Newsletter - December 2011
    
    
    

87th Annual General Meeting
		The meeting was held at St. Mary the Virgin (shown in the photo) in the village of Roade, our President’s home and, where for fifteen years between 1980 and 1995, he was Vicar. After opening the meeting with a moment’s silence and reflection for recently deceased members John Day, Bette Philcox and Dr. E. Softley, proceedings continued with apologies for absence being recorded, the minutes of the 86th A.G.M. read and signed and, with no matters arising, the President called for the Hon. Secretary’s Report. It referred to the progress of the Association and high-lighted the significance of the series of annual Beginners’ Courses for those seeking guidance and re-assurance after having reluctantly agreed to become their church organist. However, mention was made of the Committee’s concern over the relatively small numbers of
members who attend the annual events. President Hilary Davidson was complimented for organising the year’s activities which, in some instances, had been fraught with difficulties. The Hon. Secretary also thanked those who had contributed reports of visits and events in his absence, as well as articles covering the IAO Congress and research papers for inclusion with the quarterly Newsletters, all of which added to the NDOA’s diversity of involvement and interest * see footnote. The Hon. Treasurer’s Annual Report was accompanied by the Audited Accounts which revealed a small surplus. The Hon. Treasurer informed the meeting that the first bursaries to young organ students had been awarded from the David Morgan Education Fund. Richard Halton also thanked Roger Palmer for auditing this year’s accounts due to the ill health of Hon. Auditor, Martin Weiss. The meeting then progressed to your Committee’s nomination for President Elect, Stephen Moore, Director of Music, St. Matthew’s, Northampton who was elected unanimously. Stephen, who became the 100th member of the NDOA last year will also become the first President to come from St. Matthew’s since Andrew Shenton (1987) and before him, Michael Nicholas (1968), John Bertalot (1962) and, not least, the NDOA’s first President, Charles J. King in 1921.

		Next came the election of Officers. In the absence of other nominations, Roger Smith, confirmed his willingness to stand again for another term of office. The Hon. Treasurer, Richard Halton, having previously indicated his wish to stand down, brought about your Committee’s nomination of Jonathan Harris as his successor. It was also necessary to find a successor to the Hon. Auditor, Martin Weiss and your Committee’s nomination was Barry Wadesdon. All three were unanimously elected. The President then thanked Richard Halton for all his work over the years during which he was Hon. Treasurer, acknowledging his attention to detail and his contribution to the Association. Due to the resignation of Chris Benton and Kenneth Tickell during the year and the absence of any new nominations from the floor, the President named the Committee’s nominations as; Tony Edwards, Ron Gates, Robert Page, Robert Tucker and Michael Woodward. All were duly elected. The meeting was informed that your Committee had discussed the matter of Subscriptions for the forthcoming year and had recommended that subscriptions remain as at present (£18 families, £12 individuals and £6 students). The recommendation was approved unanimously (and subscriptions are payable now). The installation of the new President, Canon Paul Rose, then took place after which, he closed the meeting and refreshments were made available prior to Sung Evensong. The
service was led by the new President and accompanied at the organ by our Past President. It included Stanford’s setting of Psalm 150, a Metrical version of Psalm 92 by ‘Jones of Nayland’ (born in Lowick, Northamptonshire in 1726), a setting of the canticles by S.S.Wesley, the hymn Glory to God in the Highest to a tune by Schubert, and the charmingly lilting tune ‘Contemplation’ by Ouseley to, ‘When all thy mercies, O my God’. We are most grateful to Canon Hilary for making the arrangements and to those who provided and served refreshments. * The articles referred to at the AGM include the one by Barry Wadesdon on the first President of the NDOA, Charles J. King. Barry’s research discovered an oil painting of King a framed copy of which was displayed at the AGM and shown here. Due to its significance, it was the Hon. Secretary’s suggestion that it be displayed at each AGM to remind us of our heritage in a similar way that the bust of Sir Henry Wood is displayed at the Proms. * I have just learned, that following Dr. Peter Collier’s research (included in September’s Newsletter) of the Northamptonshire born organ builder, J. T. Austin, the Austin organ in Park Road Baptist Church in Rushden, has been awarded a Certificate of Recognition by the National Pipe Organ Register (NPOR). It shows what can be achieved by members’ efforts and our congratulations are rightly forwarded to Dr. Collier for all he has achieved. He has also produced a CD of all the archive material @ £5 each. To order, please phone, 01933 356656. Opportunities to play can also be arranged.

  


August Bank Holiday Organ Crawl

The annual Organ Crawl is invariably one of the highlights of this Association’ programme and this year’s event in the Uppingham area was no exception.

First to Stoke Dry where there is a superb medieval church with a Parvise, or Priest’s Room above the entrance porch which may, or may not, have associations with the Gunpowder Plot. The interior still relies on candles for illumination. At the West End is a one manual 7 stop organ without pedals by Henry Cephas Lincoln dated 1810, restored by Kenneth Tickell & Co. in the 1990s.The case is chastely Classical and the sound sprightly.

Then to Stoke Lyddington, where the Bede House was once the Palace of the Bishop of Lincoln in those pre-Reformation days when the Diocese stretched from the Thames to the Humber. Alongside is a large church with a noble nave arcade in Perpendicular style. As at Stoke Dry there are remnants from medieval wall paintings. The organ, with its somewhat utilitarian case stands at the rear of the south-west aisle. Built by Bishop’s in the 1920s for Aldenham School it has two manuals, pedals and 13 speaking stops (including a 16' Pedal Fagotto). Among the couplers is a Diacton, which is a swell Octave. The instrument made a surprisingly full-blooded sound despite its modest size.

Advised by John Comber who lives nearby, we adjourned for lunch in a pub in Harringworth, almost in the shadow of the 82 arches of the mighty Welland Viaduct. Suitably replenished we moved to Uppingham School where Peter Clements, a member of the music staff, kindly demonstrated its two three manual organs of some 40 or 50 stops, one in the Chapel and the other in the Memorial Hall. The Chapel was designed by the great G. E. Street and dates from 1865. But it was disfigured by alterations and extensions in the 1960s to enable all 800 pupils plus staff to be accommodated. The present organ is essentially a new instrument installed by Nicholson’s in 2007, intended to lead lusty Public School hymn singing. Simon Preston’s Alleluias established the bold character of the instrument.

Next to the Chapel is the Memorial Hall, dedicated to Old Boys who perished in the Great War. Inside is an organ by Albert Keates of Sheffield, one of the few instruments by this builder. The present floor is at gallery level so the original console was, so to speak, in the boiler room. In the 1990s the organ was restored by Rushworth & Dreaper who added a Chamade Trumpet and a Sharp Mixture, and provided a detached console at the correct level. But the English Romantic character of the instrument was retained. A performance of Percy Whitlock’s Carol revealed its soft orchestral colours while another masterly improvisation by Ron Gates established that the instrument is not deficient in volume.

These August Bank Holiday events are notable for the buildings we see, the organs we hear, and the good fellowship of like-minded enthusiasts exchanging views and gossip. Seventeen members, including some welcome new faces enjoyed the visit to Rutland and all were grateful to our President, Canon Hilary Davidson for arranging it and sharing with us his knowledge of local organs and organists.

My grateful thanks to Michael Woodward for his article (RS)

 


President’s Lunch

Another very enjoyable social gathering of a dozen members took place towards the end of September with a convivial lunch at The Four Pears pub in Little Houghton. The conversation between members who do not usually have such an opportunity, was appreciated by those present, so much so, that after three hours, the President hastened us to the village church of St. Mary the Virgin where we were awaited.. It was there that President Hilary Davidson expressed his regret that Canon Grant Brockhouse, who had been invited as our guest speaker, was still too unwell to attend. In his stead, we enjoyed a talk previously given by the President to BIOS, on the changing shape of music within the Liturgy. It was in fact, a pre-cursor to his book, Choirs, Bands and Organs, and sketched the general development of styles, compositions and practices of several Northampton and County organists during the 18th and the 19th centuries. It was then time to enjoy a cup of tea and play the organ - a 13 stops and pedals instrument with a short Swell (see inset), built by Wm. Hill in 1846 for St. Gregory’s in Small Heath, Birmingham and restored by Michael Latham in 2000. The President, (shown left), illustrated its tonality which, along with an exquisite sesquialtera, twelfth and fifteenth, produced a fulsome sound. The afternoon was greatly enjoyed and we are most grateful to the Churchwarden, John Ford, who welcomed us and to our President for making the arrangements.

Visit to Oxford

		Arriving at St. Peter’s College, we were met promptly at 11.00 by the Senior Organ Scholar and 3rd year BMus student, Theo Lester who, it turned out, was a pupil at Uppingham School (the N&DOA visited there in August this year) where he studied the organ with Peter Clements. Following a short talk outlining the history of the instrument it was suggested a short demonstration would be appreciated. I think most of us were somewhat surprised when Theo casually picked up some music and proceeded to give an impressive performance of the Elgar Organ Sonata. The organ is a ‘Father’ Willis built in 1875, original to the chapel; it was sympathetically restored by Nicolson in 2003. Several members played the instrument including Hon. Member, Ron Gates shown on the right, and suitably showed off the versatile nature of this organ which gives the impression of being much larger than its modest eighteen speaking stops. The chapel’s music list reflects an active college music life with two choral evensongs per week (college
choir of 30 singers), and forthcoming orchestral performances including Elgar’s cello concerto and occasional operas, making use of the larger than usual performing and seating space for a college chapel. The observant also noted no less than five pianos in the chapel; the college’s harpsichord was in place for a concert that evening. Their Director of Music, Dr Roger Allen, was a contemporary graduate student of mine at Oxford in 1995; together we both suffered the gruelling aesthetics of music Masters’ module. It is credit to some Oxford colleges (and the efforts of our President) that groups like N&DOA can turn up, simply be handed the key to the chapel and be left to ourselves todiscover light switches and on buttons. Such was the case at St. John’s, where the lengthy Organ Visitors’ book reflects the interest, both national and international, that this organ has attracted since it was built in 2007, it being the first organ in England by the French organ builder Bernard Aubertin. This three-manual mechanical action organ, tuned to Young temperament, dominates the west end gallery of the chapel. With 34 speaking stops spread across the Positif, Great, Recit and Pedale (the French Classical influence is clear in the stop list), the ‘grand orgue’ sound is overpowering for the size of the chapel which has very dry acoustics; however the huge variety of solo colours across the manuals would enable huge versatility of registration in the Baroque and Classical repertoire. It was interesting to learn that this is currently the organ that prospective Oxford organ scholars take their audition on. The neo-classical Chapel of Pembroke College features an organ by the Canadian organ builder Fernard Létourneau, installed in 1995. The balance of this two-manual tracker action organ perfectly matches the size of the chapel and of the three college organs we visited today, this is the one I would happily transport back to Northamptonshire for regular practice on. The immediacy of sound and purity of tone throughout the organ makes it a delight to play. The French-Canadian input from the Montreal organ builders can be seen in the stop names, for example, with the 8, 4 & 2 flutes being named Flûte à chemnèe, Flûte conique and Flûte à bec respectively. Thanks to the President for arranging this visit. It was a privilege for us to be given access to hear and play these organs. I finished off the day by attending a splendid Choral Evensong at New College which included Leighton’s Second Service; it was a particular pleasure for me as my former piano pupil Ben Bloor accompanied the entire service in his new role as the organ scholar. Of the seventy or so in the congregation, I was the only one to pass the endurance test of staying to the end of Stephen Grahl’s lengthy organ voluntary - a piece of over 10 minutes by John McCabe. My thanks to Jonathan Harris for his report of the day’s proceedings (R.S.)

Carol of Joy
 

This is the title of the latest CD by the Choirs of All Saints’ church, Northampton, recorded in St. Mary the Virgin, Wellingborough. They are available at £10 each plus £1 per CD postage and packing if you want them posted to yours or someone else’s address. Alternatively they can be collected by arrangement from All Saints’ church. Cheques should be made payable to ‘FOASM’ and all enquiries via; The Director of Music, All Saints’ Church, Music Office, George Row, Northampton NN1 1DF or by Email to; music@allsaintsnorthampton.co.uk or phone, 01604 632845. They’ll make excellent Christmas presents. The CD is also available to purchase online at the All Saints Church website. Please visit www.allsaintsnorthampton.co.uk/music_department_recordings.shtml

Last of the Summer Wine ?

For me at least, it was, as it unexpectedly turned out to be the last organ event of the year I was able to attend. I refer to October’s Regional Organ Day in Salisbury.

I travelled there the day before in order to visit Old Sarum - a place long neglected in my travels (as was Salisbury itself which I hadn’t been to in twenty years). Old Sarum as you know, is the site of the original city of Salisbury; a high and extensive outcrop on top of which are the ruins of its castle and Abbey, a place steeped in past glories of its liturgy and Gregorian Plainchant. The ‘Sarum Rite’ was in fact, the most widely used rite in England until the Reformation and its influence still reaches us today.

The following day, I arrived at St. Martin’s church where I was met by my predecessor, Ian Henderson, who retired to Salisbury some eight years ago. Here, we enjoyed a most interesting lecture on William Hill, Master Organ Builder given by Timothy Hone (DoM, St. Martins). The talk included demonstrations of Hill’s voicing on the church’s 1869 Hill organ and comparisons between similar ranks and scaling as well as descriptions of the long-compass which several organs still possessed at the time.

By midday it was time for lunch but not before meeting another NDOA member from the past, one Frances Lofthouse. And then, it was on to Salisbury Methodist Chapel where Anne Marsden Thomas (founder of St. Giles International Organ School) covered the art of Choosing and Preparing Music for Services. Anne introduced her latest books which begin at Grade 1 and are intended to cater for all sizes of instruments and abilities of players. The Master-Class which followed and which included some of those pieces, was full of helpful instruction but of particular interest was the three manuals and pedal Conacher which produced a rich sound from its unobstructed gallery position especially when Nazard and Mixtures were drawn to emulate a solo Cornet. The final session was in the Cathedral where Daniel Cook (Assistant DoM) gave a half hour recital immediately prior to Choral Evensong which was directed by David Halls the Cathedral DoM.

After the Sung Eucharist there on the Sunday morning, I made my way to meet up with Frances Lofthouse again who wanted me to see the organ she plays in the village of Ramsbury, near Hungerford. The church is a shadow of its early Episcopal status but still quite large, very bright and spacious. There, standing in the North East aisle is a lovely example of an 1893 two manuals and pedal organ by Wm. Hill restored in 1960 by Nicholson & Scott. It’s in an attractive case but sadly, is in need of much work to make it fit for purpose and so they plan to raise £100,000.

Both Ian and Frances send their best wishes to all NDOA members who knew them. Meanwhile, I came away having had a most enjoyable sun-packed weekend and some of the last of the summer wine!




Thorpe Malsor

Just a couple of miles from Kettering is the small village of Thorpe Malsor. Almost hidden in woodland and accessed by a series of narrow lanes, its church (All Saints’) boasts a beautifully decorated organ that fills the west-end. It was built by Thomas Casson in 1880 but finding it was too large for the east end it was squeezed into the west end tower arch instead - hence the unusual position of the towers for the Open Bass pipes. Casson was very much an innovator of new mechanisms for organs many of which were complicated and unreliable. In fact, while renovating the instrument last year, the organ-builder, Wood of Huddersfield, had to work out as they went along, the function of numerous tubes and pieces of mechanisms which had been disconnected over the years for being troublesome. Visually, it’s an absolute delight and yet, even after the rebuild it still retains its Casson ‘weight of touch’. This very brief account of the organ comes from an article by Paul Hale which was published in the August edition of Organists’ Review and with the kind permission of O.R. and Paul, I’ve used extracts from it here. If anyone would like to borrow the full article then please contact me. Paul concludes by saying, ‘I hope organists [who] go to see and play this remarkably beautiful and clever organ, will wonder who was responsible for the glorious art-work which adorns it, and in doing so, will re-evaluate the ambitions and achievements of Thomas Casson’.

David Morgan Education Fund

In August, I received three applications from young student members requesting grants towards their organ tuition. At the Committee meeting in September, we were delighted to award £250 to each of them - Jacob Collins, Tristan Hasson and Kate Hollins.

You will recall that the Education Fund resulted from the sale of music and books belonging to the late Dr. David Morgan and the generosity of members. However, the above grants effectively halve the total amount and it is very much hoped that such a valuable resource can be replenished for the benefit of more organ-student members. Therefore, will you all please try to remember the Education Fund when arranging events and consider donating some of the proceeds to it.
 

Vacancy for Organist

All Saints’ Church, Earls Barton, Northamptonshire is seeking to appoint an organist for this friendly church with an enthusiastic music tradition.

Two-manual and pedal pipe organ, Parish Communion at 10 am plus twice monthly evensong, funerals and weddings We have a robed choir, trebles and adults, which is rehearsed by a member of the church, and a less formal music group which plays at all-age services. Candidates may wish to discuss taking on a wider music role. RSCM category B rates apply.

Contact: Rev Miranda Hayes at mail@mirandahayes.org
Tel 01604 810447
 

Honorary Member Dr. John Bertalot

		At a special RSCM service in Blackburn Cathedral, Dr John Bertalot, former Organist of St. Matthew’s Church, Northampton, Cathedral Organist Emeritus of Blackburn Cathedral, and Director of Music Emeritus of Trinity Episcopal Church, Princeton, NJ, was presented with an award to mark his 70 years of achievements in the service of Church music around the world. It was presented by the Lord Bishop of Blackburn, the Right Reverend Nicholas Reade. JB joined his local church choir in Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex at the age of 8. It was while he was a chorister that he fell in love with church music and began to learn the organ. He later won the major organ scholarship to the Royal College of Music, London, and organ scholarships to Oxford (Lincoln College) and to Cambridge (Corpus) where he studied, respectively, with Dr Harold Darke, Dr Egon Wellesz, Dr Boris Ord and Professor Patrick Hadley. Fellow students at the RCM included future cathedral organists John Birch (Chichester), Peter Hurford (St Albans), John Sanders (Chester & Gloucester) and Colin Mawby (Westminster Cathedral). Guitarist Julian Bream and Dame Joan Sutherland were also amongst his fellow students at the RCM. Although now resident in Blackburn, John has been a great supporter of the NDOA and especially welcomes the Newsletters reflecting our doings and increased membership. I last met John at the inaugural recital of the restored organ in St. Matthew’s in 2006, where his enthusiasm for the musical scene in Northampton
was as strong as ever. It always seems to be a compliment to the NDOA when members are recognized by such august bodies and on behalf of us all, I sent John our warmest congratulations. And while on the subject of congratulations, let’s applaud our member Dr. Alan Leroy and his choir, Consensus Vocalis, on their thirty-fifth anniversary. Founded in 1976,(four members from the 1970s still sing in it), the Choir has performed in numerous churches, English Cathedrals and the occasional stately home. An anniversary Concert was given in St. Mary the Virgin, Wellingborough in October, with a programme of Byrd, Tallis, Parry, Howells and Antonio Lotti’s beautiful Crucifxus, plus secular lollipops such as Bantock’s Oh dear! What can the matter be?, Gordon Dawson’s arrangement of L’il Liza Jane and Cole Porter’s Let’s do it, let’s fall in love’. Roger Palmer was at the organ.

 


‘Let us now praise famous men’

		William Thomas Best was born the son of a solicitor on August 13th 1826 in Carlisle. Having decided on a musical career he became the pupil of the Cathedral organist but beyond that, little is known of his formal training or academic achievement; one source saying ‘...largely self-taught’ and yet, he went on to become one of the greatest concert organists of his time. He was quite distinguished in his interpretation of the organ works of J.S.Bach. His appointments during the 1840s and 50s included Pembroke Chapel, Liverpool, the Liverpool Philharmonic Society and in London, the Royal Panopticon in Leicester Square - an iconic building displaying the latest in science and art and possessing a huge organ which, when the building closed in 1856, was sold to St. Paul’s Cathedral. He then held posts at St. Martin’s in the Field and Lincoln’s Inn Chapel, developing both his expertise and his reputation. He returned to Liverpool in 1855 as the organist of St. George’s Hall but many years later, in 1894, poor health forced him to retire. However, during that time his performances were so celebrated that he was invited to play at festivals at the Crystal Palace and the Royal Albert Hall where, in 1871, he gave the inaugural recital on the new organ. In 1890 he even travelled to Australia to give recitals in Sydney Town Hall. W. T. Best died at Liverpool in 1897 depriving both the city and
the Country of, by far, the greatest concert organist of his time. His incredible number of recitals embraced the whole sphere of organ music. He displayed a remarkable control of all the resources of the organ in St. George's Hall where his Saturday recitals spanned forty years. His repertoire was enormous and included large numbers of his transcriptions of popular orchestral works, many of which were published, as well as a few of his own individual compositions. He was an all-round organist and a solid basis on which the city of Liverpool founded its tradition of great organists to sit in the organ lofts of its new cathedrals a few years later.

Live Broadcast on BBC 3

Congratulations to St. Matthew’s Church, Northampton, for being the venue for Radio 3’s live broadcast of Choral Evensong on Wednesday 21st September and its repeat on Sunday 25th.

Clare College, Cambridge was the visiting choir for the Feast of St. Matthew with a large proportion of the music consisting of works commissioned for the church; Let All the World in Every Corner Sing (Leighton in 1965), Rejoice in the Lamb (Britten in 1943) and organ voluntary, Prelude & Fugue on a theme of Vittoria (Britten in 1946). Other music included Walton’s Chichester Service and the hymn Thine Arm, O Lord, in Days of Old (tune; St. Matthew). The music was directed by Graham Ross (DoM Clare College) with Senior Organ Scholar, Nicolas Haigh and Junior Organ Scholar, Peter Harrison at the organ.

Stephen Moore, (DoM, St. Matthew’s) informed me that, unbelievably, one of the Scholars had been informed that the organ was a wreck!!! However, after the Producer heard St. Matthew’s choir sing the Festival Mass that evening, Stephen was hopeful of another broadcast being arranged with St. Matthew’s own choir in the near future.



Northampton’s Redundant Churches

		Despite Churches being in the title of this series, I’m including an article about the Chapel in St. Crispin’s Hospital, Duston, Northampton. The hospital opened under The Lunacy Act in 1876 as the pauper lunatic asylum for the County, was needed to relieve the already overcrowded Northampton Asylum - St. Andrew’s Hospital. After purchasing land in the village of Berry Wood in the parish of Upton and west of the village of Duston, buildings under the architect Robert Griffiths began to rise in the style of his previous design at the Macclesfield Asylum. Older Northamptonians will recall it being known as ‘Berrywood’ before being renamed St. Crispin’s, but on a recent reconnoitre, I saw that a modern medical facility nearby has reverted to the old name. The grounds were extensive, incorporating a farm, gas works, burial ground, cottages for estate staff, residences for the superintendent, farm bailiff, gardener, chaplain and steward. Later extensions provided a reservoir, fire station, stables, an isolation hospital, a stone chapel and mortuary. The hospital closed in 1995 and the main building with its distinctive clock-tower is now derelict although contractors are on site and possibly converting part of it into flats. However, the chapel survives and is presently used by the Greek Orthodox Church under its rededicated name of St. Neophytos. Fortunately, the organ is still there too although possibly unused as is the custom in the Orthodox Church. Nevertheless, several years ago it was in good condition and a very pleasing instrument according to Ron Gates who, when Organist and Choirmaster at St.
James’ Northampton, took his Choir to the Chapel to sing occasional services. Julia Pearson also recalls playing there on several occasions adding that she particularly enjoyed its balanced swell pedal which was such a bonus compared with the ratchet swell lever (referred to by some, as the ‘wretched’ swell lever) on the organ in St. Luke’s, Duston, where Julia plays each week. According to the NPOR, it’s a two manuals and pedal instrument of 1907 built by Norman & Beard and positioned in a chamber on the south side of the Chancel. It has ten stops of 16', 8 & 4 including a swell Horn all sited on angled stop jambs, the usual couplers, a radiating concave pedal-board, a couple of combination pedals and, as mentioned above, a balanced swell pedal. There is no mention in the record of major work being carried out or the name of any other builder or tuner. However, the above details are quite old, being the result of a survey sometime around the 1960s.

Well, there’s a strange thing!

		With the I.A.O.Congress having been held in Belfast in July, it came as no surprise that August’s edition of Organists’ Review ran an all embracing article by Harry Grindle on ‘The Irish church music scene’. Among several choral traditions and foundations mentioned, were those at the cathedrals of Christ Church, Dublin and St. Fin Barre’s, Cork (both Anglican), but a couple of quirky facts were obviously beyond the scope of the article. Having myself been in both places in August, I was amused by a strange artefact in a display case in Christ Church Cathedral. It appears that a mummified cat and a rat were discovered in an organ
pipe, presumably the cat having chased the rat and both getting stuck. To have undergone mummification one assumes they were there for a considerable period of time and yet the puzzling thing is, that their presence evidently didn’t interfere with the speech of the pipe or if it did, the cause remained undetected A date for their demise is given around the 1850s.

Arriving at St. Fin Barre’s Cathedral another oddity presented itself: the organ! Although built and erected in the West Gallery by William Hill in 1870, problems arose when accompanying the choir in the distant Chancel. In 1899 it was decided to move it into the North Chancel but Dean Madden was concerned that it would hide the stained glass windows. To overcome that, a 14ft pit was dug and the organ rebuilt inside it with only the tops of the tallest pipes appearing a few feet above ground level. Despite all the odds, it is regarded as one of the finest and largest organs in Ireland after its rebuild by J.W.Walker in 1966 (4 manuals and pedals, 56 stops). However, the pit created problems in reverse, whereby, inadequate sound was reaching the west end of the building and so it is currently undergoing another rebuild. The Organ Builder is Trevor Crowe, who has located a redundant Hill organ in England which he will use as the basis for a new West End division. This is a view of part of the instrument looking down into the pit.

Peterborough Organists’ Association

Although formal invitations have been extended to the PDOA to join us in the past, it has now been agreed between the NDOA and the PDOA that members of each Association can freely attend events put on by the other. You can check what’s coming up on their website; www.pdoa.co.uk (there’s also a link from our own website) or by contacting their Secretary, Jenny Pedley by email on; jgpedley@googlemail.com or by phone on;
01733 262651. However, you are asked to let Jenny know if you intend to go along as it always helps to know numbers.

From the Hon Secretary

		At a lunch to celebrate Sir Thomas Beecham’s 70th birthday in 1949, congratulatory telegrams from the composers Sibelius, Stravinski and several others were read. When the applause died down Beecham impishly asked, ‘Nothing from Mozart?’ Some musicians and organists are, without doubt, light-years ahead of the rest of us and it’s their skills we endeavour to learn from and emulate when we sit at the organ each week. It’s good to have a hero-figure to foment our efforts and this probably explains the value of the annual Beginners’ Course whereby many forgotten heroes, thrown into playing their church organs, come along for guidance and encouragement. The NDOA and its members are their champions and becoming a member, as so many have, is their commitment to improve the knowledge and technique they already possess. Like Beecham, perhaps we shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously but still hold our heads high for striving to do the best we can in service to the Church.
The Christmas story encapsulates a similar humility as well as the vision of a greater accomplishment, both of which are relevant to our daily lives whether organists or not. I wish you, and all those you love, a very happy Christmas.

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