Author: Paul

Freedom from cathedral duties means that when surveying a church organ I can now attend a Sunday morning service and assess the liturgical effect of the instrument before climbing inside to assess its condition. This is a huge bonus and I have greatly enjoyed joining congregations at Turvey, Goring-on-Thames and Potters Bar in recent weeks.

This week I made another site visit to the beautiful catholic cathedral of St Marie, in Sheffield, where Andrew Carter and his team are meticulously reassembling what must be the most compact 3-manual tracker organ T.C.Lewis ever made. After a disastrous intervention by a local firm in the 1970s this 1875 organ is now being fully restored with a new mechanical action, the aim being for completion by Christmas. HLF funding has made this possible.

It’s been a busy and stimulating week, centred on giving lunchtime recitals at Selby Abbey on Tuesday and Boston ‘Stump’ on Thursday. Both organs are in fine form, Selby spectacularly rebuilt by Principal Pipe Organs and Boston kept in immaculate order by its makers, Harrison & Harrison. The Healey Willan ‘Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue’ sounded fabulous on both of them and it was a real treat to perform it to two warmly appreciative audiences. The image above shows the organ case in St Botolph’s, Boston.

Last week I spent two enjoyable days conducting organ surveys in Northern Ireland—a large 1963 Walker rebuild at Holywood (near Belfast) and the famous 1914 Hill at Londonderry Guildhall. The Guildhall is an ornate ‘Gothic’ building which wouldn’t be out of place in Glasgow. Recently sumptuously restored, it has benefited from the organ’s front pipes being beautifully and tastefully painted. They were plain, dull, oxidised zinc in appearance before—really gloomy. Behold them now!

Most enjoyable day yesterday, revisiting St Mary’s, Kidlington, where in 1974-6 I helped Richard Vendome build an organ at the west end, based on the Fr Willis previously in the north transept. It has choruswork made for us by Giesecke, who also made the spectacular horizontal trumpet. The late Martin Goetze and Kenneth Tickell did most of the voicing. David Hewett, Richard and I played, as did George Inscoe, who gave the world premiere of Richard’s Eclats, specially composed for the event. Amazing to think that forty years has passed — my entire working life. The organ sounds as good as ever and works well. Very happy about that!

Just back from a highly enjoyable couple of days at Aylsham in Norfolk, where last night I gave the third recital in the re-opening series on a remarkable 1911 Norman & Beard. Henry Willis & Co has recently completed an immaculate restoration, including its complex pneumatic action and its rare push stop/button console, as designed by the blind Alfred Hollins. It sounds a treat.

Thanks to the enormous help of Jonathan and Paul of Henry Groves & Son, our Nottingham organ-builders, my house organ is installed in our new music room. It is now playing and almost complete, with just the piston system to install now; more updates when all is done.

This past week I have surveyed and written up two fine Edwardian three-manual organs by first-class Northern makers: one by Albert Keates of Sheffield, the other by Ernest Wadsworth of Manchester. Both are under threat, one for financial reasons and one through congregational apathy. Nothing new there, of course, but in looking at the quality of materials and construction of these organs and thinking just how many like them are threatened with removal, I felt I must do all I possibly can to inspire the churches to keep them. But you can’t win them all.

George Holdich built some beautiful organs, notably his masterpiece at Lichfield Cathedral, of which very few survive in anything like original condition. I greatly enjoyed a day preparing for and presenting a 150th birthday concert on his largest surviving instrument — the fine 3-manual in Hinckley U.R.C. church. The audience was warmly appreciative — they even queued to buy my CDs!

I was very pleased with my dear friends in Nottingham Bach Choir on 17 June, who sang a most expressive performance of three of Parry’s fine ‘Songs of Farewell’, the challenging ‘Lord, let me know mine end’ being particularly well carried off. After the interval they responded to my every gesture in a moving performance of the Duruflé Requiem. It was a delight to have my erstwhile Southwell colleague, Simon Hogan, as accompanist, and to listen to his stunning performance of the Duruflé Suite pour Orgue.