providing at least some of the pipes and voicing himself. G. Donald Harrison was also in correspondence with the St. Peter's authorities about a new organ.