[Let's have a riot part deux]

Good evening,

 

I am a new French member; I believe the instrument you described in this post is St Peter's Bournemouth which I knew quite a lot when (in the late sixties) I was a student and spent most of my holidays in Bournemouth.

I remember the H&H organ very well, particularly the Great Harmonics (one evening, I entered the church as I heard music being played: an lady organist was playing a Bach fugue with nearly full organ, adding the great Trombas for the last bars...I will never forget).

I wrote an article in the French quarterly "L'orgue" in January 1978, about Bournemouth's organs (at least some of them). At the time, my favorite organ was Christchurch Priory's, I mean the previous organ by Compton and Deggens.

 

I also heard the organ in Winborne Minster and its trumpet en chamade in the late 1970s or 1980s.

 

Unfortunately, my health does not allow me to travel at the moment, but I hope I will be able to come back in Bournemouth in the years to come.

 

Friendly yours.

PV

[Let's have a riot part deux]

Absolutely. This is a really beautiful instrument - with one slight reservation. I wish that the G.O. reeds had not been revoiced in the early 1970s. With regard to the mechanical side, I would be greatly tempted to re-instate the mechanical stop and combination action. We all used to manage without general pistons - it should still be possible to play most things with four or five composition pedals, without getting tied up in knots.

 

Whilst I am probably biased, I would suggest the organ of Wimborne Minster. Whilst this did have a major rebuild in the mid 1960s, the quality of the voicing is superb - every stop blends (with the exception of the Chamade - which was never intended to blend).

 

Yesterday I had to play for a colleague at a church which possesses a large three clavier instrument, originally by Willis, greatly enlarged and rebuilt by Harrisons and finally rebuilt (arguably not particularly well) by Rushworth & Dreaper, in the mid 1970s. After returning to my own instrument in the afternoon, to play for Choral Evensong, I was struck by the apparent lack of blend in the organ at the other church. The Swell has a big Open Diapason and an enormous Trumpet 8ft - which stands apart from its neighbours. The Swell five-rank Mixture was barely audible in the full Swell. At the Minster, all the reeds blend well, yet form an exciting and utterly musical ensemble. Again, on the G.O. at the other church, there is a huge Open Diapason I, a large Hohlflöte, and two still rather fat reeds (Posaunes). Whilst the four-rank Mixture is at least audible, the chorus does not hang together convincingly, even if one omits the large Open Diapason. The Choir Organ is Romantic Solo Organ in all but name and, whilst the individual stops are for the most part pleasant, it is only really useful in choral accompaniment. The Cor Anglais (16ft.) is too quiet - it is borrowed on the Pedal Organ, where its presence is virtually pointless, there being a quiet Dulciana already.

 

On the mechanical side, this instrument is, quite frankly, beginning to resemble just so much junk, these days. The action is rather slow and lacks crispness; the piston action is also sluggish. The consloe is nothing short of a disgrace, particularly compared to the elegance of the former H&H console. It was detached to facilitate better contact between the choir and organist, and to enable the player to gain a clearer idea of the balance between singers and organ. Why they could not simply have built a case for the old H&H console and given it a new action I cannot imagine.

 

I think probably what I am trying to say is that I regard the organ of Wimborne Minster as a superb, thoroughly musical instrument.