Compton "Cantata" organ

[mikeb]

Hi all,

I hope no one minds me registering here just to ask for information and help !  I'm not an organist or indeed a musician of any kind unfortunately although I do love almost all forms of music from current bands to classical and virtually everything in between including theatre organs and especially church pipe organs. Sadly, all musically ability in my family ended with my father though.  My father, his father and various other relatives on his side of the family were church organists and competent musicians in general but no one since then ever has been.

Anyway, he had a practice organ at home which he used regularly for several decades but the only obvious information I've found on it so far is that it's a Compton "Cantata".  It's a 2 manual electronic organ with a full size concave peddle board and internal speakers.  A search on youtube brings up 2 videos apparently of a Compton Cantata organ in a chapel near Wrexham and it looks virtually identical to this although it may well be quite different internally of course. I do remember seeing the back off it during one annual clean and service donkey's years ago and I think there were loads of possibly aluminium discs or pulleys driven by a motor and a long belt ... just in case that might mean anything at all to anyone who may know about somewhat ancient Compton organs !  It hasn't been touched let alone played since 2002 when my father died.  It had been "part of the family" so to speak for so long that doing anything other than just leaving it exactly where it sat wasn't something that was even contemplated. Sadly my mother has recently passed away and I'm now faced with the unenviable task of having to do something with it along with everything else because the way things stand at the moment I'm being left with no choice but to clear and sell the house :(

I'm therefore trying to find any information that I possibly can about the organ in the vain hope of ultimately being able to find it a new home if I can provide sufficient technical details about it so that people know what it actually is. As I said previously, I can't play so it would be of absolutely no use to me even if I had somewhere to put it but hopefully it would be of benefit to someone somewhere despite it's age.  Nothing would please me more than to know that it's being played once again and I really don't want to even think about the possibility of it ending up on the tip.

So, does anyone have any thoughts or ideas about how to identify exactly what it is, obtain the relevant specifications or attempt to find it a good home ?  I intend carefully withdrawing the peddle board so I can pull the console away from the wall to check the back and inside for any model or serial numbers there might be when I get the time and opportunity. I can also take some pictures if that would be useful.  Any help or suggestions that anyone can provide would certainly be very much appreciated that's for sure. Many thanks.

[rainworthgord]

Hi Mike

Where in the country is it/are you?

[mikeb]

It's in Bournemouth ... as am I !

Given the clues in your other posts on these forums and assuming you allude to Mansfield (Notts) and Rainworth in particular, St Mary's Blidworth is presumably the Parish church with (or about to have) a shiny new digital organ tucked away behind the pipes of the original somewhat temperamental organ.  Such shame that the pipe organ has had to be decommissioned of course but I'm pleased to read that the important parts are being retained for possible use again in the future. The news report I've just read is from the end of July so I hope the new digital organ is now installed, performing well and meets your expectations.  I also hope my 30 seconds of detective work has turned up the 'right' information as well or I'm about to look very silly indeed !!!

Which church is it that you're trying to find a more appropriate electronic organ for ?

[David Pinnegar]

Hi!

In the days of youth, there was just such an instrument as you describe with aluminium boxes with wheels driven by a belt knocking around the music department of the school where I was. The sound was rather good, but from time to time it would emit a whacking crackling noise, and the belt was rather fun to see wobbled in order to achieve vibrato.

From what I can gather, and Lucien Nunes on the forum is likely to be able to furnish you with all details, it would have been a derivative of the Compton Electrone for which there is a specific area in this forum, so it will be easy for you to have a look there.

The discs turn discs inside the boxes, one for each note of the octave, on which there are engraved the necessary waveforms for that particular note at all pitches required by the organ. It was a derivative of the Melotone system using electrostatic technology in answer to the Hammond which had exploited wheels giving magnetic variations picked up by magnets in contrast to the capacitative variations altering a voltage.

In the innocence of youth I had been surprised at just how good the sound seemed to be . . .

Best wishes

David P

[rainworthgord]

It's in Bournemouth ... as am I !

Given the clues in your other posts on these forums and assuming you allude to Mansfield (Notts) and Rainworth in particular, St Mary's Blidworth is presumably the Parish church with (or about to have) a shiny new digital organ tucked away behind the pipes of the original somewhat temperamental organ.  Such shame that the pipe organ has had to be decommissioned of course but I'm pleased to read that the important parts are being retained for possible use again in the future. The news report I've just read is from the end of July so I hope the new digital organ is now installed, performing well and meets your expectations.  I also hope my 30 seconds of detective work has turned up the 'right' information as well or I'm about to look very silly indeed !!!

Which church is it that you're trying to find a more appropriate electronic organ for ?

I love Bournemouth but you are too far away to make it a practical proposition for Mr Shifter.

Yes, your detective work is not defective work, you are spot on. The new digital is up and running although there remain a couple of loose ends to tie up, and the vicar, the choir, the congregation and I love it. We launched it with a 'Songs of Praise' on the theme of music in worship, and after the dedication the first piece heard in public on it was C. S. Lang's Fanfare (from the book 'Fanfares and Processionals'). It is much more responsive than the old pipe instrument which was so sluggish that the repeated successions of four notes/chords at the start of Mendelssohn's Wedding March sounded as just one long one.
I have to say that it I have never heard a digital sound so pipe-like, the sound is crisp and clear, and because I am effectively playing the same console the illusion is complete. With no new console needed the saving on cost wsa immense.
The spec is: Great (enclosed): Open 8, Stopped 8, Principal 4, Harmonic 4, 12th, 15th, Tierce, Mix, Trumpet 8, Clarinet 8, Trem by piston. Swell (obviously enclosed separately) Lieb Bourdon 16, Geigen Diap 8, Lieb Gedact 8, Celeste II, Gems 4, Piccolo 2, Mix III, Contra Fag 16, Oboe 8, Trompette 8, Clarion 4, Trem by piston. Pedal: Open 16, Bourdon 16, Prin 8, Flute 8, 15th 4, Trombone 16. Usual three couplers but no octaves or subs. It also includes an auto pedal to Great to cater for a 'reluctant' deputy. Enclosing the Great was at the recommendation of Paul Hale of Southwell Minster, whose help and advice throughout the project was invaluable (once he had accepted that an effective rebuild of the pipe organ was financially beyond reach). It means I don't need what he called a 'boring' Dulciana because the Open with the pedal closed fulfils that function, and it allowed a Tierce to be included, giving much more versatility.
As to my search for a 'small and cheap', this is for a Mission Hall also in Blidworth, which is effectively a church hall with a small room off for a chapel, where any such new organ as I may acquire will take up residence. There is a Wednesday Communion service in there with scope for a couple of hymns, and a united benefice service (with Rainworth) in the hall when there is a fifth Sunday - one reason why a portable Cantorum would be the ideal, although an old analogue is probably more realistic financially.

[Compton Organs(R)]

Hi,

Thank you for email.

The Compton Cantata was built around 1967 and was the last model the original company made before closing down.

I personally try and save any Compton Electrone organ from being scrapped, having had the pleasure of working on these fine instruments, many years ago.

It would greatly help if, when you have a spare moment, to remove the rear panel - sorry lots of screws! If you can then email me pictures of the rear of the inner organ, especially the lower part, it will help me determine the version the Compton.

I have a friend who is building up a Compton organ museum and when I have the pictures to hand I will email them to him. Like myself he does not care for Comptons being scrapped.

I hope that I have been some help.

Best wishes,

[mikeb]

Thanks for the replies, especially G.F. and R.C.  Mr.Lang's Fanfare to kick things off eh ? He of Tuba Tune fame and all that ... which would also have been nice if not totally inappropriate at a service mind you ! I'm afraid the techy stuff passed several miles over my head but I'm sure other readers appreciated knowing what your shiny new digital beast has on offer. It's good to read that you're very happy with it though and the end result has also been well received by everyone else. It's such a pity that you're ~250 miles away and from making a few enquiries, transport costs would seem likely to be several hundred pounds. However, can I just ask if transport wasn't such a major issue, do you think the Compton would be suitable for your requirements or is it perhaps just too big for what you need/want in this particular instance ? 

Just in case anyone is interested, I've finally been able to have a good look at the organ and take some (albeit pretty poor) pictures. The silly date stamp on the pictures only proves that I don't know how to drive someone else's camera and couldn't even see that the date was being shown on the screen when I took the pictures either.  I only realised when I got home and uploaded the pictures to the PC several hours after the event unfortunately.  I've now superimposed the correct date on the pictures. I'm sure everyone knows or can at least guess just how heavy it is as well as perhaps being familiar with typical schoolboy errors that can easily be made when putting it back together ... So, there's probably no need to explain how I nearly killed myself trying shift it slightly away from the wall and then rotate by 90 degrees all on my own ! Or indeed mention the minor heart attack suffered when firing it up after eventually getting it back in the right place only to find that it no longer made all the usual kinda noises that it should have been doing !!  Fortunately, I'd spotted and guessed the function of the toggle switch on the rear of the organ so a quick grope behind reconnected the internal speakers again and all was well once more  ;D

At the front, there are 2 x 61 key manuals plus a 30 note peddle board and the stops etc. reading left to right are as follows:

Contra Bass 16'
Bourdon 16'
Flute 8'
Flute 4'

Quintaten 16'
Open Diapason 8'
Splitz Flöte 8'
Octave 4'
Rohr Flöte 4'
Twelfth 2 2/3'
Fifteenth 2'
Mixture III
Mute

Swell To Great
Gt & Ped Unenclosed
Tremulant
Reverberation

Diapason Chorus
Baroque Chorus
Full Swell

Contra Viole 16'
Geigen Diapason 8'
Lieblich Gedeckt 8'
Principle 4'
Wald Flöte 4'
Flautino 2'
Acuta II
Contra Fagotto 16'
Trumpet 8'
Clarinet 8'
Clarion 4'
Mute

Mains power switch and indicator

Round the back, it's certainly very interesting from an electro-mechanical and electronics point of view if nothing else.  As a design engineer myself, I rather like it anyway although it has to be said that the workmanship isn't quite as good as I was expecting TBH. I'm not so sure that Mr.C would have been especially proud of the last model produced anyway and I think I'd probably have given the wireman a good slap into the bargain as well !  Functional and operational just not very pretty or easily repaired should there ever be a problem requiring a bit of internal surgery and all that.

The only additional information that I could find inside is a very high tech state-of-the-art (at the time, perhaps !) Dymo Tape embossed label reading: CANT.63.J.GRAY.  The 12 tone generators reading left to right are: B, A#, A, G#, G, F#, F, E, D#, D, C# and C according to the very handy writing in pencil on the pulleys. Mechanically it looks/sounds pretty good despite it's age and the lack of use and maintenance for more than a decade.  I took the opportunity to remove accumulated dust, cobwebs and various long since demised arachnids as well as giving the tone generators a long overdue treat of a couple of drops of the appropriate oil. Electronically, some shiny new electrolytic capacitors ought to put an end to the noticeable mains hum when you're up very close as they're no doubt well past their prime and the inevitable increased power supply ripple is far from beneficial to the amplifier and so on needless to say.


PS: I've also sent most of the above including the low resolution pictures to you R.C. but I also have the full resolution pictures available if you or indeed anyone else wants to see them.  When I get another chance I'll try to get some better pictures and lose the date stamp as well.



EDIT: Photo links updated in Jan/Feb 2023 due to a permanent change of domain/host

[Lucien Nunes]

Hi Mike
That looks interesting, it seems to be a very late example. I will write more later but in the meantime have you seen my Electrone pages at http://www.electrokinetica.org/d8/1/index.php ? If not, click your way along the tabs and sub-headings for an approximate chronological tour of the post-war models.
Lucien

[Lucien Nunes]

One of the interesting things about the late 2-manual Electrones is that all the classical models that sold well were technically similar. They were all based on the 7-octave additive synthesis generator and voicing system, keyed directly in most cases or via relays in the case of the 363. Taking the model 357 as the archetype, what you have is a number of minor variations on a theme, as regards stoplist, console dimensions, speaker layout etc. From a cynical viewpoint one might say that these models were the only ones that offered value for money to the average buyer, once the solid-state revolution began to leave the electrostatic technology behind.

The Cantata is a good example. It seems to have taken over from the model CH/2 as a half-way-house between the traditional deep-console format of the 357 and the short-compass home models. The CH/2 used a condensed pedalboard to minimise the console dimensions and incorporated speakers making it self-contained. The 357 was of much larger and sturdier build, with a 32-key RCO pedalboard and external speakers only. The Cantata has a 30-key radiating and concave pedalboard necessitating a console midway between the two, however it offers internal speakers making it self-contained for domestic use and small room settings. A socket was provided for connecting external speakers such as a Rotofon, hinting that Compton foresaw its use in churches too. Conceptually it is to the 357 as the Hammond A100 is to the B3.

Unfortunately like all of Compton's work in the late 1960s, it was derivative from their earlier success and out of step with the state of the art. Retrospectively we might see merit in Compton's dogged adherence to earlier principles of longevity and tradition but that was not the way to sell small electric organs in 1970. Hence it is one of the less well-known models making yours worthy of conservation as it appears to be in good condition.

Lucien

[rainworthgord]

Hi Mike

It is a bit on the big side for what is required but would still be better than the pub organ currently in the mission if affordable. A single manual without pedal but with a monophonic bass stop would be more appropriate to our needs though.
Mentioning Lang's Tuba Tune, that had an airing at a wedding this afternoon. There is no Tuba as such on the new Phoenix but Open Diapason, Trumpet and Clarinet together on Great provides a surprisingly close resemblance.

[Lucien Nunes]

Perhaps there's some swaparound potential! I mentioned to Mike that I would be interested in conserving the Electrone, but I do trek about the country in vans lugging organs (and other, larger pieces of vintage technology) here and there so if you're not in a tearing hurry I could possibly bring something suitable for your purpose in your direction. OTOH there are so many 1970s and 1980s electric organs up for sale at the moment that one can often bypass the transport issue by waiting a few weeks until an instrument appears in the locality.

Compton actually made two models just as you describe, with single manual and auto bass intended for non-organ-experienced pianists. The first was model 354, which had in addition a 'Melodic diapason' that accentuated top notes. This was superseded by the Sonatina, that had a single splittable manual with separate stops for the treble end. The 354 is so rare that I have never seen one except in the catalogue, although you might chance upon a Sonatina as I have. I cannot honestly recommend it though, it is just a bit too basic!

Lucien

[rainworthgord]

Thanks for that, Lucien, I will bear that in mind