ISOB Newsletter - Incorporated Society of Organ Builders

Acappella.
T HE I NCORPORATED S OCIETY
O F O RGAN B UILDERS
W INTER 2013
NEWSLET TER
V OLUME 2
I SSUE N O 3
THE I.S.O.B. WAS FOUNDED IN 1947
•
TO ADVANCE THE SCIENCE AND PRACTICE OF ORGAN BUILDING.
•
TO PROVIDE A CENTRAL ORGANIZATION FOR ORGAN BUILDERS.
•
TO PROVIDE FOR THE BETTER DEFINITION AND PROTECTION OF
THE PROFESSION BY THE SYSTEM OF EXAMINATIONS AND THE ISSUE
OF CERTIFICATES AND DISTINCTIONS.
•
REGULAR MEETINGS ARE HELD THROUGHOUT THE UNITED KINGDOM.
NEWSLETTER
P AGE 2
T HE I NCORPORATED S OCIETY O F O RGAN
B UILDERS .
But thou, with decent mien face,
The Incorporated Society of Organ Builders.
Art always ready in thy place;
Thy strenuous blast, whate`er the tune,
President:
As steady as the strong monsoon;
Robert G. Ince.
The only dread a leathery creak,
Vice-President:
Or small residual extra squeak,
Anthony K. Bishop.
To send along the shadowy aisles,
Secretary:
A sunlit wave of dimpled smiles.
Elaine Page.
~
E.Mail: isob.secretary@virginmedia.com
Not all the preaching, O my friend,
Treasurer:
Comes from the Church`s pulpit end!
Maurice W. Eglinton.
Not all that bend the knee and bow
+++
Yield service half as true as thou!
Website:
One simple task performed aright,
Www.isob.co.uk
With slender skill, but all thy might,
+++
Where honest labour does it best
Editor:
And leaves the player all the rest.
Michael Macdonald.
~
“Dunconin”,
This many-diapasoned maze,
39, Rockall Drive,
Through which the breath of being strays,
Simshill,
Whose music makes our earth divine,
Glasgow, G44 5ES.
Has work for mortal hands like mine.
E.Mail: Michael.macdonald1@ntlworld.com
My duty lies before me. Lo,
The lever there! Take hold and Blow!
And he whose hand is on the keys
Will play the tune as he shall please.
P AGE 23
NEWSLETTER
P AGE 22
T HE I NCORPORATED S OCIETY O F O RGAN
B UILDERS
The Organ Blower.
Inside This Issue.
Article.
Page.
Competition Page.
4.
The Angry Thirds. (John Norman).
5.
Profile: Roger James Greensted.
8.
A.G.M. Organ Crawl. (Bishop & Son)
10.
Dry Gluing. (Geoff Jones.)
18.
Organ Oddity.
21.
The Organ Blower, Part 2. (Oliver W. Holmes)
22.
Acappella.
24.
The Organ Blower. (Part 2)
“Its easy to play a pipe organ,
The Preacher from the Bible-text,
All you have to do is touch the right key
With weary words my soul has fexed.
At the right time
(Some stranger, fumbling far astray
And the instrument will play itself”
To find the lesson for the day);
He tells us truths too plainly true,
And reads the service all askew,
Why, Why the, —Mischief — can`t he look,
Beforehand in the service-book.
P AGE 3
+
Johann Sebastian Bach.
NEWSLETTER
P AGE 4
Competition Page.
T HE I NCORPORATED S OCIETY
B UILDERS .
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P AGE 21
Organ Oddity.
In the Summer edition the top photograph from left to right, Rosemary Anne
Willis, Henry 5, H.F.Ellingford, Henry 4 and Henry 3 at Liverpool. The small
photograph below was Henry 4 tuning the trebles of the Dome Diapason Chorus
at St Paul`s.
See how you get on with this on below.
The Bamboo Organ of Las Pinas, Philippines.
The interesting instrument above was constructed entirely from bamboo
between 1816-1819 by the Parish Priest, Father Diego Cera. It has one manual
of 61 notes and a Pedalboard of 12 notes. There are 23 stops, 11 on the left
which control the notes up to middle c and 12 on the right which control from
middle c to the top. The stops are all labeled in Spanish. The organ was restored
by Johannes Klais Orgelbau of Bonn, Germany in 1975.
P AGE 20
NEWSLETTER
The second procedure of dry gluing was during relining drawstop jamb bushes.
Following removal of the old lining cloth and glue, new individually measured
linings were made of red bushing cloth and kept in order. There were small, but
significant, differences between each one. The width of the cloth was 1/2in
wider than required for the bushes. The bushes were given two generous layers
of hot glue, which was allowed to dry after each application.
The cloth strips were
inserted into bushes
with the joint at the
top; I don`t like the
drawstops rubbing over
a joint in the cloth. The
extra cloth at the back
was used to accurately
position the lining to
give a uniform appearance; easier to do with
the dry glue. A round
steel mandrel, normally
used for rounding out
pipes or making tuning
slides, was selected, of
sufficient diameter to
be an easy fit in the
bush without disturbing
the lining. The mandrel
was heated on an electric hotplate, inserted
into the bush and used
to press the lining to the bush and melt the glue. With using red cloth, the mandrel had to be rather hotter than the steel block on the split-skin. Both mandrel
and block had to be held using a rag or old piece of leather.
Does anyone have any observations or comments on these procedures? Do you
do it differently?
Geoff. Jones.
T HE I NCORPORATED S OCIETY
B UILDERS .
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P AGE 5
The Angry Thirds.
I have always wondered why organ builders and organ tuners disagree
so much about tuning temperaments. Those whose main work is with
cathedral organs tend to regard any tuning other than Equal Temperament with disdain, Others, whose main work lies with chamber organs
and instruments in less reverberant churches, both here and in America,
regard the use of an unequal temperament as almost an article of faith.
As every tuner knows, twelve pure fifths appear to make up seven octaves but the sequence will actually end up slightly sharp to the unison.
Similarly three major thirds appear to make up one octave but, in reality,
are somewhat narrower. The situation with four minor thirds is even
worse. Actually, however, it is the major thirds that matter. For a start,
Sesquialteras, Cornets and Tierces have one rank sounding a major third
up from the unison. So, play a chord incorporating a major third with,
say, 8 ft, 4ft, 2ft and 1.3/5 ft stops drawn and the upper note (E in the
key of C) of the 2 ft pipe will be sounding the same note as the lower
note of the 1.3/5 ft stop. Or will it ? The 1.3/5 ft stop will be tuned a
true third from the unison but, in Equal Temperament, the E pipe of the
2 ft will be sounding a tempered third from the C - one seventh of a
semitone sharp. And if there is one thing our ears do not like it is two
theoretically identical pipes sounding different notes, we find the resulting rapid beats offensive.
This problem has been known for centuries. The ‘mean tone’ tuning
system was first devised back in the 16th century. This gave perfectly
pure thirds in the scales of Eb, Bb, F, C, G, D, A & E. But woe betide
anyone who ventured further afield ! The other four keys were unusable, with thirds nearly half a semitone out. This was replaced in the
eighteenth century by ‘sixth comma’ tuning - sometimes known as the
Silbermann temperament - the major thirds were tempered in eight
popular keys - but by less than half the error found in Equal Temperament. This improved matters but still left four keys (B, F#, Db& Ab) with
‘gritty’ thirds one third of a semitone sharp. Many efforts were made to
close the gap; attempting to make remoter keys usable but, in recompense, diluting the purity of the thirds in the popular keys. The end of
this road is Equal Temperament in which the inequalities are spread
evenly over all key signatures.
P AGE 6
NEWSLETTER
But the problem with ‘ET’ is that, spread out evenly, the thirds are still
one seventh of a semitone away from true, giving rise to gritty ‘Angry
Thirds’ in every key. The hymn-tune composer S.S.Wesley wrote: “I
will own I do not like it ... I never enjoy playing on an organ where
nothing is in tune, where simple triads produce the effect on the ear
which dissolving views do to the eye before a picture has reached its full
focus.”.
T HE I NCORPORATED S OCIETY
B UILDERS .
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On checking the teats the next morning revealed that several required a third
application of glue, showing that a generous amount was necessary. Once all the
teats were well and truly secured the domes were carefully pushed up into the
pallet box. The pulldowns were fitted, with a small leather button both sides of
the dome and a cloth washer under the bottom button.
Inside the Chest.
More recently, the Baroque revival stimulated interest in old temperaments. Some enthusiasts claimed that particular temperaments solved all
the problems. This is, however a mathematical impossibility - one can
only rob Peter in order to pay Paul. It is a matter of judgement what extent one favours the keys with few sharps and flats at the expense of the
less popular remote keys. One quite popular unequal temperament was
developed in 1800 by Thomas Young, the all-round genius who so
nearly deciphered the Rosetta Stone. Young’s tuning makes the thirds
milder in the four remote keys, but at the expense of the sound in the
keys of A, E, Bb & F (but still better than or equal to Equal Temperament) Another popular tuning is due to Francesco Valotti (1697-1780).
This is identical to Young’s except in that it favours the keys with flats
in the key signature, whereas Young’s tends to favour keys with sharps
in the key signature.
Coming back to our original question, why do organ builders disagree
so strongly about the merits of Equal and Unequal temperaments ? I
believe that it all comes down to acoustic experience. Many voicers will
know that the absorption of sound by the air itself has the effect of taking a hard edge off the extreme treble of organs in reverberant buildings
and that, conversely, its absence can make an instrument sound aggressive in a dryer and more intimate acoustic environment. My experience
is that the ‘Angry Thirds’ in Equal Temperament give life to an instrument in a reverberant building, avoiding the risk that it might sound
rather bland.
It seams to be a lengthy and fiddling procedure, but without knowledge of how
it was done originally I had to experiment and improvise. At least the domes
remained dry and flexible. One useful ruse was to make more teats than needed
and use only the best! (I also do that when making small springs.)
Buying in pre-formed teats from Germany would have been easier and possibly
cheaper in the long run, but I would have learned nothing about making teats.
NEWSLETTER
P AGE 18
Dry Gluing.
We are all familiar with leathering motors and puffers using hot glue and a warm
iron. On two occasions we have used a slightly different technique, which might
be described as dry gluing.
The first occasion was when fitting new split-skin pull-down teats in the soundboard of an August Gern organ at Walsall. (Also a Cavaille-Coll feature.) Early
on in the procedure I concluded that trying to form and glue down teats using a
strip of split-skin (as one might with puffers) was not going to work.
The problem was keeping the liquid glue off the dome of the teat, which must
be fully flexible; the restricted space didn`t help. After some experimentation I
devised a method of pre-forming individual teats, which resembled one of Ken
Dodd`s Diddymen`s hats. It was necessary to have a flat brim to the teat, which
would be glued to the bottom board. A crude jig was made using a block of
wood 1.1/2in thick containing a hole the same diameter as the bottom board
hole and with the sharp edge rounded off. A piece of plastic with a central hole
of 3/8in diameter and a piece of 5/16in dowel with the end also rounded off
completed the kit.
The teat was formed by placing a piece of split-skin, nap side up, over the hole
in the block, holding it firmly in place using the plastic and gently pushing the
split-skin down into the hole with the dowel. The difficulty is in trying to form a
nice conical/dome shape whilst minimizing the folds and wrinkles in the brim; it
may take several attempts. Once the dome and brim look reasonable in the
block the plastic was refitted, giving a few sharp taps with a hammer to flatten
the brim, which was finally flattened with a warm iron. The iron stiffens the
brim and helps keep its shape. The smaller the piece of leather the better as the
wrinkles are easier to deal with. A hot darning needle burned the pull-down
hole in the top of the dome. A thin leather knife under the split-skin eased the
teat out of the block. After cooling the brim was trimmed to about 1/4in wide.
Hot glue was brushed around the bottom board holes and allowed to dry. It was
found that one ring of glue was not sufficient so it was given a second application
which again was allowed to dry. As made, the teats were inside out, enabling the
dome to be dropped into the hole, both out of the way and self-locating.
Because of restricted space the brim was glued down using a block of steel
warmed on an electric hotplate, then left overnight for the glue to set.
T HE I NCORPORATED S OCIETY O F O RGAN
B UILDERS
P AGE 7
One example is the Kenneth Tickell instrument in Worcester Cathedral,
tuned in Equal Temperament. On the other hand, the William Drake
organ in the intimate environment of the crypt chapel of the Houses of
Parliament (Palace of Westminster) is tuned in Thomas Young’s temperament.
Equal Temperament’s ‘Angry Thirds’ (as used in the previous GD&B
organ in the same venue) were quite unpleasant here. I believe that this
is the reason for the difference of opinion amongst organ builders and
organ tuners.
Those whose main work lies in large reverberant cathedrals naturally
prefer Equal Temperament but those who are accustomed to building
organs for less reverberant buildings will frequently have nothing to do
with it.
How can these differences of opinion be resolved ? It is Fortunate that
technical developments have come to our aid. We were formerly limited
to temperaments that can readily be tuned by ear, without mechanical
aid. The advent of electronic tuners has changed all this and allowed the
development of ‘intermediate’ tunings. Simon Brown of Kenneth
Tickell developed his own tuning for the new St Mary-le-Bow organ in
Cheapside, London, when it was found that, in the quite reverberant
conditions of that church, Vallotti tuning was perhaps too unequal.
Simon tempered the remote keys a little further than Valotti or Young
but at the expense of D and A major. The new Richards, Fowkes, organ
in the fairly dry acoustic of St George’s, Hanover Square, London, is
tuned in Niedhardt (slightly milder than Young’s tuning).
The fact that both tunings have proved successful in churches with
‘intermediate’ acoustics proves my point and indicates a way forward to
using an appropriate tuning for each building - ET for those reverberant
ones and unequal tunings for a drier acoustic, with a continuous range in
between. In this way we can manage the ‘Angry Thirds’ to our musical
advantage.
John Norman.
NEWSLETTER
P AGE 8
Profile:Roger James Greensted F.I.S.O.B.
T HE I NCORPORATED S OCIETY
B UILDERS .
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P AGE 17
Bishop & Son proposed a scheme where by the new RCO standard console
would be provided in order to facilitate the completion of the instrument.
Sadly, most of the reed pipework was destroyed beyond any hope of restoration
and needed replacement. That which could be saved was, and this work along
with the completion of the tonal scheme was carried out.
From the photograph below you will be forgiven for thinking that some of the
members were sleeping, they were in fact listening attentively to a very fine
demonstration of the instrument.
The view from the Rood Screen.
Roger Greensted was born in Canterbury in 1948 and joined the choir of St
Gregory`s Church in 1957. This was the start of a passion for church music and
liturgy which continues to this day. Unfortunately, the pipe organ in the church
had been destroyed during the war and a “Selmer” electronic substitute had been
installed. However, as a small boy attending school services at St Stephen`s
Church he was fascinated by the pipe organ and could not fail to notice the entirely different sound that it made.
In his early teens he became acquainted with Reg Cobb who was the voicer at
F.H. Browne & Sons. Occasional outings to assist as key holder tuning organs
soon led to a passion for the pipe organ which overturned his real intention to
become a Chef.
NEWSLETTER
P AGE 16
The Church had invested in a sound platform for liturgical music. In its original
form the instrument boasted patent swell pedal mechanisms to both the swell
box and choir orchestral reeds box. These were removed during work carried
out by J. W. Walker along with the entire choir reed box, the swell unit being
replaced with a standard balanced pedal. This firm made the same changes to the
Rothwell organ in St George`s Church, Headstone.
Most unfortunately the instrument suffered from the over energetic efforts of
another organ builder who caused much damage to the original pipework. The
worst extent of this was the cutting of the reed resonators extremely short in a
vain attempt to provide a “French” tone. Subsequently, the instrument fell into
such a poor state because of this and to the many unbidden evils that pneumatic
transmissions are prone to. The diocese advised the organ be scrapped and replaced with a smaller mechanical action instrument. Fortunately the organist
called upon Bishop & Son and Maurice Merrell with the assistance of the late
Gordon Phillips managed to secured the retention and restoration of this fine
instrument.
The View from the Chancel.
T HE I NCORPORATED S OCIETY
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He served an apprenticeship with F H Browne and gained much experience in
most aspects of the trade. This led to working on restorations, overhauls and
regular tuning. However his main interest was in pipework and voicing.
As far as music was concerned he had some piano lessons in his mid teens but
was largely self-taught. His continued involvement in church choirs led him to
develop an interest in conducting and in 1970 took on the role as choirmaster at
Wingham Church, a post he held for Forty One years. In 1975 he married Jill, a
member of the choir and they have two sons.
In 1982 both the elderly directors of the company died which left the company
without management and strategy. Together with a local organist he acquired
the company and moved to new premises in Ash where the company grew and
developed. The retirement of the company`s voicer in 1994 did enable him to
fulfil his passion for tonal development and voicing.
His involvement in church liturgy and working with choirs helped him understand what is required for the accompaniment of the English choral tradition and
normal hymn playing. Regular attendance at recitals led him to appreciate the
different use of the organ as a solo instrument.
He also has experience in working with cinema organs having been involved
with the “Compton” at Dreamland, Margate, and more recently with the mighty
“Wurlitzer” at Rye College. He owns a 9 rank Conacher which is presently in
store awaiting restoration.
The “Brown” company ethos has always been a passion for the instrument and
providing a service rather than large financial rewards. The founder, Frederick
Browne was a churchman and by all accounts a competent organist.
This approach generated a good order book for most of the time and the fact
that the company has survived to this day is testament to a policy that he was
proud to continue.
He does not intend to retire for several years yet and it was with a great sense of
sadness that both he and his wife resigned as directors and employees of
Browne`s on the 1st March 2013.
He will now be trading under his own name providing services to Churches and
to the trade. We wish him every success in his venture.
NEWSLETTER
P AGE 10
T HE I NCORPORATED S OCIETY O F O RGAN
B UILDERS .
A.G.M. Organ Crawl
Specification.
London. 6th April, 2013
Saint James` Church, Spanish Place.
Swell Department.
Bourdon.
The player and listener are presented with a plethora of tonal combinations and
the fine building carries the sound in an exquisite manner. The work carried out
by Bishop & Son in 1982 comprised the complete rehabilitation of the organ,
together with the installation of the latest system of electric action and solid
state for the coupler and piston action. The console was completely refurbished
and provided with a full compliment of adjustable pistons. It was considered
impertinent to alter the specification and the original tonal qualities of the organ
were scrupulously preserved.
Great Department.
16. Double Diapason.
16.
Open Diapason.
8. Open Diapason No 1.
8.
Stopped Diapason.
8. Open Diapason No 2.
8.
Echo Gamba.
8. Wald Flute.
8.
Voix Celestes.
8. Principal.
4.
Principal.
4. Harmonic Flute.
4.
Fifteenth.
2. Fifteenth.
2.
Mixture.
3rk. Mixture.
3rk.
Contra Fagotto.
The above instrument was built by Alfred Hunter & Sons in 1922. Although it is
hard to miss the characteristic traits of their splendid organs in this instrument,
it shows an interesting contrast to other large organs by the same firm. This is
possibly one of the last organs to be constructed by them and is considered by
many to be one of the best.
P AGE 15
16. Harmonic Trumpet.
8.
Cornopean.
8.
Oboe.
8. Leiblich Gedact.
8.
Vox Humana.
8. Dulciana.
8.
Salicet.
4.
Open Diapason.
16. Suabe Flute.
4.
Bourdon.
16. Nazard.
Bass Flute.
8.
Octavin.
Fifteenth.
4.
Tierce.
Flute.
4.
Clarinet.
Trombone.
16. Harmonic Trumpet (GT)
Clarion.
8.
Pedal Department.
Choir Department.
2.2/3
2.
1.3/5
8.
8.
P AGE 14
NEWSLETTER
T HE I NCORPORATED S OCIETY
B UILDERS .
The Church of the Annunciation, Marble Arch.
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P AGE 11
Specification.
Swell Department.
Bourdon.
Great Department.
16. Double Open Diapason.
16.
Open Diapason.
8. Open Diapason No. 1.
8.
Leiblich Gedackt.
8. Open Diapason No. 2.
8.
Echo Gamba.
8. Stopped Diapason.
8.
Salicional.
8. Wald Flute.
8.
Voix Celeste
8. Dulcan.
8.
Principal.
4. Principal.
4.
Fifteenth.
2. Hohl Flute.
4.
2.2/3
Mixture.
3rk Twelfth.
Contra Fagotto.
16. Fifteenth.
2.
Horn.
8. Mixture.
3rk
Oboe.
8. Mixture.
2rk
Vox Humana.
8. Trumpet.
8.
Clarion.
4.
Choir Department. (Enclosed)
Contra Viola.
This organ built in 1915 by Rothwell, was a typical example of that makers
work during the period. It was never completed but would have been a most
useful and luxurious instrument for that time, equipped throughout with patent
pneumatic action and the famous patent Rothwell type console so highly praised
by Sir Walford Davies.
16. Gemshorn.
4.
Open Diapason.
8. Flauto Traverso.
4.
Stopped Diapason.
8. Piccolo.
2.
Gamba.
8. Clarionet.
8.
Dulciana.
8. Orchestra Oboe.
8.
Unda Maris.
8.
NEWSLETTER
P AGE 12
Choir Department. (Unenclosed)
T HE I NCORPORATED S OCIETY
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P AGE 13
All of the original pipework is still in use and has been added to in a sympathetic
manner. The pedal organ has been augmented to provide flexibility as well as
increase foundation and the two “Spanish” Trompettes were added for effect.
Tuba.
8. Trompette.
8.
Tuba Clarion.
4. Trompette
4.
More recently the 2rk mixture was added to the Great as a contrast to and for
use alongside the harsher seventeenth mixtures characteristic of Hunter choruses
and for use in lighter combinations.
Pedal Department.
Sub Bass.
32. Octave Diapason.
8.
Open Diapason. (Wood).
16. Bass Flute.
8.
Violone. (Metal).
16. Flute.
4.
Bourdon.
16. Tuba.
16.
More recently a phased scheme of work has been initiated, the piston action has
been replaced with a state of the art capture and sequencer system providing 12
divisional memory levels and 256 levels of general memory which is controlled
by a sequencer with digital display. This alongside re-leathering all the bellows
reservoirs, the new mixture and re-leathering of the drawstop machines being
the most recent work. (2005-2008)
Leiblich Bourdon.
16. Trombone.
16.
The West End Organ.
Quint.
10.2 Tromba.
8.
The view from the Triforium.
Almost everybody walked past the “Positif” above without a second glance,
which is surprising considering the fact that a considerable number of men were
employed at J. W. Walkers, where over Five Thousand of these instruments
were constructed between the 1950s-1975.