David Drinkell

I think there's a need to publicise and popularise the organ, rather than sitting back and letting things happen. Fashions come and go - there are signs that the cult for praise bands may be waning. I'm not the only person who thinks this - John Norman has written about it more than once. Part of my work is in a theological college, and seminarians are far more knowledgeable about - and kindly disposed toward - traditional liturgies and the music that supports them than they were a few years ago. It will take a long time to work through the system, though. Clergy who know nothing but post-Vatican 2 practices (not only in the RCC, but imitated by Anglicans) are now middle-aged and the younger, more broad-minded types have yet to make their mark. I know that one factor in attracting people to St. John's Cathedral is the choral service, pipe organ and Book of Common Prayer (in Canada, the BCP is still recognisable, rather than being a compendium of old, new and whacky as in the USA, Ireland, Wales, etc). It's not just a hang-over from former times, it's a viable and (these days) radical way of doing things. There has been something of a realignment among organ-builders, with a number of (smaller) concerns coming into prominence while a couple of the large ones are no longer with us. There are still top advisors (of the same age as the above-mentioned clergy) who support Continental neo-classicists, but there are other names coming into play. There also seems to be less of the 'one-size-fits-all' attitude, which is encouraging. Despite the attractive initial price of electronic substitutes, the market for new pipe organs in place of electrones seems to be holding up. So, in general, I think there's scope for optimism, but only if a positive and pro-active approach is taken. On a slight tangent - I watched the YouTube videos of the infamous Chicago Barton organ. It seems a very great deal more impressive than I had been led to believe.

I was very taken with Muso's description of the 16' Tuba at Hull 'barking away like a Cavaille-Coll Bombarde on acid'. The account in 'Choir and Organ' of the new Nicholson organ at Llandaff Cathedral describes it as 'cheerfully authoritative' when leading a big congregation, which I thought was a particularly happy way of putting it, and a fine proof that the organ is successful in doing what it is meant to do. Stephen Hamill of Belfast used to describe the quality of French-style reeds, especially in the bass, as 'blasphemous'. Especially when delivered in a Northern Ireland accent, I reckon that paints a perfect picture. Laurence Elvin used to use the term 'loose' to describe certain types of diapasons, and Father Willis Ophicleides have been described as 'ripping silk' (I think this term was specifically applied to the one at Cirencester PC). On the other hand, the buried and enclosed Choir Organ at St. Mary-at-the-Walls, Colchester was described by the organist as 'a fart in a trance'. (The organ is now in Brentwood Cathedral, where it has a much better site than in its original home). Do any more such apposite descriptions of organs or stops spring to mind?

Out of interest, I've just looked up their May Music List. Lots of nice stuff, but I was amused to see a composer called Sir Peter Walford Davies An interesting blend, but since the piece was 'Blessed are the pure in heart', I think the 'Peter' should have been 'Henry'. Also, Bunnett in F is listed for a weekday (girls') Evensong. 'Dear old Bunnett in F' as Harriet Wimsey calls it in 'Busman's Honeymoon'. How many of us remember that one? And how many of us know that there's a street named after Bunnett in Norwich?

Out of interest, I've just looked up their May Music List. Lots of nice stuff, but I was amused to see a composer called Sir Peter Walford Davies An interesting blend, but since the piece was 'Blessed are the pure in heart', I think the 'Peter' should have been 'Henry'. Also, Bunnett in F is listed for a weekday (girls') Evensong. 'Dear old Bunnett in F' as Harriet Wimsey calls it in 'Busman's Honeymoon'. How many of us remember that one? And how many of us know that there's a strret named after Bunnett in Norwich?

Nice organ - I remember it from my student days (people were less complimentary about the bells :'The Bells of Hell go ting-a-ling-a-ling, But Christ Church bells go boink"). When I've had diploma students, I've always urged them to try and select music which gives them the best chance of passing the exam. There's no sense choosing wonderful music unless you're sure you can bring it off to a standard acceptable to the examiners. Thus, although the Bach Passacaglia may be among the most fabulous pieces ever written for the organ, it's long, requires a lot of registration (unless you're Dutch) and has some hellish complicated moments, especially in the fugue (not to mention all those twiddly bits in the passacaglia before the pedal re-enters). (Having had lessons on a certain Harrison just down the road from Christ Church, Bristol, I'm tempted to add 'and it needs a Tuba', but that would be wicked). How about the Great G major (BWV 541) or the Great C major (Hickory, Dickory Dock)? In general, syllabi, even for FRCO, contain pretty wide differences in difficulty between various pieces, so there's no harm in choosing the easier options, to say nothing of those which will suit your instrument. I once tried, unsuccessfully, to talk an FRCO candidate out of playing Bairstow's Toccata on Pange lingua at Marylebone Parish Church. That was about fifteen years ago and he's still not an FRCO.... Sitting Trinity diplomas in a local centre means that you may not be examined by organists, which makes it slightly easier in some ways (they probably wouldn't know a Tierce en Taille if it dropped on them), but conversely means that it's worth trying very hard to get good contrasts between pieces and colourful registration that will appeal to someone who may not play the organ.

Thanks for that - I shall give it a go sometime soon. Also early (pre-Canada) Willan is a Communion Service in G - very soupy and with a Wagnerian organ part. We do it from time to time, but the choir likes it more than I do. Quite different from his unaccompanied missae brevae, which are really fine (we did Missa Brevis III this morning) - about the same difficulty as Wood in the Fridge, but much better music.

So there you are - us Essex Men get around a bit, you know!

Carlo mentions in his autobiography that at a concert in Denmark a local organ teacher made a rather pointed exit, motioning his students to do the same. Students of my generation would probably have crept back in through the back door....

It's a strange thing, but one of the things I remember most clearly from the Organ Club's visit to Paris in about 1975 was Andre Fleury at St-Eustache - on the old organ.... I see that the Johnson was played as part of a master-class with Yanka Hekimova - now she is a stunningly good organist. We had her at Belfast Cathedral twice and she was amazing. The first concert, in particular, was the best I have ever heard on that organ - or anywhere else in Ireland come to that.

I can only speak from my own experience, but the first time I heard Carlo was at the Royal Albert Hall and the place looked pretty packed. Later on, he came to Belfast Cathedral and I joined him for a couple of duets - me on the Harrison, he on a big Allen. The church sets about 1500 and it was well-filled, and the concert was broadcast on BBC Radio 2. We later had him back for a solo concert which attracted a good crowd. Beneath all the razzmattazz - which is fun - I consider he's as good as anyone else. Some might find his style not to their taste but I like it. He can do the classical stuff on a Flentrop too. I think that if more of us could play like George Thalben-Ball, the audiences at organ recitals would be bigger, and there's no harm in going over the top with publicity if you can handle it. On top of it all, he's a really nice guy, very down-to-earth (when he wanted a table for CDs at the back of Belfast Cathedral, he insisted on carrying it himself) and terrifically entertaining over a post-recital meal. Each to his own, but when it comes to Carlo Curley, my personal opinion is that the organ world could do with a few more like him.

We certainlywent to St. Augustine's that day. I didn't realise it was Nigel Allcoat who played - it must have been before he got famous!

Just listened to the YouTube of Nigel Ogden at the Gaumont State, Kilburn. Great playing! I loved the way the colours changed so subtly in different phrases. And a great organ too. I remember it from the Robin Richmond days on 'The Organist Entertains' and I had a go on it on an Organ Club visit. I think this is the organ where a cellist from the pit orchestra leaned his instrument against the console and had it smashed to smithereens when the console spiralled down to the basement. I also listened to Quentin Maclean's Rhapsody in Blue - so very clever. I liked Reg Dixon's version also, but Macleans displayed such an insight into the original orchestration. I heard the 78rpm record of this about 40 years ago in D.J.T. Bowman's collection - does anyone know if he's still around?

'SNOBBERY like yourself' seems pretty rude in my book.

Steady on - that's downright rude! Muso wrote a long, carefully considered and grammatically polished exposition. You may not agree with it - I don't agree with all of it - but he at least took the trouble to be polite and literate.

Skrabl looks interesting - not much chance of encountering one here in Newfoundland, but I believe they've put one in the RC church at Frinton (as in "Harwich for the continent, Frinton for the incontinent") so I may try to get to see it next time I'm home. Comments above indicate that they are well-made and finished. In this respect, they will be a welcome change from so many of the imported jobs that appeared (often in RC churches) from the seventies onwards. Stephen Bicknell drew attention to these in his book, but basically the rule seemed to be tracker action and not by a British builder. I played one last year in Essex - pretty to look at and listen to, but just not sturdy enough in its construction, mechanism or pipes. I can think of other examples - basically, as one experienced organ builder said to me, they were much inferior to a decent Henry Jones in terms of construction and inferior in voicing. I suppose they may have been an improvement on cheap extension organs which were previously in vogue in the same sort of places, but I guess that it all boils down to quality of construction, no matter what type of instrument is chosen.

It's a new one to me, but if no one else can find it for you, I could transcribe it from the YouTube video and email it to you - it wouldn't take long.

At weddings? 'Dear Lord and Father of mankind, forgive our foolish ways'?? 'Breathe through the heats of our desire thy coolness and thy balm, Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire......'???? I remember playing it at a wedding only once, at Bangor PC, Co. Down, a wedding made even more memorable when the best man fainted during the vows and sent an enormous flower arrangement crashing to the floor. George Thalben-Ball, who knew Parry well, used to say that his music could be uneven, but that when it was good it was superb - fair comment, I think.

Gawd!! Mind you, I think the Steinmeyer at Trondhjem will be worth hearing when it's restored. It was severely arsed-about-with in the sixties when they moved most of it to the west end, with a bit east of the crossing as a kororgel, and put the Willis reeds into store (subsequently destroyed). It still sounds pretty impressive, but feels incomplete. A Willis tuner told me (in graphic Glaswegian) about a Walcker in Scotland divided in a west gallery, but not the usual way with Great on one side and Swell on the other. This had the C side of each department on one side and the C# side on the other, which involved two swell-boxes and two tremulants and needed three people to tune it - one on each side and one at the keys. St. Peter's, Parkstone, Dorset has what might be termed a neo-Compton (the previous organ was a Compton, but the present one was largely new in 1982/3) advised, I think, by Roger Fisher.

OK - what's the next fashion going to be, organ-wise? We've had thinned-down Schnitgers and Cavaille-Coll clones (as Maurice Grant put it). Are we due for a rash of neo-Comptons or alter-Arthurs?

I'm a complete anorak, I admit it, but I have found that anorakdom has been useful when it comes to making music at the organ. I've never heard a real 64', but the resultant one at Liverpool Cathedral does have an effect and is a useful part of that glorious instrument. The Atlantic City Organ - it may appear to be a monster, but everyone I know who has played or heard it says that it's a fabulous musical instrument, beautifully constructed and should certainly be restored. I had to open a big 3 manual Copeman Hart in Belfast some years ago. I finished with 'Finlandia' and flipped the transposer to give me a 64' sub bourdon on the last chord. If you're going to play transcriptions, you might as well have fun with them..... Having recommended Double Ophicleide to go for a certain organ job, partly on the basis that there was a ravishingly attractive girl in the choir - to whom he has now been happily married for years - I can't see him putting such an ad up.

I should imagine that, having got them to speak, tuning would be relatively easy. The vibrations would be so slow that one could almost tune by counting them. When Sam Clutton visited Sydney Town Hall, he said that the bottom note of the 64' was vibrating at 4 beats per second (the boot has a glass window so the reed can be seen in action) and was therefore speaking as a half-length 128'! Are there any 64' pipes apart from Sydney and Atlantic City? I've seen 64' acoustic basses and 64' reeds on electrones. St. Laurence, Nuremburg had a 64' Tromba in the specification, but I don't know if it had any 64' pipes.

This is so very true! I used to play for a lot of funerals at a church in Portadown, Northern Ireland. At one point, the place got rather shaken up by a nearby terrorist bomb. After renovation, the acoustic was quite reasonable, but shortly afterwards they put down carpets and the difference was immense. It was never a favourite organ of mine (apologies to Double Ophicleide, who will know which one I mean!), but it sounded a damn sight better without the carpet. The late Chris Gordon-Wells told me that he once encountered a Presbyterian Church in Northern Ireland where even the inside of the organ was carpeted. Belfast Cathedral (St. Anne's) once had red carpet in the Quire. Then we made a CD with the Choir standing on the marble floor between the stalls and the altar rail. When the Dean heard the difference, he was amazed, and the following Sunday hauled me into the Quire where he started pulling up the corners of the carpet. Two days later, the carpet was gone (it was recycled for the office floor) and the wooden floor had been professionally finished. Dean Shearer didn't hang about when he had decided something needed to be done. The improvement was very apparent - Belfast choir-stalls are very far apart, have no backs and the ceiling is 90' up, so it was a difficult space to work in chorally. A few years later, a marble floor replaced the wood, but oddly enough it didn't seem to make any difference. Here in St. John's, the local RC Basilica recently carpeted throughout. It hasn't helped the acoustic at all and it looks incongruous. And they're always complaining about how badly off they are.....

Yes, that's an instrument of real character and surprisingly versatile if one takes the trouble to work at it. It's of interest also because David played it as a teenager in its original home in South London. John Norman summed Bevingtons up in 'The Organs of Britain' by saying 'They are worth hanging on to, even if they do not rank as great art', which I think is fair comment. They are good workhorses, which is more than can be said for quite a lot of other instruments. Some of the later ones were gormless (like the one now at Little Horkesley, Essex, NPOR D00237), but generally they are solid and pleasant little jobs. Shimpling, Suffolk (NPOR D00553) is typical of a good small Bevington. They exported about half a dozen to Newfoundland. I gave a recital on the one at Collins Cove (Open, Claribel, Gamba, Principal, Flute, octave coupler, Pedal Bourdon). A fairly late one (1905 - bought by subscription by local fishermen and brought over from London by a ship returning from a delivery of cod), it has 58 note compass and a full compass pedal stop, so you can do quite a lot with it. Nice Acoustics too. A similar but earlier one at Trinity is still hand-blown, although there is electricity in the church. The jewel of the collection is in the United Church at Brigus: Double Diapason and Bourdon Bass, Open, Lieblich Gedact, Bell Gamba, Principal, Harmonic Flute, Mixture and prepared-for Cornopean. It illustrates the toughness of the breed. It was pushed bodily up against the back wall to make way for a Hammond which squats in front of it (itself largely superseded by an electronic keyboard) and the blower was disconnected. However, it still plays and there's nothing wrong with it that an afternoon's work wouldn't put right. It really is quite a splendid little job, and handsome too, with its painted pipes (with milled edges like most Bevingtons). The church shares a minister and organist with the next-door settlement of Cupids, where the UC has a small Forster & Andrews - very nice, well-built and worthy but dull. Bevingtons may be a little lacking in finesse, but at least they are interesting. Kilkenny Cathedral (the Church of Ireland one) has a sizeable 3 manual Bevington which was built for an Exhibition in Dublin. When I knew it, it was impressive but decrepit. By now, Trevor Crowe should have finished a major restoration, also turning it round to speak better into the church, and I would imagine that it's very well worth a visit.

OK - some pneumatics have a distinctive feel which electrification would remove, and thereby subtly alter the player's experience of the instrument. Not all of them, to be sure. Some pneumatic actions don't feel good at all, but then some actions (period) don't feel good. I believe pressure pneumatics are generally nicer to play on than exhaust. Think about those lovely long keys which are a classic Walker feature. It would be a crime to mess those about. Belfast Cathedral organ had Harrison e/p drawstop machines in the console and they were b***** noisy! Ironically, we reckoned that it was the H&H perfection that made them so - if a lesser builder had done it, everything wouldn't have fired so absolutely together and the noise wouldn't have been so bad. I most definitely don't agree that mechanical key action is best. Electric action allows much more flexibility with the resources available. The challenge is to make sure the design and execution is up to the same standard that tracker demands.

I played this organ shortly after it was last restored (by our hosts in about 1985). At that time, there were apparently some modifications to the action to prevent running problems which had existed since the organ was built, but it still didn't seem completely happy mechanically. Possibly this was due to atmospheric conditions (I remember the newly-restored Eton College Chapel organ being in a woeful state one hot summer). I was organist on a 1908 Walker at St. Leonard-at-the-Hythe, Colchester in the early seventies. It had pneumatic action to the Swell. There had been a restoration in the 50s and it was done again (by ex-Walker man Ken Canter) in 1978. I found that the action generally gave little trouble, but it looks like it needs restoring every 30 years, which is probably more often than some other patterns. Electrifying can change the feel of an organ - there are certain characteristics of touch which one might not want to lose. Didn't (for example) Harrisons' get round this at Westminster Cathedral by keeping the pneumatics at the keys and electrifying the rest? I believe a similar plan for a Lewis & Co. in Belfast was scuppered by the Lottery people, who wouldn't give money unless the (always troublesome) pneumatics were retained throughout - at much higher cost. I must confess to being a little disappointed with the sound of the Wimbledon organ. I grew up with Walker organs and I knew Bristol Cathedral very well as a student, but Wimbledon didn't quite cut the mustard for me. Probably just the way it took me on the day.....