A story that should "inspire"

[KB7DQH]

Probably should be placed as an "inspirational instrument" based on the financial uncertainty of the project at its outset, and the leap of faith required by the congregation to see it to completion... :)


http://riverdalepress.com/full.php?sid=13028&current_edition=2010-07-22

Eric
KB7DQH

[revtonynewnham]

Hi

It's amazing what can be done when a church steps out in faith.  My congregation of 20 here at Heaton decided that we would have our small pipe organ restored.  The quote was £10,000, and we agreed to fund it from the legacies fund (then standing at around £4,000) and raise the remainder; but since we had sufficient reserves (which at the time still produced a significant income), we gave the organ builder the go ahead immediately.  It took less than 2 years for the total amount to be covered - including a couple of very substantial anonymous donations.

It really makes me cross when churches take the cheap option (which in fact is no such thing) and opt for electronics.  Given that the average life of most digital organs is 15-20 years, it's like asking the treasurer to write a cheque for a couple of thousand pounds every year - certainly far more than a good pipe organ will cost in maintenance.

Every Blessing

Tony

[NonPlayingAnorak]

Hi

It's amazing what can be done when a church steps out in faith.  My congregation of 20 here at Heaton decided that we would have our small pipe organ restored.  The quote was £10,000, and we agreed to fund it from the legacies fund (then standing at around £4,000) and raise the remainder; but since we had sufficient reserves (which at the time still produced a significant income), we gave the organ builder the go ahead immediately.  It took less than 2 years for the total amount to be covered - including a couple of very substantial anonymous donations.

It really makes me cross when churches take the cheap option (which in fact is no such thing) and opt for electronics.  Given that the average life of most digital organs is 15-20 years, it's like asking the treasurer to write a cheque for a couple of thousand pounds every year - certainly far more than a good pipe organ will cost in maintenance.

Every Blessing

Tony

To be fair, some churches plain don't have the space for any decent pipe organ. I did hear of one case of a big RC church somewhere, seating 1200, that had but a pathetic horrible 2m extension bodge-job... they ended up with a Hauptwerk toaster of cathedral-like ambition and found it an excellent solution to their problem.

PS What happened to the fabulous 3m organ with Cavaillé-Coll reeds in your church? I heard it had been destroyed?

[David Pinnegar]

To be fair, some churches plain don't have the space for any decent pipe organ. I did hear of one case of a big RC church somewhere, seating 1200, that had but a pathetic horrible 2m extension bodge-job... they ended up with a Hauptwerk toaster of cathedral-like ambition and found it an excellent solution to their problem.

Um. Yes. Well they might find it OK for now, but as a 100 year investment . . . they'll have to think again.

Personally I give my concert organ 15 years of life - and that will put the original console electronics at over 30 years, which will be pushing it a bit. I really doubt it will last that long. Fine - with a training in physics and electronics, I'll be able to maintain it to some extent, but my sons won't - and expertise comes expensive nowadays so really electronics of any sort are a poor option for any church. Furthermore, on account of my own expertise, I have not had to spend on the aquisition the sort of money that commercial installations cost . . .

Put all this on a real footing without in-house expertise and one is looking at any electronics being bad value compared with pipe organ options, especially with so many instruments going begging nowadays.

Best wishes

David P

[revtonynewnham]

Hi

The Laycock & Bannister from Heaton Baptist Church was sold for reinstallation in a large Anglican church - at which point, so I'm told, the organ builder went bust and the organ ended being dispersed for parts - a real shame.

As to congregational accompaniment, you don't actually NEED a large organ - but it does need to be free standing and well voiced.  A few years ago I played for a Christmas Eve communion service at an Anglican church close to where I was living at the time.  The church was one of 3 in a combined benefice, and the church was packed - at least 500.  The organ - a 4 stop chamber organ (NPOR N13313) and had no problem keeping tempos, etc. - I didn't even need full organall the time!  Agreed, something a little larger would give more variety - but a good extension organ should be adequate, asshould a well voiced straight organ with a good Diapason chorus.

Electronics will lats around 15-20 years unless you're lucky - and Hauptwerk potentially less given the rate of onsolescence in the computer world!  Large organs are often more a reflection of the organist's ego that the real needs of the situation.  (Not that I would argue if we had a slightly larger pipe organ - but then we would lose seating.

Every Blessing

Tony

[NonPlayingAnorak]

As to congregational accompaniment, you don't actually NEED a large organ - but it does need to be free standing and well voiced.  A few years ago I played for a Christmas Eve communion service at an Anglican church close to where I was living at the time.  The church was one of 3 in a combined benefice, and the church was packed - at least 500.  The organ - a 4 stop chamber organ (NPOR N13313) and had no problem keeping tempos, etc. - I didn't even need full organall the time!  Agreed, something a little larger would give more variety - but a good extension organ should be adequate, asshould a well voiced straight organ with a good Diapason chorus.

Fair enough - though I do remember with great affection one childhood church home to a large 3-manual Willis (NPOR D08765 IIRC) very similar to the Truro organ, where the Asst. Organist had a wonderful way of colouring hymns and psalms with imaginative and full use of the organ's resources, from the softest pianissimo for some bits of psalms to an earth-shattering fortissimo when the church was full enough/the language of the psalms stormy enough... 15 inches of wind being pushed up a Willis Ophicleide right behind the facade, plus Great reeds 16, 8 and 4 on 7 inches, plus a stormy psalm is enough to turn anyone into a God-fearing man/woman!

Of course, none of it was even remotely necessary - but it brought things to life for me at an age when I could easily have found the same soft registration all the way through rather boring, and have found the psalm/hymn itself rather boring.

[KB7DQH]

And, I have "found" another 
one...http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&q=http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2010/092010/09142010/575191&ct=ga&cad=:s7:f1:v0:d1:i0:lt:e0:p0:t1284458342:&cd=Deq7-5-JzoM&usg=AFQjCNEunVpXPHhKoUFWaDOa5t4JHo2Ajw

Along with a rather colorful (colourful ??? review of an inaugural concert given on a new church organ in Dallas, Texas, by none other than Oliver Latry 8) 8) 8)

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/ent/stories/DN-latry_0928gd.State.Edition1.2bc9748.html

Pay particular attention to the first paragraphs of the article... 

Seems Texas would be a good place to set up an Organ Shop...

Eric
KB7DQH