September / October 2019 Number 74 Derby & District Organists' Association Registered Charity No. 510567 Newsletter DDOA Events 2019 7th September (Saturday) Visit to organs in Lincolnshire. See page 8. 15th October (Tuesday) Organs in Denmark - Audio-visual presentation by Denis Littleton and Laurence Rogers recalling the NDSO 2016 tour of organs in Denmark. See page 7. 11th November (Monday) AGM followed by a talk by Stephen Alliss reflecting on his experiences tuning organs in many prestigious locations. St John’s Methodist Church, Allestree. Concerts & Recitals Wednesday Lunchtime Recitals 12.30 - 1.10pm at St Modwen’s, Burton-upon-Trent 4th September Richard Syner (Burton) The Other King’s College Chapel 11th September Cathy Lamb (Lichfield) 18th September Tony Westerman (Burton) 25th September Stanley Monkhouse (Burton) Saturday 21st September, 7.30 pm St Mary’s Parish Church, Bulwell NG6 9AD Alfreton Male Voice Choir with Michael Anthony (organ) Free admission. Friday 27th September, 7.30 pm St Michael & All Angels Church, Hathersage S32 1AJ Organ Recital by Ian Tracey (Liverpool) Binns Organ Recitals at the Albert Hall, Nottingham Sundays 2.45pm Admission £6 & £10. 15th September Peter King (Bath) Retracing Britain’s Organ Reform Origins 6th October Christopher Herrick A small but enthusiastic group of demonstration of the 1952 Walker Lichfield Cathedral Recitals eight of us visited both the in the main church, encouraging us Fridays at 7.30 pm Admission £10 Brompton Oratory, London and St to stand in the north transept to 20th September Catherine Ennis (London) Alban’s Cathedral on 27 June. admire the clarity of voicing and 4th October Martyn Rawles (Lichfield) Sadly both illness and family effectiveness of the organ in the 11th October James Lancelot (Durham) commitments depleted our cavernous building. He then numbers. For those of us who remained on hand to advise on Organists needed made the journey by car to St registration for our own playing St Francis Church, Mackworth, is in Albans and parking at the station, efforts. The organ was designed need of volunteers to help fill gaps in frequent Thameslink trains took by its first titulaire, Ralph Downes, their Sunday organists’ rota up to the the strain of commuting to London. one of principal pioneers of the end of December. If you are willing neo-classical reform movement of Ben Bloor, a former organ scholar to help, please contact Barbara Hart the early 1950s. The then brand- at Derby Cathedral and pupil of at [email protected] new instrument instrument was both Peter Gould and Tom Corfield, perhaps a testing ground for was the perfect host at the Photo: St Albans Cathedral; Gillian Chatto at the Downes’s ‘Baroque Tricks’ that he console facing east. Note the shutters at the Oratory. He gave us an excellent rear of the Choir case. Ben Bloor demonstrates the Oratory organ The Oratory Chapel organ with Ben Tony Westerman employed in the design of his with extra spaces between them to magnum opus at the Royal Festival The Oratory Chapel, London enhance the egress of sound. These Hall, completed a year or so later. Organ by Flentrop, Holland 1975 replaced about 45 dumb pipes in the One might have expected that any Consultant: Ralph Downes original facades. Their gleaming repertoire beyond the Baroque Hoofdwerk appearance matched the brilliant period might have been poorly Prestant 8 sounding choruses within. Perhaps the served, but Ben’s careful guiding Roerfluit 8 most significant innovation was the Octaaf 4 allowed us to play a range of Fluit 4 addition of a fourth manual, to serve a pieces with great effect. Fluit 2 new Nave division to be sited in the triforium. It is extraordinary that, ten What we hadn’t expected was Mixtuur III-IV Kromhoorn 8 years on, this is only ‘prepared for’, the delight of playing the 1975 Tremulant still awaiting faculty approval from Flentrop instrument in the Little Bovenwerk to Hoofdwerk architectural authorities! Oratory Chapel, used by the Brothers. This, as you will see Bovenwerk Our thanks must go to Tony Gedekt 8 from its specification, is a much Roerfluit 8 Westerman for all his hard work in smaller instrument but its clarity Prestant 2 planning and preparing a most and precision of voicing was a Nazard 11/3 rewarding visit to prestigious venues. sheer delight. Not an easy Sesquialter II John Maxwell-Jones instrument to play with its very Tremulant precise touch and straight Pedaal The Ralph Downes Legacy - see page 6 pedalboard, it well repayed the Bourdon 16 Bourdon 8 effort of persevering. Again, Octaaf 4 members demonstrated that the Fagot 16 instrument worked for a range of Hoofdwerk to Pedaal pieces and all enjoyed the Bovenwerk to Pedaal experience. Many thanks to Ben for being open shutters at the rear of such a welcoming host. the central Choir case, one We are also grateful to Andrew was surrounded by sound and Lucas for allowing us to play the there was no doubting its famous Harrison and Harrison immediacy and clarity. This organ in St Albans. This was a very rewarding instrument, designed in 1962 by instrument to play, whatever Peter Hurford in association with the repertoire. Ralph Downes, is justly famous for Andrew explained to us the its position in the development and main features of the change in tastes witnessed in the restoration back in 2009; second half of the twentieth these included some century. Having welcomed us into additional stops, but they the organ loft, Andrew then left us were made to match the to our own devices. Sitting at the existing instrument so as to console midway between the north preserve the original tonal case (Swell) and south case character. New speaking (Great), the brilliance of the organ display pipes were made for was stunning. Together with the the north and south cases Gillian Chatto at St Albans 2 Recent Events DDOA Visit to Oxford Laurence Rogers writes: The organs to be found in the chapels of the thirty nine Oxford colleges comprise one of the largest collections of well endowed organs in the country and offer a wide spectrum of genres representing the whole world of organ building. Our most recent visit to the city in July featured mechanical instruments built in the past sixty years. The return to mechanical action during this period reflected a growing interest in the artistic possibilities that they Aubertin stops: note the colours of the stops and Frobenius stops: note the letter ‘B’, ‘G’ and ‘P’ afford and the timbres associated labels to identify the manuals and pedals. to identify the Brustpositive, Great and Pedals. with Baroque traditions. It may be argued that this marks them out Mander console had the conventional rather idiosyncratic and not friendly as principally concert and left Swell and right Great to the user. educational instruments, with configuration, but the third and lowest The Frobenius in The Queen’s service accompaniment a manual had no stops of its own, but College, on the other hand, is a secondary role. Organs visited: was exclusively coupled to the Swell joy. The organ and the acoustic and Great. St John’s: Aubertin (France) 2008 are one. I can well understand Queens: Frobenius (Denmark) 1965 My personal favourite of the day was Robert Quinney’s enthusiasm for it Magdalen: Mander (England) 1986 the Frobenius, for its welcoming as an instrument where every stop It was clear that the consoles of lightness of touch and beauty of is beautiful in itself but where they each instrument posed unusual voicing. This instrument is regarded blend to make lovely choruses. challenges for the player: flat by many as the most significant post- And it is user-friendly. Whereas pedal boards, short keys, sensitive war organ in Britain. the Aubertin seemed to be trying to touch, doorknob-style stops in catch one out, the Frobenius brings unfamiliar configurations on flat out the best in the player. Tom Corfield writes: jambs, and the complete absence We approached the Mander of 'playing aids'. Interestingly, all The three organs we tried were all of expecting the worst, as the Director three had an enclosed division what one might loosely term a classical of Music and others had suggested with an expression (swell) pedal. disposition, yet they are so different. an instrument falling apart and in The Aubertin had a lovely sound, so The arrangement of stops on the urgent need of replacing. It sweet yet powerful enough when it Aubertin and Frobenius consoles certainly has its eccentricities, needed to be. I found it uncomfortable followed the configuration common starting with a third manual which to play, however, and not only because in French organs with stops for does no more than couple together of the straight pedal board. On two of each division on both sides of the the other two. Also, the action is a the three manuals the keys were very manuals, but without the little bit spongy. But it has a lovely short leaving little room for the hand terracing. 8 and 4 foot flues warm tone and sounds well in the to lie over them. The stops for each tended to be on the left hand side, building A very effective swell box division were on both sides which also and reeds, mutations and mixtures makes for much expressive took a bit of getting used to. It is on the right. (see photos) The potential. undoubtedly a fine instrument, but St John’s Organ by Aubertin 2008 The Queen’s College Organ by Frobenius 1965 Magdalen College Organ by Mander 1986 3 Richard Brice writes: the Informatores Choristarum and Organists from 1481. It didn’t The Aubertin organ at St John's disappoint.