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Tiny two-manual under threat of scrapping

Started by NonPlayingAnorak, April 26, 2010, 06:22:24 AM

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NonPlayingAnorak

A school in Tunbridge Wells (Beechwood Sacred Heart School, to be precise) is getting rid of its undated Bishop two-manual, which has a mere six speaking stops, a 16ft on the Pedal, two 8fts on the lower manual plus apparently an 8ft and two 4fts (!) on the upper. I expect that this is a mistake, and that there are actually two 8fts...
http://www.ibo.co.uk/IBO2005/services/redundant/manResult.asp?manuals=two&Submit=View&index=23
http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=P00587
http://www.beechwood.org.uk/

EDIT: Fixed IBO URL

David Pinnegar

Hi!

At risk of being controversial, isn't this just the sort of non-historic pipe organ which could be saved by being made more interesting and retained essentially as a pipe organ by adding some modest electronic extensions? An extra pedal stop, an extra 4ft somewhere, a 2ft, perhaps a Sesquialtra and a reed? It need not develop into a monster toaster but could be kept true to its integrity but offering much greater versatility and interest.

This is exactly the case where UK and European pipe organ builders are shooting themselves in the foot by preventing any incorporation of electronics as such instruments as these are often seen as a waste of space for the spec they provide and as such are ripe to be toasted.

I'm aware of two very successful UK organs which have incorporated a modicum of electronic stops and
http://forum.hauptwerk.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6642
details another in the US

Certainly this organ would be an ideal candidate as a house organ and an instrument on which anyone might experiment with some modest additions . . .

Best wishes

David P

NonPlayingAnorak

David, you make an interesting point, but I would recommend that this organ be preserved as is to be a house organ or a practice instrument in a school (my mother, who teaches at Hampton School, may be interested - 3 of her pupils have become OxBridge organ scholars so far, another 1 going up in the Autumn, along with 2 private pupils also going to Oxford scholarships). Alternatively, this could be absorbed into a bigger pipe organ - I honestly don't think that a hybrid rebuild would work terribly well, especially given that this is tracker action...

David Pinnegar

Hi!

Yes - point accepted - but now I come to think of it there is another instrument of which I'm aware in England where opto electronic sensors have been installed on the tracker keyboards to excellent effect. There is also another method where a soundboard has facility for a "clamp on" where the wind can be piped to puffpads attached to contacts or even another higher tech technique.

I'm not saying that this is the proper or appropriate route for all small organs . . . but it can certainly enable significant frustration to be overcome. The organist at our local church would love just a 2ft and a shiny trumpet for wedding voluntaries.

If instruments can serve as they were built, of course, all the better.

Have you contacted the school to see what is happening with this instrument and why they are getting rid of it?

Best wishes

David P

NonPlayingAnorak

Right, sadly, Hampton isn't interested. No, I haven't contacted the school. You make an interesting point, but electronic additions to a pipe organ rarely work well tonally. Godalming PC with its Hill/Brindley&Foster has two electronic 32s, a reed and a flue, and they're OK, but there's no substitute for the real thing, unless you're going to spend real thing money, as Holy Trinity, Wall Street did. Ironically, at Godalming, there's loads of dead space at the back of the organ, where real 32s could doubtless have been accomodated...