Choir Man

Does anyone know why a lot of minster churches appear to be in Yorkshire and its surrounding counties?

The IAO are also listing James Lancelot as the interim DOM at Worcester on their publicity for the Midlands Organ Day: http://iao.org.uk/mod/ . This looks likely to be a fantastic day and well worth the journey to Worcester.

Also from the realm of stately homes, the library at Danson house has a pretty little instrument which was restored by our hosts in 2004. http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N14202

The specification of the Salisbury instrument http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N00990 does bear some relation to the specification to the earlier form of the Sheffield instrument. http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N02848 . However we now have three instruments that claim to be (at least in part) from Sheffield Cathedral. I do wonder how many more organs may claim this provenance and whether the accumulated parts my be like fragments of the True Cross... As regards the current set-up at Sheffield, it's true that the building has a very awkward shape and placement of an organ will be difficult. In many ways I think a continental set-up with a Grand Organ at the west end and a smaller choir organ in the chancel might be the best compromise. £3m to move the C-C from Warrington would be money well spent, however extra money would be needed to build a sympathetically voiced Orgue de Choer to go with it. And then you would want a console that could play both instruments... So as you can see moving the C-C to Sheffield wouldn't just be a lift and shift and the costs would be a lot more than just the purchase and relocation. The Cathedral has just spent a significant amount of money on building works and may have other priorities at the moment. On a slightly diverse note, Sheffield used to be the home of another C-C which was in Sheffield's Albert Hall. The 78 stop instrument was a 'sister' of the instrument which was originally built for Castle Ilbarritz but now resides in the Sacre Coer, Paris. At one stage there was a plan to relocate it to the newer City Hall being build opposite, but the Albert Hall and instrument within were destryed by fire in 1937.

Just returned from a weekend in Birmingham where I had the opportunity to play the instrument in St Anne's, Moseley which will be familiar to users of a well known piece of organ simulation software. Not a looker, but like most instruments, sounds much better in the flesh when you add the ambience of the building and the experience of sitting at the console. Coming back to topic, the nearby church of St Agnes, Moseley has IMHO a very pretty case. http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=D06670

Widor for 6 hands at the RAH

Sadly, football is not coming home. But if England had got through to the final, would anyone have played anything special on Sunday? I was thinking of a fanfare based on the 'It's coming home' theme. Any ideas from other forumites? And would you have played them?

First YouTube video featuring the new organ (I think). Worth skipping through to the last 5 minutes if you don't want to sit through the whole mass, although you would miss some nice singing if you did.

Seeing as we've strayed into Scotland, I think a diversion to Wales is now acceptable and here is the organof St Mary's Usk. Originally built for Lllandaff Cathedral in 1861 the instrument was moved to Usk in 1900. As well as the painted pipes, including the chamade trumpets, the case and stop jambs are splendidly carved. http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N09835

Ahead of the forthcoming royal nuptuals I found the following post on St George's website profiling some of the non-routine maintenance that Harrison's have done this year. The video includes the full anatomy of one of the swell reed pipes. https://www.stgeorges-windsor.org/news/looking-after-the-organ/

Farewell to Canterbury...

In my experience I have found many churches to be most welcoming (although there were a few that weren't). I would suggest to check the websites of your local churches and send a few emails to the DOMs or whoever's contact details you can find, explaining your requiements. The only possible consequence is that you might be added to their list of deputising organists.

It's not uncomon for consoles in loft positions to have a speaker linked to the PA system so they organist can hear what is going on in the service. It may also be linked to a microphone for communications with the conductor during rehearsal. It's possible that some organists may prefer headphones to the speaker. However in the Sheffield situation where the console is next to the choir I think the above is unlikely. I suspect the headphones may be for the benefit of the outside broadcast director to have some communication with the organist to ensure the broadcast starts and ends on time. On a side note, I was born and brought up in Sheffield and remember the old Mander organ with its red-painted box of pipes and hoizontal trumpets on top. It's a pity that it wasn't deemed fit for restoration but it was in a horrible location and the quest to get a proper replacement has been going on too long. Is the Parr Hall project officially dead? I haven't heard any news in a long time.

Weingarten has always fascinated me as one of those mechanical marvels with many different bits in different places. The photo from the conductor's position shows many of the access panels that are required. However I never realised that there was a space in front of the console for conductor and choir. On the conductor's stand there is a piece of organ music, I can make out the word 'Overture' in the title, can anyone recognise the piece from the music? On a seperate note the position of the console feels very much 'inside' the organ. There are no pipes behind the organist but many around and in front. Do members know of any other consoles so disposed?

The best surely has to be the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. Where you can wonder around inside the instrument!

For that matter, when does a festival become an international organ festival? In Leeds' case where they have an English style organ that was built in Germany they could argue that their organ is international. But if your instrument is not international then what qualifies the festival? The organists or the music that they play?

Just came across this. The opening title says it all...

I notice that the specification includes a Transept division, but no mention is made of a case in the transept. I'm guessing that this may be pipes in the triforium with the rest of the organ that are arranged to speak into the transept. Does anyone have any further inof? Here's a link to a leaflet giving more information about the organ project: https://www.canterbury-cathedral.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/QO-tri-fold-spread-v6.pdf Although Harrisons now list the work on their website there are no details as yet. They usually have extensive photographs of each project so I'm looking forward to seeing this develop.

Apologies for the typo, should be 30 stops.

The article on Allen's website makes interesting reading. It is clear that the authorities at the Vatican seemed to change their mind several times, even after delivery, about what the organ would be used for. The photo of the boxed up organ and speakers would suggest that there is no where near enough speakers for the size of the building and the final solution seems to involve plugging it into the PA system so I doubt very much how much like 'the real thing' it will sound. It may also be relevant to note that several sources suggest that Allen donated the organ to the Vatican which may explain why they were preferred to the Italian domestic toaster manufacturer. As for the organ itself, judging from the photos it's a 3 manual 3 stop model like their G330, whether it has been custom built or off the shelf is not mentioned.

A convent of Spanish nuns is facing a steep bill for having a priceless church organ repaired without the state's permission. Restoration of the instrument was funded by a local music foundation, but the regional government of Andalusia has fined the convent a hefty 170,000 euros for the "unauthorised" work on the organ. The ornately-decorated instrument was built by 17th century master Perez Valladolid, and Andalusia's Ministry of Culture listed it as an Item of Cultural Significance in 1983. It is believed to be the inspiration for Gustavo Adolfo Becquer's celebrated story Maese Perez, the Organist. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-42009290 The story of Maese Perez can be read at: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Stories_by_Foreign_Authors_(Spanish)/The_Organist

The church of St Jacques in the town of Saint-James in normandy suffered a catastrophic ceiling vault collapse last week directly onto their recently restored Merklin organ. http://www.orgue-en-france.org/saint-james-50-lorgue-detruit-leffondrement-de-voute-lundi-7-novembre-2017/ Fortunately the collapse happened overnight while the church was unoccupied and nobody was hurt. ps Does anyone know what if any progress there has been at Soissons cathedral since their rose window got blown out taking part of the organ with it?

I find the word "fine" can have a very loaded meaning and should be used with caution. For example the reponse "I'm fine" often infers that the responder is far from fine, particularly if they are one's spouse or child. So far as organs are concerned, personally I would use "marvelous" as a well constructed & voiced organ is a marvel of engineering and a well played organ is a marvel of musicianship. How many other other instruments require the use of all four limbs as well as requiring the perfomer to select different registrations in the midst of whatever complications their hands and feet are doing?

Damian Beasley raised a very interesting question in another thread that first got me thinking and then, having over-thought, very confused. How tightly do swell shutters close and, when closed, does this not restrict the flow of air out of the swell box, therefore raising the air pressure inside the box, which effectively reduces the pressure the pipes are speaking on which then leads to de-tuning? DP

The architects have a number of images of their concept for the converted hall on their website: http://www.architectsle1.co.uk/central-hall-birmingham/ I do hope that they have costed for a proper restoration and not just a cosmetic job on the facade. Also I'm not sure what the intended use of the new hall would be, the drawings suggest more hotel lobby than concert venue. In which case I would be concerned that the 'restored' instrument might have little opportunity for serious use in case it disturbs the guests. Of course they might be invisaging a UK version of Macey's... Are there any precendents for organs in hotels?