James M

I think the architecture book I mentioned is the classic item “Pevsner”. I have ordered a copy. All Souls relates to the Hundred Years War.

I had remembered that from an architecture book I cannot now find. Upon searching, it seems like at least All Souls College Oxford must be larger.

Sorry, I meant to refer to Bach’s Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C, example here but not on the same organ: The Fugue In mentioned had an example here:

I too was taught on this very fine Harrison & Harrison and am really sad to see it go. I don’t know but imagine it is the second most complex organ in our county after Guildford Cathedral. As schoolboys we benefited from a fine choir master/ organist Robin Wells under a brilliant and hugely enthusiastic head of music Bill Llewelyn and many went on to the university colleges as choral or organ scholars. So high was the standard in that chapel which we attended seven days a week that I was very surprised when we got married to hear that the Fugue of Bach’s Toccata, Prelude and Fugue in C was considered too difficult, something I had heard played I should think at least 10 times by children on this organ. Apparently the Dubois Toccata in G, something I used to really enjoy playing on the Harrison & Harrison as a boy, is easier so we walked out to that. i do not understand the issues but it must be in places the same age as a vintage Bentley and I suppose could be a horrendously complex thing to maintain, which I suppose must be the reason for the change. I was at a funeral there attended by about 650 sailors with very big nautical voice boxes about 3 years ago and to hear Jerusalem and the 8-foot Tuba again in the last verse of Thine be the Glory was very fine indeed, something I had not heard for over 30 years. After schooling there, Phil Kenyon occasionally allowed me to play at St. John’s Cambridge where he was one of the organ scholars. That instrument had four keyboards and near twice as many stops (62 to 32, I think). It was not nearly as powerful but could do some very nice stuff! I am not really sure whether Nicholsons will install electronic speakers or actual rows of pipes - I just have no idea - and it would be good if anyone can advise. I like the idea of 50 stops (instead of 32) but this organ, now the school is going fully co-ed, will need to be able to roar against 1,000 voices or more instead of 700 so it will need some really powerful stuff. Maybe they are keeping the Tuba and Oephecleide stops as I always thought these an excellent basis along with just about everything out on the swell and great and pedal and with swell to great and swell and great to pedal I suppose for the last verse of Thine be the Glory or “Bread of Heaven” with the Tuba on the choir. i think the point may have nearly been made further up: this building is the largest War Memorial of any type in the UK. It has a long, thin and tall chamber with many hard surfaces and has a thumping long echo like Ely Cathedral even with nearly a thousand people inside. The organ is high up half way along as at Kings Cambridge where the chamber has very similar properties. The decision was taken to build Memorial Chapel once the total number of old boys killed in WW1 (700) rose towards the same as the number of boys in the school. Reading these 700 names and those of the 350 who fell in WW2 and others since is s sombre. I am sure the school will bear this in mind as they modernise.