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Eight Stops


Nick Bennett

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Great: Stopped Diapason 8A, Principal 4B, Gemshorn 2C, Octave, Sub, Unison Off, Swell to Great 16.8.4

Swell Spitzflote 8, Nason Flute 4, Plein Jeu 15.19.22, Tremulant, Octave, Sub, Unison Off

Pedal: Bourdon 16A, Principal 8B, Gemshorn 4C Great to Pedal, Swell to Pedal 8.4

 

61 note compass, 73 note soundboards

 

Damn! that makes 9!

 

Next stop: a Trumpet at 8' on the Swell and 16' on the Pedal.

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Great: Stopped Diapason 8A, Principal 4B, Gemshorn 2C, Octave, Sub, Unison Off, Swell to Great 16.8.4

Swell Spitzflote 8, Nason Flute 4, Plein Jeu 15.19.22, Tremulant, Octave, Sub, Unison Off

Pedal: Bourdon 16A, Principal 8B, Gemshorn 4C Great to Pedal, Swell to Pedal 8.4

 

61 note compass, 73 note soundboards

 

Damn! that makes 9!

 

Next stop: a Trumpet at 8' on the Swell and 16' on the Pedal.

 

Why on earth would you have an 8' C of an Open Diapason and not have it available on the manuals?

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:P

Why on earth would you have an 8' C of an Open Diapason and not have it available on the manuals?

 

 

Good point, but it's not unheard of to have an 8' Principal on the Pedal and a 4' on the Great. Then again, there was the GD&B at St. George's, Letchworth, where Bernard Edmonds, the Diocesan Adviser, insisted on an 8' diapason on the Great and the builders extended the Pedal Principal up and actually called it 'Pedal Diapason' on the stop-key. I think that's been changed since.

 

One could always draw the 4' with the Sub, and could even arrange it so that the bottom octave played under such circumstances. There are examples of an 8' Swell reed with an extra octave of pipes for the Sub. Otherwise, one could simply have a stop for the 8' - and this would bring us into the realms of an extension organ, which would open up a whole lot of other possibilities. Arguably, keeping things straight is a cleaner option. I find a full provision of octave couplers to be vastly useful, not just because I play a North American organ - I picked up the preference when I was in charge of the Willis at St. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall.

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Great: Stopped Diapason 8A, Principal 4B, Gemshorn 2C, Octave, Sub, Unison Off, Swell to Great 16.8.4

Swell Spitzflote 8, Nason Flute 4, Plein Jeu 15.19.22, Tremulant, Octave, Sub, Unison Off

Pedal: Bourdon 16A, Principal 8B, Gemshorn 4C Great to Pedal, Swell to Pedal 8.4

 

61 note compass, 73 note soundboards

 

Damn! that makes 9!

 

Next stop: a Trumpet at 8' on the Swell and 16' on the Pedal.

I'm sorry but this scheme doesn't appeal to my tastes at all - it seems firmly stuck in 1950s when the worst misunderstandings of the neo-baroque movement were blowing through. I can't see what purpose it serves or the rationale behind it.

 

A mixture on top of 2 flutes? Vertical development of so-called "choruses" (at the expense of anything else) AND octave couplers? A lack of any family of stops together? Why are the only 2 8ft stops on the manuals both flutes? I don't see any intelligent thinking about how this organ would be used and its possibilities.

 

There is a mis-mash of terms used - the so-called "Swell" division (although I see nothing Swell-like about it) predictably covers Germany (SpitzFlute), England (Nason Flute) and, of course France (Plein Jeu). This isn't eclecticism in three stops, it is an incoherent jumble.

 

I agree with Hecklephone - Why go to the bother of making a bass for an 8 foot principal on a small organ and NOT have it available on the manuals? Even Ralph Downes in his most peverse moments would have baulked at that.

 

I think this organ would be colourless and lacking variety of sounds in practice - you can only build vertically and it would only take half a dozen combinations before all the possibilities are exhausted - and so many of the possibilities would sound pretty similar anyway.

 

I don't see what music you would play on this organ, except perhaps tinkly trio-based 20th century neo-classical music. A North German Chorale Prelude would be colourless at best; Romantic music is a no-no; it isn't optimally designed to accompany a congregation or a choir and it isn't designed for more intimate environs like a house or practice organ.

 

With the octave couplers, borrowings and 73 note soundboards, it would be best to build this organ with electric action (I rather think the only way to build it would be on unit chests for the pedal/great division), rather than mechanical action so beloved by the neo-baroque proponents that drew up schemes like these, sixty years ago.

 

So what's the thinking behind it?

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GREAT

Open Diapason 8

Claribel Flute 8

Principal 4

 

Octave

 

Swell to Great

Swell to Great Suboctave

 

 

SWELL

Stopped Diapason 8

Viola da Gamba 8

Vox Angelica 8

Gemshorn 4

Fifteenth 2

Cornopean 8

 

 

PEDAL

Sub Bass 16

Open Bass Gt

Flute Bass Gt

Octave Bass 4 Gt

 

Swell to Pedal

 

 

If I had something like this to play at 'work' I'd be quite happy - ok it's 9 stops plus a 16' but I'm using only what my 1 man has - but re distributed and still on a decent mechanical action. However - we could never do this because 'upstairs' thinks it should stay as it is - if you get my drift!

 

You can tell it's my afternoon off!

 

A

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I'm sorry but this scheme doesn't appeal to my tastes at all - it seems firmly stuck in 1950s when the worst misunderstandings of the neo-baroque movement were blowing through. I can't see what purpose it serves or the rationale behind it.

 

A mixture on top of 2 flutes? Vertical development of so-called "choruses" (at the expense of anything else) AND octave couplers? A lack of any family of stops together? Why are the only 2 8ft stops on the manuals both flutes? I don't see any intelligent thinking about how this organ would be used and its possibilities.

 

There is a mis-mash of terms used - the so-called "Swell" division (although I see nothing Swell-like about it) predictably covers Germany (SpitzFlute), England (Nason Flute) and, of course France (Plein Jeu). This isn't eclecticism in three stops, it is an incoherent jumble.

 

I agree with Hecklephone - Why go to the bother of making a bass for an 8 foot principal on a small organ and NOT have it available on the manuals? Even Ralph Downes in his most peverse moments would have baulked at that.

 

I think this organ would be colourless and lacking variety of sounds in practice - you can only build vertically and it would only take half a dozen combinations before all the possibilities are exhausted - and so many of the possibilities would sound pretty similar anyway.

 

I don't see what music you would play on this organ, except perhaps tinkly trio-based 20th century neo-classical music. A North German Chorale Prelude would be colourless at best; Romantic music is a no-no; it isn't optimally designed to accompany a congregation or a choir and it isn't designed for more intimate environs like a house or practice organ.

 

With the octave couplers, borrowings and 73 note soundboards, it would be best to build this organ with electric action (I rather think the only way to build it would be on unit chests for the pedal/great division), rather than mechanical action so beloved by the neo-baroque proponents that drew up schemes like these, sixty years ago.

 

So what's the thinking behind it?

 

Like a lot of successful small organs, it's basically a one manual scheme spread over two for the sake of flexibility. In such instruments, it's not unsual to have the mixture on a different manual from the rest of the chorus. Sam Clutton thought it was OK, and so did Father Smith.

 

I got over the neo-classical phase when I was a student in the mid-seventies. I think most of my generation did. Therefore, I am not thinking in terms of neo-classical fluty gemshorns, but a slightly broad-toned conical principal - just enough to make it different from the 4'. I hate those awful 2' flutes which one finds so often (the example at the RCO was a classic, and needed to be avoided like the plague).

 

Similarly, the sort of thing I had in mind for the Swell might as easily be called Viola Pomposa or something equally fanciful. You can base a chorus on it, it will thicken up the foundation when coupled, it will make a passable flue double, and if the tremulant is right it will serve where a celeste is appropriate.

 

When it comes to nomenclature, it's a matter of choice and British organs have been picking and mixing since the mid-nineteenth century (maybe before - remember Renatus Harris's 'Cart'). 'Plein Jeu' at least gives one a better idea of what to expect than 'Mixture', although putting the composition on the stop-face would make it clear anyway.

 

Ralph Downes may not have avoided an 8' principal on the manuals (although he did at the Queen Elizabeth Hall), but Donald Harrison was quite capable of doing so, even in three-manual instruments (and surely not just for the sake of reducing Ernest Skinner to an apoplectic frenzy). One doesn't necessarily expect to include an 8' principal in one's fonds on a Cavaille-Coll, either.

 

I wouldn't have any problem playing a Mendelssohn Sonata, Vierne's Berceuse, Whitlock's Folk Song, Mathias's Processional, Master Tallis's Testament, Litanies or the Bach Passacaglia on it. I could lead a congregation perfectly well, and turn it inside out in the psalms much more successfully than a lot of other jobs that come to mind.

 

 

Yes, it would naturally need electric action. I think that the added flexibility of this far out-weighs any perceived benefits of tracker, so long as it's of highest quality and not used as an excuse to compromise good layout.

 

Maybe you're right and an extension organ would be a better use of resources, but I'm not so sure.

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  • 1 month later...

This is mine:-

 

I

Open Diapason 8'

Stopped Diapason 8'

Dulciana 8'

Principal 4'

 

II

Stopped Diapason 8' (from I)

Gemshorn/Flute 4'

Fifteenth 2'

Mixture III

 

Pedal

Bourdon 16'

 

Couplers

I-P; II-P; II-I; I-II.

 

I've cheated slightly by duplexing the Stopped Diapason. The Fifteenth and the Mixture would complete the chorus whose foundation is on the first manual. The last coupler (I-II) would allow the player to switch easily between the "Fonds" (for want of a better word) and the full chorus. The 4' Flute should be strong enough to cope with 8'+4'+2' on the second manual: I've seen plenty of box organs with a 4' Flute and a Fifteenth, yet no Principal.

 

The next stop I would add would be a Trumpet to Manual II, which would be duplexed to the Pedal.

 

I recently came across this lovely Walker (N11698). What isn't mentioned in the NPOR record is that the Double Diapason is only from Tenor C, and that the Fifteenth and Mixture are enclosed. The upperwork blends perfectly well with the 8'+4' when the box is opened, yet it's very handy being able to hold it back a bit.

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There are several interesting schemes, here - most of which would enable one to produce some musical sounds (assuming good quality voicing). It is certainly considerably more difficult to design an effective small instrument than a large one.

 

My own thoughts run thus:

 

PEDAL ORGAN

 

Quintatön 16*

Great to Pedal

Swell to Pedal

Swell 4ft. to Pedal

 

 

GREAT ORGAN

 

Stopped Diapason 8

Principal 4

Harmonic Flute 4

Fifteenth 2

Swell 16ft. to Great

Swell to Great

Swell 4ft. to Great

 

SWELL ORGAN

 

Flauto Traverso 8

Viola da Gamba 8

Geigen Principal 4

Hautboy 8

Tremulant

Sub Octave

Octave

 

If I was allowed one more stop? An Open Flute 8ft. on the Pedal Organ - partly for versatility, but also for clarity and in order to fill-out the 16ft. pitch.

 

 

 

* With the fifth voiced more prominently as it ascends. The lowest twelve notes to accent the fundamental.

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I would really miss the Open Diapason in your scheme, pcnd. Even if height were an issue, could the bass of an OD not be stopped, with 4' helper pipes added to fill in missing harmonics?

Of course - but the limit was eight stops and one cannot therefore have everything.

 

Whilst I realise that it is not ideal, the rationale was that the Swell Flauto Traverso and the Viola da Gamba would combine (also with the G.O. Stopped Diapason) to form an acceptable foundation - almost as good as an Open Diapason. Together with a bold Principal, this (it is hoped) would make a reasonable compromise.

 

For the record, with regard to your own scheme, I wonder why there is a Dulciana on the G.O. In such a small scheme, this could be said to be almost a waste of a rank....

 

I am also unsure of the wisdom of splitting the chorus between the claviers; in effect, this will reduce it to a one-clavier instrument.

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Of course - but the limit was eight stops and one cannot therefore have everything.

 

Whilst I realise that it is not ideal, the rationale was that the Swell Flauto Traverso and the Viola da Gamba would combine (also with the G.O. Stopped Diapason) to form an acceptable foundation - almost as good as an Open Diapason. Together with a bold Principal, this (it is hoped) would make a reasonable compromise.

 

For the record, with regard to your own scheme, I wonder why there is a Dulciana on the G.O. In such a small scheme, this could be said to be almost a waste of a rank....

 

I am also unsure of the wisdom of splitting the chorus between the claviers; in effect, this will reduce it to a one-clavier instrument.

 

I could see how the Swell 8' stops could combine to form something akin to a Principal tone - sounds like a reasonable compromise. Did Cavaillé-Coll not do something similar on his smaller organs?

 

I find a Dulciana quite useful myself: I like the gentleness without edge. I know from your previous postings that you are not keen on Dulcianas. Would a Gamba or a Keraulophon be more to your liking? I do think a soft stop of this kind is useful. The sawing down of Dulcianas to make Fifteenths does little to disprove the charge that organists like to play too loudly!

 

As to splitting the chorus up, I don't think it's necessarily such a bad thing only to have one chorus on a two-manual instrument. Many small parish churches would scarcely cope with a plenum consisting of two choruses on great and chaire/positif, let alone need such a thing. I can think of situations where moving from "Fonds" to Chorus/8'+4' to Stopped Diapason quickly would be quite handy - responsorial psalms, for example, or accompanying plainchant alternating between choir and congregation, or between cantor and choir. I believe some of Kenneth Tickell's earlier schemes for Catholic churches consist of a decent chorus on one manual and a solitary stopped diapason on another. Where two manuals would really come into its own is when a solo line needs to be brought out. The next addition to my scheme would be a Nazard and a Tierce (perhaps split treble/bass) to the second manual.

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Something has to be special about an instrument for me to take down a spec. Too often, I find, the overall result has little to do with stop names, however in the early 60s I found myself in Brunnen Reform Church in Switzerland. In 1959 Goll (Luzern) built this remarkable little gem:

Compass 56/30

 

Man I

 

Rohrflote 8

Principal 4

Mixture 1 (22,26,29)

 

ManII

 

Nachthorn 4

Octav 2

Krummhorn 8

 

Pedal

 

Sub Bass 16

Fagot 16

 

Reversers to Mix and Krum

Three couplers by hitch-downs

Totally unenclosed of course!

 

In a fairly large building I well remember the glorious tone and how well it would be for service and voluntary use, though maybe not for choral accompaniment as in English traditions.

I often wonder if it is still in the church, and also how many two manual instruments in this country at that time (and maybe now!) would have a reed as the second pedal stop.

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It's enormously interesting to read the replies to this topic - I note that the original brief was a strict 8 stop maximum. For my part, in a 150-seater church, I would be happy with:

 

Swell

Oboe 8'

Fifteenth 2'

Principal 4'

Open Diapason 8'

 

 

Octave

Suboctave

 

Great

Flute 4'

Stopped Diapason 8'

Gamba 8'

 

Octave

 

Pedal

Bourdon 16'

 

Voicing is everything of course ...

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There are several interesting schemes, here - most of which would enable one to produce some musical sounds (assuming good quality voicing). It is certainly considerably more difficult to design an effective small instrument than a large one.

 

My own thoughts run thus:

 

PEDAL ORGAN

 

Quintatön 16*

Great to Pedal

Swell to Pedal

Swell 4ft. to Pedal

 

 

GREAT ORGAN

 

Stopped Diapason 8

Principal 4

Harmonic Flute 4

Fifteenth 2

Swell 16ft. to Great

Swell to Great

Swell 4ft. to Great

 

SWELL ORGAN

 

Flauto Traverso 8

Viola da Gamba 8

Geigen Principal 4

Hautboy 8

Tremulant

Sub Octave

Octave

 

If I was allowed one more stop? An Open Flute 8ft. on the Pedal Organ - partly for versatility, but also for clarity and in order to fill-out the 16ft. pitch.

 

 

 

* With the fifth voiced more prominently as it ascends. The lowest twelve notes to accent the fundamental.

 

This looks like a good church organ, which would also give a convincing account of a large repertoire. The absence of an Open Diapason on the Great does look a little incongruous, bearing in mind what else is suggested, but I think it would work, especially as you could fake it with the other stops. It's amazing how one doesn't miss the 8' principal if it's not there! If you're going to have octave couplers on the Swell, you could have a sub on the Great and fake the Open that way, especially if you wired it to take the Stopped Diapason in the bottom octave (I am assuming electric action with all those couplers). Similarly, the nomenclature of the Pedal stop strikes me as out of place in the context. I understand what you're after, though - maybe what bugs me is a personal memory of this organ:-

 

http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi...ec_index=D01379

 

This struck me as a classic example of quite nice pipework not used to the best effect (the tierce mixture on the Great, taken from the salicional, was a filthy sound), and in particular there was no weight at all in the bottom of the Quintaton, which messed up everything else. I have difficulty shaking off the memory of it when I see 16 Quintatons on the Pedal!

 

I wish makers of extension organs could have learned from the master (Compton) and used a broad viola which would have provided decent upperwork. So many of them have Swells up to a Piccolo, which is of little use. A viola fifteenth would top things off so much better and the same rank would make a nice little mixture.

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This looks like a good church organ, which would also give a convincing account of a large repertoire. The absence of an Open Diapason on the Great does look a little incongruous, bearing in mind what else is suggested, but I think it would work, especially as you could fake it with the other stops. It's amazing how one doesn't miss the 8' principal if it's not there! If you're going to have octave couplers on the Swell, you could have a sub on the Great and fake the Open that way, especially if you wired it to take the Stopped Diapason in the bottom octave (I am assuming electric action with all those couplers). Similarly, the nomenclature of the Pedal stop strikes me as out of place in the context. I understand what you're after, though ...

 

Whilst I take your point regarding the Pedal 16ft. flue, I simply desired a change from the ubiquitous Bourdon. My own church instrument has a superb Quintatön as the G.O. sub-unison. There is plenty of weight there in the bass and only two or three notes are a little too 'quinty' to be entirely successful. And, yes - electric action (well, electro-pneumatic, to be strictly accurate), with Solid State switching was envisaged for the transmission.

 

One could substitute a Sub Bass or Bourdon for the Quintatön; however, if this were done (and since I wish to keep strictly within the prescribed limits), I would also wish for an extra coupler, viz:-

 

Pedals in Fifths (in order to supply a 10 2/3ft. Quint effect).

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Whilst I take your point regarding the Pedal 16ft. flue, I simply desired a change from the ubiquitous Bourdon. My own church instrument has a superb Quintatön as the G.O. sub-unison. There is plenty of weight there in the bass and only two or three notes are a little too 'quinty' to be entirely successful. And, yes - electric action (well, electro-pneumatic, to be strictly accurate), with Solid State switching was envisaged for the transmission.

 

One could substitute a Sub Bass or Bourdon for the Quintatön; however, if this were done (and since I wish to keep strictly within the prescribed limits), I would also wish for an extra coupler, viz:-

 

Pedals in Fifths (in order to supply a 10 2/3ft. Quint effect).

 

 

I think it's just the name and the memories that get me.....

 

I know it's against the laws of physics, but when it comes to a resultant, playing the 4th below for the top seven notes of the bottom octave can be more convincing. The lower notes take the 5th above as usual. The Sub Bass on the Willis at St. Magnus Cathedral does this.

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I think it's just the name and the memories that get me.....

 

I know it's against the laws of physics, but when it comes to a resultant, playing the 4th below for the top seven notes of the bottom octave can be more convincing. The lower notes take the 5th above as usual. The Sub Bass on the Willis at St. Magnus Cathedral does this.

 

Roger Yates used a similar arrangement at Kilkhampton Parish Church, North Cornwall, in order to complete the 32ft. Sub Bass, added by Lewis in 1892. It is indeed extremely effective. However, in this instrument, the Sub Bass is 'real', down to 32ft. G. As far as I can recall, the lowest two notes have the fifth above in addition to the fundamental, whilst the next five notes have the fourth below. However, this may be incorrect; each of the lowest seven notes also utilising the fourth below. I shall check with a colleague as soon as I can.

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Roger Yates used a similar arrangement at Kilkhampton Parish Church, North Cornwall, in order to complete the 32ft. Sub Bass, added by Lewis in 1892. It is indeed extremely effective. However, in this instrument, the Sub Bass is 'real', down to 32ft. G. As far as I can recall, the lowest two notes have the fifth above in addition to the fundamental, whilst the next five notes have the fourth below. However, this may be incorrect; each of the lowest seven notes also utilising the fourth below. I shall check with a colleague as soon as I can.

 

Yates preserved the old console, complete with reverse coloured keys, differing lower compasses and wooden square shanked stop knobs with gothic script labels on the jambs. This was the console in use I presume when Lewis added the 32 ft narrow scaled wooden stop. The Old Console LH stop jamb has the only example I know of a stop knob with no footage marked on its ivory but the year Lewis installed it, so it actually reads "Sub Bass Year 1892".

PJW

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Yates preserved the old console, complete with reverse coloured keys, differing lower compasses and wooden square shanked stop knobs with gothic script labels on the jambs. This was the console in use I presume when Lewis added the 32 ft narrow scaled wooden stop. The Old Console LH stop jamb has the only example I know of a stop knob with no footage marked on its ivory but the year Lewis installed it, so it actually reads "Sub Bass Year 1892".

PJW

There are photographs of this instrument (including those depicting both consoles) on my website.

 

For the record, the 32ft. is not narrow scaled - quite the opposite. However, on the north side of the instrument is the wooden (and bearded) Principal-Bass - which is comparatively narrow in scale, but quite effective. The Sub Bass rank is situated between the passage-board at the back of the Swell box and the Bombarde, on the east side of the organ.

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There are photographs of this instrument (including those depicting both consoles) on my website.

 

For the record, the 32ft. is not narrow scaled - quite the opposite. However, on the north side of the instrument is the wooden (and bearded) Principal-Bass - which is comparatively narrow in scale, but quite effective. The Sub Bass rank is situated between the passage-board at the back of the Swell box and the Bombarde, on the east side of the organ.

 

Thank you for correcting me. I will have a look at the pics. From memory the Bombarde has narrow scaled resonators!

PJW

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Whilst on some points I may agree with you, it is clear that each of us has our own preferences and our own priorities. ...

 

For that matter, and with regard to your own church instrument, ... With regard to nomenclature - why the affectation of 'Stopt Diapason', but not 'Hautboy'? The latter was at least as common...

 

Remainder of pcnd post deleted by moderator

 

 

Not really. I would say is that having lived with it for 5 years, the organ works extremely well in practice, especially underneath the choir, where the organ has all the colour and variety you would wish for and expect in an organ of this size. In repertoire it has proved to be very versatile and satisfying to play and listen to.

 

The previous swell organ was far less effective, the swell organ (and the swell box required to house it) was far too big for the location and the division was very poor - it promised much on paper but didn't live up to much in practice. Comparison of the old and the new organ is conclusive about which design works best - the new, smaller Swell organ has far more presence and is far more useful and incisive than the old one.

 

You will forgive me for being human, but I found your comments above offensive. However, I ought to correct the incorrect facts and points in your message fairly, all the time making it clear I would far rather be doing something different with my Sunday evening:

 

1. There are 3 8 ft stops on the Swell organ.

2. It is spelt "Stopped Diapason". Perhaps if you had really paid attention when you visited you would have noticed this?

3. The Oboe is designed as chorus reed and functions as such. It is based on mid-romantic lines (pre-Walker pepperpots) and so it is a little louder than late-romantic ultra creamy examples. In practice it colours the chorus very nicely and does as you would expect. A Cornopean in addition may have been nice, but there wasn't space - the space for the swell box is extremely limited (this really isn't a large organ at all and there is actually very little space for the organ in the church). The organ is really built more on the scale of a "village church" organ of 12-15 stops lines than "Town church" organ lines, where I would expect to see Swell mixtures and two swell reeds. In practice, life with the Oboe has been fine - I haven't missed the Trumpet as some might imagine and the Oboe gets used a lot in different roles.

4. Actually, the swell organ isn't really ideal for Stanley - it is not a treble-only solo division as Stanley would have envisaged and doesn't have the Trumpet and Cornet Stanley would have expected. It really is at its best colouring and augmenting the smaller stuff on the Great organ (up to 4ft principal, but also upto 15th if needed). Above this, the Great mixture, double and trumpet dominate and take the organ to another level of grandeur, as you would expect. So it's designed to work from the pp to mf level, which makes it very useful underneath the choir.

Balences with the great organ are easy to achieve and there's a lot that can be done with it.

 

Finally, I ought to make it public knowledge that you visited the church and "helped yourself" to the organ, without contacting anyone at the church that you were planning to visit and asking permission to play. I feel this was bad manners and I now find it extremely bad manners indeed that you now dare to bad-mouth the organ in public.

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You will forgive me for being human, but I found your comments above offensive. However, I ought to correct the incorrect facts and points in your message fairly, all the time making it clear I would far rather be doing something different with my Sunday evening:

 

1. There are 3 8 ft stops on the Swell organ.

2. It is spelt "Stopped Diapason". Perhaps if you had really paid attention when you visited you would have noticed this?

 

In fact I took my information from the NPOR - which is apparently incorrect. Pehaps you should send in a correct stoplist.

 

Finally, I ought to make it public knowledge that you visited the church and "helped yourself" to the organ, without contacting anyone at the church that you were planning to visit and asking permission to play. I feel this was bad manners and I now find it extremely bad manners indeed that you now dare to bad-mouth the organ in public.

 

More seriously:

 

'Helped myself'? I did no such thing. Nor would I countenance doing this. The visit was arranged, to the best of my knowledge, by another board member - whom I understood to have contacted you regarding this visit. If he did not in fact do so, I was mis-informed. *

 

Plenty of people here have criticised my own church instrument - this is their priviledge. I may not agree with them, but I try not to take it personally. In any case, your own reply to David Drinkell's scheme was arguably curt and dismissive.

 

Perhaps you would also ensure that your own facts are correct before bad-mouthing me.

 

 

 

* In fact, I now recall that, after our visit, you asked us both privately not to comment adversely (until it had had a chance to settle in) on your instrument at Twyford. I find this difficult to reconcile with your charge of helping myself.

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