Guest spottedmetal Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Hi! In trying to document the rapid loss of our pipe-organ heritage, I see http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=220199136492 It's a lovely spec and one can't imagine why churches can't live with these long lasting wonderful instruments, replacing them instead with multi-note hifi systems. This organ looks rescuable . . . or can't anyone persuade the church to keep it? By the way, a registration that visiting organists here rarely use is the Dulciana with a 2ft . . . a wonderful delicate combination ideal for the earlier works on instruments of this sort and really brings a Dulciana to life. Has anyone else noticed a reluctance to play with such a registration? I often think that some organists coming from big instruments or fancy overblown toasters where another tone is just no more than another knob simply have not been introduced to "small instrument mode". At risk of putting something here that should be in another thread, that, I'm sure is the teaching importance of the Harrison and Harrison school chapel instruments where a relatively small organ of 20 or so ranks was enlarged with a battery of hooters to accompany, inspire and encourage up to 1000 virile young lads at the tops of their voices, bringing the stop list into the 30s but in reality making the instrument looking bigger than the reality. Playing one of these means being adventurous with registration of the at the smaller levels of the instrument. Best wishes Spottedmetal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre Lauwers Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 "Pile them high, sell them cheap"! One more ! Pierre (After having posted that add on the french forum, I launched a new poll to decide if we shall open a new section entirely devoted to those splendid british organs which deserve a better fate... ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest spottedmetal Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 (After having posted that add on the french forum, I launched a new poll to decide if we shall open a new section entirely devoted to those splendid british organs which deserve a better fate... ) Good idea . . . thanks so much for doing that - perhaps a suggestion for this forum too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
contrabordun Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 On a more serious note, what sort of money would be involved in dismantling it, moving it and reassembling it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest spottedmetal Posted February 5, 2008 Share Posted February 5, 2008 Dear all Sorry - I have just noticed my brain-dead mistake in the title of this post - but as this particular church says they need the space, they are being short of site . . . . Best wishes Spottedmetal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justadad Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Someone bought it for £750. J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Lane Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 On a more serious note, what sort of money would be involved in dismantling it, moving it and reassembling it? It is difficult to give an estimated figure as it depends on many factors, including, size, complexity of construction/action, state of existing installation. I believe Barry Williams made a comment on another thread, that rarely would you be able to just transplant an organ, but it made need more than basic maintenance, i.e. re-bushing, etc. To give some facts, and organ the size of the one on eBay in this thread, would take two people approximately two weeks to dismantle, and would take a largish lorry to transport. It would then take about four weeks to put back together before any work on the maintenance aspect, checking the voicing, and retuning takes place. So one can assume that the £750 sale price is really quite a small part of the cost! Jonathan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest spottedmetal Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Someone bought it for £750. It looks as though the purchaser is Italian . . . so the country will have lost another organ . . . but better it be appreciated there! Clearly they appreciate their pipes there more than their, often good, electronic substitutes! By the way, is it worth posting future sightings of what look like good organs on this discussion board? One doesn't want to clutter it up . . . and perhaps redundant organs might be worth a section of the forum all to themselves? Best wishes Spottedmetal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip J Wells Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 It looks as though the purchaser is Italian . . . so the country will have lost another organ . . . but better it be appreciated there! Clearly they appreciate their pipes there more than their, often good, electronic substitutes! By the way, is it worth posting future sightings of what look like good organs on this discussion board? One doesn't want to clutter it up . . . and perhaps redundant organs might be worth a section of the forum all to themselves? Best wishes Spottedmetal Sorry to be negative, but whilst discussion on individual instruments might be useful the whole idea of that part of the IBO website which lists redundant organs was so they all appeared in the one place to aid possible buyers. From memory I think that replaced 3 different listings but of course there is still the BIOS historic redundancies list as well. Regards PJW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest spottedmetal Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Sorry to be negative, but whilst discussion on individual instruments might be useful the whole idea of that part of the IBO website which lists redundant organs was so they all appeared in the one place to aid possible buyers. From memory I think that replaced 3 different listings but of course there is still the BIOS historic redundancies list as well. RegardsPJW Hi! I posted this instrument here because it obeyed criteria of (1) quality (2) feasibility of straightforward upping, moving and reconstructing without major rebuilding or reconfiguration (3) urgency and these three criteria add up to an opportunity for builders, amateur builders and instant decision makers to mobilise. Unlike the IBO site, this forum achieves wide readership and particularly active participation and translation into Europe thanks to Pierre. Indeed it could possibly be the latter that caused it to be snapped up by an Italian and the instant purchase speaks for itself with regard to the criteria applied to posting it here in contrast to the other instruments documented in the "Ebay graveyard" of my website. What's the betting that that four manual on the IBO site will sit there for rather a long time? IMHO therefore there is a place for a "panic stations here's an organ to rescue which can be rescued" section in parallel to and distinct from the Nuts and Bolts section. I'm sure that other members can be equally discerning about applying the 1 2 3 criteria, which would make a specific channel most worthwhile. Best wishes Spottedmetal PS For a couple of decades I assisted one of the Redundant Church Furnishings Officers for a Diocese in the south and during that period we were able to ensure that no organ was scrapped, sometimes by saying to a church in the course of re-ordering "just mitre those pipes and it will fit in to your new location and be cheaper than an electronic in the long run", or "don't beleive your organ builder who's telling you your pneumatic motors are eaten by mice - there's a trade in those second-hand mouse droppings sitting under your key-cheeks! He clearly wants to build you a new one!" This forum has a potentially very useful function in bringing those together who can mobilise to make a difference. Here's a second or third person tonight saying "All praise to Mr Mander for achieving it!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vox Humana Posted February 6, 2008 Share Posted February 6, 2008 Grumpy post removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre Lauwers Posted February 7, 2008 Share Posted February 7, 2008 "IMHO therefore there is a place for a "panic stations here's an organ to rescue which can be rescued" section in parallel to and distinct from the Nuts and Bolts section." (Quote) There is a poll going on on the french forum to decide if we open it. It would be a dedicated section which would be open to all, for reading and posting (despite the spammers, but we are nine administrators so it's worth a try). Out of diplomatic reasons, such a thing might be better based in a huge Ardennes forest, in a middle-of-nowhere Belgian corner, than in London.... Pre-1930 organs have actually more chances on the continent nowadays than in Britain. There is interest in The Netherlands, Belgium, France, Italy, and Germany. And yes we have italian members. Just an example of the sort of little things you find by Ladach (D): http://www.pipeorgans.de/en/catalogue/Harr...P/009500001057/ A three manuals Arthur Harrison, no less ! (But of course with those "Bad" Trombas, etc, etc, etc...We see the results!!!) Pierre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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