Divided Pedals And Nave Consoles

[pcnd5584]

I note, with interest, that there are now at least three of our cathedral organs which possess a Pedal Divide facility:

 

Truro Cathedral (Mander/Briggs)

Gloucester Cathedral (Nicholson/Briggs)

Ripon Cathedral (H&H) [/bryden?] - Nave console only

 

Does anyone know of any others?

 

In addition, the Nave console at Ripon has a useful transfer Manuals I & II Exchange - something which I have long desired to have installed in my own church instrument.

 

Does anyone know of any other unusual accessories on a cathedral (or large parish church) organ?

[AJJ]

I note, with interest, that there are now at least three of our cathedral organs which possess a Pedal Divide facility:

 

Truro Cathedral (Mander/Briggs)

Gloucester Cathedral (Nicholson/Briggs)

Ripon Cathedral (H&H) [/bryden?] - Nave console only

 

Does anyone know of any others?

 

In addition, the Nave console at Ripon has a useful transfer Manuals I & II Exchange - something which I have long desired to have installed in my own church instrument.

 

Does anyone know of any other unusual accessories on a cathedral (or large parish church) organ?

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There's an instrument up north somewhere with a drinks cabinet activated by a stop knob - 'can't remember where though.

 

AJJ

[JJK]

There's an instrument up north somewhere with a drinks cabinet activated by a stop knob - 'can't remember where though.

 

AJJ

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Do you mean St Giles, Edinburgh - I think this has a bar inside the organ

 

JJK

[JJK]

I note, with interest, that there are now at least three of our cathedral organs which possess a Pedal Divide facility:

 

Truro Cathedral (Mander/Briggs)

Gloucester Cathedral (Nicholson/Briggs)

Ripon Cathedral (H&H) [/bryden?] - Nave console only

 

Does anyone know of any others?

 

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Liverpool - both LC and SGH, I think - have a Solo Ten Solo to Pedal coupler which achieves a similar effect.

 

JJK

[headcase]

I know a little H&H organ, 3/3/1, tracker + pneumatic ped which has a

Swell to Great coupler and a Great to Swell coupler. Can anyone figure that out...?

 

I believe I read somewhere recently (maybe on this discussion board) of two stops favoured by our cousins across the pond, PULPIT CANCEL and RECTOR EJECTOR.

 

H

[AJJ]

The amazingly versatile couplers on the Auberin at Aberdeen University where everything can couple everywhere and on mechanical action.

 

AJJ

[Guest paul@trinitymusic.karoo.co.uk]

There's an instrument up north somewhere with a drinks cabinet activated by a stop knob - 'can't remember where though.

 

AJJ

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Not that far north, well, at least not the one I know!

The organ is at St.Paul's Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffs.

 

The drinks cabinet (stuffed with minature bottles) is concealed behind the top of the Swell stop jamb with its door disguised as a simple oak paque. This door is operated by a stop-knob labelled 'Tibia Liquida'.

 

The organ was largely built and paid for by the late John Norris who had added many stops during his thirty year+ stint there as Organist and Choirmaster. The organ was finally tidied up, became a four-manual and 'made legal' (not having previously had any sort of faculty approval) by George Sixsmith in about 1996. It's a splendid (and unusual) instrument, if rather under-served by the acoustic in which it stands... a real shame because it has virtually everything a total-organ-obessive could ever want. Amogst other things the spec includes a lovely Glockenspiel and some unique pipework ex Holy Trinity Tooting which was made by Beale and Thynne.

[Paul Morley]

The organ was finally tidied up, became a four-manual and 'made legal' (not having previously had any sort of faculty approval) by George Sixsmith in about 1996.

 

As I understand it, the (previous?) incumbent had some influence (or possibly a post) within the Lichfield Diocese. On the occasion that I met him, I got the distinct impression that he considered the church authorities' sidestepping of the faculty process in respect of the organ as his personal triumph.

[Paul Morley]

Paul, I also agree that Newcastle-u-Lyme is 'not that far north'. Practically outer London as far as I'm concerned.

[pcnd5584]

OK - I know about the drinks cabinet one - organs with 'alcoholic' accessories have been written about here, before!

 

I was thinking more about serious accessories - such as the above-mentioned Solo Tenor Solo to Pedal stops at Liverpool. The cathedral organ also used to have a pedal which added the next most powerful stop on the GO (and Pedal ?) - as a bridge between the pistons. Does anyone know if this this still exists?

 

The organ at Norwich Cathedral apparently has so many departmental transfers that it is entirely possible completely to 'lose' a division - a colleague once transferred the Choir-Positif to the Deanery (or at least off any of the available claviers) during a Psalm. The only thing he could think of doing to save the situation, was to let the choir sing a couple of verses unaccompanied, whilst he cancelled everything and started again.

 

Or he may have simply gone to the pub and left them to it - after all, it also has a record/playback facility....

 

[JJK]

I was thinking more about serious accessories - such as the above-mentioned Solo Tenor Solo to Pedal stops at Liverpool. The cathedral organ also used to have a pedal which added the next most powerful stop on the GO (and Pedal ?) - as a bridge between the pistons. Does anyone know if this this still exists?

 

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Transposing mechanisms - fairly common on organs with digital transmission from the console, but rare on mechanical action instruments. Christs's Cambridge springs to mind - built in early 1980's by Bishop.

 

As an aside, does anyone know if Bishops are still going, and have they built anything recently?

 

JJK

[Guest Andrew Butler]

St Paul's (?) Newcastle Under Lyme has a Tibia Liquida stop that activates a drinks drawer.

 

My stepson is not an organist, but has a method of obtaining a drink at home that seems to work - it consists of yelling to his wife "Oi, woman, beer, NOW!"

[Phil T]

St Paul's (?) Newcastle Under Lyme has a Tibia Liquida stop that activates a drinks drawer.

 

My stepson is not an organist, but has a method of obtaining a drink at home that seems to work - it consists of yelling to his wife "Oi, woman, beer, NOW!"

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I can’t believe that

 

1. He’s still married.

2. She actually gets him a drink.

 

[Tony Newnham]

 

Transposing mechanisms - fairly common on organs with digital transmission from the console, but rare on mechanical action instruments. Christs's Cambridge springs to mind - built in early 1980's by Bishop.

 

As an aside, does anyone know if Bishops are still going, and have they built anything recently?

 

JJK

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Hi

 

Bishop's were certainly still in business a couple of years ago, and I've not heard that they've ceased trading. Looking on NPOR there's no record of any new builds in recent years, but a number of rebuilds, etc. Please note - the absence of info on NPOR could just be that no one has informed us of new builds, etc. by Bishop, or that the info is in the backlog that we're trying to work through.

 

I found them very helpful when trying to trace the history of a redundant organ that they'd built.

 

Every Blessing

 

Tony

[David Coram]

Hi

 

Bishop's were certainly still in business a couple of years ago, and I've not heard that they've ceased trading.  Looking on NPOR there's no record of any new builds in recent years, but a number of rebuilds, etc.  Please note - the absence of info on NPOR could just be that no one has informed us of new builds, etc. by Bishop, or that the info is in the backlog that we're trying to work through.

 

I found them very helpful when trying to trace the history of a redundant organ that they'd built.

 

Every Blessing

 

Tony

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I know they were still tuning St Mary le Tower, Ipswich up to fairly recently - Richard Bower has now taken over & did give me a bit of background on the firm as it now is, which I've forgotten. But they do still exist, yes.

 

I played Christs' Cambridge and thought it was rather good - didn't expect it to be, I must admit.

[JJK]

I know they were still tuning St Mary le Tower, Ipswich up to fairly recently - Richard Bower has now taken over & did give me a bit of background on the firm as it now is, which I've forgotten.  But they do still exist, yes.

 

Thanks. I sang in the choir at SMT for several years - and the then assistant organist worked for Bishops, whose workshop was (probably still is) a stone's throw from the church.

 

I played Christs' Cambridge and thought it was rather good - didn't expect it to be, I must admit.

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I played it once (over 20 years ago) and rather liked it as well. But what happened to the similar period (1980s) Bishop in Little St Marys - currently being replaced by a new instrument from Tickell?

 

Anyway, I'll shut up, as we're well off-topic.......

 

JJK

[David Coram]

I played it once (over 20 years ago) and rather liked it as well. But what happened to the similar period (1980s) Bishop in Little St Marys - currently being replaced by a new instrument from Tickell?

 

Anyway, I'll shut up, as we're well off-topic.......

 

JJK

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I heard that Peter Bumstead was going to incorporate it (or the Holditch bits of it) in a new instrument for St Peter's Westelton. I did play Little St Mary's a few times and it seemed to be not without its problems, mostly I suspect to do with layout and the inaccessibility of the innards - as well as the visual disappointment of a rather nice case finished off with very dull pipes, there were lots of mechanical problems when I saw it on top of the basic problem of hardly any sound getting out of it. Will be interesting to see what KT manages in the same situation - though of course understanding of acoustics and action has come on a long way since 1978.

[pcnd5584]

To return to the posted subject....

 

[parsfan]

I think that the Edinburgh organ with the drinks cabinet is the lovely Ahrend in the Reid Concert Hall of Edinburgh University. Edinburgh's answer to the Frobenius in Queen's Oxford.

 

Fans of nave consoles might be interested to know that St Bartholemew's Church in NY acquired one earlier this year.

 

http://www.nycago.org/Organs/NYC/html/StBartsNave.html

[pcnd5584]

I think that the Edinburgh organ with the drinks cabinet is the lovely Ahrend in the Reid Concert Hall of Edinburgh University. Edinburgh's answer to the Frobenius in Queen's Oxford.

 

Fans of nave consoles might be interested to know that St Bartholemew's Church in NY acquired one earlier this year.

 

http://www.nycago.org/Organs/NYC/html/StBartsNave.html

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OK - but what is the point of having about thirty blank stop-knobs on a new console? Surely this organ does not need to be any larger?

[parsfan]

You never know ! After all West Point is added to from time to time.

 

I have never heard St Barts organ but have visited the building and it did not strike me as being terribly big. Full Organ must be somewhat over powering.

[Vox Humana]

At least the arrangement of the stop knobs under each division has some logic behind it. On at least two of the large organs I've played in the states (Washington Cathedral; St Paul's School, Concord, NH) the arrangement of the knobs was rather less systematic. But who knows what St Bart's will look like once the blank stop knobs have been engraved?

[pcnd5584]

But who knows what St Bart's will look like once the blank stop knobs have been engraved?

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More to the point - who knows what it will sound like? I am fairly certain that the tutti is already more than adequate.

[Tubular_pneumatic]

Fans of nave consoles might be interested to know that St Bartholemew's Church in NY acquired one earlier this year.

 

Ugh. I wasn't aware that Church organs had to be so large. Gross.

 

- N

[MichaelDavidson]

 

Liverpool - both LC and SGH, I think - have a Solo Ten Solo to Pedal coupler which achieves a similar effect.

 

JJK

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The 1939 Rushworth and Dreaper in Holy Rude, Stirling, also has a Tenor Solo to Pedal.

 

I assume that Rushworth's got the idea from the Liverpool instruments.

 

I only know of two occasions on which it got used - once by John Rose in the early 1970's for Reger's Ein Feste Burg and once by David Briggs around 1995 ...