Organ matters - Organs matter!

An update. Having received no offers for the full organ, and having decided against eBay (few organs seem to attract any serious interest, so it would be a waste of a listing fee), I contacted some metal merchants, who admitted they had no experience of organs (a good sign!), but said that assuming most of the metalwork was zinc or lead, we might get up to £1/kg, which implies around £5-600 total (our local organ builders estimated the weight). One did a little research first and said "there may be some pewter, which we'd have to send off for analysis, but if so, the price could rise to £4/kg". Apparently tin is around 10x the value of lead/zinc, as can be found from the daily figures on the LME website, but the percentage varies a lot. The organ builders did not think there would actually be much tin included.

Having weighed the largest front pipe, it seems to be around 7kg, i.e. probably worth £7 as scrap but just a chance of up to £28. I did a straw poll of a few choir members and friends who had got married there, suggesting they might want to pay e.g. £20 per pipe to have one as a souvenir, on their mantelpiece, etc. Almost everyone immediately replied that they would want at least one. Some are keen to pay the same even for the wooden pipes (which would otherwise have virtually no value), on the basis of the graffiti from past generations of choir boys! So this implies that although the old organ might disappear, much of its skeleton may remain within the village -- and it is quite likely to raise more than we would simply from the metal merchants. The tubing inside would of course still go to the merchants.

The current plan is therefore to record its final voice, then dismantle the organ next week, and store the pipes somewhere off-site until as many as possible can be sold to individuals (we have not advertised this yet, for obvious reasons, but I sense there is no great rush: future visitors to the church or those whose ancestors are buried there may also be interested). The remaining wood panels may go for scrap, and the inner piping to a merchant. It will be sad to see it go, but wonderful to have a replacement in a few months' time.

One quick question: we are planning on dismantling it ourselves, as the organ builders said it is quite straightforward, so are currently thinking along the lines of a few burly parishioners with screwdrivers (and hammers if really needed). Apart from the possibility of asbestos which I have just noticed from another thread, is there anything else we ought to be wary of?

Thanks, Robin & David -- both interesting suggestions, which I will certainly try out. They also prompted me to recall Sabre Dance (which I've done before), Scheherazade (which I've seen as a piano duet), and helped me find a Persian Suite composed just a few months ago: http://www.bardon-music.com/music.php?id=BE00645. Another friend suggested listening to various Middle Eastern national anthems, but all those I've listened to so far sound quite dull and not very 'Eastern' at all.

Thanks Robin. I didn't realize my original post would be so misleading!

BD> what is it going to be replaced with?

Another (far better) organ.

BD> You cannot remove the organ without a Faculty

I know. We are just pushing time on the numerous faculties needed for several projects proceeding more or less at the same time; the organ side was delayed due to circumstances beyond our control. We are confident (and have been advised) we will get the faculty -- but there's always a 1% chance of something unforeseen cropping up, which is the only reason I put 99%.

PT> Have you called in the Diocesan Organ Advisor?

Yes of course. He recommended getting rid of it years ago, if we could find a replacement, which we now have, and which he has approved.

PT> Have you taken independent advice

Yes, from numerous parties

PT> have you made reasonable attempts to find a new home for it? This takes time - a lot of time

That's why I posted here, as I assumed it was the quickest way to reach a large number of potentially interested parties. Unfortunately we do not have much time. We did have a new home arranged until very recently, when it fell through.

PT> Making way for plastering does not sound like best practise to me.

We are making way for a new organ. Plastering is happening within the same set of projects, making use of the fact the church will be closed. It is reasonable (surely best practice too) to (a) time the removal of an old organ to occur before it is covered in dust -- which will coincidentally make the plasterers' work easier and also save money on organ protection measures; (b) time the installation of a new organ to occur after the dust has settled.

I hope this makes things clearer. I have to say, some of the advice we have received includes the comment that selling the pipes to a metal merchant may generate more cash than we would receive otherwise for the organ. Regrettable, but this cannot be ignored.

I'm looking for two or three organ pieces that sound demonstrably Arabic or Indian. They don't have to be by composers from that area: I'm thinking for example of something like Glazunov's string quartet Orientale (www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUgVvs9P7_M). Even piano pieces might be OK, if they're playable on an organ. Any suggestions? I've not managed to find much on the web.

Friday, 27 July 2012, starts 19:30

For some reason, the churchwardens at Xxxxxxx another local church decided not to host this annual concert featuring 'celebrity organist' Nigel Ogden [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/presenters/nigel-ogden/], even though it had been booked since last year. Luckily, it has been possible to transfer it to Holy Trinity Church, Ramsgate. Tickets £10 at the door or £8 pre-booked; tickets and Information 01227 720276 or 01304 813146. Proceeds to Church Funds. Sponsored by F.H. Browne & Sons (Organ Builders) Ltd.

For those who do that sort of thing, you can spread the word and invite friends etc. here too: http://www.facebook.com/events/352584864810456/

Our organ at St Nicholas-at-Wade (near Margate) is 99% certain to be replaced very soon, pending minor details like a Faculty...

Assuming no hiccoughs, we're looking for someone to disassemble & remove it a.s.a.p. from July 23, as scaffolding starts going up that day for replastering work.

The organ is almost fully working - the roller for the pedals is rusty and one pedal key (middle F) has pulled through so is inoperative, but everything else is fine (a bit of tuning needed). It is in use, can be heard working, and can be played if wanted. The spec is here: www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=N12907. It's OK for small services, weddings, etc. although it lacks reeds, pistons and similar mod cons. We're not sure who made it, but it arrived in the church 2nd hand around 1930.

I'm debating put it up on an auction site, although if someone here offered a donation via private message, meaning more money goes to the fabric fund instead of eBay Inc., I'm sure that would be a better solution. I can supply basic photos and so on if needed.

Hi Robin,
We're certainly not giving up, and are still very much hoping that you do find a solution which enables us to offer your organ a new home. At the same time, we have a perfect window to do all the work in a couple of months' time (when the church is closed for other fabric repairs -- and before the new VAT rules bite), so just in case your church finds no solution, or no quick solution, it seems prudent to investigate other options. I doubt we'll find anything more suitable (or even more or less as suitable but available more quickly), but I really have little idea what's out there. Anyway, you never know unless you ask, so David's suggestions are most welcome.

At our church in North-East Kent we have an old 2 manual tracker organ (http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=N12907) where one of the pedal notes has failed (rollers rusted through; all the rollers are apparently in a similar state so likely to fail soon). Repairs would be around £1000 but everyone who knows it (the local organ builders, diocesan organ advisor, local organists) says it's not really worth it: it's too small for the church and unsuitable for the concerts & recitals we're aiming to stage there.

Until today we had an option on a much better organ (http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=D03036) -- only 39 years old, electro-pneumatic, reeds, pistons, Mixture, 32', etc. -- all features I'd like, and lack at present. It also would fit into the space available, just. Sadly, the situation on their side has changed so all bets & offers are off for the time being.

We had looked at one more in the region (http://www.npor.org.uk/cgi-bin/Rsearch.cgi?Fn=Rsearch&rec_index=N00219) which would also have been a significant improvement -- but sadly, the cost of shifting it was estimated at £40,000+ which is well outside our budget (£25,000 or so, including purchase cost if any, moving, cleaning, repairs, VAT and all).

I have looked at the IBO list (and glanced at eBay), but don't know enough myself to decide whether the total cost implications of e.g. http://www.ibo.co.uk/IBO2005/services/redundant/manResult.asp?manuals=three&Submit=View&index=5 would be within our budget or way outside. Unfortunately the IBO list contains nothing in Kent we don't already know, and travelling to Manchester, Wiltshire and Devon "just in case" isn't really an option. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions?