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Guest Andrew Butler
Whoops - I didn't mean to knock us all off-topic with my throw-away comments concerning Truro, Salisbury and Ripon (funny how nobody has mentioned that one in follow-ups).

 

It is impossible to be objective about a particular instrument without drawing comparisons - so don't apologize! I, for one, find such comments interesting in their own right.

 

How about starting topics for the instruments in question?

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Guest Roffensis

I think that if Hele did have a shot at Truro, Manders will almost certainly have returned the original tone as much as possible? Winchester was also got at by Hele and sounds radically different post the Harrison work, far more Willis than it did in the 60s.

 

It's not that I don't like Tubas, but I dislike them when misused, and there are a lot of Organists who do just that. I have never bothered to learn any Tuba tunes, and for me would rather have a Chichester with nothing "jutting out" if that makes sense? I think Tubas can be exciting, as a sound, but I also think they are a 20s inheritance, and can be a absolute nuiscance in the wrong hands. I guess it all comes down to musicality, and discipline. It's the "here comes the choir" philosophy of, at first sight of them, parping away on BX£$%£ Tubas, like Halleluia Chorus, dum da da daa daa daa, and that whole style that is so dated and unsubtle. It's actually very crass, and unmusical. That's why I have the dislike of them. Willis even stuck one on Stephenson's Rocket I think? How deightful! I heard much the same on trains in the USA, and thought instantly of...........LOL!! :rolleyes:

 

To return to Truro, I think you can hear it is a Willis, largely no doubt because of the mixtures, but also because of it's verticality. The Diapasons set it apart. Salisbury is another classic example. Hereford not so much, that has more grandeur and roll, a sense of something else going on, how the stops blend, but to me there is no sense of that at either Truro or Salisbury. I honestly think Truro should have a 32 reed, it lacks a bottom end, a growl, it has that huge 16 and then you fall off a shelf, the bottom end drops off starkly, and given the overall tone of the job, it makes it sound thin. It sounds incomplete as a tonal picture. That's my opinion for what it is worth. To the purists who argue against, well you don't have to use it, and in any case the organ has been altered, and it seems even more so than we think. Just as Lincoln, with it's Harmonic trebles, and Salisbury with it's altered choir organ. Even then, why should we bow down and worship something that with all the charity in the world, is flawed. If the flaws can be imporved with careful additions, and if alterations have been made, then stuff it. Go for it. Truro does not stand as it did 1887, and if we were to go down that road it would have been a straight restoration always, to the letter, console, action the lot. That didn't happen.

 

I think Truro is a very fine organ, but it simply lacks the "eclat" of Worcester. The sheer vibrancy is simply not there. It's almost so perfect that it isn't perfect. Does that make sense?! It's linear, transparent, but without mystery, darkness, pain, I could go on!

 

R

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I think that if Hele did have a shot at Truro, Manders will almost certainly have returned the original tone as much as possible? Winchester was also got at by Hele and sounds radically different post the Harrison work, far more Willis than it did in the 60s.

 

I still can't decide if I like Winchester. I've not really played it much, but having just conducted for Ash Wednesday (name dropping here - it's not often visiting choirs get to do the Allegri in a cathedral!), with David Coram playing, I blew hot and cold.

 

He, as always, played very very well (it's so nice to have an accompanist that's both solidly reliable AND exciting at the same time), but didn't seem to get his usual large variety of colour out of it - David, was this due to time on the instrument, or just because it wasn't inspiring?

 

My impression is that it's just not an inspiring instrument - there are some bits of it which are recognisably Willis, but it just seems so bland ; beautifully tuned and very comfortable, but bland.

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... He, as always, played very very well (it's so nice to have an accompanist that's both solidly reliable AND exciting at the same time), but didn't seem to get his usual large variety of colour out of it - David, was this due to time on the instrument, or just because it wasn't inspiring?

 

My impression is that it's just not an inspiring instrument - there are some bits of it which are recognisably Willis, but it just seems so bland ; beautifully tuned and very comfortable, but bland.

 

Having also played this organ for a few services and a lunch-time recital, I must confess that I found it to be rather dull and unexciting - and not just due to the presence of some very full-sounding diapasons fom Hele & Co. - together with thier one and only 32p reed.

 

A few years ago, Jeremy Filsell helped the cathedral out for over some months, playing quite often. A colleague (who was a lay clerk there at the time) told me that he got the most incredible palette of colours from the FHW/H&H and that he just 'lifted Evensong to another plane altogether' as it were. However, with respect to David, Jeremy Filsell is an absolutely superb player with an incredible ability to find wonderful colours in many different types of instrument.

 

However, we are supposed to be discussing the organ of Worcester Cathedral.

 

I would be interested to learn whether removing the old organ cases has had an effect on the sound of the choir. Am I correct in remembering that they formed a back-reflector (or at least provided a focus) for the sound, since they were sited behind the choir stalls?

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I would be interested to learn whether removing the old organ cases has had an effect on the sound of the choir. Am I correct in remembering that they formed a back-reflector (or at least provided a focus) for the sound, since they were sited behind the choir stalls?[/font]

I was expecting a poorer acoustic with the cases removed, but it has actually improved...quite significantly, in fact. Bearing in mind that, at present, we are living with a scaffolding bridge over our heads so this may improve further once that has gone, the reflective effect of the case fronts was obviously minimal and we now enjoy the reverberation of the side-aisles and chapels. I'm told that, from the Nave, the choir on weekday evensongs now sounds twice as loud as previously.

 

A

 

 

Back to Worcester, so what did happen to console - AL says it is gone, so I guess we assume it is chopped up? They should have auctioned off the drawstops one at a time on eBay - that would have give a good start to fund raising for the transept organ!

 

The console was comfortable, though over the years it had become rather internally mauled through the work of different builders at various rebuilds. My memory is that it is far from unique among H+H consoles....

 

The policy of organ builders is to try to recycle ivory stopheads wherever possible as the use and supply of this material is extremely heavily regulated. We have kept a number of the most interesting here... 32's, Viole d'Orchestre......and, of course, the Swell Tremulant which never worked at all in the 10+ years since I came here :rolleyes:

 

A

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I was expecting a poorer acoustic with the cases removed, but it has actually improved...quite significantly, in fact. Bearing in mind that, at present, we are living with a scaffolding bridge over our heads so this may improve further once that has gone, the reflective effect of the case fronts was obviously minimal and we now enjoy the reverberation of the side-aisles and chapels. I'm told that, from the Nave, the choir on weekday evensongs now sounds twice as loud as previously.

 

This is interesting - thank you.

 

 

The policy of organ builders is to try to recycle ivory stopheads wherever possible as the use and supply of this material is extremely heavily regulated. We have kept a number of the most interesting here... 32's, Viole d'Orchestre......and, of course, the Swell Tremulant which never worked at all in the 10+ years since I came here :rolleyes:

 

A

 

Is it your intention to incorporate the old stop-heads in a coat rack, similar to that which is in the organ loft at Salisbury Cathedral?

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Magnificent though it undoubtedly is, I don't believe that Truro is a typical Willis in tone. There is a reason for this. In an early issue of The Organ (I will endeavour to dig the exact date out) Heles of Plymouth described their work on the instrument and claimed to have revoiced all the reeds. Henry Willis 3 being rather touchy on the subject of competition with other firms (I believe he got into a real spat with Heles on another issue) they couldn't have got away with claiming this if it wasn't true.

 

Regardless, Truro is a wonderful organ and it would be hard to think of improvements that could be made while still respecting the organ as it has come down to us. I believe Manders were careful to ensure that the Tuba can always be moved back to its original (less effective) position, so full marks for that.

 

Some years ago, I did tease David Briggs over his Pedal Divide addition - mostly because (if there had been any way of doing it) I would have asked for something very different: a Great Reeds to Solo transfer. Amongst other things, this would have meant that one could use the Great 16' reed instead of that magnificent (but barn-storming) Ophicleide, enabling the Swell and Great fluework to be used with reed pedal.

 

I take DB's word for it that this was thought of but couldn't be managed. I've been scratching my head to think of the character of the problem; perhaps there is no HP Great chest and everything on that Great is on the same pressure (astonishing, if true) or that if there is one, other stops besides that reed chorus are on it. This would mean, for instance, that the coupler would have to be called Primary Great to Solo, or Great Reeds and Diapason I to Solo. Maybe too many stops would have to transfer to leave a decent chorus behind? It is not impossible (for instance) that the Great Mixture is also on the reed chest. I am sure that someone who has been up in the organ will tell us.

 

On very occasional visits to this splendid forum, I see that the Truro Willis crops up from time to time as a topic of interesting debate. As the current "curator" of this magnificent musical instrument, I wonder if regulars will mind if I clear up one or two points of recent discussion?

 

I discussed Paul Derrett's view of Hele's work with Mark Venning recently. Heles I believe simply put in a new blower in the 1920s(?) and at the same time "toned down" the Great 8' Tromba. Although claimed as revoicing (and the tone was changed), this was done simply by placing felt in the tops of the pipes which Lance Foy removed prior to the most recent restoration. There was no proper revoicing even though this may have been reported as such, and the original tone was easily recovered and very dramatic it is too. I think it is safe to say that the organ is as FHW left it tonally. Many people also do not realise that only the first bay of the nave was finished when the organ was put in so all the balancing was done in a conjectural way. Moreover, the instrument was intended to have a case (there is a Pearson design for it) and both these facts may go someway to explaining the very bright sound of the instrument.

 

It is folklore that the Great 16' and 8' flues speak on the 7" windpressure together with the 8' and 4' reeds. The fluework is all on the 4" pressure! I know that all the booklets, past and present, state that the higher pressure is used but they are wrong, as we have measured! The soundboard arrangements are a little complicated and it is possible to think that the fluework is winded with the reeds.

 

What is the case, however, is that the Great 16' reed is on the 4" pressure with the fluework, thus preventing a transfer to another manual or the pedal. Such a transfer is possible with the swell reeds (where the 16' is on the 7" pressure) and has been discussed. It would also be possible to have a transfer for the 8' and 4' Great reeds (to Solo or Choir) which we have also discussed. Both these would certainly provide a little more flexibility.

 

May I also point out that both the mixtures break twice, in conventional Willis style, not by a whole octave.

 

The Tuba is undoubtedly much more useful in its new position though still not particularly powerful (it is masked in single notes by Full Swell with the box open). Although the original slider (part of the solo soundboard) remains untouched, there is no action or wind to it so a reversal of the 1991 work would take a little longer than the half-day which is claimed in various documents.

 

In terms of the sound of the organ, much of the magnificence of the tutti is lost down the nave where many sit for recitals, and it is certainly best to sit near the front or in the crossing where the organ's reputation is justified. When the building is full, it is necessary to lead hymns boldy which can sound over-powering at the front of the nave or in the quire. Half-way down the nave however, the sound falls off. It is certainly not the case that it is possible to drown a full cathedral of singers with this organ, but it can do all that is required of it in terms of leading singing.

 

It is very easy to draw comparisons with other instruments purely from a paper stop list. The solo flutes at Truro are both crystal clear and not at all fat in tone and both orchestral reeds and the flutes combine in every way. The chorus work is balanced for the building and there is certainly no sense of the diapasons being in the least bit fat when heard in the cathedral even though the larger one sounds quite full-bodied to the player. Although a solo swell box would be useful, in practice it is rarely missed and as the solo stands in front of the choir, would be impossible anyway. The Ophicleide is perfectly balanced under the full organ when playing English music; it can stand away a little from the tutti in French repertoire where the manual parts tend to be higher and it is certainly true that a second pedal reed (and 32' extension of it) would be the one additional set of pipes which I feel would be of considerable use. I am interested by the comparisons with the old Worcester organ - they are like chalk and cheese.

 

Finally, if anyone would like to play this remarkable cathedral organ and form their own judgement, please feel free to get in touch and I would be very happy to show people the organ, mine and the cathedral's diaries permitting.

 

Best wishes

Robert Sharpe

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Going to Gloucester next Summer(!) and have just done a Saturday evensong at St Albans, so there are two in a row that (I say carefully), do not sound good in their primary role (and there is another thread!).

 

How interesting. I've never noticed that, but perhaps it's a bit like telling jokes ... it's the way you tell 'em. Andrew Parnell and Simon Johnson certainly make the accompaniments sound colourful and singing.

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it can stand away a little from the tutti in French repertoire where the manual parts tend to be higher and it is certainly true that a second pedal reed (and 32' extension of it) would be the one additional set of pipes which I feel would be of considerable use. I am interested by the comparisons with the old Worcester organ - they are like chalk and cheese.

 

Truro is frequently compared to Salisbury, for obvious reasons. What do you think the relative merits of the 2 are? Is Salisbury that much more flexible for having an enclosed solo?

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It is folklore that the Great 16' and 8' flues speak on the 7" windpressure together with the 8' and 4' reeds. The fluework is all on the 4" pressure! I know that all the booklets, past and present, state that the higher pressure is used but they are wrong, as we have measured! ...

 

I was interested to read this; I have seen at least two sources that give the incorrect information. It is good to hear otherwise.

 

... What is the case, however, is that the Great 16' reed is on the 4" pressure with the fluework, thus preventing a transfer to another manual or the pedal. Such a transfer is possible with the swell reeds (where the 16' is on the 7" pressure) and has been discussed. It would also be possible to have a transfer for the 8' and 4' Great reeds (to Solo or Choir) which we have also discussed. Both these would certainly provide a little more flexibility.

 

May I also point out that both the mixtures break twice, in conventional Willis style, not by a whole octave.

 

Again, both sources which I have seen are clearly incorrect. Perhaps it would be appropriate to issue a new booklet with mistakes and misconceptions corrected and disproved.

 

of the 1991 work would take a little longer than the half-day which is claimed in various documents.

 

In terms of the sound of the organ, much of the magnificence of the tutti is lost down the nave where many sit for recitals, and it is certainly best to sit near the front or in the crossing where the organ's reputation is justified. When the building is full, it is necessary to lead hymns boldy which can sound over-powering at the front of the nave or in the quire. Half-way down the nave however, the sound falls off. It is certainly not the case that it is possible to drown a full cathedral of singers with this organ, but it can do all that is required of it in terms of leading singing.

 

Although I would venture to suggest that the Truro instrument carries better down the cathedral than does that at Salisbury or Winchester; however, it should be borne in mind that both these buildings are somewhat larger than is Truro Cathedral.

It is very easy to draw comparisons with other instruments purely from a paper stop list. The solo flutes at Truro are both crystal clear and not at all fat in tone and both orchestral reeds and the flutes combine in every way. The chorus work is balanced for the building and there is certainly no sense of the diapasons being in the least bit fat when heard in the cathedral even though the larger one sounds quite full-bodied to the player. Although a solo swell box would be useful, in practice it is rarely missed and as the solo stands in front of the choir, would be impossible anyway. The Ophicleide is perfectly balanced under the full organ when playing English music; it can stand away a little from the tutti in French repertoire where the manual parts tend to be higher and it is certainly true that a second pedal reed (and 32' extension of it) would be the one additional set of pipes which I feel would be of considerable use. I am interested by the comparisons with the old Worcester organ - they are like chalk and cheese.

 

Finally, if anyone would like to play this remarkable cathedral organ and form their own judgement, please feel free to get in touch and I would be very happy to show people the organ, mine and the cathedral's diaries permitting.

 

Best wishes

Robert Sharpe

 

Thank you for your information - and your generous offer, Mr. Sharpe.

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MEANWHILE......BACK IN WORCESTER.....!!!!!!

Is this a record....Three Cathedral Organists on one thread on one day??? Perhaps we should think about a Three Choirs Festival! :lol:

 

Or maybe a 'Mander chat line' day at Worcester when it is up and working.

 

AJJ

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How interesting. I've never noticed that, but perhaps it's a bit like telling jokes ... it's the way you tell 'em. Andrew Parnell and Simon Johnson certainly make the accompaniments sound colourful and singing.

 

 

Its just opinion Andrew! Sure, messrs Parnell and Johnson are top-notch; I had Neil Taylor playing for me (who knows the organ from his Scholar days there under Colin Walsh) and it still sounded thin, nasal and like a wasp in a jam jar....

I love this board....here we are on a worcester posting talking about St Albans, Winchester, 32 reeds for Truro, Salisbury, coat hanger stop knobs.....it's wonderful!

 

Glad to read that parts of the console have been kept - I started a thread ages ago about the whereabouts of old consoles and got excellent reports about many such as Tewkesbury, Malmesbury Abbey, and so on.. Perhaps Worcester should mount the old knobs in a display case with the reasons why they were kept included - that would be very interesting for the passing tourist!

 

Best wishes

Richard

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Or maybe a 'Mander chat line' day at Worcester when it is up and working.

 

This sounded slightly seedy until I realized what you meant....!!!

 

I don't see why not. Mind you, we would probably need one when the Tickell instrument is completed, one more when the Transept is done and another when the Nave instrument draws to a close... an organ-fest in the making??

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<snip>

In terms of the sound of the organ, much of the magnificence of the tutti is lost down the nave where many sit for recitals, and it is certainly best to sit near the front or in the crossing where the organ's reputation is justified. When the building is full, it is necessary to lead hymns boldy which can sound over-powering at the front of the nave or in the quire. Half-way down the nave however, the sound falls off. It is certainly not the case that it is possible to drown a full cathedral of singers with this organ, but it can do all that is required of it in terms of leading singing.

Robert,

Thank you for your contribution and I hope to take you up on your kind offer.

 

Our 1899 FW (like Truro installed before the building was finished) has the same 'fall off' characteristics, and the same (north Quire) location. For 'big' services one either 'blasts' the Cantoris side of the choir or loses control (and occasionally both!).

 

I'm intrigued by the references to 'new Harmonic Trebles' at Lincoln in a previous post. Our Great 8' Tromba is pretty insipid and ineffective in comparison with the swell Cornopean (though clearly the FW original). I'd always been led to believe that this 'miscalculation' was a local aberration rather than a consistent error of balance by FW late in his life. It's well documented that Dixon had the St Bees' Great and Pedal reeds (and solo Tuba) remade (and with significant increases in wind pressure) by H&H in 1906 - one assumes he wasn't that happy with the originals!

 

Roffensis: Are you saying the same happened at Lincoln? If true this is serious for us, as the two instruments that I use to justify leaving our (significantly unbalanced) reeds alone may well have both had such treatment - presumably for good reason.

 

Any definite information please?

 

Thanks

 

Martin

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Our Great 8' Tromba is pretty insipid and ineffective in comparison with the swell Cornopean (though clearly the FW original). I'd always been led to believe that this 'miscalculation' was a local aberration rather than a consistent error of balance by FHW late in his life.
I'm not quite sure I quite understand your drift, so forgive me if I'm misinterpreting you, but your comment brought to mind the organ where I was a choirboy and on which I began playing: http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch...c_index=N09699* I believe this instrument was fairly typical of FHW's parish church instruments. My recollection is that the Gt Trumpet in no way drew attention to itself in the way a Cavaillé-Coll GO reed might, but, rather, fitted into the chorus along with the tierce mixture as a climactic colour - if that makes sense. Its tone was quite fiery with a lot of élan, but not particularly loud.

 

This organ was the archetypal "hole in the wall job". It serviced the chancel adequately, but little of the sound got out into the nave, probably because the acoustics there were rather dry and the roof high enough to make St Thomas, Leipzig, look like a bungalow. I very much doubt whether any of the stops were on high pressure. Certainly nothing sounded forced. Everything on the Great fitted like a glove, but one did feel that the Swell - buried as it must have been - was wholly inadequate.

 

 

* I should mention that NPOR is out of date. I knew the instrument in the 50s and early 60s as an untouched FHW, but it was rebuilt by Deane's in 1983-4 in order to enable the then organist to play more repertoire, especially Bach. The Swell and Pedal were enlarged, with, I think a sacrifice or two on the Great to make room. I considered this regrettable in the extreme, but it has to be said that Deane's (who were only working to the organist's and consultant's requirements) did an excellent job. Unfortunately I do not have the revised specification.

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My impression is that it's just not an inspiring instrument - there are some bits of it which are recognisably Willis, but it just seems so bland ; beautifully tuned and very comfortable, but bland.

 

Thank you for nice remarks. Lack of colour owing in no small part to the fact that you will insist on doing all this boring Tudor muck which has - if you can believe this - no accompaniment. Shocking. So, apart from a 6-verse psalm, an extremely discreet creed and two hymns, you wouldn't hear much!

 

My impression is that it's an instrument at which you can sit down whilst asleep, pull more or less anything you like out, and it'll make an acceptable sound. I did spend some time hunting for an "out of the deep" colour, and failed.

 

After all the Hele-bashing of late it's probably worth mentioning that this is the place to go if you want to hear their only 32' reed, and rather good I thought it was too.

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Are you saying the same happened at Lincoln? If true this is serious for us, as the two instruments that I use to justify leaving our (significantly unbalanced) reeds alone may well have both had such treatment - presumably for good reason.

 

The Lincoln reeds had revoicing work done by Harrison in the 1960s

 

AJJ

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* I should mention that NPOR is out of date. I knew the instrument in the 50s and early 60s as an untouched FHW, but it was rebuilt by Deane's in 1983-4 in order to enable the then organist to play more repertoire, especially Bach. The Swell and Pedal were enlarged, with, I think a sacrifice or two on the Great to make room. I considered this regrettable in the extreme, but it has to be said that Deane's (who were only working to the organist's and consultant's requirements) did an excellent job. Unfortunately I do not have the revised specification.[/size]

 

Hi

 

The NPOR survey is dated 1946! If someone can give us up to date info we'll revise it (or add a new survey)

 

Every Blessing

 

Tony

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I recall seeing a televised service from Worcester, a good few years ago. It was held in the Nave, and there were shots of Paul Trepte playing a 2-man detached console at floor level. Would this have been http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch...ec_index=N12743 ? From what I recall, there seemed to be a heck of a lot of noise coming from it..

Your npor link is correct. The two-manual nave organ was, in itself, quite a weedy affair. It was mounted on two separate mobile platforms (swell & great) with the console on a third mobile platform, so that the whole thing could be wheeled down to the west end when the seating in the cathedral was reversed for major concerts. How useful this really was, other than for continuo, is debatable as this instrument had no chance of making an audible contribution with a symphony orchestra and large chorus in competition.

 

When the organ was in its usual position, just to the west of the central crossing, the console also had stop tabs to operate the quire organ's "solo" division, plus a small number of pedal stops, sited within the huge case in the south transept. As discussed before, the Worcester "solo" was in reallity an early attempt at a nave great, consisting of very full diapasons at 8', 4', 2', mixture, plus two powerful trumpets at 16' and 8'.

 

This did not however mean that the quire organ was lacking in solo voices. The trumpet 8' on the solo could be used in voluntaries but was not very useful for service work as the distance from the quire reduced its impact and also introduced a time lag in the sound. However the great posaune (and the tromba that it replaced) could be used to wonderful effect with the "Great reeds on solo" transfer. The choir organ provided a lovely enclosed clarinet and also some keen strings for contrast with the more gentle strings on the swell. There was also a fat Hohl flute on the great.

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Your npor link is correct. The two-manual nave organ was, in itself, quite a weedy affair. It was mounted on two separate mobile platforms (swell & great) with the console on a third mobile platform, so that the whole thing could be wheeled down to the west end when the seating in the cathedral was reversed for major concerts. How useful this really was, other than for continuo, is debatable as this instrument had no chance of making an audible contribution with a symphony orchestra and large chorus in competition.

 

One of the sections is still in use (see posting back) and can be seen parked at the end of the north choir aisle at St Peter Budleigh Salterton containing its 'Positive' division.

 

AJJ

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The Transept case currently contains the 13 (I think) lowest pipes of the Hope-Jones diaphone 32' stop. They do not speak, but were simply too large to remove when the rest of the rank was removed. It is our hope to retain one of these for its historical value, possibly to find some scheme of winding it up for demonstration purposes....though quite where all that wind will come from....??? :o

 

Why not re-using them, as with the viole d'orchestre. If ever any stop was Hope-Joneses ...

 

Nice pictures btw - lucky man, with two new organs (whatever 'we' post here ....).

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Why not re-using them, as with the viole d'orchestre. If ever any stop was Hope-Joneses ...

 

Schoenstein have included new ones in some recent instruments in the USA..............

 

AJJ

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Why not re-using them, as with the viole d'orchestre. If ever any stop was Hope-Joneses ...

From what I have heard of the Diaphones, getting anything from a "normal" organ to blend with them would be pretty much impossible.

 

I recall a fascinating conversation with Christopher Robinson a few years back about the old Tuba Profunda from the Hope-Jones pedal department which survived until the early 1970s. I believe this was double tongued and of immense proportions...enough to be heard from the other end of Gloucestershire, I should imagine.

 

Does anyone on this board have any personal recollections of this stop?

 

A

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