Organ matters - Organs matter!

Quote from: David Pinnegar on August 19, 2012, 02:45:34 PM
Hi!

They are like a fan with variable pitch helicopter blades. They rotate constantly but the fin angles are varied so that they pull or push air through a hole.

Best wishes

David P

From the pricing (as noted by Tony) it appears that one buys a helicopter!   :o :o ???

DW

Ooooh err!

Sometimes I'm glad to be simple (high) Church of England, other times I'm not.    On this one lads I'm sorry to say you've definitely lost me but Contrebombarde's last one hits it on the head for me I think (and is certainly more like the general situation that WE come across):


« Last Edit: August 07, 2012, 06:26:31 PM by Contrabombarde »

Belief in a genteel big white-bearded grandfather in the sky, however much Richard Dawkins lampoons Christians, is precisely that: a straw man. Strictly optional in Christian belief! As for the original premise, I have no idea why organs in churchs whose vicars believe in the uniqueness of Christ should be any more at risk than organs in churches with dwindling congregations led by liberal clergy...In fact they quite possibly have a better chance in churches that believe in something!

Perhaps the late (and to me, much lamented)  Gore Vidal had the best answer to being questioned as to his religion?

"I'm a born again Atheist".

But I'm not!

DW.

Thanks William - I should have said (of course!) private messages would be probably be best from candidates themselves.

West Sussex is probably too far in this case I'm afraid: we really need a possible pool of several people on the southeastern side of London and as its a matter of picking up by car to each job, rail travel or long-distance car travel in that corner of the country is somewhat impractical!

If you think it would be worth getting in touch, please do call me: the Works number is 0151 298 1845.

Best wishes,

DW

Does anyone know of a likely lad (or lass) in the southeast London area that is currently out of employment or at least looking for part-time employment, that would like to try going around with a full-time tuner holding keys in the first instance and hopefully, dependent on facility and interest, beginning the training as a tuner?

We would also welcome interest from any older people who might have time on their hands and wishing to occupy some of that time in the same way.

David Wyld
Henry Willis & Sons.

Our new instrument at St. Mathew-in-the-City in Auckland (New Zealand) has a manual 32ft - see the spec in the lowest section of the page at     http://www.willis-organs.com/auckland_general.html

It is much used!

David Wyld.

Quote from: MusingMuso on April 08, 2012, 01:44:05 PM
I have discovered that there is only ONE ORGAN in the whole of Thailand.

Nevertheless, it is by Fr Willis.

MM

Indeed, only one pipe organ in the Kingdom, which nearly didn't make it!  We were asked to visit to inspect it about five years ago and when we pulled out the records prior to my going there, we discovered that in 1905 the whole organ was impounded on arrival and unloaded on the dockside, where it lay exposed to the elements for several weeks until they decided what it was: Apparently the pipes, especially the large zinc ones, we're assumed to be parts of some fiendish weapon!

The organ is by Henry 2, beautifully made, entirely of Mahogany (including the Swell Box) and termite proofed with the Firm's 'Tropicalisation' techniques. The only parts which have suffered are the ivory drawstops knobs, which have split badly and are falling apart, and the Pedal mechanical action, which was most unfortunately removed following the flooding of the church about 20 years ago. This is now a cobbled together direct-electric arrangement powered by a battery charger.

We've put forward a scheme for complete restoration, but it seems unlikely that the church will ever manage to raise what is actually a very modest sum in organbuilding terms. They need a donor.

Mr. Cornucopia is also quite right - the Blockfloete is very 'not original' being added in the 1970s when HW4 went there to help the DuPont man to "restore" the organ. The flute was made and voiced on-site with materials sent out by post!

I have photographs somwhere in the office and will post a few later, if anyone is interested?

DW

Oh dear!

Poor David always feels obliged to fly to the defence of the company, which must be very irksome. I think, if I were he, I would just go with the flow of organ folklore, because far from diminishing the company, I think it actually elevates it and confirms the strong will of the company founder.

It is irksome, but not for the reason you suggest: I don't only fly to the defence of the company, but I do OFTEN have to prevent the re-writing of history! I was alerted to the above by a past member of this group who felt that he could not respond himself.

I don't blame anyone for this, it appears to be the nature of things that items of "information" - whether fact or fiction - get repeated often enough to become truth. I have heard several "truths" over the years, including that of the Willis family getting their fortune from Brewing: obviously drawn from the Courage connection but totally 'made-up'.

As you say MM, the characters of some of my predecessors have provided dinner table stories for over a century, but when Bankruptcy is erroneously discussed, on Internet forums, then this will lead to the re-writing of history that we should ALL prevent, notwithstanding a good story!

I did thank Mr. OrganCornucopia for his very kind comments on our new organs!

By the way, I'm not usually awake at this hour, but I only returned from Auckland again on Sunday and am wide awake at 2.30 am !

DW

Absolutely right, MM. FHW was no angel and indeed left the firm and family bankrupt. Really, what survives today, while it claims the Willis identity, is actually Lewis - John Courage's Lewis & Co (sans founder) having taken over the bankrupt Willis company. Somehow the Willis family managed to wrestle back control of it all and Willis & Lewis & Co just became Willis again..

Actually this is not correct!

HW1 did leave things in a mess in 1901, but that didn't bankrupt either the firm or the family: The family did want to wind everything up and share out the 'dibs' but HW2 resolved to pay all fhis father's debts (when at that time they could actually have walked away from the situation) and in so doing he put both himself and the firm in a difficult position - which ultimately resulted in his failing health and mental breakdown. He died in 1927.

After Lewis got his own firm into financial difficulties (not for the first time) he was bailed out by John Courage, whom he knew through the Architect, Bentley and it was Courage who set up Lewis & Co. in 1901 - under the Co. Reg. No. 70718. Bentley designed and built the new Lewis factory premises at Ferndale Road in Brixton, again funded by Courage.

After the end of WW1 Lewis had lost the greater part of its Staff, John Courage had had enough of losing money via organbuilding ventures and Willis were looking for larger premises:  it was 'arranged' that the Partners in Henry Willis & Sons would purchase the shareholding in Lewis & Co. This had to be the case since at that time it was legally impossible for a Partnership - i.e. a non-limited Company - to take over a Limited Company. The sale of the shares was assisted by Courage himself who took a debenture over the Company with its new "Willis" Directors, loaning the money of the purchase of the shares by the Willis partners.  Due to the legal requirements, on the purchase of the Lewis shares, in 1919, the Company was then renamed Henry Willis & Sons and Lewis & Company Limited.

Of course the same thing had occurred in 1915 between Hill & Son & Norman & Beard Ltd..

John Courage remained on the Board of the Company for several years (his name/signature appears regularly in the Directors meetings book) and in 1926, or thenabouts, the Lewis part of the name was dropped - presumably there was a seven-year rule to be passed before the new 'owners' could revert to their own name.

I was appointed as Managing Director in October 1997 and arranged the purchase of the entire shareholding from the remaining family share holders in November of that year and it was as a part of THAT process that I discovered that, even though it had all been repaid, the Coutrage Debenture still remained on the Companies House records and an application for its removal was submitted and accepted. We (Henry Willis & Sons Ltd.) are still the same Company, registered under the same, originally Lewis & Co., registration number, 70718.


It's about time an hour-long (at least) TV documentary was made of Father Willis and his work. 27th February 2021 will be FHW's 200th birthday - that would, I think, be a good date towards which to work, giving plenty of time to produce a thoroughly high-quality assessment, which I hope would also showcase some of the Willis firm's present-day work, perhaps convincing people that they're no longer in the doldrums and are producing what I think are the best organs being built today in Britain...

We have been approached by two documatary makers in the recnt past, but are stuill unsure as to whether anything will come of this - I think much depends on funds for research.

Thank you for your very kind remarks regarding our new organs!  The newest, in Auckland, New Zealand, is being iopened by Olivier Latry on the 9th of June.  I'll post details of the prgramme under another thread after finding my way around the rest of the site.

There are a few YouTube clips of our new organ at The American Church in Florence - this is one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3aaf0S1HWY

I hope that the above has cleared up the matter of Willis & Lewis and that the Willis firm was never 'Bankrupt'!

David Wyld
Managing Director
HENRY WILLIS & SONS LTD.