St Nicholas' Cathedral Newcastle

[undamaris]

Does anyone know what the state of play is regarding the organ here? There's nothing on the website to say anything apart from they have a toaster acting as the main instrument for services and recitals

[AJJ]

Does anyone know what the state of play is regarding the organ here? There's nothing on the website to say anything apart from they have a toaster acting as the main instrument for services and recitals

I seem to remember Paul Hale was/is advising on this.

 

A

[pcnd5584]

I seem to remember Paul Hale was/is advising on this.

 

A

 

For once, I should like to see this restored (if possible) to the way it was left by Harrisons - complete with a fair amount of the previous Lewis instrument.

[David Drinkell]

The last rebuild - not that long ago - was pretty drastic. Interesting, but those who knew it reckoned it was not that easy to handle, the louder effects in particular being unwieldy.

[bam]

There's a little bit in the last post on this page:

 

http://mander-organs-forum.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/3973-electronic-substitute-in-a-cathedral/page-3

[Damian Beasley-Suffolk]

At today's organ recital at Newcastle Cathedral they announced that a certain amount of repair and maintenance on the pipe organ is underway to bring it back into use, but that this is not a restoration or rebuild. At the very least, they hope that this will keep it going until the restoration of the cathedral itself is complete.

So it was my good luck to hear the pipe organ being played for the first time in 5 years or so, and to sit in a position where I could hear both the main transept organ and the choir organ, and the interplay between them. A French/Belgian programme today, perhaps determined, but certainly not restricted, by the presently available stops -  lots of noisy reeds ? And smiles all round afterwards.

It was mentioned that some of the work will be to install safety rails around the instrument. I seem to hear more of this recently. It goes without saying that working at any height more than a couple of metres is hazardous, deaths and injuries have occurred, and safety should be foremost in everyone's mind. But I now wonder about the perils for organ builders which I'd never thought about. There is an old film of Guildford Cathedral's organ being installed in the 1960s which, frankly, terrifies me, and I'm not in the least afraid of heights.

As for how you can tell the difference between an electronic and a pipe organ, if you're sitting on a nice hard church pew you can tell without even using your ears.