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Rare Holt pipe organ under threat

Started by revtonynewnham, June 18, 2012, 12:21:30 PM

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MusingMuso

Quote from: Holditch on June 27, 2012, 08:26:48 PM
Brannagans Bar has now closed and the building (Albert Hall) is now as I understand it completely vacant.

I have walked past the place on many occasions and wondered about the fate of the organ. The building is of architectural importance and has many wonderful features. I just hope the next incumbent uses the building including the organ as it would make a great live music venue and it comes with a significant organ


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It's a very sad situation, because without realising it, Manchester has lost so many very significant venues and organs over the years; not least the Wurlitzer organs of great historical significance, associated with a number of very fine players. I don't think the Town Hall organ is used much these dyas, if at all, and even the cathedral organ seems to be much despised by some.

Apart from the organ in the Bridgewater Hall, and perhaps the RNCM, Manchester seems to have fallen off the organ perch it once occupied.

This in what is probably the third or fourth largest city in England.

MM

Barrie Davis

Hi
Isn't the cathedral organ being rebuilt by Tickell?
I must agree with MM that the city has lost many fine organs, theres a video on You Tube showing the sad condition of the Town Hall organ.

Best wishes

Barrie

Holditch

I think its a completely new organ that KT is building in the cathedral and I believe its in the region of £ 1.5M, but I understand that things have not been completely finalised yet.

The town hall organ is a sad state of affairs, and with the current economic situation and council budget cuts it will probably languish in the same state unless some wealthy benefactor comes along; a real shame for a Cavaille Coll. I think maybe a bit of three dimension thinking is required on the part of the council, i.e. try to preserve our historic past for our future generations
Dubois is driving me mad! must practice practice practice

KB7DQH

http://www.organmatters.com/index.php/topic,580.0.html

An example of what one "developer" did when faced with an historical instrument...

Eric
KB7DQH
The objective is to reach human immortality—that is, to create things which are necessary to mankind, necessary to the purpose of the existence of mankind, and which have become the fruit that drives the creation of a higher state of mankind than ever existed before."

David Drinkell

Quote from: Holditch on June 28, 2012, 06:27:36 PM
I think its a completely new organ that KT is building in the cathedral and I believe its in the region of £ 1.5M, but I understand that things have not been completely finalised yet.

The town hall organ is a sad state of affairs, and with the current economic situation and council budget cuts it will probably languish in the same state unless some wealthy benefactor comes along; a real shame for a Cavaille Coll. I think maybe a bit of three dimension thinking is required on the part of the council, i.e. try to preserve our historic past for our future generations

Some years ago, there was a plan for a new tracker organ on the screen at Manchester Cathedral.  I think Walkers' were to build it, but it never happened.  The Harrison was, for its time, a very enlightened and advanced scheme.  It was more imaginative than St. John's College, Cambridge, but never received the same notice.  Perhaps like Llandaff, Bury and Worcester, old material makes it better economics to start from scratch, but it would be sad in some ways to see the old organ go.  Then again, the screen looks rather bare without an organ on it, but would a screen organ work on Sundays if the choir was in the chancel and the rest of the congregation in the nave?  It's not that big a building.  Still, I'm sure they will have taken everything into consideration.  As Bernard Edmonds said regarding the St. Paul's rebuild, 'I, too, could have told them exactly what they should do, but fortunately, no one asked me'.