Organ
The organ case was designed by the builders, Peter Collins, in close co-operation with the architects, Laurence King and Partners, and though painted is constructed in mahogany in its main parts with pine-cored block wood for its panels. The case has a tonal function as well as an architectural one, mixing the sound of the various pipes, then projecting it forwards as a blended whole. The specification was drawn up by David Butterworth and is almost identical to that of St. Mary's Church, Nottingham.
The pipes, of which there are 1634, are of various materials ranging in tin content from 90% in the façade pipes to 20% for some of the flute stops. Copper and pine are also used for certain other registers. With the exception of 24 small pipes in the pedal case, all the front pipes are speaking. The reed pipes are by Giesecke of Germany; the flues by Stinkins of Holland and Peter Collins; the Cymbelstern is from Laukhuff, also of Germany.
The console, situated at the foot of the central display pipes is constructed of oak; the naturals are of hard ‘blackwood' and the accidentals are white resin topped. The manual compass is of 56 notes; the pedal compass of 30 notes.
The style of voicing and the general approach to the construction has its origins in the 17th and 18th centuries, rather than the more familiar instrument to be found in England. The balance of stops is in keeping with classical registration and the ‘Werk-Prinzip' of the case is designed to project the sound into the Priory building.
For the mechanism of the key and pedal action, direct connection by trackers of thin wood are used to the control valves, giving the performer control over the attack and decay of each note. The stop action is electric. There are six pistons to each department and six toe levers for the pedal department. There are also eight general pistons.
The organ was reconstructed in 1996 by Wood of Huddersfield. It was cleaned and regulated and the soundboards were also reconstructed. The keys were renewed; Swell Octave 2 ft replaced with new pipework by Stinkens; Cymbelstern added; entire stop action (slider solenoids excepted) was remade
with Alan Taylor solid state; sequencer added.
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Famous quotes containing the word organ:
“Nature is so perfect that the Trinity couldn’t have fashioned her any more perfect. She is an organ on which our Lord plays and the devil works the bellows.”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832)
“In that reconciling of God and Mammon which Mrs. Grantly had carried on so successfully in the education of her daughter, the organ had not been required, and had become withered, if not defunct, through want of use.”
—Anthony Trollope (1815–1882)
“But alas! I never could keep a promise. I do not blame myself for this weakness, because the fault must lie in my physical organization. It is likely that such a very liberal amount of space was given to the organ which enables me to make promises, that the organ which should enable me to keep them was crowded out. But I grieve not. I like no half-way things. I had rather have one faculty nobly developed than two faculties of mere ordinary capacity.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)