Achilles 3201

I would welcome advice as to what to do with a useless Clarinet stop on a small Victorian organ ( 2M+P - 13 stops ). It is so uneven in tone and unreliable that I rarely use it. Do we send it away to be put back into good order ? Who would you recommend ( East Anglia preferably ). Could we have it modified to be more useful ? How about a small mixture - T.C. - reused pipes ? Many thanks.

Thank God we are back singing - those that sing pray twice.

I wonder if the CoE is moving towards an era of more responsible stewardship ( e.g. Hull Minster's “Living with Hope – A Future for the Earth” where Freedom Festival’s ‘Gaia’ exhibition displays a giant inflatable ‘earth’ in the Minster’s Nave ) we will see fewer large churches, cathedrals and college chapels replacing or significantly changing perfectly serviceable instruments after only 25 years use because they do not match currents tastes. ( Here's a challenge - how many 'good' organs can you think off that no longer exist but could have gone on for years with a little care ? ) Most of us put up with instruments that are less than ideal but which still work. I would love to replace our Great Clarinet with a three rank mixture but cannot justify the expense nor that the character of the instrument would be significantly altered after 154 years of effective liturgical accompaniment.

"The shapes of both bells, of early ‘beehive’ shape , and pipes leaves little doubt that both date back to the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem of the eleventh and early twelfth centuries". A lot more work needs to be done before such a sweeping statement can be made with any confidence.

Maufe's brick wonder has the most marvellous acoustics - everything coalesces.

'Nobody has told me nothing'... yet. Neither the vicar, rural dean or the COVID admin lady in diocesan office. I'm off until September by which time I hope someone tells me what is going on. A parish Eucharist without singing has felt very odd, almost uncomfortable. I do not know if we will ever get back to 'usual' as we have lost so many of the congregation.

Good luck - these problems should not have occurred. Regards, Clive.

Please can I urge forum members to sign this Government petition : https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/586559

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-57240510

It took a year for the Archbishop of Canterbury to admit that the CoE had not done things well during the first lock-down, specifically locking the churches. I am of the clear opinion that senior clergy should be pushing for congregational singing to be allowed. It is of concern that key personnel in my diocese do not plan to do anything for at least a further four weeks.

When can we expect to be able to sing hymns as a congregation ? Do any of you have any indication yet ? I can sit in a stuffy aeroplane for hours, work up a sweat at the gym, have a meal in a restaurant but not sing in church. Advice from the diocese, months out of date, is that we are still unable sing and that they are "hopeful for a further update at June 21st". In the meantime there is very little being done to help us recover from the decline in numbers. Being able to sing would be a significant step forward.

How has this organ fared ? Was the revoicing a noticeable improvement ?

Almost three years on, it is strange that there is no further news.

In replying to an ex HNB man, I wouldn't wish to cause offence. I have known the Cathedral for many years, even before the organ was rebuilt in 1970. It used to be a delight to pop in, before the 'visitor attendants' became so conspicuous. It is simply that I have never left the Cathedral wishing to 'phone a friend to enthuse about what I had just heard. The organ has much which is good, particularly in the Swell and Choir. There is an interesting variety of stops in the Pedal, which has a good impact in the Nave. The chorus reeds are lovely - a good variety without anything being out of place. I dislike the Positiv and consider it an unmusical carbuncle. I remember taking my young daughter into the city to hear her first Choral Evensong there. We sat in the choir, from where some of the pedal flues have an unbalanced impact, booming away from somewhere just above the stalls. It was unfortunate that the organist changed the registration with monotonous frequency and no musical rationale, as if trying to find something nice. In the choir the defects in the Positiv are very apparent - it is not suitable for accompaniment unless used very carefully. I hope the rebuild is successful but it will be difficult to overcome the very strange acoustics of the building, particularly if parts of the organ are still spread all over the place.

Were not medieval earthenware vessels found under the choir stalls at St Albans Cathedral ?

Has this rebuild now been completed ? How does it sound? I look forward to hearing the new Great ; the previous was uninspiring.

Has there been any more news. I hope the rebuilt organ will sound a bit more interesting.

Having heard a very well regarded international recitalist put this instrument through it's paces, I'm afraid I was far from impressed. The quieter stops are quite ordinary and the main choruses are simply too loud for the music to be heard. We retreated to the Blessed Sacrament Chapel to listen.

Please could someone with a copy of Nicholas M. Plumley's Organs of the City of London: From the Restoration to the Present look up p.145 re. St. Augustine with St. Faith, Watling Street, and p. 45 re. St. Andrew by the Wardrobe, Queen Victoria Street and confirm that he states both organs were destroyed by an incendiary attack during WW2, on 10th May 1941. Does he record other organs being destroyed on this night ? Thank you.