John Furse

I like it, AndrewG. Both Brighton and Cambridge cases are of high quality. This will pose a conundrum in several ways - not least as regards ‘heritage’. An elegant (?) solution would be to use both, as at Jesus. Thus, the E Oldrid Scott case would be kept (in a stroke possibly solving the Trompeta ‘problem’), with the W one replaced by that from Brighton. I have done the most basic of photographic mock-ups, and it ‘works’. As for size, St P’s is over one-third longer than the Chapel. I have ‘measured’ this by the most basic of GoogleMap comparisons. It should prove more than adequate

Far be it from me to indulge in speculation (returning to Cambridge), but several questions leap into my mind. The first is, of course, who will do the job ? There would seem to be more than enough room to house the Brighton instrument in the Chapel. Will there be some additions/enlargement ? I would have thought such a Pedal, and given its location and usage, ‘required’ both (a) 32’ flue and reed. The current (John’s) department contains mostly 1839/1869 pipes. Will some of these be retained ? Similarly, Brighton has only one choir of strings. Is this sufficient ?

I’m a bit of a herpetophobe (bad experience with a Green Mamba), but did participate in a wonderful Lacock course, run by one third of The London Serpent Trio (Andrew van der Beek).

I have a horrid suspicion that "DR" is another abbreviation: for droits réservés. But by or for whom ?

And, surely, that should be the most important consideration.

The abbreviation "Coll. part.", following the copyright symbol, is short for "collection particulière" - private collection. What is now needed is to track down 'DR'. Cue our French-based experts ? That well-upholstered bench is very high for M. Boëly: his foot is fully flexed and only his big toe looks as if it's making contact with the pedal. I presume that apparently empty ironwork brazier is there to provide heat for a chilly loft, when required. No wonder so many churches burned down. There's a candle-holder for the pedals, too; with two behind him, on the Positif de dos.

I'm sure Dr Miller wouldn't mind if a Tuba (or similar) were used. Not all organists have four instruments on which to play in their house of worship - and it looks as if there is an en chamade reed on only one. He has also done this rather fun shortie [Ride On, Ride on In Majesty arr. A. D. Miller - YouTube], for the Sunday before. I could not find a performance on an organ.

I do not claim any sort of equivalence with Simon Johnson, but was forced to use my nose once in a recital. This would have been in the 80s. The organ was not over-endowed with generals, the registrant had failed to materialise and there was one place where this was the only way to hold down a note, whilst simultaneously changing stops with one of my hands. I cannot remember which piece it was, but had not practised this manoeuvre and felt right daft ! It probably did not look all that good, either.

That was fascinating. Thank you.

The choir stalls in the wonderful Ss Peter & Paul, Salle, Norfolk stand on something akin to a rather large guitar body. See: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Salle,_Ss_Peter_%26_Paul_church,_choir_stalls_(28285923066).jpg and http://www.norfolkchurches.co.uk/salle/salle.htm The Tallis Scholars recorded several CDs there, taking advantage of the fine acoustics.

I feel I must leap, timorously and tardily, to the defence of Sir Charles. He only wrote seven symphonies, six Irish Rhapsodies, a couple of concertos and a stunningly stirring (listen to the Prelude) Stabat Mater. This last, being choral, obviously has relevance to his day-to-day liturgical output for the church. Notwithstanding his oft-stated debt to Brahms, I can hear some Dvořák in this; possibly a result of the influence of Irish folk music. Yes, the ‘in C’ Canticles are probably too often performed (and too fast, definitely) by choirs who may not quite have them under technical c

Whilst I've played a fair number of Spanish instruments, and performed on a few, I had a substantial interest in them in an earlier incarnation. I wouldn't, however, claim to be an expert. There is an entity known by some as the 'Iberian organ'. Yes, there are similarities between the instruments of these neighbours: horizontal reeds (not solely of a fanfare-type); an undeveloped pedal department; many instruments are one-manual; divided stops on the manuals; wide-scale principal stops, measured as above; a panoply of cornet-type stops; Epistle and Gospel organs in many larger buildings.

Mea culpa - possibly. One of the translations of Cheio is 'stuffed'. This is why I assumed what I assumed. For two neighbouring and related languages, Portuguese is very different from Spanish. Perhaps I should stick to the latter.

Open and stopped.

(In haste.) There are a couple of YouTubes. From 2010, a whole concert - with a choir in the latter half, console views and ORGAN conductor, for the first piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsqARwUW1ZU And, from 2015, one piece: There may be more, but I don’t have time, today.