David Drinkell

A little Holdich at Leaden Roding (pronounced "Roothing"), Essex. I knew this one well when it was in Fingringhoe Church. It's of interest for its intricate carvings (like Wiveton, earlier on this thread), for the fact that it was reputed to have been Holdich's own residence organ (possibly what he referred to as his "celestial organ"), and for the presence of his patent Diaocton couplers, with extra pipes to complete the compass. Diaoctons are not uncommon on Holdich organs (other builders occasionally used the term but rarely provided the extra pipes), but usually just one per instrument, whereas this has three of them. The top octave of the Pedal Organ borrows pipes from the manuals. Peter Bumstead installed it at Roding in 1998. Great: Open Diapason 8, Clarabel Flute 8, Flute 4 (labelled 8), Super Diaocton, Coupler Swell Swell: Dulciana 8, Super Diaocton, Sub Diaocton (uses pedal pipes for lowest octave) Pedal: Bourdon, Pedals Great

I'm not a doctor of anything, although I guess something of a general practitioner in church music. Here's a nice little case: Inworth, Essex. The odd thing about it is that the stops draw at an angle of 90% to the keys, as can be seen from the picture. Unfortunately, the original (Bates) scheme seems to have be messed about, with soothing syrup substituted for upperwork. Peter de Vile has done a clean and overhaul since I visited, so at least it looks better and works properly. The picture, from NPOR, is by Michael Watcham, who has amassed a superb and valuable collection of organ photos over a period of many years. http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=H00598

At Oakington, the organ was nicely restored and enhanced by Normal Hall, and the work included the redecoration of the case and pipes in Miller style: http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N03068

A common feature of Miller organs was that pains were taken to minimize their intrusion into the chancel, in accordance with the principles laid down by the Ecclesiologists. As can be seen in some of the examples above, this often meant that the lower part of the case was coved in below the impost, but occasionally the organ was placed over the chancel arch. An example is at Thurning, Northamptonshire. Nice looking, but inconvenient to play because the console is on the east side in a loft on the other side of the arch (with a nice gothic stairway reminiscent of Pugin's tribune at West Tofts). Their organ at Coton, Cambridgeshire was originally in this position also, but has since been rebuilt and brought down to floor level. http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=D01107

A rather unusual example of Miller decoration is at Wendens Ambo, Essex, where they rebuilt an old chamber organ. http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=H00627

Hutton, Essex. Another nicely carved case on a Miller organ, somewhat like Great Saling. Carving by Rattee & Kett of Cambridge, who did a lot of work for Ecclesiologically minded patrons. This one escaped me when I was doing research into Miller and his Cambridge contemporaries some years ago, and I was grateful to Jose Hopkins, who did a lot of Miller research, for bringing it to my attention. A very good organ too, in Millers' earlier style with a striking chorus up to mixture. http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N08778

Finchingfield, Essex. Organ by Miller but case by Ernest Geldart (see above for his case at Hawstead), so not typical Miller. I don't know if it has been done up, but when I knew the organ the trumpet being held by the angel in the centre had slipped so it went up his nose. http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N05447

Bartlow, Cambridgeshire. Another Miller. Not such a good picture (the lighting makes the colour scheme look a bit drab). A nice little organ, too, although the scheme doesn't look too hot. Last time I was in there, David Miller (who described himself as the Steptoe and Son of organ building but nevertheless did some sturdy work) was doing a clean and overhaul. If visiting, the nearby "Three Hills" pub was always a good one for food (Bernard Edmonds would have supported me on this one!). http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N03021

Tenbury is worth a visit anyway, because it's a very fine Father Willis and not as well known as some others. You used to be able to get the key to the church from the local Post Office and they were quite willing to let people play the organ. The only criticism of the front is that the pipes are maybe a little too widely spaced, but the stencilling is certainly well worth seeing. I'm not sure if the front is by Willis, or if it was inherited from the previous Harrison, or even the Flight which preceded it.

I think so too. Miller of Cambridge had a sort of house style involving olive green paint for the woodwork and quite elaborate painted pipes. An otherwise plain pipe-rack could be made to look quite rich. It was the fashion some years ago to paint over all this - white for the case, gold for the pipes - but quite a number survive. Sometimes, the same style of painting can be found elsewhere in the church, such as on the window jambs - Thriplow, Cambridgeshire, is an example. This is the organ at Snailwell, Cambridgeshire: http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N03074

St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh - the Rieger organ, which sits in the south transept like the bows of a great ship (appropriate because it was given by the ship-owning Salveson family). An organ of tremendous character and originality. Although one of its memorable features is that it can put out a great deal of power, it is also distinguished for the wealth of quiet registrations which can be found. Personally, I don't care much for some of the chorus reeds, but overall I think it's a glorious instrument. http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=D02680

And the 1602 Hoffhaimer regal at Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight: http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=A00232

Sticking with extremities (no insult intended), here is the 2004 Harrison at St. George, Douglas, Isle of Man (wonderful place!). http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=E00591

Another interesting clerical architect was the Revd. Ernest Geldart (1848-1929). He was Rector of Little Braxted in Essex, where the tiny church is decorated to an almost Byzantine degree. Among his other designs, the organ case at Hawstead in Suffolk is a beautiful, but little-known piece of work, containing a nice little organ by the worthy (but not always inspired) John Rayson of Ipswich. http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=D00317

Still in Scotland (for the moment, anyway - if Scottish independence goes ahead, there's a fair number of folk who would like to return to Norway), the Willis organ in St. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall. A pipeless screen by George Mackie Watson, who was the architect for the big restoration in the 1920s. I think it's a very fine example of this type of case and the position (between the third and fourth bays of the Quire) means that the organ speaks down the main axis of the building and does not come between the choir and the congregation. I played this organ virtually every day between 1979 and 1988 and I still look forward to playing it when I revisit Orkney. Some recent work by the present Willis firm, including (so David Wyld tells me) tuning to the "Willis Scale" has left it sounding even better than it did before. The cathedral is arguably the finest church in Scotland (no, dash it, it is the finest church in Scotland, but I'm biased!). By the way, in the pillar which you can just see to the right of the organ screen are buried the bones of St. Magnus. The bones of St. Rognvald are in the pillar to the left. It is the only cathedral in the British Isles to contain the remains both of its patron saint and its founder. Google 'St. Magnus Cathedral" for more pictures of this magical place. http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N18236

Not English, because it's in Scotland and was built by the Scottish craftsman Neil Richerby (Lammermuir Pipe Organs), but we could perhaps stretch a point to include St. Mary's Collegiate Church, Haddington, near Edinburgh. I was tremendously impressed by this instrument when I called in there a few years ago, as I mentioned on this forum at the time. http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N09188

Not the best picture, but the situation (west end of north aisle) is a bit dark. Here's Roger Yates's 1939 organ at Bozeat, Northamptonshire, a remarkable job for its date. The obtaining of secondary Great registers by duplication from the second manual (an enclosed Choir Organ) is after the manner of Henry Willis III (who borrowed the idea from Ernest Skinner), by whom Yates was trained, but the scheme is more advanced than anything Willis was doing at the time. It's a very fine, neat and musical instrument, with the added bonus of a nice case. http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=D03362

Yes, but carelessness can result in parallels being let through when they shouldn't be there. As we know, the reason parallel fifths and octaves a frowned upon is because they are very noticeable. Therefore, in harmony which is in any way along conventional lines, they need to be very carefully controlled and only allowed if the effect is definitely wished for. Letting them slip by is not the same thing, and will often lead to further unfortunate progressions. We all know that RVW used parallel fifths as an integral part of his style, but it is recorded that Herbert Howells's publisher refused to accept "A Spotless Rose" unless the fifths in bars 24-29 were taken out. Howells went to another publisher and posterity has proved him right - the offending passage is one of the most sublime in the repertoire. But it is a special effect and, if we are to take liberties, we need to be equally sure of what we are doing.

This is very true. When writing traditional four part harmony, it's simply not acceptable to include random parallel fifths and octaves. Anyone who does try to write in such a style, absolutely must be able to pot and correct such solecisms. The occasional deliberate pair of fifths (as in Gordon Slater's hymn tune "St. Botolph" or Hylton Stewart's psalm chants) is a different matter altogether, but you have to know the rules before you can break them.

It's significant that Schoenberg insisted that his pupils had a thorough understanding of conventional harmony. Vox Humana's fourth paragraph is an entirely cogent summing-up. There are several versions of a story along the lines that Vaughan Williams pulled up a student for parallel fifths. Student: "But it's part of my style". RVW: "Then I should try to get rid of it if I were you". Or, more succinctly, parallel fifths are ok if you're Vaughan Williams. Which leads me to the suggestion that, if one is a genius in composing terms, one may have an inherent talent for producing what one wants. Lesser mortals, like myself and probably most of us, sometimes have to produce something to fulfil a specific purpose (gebrauchsmusik), and for that we need to have had a proper grounding. With regard to choral writing, I once had explained to me a very useful dodge. It was an easy way to achieve perfect results in the Scottish Higher Grade choral harmonisation test. A means to a specific end, to be sure, but valuable as a means of ensuring balance between voices (especially a high tenor - tenor parts written too low are one of the most common faults in amateur vocal writing) and reasonable vocal lines. To do it, one needs to know that the said exam did not require fancy chords and that, in fact, even Bach chorales contain great many more root position common chords than one might imagine. To the given melody, add an alto part that is either a third or a fourth below it. Write a tenor part which is a fourth or a third below the alto. Fill in the bass part to complete the chord (most often root position). If thirds and fourths don't work in particular instances, then (but only then) try fifths and sixths. Check for consecutives. Bingo!

A beautiful picture of this important instrument and case. The booklet which can be accessed by clicking on the reference at the end of rogbi200's post is also very interesting, not just for its detailed description of the instrument but because it includes a picture of an organ described as its predecessor at Bilton (but Michael Hall in BIOS Journal 20 says that this organ was not, in fact, built because the decision was made to use the old St. John's College case instead). This latter looked vaguely familiar and a little ferreting around turned up the original in F.H. Sutton's "Church Organs Their Position and Construction", where it is Figure 4 in the Appendix, given as an example of a small Gothic organ. Incidentally, my copy of Sutton (in Hilary Davidson's modern edition produced by the Positif Press in 1998) is a treasured possession because it was given to me by the Revd. Bernard Edmonds - one of the many kindnesses which he showed me over the years. The field of organ historiography owes so much to B.B.E., as I'm sure many besides my self can testify.

At Fredericton Cathedral, we have three services on Sunday mornings; 8.00 Said Communion (BCP) with no music, 10.00 Choral Communion (BCP and BAS -the Canadian modern language book - on alternate weeks) with choral Introit, Motet and Setting, 11.45 "Come Worship Eucharist" - informal, but still properly structured with music group and worship songs. The Director of Music (that's me) plays the keyboard. I had been a bit nervous about this, thinking it would be outside my comfort zone, but in fact I rather enjoy it. The musicians are good, some of them old enough to remember how to do rock and roll properly, and all competent to extemporise and generally blend in with everyone else. I find some of the songs are rather cloying, of the "Jesus I love you" variety and I take a lot of trouble in choosing the music for this service so as not to wallow in the cult of the individual. There are, however, enough songs to allow an outward rather than inward looking overall feel to things. One of our players writes very good worship songs - theologically and liturgically sound and decent music. The full combo consists of lead, rhythm and bass guitars, kit drums, half a dozen singers and a woodwind player, who is a wizard on most things, reckoned to be one of the best tin-whistle players in Atlantic Canada, and plays a mean harmonica. Occasionally, I might play something on the organ, but it's awkward because the console is in the Quire and most of the pipes in the north transept behind the choir-stalls, while the other musicians are at the east end of the south aisle. This makes co-ordination tricky, but the most difficult aspect is that it's not really practicable to mike the organ, so balance and mixing is difficult. I think the secret is that all of us are competent enough in our own field to be able to avoid taking ourselves too seriously, so the lighter aspects of this sort of music are able to flourish. We also try to allow for as much congregational participation as possible (not always easy with some worship songs), unlike some groups who seem totally engrossed in themselves and make so much damn noise that it acts as a deterrent to anyone else who might want to join in. I remember a particularly gruesome "These are the days of Elijah" perpetrated by a high-decibel band back in Newfoundland.... I, too, quite like some of the songs - I'm not averse to a belt through "Shine, Jesus, shine" occasionally, and there are a good few others which are very decent. Quite a lot of them remind me of Scottish folk rhythm and melody. I prefer them to a lot of the uninspiring ditties put out by the RC church ("Eagle Swings" and "Be not afraid", for example), a lot of which are too complicated for congregational participation and are, in any case, monopolised by a heavily-amplified Mr. (or Mrs.) Caruso at the mike. Over-amplification is the worst thing for killing off any congregational music-making!

Early in this thread, there was a picture of the little organ (sometimes attributed to Father Smith) at Staunton Harold, and I mentioned that the 1857 Bevington at Hilborough, Norfolk has a case which bears some uncanny resemblances to it (notably the very deep pipes shades to the flats). http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N06363 . See below for the picture of the Hilborough organ from NPOR. Regarding St. Andrew-the-Less, Cambridge, which also appeared early in the thread, I would have no argument with the statement that the organ was originally built by George Dawson, but the instrument as it stands is absolutely typical of A.T. Miller & Son's work around 1885. This is at first apparent from the console (compass, layout, style and pattern of fittings) and specification (allowing for the substitution of a Dulciana for the Twelfth made at the wish of a one-time organist). There are a number of very similar Millers of this date and scheme in the area. Further signs of a late date are found within the instrument. The manual soundboard sits beneath the arch of the organ chamber and the bellows and pedal pipes are in a lean-to on the other side of the tuner's plank. The bellows weights are the typical iron bars used by Miller. As would be expected in such a situation, the soundboard has the basses in the middle (the lowest dulcianas being mitred), and the ranks are planted with the Open at the front, then Principal, Stop Diapason, Gamba, Flute, Dulciana and Fifteenth. The pipe-work looks to be late nineteenth century, with firm nicking and, for example, arched mouths to the 4' Flute. The Stop Diapason is of wood but the 4' Flute is of metal. Another sign that the organ in its present form post-dates the case is that the longest pipe in the case sounds B below tenor C. This is rather unusual and may indicate re-scaling of the diapason. It would be normal for the pipes of of an earlier instrument to be re-used, particularly this one, which is embossed. As far as I know, only one George Dawson organ survives in its original state, at Great Walsingham, Norfolk (http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N06297), which is the predecessor of the famous West Tofts organ now at South Pickenham. Built presumably as a temporary instrument, it is a one-off in a number of ways (all wooden pipes, pipe-less grille on the front and general appearance of a Tudor cupboard with the doors closed). Dawson was certainly involved with the later West Tofts organ. The iron bar which holds the front pipes in was delivered to him from Hardman in Birmingham and he may have had a lot more to do with the instrument, although Hooghuys's voicer, Zimmerman did the voicing. However, it seems likely that Miller's took over at least the maintenance side of Dawson's connection (the two firms co-existed for a period, so it wasn't a simple matter of Miller succeeding Dawson) and they certainly did the enlargement at West Tofts as well as at least a major reconstruction at St. Andrew-the-Less.

Kings Lynn Minster (St. Margaret's) - Snetzler case as restored by Holmes & Swift , who also (with some input from Nicholson) did an absolutely splendid job restoring and completing the organ itself, which had been rebuilt in 1962 by Rushworths, but with a lot of important stuff prepared-for due to lack of funds. http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=K01272

A beautiful case - I saw it a good few years ago and was impressed. Unfortunately, the organ hasn't lived in it since the Binns rebuild of 1926 (it was originally by Gern and may have had an unreliable pneumatic action) and has not been fortunate since. You can see it skulking in the north aisle to the left of the picture.