James Atherton

Certainly the destruction of the 12 32' Double Open Wood pipes was unforgivable. The organ builders, and John Sanders wanted to keep them, but RD not only insisted on their removal, but that they were sawn up outside the cathedral. Rumour has it that the foreman of H, N&B used the wood to have new window frames for his house, but perhaps this is an apocryphal tale.... Nevertheless that act was shameful. I really can't give details of the new instrument, sorry.

Thank you, Martin, and for your kind words in your previous post. There are a multitude of reasons we are not releasing details, but the way Pershore, and other instruments, are received simply by the unveiling of a specification leaves us with no option (particularly with Gloucester which must be the most controversial of organs ever built) but to keep the specification under wraps, not just until the organ is opened, but well after that. We would like people to go and see and hear it with an open mind, have fun at guessing what we have done (there may be a competition to see who can come closest) and judge the organ on its sound, not on a list of stop names.

Some, but not all of the case pipes, will continue to be used in the new instrument. The decorations were beautifully preserved by Anna Plowden in 1971 however the rest of the pipes (i.e the back and tuners) were not. They are in extremely poor condition, and very sadly Ralph Downes had the east front pipe mouths cut up (as in the cut ups were increased) an act of incredible and totally unnecessary vandalism. Had they tested the pipes first they would have known that they had to be on a lower pressure than he had set. He set the wind pressures for the whole organ, before any pipes had been made, or the front pipes had been tested! I can't imagine this sort of thing happening these days. The reason Willis chose not to use them was because they wouldn't speak on the higher pressures his organ was on. He used greater pressures than was usual for him as he was aware of the space limitations of the ancient case and was worried his organ would not be loud enough. We will restore the backs and tuners of the pipes that are going to be speaking. We can't add back the material RD had removed sadly, but the pipes will have a solidity and will be correctly stayed up, something they had neither of previously. Some of the pipes were screwed directly into the back of the organ case, if you can believe that!!

Interestingly Christchurch have installed an organ that IS suitable for accompanying the choir, and Trinity had, for a time, a digital organ for the same purpose

I think it is fair to say they are all better for organ repertoire than for accompanying a choir.

Thank you. I am aware there are very strong feelings for and against the old instrument. In many ways I loved it, but I also had grave reservations about it. For context, I was a Lay Clerk there for 6 years and lived with it every day. There were severe limitations in what it could do accompanying the Choir as much of it was so aggressive in its voicing that it dominated the singers. We couldn't use the Choir organ, for instance, as the transient 'chiff' was too distracting. Those stops that could be used became quite dull to the ears, there wasn't enough choice in the gentle stops to make it an inspiring instrument to be accompanied by. The reeds had to be used sparingly and the Great was overwhelming so couldn't be used above the 4' Octave. I was responsible for looking after the instrument for 17 years until it stopped working (and it literally just stopped) The cathedral were quite clear that they wanted a new instrument that would be better suited for its main roles, and we were 'on the same page' with all that, bearing in mind my own personal experiences with the old one. The wording for the press release was purposely vague until we had finalised everything that was actually going to happen. It did give a hint to the details (refurbish and renew is what we are doing. Refurbishment of the case and case pipes with the rest renewed) I have always been honest about my own feelings about the previous instrument, I don't see any point in not being. Not everyone agrees with me, and there have been some rather heated debates over the past years with regards to it. I come from the position of wanting the organ to be an ideal instrument for accompanying the Choir and the daily liturgy, along with supporting large congratulations in hymnody. This doesn't mean we intended to 'throe the baby out with the bathwater'. There were some good ideas in 1971, but they were flawed. We have learnt much and we anticipate the new instrument will be able to much of what the last one could, but also do everything it couldn't do that well. Fine words.... Let's see how it all turns out! Best wishes James

This is indeed our official position. We are refurbishing the ancient case and case pipes and renewing the rest. The organ will be completed in time for the 2026 Three Choirs Festival.

Hi Contra Violone. There is no joke implied or intended. The previous organ was beset with technical issues almost from its inception in 1971. Only 28 years after it was installed we had to remove the organ to replace all the magnets and attend to the soundboards, some of which were from the old Willis instrument. From a tonal perspective the organ was extremely exciting for recital work, but for accompanying the cathedral choir and supporting a congregation (both of these things are what the organ is supposed to do primarily) it wasn't ideal. The new instrument (note new instrument, not a rebuild) has been designed to put accompanying the liturgy first. We have decided that it would be preferable for the organ to be heard before any details of the specification is revealed, which it will be in due course. The historic case and it's casepipes will be thoroughly restored. I hope you come to hear the new organ with an open mind and enjoy what you hear when you do. Regards James