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Vowles one manual plus pedal to be removed.

Started by Janner, July 22, 2011, 06:41:03 AM

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Janner

I have just heard that this organ is to be removed during September as part of a re-ordering project:

http://npor.rcm.ac.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=R01057

Dimensions: Width 2.26m,   Depth 1.16m plus 0.4m overhang,   Height 4.07m [from floor-level to top of pipework]

Stop List:

Bourdon      16
Open Diapason   8
Clarabella      8
Gamba              8
Flute         4

I have the details, including photographs, and a contact number. If anyone would like them please send me a PM.

The picture on the NPOR site makes the organ look much larger than the pictures I have been sent. All a matter of perspective I suppose.

revtonynewnham

Hi

looking at the NPOR picture, it's clearly an engraving or line drawing rather than a photograph.  It's taken from the builder's archives, so I wonder if it was intended for publicity, and meant to make the organ look grander than in reality?

every Blessing

Tony

pcnd5584

Quote from: Voix Cynique on July 22, 2011, 11:06:20 AM
I'm not sure, I think it is just an old photograph. I'm not sure you could fake the grain of the wood like that, nor the ambient light. It certainly doesn't look terribly grand! I do wonder what musical use these instruments can be - they're hardly versatile. Sounds like the kind of instrument which would only be used for rather dull accompaniments of hymns...

I am inclined to agree that it is a photograph, for the reasons you cite.

Regarding your last point: this is probably all that it has to do, with perhaps a simple voluntary or two each week. For this, it may be entirely adequate. Without hearing it, no valid judgment can be made as to the beauty or suitability of individual ranks.
Pierre Cochereau rocked, man

pcnd5584

Quote from: pcnd5584 on July 22, 2011, 01:29:16 PM
Quote from: Voix Cynique on July 22, 2011, 11:06:20 AM
I'm not sure, I think it is just an old photograph. I'm not sure you could fake the grain of the wood like that, nor the ambient light. It certainly doesn't look terribly grand! I do wonder what musical use these instruments can be - they're hardly versatile. Sounds like the kind of instrument which would only be used for rather dull accompaniments of hymns...

I am inclined to agree that it is a photograph, for the reasons which you cite.

Regarding your last point: this is probably all that it has to do, with perhaps a simple voluntary or two each week. For this, it may be entirely adequate. Without hearing it, no valid judgment can be made as to the beauty or suitability of individual ranks.

Pierre Cochereau rocked, man

pcnd5584


Quote from: Voix Cynique on July 22, 2011, 11:06:20 AM
I'm not sure, I think it is just an old photograph. I'm not sure you could fake the grain of the wood like that, nor the ambient light. It certainly doesn't look terribly grand! I do wonder what musical use these instruments can be - they're hardly versatile. Sounds like the kind of instrument which would only be used for rather dull accompaniments of hymns...

I am inclined to agree that it is a photograph, for the reasons which you cite.

Regarding your last point: this is probably all that it has to do, with perhaps a simple voluntary or two each week. For this, it may be entirely adequate. Without hearing it, no valid judgment can be made as to the beauty or suitability of individual ranks.

Pierre Cochereau rocked, man

David Pinnegar

Hi!

Vowles seems to be cropping up frequently in redundancies and replacements. It's a Vowles, from memory at Abertillery, that's proposed to being replaced.

Is there a history of the firm anywhere? What was the mainstream of their output?

Best wishes

David P

diapason

Vowles were based in the centre of Bristol, and, I think I am right in saying that all of their records were lost when their works was hit by a bomb during the war.  They built a large number of instruments, and this one manual with pedal is typical of their smaller instruments.  When I lived in Weston-super-Mare, many of the local organ were Vowles, with quite a few like this one.  They were surprisingly versatile and were perfectly adequate for service accompaniment as well as coping with a reasonable repertoire.  Sadly, a number of them were replaced with toasters during the 80's - a great loss.  I hope that this one (and the other Vowles which have come up in the last few days) can be saved - they certainly deserve to be.

Nigel