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Miscellanea
& Technical Information
A very short history of the organ
The
organ is one of the oldest of musical instruments, dating
back to Ancient Greece. Pipe organs have been used in
churches in the West from the tenth century. The one in
Winchester Cathedral from
ad 990 is said
to have had 400 pipes. The oldest still in existence dates
from 1429, and is in the Cathedral at Valère-sur-Sion,
Switzerland.
Mozart called the organ the King of
Instruments. It had reached more or less its present form by
the 16th century, although after that time its construction
and repertoire developed differently in France, Germany and
England.
The Baroque era in Germany produced the
master composer of organ music, J.S.Bach, and heard the
wonderful sound of the German Baroque organ built in the
Werkprinzip tradition.
In the same period the different religious
and cultural environment of France produced the elegant
‘French Classical’ composers such as François Couperin.
After the long recovery from the French Revolution of 1789
came a counter revolution, and this era heard the ‘French
Romantic’ sound of the famous ‘symphonic’ organ builder
Aristide Cavaillé Coll, and the ‘mystical Catholic’
composers from César Franck to Olivier Messiaen.
In
England, the Reformation and the ensuing conflict wrought
havoc to both the organ and the liturgy it supported.
Beautiful instruments were destroyed during the Civil War.
With the revival of the English Church in Victorian times,
an 18th century-style ensemble of stringed and
wind instruments with a choir, often in a gallery, were
generally replaced with an organ and a robed choir in a
‘restored’ chancel. The mainstream Anglican hymnbooks
appeared: Hymns Ancient and Modern in 1861 and
The
English Hymnal in 1906. English organ composers include
Henry Purcell, John Stanley, Orlando Gibbons, Jeremiah
Clarke (C17-18), and Samuel Sebastian Wesley (C19).
Hitherto
the English organ had been simpler in construction than
those of Germany and France, usually lacking a pedal
division. The great Victorian era of organ building then
took in features of organs on the continent.
Valuing a living tradition
Since the
1960s, different styles of music have increasingly been used
in worship. Sometimes this has had the unfortunate effect
of marginalising the organ and its repertoire. But organ
and choral music still represent a living and lively
tradition, and are today’s expression of a centuries-old
heritage. Many young musicians choose this route, and new
music for traditional resources is still being written.
A report
by the Church of England Liturgical Commission
(GS 1651, 2007) speaks
of the rich variety of music and its potential in mission,
and asks: ‘Are there particular lessons to be learned from
the growth of pilgrimage ministry and liturgy in recent
years, and can they be applied in settings outside the
cathedral?’ In Lastingham we are ideally placed to explore
this question.
Pipe organs at Lastingham
The now defunct organ goes back to 1859, 20
years before the Pearson restoration. It was a one-manual
and pedal instrument by Forster & Andrews of Hull with six
stops.
Mysteriously,
the Revd Richard Easterby, Vicar of
Lastingham 1850-1890,
refers to an organ in earlier times, which he
says ‘like many other parts of that ancient fabric was
allowed to fall into decay’. We have not yet found a record
of this instrument.
The 1859
organ was probably good of its kind, but small and limited
in its tonal variety. In 1963 it was enlarged. Experience
has shown that that decision was a mistake. The musical
results were disappointing and with the years a number of
mechanical problems appeared.
In 2003 a spirited low-cost attempt was made
to remedy the tonal deficiencies by substituting some
second-hand pipework, including a Trumpet stop. However, the
underlying mechanical and electrical
problems were not dealt with, and after a
further two years it became clear that the instrument could
not be tuned.
This,
together with the lack of tonal variety,
persuaded a cathedral organist and two other professional
organists to advise that it was not worth spending further
money on it.
The replacement organ
The fact
that the existing organ is unplayable and past restoration
provides a challenge and an opportunity. Our church has been
here for 13 centuries
(read its history), and we’re very much a working church,
with a choir and several concerts each year. It was felt
that the replacement instrument should be superior to a
basic village church ‘sing-along’ organ. It should be
suitable for recitals and also be able to serve as a
teaching instrument.
Principal
Pipe Organs of York (who had rebuilt the York Minster Organ)
were invited to look out a suitable replacement and submit
proposals for its restoration and adaptation to our needs.
The organ
we’ve been offered was originally built in 1874 by Peter
Conacher for a church in York. Selected pipework from the
existing Lastingham organ is to be re-used: from the 1859
Forster & Andrews organ, and also from the pipework
introduced in 2003 (the Fifteenth by Willis and most of the
pipes from the Trumpet). Some new ranks will be added There
will also be a new piston capture action, which will permit
the player instant and flexible control of the drawstops.
Although this apparatus is costly, it will help players of
modest as well as of expert ability, and its
absence nowadays can be considered a significant drawback.
Why pipes and not electronic?
In
electronic or pipeless organs, an electrical signal is
generated and fed to loudspeakers. Electronic instruments
have improved since their invention decades ago, but their
tone is still typically less satisfactory and their
components can wear out. A well-designed and maintained pipe
organ is far more gratifying for player and listener, and
will last for a very long time. We have an added bonus at
Lastingham in that we are able to give a
historically-significant organ a new home.
Breakdown of costs
The actual purchase of the second-hand
Conacher organ will be for a nominal sum. The cost of the
subsequent work is as follows.
|
Restoration and rebuilding |
40
000 |
|
New
work (pedal slider soundboard, drawstops,
piston capture action, electro-magnetic soundboard
drawstop action; new ranks: Great: III rank
Mixture, II rank Sesquialtera, Pedal: Trumpet 16ft,
new bass octave) |
27
200 |
|
Voicing and tuning |
2
900 |
|
Campaign costs |
750 |
|
Sundries |
3
150 |
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|
75 000 |
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