Colin Harvey

God, yes - I was doing the ironing and needed something to occupy me. Personally, I don't have a problem with worship songs, the quality of which is generally improving and there have been some good ones written over the past 10 years - although that final song was dreadful, it had nothing to do with God or religion and was musically banal, lacking either melody or harmony. The thing that I really didn't agree with was the interview of the writer of the final song, who was trying to say that inspiration was far more important than skill writing songs so don't waste too much time spending time developing your skills. I find that inspiration frequently develops from spending time developing my somewhat limited skills and when I do have inspiration, then the time I've spend developing my skills helps develop inspiration. Similarly, you do sometimes have to turn up on Sunday morning and just do a job without any inspiration - and that's when you need skills to get you through. Sitting around complacently waiting for inspiration to strike is no way to live a musical life!

Not to mention those dreadful sash windows and the strictures those historical conservationists now have on planning permission. Why do they bother?

Well, I just can't understand it at all. Why would anyone want to live in a Georgian house when they could have a Barratt home?

The great problem with this is finding a publisher who would publish a book on a builder and finding the financial backing to support the writer while writing and researching it. I believe that Stephen Bicknell had some form of bursary to write his book on the History of the English organ - unfortunately, prior and subsequent applications have not been so successful. There was a plan to write a book about Henry Willis but that is currently unlikely to see the light of day and Stephen Bicknell and Nicholas Plumley wrote a history of J.W.Walker & Sons while working there in the early 1990s. Unfortuantely, a publisher could not be found. I'm rather lucky to have a draft of the Walker history somewhere on my computer at home, which Stephen kindly sent me. It would have made a fine book.

I suspect some Dutch humour here... I like your second point. The stops on the organ at Alkmaar are sprung loaded and you need to hitch them down, otherwise they shoot back in. This makes it nearly impossible to change stops while seated at the console and it's a 2 handed job to pull out one stop. This really must be a particularly unpleasurable organ to play. But who would change it?

Certainly does - pallets in the bass are bigger for larger, more wind-hungry notes and you'll get double pallets (i.e. 2 pallets per key) or even more (normally in very large modern mechanical action organs) in the bass of large divisions. Sometimes balancier motors are used to give assistance to overcome the pluck to open the pallet(s) and some builders (I believe Ken Tickell did this at Eton) use electric actions to open the 2nd pallets triggered by a sensor (now normally optical or hall) on the mechanical action pallet.

Unfortunately, I only have 129 graduations of control of each key, so this system would be no good for me.

Another good resource, with all the well-known toccatas in is this: http://www.musicroom.com/se/ID_No/056512/details.html

How about the Boellmann toccata from Suite Gothique? It's really quite easy (except a couple of beats I rarely get exactly right when performing it) and is very effective. At about 3:40 to 4 minutes, just the right length for a flashy end to a service. I don't entirely agree with pcnd about all his Mendelssohn suggestions: although they are fine pieces, they are not the flashiest pieces in the repertoire. The first movement of sonata 1 is in the austere key of F minor and is an intense contraputal movement - it's not going to get a party off the ground. Sonata 2 - lovely, especially the andante with the solo but there is very little musical substance to the 3rd movement and the 4th movement is a mf fugue at a moderato con moto pace. Sonata 3 is very fine and grand but the middle section takes a lot of practice and work to play correctly. Good, meaty piece though - a good suggestion. The first and last movements of sonata IV are very hard (I would rather play the Dupre P&F in B major) to play right and at the metronome marks, although they are very fine. While happy music, they are quite restrained in a way - I wouldn't quite class them as party pieces. Sonata 5 sounds nice but will never raise the roof off the building. Sonata 6 - I actually think pcnd means the toccata, which is the final section of the first movement. It's a good piece and quite easy to learn and play, although you will occasionally wish you have 6 fingers on both hands, it is certainly a fore-runner of the later whirling French toccatas... I love the Fugue from the Tryptique Symphonique by Pierre Cochereau, the way it starts from foundations in the beginning and builds with with tremendous tension and momentum just to die away to nothing but by the time it's really going most people will have left the service and be nattering with their friends over coffee. Perhaps the final from that suite would be more apprpriate - that's really very thrilling and just the sort of thing PC would finish a big service with. If you want something easy, I would suggest in addition to the suggestions above the Toccata Festiva by Fletcher - really easy and impressive sounding. Happy party piece, just a step above Lefebure-Weley. Christus Servulis Placare - final piece in Le tombeau de Tietoulouze (sp?!) by Dupre is a good piece and sounds flashy but is not that difficult. Gigout Scherzo is a good piece, too. I'm thinking about learning the Dubois toccata myself - I'd rather like to play that at this year's carol service or Christmas morning service.

Dear all, to give you advance warning: Inaugural Recital of the new Harrison & Harrison organ St Mary the Virgin, Twyford, Hants Directions Robert Quinney Sub Organist, Westminster Abbey 7:30pm 21 October 2006 Music by Buxtehude, Byrd, Handel, Mendelssohn, Vierne & Widor Tickets will be available at the beginning of October. Prices tbc, but expected to be in the region £10/ £8 concs. Please PM me if you'd like to reserve tickets. for more infomation on the organ, go to www.twyford-organ.com

It's been done: http://www.petersontuners.com/news/bbo/index.cfm I think they use mineral oil - which doesn't evaporate - instead of water... but it must work on the same principal.

Fair enough - I put that in as bait - glad someone decided to take the bite on it! We realised that the swell organ - because of the arch and because of a relatively large Great organ in front of it - was likely to have problems with projection and being heard in the nave from its necessarily buried position. There were two options - have a big swell organ and push it for all its worth or go for a very small division in a very tight box which helps to project the sound out. Taking into account space and money considerations, along with our musical ethos, it's probably no surprise we decided on the latter option and we're very pleased with the way the sound gets out and the effect of the swell box. The tight box helps the swell organ produce a more focussed and musically incisive effect than the more ample great organ. Although the swell organ is no match for the full force of the great organ, equivalent registrations balence. Sometimes I wonder whether a bit more out the swell would be useful but so far I'm happy. Glad you like the oboe - the tuning of the reeds is really quite bad at present but the temperature has gone down nearly 10C since it was tuned during the heatwave in July. My favourite of that division has to be the stopped diapason.

That's fair enough - and I'd agree - we haven't bothered with outright power at all. It is a restrained organ in a way that a Willis III isn't. If we'd attempted to make it loud we'd have ended up with something rather uncouth and coarse. So we've kept the output of the pipes at a comfortable, unforced level and left it to the relative grandeur and brilliance of the chorus to create effect. The new organ is about as powerful as the old organ - perhaps it carries a little better - but I never found the old organ inadequate to lead the congregation so I'm quite comfortable with the power levels of the new organ. It is certainly never louder than lovely and I'd rather have a musical organ than a loud one. You're right: the acoustic doesn't help at all - removing the carpet on the dais would help. It is as dead as a door nail. And those Chagall banners, although they are wonderful, don't really help, either. They'll go in September and it'll be interesting to see what difference that makes but I don't think it's going to transform the place, with its softwood ceiling. We considered putting the organ in the west gallery but decided not to quite quickly, although I was initially keen on the idea. Moving the organ up there would have involved moving the choir to gallery as well. the priest in the chancel would be alone and massively separated from the congregation at the other end of the building and so the focus of attention would change and so the liturgical logic of the building would have been destroyed. The case wouldn't work visually in the gallery and we'd have wondered what to do with the space and empty arch left in the chancel while we lament the loss of our striking west window. So it would have destroyed the architectural logic of the building and and its integrity too (although you could argue this has already been compromised by adding the gallery...). The arch between chancel and nave is lofty; there is no crossing to contend with and the arch for the organ is quite open - so we decided to stick with the organ where it is. I guess it will always remain a tantalizing "what if" question...

We haven't been subservient to the rule-book with the mixture break. It's a 3 rank mixture - you can't break it by a 5th each time, otherwise you get regions where the quints outnumber the unisons - we decided to take the better of the 2 options. However, have you not noticed how well that mixture blends and sits atop the foundation work? have you not yet wondered why it doesn't shriek and sit atop like many other mixtures - and undoubtedly, it is far better than fitting a modern 4 rank mixture of toepfer scaling on top of that pipework. We spent a lot of time getting the scaling, pipe construction and finishing right so it blends and works absolutely right with the other stops in the chorus. Getting that right has created a chorus which is truly musical. And there's a very good reason why we've gone for such a small swell organ, too.

I can understand most of your comments but not the ones about it not being musical and not being useful for the church, which anger me. It is a very musical instrument and it speaks into the nave without hindrance. I have accompanied a congregation with it and not found it wanting. I think your comments demostrate a lack of understanding of the organ and the architectural logic of the building in which it sits.

Well, it's pretty clear - it's about creating a musical instrument with an identifiable musical character. It's also a question of how far you can go - materials available are different now and what contributes to the musical effect of the instrument. Having the right pipework, key action and arguably stop control contrbutes, candles - I don't really see a link myself. Sorry, "the Victorians don't understand mixtures" - would you care to elaborate?

Little Story I had: Every now and again, the Sunday school (or Children's Church as it is known, in fairly well-heeled Twyford) come up to the front at the end of the service after communion to show what they've been upto behind the sound proofed doors. One day, they had been writing prayers to thank God for all he had created and done for us. It was Christian Aid week and we had been praying for people suffering from drought. I will never forget one of the prayers one little boy of 7 came up with: "Dear God, Thank you for the gift of water ... so I can sail my yacht. Amen" How our Vicar kept his composure, I will never know. The congregation cooed nicely. I nearly fell off the bench and there were almost tears of laughter in the vestry afterwards.

Dear Paul This is all very interesting: sadly I will not be able to make it upto Bridlington this satruday but plan to visit later in the year. I am very interested in your comments on the mixtures: could you tell us more about the relationship of the scaling and construction between the mixtures and other stops in the chorus and how they have been treated in the voicing (e.g. whether it was necessary to louden or soften various ranks at various points in the compass) and whether the intention is to give an undiscernable blend between the new and old material or whether it was felt to be better to give a slight difference so that old and new material can just be told apart (but obviously, not enough to hinder the musicality of the sound). Others, if you think my last question is slightly controversial, I am told that the latter option was probably a concious decision on some recent, very high profile projects in Germany.

We had one ourselves with our project - friend of PCC member couldn't understand why a new H&H organ cost so much and had we considered another builder (who will remain anonymous) who could do the job for 1/4 the price... I found having our organ consultant (and I would always have a consultant who's got a professional background in organ building) was absolutely invaluable - and very helpful in situations like these. He didn't affect the cost of the work dramatically - we actually thought he was enormously good value for money and added a huge amount to the project.

Agreed. Depends on who thinks they're going to benefit from a course as to who will pay for it. I can see and agree with the distinction you're drawing between RSCM and RCO offerings - but in practice I think the lines are a bit blurred, and quite rightly. Good, well executed music is good, well executed music whether it is in a church or not.

These are all fair points and I know I've talked with various members of the RSCM comittee over the past few years about ideas and I know that they do do an enormous amount of work. The problems as I see it is how do you get that little old lady who's just been thrown in at the deep end and who would benefit enormously, to come? The church's RSCM membership will have lapsed in 1984 and both parties will be off the radar to the other. That's a really big hurdle to overcome. I also thoroughly agree and sympathise with your other point about organists like you and me taking a week off the day job to go on a course. It's something I'd love to do but I need to be inspired that it's worth the time and the money - and the best way to do that is talking to someone I respect who had been themselves. The majority of people I find who go tend to be retired people who have the time. However, I would find it a bit presumptious to expect my church to pay 100% for me to go unless I was a full time employee but I think it reasonable to ask for some form of bursary or contribution. I've gone to RCO masterclasses on Saturdays but I find there are very few which I can travel to and from in a day.

I don't remember this time at all. Judging by the scandalous state of the organs in many parish churches, I don't think these haylcon days have existed since before the 1st world war... There are exceptions - and some very good people out there but how does the church tell unless they've got someone competent themselves? It is a real problem that churches very rarely get good advice on organs and are having to tighten their purse strings so much.

I've seen similar things. I believe that the courses are actually there and happening - what needs to improve is marketing and getting people to come on these courses. Flyers and ads help - but best is to actually meet these people, made contact with them, write to them and word-of-mouth. We'll take this up off-line to see what we can do...

I very strongly agree with David's two points: 1. That there needs to be a lot more support of church musicians and organists. We need to reach out to the little old lady who finds playing a 4 part hymn a struggle, giving her the support and training she needs to turn playing the organ into a joy. At the other end of the spectrum, the talented and capable musicians need inspiring and stretching to keep fresh and continuing to develop. More needs to be done to get people to go to events like courses and masterclasses. Oundle is a wonderful example of how to do it - but the IAO, RCO, RSCM run their annual events as well. I think that more needs to be done at the local level - at RSCM and local IAO organisations for running workshops and masterclasses for musical skills. Some are excellent but the coverage is patchy. 2. The standard of organs in local churches. Winchester is a good example. While there are good organs around - the Cathedral and College have good, well maintained organs (but try getting to play them yourself) and Romsey Abbey is 15 minutes away - the general standard of organs in parish churches is extremely poor. Nearly all (but for one or two exceptions, like St Cross) have been rebuilt, electrified and expanded on a shoe string into something deeply unattractive. The result in all cases is the same - an organ which is an unsatisfactory musical instrument and a depressant to listen to and play. No wonder the organ is derided as a musical instrument in this country and people don't understand them. THat's just the aesthetical/musical argument: the maintenance argument is much more decisive. By rebuilding and expanding these organs, these 2nd-rate builders made these organs unattractive but far more expensive to keep them running. Why would a church want to spent £30k to keep something really unattractive staggering on rather unreliably for another 15-20 years just to spend the same amount of money again in 20 years time? So why on earth did people allow their organs to become much worse and yet also much more expensive to keep going? Why did they spend so little then only to have to spend so much more later? There is hope: I have just spent the past 4 1/2 years campaigning to replace the deeply unattractive mess of an organ which had been rebuilt three times by the local organ lads, in one case catastrophically badly in implementation. £1700 in 1956 has cost over quarter of million pounds to put right in 2006 (a nuisance VAT takes nearly 1/5th). The church is now seeing a stunningly beautiful musical instrument take shape, one that is absolutely right in every respect for the church. It only needs standard and straightforward maintenance (done well) - so the tuning visit, the cleaning every 20-25 years, the overhaul every 80-100 and it will go on indefinately. At the same time, it will delight all that listen to it and play it and they are already saying that it's not about the money. The extraordinary (and slightly depressing thing) is that this is first new organ in a parish church in Winchester for 40 years and the first new organ in a parish church in Winchester built by a builder of the first rank since before the 1st world war. (I am talking at the parish level, of organs that most organists could get access to, so I exclude the Cathedral and college from these claims, both of which I know are extensively rebuilt or new in the 1980s and 2005).

I ordered it from the American Organ Historical Society in the end. It was out of stock initially but they managed to find one to send me eventually.