The Pipe Organ is an endangered species and unloved organs are even demolished inside their buildings.
This is why at Hammerwood Park we are promoting the best of organ music: Scroll down to download free MP3 files of the lastest Vierne Organ Symphony concerts by Hugh Potton (Vierne 2 scheduled for March 24th EASTER BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY with 1812 encore) and to rescue an organ and see the Ebay pipe organ graveyard Our musical heritage is being devastated with the loss of buildings housing organs. These photographs were taken the night before the bulldozers went in - with the organ still inside.
Organicide - MURDER!!!
Small churches and chapels throughout England are being left to the relentless forces of property development and organs are disappearing fast. An organ builder acquaintance in Lincolnshire says that he is seeing a dozen instruments a month for which there are no buyers being scrapped especially in Methodist and non-conformist churches and chapels. We are at the watershed of a cultural oblivion. Despite the rubble, most of the pipework was rescuable but the demolition could not be delayed.
This instrument was interesting in providing a three manual specification with a small number of ranks of pipes and occupying only a small space. It would have been capable of symphonic repertoire which cannot be played on most two manual parish church pipe organs.
The other danger to organs is more insidious than outright vandalism - it's the happy-clappy brigade bringing plucked and percussive instruments into churches. The organ often falls into disuse, no-one locally can play it properly, and the odd pianist who comes in has no idea of the inspirational repertoire available. How can one fail to be inspired by Vierne's first symphony?
Rescue or advertise a redundant organ
BIOS - the British Institute of Organ Studies has a list of redundant organs of historic importance seeking good homes. There is a redundant 1873 Hunter pipe organ in Sussex looking for a new home on the Institute of British Organ Building list where instruments are categorised into 1, 2, 3 and 4 manuals. THIS INSTRUMENT AT GRAFFHAM, SUSSEX, WILL BE MELTED DOWN ON 15th February UNLESS A PURCHASER COMES FORWARD FOR A FEW HUNDRED POUNDS. It has been made redundant only because some well-meaning but misguided organist has donated a multi-note hi-fi reproduction system called a digital organ, the PCC have approved the scrapping of the pipe organ, and the Chichester Diocese DAC have allowed them. The pipe-organ could be playing without attention in 100 years time, whereas the electronic organ which has replaced it will be in a skip inside 20 and certainly 30.
The 1893 Hammerwood Hunter organ is demonstrative of the quality of this maker, who often used spotted metal, and a rescue of the organ would be most worthwhile. The redundant Sussex organ is currently arranged in an organ chamber but would probably fit in a 9ft cube space.
Specification
Great: Open Diapason 8ft, Stopped Diapason 8ft, Dulciana 8ft, Principal 4ft, Harmonic Flute 4ft, Fifteenth 2ft.
Swell: Open Diapason 8ft. Lieblick Gedackt 8ft. Viol di Gamba 8ft. Gemshorn 4ft.
Ped: Bourdon 16ft. Telephone: 01342 850594 or email latrobe@antibes.co.uk for contact details
The instrument was rebuilt in 1991 and the Church Warden says that it plays well and is in good order. This should make removal and rebuilding a comparatively simple operation.
From our experience of the Hammerwood Hunter organ, the Dulciana 8ft goes together well with the Harmonic Flute as a 2ft as a light ear-tickling combination for earlier works. The conversion of the Harmonic Flute to 2ft was a sympathetic alteration by its curator C F Waters in addition to a clamp-on to take a rank of Vox Celeste on the Swell. These changes make the Hammerwood Hunter very versatile and possibly the same could be done for the instrument currently seeking rescue from being melted down. With the addition of some microsensors to the manuals, it could be enhanced with electronic organ extension boxes made specifically for the purpose (see below) without jeopardising the fundamental long lasting qualities that such a pipe organ provides.
The PCC will sell the Hunter organ to a scrap dealer unless it is purchased for a few hundred pounds by 12th February 2008.
Happily the owner of the 18th century chamber organ below wants to sell it but appreciates its value. Email latrobe@antibes.co.uk who will forward your enquiry
He played John Stanley on it when he was a boy. It's in Sussex near Brighton and, thank goodness, this is not an emergency rescue.
In France there appears to be a good balance of people wanting organs and organs for sale. There's a nice three manual for sale in Bonsecours . . . and great organ enthusiasm
The decline of the pipe organ is demonstrated by a sample set of listings on 24th January 2008, below, but first:
Delightful small-medium sized organ for sale on ebay with good 14 rank specification. The church are replacing this instrument with a life of hundreds of years with an electronic polyphonic hi-fi system! How can churches be so badly advised?
This organ in Liverpool might have been lucky to sell on Ebay on 23rd January for £1000
The promotion of organ appreciation at Hammerwood Park, near East Grinstead, Sussex
NEXT CONCERTS 2008: Hugh Potton 24th March, Easter Monday 4pm (Vierne 2 and 1812 Gala performance celebrating 25 years of concerts and opening to the public) ; Clive Driskill-Smith Monday 2nd June 7.45; Jeremy Filsell Saturday 25th October - call 01342 850594 for tickets
It is to promote enthusiasm for the best of the organ repertoire at Hammerwood Park that we have the Hunter pipe organ from Addington Palace, formerly the RSCM, which had been given to the organist and composer C F Waters, together with the three manual Makin organ which served Londonderry Cathedral for a dozen years.
Sited in the Elgin Room at Hammerwood Park these instruments provide an optimum playing and listening experience for concerts of the organ repertoire. In large buildings, much of the splendid repertoire gets lost in the acoustic, presenting a merely heavenly noise to the audience. With careful acoustic reinforcement through an especially designed loudspeaker system, the room provides the feel of a large acoustic whilst presenting to the audience enough direct sound from the instruments in order to appreciate the detail. This comes through particularly in Vierne Symphony 1 played by Hugh Potton on 3rd November 2007 and we hope that you will enjoy the recording, romp to the encores, experience Bach and other composers at their best and not be too frightened by the pyrotechnics. Good idea to watch it first!
FREE MP3 MUSIC TO DOWNLOAD
played by Hugh Potton on the Makin Organ at Hammerwood Park - November 2007. For details of live concerts click here
Great: Fourniture IV is very bright and arguably should be drawn only on top of the Posaune
Swell: Mixture V goes brilliantly alone with the Geigen Diapason for Bach
Pedal: Trumpet and Trombone combined is as good as an Ophicliede
Sound: the instrument is 12 channel and speaks through 10 internal 60 watt amplifiers with the addition of a 100 watt per channel unit for some stops on the Pedal organ and the Tuba on the Choir. As currently installed, internal reverberation is ignored and a further output feeds controlled multi-channel reverberation. This controlled acoustic arrangement provides optimum listenability together with an excellent dry sound source when required, for instance, for film sound track recordings. All channels sound through an increasingly sophisticated set of speakers, many of which are specifically designed for the individual stops that they reproduce. This has enabled the instrument to achieve a sound markedly better than commercial installations.
The organ is getting bigger!
The organ is currently being enlarged to a five manual instrument.
Eventually, the Hunter pipe-organ will be playable from the two new manuals but in the meantime another 40 or so stops including two 32ft pedal stops are being added with a Baroque voiced Content 220 Organ expander made in Holland and an Ahlborn module made in Italy and with more southern European voicing. Both these units are used at the heart of many commercial instruments made by well known names in the "pipeless" organ industry. Whilst these units are excellent, not all units are in the the same class: people express disappointment in the Viscount EXL-100 in comparison.
Keyboard connection electronics for the manuals is being supplied by Midi Hardware in Poland and Midi Boutique in Bulgaria. The keyboards for the two new manuals came from a scrapped 1970s Wyvern instrument. (Whilst enjoying the opportunities that a digital instrument can provide, one should note that no pipe organ from the 1970s would now be scrapped, and whilst churches may enjoy temporary sounds from electronics, no pipework capable of existing for centuries without being played should be disposed of merely to make room for loudspeakers . . . Even institutions proud of their fancy electronics still hanker after a pipe-organ).
The Ahlborn and Content modules can be tuned to the pipe organ so that the augmented pipe-organ will be able to perform the larger symphonic repertoire which we are starting to hear on the virgin Makin instrument. Currently, however, as these additional modules use frequency generators independant of the Makin, they are capable of bringing a new dimension to the already wonderful sound it creates. So WATCH THIS SPACE - or COME to hear it!
Much as many traditional pipe organs have resulted from additions over time, often by different builders in different styles during periods of different fashions, the building of a digital instrument enlarged in this way with different sound sources derived from differing algorithms from different designers and manufacturers results in an interesting and versatile soundscape. Each method of digital sound generation has its strengths and quirks. Upon sound trials so far, it appears that the strengths of each add disproportionately positively and lead to a full organ sound which far surpasses that which can be created by any singular "pipeless" organ alone.
Of course, this is the true function of such "organ expander" boxes and the Hammerwood instrument will demonstrate the effectiveness of such augmentation for touring recital instruments or where insufficient space precludes a significant size impact of a large pipe organ. We much appreciate the assistance of organ builders Wood Brown and Matthew Copley for advice and assistance from time to time with the Hunter pipe organ.
Specification of the enlarged organ
GREAT
SWELL
CHOIR
SOLO
ECHO / POSITIF
PEDAL
Contra Salicional 16
Open Diap 8
Stopped Diap 8
Wald Flute 4
Principal 4
Twelfth 2 2/3
Fifteenth 2
Fourniture IV
Posaune 8
Voix Celeste 8
Geigen Diap 8
Echo Gamba 8
Lieblich Gedekt 8
Stopped Flute 4
Principal 4
Fifteenth 2
Mixture V
Oboe 8
Clarion 4
Trumpet 8
Contra Fagotto 16
Organ extension and consideration of available units
As additional manuals, the Content and Ahlborn units add considerably to the whole organ:
The Echo manual: the Content 220 unit has very baroque voicing which is adjustable, very realistic wind-robbing simulation, unequal temperaments and, most importantly for the Hammerwood organ, a particularly good Vox Celeste on the second division which can add greatly to the Choir or Swell. The Voix Celeste approximates well to the real sound of the pipe organ. The unit is very satisfying to play by itself in any event as well as providing a "Positif" antiphonal echo to the main organ.
The Ahlborn 202 is an excellent Solo unit, providing a really bright Tuba Mirabilis which contrasts with the grand Harrison & Harrison style Makin Tuba, a particularly good Open Diapason which approximates well to the real pipe organ, brilliant and subtle ear tickling stops including even a Septieme (the 7th harmonic), and an exciting 2 octave rank of Tubular Bells which are quite as good as the real 1 octave set which have been awaiting insertion into a contraption for years . . . The Bourdon might be voiced with less chiff and tuned below the Harmonic Flute in due course to work as an Unda Maris. Most importantly the Ahlborn voicing system enables a brilliance in the top octave to match the real pipe organ. We're looking forward to the first recital!
The Ahlborn 201 is an exemplary unit providing a basic 20 rank instrument, assisted by its voicing options capable of a wide range of repertoire. Having a Principal rather than a Diapason 8ft, it's possibly geared to more delicate extension of other pipe organs or units and is usefully "beefed up" by an existing organ, but nevertheless good even by itself.
A Viscount EXL-100 has been tested and in comparison with these is not as satisfying. The unit is excellent for individual voices and works well with all the stops drawn for full organ. However, the chiff on the 8ft stops is rather agressive, especially the white noise elements in which in addition some quantization is audible, the Celeste effect sounds like synthesized fudge and the Tutti button adds a 16ft with some phasing which leaves something to be desired. Good to get out of the cupboard to use with a keyboard in the event of a real organ breakdown as well as a good economic solution to supplying an upper voice or two to a pipe organ - perhaps a missing ear-tickler from the pipe-organ or, particularly, making use of the Trumpet to supply a good in-tune reed to an instrument suffering from changes of temperature. You can hear one used with the pipe-organ at Street and Walton Church, in Somerset near Millfield School. In the recording the rather percussive chiff is prominent but no doubt the unit satisfies the need for a reed well. The David Parsons' videos on the site are really pleasant performances on this simple pipe organ, especially the Rhienberger Sonata 3 Fugue.
Of the other Ahlborn units, a 201 and a Romantic module have been used in "The Desert Organ" which was a brilliant solution for mobile performances in America. It introduced the Organ's repertoire to new audiences, very much in harmony with the aim of our Hammerwood project, although a Satan's Calliope / Dante's Organ or Pyrophone is not currently on the construction list here despite the possible enthusiasm of the younger generation! We are aiming to acquire a similar pair of these units for use for outside concerts . . . so WATCH THIS SPACE!!! And, even better, COME TO OUR CONCERTS!
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