contraviolone

I think DW you have let the 'cat out the bag'. Clearly Latry wishes to have his cake and eat it - playing the Notre Dame organ and dreaming about his 2cvs all at the same time. Marvellous. Never mind, we have St Sulpice across the river. A far superior instrument, and a far more welcoming church.

I completely agree with this sentiment.

Thank you. And yes, I agree!

I quite like the 'toy kitchen' analogy! Almost immediately the thoughts of 'IKEA' came to my mind, and that really sums up the appearance of this new console. A very cheap IKEA kitchen suite. On some of the close-ups of the woodword (in one of the videos posted) the quality of the finish is actually quite dreadful. In all seriousness my young daughter could do a better job at cabinetry in her woodwork class than the pile of balsawood shown here. I do not agree on the 1991 work though. For me the integrity of the organ, as accomplished by Cochereau's tenure, was fundamentally altered by that work. The overall balance of the organ, even with the Boisseau chamades as originally set up, was much better pre-1991. For instance, the new chamade additions were unnecessary. With all the chamades used, everything gets obliterated, and the balance is to my ears, wrong. I also have a nagging fear (and I hope I am wrong) that everything to do with the Cochereau era is being slowly, and deliberately, erased. It may be that the present Titulaires do not wish to be reminded of the Cochereau legacy? Perhaps this is a 'French' thing? All I will say is that I preferred the 'Cochereau' organ. The next instalment can only be a further migration away from that organ. I really do think that's a shame.

I suppose it is wonderful, if you like mutations. In total there wil be twenty-one independent mutations on this organ, which is a staggering number, even for the size of this instrument. Still, it will be interesting to listen to the effects of an Onzieme 2 10/11.

There was, from what I have heard, a switch at the St Paul's Cathedral organ which allowed the three West End trumpets 16/8/4 to be played on the same octave concurrently. Perhaps this was removed after Christpher Dearnley's time, as there has been no recent reference to it at all.

I agree with all the comments regarding the appearance of the new console. I fail to see how such a design and appearance can blend with everything else around it? Perhaps that's not important though, so I presume that it's 'functional' aspects are an improvement over the previous console? (which I quite liked). I also do not understand the purpose, if any, of the 'new' Resonance division. I know most of the pipework is derived from the previous Petite Pedale, but what's with the new mutations Neuvieme and Onzieme? Having googled these, their use in other instruments appears to be very rare. There is a Neuvieme at St Eustache but still, can anyone provide a pointer for their use? Any ideas what they sound like? Is this a case of mutation madness?

Shocking. I hope something can be done about this.

Paisley Abbey is being restored by Harrisons and a 32' Contra Bombarde is being added.

Yes thanks again to Simon Johnson and John Mander for giving up their time for holding a demonstration of the restored Organ. The demonstration of the new Dome reeds confirmed my view from the Celebrity recital by Olivier Latry that a better balance has been achieved with the Dome Chorus, although I must say the new Clarion is certainly punching away nicely at the same kind of level as the Trompette Militaire. The demonstration of some of the quieter stops was also a revelation: in particular the South Choir Claribel Flute, the Solo Corno di Bassetto, and most surprising to me the Solo Diapason (I was amazed at how effective this was under expression). Great evening, thanks again. Mark.

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I think I'd better start playing the Euro Lotto now......can't guarantee the jackpot though Generous offer Simon, please count me in

The Cymbal III (29.33.36) has been gone for quite some time, replaced by Mixture III (22.26.29) toward the end of the 1990s I think. Why this was done, considering the duplication of the mixtures already there, seems also strange to me. I also think the flue chorus now lacks a certain 'brightness'. Certainly the Dome is now resolutely 'reed' dominated, perhaps the idea of the planned-for new stop (perhaps a large Sesquialtera) may tip the balance back a little bit?

Hmmm, I don't think 'blazing yourself' across the internet is the real issue here. 'Organs' and 'organists' constitute such a miniscule interest that I don't think anyone would really care what you said if you were 'googled' and 'discovered' on the web. You might care though within the confines of the dusty organ lofts and gossipy cobwebs that is the organ world. So I guess that's why the pseudo's here wish to hide behind their silly pseudonyms. Totally agree with you David!

About as much 'chance' of that happening as winning the Euro Lotto

I think sometimes the reverberation in St Paul's actually works against the organ, certainly the Chancel organ anyway. To hear these divisions at their best you really need to be sitting in the Quire itself (although admittedly you can hear the North Case very well from the South Transept entrance). But the sheer beauty of these Chancel sections is self-evident. And to perform with this instrument is a very enjoyable experience. Prestigious venue apart (and I take your point on this Colin), the Chancel Organ is, without doubt, a real gem. I think you would be pushing into the realm of disingenuity if you were not to admit this to be true.

That's a good point. Funds have yet to be secured to complete the re-instatement at RFH. It would be intriguing to hear this organ complete in a better environment.

Great picture, who is conducting the work? Not Henry Willis III I'm sure!

I am sure you are referring to the Lewis chorus binned in 1977 in favour of the new NPMander diapason chorus. The 'historic pipework' I was referring to was the 'Father' Willis reeds of 1900: (1) Contra Posaune 16' and Trumpet 8', originally installed in the Solo box in 1900 and transferred to the Dome in 1977; (2) The Dome tubas 16.8.4 also installed in 1900. It is these five ranks which have been replaced in the 2008 Mander restoration.

The Lewis pipework was replaced in the 1977 rebuild Bazuin. The origins of the Trompette Militaire have been much discussed on here (and elsewhere). It would be nice to hear it sometimes though, last time I heard it was ten years ago I think. Perhaps it's not there at all really, and they're just not telling us I agree with you here Bazuin 100% I think this such an important point. The replacement of all the 1900 Father Willis manual reeds in the Dome (chorus reeds 16.8 and tubas 16.8.4) with brand new Mander stops is a good example. Certainly the character of the Dome section is now significantly different. I'm not saying it's a bad development, in fact it sounded impressive to me this Thursday, but it is very different. I would say these replacements are more 'revolutionary' than 'evolutionary' in terms of the Grand Organ's development. Whether you think such replacements of supposed historic pipework from one of our historic organ builders is a good thing or not is certainly open to question. At this rate, will anything be left of the Willis pipework by the end of this century?