Prestatyn Church organ goes digital...

[KB7DQH]

In the year or so I have been a member of this forum I have set up a Google Alert which notifies me via email about any new links that search engine finds with the words "pipe organ" as part of the text...  which is how I am able to bring this forum relevant news items and other items of interest in a (mostly) timely manner.

What has perplexed me is in light of the perception that pipe instruments are being replaced wholesale by electronic ones is that very few news articles of this type of activity have surfaced, and, quite to the contrary, articles abound about churches who are "binning their toasters" and installing either new or old pipe organs when the toaster is... toast.

It may be that the replacement of pipe instruments with electronics is something that churches are not willing to publicize in the media, possibly seeking to avoid a "wider conflict within the community" not unlike what has occurred lately in Somerset ???

So with this in mind the following news article is being presented...

http://www.rhyljournal.co.uk/news/104798/prestatyn-church-organ-goes-digital.aspx

Prestatyn Church organ goes digital

Published date: 27 July 2011 |
Published by: Rhian Waller



A £38,000 digital organ is set to strike a chord with the congregation.


Prestatyn Parish Church is heading into the digital age this week with the installation of a new, specially-made Wyvern organ.


The instrument, which is made up of 13 massive speakers and an oak drawstop console, will replace the 1907 Abbott & Smith pipe organ which church organisers say has become too expensive to fix.


Rev Quentin Bellamy, vicar at the church, said: "It is totally different from the pipe organ. One of the speakers stands eight feet tall and is designed to rattle the rafters. If there is no organist available, it can play itself. There are three rows of keys and 40 speaking stops from the quiet flute to the loud tuba."


Mr Bellamy said that as an organist with a Bachelor Degree in music, he was looking forward to the arrival of the new model, which was six months in the making.


He said: "The old organ piping has gone. It has been bought by a man who makes small pipe organs, and he will use it to make six or seven to be sent all over the world. So there could be a little bit of Prestatyn in America or Italy.


"The old organ was repaired in the 1980s, but it has become uneconomical. In this age of austerity we didn't want to make an appeal for £150,000 for repairs, so we bought this organ ourselves. It can do everything the old organ could do and more. Most people listening to it would probably not be know the difference."


Mr Bellamy described the installation which is scheduled to take place from Wednesday to Friday as a "huge job".


During that time, the church will be closed for fine tuning, but the organ will hopefully be ready to play for the Sunday service.


The organ will be officially inaugurated in a concert in October with organist Nigel Ogden

This is something which one seldom sees published in similar articles (the few that I have seen, and there are darn few to compare so bear this in mind) is information on what is to become of the displaced pipe instrument...

He said: "The old organ piping has gone. It has been bought by a man who makes small pipe organs, and he will use it to make six or seven to be sent all over the world. So there could be a little bit of Prestatyn in America or Italy.

At the very least the pipework won't end up in a skip...

Eric
KB7DQH

[Holditch]

I suspect the man who makes the small pipe organs is Chris Lord, www.smallpipeorgans.com

He is a very handy contact for anyone trying to build their own small pipe organ as he sells direct action magnets and other useful bits, and as Eric says its better than the pipes ending up in the skip.


Marc

[Jonathan Lane]

I think I speak for most people here when I say we are very grateful to Eric for his posts, as he continuously provides us with up-to-date information from all over the world.

As regards the Prestatyn organ, I can only re-iterate what I have said elsewhere, £38k will buy them an organ which will last them at best 20 years, that is £2k per year!

Jonathan

[organforumadmin]

The sad thing is that it's the pipework that persists and they have apparently been very badly advised to sell that off as that's the one thing that will be valuable in 40 years time for the rebuilding of a new organ. Wimborne Minster is the best example of the value of pipework, still using pipes nearly 400 years old . . .

[revtonynewnham]

Hi

I know the Vicar of Prestatyn quite well - and I've played the old pipe organ there (I used it one year when we were on holiday in the area, and I was preparing for a recital 2 days after we got back, so I got to know it pretty well).  It's was a pretty poor instrument - and the church isn't exactly wealthy.  Whilst I would prefer to see a pipe organ, I think in this case they've probably taken the right course - restoring the old organ certainly wasn't a viable option, and I understand it was so crammed into the chamber that access for maintenance was difficult.

Maybe in 15-20 years time the situation will have changed and a new pipe organ will be a viable option.

Every Blessing

Tony