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Worcester Cathedral


Lucasorg

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Rogers do build 'combination' systems - there was something similar set up at St Pancras PC in London a few years ago for the festival of modern church music.

 

Good morning, Gentlemen!

 

We currently have in the Nave a second Rodgers instrument to lead worship in that part of the building. It is a hybrid instrument with the following pipe ranks:

 

Gedackt 8'

Principal 4'

Fifteenth 2'

Mixture III

 

Further details can be found on the MPOS website which also shows its previous incarnations in Gospel Oak, St Pancras and Ware. We have had some considerable adjustments made to the voicing of both electronic and pipe elements, but it has been a godsend to us in a difficult period when the old Bradford instrument collapsed and we were left without instrument for a while.

 

Once the Tickell instrument is completed in Summer 2008, the Father Rodgers (as it has become known) will be moved from the Quire to the Nave until we can complete phases 2 and 3 of the pipe organ building project.

 

Meanwhile, the old blowers from the H&H instrument were taken out this week, leaving a useful space which I believe is to be developed into a new treasury for the Cathedral. Blowers for the new organ will be in the triforium, neatly tucked in behind the pipework and considerably smaller!

 

Hope that's useful in the interim.

 

Adrian Lucas

Worcester Cathedral

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Further details can be found on the MPOS website which also shows its previous incarnations in Gospel Oak, St Pancras and Ware. We have had some considerable adjustments made to the voicing of both electronic and pipe elements, but it has been a godsend to us in a difficult period when the old Bradford instrument collapsed and we were left without instrument for a while.

Adrian Lucas

Worcester Cathedral

 

 

This is an interesting line up of organ talent.

 

AJJ

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I must be about ten pages behind with this fascinating thread...

 

I remember the tuba profunda well from my days as a schoolboy attending Cathedral services, which I did both pre- and post the H&H rebuild. It and the 8ft extension were extraordinarily loud, probably too loud for general use. Harry Bramma would normally couple down the solo bombarde 16, eg in the Vierne Carillion, where it provided a very effective moto perpetuo.

 

The tuba profunda was wonderful for congregational accompaniment - no rousing final verse was complete without a thunderous bass line!

 

Incidentally, I always understood that the diaphones were not working by the seventies - I seem to remember Colin Beswick telling me they had not worked for several years. The Great Cathedral Organs recording (which I also have) was made in, I think, 1969, and it sounds to me like the tuba profunda that CR used in the Mendelssohn Sonata no. 3. That piece also features the solo orchestral trumpet - a scorching stop which I don't think survived the 1972 rebuild, at least, not in its original form. The double-tongued tuba was used for the reprise at the end of the first movement of the Mendelssohn. Like Captain Foulenough, it was asked to leave...

 

After 1972, the Solo was effective as a bombarde division - you got caught in the cross-fire if you were in the crossing when full organ was playing, as I once was for a memorable performance of the Saint-Saens Organ Symphony!

 

Confusing, are the diaphone pictures on AL's picasa site the diaphones or is it the tuba profunda we're looking at?

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In my papers I have: 1972.

Anyway, I took many notes (scales etc) already in 1976 when I first

visited the organ, and this stop already wasn't there any more. Pierre

Thanks, Pierre. I can also confirm that there are only the bottom 11 or 12 pipes in existence of the Diaphone. They were too large to remove easily without dismantling the entire case.

 

Adrian

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  • 3 weeks later...

OK, all of you. Hold on to your hats!!

 

Work has now started on site at Worcester, so there should now be a steady flow of information to keep you all in touch with things as they progress.

 

This last week, initial work to install the Swell fronts on the South side has been taking place in the roof space. See here for photos.

 

Now we've said our farewells to the old Bishop, scaffolding is going up during the coming week and the quire will be out of action until December. Most of the inner workings are all made and awaiting delivery in a week's time when all the winding and soundboards will be installed.

 

Lots of work still to do, but at least things are now moving!

 

Best wishes,

 

Adrian

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Adrian,

 

Perhaps when you add additional information about the progress of the Quire Organ you could also update us on the status of the fund for the Nave organ.

 

Thank for considering this request for information.

 

All the best,

 

S

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Perhaps when you add additional information about the progress of the Quire Organ you could also update us on the status of the fund for the Nave organ.
Hi Steven,

 

We are still raising funds for the quire at present. I wish there was a facility on this message board for handing round a metaphorical hat!!

 

Best wishes,

 

Adrian

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Guest Lee Blick

Adrian, have you thought of setting up an online facility to allow people to donate to your organ fund? I would and am sure others would gladly donate to it.

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Adrian, have you thought of setting up an online facility to allow people to donate to your organ fund? I would and am sure others would gladly donate to it.

What a splendid idea...can I get back to you on this...I'm not sure whether it would be best to steer people from here onto our existing routes, or set up a purpose-designed online system. Perhaps a simple Pay-pal account at the Appeal office would sort it out....

 

Anyone else have any experience or bright ideas on this topic??

 

Adrian

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Funnily enough, yes - I'm in the process of setting this up for my own company.

 

The least hassle is undoubtedly Paypal, which is free to set up but relatively expensive (3.5%) in operation. Its other drawback (which was important for us but might not be relevant, depending on your point of view) is the associations it has with people selling secondhand videos on eBay.

 

There are dozens of independent companies who will take online payments on your behalf; we've gone with Nochex (www.nochex.com) who charged us £50 to set up the account and then 2.9% + 20p per transaction. All you do is put a "click here to donate" link onto your website, the link takes the donor to the payment site and they put in the amount and card details.

 

It might be worth setting it up on Paypal to start with and then seeing whether the amount coming in justifies something more elaborate.

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A weird, "out-of-the-box" idea: to sell the bits of the old thing

in the Netherlands (I apologize I could not convince our Bishop

here in Namur to send 10 trucks to W, despite having him listening

to D. Hunt's recordings. There is no organ in the Cathedral save

a complete wreckage, but halas no money as well).

 

Pierre

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Guest Lee Blick
What a splendid idea...can I get back to you on this...I'm not sure whether it would be best to steer people from here onto our existing routes, or set up a purpose-designed online system. Perhaps a simple Pay-pal account at the Appeal office would sort it out....

 

Anyone else have any experience or bright ideas on this topic??

 

Adrian

 

An addtiional idea for you, Adrian,

 

Have you thought of starting a 'blog' which records the progression of the construction of the organs. 'Blogger.com' is a good one which is simple to set up and has easy templates. By adding your entries as you go along it keeps readers informed with what is going on.

 

In addition it allows you to add photographs, audio files and embed videos (via You Tube) very easily. And you can add a link for people to make donations.

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An addtiional idea for you, Adrian,

 

Have you thought of starting a 'blog' which records the progression of the construction of the organs. 'Blogger.com' is a good one which is simple to set up and has easy templates. By adding your entries as you go along it keeps readers informed with what is going on.

 

In addition it allows you to add photographs, audio files and embed videos (via You Tube) very easily. And you can add a link for people to make donations.

Two good ideas there. I have an additional one, which would be to set up a website dedicated either:

 

i) solely to the construction of the new organs

 

or

 

ii) the history of Wrocester Cathedral's organs, plus the new ones.

 

I can design websites and it would be great fun for me. If Adrian took the photos and put them on the site he currently uses (I live in Bristol so getting to Worcester ain't easy) then I shall incorporate them by linking in to them. I can also construct the site. The blog, plus a donation facility, could also be included. There you go: a joint effort!

 

Dave

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Good idea, Dave,

 

About the history of the organs there is a summary available here (2 pages):

 

http://z11.invisionfree.com/The_romantic_o...p?showtopic=104

 

Pierre

Thanks Pierre. Merci beaucoup!

 

If the info on the NPOR is anything to go by, Worcester Cathedral must, at one time, have had three organs. Sounds difficult to imagine but the NPOR says that, in 1550, the Dean took down the "organ in chapel of St. Edmund and ‘great pair’ in chapel of St. George" and then the organ in the choir was taken down in 1551. A new pair of organs was set up on the north side of the Choir in 1556. Dallam's organ of 1613 presumably superceeded the organ of 1556.

 

But the location of the organs taken down in 1550/51 gives no clue as to the age of those instruments but we know that, in 1503, one Robert Alchurch was given 6s 8d for buying organs for the cathedral.

 

The last thing we don't know is wether Dallam's organ of 1613 survived the troubles of 1642-1660. We can onnly assume it must have done: in 1666 an Open Diapason of wood was added to the chaire division.

 

Dave

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Thanks Pierre. Merci beaucoup!

 

If the info on the NPOR is anything to go by, Worcester Cathedral must, at one time, have had three organs. Sounds difficult to imagine but the NPOR says that, in 1550, the Dean took down the "organ in chapel of St. Edmund and ‘great pair’ in chapel of St. George" and then the organ in the choir was taken down in 1551. A new pair of organs was set up on the north side of the Choir in 1556. Dallam's organ of 1613 presumably superceeded the organ of 1556.

 

But the location of the organs taken down in 1550/51 gives no clue as to the age of those instruments but we know that, in 1503, one Robert Alchurch was given 6s 8d for buying organs for the cathedral.

 

The last thing we don't know is wether Dallam's organ of 1613 survived the troubles of 1642-1660. We can onnly assume it must have done: in 1666 an Open Diapason of wood was added to the chaire division.

 

Dave

 

Hi

 

Multiple organs was pretty common in that period. Most would have been small instruments - positives or similar located in various chapels & chantries where Mass was said or sung. The concept of a cathedral primarily as a space for large congregations is a relatively recent one. Many cathedrals still retain several small chapels, used for various purposes.

 

At the very least, Dallam's organ would have been removed during the commonwealth - some research would be needed to see if it was re-instated or replaced.

 

Every Blessing

 

Tony

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Hi

 

Multiple organs was pretty common in that period. Most would have been small instruments - positives or similar located in various chapels & chantries where Mass was said or sung. The concept of a cathedral primarily as a space for large congregations is a relatively recent one. Many cathedrals still retain several small chapels, used for various purposes.

 

At the very least, Dallam's organ would have been removed during the commonwealth - some research would be needed to see if it was re-instated or replaced.

 

Every Blessing

 

Tony

 

And didn't a 'pair' of organs refer to an instrument with Great and Chair cases back then?

 

AJJ

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And didn't a 'pair' of organs refer to an instrument with Great and Chair cases back then?

 

AJJ

 

Of course !

"A pair of organs", in british historic data, often means one organ, but with

two manuals, the second being always à chair (Rückpositiv) before the

introduction of the Swell in the first part of the 18th century.

 

Pierre

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What a splendid idea...can I get back to you on this...I'm not sure whether it would be best to steer people from here onto our existing routes, or set up a purpose-designed online system. Perhaps a simple Pay-pal account at the Appeal office would sort it out....

 

Anyone else have any experience or bright ideas on this topic??

 

Adrian

I think the approach taken at Lincoln is quite interesting. There you can adopt an organ pipe for £35. So if they persuade 61 people to subscribe, it generates £2135 towards a rank of pipes. If the subscribers apply for Gift Aid, that sum could increase by another £600. In that way, those donating feel they have provided something tangible towards the restoration. It seems a shame if card payment organisations have to be used, thereby reducing some of the benefit. After all this is a donation, not a purchase of goods and payment guarantees aren't really relevant. Perhaps the Cathedral Shop is already geared up to process card payments?

JC

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Even if it is, it will still pay 2 or 3 percent to the card company.

 

Strictly speaking the commission is paid to the acquiring bank rather than direct to the card company. Typically it could indeed be around 2 -3 % ad valorem for credit card transactions but much less for most debit card transactions where a flat fee is charged - say 9 -10p. The annual rental charge for the PDQ terminal (or similar) has also to be factored in and the lower the turnover, the more significant this becomes.

 

These days cathedral shops, like any other retail outlet, have little choice but to offer electronic payment facilities. On the plus side, the funds are guaranteed and it saves them the hassle of handling cheques. Nevertheless, the benefits are almost always outweighed by the extra costs.

 

JS

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  • 3 weeks later...

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