Lucasorg

Certainly, in my experience, the combination piston couplers would not work on divisional "0" pistons... A

Not too sure of detail, but we have some concerts booked in there for the end of this year on the expectation that the organ will be up and fully functioning. Some of our group have been in to see the interior of the hall and said that it's looking splendid... A

Now I never thought one mention of divisional cancels would go so far....!!!! In fact there is a use which no-one here seems to have mentioned for these little delights: Imagine playing on a light registration on the Great or Choir, coupled to the Swell and wanting to reduce without having to make what could be an untidy manual swap - perhaps in a final playout of an anthem in a piece with rather thick chords needing both hands to accomplish. It's rather good to be able to make the move simply by canceling the stops on the "home" manual...jolly useful, I'd say... A

Both Christopher and I have experience of making good use of these - why else would we ask for them? A

Hi Sean, The Console is to go in the South Quire aisle in a new loft whose designs I have not yet seen, though they have been commissioned. The Console will have the player facing East at a height such that the player will have direct hearing of the choir, but not so high as to intrude on the visual lines too much. We have just about finalised the drawings of stop and piston layout, though I don't have in front of me at the moment all the finer details of your other questions. Expect 8 pistons plus cancel per manual as well as a number of reversibles. We have also made provision for generals to control the Transept division when it comes online and other goodies....still a little work to do before all becomes finally settled. Hope that's useful. A

It's a new one on me - how long ago was it recorded....?? Out on interest, do you know the John Harle disk Silencium part of which was recorded with the choristers of Worcester in the Chapter House (about 10 years ago...) and is another example of slightly unusual sounds from a Cathedral environment. Cheers, A

See this for an answer! A

You might think that I have very long legs... Actually, there is access at Clerestory level on the West side of the South West Transept from which an excellent view is possible...providing you don't suffer from vertigo! There is not much to assist you if you feel dizzy up there but, as you can see, it's well worth the effort of going up there. A

Thanks, folks... Matter closed? A

Do tell me more....I'm all a-gog....!!!

Not that we're aware of....

Those were the very same pipes! Ken takes great care in trying things out in-situ. I think we have all had experiences of hearing organs in buildings to which they were not well attuned....I believe - please correct me if I am wrong - when the Beckerath at Clare Cambridge was first installed it was way too loud for the chapel. Similarly, I believe (though I have not heard it myself) the organ in the Bridgewater Hall Manchester is not powerful enough for the building. I had the privilege of hearing part of the Cheltenham organ in Ken's works in Northampton last Summer and it seemed very fruity indeed. I am looking forward to hearing the same in their final position at the opening recital next weekend at CLC, though I am expecting a great deal of sound absorption there. I have also heard his instrument in Lower Chapel at Eton College which is a truly awful acoustic, yet the organ sounds amazing given that. I am sure in the Cathedral, it will be much easier than either of those... A

Now I've got an arrangement of that....!!! A

Philip, Bear in mind firstly that Great and Pedal will be in cases out in front of the arches. Choir, Swell and Solo boxes will be right up behind the arcading and we do not foresee a problem in this regard. The Quire area is actuall quite small and it will not have to do much in the way of projection to succeed. That said, I have every confidence that Ken will ensure plenty of openness for these stops behind the arches. Having heard a trial chord of principals that he brought over some time back, I am expecting an organ that will really sing around the building! A

I don't know if they are unique, but they have earned the case the nickname "The Mississippi Steam Boat" for obvious reasons! The Transept organ is to be moved to the North Transept (forward from the back wall) to provide an accompanimental instrument for activities under the tower and at the East end of the Nave. It was originally designed for the North Transept where it would be nicely lit by the sun as it passed around the South side. BUT...the Earl of Dudley, who gave the money for the organ, did not like the donor of the South Transept window and had the case built large enough to obscure most of the window....and contributing to our lack of light in the building.... Enough said?? A

Ho Ho....and I wondered what that video was going to contain!!! A

Very much so - as you will see from my most recent photos, space is at a premium. The pedal department will be entirely in the South Quire case, with the exception of the two 32' flues which will be offered as part of the Transept division once that is complete. I know that Kenneth Tickell is concerned that the organ may sound a little lacking in bottom until that phase of the work is completed, and I am sure we will have some sympathy with him in that regard. In our building, this has always been a concern and there are just so few spaces where there is available height for such pipes. It would be lovely to have a 16' reed, but there is just not the space for it. What we lose in this area, we gain in terms of one instrument in one place. There are always extra things we should want....!!! I don't yet have the final details here. Will let you know in due course. No. While I understand the benefits here....in fact the Rodgers has this and we use it a lot....we want to make this an instrument that just comes straight off the page...what you see is what you get!! No thanks. Not really my scene....I have big hands and use those where others like to use all four feet instead Hope that's of interest. A

"...there are three empty spaces..." Actually, only two (unless you count where the console used to be, as the South Transept case is very much still with us, though inoperative at present. I've added some new photos, including some taken just today of the South Transept case which is still there in all its glory. There are also new views of the North and South chambers where the triforium arches have been pierced. Hope these are of interest! A

See this post back on the other thread....

It was clear to us that, within a very restricted space, we needed a very versatile instrument which would accompany well, be full of colour and variety, yet also be able to tackle a whole range of solo repertoire. From a personal perspective, I have many times bemoaned the lack of proper flute choruses on a whole host of cathedral organs - I find these particularly useful when finding colourful and appropriate sounds to accompany the choir. Frequent 8 & 4 ranks are OK, but a good Nazard and 2' flute offer a whole extra range in this area and simple, bold colours are much more useful than the occasional, rather insipid, thinly scaled flutes that you might find on many Choir manuals. I am also all too aware that, on well-built choruses, there is little need for rank upon rank of mixtures. If the organ has both flute and principal choruses, the Fifteenth can have a silvery quality that almost shines like a mixture anyway...then the mixture itself does the rest. I love a good Gamba! I watched Dennis Thurlow back in 1994 when he voiced the old Nicholson Swell Gamba at Portsmouth and made a stop sing with incredible warmth and personality.... It stuck in my mind and has not gone away. As to the casework, I hope shortly to have some pictures of the new arches which have been opened up in the Triforium...watch this space! A

In fact the proportion being spent on the new Quire organ is quite comparable with the cost of completely overhauling the old one. While the other sections of the project go beyond this figure, so does the scope of what we could have achieved by simply retaining the old configuration. Our aim is to create musical provision for the Cathedral which will not be frowned upon by our successors in 100 years time or more. Incorrect. The old organ had reached a point where it could not sustain adequately the daily round of services. We have purchased the electronic in the Quire with an agreed buy-back price should we wish to take this up. This, in balance, is considerably less than the cost of a long-term hire and it was the wish of the Chapter to retain our centuries-old tradition of choral services with a broad cross-section of repertoire. Your suggestion of rigging up microphones might work for a congregational service but is quite ridiculous for accompanying a choir at a distance of probably 100 metres. Incorrect again. In fact we are negotiating a deal on the second organ which is,as yet, incomplete. It would be unwise of me to go into these details at this stage but suffice it to say that our stewardship of the very limited resources available to us demand the closest scrutiny. We do not spend money, particularly at this scale, without considerable discussion and thought. A

You're welcome A I think it's just accepted as being a misprint... A

Altos should move from Ab to G A

Thanks for all the support over the past few messages and also to all those of you who have sent private messages. Shall we move back onto the other thread.....Quire organ, work in progress? I think it has a better atmosphere! A

From memory, the chord should be A flat major with the added G flat and an E flat in the bass. A