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New Organs - Excitement!


Martin Cooke

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I feel rather lost without the wonderful photo commentary that so many of us have enjoyed this last year or so from Adrian Lucas at Worcester. Is there any chance that we might be able to create a list here with accompanying links to new organs that are in various states of commission? Harrison and Harrison are very good at listing their new work whether it be on new instruments or refurbishments, but if from our combined knowledge we could get a list together that covers as much interesting organ building work as possible that would be great, wouldn't it? Despite the websites, I have no idea what Tickells, Nicholsons or Manders are doing just now and it seems a pity. Can we help ourselves a bit more? If we all simply replied with lists of places where we know organ work is going on (in the UK? the world?) others could chip in with details and references of which they are aware.

Martin.

 

Start of list:

 

1. Llandaff Cathedral (Nicholson) News item here

2. Cirencester Parish Church (H&H) H&H news item here

3. St Edmundsbury Cathedral (H&H) H&H news item here

4. St Albans Abbey (H&H) New specification

5. Westminster Abbey (H&H) New specification with new Bombarde & Pedal Violone 16'

6. St Paul's Cathedral, London (Mander Organs) On-going works with new nave console, new pipework for dome tubas and chorus reeds, and refurbishd choir console See new 2008 specification here

7. All SS, Carshalton (Henry Willis) Description and photos of proposed work

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Here it seems to remain nothing of, euh, *the past*; I won't argue.

Just "my two cents", however. Guess how much time will elapse before

someone will launch the idea of reconstituting this:

 

http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch...ec_index=N11801

 

Pierre

Momentarily:

 

P.O. BOX 13

Weddel island, third barack

Falkland islands

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I see from the inside front cover of the Organists' Review that's just arrived on my desk, that Nicholson's are about to start work on a brand new organ for Llandaff Cathedral which should be ready for Easter 2010. The ad also says that none of the present organ will be re-used, making this the largest wholly new organ to be built for a British cathedral in 40 years. Should be very interesting - alas that it's in the South of Cymru and I'm in the North! :rolleyes:

Yes I heard that Nicholson's had been given the contract for this organ when I paid a visit to Llandaff Cathedral last year.

 

The previous organ - which, when I went there, was still in place - was busted by a lightning strike which fused all the electrics in the organ thereby rendering them unuseable. I had a look at the plans for the new instrument and it looks like it will be a good one.

 

Dave

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I see from the inside front cover of the Organists' Review that's just arrived on my desk, that Nicholson's are about to start work on a brand new organ for Llandaff Cathedral which should be ready for Easter 2010. The ad also says that none of the present organ will be re-used, making this the largest wholly new organ to be built for a British cathedral in 40 years. Should be very interesting - alas that it's in the South of Cymru and I'm in the North! :rolleyes:

 

OK, so here's the first piece of interesting news. Is there a way of creating a speadsheet of some sort on this site where we could start a list from, say 1-100 with Llandaff now at no1 with space for web addresses next to it?

 

1 Llandaff Cathedral (Nicholson) Wales in London news item

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OK, so here's the first piece of interesting news. Is there a way of creating a speadsheet of some sort on this site where we could start a list from, say 1-100 with Llandaff now at no1 with space for web addresses next to it?

 

1 Llandaff Cathedral (Nicholson) Wales in London news item

Why don't you just edit your first post to reflect any stuff people post in this thread? We therefore would know where to go to see the canonical list and we can browse the rest of the thread to see the way that list came about.

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Towards the very back of the new Organists' Review is a small photo which includes a regular contributor to this Forum. Why do people never look as you imagine them to?

 

More seriously, I was very impressed with the views expressed by Peter King about playing music of various styles and countries on, seemingly, unlikely organs. Good article also by Alan Thurlow.

 

Malcolm Kemp

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Towards the very back of the new Organists' Review is a small photo which includes a regular contributor to this Forum. Why do people never look as you imagine them to?

 

 

Malcolm Kemp

 

 

Good grief - I had not noticed this. In addition there exists (somewhere) in an old edition of Piping the News a photograph of our very own Vox Humana.

 

As you say, people never look like you would expect them to: here is one of me. Admittedly, it was taken late in the evening, after I had finished a bottle of Saint-Emilion 2001.

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Here it seems to remain nothing of, euh, *the past*; I won't argue.

Just "my two cents", however. Guess how much time will elapse before

someone will launch the idea of reconstituting this:

 

http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch...ec_index=N11801

 

Pierre

Momentarily:

 

P.O. BOX 13

Weddel island, third barack

Falkland islands

 

Oh God - I hope not.

 

:rolleyes:

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Towards the very back of the new Organists' Review is a small photo which includes a regular contributor to this Forum. Why do people never look as you imagine them to?

 

 

Malcolm Kemp

 

Ho

 

Oh dear - the secret's out! It could be worse - at one time I presented a few radio programmes for international broadcasting, and occaisionally met listeners. One said "I though I recognised your voice - but you look a lot older than I imagined" (and that was about 20 years ago!

 

Every Blessing

 

Tony

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A new organ is planned for St Ethelreda's, Ely Place, London, built by Spaeth of Rapperswil, Switzerland:

 

Manual 1

 

Bourdon (12 from Rhorflote) 16

Principal 8

Rohrflote 8

Gamba 8

Octave 4

Holzflote 4

Quinte 2 2/3

Superoctave 2

Tierce 1 3/5

Mixture III 1 1/3 + 1 + 2/3

Trompete 8

 

Manual 2

 

Bourdon 8

Salicionel 8

Unda Maris 8

Traversflote 4

Fugura 4

Flageolet 2

Cimbel III 1 + 2/3 + 1/2

Oboe 8

 

Pedal

 

Subbass 16

Bourdon (12 from Subbass) 8

Flotbass 8

Choralbass 4

Posaune 16

 

 

I am assuming the usual couplers. Mechanical keyboard action, electric stop action, allowing programmable stop combinations. The compass is, I believe, 58-note manuals C-a''', 30 note pedalboard C-f. I think the pedalboard is straight concave. Manual 2 I a assuming to be enclosed. Playing aids, other than pistons, I am not sure of but I would imagine drawstop couplers duplicated on pedals (basing this on other Spaeth instruments but principally that in St Peter's, Cardiff).

 

Peter

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Yes I heard that Nicholson's had been given the contract for this organ when I paid a visit to Llandaff Cathedral last year.

 

The previous organ - which, when I went there, was still in place - was busted by a lightning strike which fused all the electrics in the organ thereby rendering them unuseable. I had a look at the plans for the new instrument and it looks like it will be a good one.

 

Dave

 

There is a God up there lol The current instrument was always very poor and a hotchpotch of pipe work from different periods. The organ Case and console was not pleasing to look at. The Nicholson will be a major improvement to the musical life of this Cathedral.

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Work is finally underway on the new organ in Cirencester Parish Church - at long last!

 

See

 

http://www.harrison-organs.co.uk/cirencesterspec.html

 

The new organ will be a super machine and well worth the long wait! I was apponted there in 2002 and work shoud have started that year. However, with discussions re floors, red brick tiles, towers, altars etc, as well as the notorious "politics" and internal wranglings for which Cirencester PC is famous, the cogs only moved slowly!

 

NS

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  • 10 months later...
A new organ is planned for St Ethelreda's, Ely Place, London, built by Spaeth of Rapperswil, Switzerland:

 

Manual 1

 

Bourdon (12 from Rhorflote) 16

Principal 8

Rohrflote 8

Gamba 8

Octave 4

Holzflote 4

Quinte 2 2/3

Superoctave 2

Tierce 1 3/5

Mixture III 1 1/3 + 1 + 2/3

Trompete 8

 

Manual 2

 

Bourdon 8

Salicionel 8

Unda Maris 8

Traversflote 4

Fugura 4

Flageolet 2

Cimbel III 1 + 2/3 + 1/2

Oboe 8

 

Pedal

 

Subbass 16

Bourdon (12 from Subbass) 8

Flotbass 8

Choralbass 4

Posaune 16

 

 

I am assuming the usual couplers. Mechanical keyboard action, electric stop action, allowing programmable stop combinations. The compass is, I believe, 58-note manuals C-a''', 30 note pedalboard C-f. I think the pedalboard is straight concave. Manual 2 I a assuming to be enclosed. Playing aids, other than pistons, I am not sure of but I would imagine drawstop couplers duplicated on pedals (basing this on other Spaeth instruments but principally that in St Peter's, Cardiff).

 

Peter

 

The opening recital was given recently by Dame Gillian, details here:

 

http://www.stetheldreda.com/June-August%202009%20web.PDF

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  • 3 months later...
Yes I heard that Nicholson's had been given the contract for this organ when I paid a visit to Llandaff Cathedral last year.

 

The previous organ - which, when I went there, was still in place - was busted by a lightning strike which fused all the electrics in the organ thereby rendering them unuseable. I had a look at the plans for the new instrument and it looks like it will be a good one.

 

Dave

 

 

Word reaches me that the Solo organ will not be installed at Llandaff, due to financial constraints. The fourth manual will only have a Tuba. This all seems rather gloomy and disappointing. Anyone else heard this on the bush-telegraph ?

 

H

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Word reaches me that the Solo organ will not be installed at Llandaff, due to financial constraints. The fourth manual will only have a Tuba. This all seems rather gloomy and disappointing. Anyone else heard this on the bush-telegraph ?

 

From what I was told when I visited Nicholsons workshop with the local association back in March, the plan is to have the Great, Swell, Choir and Pedal in for dedication next Easter. The current financial position at the cathedral means that the solo organ will likely be installed for the following Easter. I believe the Tuba is that from the old organ - a relatively new stop and the only part of the old instrument to be retained, so this pipework is, of course, already to hand.

 

I was told - although I don't know how true or otherwise this is - that the cathedral had a couple of properties which they were going to sell and put the funds towards the organ. However, with the financial squeeze and the collapse of the property market in the area, they decided not to sell now, but to wait until the market picks up. This seems eminently sensible to me, so hopefully things will pick up in the next year and allow the planned solo division to go ahead. Nonetheless, with the main three divisions in place, the new organ will be a great improvement on anything that the cathedral has had in the last fifty years.

 

S

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