John Robinson

Welcome. I am grateful to you for writing, Anorak, as I too am not possessed of the necessary skills to play the organ although I have had a life-long interest. To the best of my knowledge there are other members of this forum who are not organists, so we are not alone! I look forward to your questions as I am sure they will be of interest to me as well. I may even join in with some of my own!

Thanks for this timely reminder. Ordered!

That must have taken ages to set up.

It was John Sayer, actually (!), but I feel the same about Posaune. I prefer Gemshorn with a hard 'g', too. Both words come from the German, so perhaps should be pronounced in German!

Yes. I've just looked at the plans and, apart from the bottom six (of what I thought were stopped wood) the rest of the Salicet 16' pipes look like metal and, as you say, extend upward within the box behind the blower. Perhaps it is some of these that are Haskelled.

Ah, I remember that programme now! I wish they'd bring it back. Some of those gadgets (if I remember) were fascinating. It would be interesting to see how many laymen could work out what a Barker lever was for!

Thanks, Sprondel. I hadn't realised this. I don't know much about Haskelling, but if the pipe tops are open (as I think they are in Haskelled pipes) doesn't at least some of their sound emanate from outside the swell box?

I should have added that the bottom few pipes of this stop, outside of the box, are stopped. I don't know how noticeable the break is from stopped to open.

The Swell 16' Salicet in the Nave organ at Cologne Cathedral (by the same builder) is the same.

Thank you, Pierre.

It has been explained on here that the Sesquialtera (the Baroque type - 2 2/3' 1 3/5') is correctly of Principal pipes, but what about that other North German stop, the Terzian (1 3/5' 1 1/3')?

Perhaps Pierre can give me a proper explanation: I'd really like to know.

An interesting post, Pierre. Thanks. But what are 'bottleneck effects'? I had assumed that Septiemes, Nones and others like Elevenths, etc, were to add additional colour. Not essentials for any genre of music, of course, but interesting nonetheless.

Yes, I read about this. However, didn't they retain a 'roof' (angled at about 45 degrees) above the Solowerk/Positif (oberladen)? This looks as if it would project the sound of this department directly into the chancel. The small Ruckpositiv is also in a case with a roof. I find it interesting that, depite being built in the austere post-war years when certain materials were in short supply, this instrument is regarded as being of surprisingly good quality.

Some years ago, I made a single pipe out of a cardboard tube (about a foot long with, incidentally, a tuning slide) to demonstrate the principle of operation to my school children. It is not varnished or sealed in any way, yet plays reliably. It sounds pleasantly flutey. One day, I might make the rest of the organ!

I had thought about this possibility before for use in a 'two-way facing' organ, such as those on screens. I had always thought of it as just a 'pipe dream' (if you'll pardon the pun), but it now seems a distinct possibility. In my opinion it could be quite a useful feature and could, for example, serve recitals in either nave or chancel or even as an echo effect as was often found in Spanish organs with a trompeteria facing into the aisle.

Is it essential for a group of people who wish to worship collectively to have an ordained priest in attendance? Can they not talk to God without the presence of an intermediary?

Wow! Yes, she certainly is. And those legs! Oh, and the music's quite nice, too.

I have all four of those LPs somewhere. I think they are unusual in that they comprise transcriptions which, although played on baroque-type instruments, sound surprisingly effective. I do wish they'd re-release them on CD.

I have that LP too. I seem to remember there being a lot of wind noise. I am presuming that is what it is, and not surface noise from the (old) LP.

What is the wind pressure, typically, in a street organ?

http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi...ec_index=N04015 Strangely, a Septieme 4 4/7' but no Tierce 6 2/5'. An enormous Pedal, though: 24 of 74 speaking stops!

I've even used the M1 and gone back across the Pennines on the M62. Avoid the M5/M6 like the plague!

I assure you that I most certainly would have gone even without the free beer. I think if I were HW, I would rather resent the suggestion of 'bribery'. And, yes, my car still had four wheels when I returned. On the matter of parking, when we arrived we found a space at the front just behind HW's transit van, but noticed a sign saying 'no stopping' (never mind 'no parking'). Despite others having parked there, my wife insisted (as she was driving) that we park round the back and walk a few yards! One little question: wasn't the original 'Rotunda' works in London? I presume that when Willis moved to Liverpool, they named their new premises after the original.

I think I know what you mean. I hope you picked it up!