Organ matters - Organs matter!

I would like to share the details of my next organ project, which hopefully will happen.

I hope to relocate this organ to the church I play at in the same diocese
http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=N10804

St Francis has recently closed its doors due to the rather common problem of a leaky roof, dwindling numbers and the high cost of building upkeep.

Here is a link with a few photos describing my visit to see the organ
http://www.thecavendishorgan.com/news.htm

As the article says, my visit was just a fact-finding mission, i.e. taking measurements, try the organ for sound and generally looking at its construction.

I hope to keep you up to date about the progress of my mission (I am naming this a mission as it may take some doing!)

Watch this space

Marc

Are you planning on building a direct/pneumatic electric organ or tracker ?

I have a couple of manuals (circa 1900) suitable for tracker, or if you wanted to try and fit contacts and springs they may be suitable for an electric setup. I bought these with the intention of starting my second pipe organ project but realistically the first hasn't been completed yet ;D

If you are interested I can probably send some photos

Marc

I am in the market for 6 (possibly 8) toe pistons for the next stage of my house pipe organ build.

If anyone has anything second hand lying around I would be interested to know?

Many thanks
Marc

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

Excellent article, very interesting bit about helper bass pipes. Might try that one at home!

Marc

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/church-organ-/130550381288?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Keyboard_RL&hash=item1e6568bae8

Looks like Wales is having a clear out :-[

and a reasonable stop complement

I think the question here is

" Is it worth arguing about faith or lack or faith?"

If I were a Christian, I would definitely hope this is just the beginning of a wonderful journey through one life into the next, and I would see the work of God put through the actions of my friends, however as I am an Atheist, I suppose rather boringly I see things a bit more down to earth!

Whilst I confess to like the "Atheists corner", I do wonder why David included it in this forum?

Dear David

Is it not acceptable that one may have found their path in life without believing in God? I sometimes find it strange that some Christians think that unless you have a belief in God you are somehow lost and have no purpose or meaning. On the contrary, some people have found peace with themselves, their surroundings and their fellow human beings.

This does not of course mean that they stop thinking about the possibilities of alternative concepts, after lives, parallel universes and the like, but it means they understand that after the passage of time (which in reality does exist, my body tells me that) they die and their body is reduced to the component parts of the earth from which it came.

My non-belief in God in no way reduces my love and passion for the pipe organ; in fact if the two were not so closely linked it would make things a lot easier. The classical organ has and is definitely still in the domain of the church and it is difficult to ignore the fact.


With regards to the unfortunate people that are shown in the newspaper clippings, I am sure there are many suicides of people who have strong faith as well as those who are lost and directionless as you call them. We all have different levels of inner strength, some are strong and positive, others are not so sure, some even tremble in fear of life itself and for life to be life we all probably experience different degrees of these feelings at different times, that's what makes us human.

I also don't doubt that you think that having a focus and belief in a higher being is a positive thing and can guide you through your life, but in my opinion this is not just the only way.

Having said these things I still do feel that the Atheists corner is an interesting part of this website. For the non-believer's opinion to be cut off from the close marriage of organ and church would be a bad thing (Well in my mind anyway; wouldn't it be boring if we all agreed!) 

Marc

There does appear to be quite alot of fresh air behind the display pipes however to the right of the swell box.

I was considering asking the vendor for more internal photos of the pipe work

Best Regards
Marc

QuoteOne thing the programme MUST avoid in EVERY way is snobbery and things which are seen as "high brow". If the viewer gets a whiff of it, the programme has lost its purpose straight away. It must be fun and entertaining to watch, and at the same time be informative, and show all the areas of the organ equally.
Its got to be something that people havent seen before. Other programmes which have been done about the organ have come across as stodgy, boring etc and havent done any favours. Lets not have this one be the same.

Hear hear! I whole heartedly agree

I sometimes worry that as I profess to be an Atheist I am not really best placed to comment about what style of music is right or wrong for church worship but the way I see it is that all styles of music must be accepted as long as they do not offend.

If the church is to be all welcoming and accepting it must reach out on every level. Music is a common language understood by the most simple to the most sophisticated of intellects. As it is such a wide-ranging feature of our world then not everyone can be expected to like every aspect, and opinions will differ.

I much prefer the organ to be the main instrument within a church however in the diocese that I play in there are a limited number of organists so a group has formed of young musicians who play guitar, drums and keyboards. The formation of this group and the music that it plays has encouraged more young people to join the church. Some have joined the group or some just attend because they now recognise the style of music; surely both are good things?

We need to be careful that our enjoyment/enthusiasm for the pipe organ does not make us think that we are on some form of higher intellectual level than people who may not enjoy or completely understand traditional organ music.

I also think that our musical taste change as we grow older. I may get some flack here and it may not be "cricket" as far as we lot are concerned, but guitars, drums and keyboards are a lot more attractive and exciting to the younger generation than pipe organs are.

Having said that, I am sure that if the pipe organ were presented in a way that could excite and enthuse the younger generation of new churchgoers, especially in churches where pipe organs have been rejected, then this would help readjust things and cement both types of music.

So to answer David's question, "God is like the Organ", God is in every musical instrument because we all have unique minds, understanding and thoughts, and certain sounds and music unlock different things in different people. (However being an Atheist I suppose I am not really meant to understand that!)

Many thanks
Marc

yes that's a better word! ;D

I was meaning the church life of an organ

Dear Barry

I suspect that small direct electric organs are probably more reusable at the end of their ecumenical lives if they don't have another church to go to and hence the price compared with bigger higher specification organs. This sort of instrument can be easily adapted into peoples homes, so in theory are bought with intention of keeping the instrument complete, and offer a very cost effective alternative to buying an electronic organ.

Best Regards

Marc

I think there is a fine line regarding the decision of splitting an organ up and selling the ranks individually. In one instance you are indeed destroying an instrument, but on the other at least the pipes will be reused in smaller organs or as extensions to existing organs.

I know that the number of redundant organs that don't even manage to get to the splitting up and selling on stage is alarming, they just rot doing nothing. Perhaps selling ranks individually will increase the enthusiasm for DIY/amateur organ building which wouldn't have existed before. Obviously in an ideal world all redundant organs can be saved and reused in good acoustical spaces, but unfortunately this is not the current state of reality.

Best Regards
Marc

Hi Brian

It would be interesting to see a picture of your house organ if you have one?

Best Regards
Marc

Just make sure the labels are easily removable.

I had a devil of a job removing the ones from my Holditch rank; it took a great deal of label off (nice smelling orange aerosol!) to completely remove the residue from the sticky label. Perhaps masking tape is a good solution?

Best Regards
Marc

Fantastic David!

The Internet does indeed work when we want it to, many thanks for the information. Gathering history about my small collection of pipes it's a bit like piecing together a rather old jigsaw puzzle, and you have just given me the last piece

If you don't mind sending me a photograph of your grandfather at work I can put it on my website, I would be most happy.

By the way the pipes are excellent he did a great job.

Best Regards
Marc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOK8PU9Eji8&feature=related

Imagine unearthing this one day! and it still works

and the website that explains a bit more http://www.blackheath-compton.org.uk/

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Church-Pipe-Organ-/270768811798?_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D4%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D760166270720939593

Could be the perfect residence organ?

It looks to be very compact and I suspect it makes good use of only a few ranks. I also quite like the modern style case


Marc

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

When I first heard a recording of this piece some years ago it was like someone giving me an electric shock! I suppose it reawakened my enthusiasm for the pipe organ.

The link above is a performance by Marie Claire Alain who in my opinion is probably one of the greatest organists of the 20th century, however the recording which I can not find on Youtube and that I have on an old Westminster record is by Marcel Dupre, and that one is truely stunning. The recording techniques of the time could not cope with the massive crescendo from the Saint Suplice organ however the resulting effect still sends shivers down your spine.

I'm sorry for pinching this picture off Jeremy Filsells website, but this is the same picture featured on the front cover of the Westminster record