Denis O'Connor

In the 1950's, as a schoolboy, I on occasion visited the Catholic church in West Croydon. This had a 2-manual Hope-Jones organ which was in pretty much original condition. The organist of the church was an elderly priest of some ability. He was not a model organist in that he would appear at the console after Mass had begun and the introit was being sung unaccompanied. He stabbed at a couple of likely notes to establish the pitch and he would then accompany the service. At the conclusion of Mass,he would produce a tattered copy of some organ work and give a good performance. I can remember hearing Guilmant's Cantilene Pastorale and, on another occasion, Bach's Fantasia and Fugue in G minor. My knowledge of different organ sounds was very restricted at the time so I did not notice the absence of chorus- work in the Bach. (It didn't matter in the Guilmant!) Father Harold Knight was a good player and I wonder if any octogenarian members of the forum ever came across him? The organ is no more, having been replaced by an Allen. Sic transit gloria mundi; along with concrete swell boxes and leathered diapasons!

Most of the topic has been concerned with shops offering scores. My interest has been in places which might prove good sources of second- hand books about the organ, its makers and its players (where have I seen that before?). I started to collect books of that kind about 50 years ago and was mainly concerned with acquiring a full run of "The Organ". This took me to different sources, including a farmer's barn which also had a selection of agricultural equipment. His stock had some books scattered about and, on my enquiring about organ books, he said "Do you mean those blue things?", and pointed to a small heap of that journal. Sadly, that establishment closed down after a violent robbery in which his dog was seriously injured .Another famous shop was Holleyman & Treacher of Brighton.On my only visit I was dazzled by shelf on shelf of books on the organ(including a good run of my particular quarry).This shop has long since gone. Also on the South Coast was a wonderful shop in Hastings run by a retired librarian. When I asked the owner about books on the organ, I was led downstairs to a well-- stocked basement which yielded- up several treasures. Harrogate once had a second-hand bookshop which had some shelves laden with organ fodder. On my last visit, said shelves were empty: an enquiry led to the fact that "the gentleman from Paris had cleared the lot". I wondered who that might have been! The end of my book hunting came when I decided to sell my collection of a few hundred books and journals. A certain dealer in used organ music rather unkindly suggested that I would be best advised to give them to a charity shop! Happy to say , I sold most of them to private buyers and realised a few thousand quid. Yes, there was a remnant which I donated to a gentleman who was going to open a section of his shop which would be devoted to music.

Rushworth & Dreaper, I believe, had a music shop in Liverpool which contained a 3-manual organ. This was moved to the church of St Alphege in Bath. It is currently being replaced with a redundant instrument from a church in Scotland. Does anyone know the fate of the R&D organ ? I played it once and it was a pleasant instrument which sounded well in an acoustically favourable environment. Given its previous location, it is quite possible that some readers of this message might well have played it. With regard to the firm's reputation my only bit of hearsay knowledge is that they once had a very highly regarded voicer called LlewellynSimon.

May I suggest the name of Sir Richard Terry, keen discoverer and editor of Tudor music, who was Organist at Antigua cathedral for a short time and went on to be Master of the Music at Westminster Cathedral ?

S.L. asks "Does it really matter?" I think mis-information broadcast does matter. We are very pleased that the organ of the Albert Hall is getting a decent recognition after some time of being ignored by the BBC. It is a pity that presenters do not do their homework--they are professionals, after all!

Many members of the forum will have listened to today's recital given by Peter Holder. It was fascinating to hear this organ (with over 9.000 stops, according to the announcer! ) being revealed in so many ways. I am writing to enquire (1) if anyone can make an informed comment on the sound engineering, and (2) if there is any CD recording which gives a faithful and accurate picture of the tonal resources of the instrument? Incidentally, the announcer did not suggest we were listening to an untouched Father Willis, as have some of her colleagues.

I saw the programme "Antiques Road Trip" on August 26th. Featured was the Father Willis in the URC church in Marlow.

Did anybody else see our member Bruce Buchanan's appearance on the antiques programme on TV ? He was questioned about the work of Father Willis. He even sported a bow tie-something usually associated with another member of the Willis family.

There is a charming picture which purports to be A P F Boely at an ancient organ. Can anyone point me to a source whence a copy might be made? Many thanks.

Thank you, Martin, for the clip. Thanks, also, Vox Humana for the correction.

It would be very interesting to see other instances of performers in different roles. Whether this forum would agree or not might be a different matter. As David Briggs was a a violinist in the National Youth Orchestra, we shouldn't be too surprised at his skill on that instrument. I have long wished to see someone emulating J S Bach's feat of playing the violin whilst adding a bass on the organ pedal board. Perhaps a member of the forum could find a suitable video clip?

I believe that Faure experienced difficulty with his hearing in later life. Upper frequencies sharpened and lower frequencies flattened.

I contacted one of the RAH trustees and drew his attention to the inaccuracy as it appears on the RAH website.He put me in touch with a member of staff at the hall and she sent me aletter staing that the matter would be corrected..

Further to my complaint to the BBC (which was not taken too seriously) I wrote to a trustee of the Albert Hall and received an acknowledgement plus a statement to the effect that my letter would be dealt with. On October 17th 2019 I got a very fulsome acknowledgement from the RAH and a promise that the website dealing with the organ would be revised and the BBC notified of the change. Well done RAH ! I hope we shall hear no more inaccurate statements about the organ broadcast by BBC.

The recent broadcast of the Leipzig Gewandhaus described the Harrison and Harrison organ as a Henry Willis.I have submitted a complaint stating that this was inaccurate and we look the radio 3 for the highest standards. I am beginning to wonder if it matters at all!