Wednesday 8th February 6pm in Church
Choir Open Evening and Auditions
Category: Music
Organ update – November 2014
Work is now well under way putting the pipework back into our organ. As each rank of pipes is put back into the organ, each pipe is individually tuned, and adjusted to speak clearly and quickly, and at the correct volume. This process will be repeated three or four times for each rank as the organ is put together to ensure that everything balances well and works as a coherent instrument.
So far, work has been progressing on the Great pipework and the Pedal Bourdon.
Organ installation – week 2
At the end of week 2, much of the framework is up and it’s clear to see the front of the casework beginning to look as it did before, albeit about 2 feet further forward in order to accommodate additional pipework. Much of the winding is now in place, with the larger blower alongside our original smaller one, providing ample wind to the different departments via the sets of bellows and regulators. One or two of the larger pipes have also arrived, notably pipes from the pedal Trombone rank which will be split at the rear or the organ, one half behind the Swell and the other behind the Great.
Come back next week for the next update!
Our Organ Returns! Day 1…
Finally, after being away for 10 months, our organ started to return today! The first job is to rebuild the main structure, beginning with the newly enlarged Swell on the right. The photos below show progress on day 1 (bearing in mind that the morning was spent loading, transporting, and unloading). The captions to each photo give some more information.
Organ update – July 2014
Those of you reading this who are regular worshippers at St Stephen’s, I hope you have had a chance to look at the craftsmanship in the console which is now in the north transept. Work is still progressing and the photographs below show the brand new Bassoon pipework that will go on the Swell, details of the rewirinng that is being done to the 1960s chests and some of the new chests ready to take their pipework. The build is heading towards the final assembly in the workshop before moving everything into church where the final work will be completed on site. We are so nearly there now!
Organ update – May 2014
The craftsmen at Brownes are continuing to work hard on our organ, and the photos below show how things are getting on. The console in particular is very close to being finished and will be brought to church in the next couple of weeks or so. Click on the thumbnails for full size images with a description of what is shown.
Quodlibet Concert in St Stephen’s – 3rd May
A concert of varied vocal music at 7.30pm on Saturday 3 May, in St Stephen’s, in aid of the organ appeal. Sung by Quodlibet, a quintet of professional singers led by Dr Peter Giles, and including Neil Richards who is known to many of us as our usual soloist in the Fauré Requiem on Remembrance Sunday. The programme will include both sacred and secular music from across the centuries. Admission is by programme, available from Steve Barker, or by emailing {This email is obscured. Your must have javascript enabled to see it} – £5 each. If you know of other people who would be interested, please spread the word and help us fill the church for what promises to be an outstanding concert – don’t miss out!
Organ update – April 2014
As you’ll be able to see from the photographs below, the console is now very nearly finished – all that remain to do is the drawstops, which are being turned by hand, so will be unique for our organ, not mass-produced!
The new pipe chests are being made, and will shortly be fitted with electro-magnets. Once this is completed, attention will turn to reassembling the instrument and voicing the pipework so that it blends together as a single musical instrument made up of many parts.
Organ Update – early March 2014
I took the opportunity to visit Browne’s workshop again today to see how things were getting on; have a look at the photos below to see what’s been happening over the past couple of weeks!
Construction of the new organ console
Visiting Browne’s today, I had the opportunity to see how the new console was coming along. It is crafted out of solid oak and consequently should outlast all of us! There are, however, a couple of items that have been included from our previous organ console – in particular the pedal board which was already very high quality and has been stripped down and refinished.
There are a few photographs below – click on the thumbnail image for the full size picture.