News:

If you have difficulty registering for an account on the forum please email antespam@gmail.com. In the question regarding the composer use just the surname, not including forenames Charles-Marie.

Main Menu
Menu

Show posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.

Show posts Menu

Messages - ComptonNewbie

#1
Organ Builders / Re: Schulze pipe scales
August 08, 2013, 08:22:59 PM
Were all the string pipes wooden, or was the top end of a rank sometimes metal?    These are well made in spotted metal, which might rule them straight out of the equasion.

Simon.
#2
Organ Builders / Schulze pipe scales
August 05, 2013, 01:20:29 AM
Some time ago I acquired an octave of treble pipes, claimed to be from a Schulze Cello rank.  Does anyone have a record of typical Schulze scaling to compare?  If it is likely that they are, I might try to use them in the practice instrument that is (very) slowly taking shape here, otherwise they are likely to remain in the dusty box they've been in for a while.

Simon.
#3
FOR SALE and WANTED / For sale: Copies of 'The Organ'
November 30, 2012, 11:20:47 AM
I have a few spare copies of 'The Organ', in my attempts to make up a complete run.  As ever, they have a selection of interesting articles, including 'The Organs of Spain & Portugal',  Schulze's organ at Armley,  Cavaille Coll & his project for St Peter's, Rome and many others. 

Any interest?  Donations towards my son's music lessons much appreciated!

No 117 Jul 1950
No 119 Jan 1951
No 139 Jan 1956
No 140 Apr 1956
No 141 Jul 1956
No 143 Jan 1957

All VGC, with only a little dust marking to the edges.

Simon.
#4
I'm sorry, but I'm with Tony on this one.

The respective scriptures or holy books of many religions make claims of exclusivity of truth.  Islam has another complexity in approaching Christianity, in that the Quran makes claim to infalibility and specifically describes Jesus in some detail and that although if virgin birth, was not crucified.   To sweep irreconcilable differences under the carpet is to deny the truth in any faith, not to celebrate the commonality of belief shared by some.

There is already a place for doubt within Christian theology.  This is the difference between faith and certainty.  In a post modern world, all is faith as there is no certainty.  I'm confused by MM's assertion that science has much to say about existence.  My experience of undergraduate chemistry was that there was no attainable absolute truth, and that all is governed by uncertainties and probabilities.

At the end of the day, one must evaluate all the available religious options (including atheism) and settle on the one whose claims are appear most likely and which minimises the risk of damnation or torment if one's choice is proved wrong.  There is certainly an assymetry here.  Christianity fulfils most of the requirements for some Eastern religions, but the converse does not hold.  Following one master does not mean one has followed THE master.  If there is an afterlife, I will let you know if my gamble paid off.




Simon.
#5
Interesting comparison to the Cinema organs I'm more used to seeing.  As they are completely enclosed and on much higher pressures, the whole accoustic can be far more 'driven'.  This means much of the reverberation can be achieved inside the organ chambers, with less reliance on the auditorium outside of them.  The degree of carpets, soft furnishings etc is some venues would presumably kill all possibility of a reasonable result with a more classically constructed instrument.


Simon.
#6
Organ Builders / Re: brass wedges
August 03, 2012, 02:50:37 PM
H-J was closely involved with Norman & Beard (amongst many others) in the 1890s.  Generally, their later modifications and additions to his pipework are difficult to distinguish from orginal work.  I would expect them to have used brass wedges in their own work too.

Simon.
#7
I think this has been offered once or twice before on fleabay.  I recognise the slightly odd format with black & white (presumably historic) photo as the main picture and colour shots as alternatives.

Simon.
#8
Sometimes.

And sometimes not.

I have close experience on an autistic child.  Prior to this, I held strong beliefs that this was an excuse for poor parenting, lack of discipline and many other shortcomings.  I have changed my mind.  Whilst there are many who who use this label as an excuse for poor behaviour (by parent and child), there is a minority who have really do appear to have this condition.  Shouting doesn't help.  Long explanations don't help.  Occasionally, a diagram or comic-strip cartoon might help, but not often.  Sometimes he is stuck in a bubble, very lonely and unable to find or communcate with planet earth.  If it is due to parenting, I am sure his parents would dearly listen to any sincere advice of experience.

The one thing in his favour is that he will sit through an organ concert in near silence (classical or light music).  Music appears to be the one path that is open between him and others.

Simon
#9
Which is just as well, as regular cone tuning can cause significant attrition to pipework.  Splits and collapsed feet are not nice.
#10
Can someone tell me what is so special about this organ?

No one was interested for a fortnight when a little warning was given.  No doubt within that fortnight more than one other, more significant instrument was broken up without so so much as a mention.

Don't get me wrong, it it were next door and I hadn't embarked on the project I have I might have considered it.

With organs of all types (toasters and pipe) seriously out of fashion in both contemporary music and ecclesial 'worship groups', there are more instruments than can be accomodated in new homes or perenial storage.  To deserve attention, it needs to be special.

Simon.
#11
What is so special about this organ?  We can't save them all.

Unless there is a definite location for the instrument to be re-homed (most likely a residence, given it's size), let it go.

For a similar amount of effort, a more deserving organ of known provenance and greater interest could be saved.  There is limited manpower, money and locations available.  It is lamentable that organs have been so very much in declining fashion for the last 40 years or so.  However, with more surplus organs available than places looking for one, we much concentrate on the best.

A better one to look at was the Brindley & Foster at Tywyn LL36, discussed a few months back.


Simon.
#12
FOR SALE and WANTED / Wanted: stop tabs
July 16, 2012, 06:56:45 PM
Wanted:

Original stop tabs in unusual colours or shapes.  Those for percussions or from Fitton & Haley especially welcome!  Rocker tablets from Hope-Jones also of interest.

Young budding organist (with leanings towards theatre organ music) wishes to learn more about minor organ builders and organ restoration.  Some parts will be used in making a practice organ.


#13
Console restoration continues, as I try to get my head round wiring the thing up is a sensible and tidy fashion, to keep things maintainable.
Has anyone got a few spare thumb pistons?  The replacement manuals were never drilled so I don't need to keep to a specific size. 

Regards,  Simon.
#14
The original question was which were on unit chests and which were on slider chests.  There was certainly some extension and probably borrowing, but little is recorded on the NPOR entry.

Mods, could the discussion of Warwick, Hartlepool & Battersea be split into a different thread?

Simon.
#15
Barrie,

I quite agree that any significant work on an organ is an expensive undertaking.  However, there isn't much hope that a computer based system will last another 60 years. 

Wire insulation is much better now and is something of a consumable element if damp has affected the cotton covering.

I have a Compton matix relay here and compared with most other kit, seems both compact and reasonably straightforward to work on. 

I understand Compton derivations were determined on site, hence the variation both between stops on an organ and between different installations.  However, the composition is something of a matter of taste, and modifying for the sake of fashion is rarely a good improvement on an historic instrument.

Simon.
#16
At the risk of digression:  I sometimes wonder if the current trend to incorporate electronic organ gubbins into historic organs in not an attempt to make otherwise perenially repairable organs obsolete within 15 years so that they need to be replaced by a toaster.
With Compton organs in particular, any derivations and borrowings only exist as wire links in the back of a relay cabinet.  Bin that and the organ will never sound as intended without a great deal of work to document how the relays were customised.

Simon.
#17
David,

They cleaned up a treat with a little 600 grit wet & dry.  The staining was only superficial and the flues are now a soft ivory colour. 

Returning to the original question though, does anyone recognise the department names of 'Grand' & 'Orchestral'?  I'm not sure where to look to back up my assumption that this may have been unique to Fitton & Haley.

Simon.
#18
As some of you may be aware, I am interested in the hybrid instruments of the 1920s which were installed in cinemas but showed close relation to their church-organ origins.  Many are described as 'Orchestral' organs, and show an curious mix of innovation and conservatism.

I recently acquired some early stop tabs (courtesy of David Pinnegar, of this parish) referring to departments 'Grand', 'Orchestral' and 'Pedal'.  They appear to match the stops for Fitton & Haley orchestral organs, but have detail differences to those on the Ikley Essoldo organ.  Did any other organ builders use this terminology?

Should anyone have any percussion tabs in a lurid green colour or reeds (especially Vox Humana) in a transparent yellow, please let me know.  I seem to have about half a set of tabs for an early organ and guess somewhere, the remainder is lurking.

Regards,  Simon.
#19
I think your example demonstrates there is no such thing as a 'smallish' 4 manual organ.

Much more satisfying is a sensitively restored historic instrument, whether a straightforward transplant or something as drastic as Tony's example.  I see nothing wrong with 'idiosyncratic'.  Blandness is certainly a worse option.  It looks as if the result at Ruthin has conserved all that was considered conservable whilst at the same time functioning as an attractive and interesting instrument.


Simon.

#20
Organs in danger / Re: Brindley and Foster 2m for sale
February 21, 2012, 07:27:58 PM
Tywyn LL36 is in Gwynedd.  The other Towyn is near Bethesda and is in Caernarfonshire (and probably hence the NPOR address confusion).

Assuming this is the same chapel I saw for sale last autumn, the organ is a pleasant one and will be a loss to the town.   A couple of organists in the town have commented very favourably on it to me.  I hope it finds a suitable home.

The future of the other organ in Tywyn (a Wurlitzer, ex-Granada cinema, Woolwich) is looking bright.  Heritage lottery and Welsh Assembly funding applications have both been successful and rebuilding of the hall will start shortly.  By this time next year, hopefully the venue will be vastly improved, with better facilities for concerts (and youth club), improved heating which will reduce the need for retuning, larger stage area and more!

Simon.