Lucasorg

OK, all of you. Hold on to your hats!! Work has now started on site at Worcester, so there should now be a steady flow of information to keep you all in touch with things as they progress. This last week, initial work to install the Swell fronts on the South side has been taking place in the roof space. See here for photos. Now we've said our farewells to the old Bishop, scaffolding is going up during the coming week and the quire will be out of action until December. Most of the inner workings are all made and awaiting delivery in a week's time when all the winding and soundboards will be installed. Lots of work still to do, but at least things are now moving! Best wishes, Adrian

Thanks, Pierre. I can also confirm that there are only the bottom 11 or 12 pipes in existence of the Diaphone. They were too large to remove easily without dismantling the entire case. Adrian

They're Diaphones. I believe the Tuba Profunda was taken out in the 1978 rebuild. Adrian

Good morning, Gentlemen! We currently have in the Nave a second Rodgers instrument to lead worship in that part of the building. It is a hybrid instrument with the following pipe ranks: Gedackt 8' Principal 4' Fifteenth 2' Mixture III Further details can be found on the MPOS website which also shows its previous incarnations in Gospel Oak, St Pancras and Ware. We have had some considerable adjustments made to the voicing of both electronic and pipe elements, but it has been a godsend to us in a difficult period when the old Bradford instrument collapsed and we were left without instrument for a while. Once the Tickell instrument is completed in Summer 2008, the Father Rodgers (as it has become known) will be moved from the Quire to the Nave until we can complete phases 2 and 3 of the pipe organ building project. Meanwhile, the old blowers from the H&H instrument were taken out this week, leaving a useful space which I believe is to be developed into a new treasury for the Cathedral. Blowers for the new organ will be in the triforium, neatly tucked in behind the pipework and considerably smaller! Hope that's useful in the interim. Adrian Lucas Worcester Cathedral

I've added a few more photos to show work in progress at the Kenneth Tickell works in Northampton. Work moves to the Cathedral in October and the main internal items should all be in place (blowers, trunking, chests etc) before Christmas. Work will then largely move off site once more until April when the rest of the organ will take shape in the building ahead of Three Choirs in August. Best wishes, Adrian Lucas

I've been away on various trips across Europe for the last few weeks and, to be honest, much of the work over recent months has been in the workshops.....HOWEVER.....I paid a visit to Northampton on 14th August and took a batch of photos of work in progress which I intend to submit with supporting information shortly. Watch this space! Best wishes, Adrian

I've posted a few photos of work in progress in Northampton which Ken Tickell has kindly supplied. There's also another historical photo of the Hill organ when it was on one side only in the late 1800s. I'm now researching the Cathedral archives and will aim to post some more historical material from the last 150 years or so which, I hope, may be of interest. Best wishes, Adrian

Thanks, David. In fact, while the photos show the voicing machine close to the edge of the openings, this particular location was to try the great stops which will ultimately be in the new case out in front of the arches. Prior to that, we heard some of the Choir stops from inside the chambers - our relief was that they projected with fantastic colour and clarity without having to "force" the voicing at all. It's worth remembering that the Quire at Worcester is not particularly lofty as there is a considerable step up at the crossing while the roof stays level across the entire building. As a result, the new location of the organ is not very far at all from the choir stalls allowing great clarity and presence down below. Conversely, the height available for longer pipes is limited throughout the East end of the building....the essence of the problems which have faced builders for more than 150 years now! Ken is an admirable voicer - it was that skill which attracted us to his work in connection with the Quire project at Worcester in the first place. The clarity and fluidity of his flue choruses can be clearly seen in such organs as Douai Abbey and Eton College Lower Chapel. What I am greatly looking forward to will be the number of different reed colours on the Worcester organ - the sort of colours rarely seen in smaller instruments. While we have the gear to make recordings of these experimental sessions, I'm not sure the extent to which they might be helpful to be heard out of context. Even for those who are familiar with hearing pipework close-up, the recording technique used could create a wide variety of different effects which would be more likely to muddy the waters in this area. Even recording from the floor of the Quire would be unlikely to offer a valuable experience for those listening in isolation without knowledge of the techniques used. Using different microphones can also influence the apparent tonal qualities of the pipework. Ultimately, you can't beat the old-fashioned technique of a pair of ears on location! Even then, the brain can be fooled into hearing different things. For this last session, intended to check scales and possible wind-pressures for the various divisions, there were quite a number of us listening and comparing notes. It was interesting that we all knew when things sounded just right in the acoustic.... I won't count out the idea, but I would strongly support Ken and his artistic design work on the project. I certainly don't want to undermine him at this intricate stage of the work by opening up what might be vociferous and possibly uninformed discussion on the topic. Possibly, when our decisions are made and the organ is at an advanced stage of construction, we might consider some tasters for you all!! Adrian Lucas

We've recently had a visit from Kenneth Tickell to try out some pipes in the new chambers, experimenting with different wind pressures. Here are a few new photographs.... Adrian Lucas

This reminds me of the script on the stops of an old organ in North Essex. One stop was entitled "closed horn" but for all the world it looked like "closet horn"....now there's one to conjure with!!! A

I've recently conducted this piece in Symphony Hall, Birmingham with the CBSO and Thomas Trotter playing the Klais...it's a great piece indeed. My recording is from Ingolstadt and is a splendid performance...but listen very carefully to spot the bar (in the first movement, if I recall) which has a beat missing....there's a challenge!! Adrian

This is an interesting thread... I had my first appraisal some years back and thought of it as potentially a very threatening experience. A friend of mine steered me towards using a form (see this for a template) which you amend to suit your own job and then fill in and give to your employer 48 hours ahead of the event. This gives you a marvellous opportunity to list all the good and bad points of the last year (or more) as well as putting on paper your ideas for ways things can change in the future. My experience of using this was actually very positive and puts YOU in charge of the event, leaving your employer in the position of needing to put in place training and support as required. There may, of course, be information to feed back the other way, but it's a much safer and more measured way of transferring this information than waiting for a major disagreement to blow up. Also, importantly, a set of notes needs to be written and agreed by both parties after the event. This should include time scales for agreed changes in both directions. Finally, if such an experience starts to become threatening, it should also be quite appropriate for you to insist upon having a third party present...usually a very good incentive to keep things factual. Hope that's useful. Adrian

Just been shown this arrangement of the first movement of Mozart 40 which may be of interest. Adrian

I'd go for playing it as written...or more dotty in the hands, if possible. It's much more dramatic that way!! Adrian Lucas Worcester Cathedral

I have to say, I absolutely hate the experience of playing organs on screens. After 7 years at Norwich, where I eventually became quite adept at balancing the two sides of the organ, I vowed to give them a wide berth. There is something continually frustrating about always having only part of the organ properly available to play and the remainder pointing in the opposite direction. That said, the decision at Worcester was taken rather more on the grounds of available light and the wonderful vista up through the Cathedral from the Nave to the East Window. For those of you who do not know the building, take a look here at a wonderful photo showing this view. I did not take this photo and offer my apologies to the kind person who let me have a copy of this shot. A I think any sound clips we will keep for the finished article! Anyway, this will be a long way off (est August 2008) so be patient!! A It will certainly have to work fairly hard, but the organ is designed principally for the Quire area which is only a relatively small space. That's why we shall have the Transept division and Nave organ in due course. A

That is partially correct. In fact the Transept section is being considered as a project in its own right as far as work is concerned. In theory, we could start this, finances permitting, as soon as the Tickell instrument in the Quire is complete....just a case of moving that little case!!! We may have to get the army in. Meanwhile, I've been up aloft today to take a look at the building of the organ frame and chambers. I've posted a few more pictures here and will update as things move along. A

If you have no expert guidance at this stage, I would heartily suggest going for a consultation lesson with a respected teacher who will give you an honest and unbiased reading of your strengths and abilities, hopefully pointing you in the right direction for whatever might come next. I learned that lesson rather later than I would have wished, looking back... With best wishes, Adrian Lucas Worcester Cathedral

OK - behaviour has been exemplary! I've added some pictures taken today of the Diaphones (as well as one of the Contra Violone). Hope that answers your queries. Best wishes, Adrian

No...the Diaphones are wooden down to the bottom...if you're all well behaved, I'll try to pop in a take some pictures... A

The only one I have is now on with the other pictures....it's a bit rough and ready, but I'll see what else the Cathedral Library might have in its records... A

I've added a couple of really interesting historical photos - one of the 1872 case without its copy on the South side - the other a photo of David Willcocks at the Harrison / Hope-Jones Console in the 1950s. Enjoy. A

At very least...hot air is quite good too, but there's usually plenty of that around A

I remember playing in my old parish church many years ago when the heating broke down mid-winter...we had to have two organists for a Sunday morning, taking turns when the fingers went blue! Those were the days! A

The Choir are very happy with the revised acoustic. The only negative comment is that for those in the 3rd row (normally congregation and some clergy) it can be a little draughty on the back of the neck! A

Dave, As I've said before, this case will be restored and moved to the North Transept where it was originally designed to go. See here for fuller details... Best wishes, A