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AJJ

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I've been having a think about what sort of organ I would build in St. Peters and NPOR and the excellent page on church website (http://www.stpetersnottingham.org/music/organ.htm) provides a lot of information and photos.

 

NPOR gives the specification of the original 1812 organ here: http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi...ec_index=C00952 and its subsequent ... development...

I note the organ is by Lincoln and aspertions are cast whether the case is in fact by Snetzler. I rather suspect the Keraulaphon on the pre-1863 specification is a later addition.

 

Layout

 

The Great Organ would be in the "Snetzler" case, facing west in the North Transept, all of it forward of the arch, for which it may be necessary to deepen the case (I suspect this case has already been hacked about and probably only the frontage survives). Speaking west, finally fully released into the main body of the church, with a full chorus from 16' to mixture (the large quint mixture could reach into the 16 foot series in the treble), it would be the principal division to accompany the congregation - the 16' tone would support the men's voices as they sing down an octave. The Great case would not have a back, allowing the divisions behind it to speak through the Great Organ into the main body of the church, but we would need to accept the Great Organ would be the dominant force.

 

Immediately behind the Great case, in the chamber, would be the small pedal soundboard at slightly lower level. This would still allow the Pedal Trumpet 8 and Principal 8 to get the space they need to give the pedal line some definition. More pedal upperwork could be specified if there is space and the appetite for it. The larger pedal ranks would be along the north wall of the chamber but not tucked in behind the swell box. From there they should be able to get round the corner into the building, as benefits long wavelength notes, but without blocking the Swell Organ.

 

The Swell Organ would be behind/east of the small pedal chest at a higher level, speaking west over the tops of the small Pedal and Great organs as much as possible to get the sound out. This would to enable it to speak out behind the Great Organ in the traditional British manner and colour the Great Organ for variety of tone accompanying the hymns and assist in the build up in the traditional manner. I have kept the Swell organ as small as possible so the box can be as compact as possible without crowding the planting to encourage good projection. In addition, the acoustics of the organ chamber will need to be made as good as possible to get the sound out - such things as a soft wood ceiling and soft porous plaster might need careful redecoration or covering.

 

Although the Swell Organ would point west, the swell box would also have shutters facing north, into the chancel through the North chancel arch. In front of it, in and in front of the arch, the Choir Organ would occupy a new case, speaking south into the chancel to accompany the choir. The Choir Organ would have plenty of foundation and 4' tone to accompany the choir without overwelming it and acts as a miniature Great Organ, with the Swell Organ behind it.

 

There would be passage boards between the Great Organ and Small Pedal Organ soundboards, in front of the swell box and down the south side of the swell box to get access to the Choir Organ.

 

The Great organ is based on the 1812 specification and the nature of the organ would be what if a first rate Victorian builder like Hill had rebuilt the Lincoln organ in about 1860 into a comprehensive 3 manual town church organ:

 

Great Organ

 

1. Double Diapason 16 (stopped bass, maybe an open treble - maybe not unlike an Aubertin Portunal)

2. Open Diapason 8

3. Stopped Diapason 8

4. Principal 4

5. Flute 4

6. Twelfth 3

7. Fifteenth 2

8. Sesquialtera III (17.19.22, 12.15.17)

9. Mixture IV (19.22.26.29)

10. Trumpet 8

11. Clarion 4

 

Swell Organ

 

12. Bourdon 16

13. Open Diapason 8

14. Stopped Diapason 8 (CB for Gambe)

15. Gambe 8 Tc

16. Voix Celestes 8 Tc

17. Principal 4

18. Mixture IV (15.19.22.26)

19. Fagotto 16

20. Cornopean 8

21. Oboe 8

 

Choir Organ

 

22. Open Diapason 8 (in case prospect, maybe to tenor G if space precludes a full bass)

23. Keraulophon 8 (maybe to tenor C if space is limited)

24. Gedeckt 8 (common bass)

25. Gemshorn 4

26. Suabe Flute 4

27. Piccolo 2

28. Clarinet 8

 

Pedal Organ

 

29. Grand Open Diapason 16

30. Violone 16

31. Bourdon (s) 16

32. Quint 12

33. Principal (s) 8

34. Trombone 16

35. Trumpet (s) 8

 

Pedal pipes marked (s) are on the small Pedal Organ soundboard.

 

Swell to Great

Swell to Choir

Choir to Great

Swell to Pedal

Great to Pedal

Choir to Pedal

 

Registration aids as appropriate - if it is EP action, I would suggest 1-6 Divisionals and generals with stepper, with unlimited memory; if the action is to be fully mechanical I would suggest 1-4 composition pedals to the Great and Swell organs, with a reverser for Great to Pedal and Pedal Trombone.

 

I wondered if it was worth putting the Clarinet on to the Great Organ in this case. As the Great Organ would not have a role accompanying the Choir, it could be better used for the typical solo voices for choral accompaniment.

 

If a high-pressure party horn is deemed vital, it could be put either above or in front of the small pedal organ, if there is space, playable from the Choir Organ keys. I do not think a Great Reeds on Choir transfer or making the Great Reeds available on the Choir Organ for solo purposes would be appropriate on this organ.

 

I would suggest this scheme could do all the proposed organ can do, for about 2/3 of the stops. It would be very fine for Baroque music as well as Romantic and modern music - there is the potential to perform much of the French Classical school. Although one really needs the real thing to do it authentically (and many modern eclectic instruments fall short), this organ should be able to muster a Plein Jeu avec Pedale de Trompette, Grand Plein Jeu and Petit Plein Jeu, Grand Jeu, dialogue sur le Cromorne et Cornet (using the Great Sesquialtera - not authentic but it should work), Basse et Dessus de Trompette, etc. Bach chorales and choral partitas shouldn't be an issue either - the 4' pedal reed can be achieved using the Great Clarion and there should be a good chorus for the Preludes and Fugues. The French Romantic and German Romantic schools shouldn't be out of the question and it should be a natural at the English schools of music. With the large, west-facing Great Organ, it would be well-placed to accompany the congregation and the north-facing Choir Organ should be able to dispatch its choral accompanimental duties with aplomb. In addition, it would be a pesuasive and flexible recital instrument.

 

My main concern with this organ would be what to do with the action - with 2 divisions facing west and another facing south, there could be some difficult action runs for at least one of the divisions and such is the distance in the organ that the actions might end up heavy and spongey if the action is mechanical. A pneumatic or electro-pneumatic action might be a more pragmatic choice.

 

The only other fly in the onitment is that such an organ would cost in the region £600,000-£700,000...

 

 

Beautiful - who would you ask to build it... :o

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"Beautiful - who would you ask to build it... "

 

Oh, that's easy: Me

(after about 10 years learning the craft and establishing a workshop that could build such an organ)

 

"Prices could be lowered when re-using material (there's enough at hand, or it will travel to Holland ;-)) "

 

The cost saving of re-using old materials isn't that great. Old pipes will need to be cleaned and restored and re-regulated too. This eats into the cost of making new pipes. The re-cycled pipes may not be ideal for purpose either, being of different scales, different finishing and constructions - so the risk is the organ ends up being a mongrel, of little musicial quality (which is not the idea).

 

The majority of the costs of a new organ aren't in the pipes but the rest of the organ. For a project like this and a cursory glance at the photos of the current organ, I'd say you need an entirely new design internally - new frame, wind system, actions, new soundboards, new casework to the north arch, new console and the old case will need restoration too.

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  • 4 weeks later...
I'm glad the notion of extension organs is on the mind of others. Unfortunately, along with electronics, they are still rather a dirty word in some quarters, and after some experiences, with good reason. I actually think that they are now deemed second best to electronics, and not a real consideration. I do genuinely wonder if we have collectively missed the boat, and that properly designed and constructed extension organs are a new way forward - note that I am being very specific here to weed out ill thought through rubbish, but I would ask a simple question to organists and pipe organ builders alike. What would you rather have seeing as X is preventing you from having a traditionally constructed pipe organ. An electronic instrument, maybe III and 50 or an extension organ with maybe 20 ranks so that we learn from some of the failings of the past with about the same disposition. You get colour, power, space saving and cost saving, and it's still a proper pipe organ. As a footnote, when are we going to start building polyphone and cube 32' basses instead of just resorting to electronics every time we can't fit in or afford a full complete pipe 32'. I honestly think it's time for a wake up call. By not exploring this possibility, our organ builders are missing out on work, I suspect because they don't want reputations to be tarnished by building that sort of thing. It's not difficult to study the organs of Compton and Christie to work out a way to do it. It's not to say that's the only way to do it, but then, that's where we can take the art form forward.

 

AJS

 

=============================

 

 

 

Here's an interesting sound from one of John Compton's former employees.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zkg3u3JKAFU

 

 

It sounds fairly convincing to me, but it's a lot smaller than it sounds.

 

http://www.ohta.org.au/organs/organs/Euroa.html

 

MM

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Guest Hector5

A nice sound indeed - although I'm not sure that what we are hearing is the organ in the spec - I hear Mixtures and other funnies, including a subdued 32' grumble at the end. Given the best intentions, together with large hands, octave couplers etc - I cannot see how the sound can have been achieved - unless the organ has been enlarged. I have some recordings of Laurie's instruments and yes, they do sound really quite good for what they are. Some kind Aussie friends bought me the Laurie book (a good read by the way).

 

Hector

 

Here's an interesting sound from one of John Compton's former employees.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zkg3u3JKAFU

 

 

It sounds fairly convincing to me, but it's a lot smaller than it sounds.

 

http://www.ohta.org.au/organs/organs/Euroa.html

 

MM

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Interesting discussion, folks. I was actually in St Peter's not so long ago, and thought you might like to know the literature in church has an updated specifiction as follows:

Great

Bourdon 16

Open Diapason No.1 8

Open Diapason No.2 8

Harmonic Flute 8

Stopped Diapason 8

Principal 4

Harmonic Flute 4

Fifteenth 2

Mixture IV

Sharp Mixture III

Trumpet 8

 

Pedal

Contra Bourdon 32

Open Wood 16

Principal 16

Bourdon 16

Lieblich Gedackt 16 (Sw)

Octave 8

Gedackt 8

Choralbass 4

Nachthorn 4

Mixture IV

Trombone 16

Bassoon 16

Trumpet 8

Rohrschalmei 4

 

Swell

Lieblich Gedackt 16

Diapason 8

Rohrflote 8

Flute Celestes II 8

Salicional 8

Voix Celeste 8

Prestant 4

Nason Flute 4

Fifteenth 2

Piccolo 2

Sesquialtera II

Mixture IV

Double Trumpet 16

Trumpet 8

Oboe 8

Vox Humana 8

Clarion 4

 

Choir

Spitz Principal 8

Gedackt 8

Viole 8

Gemshorn 4

Spitzflute 4

Nazard 2 2/3

Fifteenth 2

Blockflute 2

Tierce 1 3/5

Mixture III

Corno di Bassetto 16

Cromorne 8

 

Solo (Floating)

Sheriff's Trumpet 8

 

Also, MusingMuso will be releived to hear that the lovely case in the North Aisle isn't being sawn up and dumped in a skip. In fact, there's a sign up at the moment explaining that the front pipes are away being cleaned and will return shortly!

 

Hope that's useful.

 

Positif

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Interesting discussion, folks. I was actually in St Peter's not so long ago, and thought you might like to know the literature in church has an updated specifiction :

 

 

Solo (Floating)

Sheriff's Trumpet 8

 

Also, MusingMuso will be releived to hear that the lovely case in the North Aisle isn't being sawn up and dumped in a skip.

 

Positif

 

============================

 

 

 

What is this new regional rivalry? First we had the Duke of Lancaster's Tuba, and now the Sheriff's Trumpet?

 

If they're going to go riding through the glen, then perhaps "Hooded Trumpet" would be appropriate, or the slightly more risque "Marian's Trumpet."

 

Surely, the time has come to have wonderfully inventive names for these party horns, like they do with special bottled beer and real ale.

 

They would have to be reserved for big horns and 32ft reeds, or things out of the ordinary; perhaps on the following lines:-

 

 

"Eee what a racket" 16 (Any 16ft baroque style reed in Yorkshire)

 

"Bloomin' eckolphone 8" (The York Tuba)

 

"Cor blimey m8" (The west end Trumpets at St Paul's)

 

" 'ere wack 8" (Liverpool Tuba Magna)

 

"The Blackburn Slitherer 32" (The infamous brass Serpent)

 

 

Naturally, things would have to be in Latin or Greek for Oxbridge, such as "Corno Copiae 8"

 

 

I'm sure there are lots of possibilities.

 

MM

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============================

 

 

 

What is this new regional rivalry? First we had the Duke of Lancaster's Tuba, and now the Sheriff's Trumpet?

 

If they're going to go riding through the glen, then perhaps "Hooded Trumpet" would be appropriate, or the slightly more risque "Marian's Trumpet."

 

Surely, the time has come to have wonderfully inventive names for these party horns, like they do with special bottled beer and real ale.

 

They would have to be reserved for big horns and 32ft reeds, or things out of the ordinary; perhaps on the following lines:-

 

 

"Eee what a racket" 16 (Any 16ft baroque style reed in Yorkshire)

 

"Bloomin' eckolphone 8" (The York Tuba)

 

"Cor blimey m8" (The west end Trumpets at St Paul's)

 

" 'ere wack 8" (Liverpool Tuba Magna)

 

"The Blackburn Slitherer 32" (The infamous brass Serpent)

 

 

Naturally, things would have to be in Latin or Greek for Oxbridge, such as "Corno Copiae 8"

 

 

I'm sure there are lots of possibilities.

 

MM

 

I hear that as well as the 'Grand Old Duke of York Tuba Mirabilis' the Minster is re-casting the Great mixtures as follows:

 

Mixture 111 - will be Richard 111

Furniture IV - will be Edward IV

Sesquialtera 11 - will be Princes in the Tower 11 (unfortunately the resonators of these pipes have been disconnected!)

 

DT

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6. The specification of the proposed organ is extremely odd. No Tierce on a Choir Organ that has all the other fractions?

 

I can tell you that a lone Positive Tierce is on their proposal for St Nicholas Warwick as that church are missing what seems to be going to Nottingham.

 

N

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  • 2 months later...

In case anyone had plans to attend the opening weekend, see this which has appeared on the church website:

 

It is with great disappointment that the Organ Festival Weekend advertised at St Peter's for 20th and 21st November has had to be postponed. We have been very seriously let down by one of the partners involved in the build, and despite many difficult conversations over the past two weeks, the situation cannot be rectified in time for the planned celebrations. Whereas the pipes and new casework now stand tantalizingly in the chancel balcony and behind the restored North Aisle case, the organ's console still languishes in a factory in Oregon, awaiting a final, but vital, piece of equipment. It is this that has required the dreadfully disappointing decision to postpone the Bishop's dedication and the David Briggs recital. Instead, the new organ will be brought into commission over the next couple of months and we hope, following some words of blessing at a morning service, used during the Advent and Christmas season. The formal dedication will be rescheduled for the New Year, and the February gala series of Coffee Break Concerts will go ahead as planned, starting with the gala recital given by Paul Hale, who has been of tremendous support during this difficult time. David Briggs has agreed to reschedule his recital and 2011 dates are being explored.

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In case anyone had plans to attend the opening weekend, see this which has appeared on the church website:

 

It is with great disappointment that the Organ Festival Weekend advertised at St Peter's for 20th and 21st November has had to be postponed. We have been very seriously let down by one of the partners involved in the build, and despite many difficult conversations over the past two weeks, the situation cannot be rectified in time for the planned celebrations. Whereas the pipes and new casework now stand tantalizingly in the chancel balcony and behind the restored North Aisle case, the organ's console still languishes in a factory in Oregon, awaiting a final, but vital, piece of equipment. It is this that has required the dreadfully disappointing decision to postpone the Bishop's dedication and the David Briggs recital. Instead, the new organ will be brought into commission over the next couple of months and we hope, following some words of blessing at a morning service, used during the Advent and Christmas season. The formal dedication will be rescheduled for the New Year, and the February gala series of Coffee Break Concerts will go ahead as planned, starting with the gala recital given by Paul Hale, who has been of tremendous support during this difficult time. David Briggs has agreed to reschedule his recital and 2011 dates are being explored.

 

David Briggs is scheduled to play on Saturday 30th July 2011

A

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==============================

 

 

Walker's built a few extension organs, and I recall accompanying the Durufle "Requiem" on one at a hospital chapel near Northallerton. Not a bad sound actually, but a bit short of variety for such a work.

 

MM

 

A hospital Chapel near Northallerton??? St. John of God Scorton by any chance? Rather you than me playing the Durufle Requiem on a small extension organ! On the note of Walker extension organs, I played a 4 rank one recently in Cheshire, complete with a trumpet rank and it made a good sound in the building. The 'chorus' actually sparkled beautifully and did more justice to JS Bach than I ever imagined.

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Rather you than me playing the Durufle Requiem on a small extension organ! On the note of Walker extension organs,

 

I once sang in a performance where the organ was a 2 man victorian job with few registrational aids .....and where about a third of the way in the pedal pneumatics gave out. The organist had a very sharp learning curve that evening!

 

A :huh:

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In case anyone had plans to attend the opening weekend, see this which has appeared on the church website:

 

Thank you for posting this which reminded me to re-visit the web site where I see there are pictures of the construction/ installation of the new pipe bit of this organ. They made interesting viewing and I could not help thinking it owed much to Compton's use of standardized parts.

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..........I see there are pictures of the construction/ installation of the new pipe bit of this organ. They made interesting viewing and I could not help thinking it owed much to Compton's use of standardized parts.

 

Or even IKEA.

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In case anyone had plans to attend the opening weekend, see this which has appeared on the church website:

 

It is with great disappointment that the Organ Festival Weekend advertised at St Peter's for 20th and 21st November has had to be postponed. We have been very seriously let down by one of the partners involved in the build, and despite many difficult conversations over the past two weeks, the situation cannot be rectified in time for the planned celebrations. Whereas the pipes and new casework now stand tantalizingly in the chancel balcony and behind the restored North Aisle case, the organ's console still languishes in a factory in Oregon, awaiting a final, but vital, piece of equipment. It is this that has required the dreadfully disappointing decision to postpone the Bishop's dedication and the David Briggs recital. Instead, the new organ will be brought into commission over the next couple of months and we hope, following some words of blessing at a morning service, used during the Advent and Christmas season. The formal dedication will be rescheduled for the New Year, and the February gala series of Coffee Break Concerts will go ahead as planned, starting with the gala recital given by Paul Hale, who has been of tremendous support during this difficult time. David Briggs has agreed to reschedule his recital and 2011 dates are being explored.

 

It is always disappointing to read of postponed plans but it is never recommended to schedule an inaugural recital until an organ has been completed, for good reason. In this case, with several suppliers involved, the risk of some part slipping behind schedule can only increase.

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It is always disappointing to read of postponed plans but it is never recommended to schedule an inaugural recital until an organ has been completed, for good reason. In this case, with several suppliers involved, the risk of some part slipping behind schedule can only increase.

 

Absolutely and utterly right. Preferably a year after completion. The last thing a builder needs, or a client should be thinking of, is a shift in focus from "it'll be finished when it's right" to "it'll be finished when Trotter/Weir and the people who paid for it are coming".

 

Even more incredible to me is when you see not only an opening recital advertised before a pipe has been voiced, but even a programme published.

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Absolutely and utterly right. Preferably a year after completion. The last thing a builder needs, or a client should be thinking of, is a shift in focus from "it'll be finished when it's right" to "it'll be finished when Trotter/Weir and the people who paid for it are coming".

 

Even more incredible to me is when you see not only an opening recital advertised before a pipe has been voiced, but even a programme published.

I have mentioned this before, but this reminds me of a modest, III/P Moller I played in the States that had some "prepared for" stops (the Sw Mixture & Fagotto and the Pedal 16' and 4' reeds). These were supposed to be supplied, but Moller's installation fell a little behind schedule. With the organ nearly, but not quite complete, Moller's heard that the inaugural recital was going ahead as planned. They proamptly deemed the organ to have been accepted and their contract fulfilled. They upped sticks, went home and refused to supply the remaining stops. Not long afterwards they ceased trading.

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Absolutely and utterly right. Preferably a year after completion. The last thing a builder needs, or a client should be thinking of, is a shift in focus from "it'll be finished when it's right" to "it'll be finished when Trotter/Weir and the people who paid for it are coming".

 

Even more incredible to me is when you see not only an opening recital advertised before a pipe has been voiced, but even a programme published.

I don't find that so incredible. If the builder is reputable and the stoplist appropriate, why not programme, say, CÜ III or La Nativité, or the Poulenc Concerto? There seem to be many organ builders capable of installing and finishing an organ on schedule.

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I don't find that so incredible. If the builder is reputable and the stoplist appropriate, why not programme, say, CÜ III or La Nativité, or the Poulenc Concerto? There seem to be many organ builders capable of installing and finishing an organ on schedule.

 

This is fine if you view an organ simply as a machine.

 

In the end, and assuming that what you want when the organ is finished is an Art Work, the final adjustments and tonal regulation add more than a layer of polish, they take the instrument from being simply well-made to one with the genuine quality of a fine musical instrument. Voicing cannot be rushed, nor can acclimatisation. The voicing period demanded by some firms may seem unreasonably long, but the best results are not arrived at by either chance or luck. While organs continue to be hand-made and human-finished involving large quantities of natural materials, the rush to meet a deadline runs counter to the best 'long-term' interests of the church or concert hall. Hats off to purchasers who take the organ-builder's advice in these matters, they are the ones with sense.

 

If finishing to a deadline is a priority, I'm sure there are companies who have a record of finishing their work on time. This may reflect the fact that the managing director has allocated so many hours (and no more) for their voicer/finisher to work. Would you buy such an expensive thing from a company that did this?

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I don't find that so incredible. If the builder is reputable and the stoplist appropriate, why not programme, say, CÜ III or La Nativité, or the Poulenc Concerto? There seem to be many organ builders capable of installing and finishing an organ on schedule.

 

With all due respect, the stoplist says virtually nothing about the organ. On paper specifications, a Daewoo Matiz and Volvo V70 both have 5 gears, airbags, aircon, and twin sunvisors but you certainly wouldn't expect them to perform the same.

 

The difference between the best opening recitals I have attended, and the worst, is that in the best of them (Thomas Trotter) the player has taken great pains to get to know an organ intimately before choosing how to demonstrate it in public. That seems to me to be essential. In the worst (whom shall not be named), a great deal of music has been presented but it was quite evident that the colours of the organ were not explored beforehand with any particular care - and my goodness me it's a colourful organ, as an imminent CD by one of our regular contributors will clearly demonstrate.

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  • 2 months later...

As we'd moved Epiphany back to the Sunday just gone and St Mary's choir are still on holiday, I went to St Peters tonight for their Eucharist for Epiphany. The organ was installed just before Christmas I believe and so is now fully functional.

 

I suppose the question everyone will be asking is - could I tell the digital and the pipes apart? My answer is no - but I daresay others with a more expert ear might be able to. We had F in Darke mass, so the full range from an ethereal opening to the Sanctus to a much fuller sound in the louder bits - and it was full without being over-bearing. Introit (Rising of the Sun) and Anthem (The Three Kings) were both unaccompanied. We were given a pretty good taste of some of the solo colours, particularly in the pre-service improvisation on the hymn tune 'Dundee' and then in the Buxtehude 'Wie schon...' at the end. In the hymns themselves you could clearly tell that the Great was speaking out into the nave to support congregational singing - I would have liked to hear rather more variety in the hymn accompaniments perhaps (I wouldn't say I'm subtle with my registration changes in hymns!). It certainly had plenty of foundation in the pedal - the congregation this evening was about 30-odd but it could easily handle many more I'm sure.

 

The old case facing the nave has been retained, the new case into the choir houses pipes and digital stops I believe. http://www.nottinghamchurches.org/music/th.../stpetersorgan/ has some photos - the lighter case being the new one for the choir.

 

If you want to go and hear the organ, they are now using February as a month for celebration of the instrument, and the four Saturday morning 'Coffee break concerts' at 11am all feature the organ as follows:

5th - Dedication by the Bishop followed by Gala Organ Recital - Paul Hale

12th - Choral Pieces with the Choir of St Peters

19th - Silent Comedy with Improvised Accompaniment by Donald MacKenzie

26th - Handel Organ Concerto Opus 4 No. 4 in F and Poulenc Organ Concerto in g - Peter Siepmann (DOM) & Philip Collin at the console with Sarabande

Or the 2nd April (11am again) is Durufle Requiem with the church choir accompanied by John Keys which may be of interest.

David Briggs, as mentioned above, will now give his recital on 30th July.

Alternatively, the music list http://www.nottinghamchurches.org/assets/P...-2011-01-06.pdf shows the many choral services which offer the opportunity to hear the organ perform its main function of service accompaniment.

 

Unfortunately I can't make the Gala Recital but I will try to go and hear it again soon.

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I suppose the question everyone will be asking is - could I tell the digital and the pipes apart? My answer is no - but I daresay others with a more expert ear might be able to.

 

Perhaps the question everybody should be asking is - does the organ make good music? If it does, perhaps it isn't necessary to tell which sound is produced which way. The approach taken here is not quite the one that I would have chosen, but if the instrument meets the needs of those it serves, then there could have been far worse alternatives.

 

JC

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