Welte Organ Restoration

[MusingMuso]

The mander company have been keeping this quiet from us, but this week, "The organist entertains" featured the Welte Organ at the Salomon Home, and I was duly impressed.

 

Half expecting something very Hope-Jones-ish; instead, we heard rather breathy diapasons and a rich blend of romantic colours. It was a very pleasing sound.

 

I wonder if John Mander could tell us just a little about the problems of restoring an organ like this, and what help was required from outside specialists working in the field of automatic player-organs?

 

I take my hat off to anyone who can work outside the usual box, and take on a project such as this, with such obviously good results.

 

Maybe it isn't a St Paul's or a Manhattan, but it is certainly a restoration of which Mander Organs can be proud, judging by what I heard on the programme.

 

MM

[Tony Newnham]

The mander company have been keeping this quiet from us, but this week, "The organist entertains" featured the Welte Organ at the Salomon Home, and I was duly impressed.

 

Half expecting something very Hope-Jones-ish; instead, we heard rather breathy diapasons and a rich blend of romantic colours. It was a very pleasing sound.

 

I wonder if John Mander could tell us just a little about the problems of restoring an organ like this, and what help was required from outside specialists working in the field of automatic player-organs?

 

I take my hat off to anyone who can work outside the usual box, and take on a project such as this, with such obviously good results.

 

Maybe it isn't a St Paul's or a Manhattan, but it is certainly a restoration of which Mander Organs can be proud, judging by what I heard on the programme.

 

MM

 

Hi

 

There is (was?) a lengthy article on the Mander website about this - and there has been some coverage in the organ magazines (take a look at the NPOR survey for references - http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch...c_index=N01857)

 

Every Blessing

 

Tony