Newsletter

No.46 June 2007

In this issue ...

News & Views pages 2-3

Important Diary Dates page 4

Recent Events pages 5-7

Advice for Cipher Sufferers page 8

Letters pages 9-10

Announcements page 11

Solutions page 12

This newsletter is published quarterly by the

INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ORGAN BUILDING

and edited by Geoff McMahon

Letters, news and articles to: Geoff McMahon

16 Chestnut Drive St Albans

Herts AL4 0ES geoff@mcmahonfamily.co.uk

Opinions expressed by the editor and contributors are their own, and are not necessarily those of the Institute

Photographic Credits:

Martin Goetze (pp.1,2,6 & 7)

Richard Clough (pp.1 & 5)

Kenneth Tickell & Co. (p.4)

Mander Organs (pp.4 & 10)

Andrew Carter (p.8)

Ian Bell (p.11)

Peter Collins and the International Organ Festival Society organ at St Saviour’s Church, St Albans (see pages 5-7)

Julie Foy at the Leathering Workshop held in early May (report on page 5)

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Channel Tunnel Vision Fifty years ago the international organ building fraternity did something quite extraordinary, as Gerard Pels relates in the ISO Journal. “Three men presented themselves on February 28, 1957 in the office of attorney Van Holk in Zaandam (Holland): Gerard De Graaf (29), Dirk Flentrop (46), and Jacques Stinkens (41). Their object: the creation of a “society” with the aim of organising an international congress for organ builders later that same year. Article Two of the official memorandum stated: “the object of the society is the exchange of ideas among organ builders, and the consolidation of relations between organ builders worldwide, such to the benefit of the art of organ building.” Those of us who will be lucky enough to attend the ISO jubilee celebrations in Amsterdam this September will visit several Dutch Old Masters, starting in Sint-Bavo in Haarlem (see Ken’s photo in Newsletter 45), which is where the first ISO concert took place. We shall be able to marvel at the art of organ building from an age gone by. This depended, just as it does today, on the skill and dedication of master organ builders who realised a vision – a vehicle for heavenly music and an object of visual harmony. Working conditions were primitive in those days, and we feel awed by what they achieved. What kind of vision do we have? Do we yearn for the chance that never comes? Are our best designs the ones that were never realised? Do we feel bowed down by bureaucracy and shortage of funds? Are we challenged when things go wrong, or despairing when

customers expect the impossible? Can we rise above such frustrations, or are we suffering from one-down-man-ship? The IBO echoes the objectives of the ISO in building bridges. Ideas are exchanged with fellow travellers on the organ building road. The people we meet may be competitors in business, but have become friends and colleagues. We share the same problems; we talk the same language; we learn from each other. Do we see this as contributing to ‘the benefit of the art of organ building’? And if not, what’s holding us back? Footnote: Only sixteen British organ builders are members of ISO. It’s an admirable organisation, standing for international friendship and exchange of ideas: it prints an informative journal and organises a congress every other year. For further information, see www.internationalorganbuilders.com Another cautionary tale. There are some strange happenings in the realm of blower maintenance of which you should be aware. There is at least one practitioner who is informing churches that their malfunctioning blower needs to be removed for inspection; and subsequently, that the blower is beyond restoration, and they can provide a replacement. As the Board commented: any maverick who wants to play this game only needs to acquire one blower, and he is in business - “a blower-go-round”. Any qualified person should be able to assess the blower in position. Please check the credentials of any blower-engineer you recommend. The IBO office could perhaps build up of a list of recommended maintenance engineers – that way, we and our customers will be protected.

Have you reviewed your Fire precautions recently? Maybe the following should be on your check-list:

Double Extinguisher 64ft Hose 16ft Chimney Flue 8ft Fire Lighter I-II 8ft Cor de Pompiers 4 – 31/5 ft Choke 2ft Fireniture VII-IX

Conundrum

You are a tuner. You will be tuning in an extremely large building, with no tuner’s intercom. There is one problem: you have lost your voice. How do you communicate with your assistant? (Answer on page 11)

Katherine Venning President

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News from the Administrator Minimum Wage

In October the adult rate of the minimum wage will rise from £5.35 per hour to £5.52, the youth rate for workers aged 18-21 will be increased from £4.45 to £4.60, and the rate for workers aged 16-17 from £3.30 to £3.40.

Smoking

I’m sure everyone will have received information on this but, as a reminder, smoking is banned in all workplaces in England from 1st July. The ban has already come into force in Wales (2nd April), Northern Ireland (30th April) and Scotland (March 2006)

Corporation Tax

The small companies’ rate for corporation tax has been increased from 19% to 20% in respect of all profits apart from ring fence profits, which will remain chargeable at 19%. The rate change was effective from 1st April 2007 and affects companies with profits under £1.5m.

VAT The year from 6th April 2006 to 5th April 2007 was the first in which VAT Grant Relief was available for pipe organs. Barry Williams reports that a total of £202,897.03 was paid by way of grants for the repair of pipe organs in Listed Buildings. This is extremely good news for churches and organ builders alike.

Capital allowances for small businesses

The 50% rate of first-year allowances, applying for expenditure on plant and machinery incurred by small businesses only, is extended for a further period of one year. The 50% rate will therefore apply to expenditure incurred up to 31st March 2008. These allowances are to be replaced from April 2008 with an annual investment allowance of £50,000.

Statutory Sick Pay

The weekly rate for SSP increased to £72.55 per week from 1st April 2007.

Annual Leave

The Working Time Regulations 1998 established a statutory minimum of four weeks’ paid annual leave (20 days). The Government has proposed that this will be increased to 28 days (up to 24 days from 1st October 2007, then 28 days from 1st October 2008).

This will particularly affect those employers which currently include the eight bank holidays as part of workers’ 20-day annual leave entitlement. Those employees who currently receive a minimum of four weeks leave plus bank holidays will notice no difference. Hope to see you at the English Organ School and Sherborne Abbey on 30th June.

Carol Levey

Christopher Gordon-Wells M.B.E. Members attending the AGM on April 21st were saddened to learn of Christopher's death on the preceding Saturday following a prolonged illness. His funeral took place at St Peter's Church, Tempsford, Bedfordshire on April 30th, the parish of which his father, the late Rev. F. James Wells, was rector from 1951 to 1967. Christopher was predeceased by his wife Susan in 1977, and his daughter Fiona Fieldwick and family greatly appreciated the attendance at the service of many friends from the profession. A memorial service of choral evensong will be held at St George's Church, Belfast, on Sunday 24th June at 3.30pm, followed by a reception in the church hall.

Terry Fearn As we went to press, we also learned from Andrew Fearn the sad news of the sudden death of his father, Terry during the weekend of 26th May. Terry was much loved in the industry and our thoughts and sympathies are with his family at this time. An appreciation of both Christopher and Terry's lives and work will be published in the September edition of this Newsletter.

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Future Meetings: June 30th Members of all categories are warmly invited to the summer meeting and party to be held on the Somerset/Dorset border on Saturday June 30th. The day will begin at Milborne Port, home of the English Organ School and Museum, which includes examples of the work of John Snetzler (1769), Samuel Green (1796), and William Gray (c. 1805). Margaret Phillips will demonstrate some of the instruments, and a technical viewpoint will be supplied by Peter Collins, one of the more recent builders to be represented in the collection! We will then adjourn for lunch at a local hostelry, the Queen’s Head, where we will have the use of a private function room with access to a garden.

For the afternoon session we will make the short journey to the magnificent setting of Sherborne Abbey, location of the acclaimed major organ reconstruction project in 2004-5 by Kenneth Tickell & Company. Ken himself will be on hand to give a presentation about the work involved, following which the organ will be put through its paces. Once the formal business of the day is concluded, the amenities of one of the country’s finest medieval towns will be at our disposal (this is a beautiful part of the world, and well worth a longer visit for those who are able to spare the time). Please do not hesitate to return your booking form to the IBO office if you have not already done so. Sherborne is served by trains on the Waterloo-Exeter line, and transport will be provided to and from the station, and between the various venues, for anyone who requires it. We look forward to seeing you there!

Salomons House Welte Readers may recall this unusual contract (undertaken by Mander Organs in association with A.C.Pilmer & Co.), featured on the cover of Newsletter No.37 (March 2005). After decades of silence, and following months of meticulous restoration work, the famous German company’s largest surviving roll-playing organ was re-commissioned on September 21st 2006 with a gala concert given by Nigel Ogden. In a live radio interview earlier that day, Mander representative Richard Payne described the unique challenge of restoring an instrument which represented the cutting-edge technology of its time. In the absence of detailed plans or records (the Welte factory having been destroyed in an air raid during the Second World War), copious notes and photographs were taken as the job was dismantled; even so Richard revealed that he had spent most of the preceding year on site leading the re-assembly team (before deftly side-stepping the suggestion that he was single-handedly responsible for the organs at St Paul’s Cathedral and the Royal Albert Hall!). “At the mike” was Chris Evans of BBC Radio Two, and the interviewee’s imperturbability when asked to expound on his “pains-taking work” on “Britain’s biggest organ” was an object lesson to all of us who have ever been faced with the uncomprehending fascination of the wider public in our specialised profession!

We are delighted to announce an opportunity for IBO members to participate in a day-long forum concerning the organ and its restoration, organized in association with BIOS. The event will take place at the Science Theatre, Salomons Campus, near Tunbridge Wells, Kent on Saturday 27th October. Guest speakers will include John Mander and Andrew Pilmer, and there will be chances to hear performances by both humanoid and mechanical organists (for no other installation could the organ builder’s plea “the more it is played the better” be more apposite!). A charge of £20 per person will be made (inclusive of buffet lunch), and details of how to book will be circulated with the September edition of the newsletter.

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Reservoir Leathering Course Bradford May 2007 When my husband suggested that I might like a few days away in May, I foolishly dreamed of Paris or Venice or perhaps a relaxing time in a spa. But his plan was for me to spend three days in Bradford at Richard Clough's workshop learning how to leather a reservoir! However I must say how very glad I am that I went. There were only four trainees: myself, my son Christopher, Joe from Kenneth Tickell and Brian from Wood of Huddersfield; and we all managed, with a good deal of assistance, to complete our task by the Friday afternoon. The secret of leathering seems to be to have a brew before you start, music while you work and most important of all a very sharp knife. Richard was a very patient teacher and shared his knowledge with us with good northern humour. I was often told not to "dab" on the hot glue as I was not supposed to be painting it! We began by shaping our ribs and pairing them up. Then we learnt how to attach them, first to the top of the reservoir and then to the well, with joins in the strapping, just to learn the technique. Then it was on to gussets and butterflies and finally the hearts, with a lot of very tricky feather edging. This makes it all sound like a very speedy process but we were always delayed by the fact that we had to let each stage dry before we began on the next. Three days didn't really allow for enough drying time and each time we moved on there was a tense moment in case what we had already put together came apart. But happily everything stayed in one piece and Christopher and I made the long journey home on Friday with our completed reservoir wafting the smell of hot glue through the car. Many thanks to Richard for organising the course, but can we please have the double rise one somewhere in the south of England?

Spring Meeting Dominic Gwynn made the pilgrimage to St Albans We met on a beautifully sunny spring day at St Saviour’s church, St Albans, to consider two interesting modern organs. They are rather different in function, and therefore design, and provoked in me some serious thoughts about my own tastes and my journey in the organ building trade. The first, at St Saviour’s, was designed to provide a particular role in the St Albans International Organ Festival. It is a classical organ in a historical style, though the style chosen stands at the junction of the 18th century French and German schools, and is suitable for as broad a selection of repertoire as a historic organ could be. The second organ also has an eye to the special position of St Albans in the British organ world, but its primary role is for the musical activity of the town church, St Peter’s. The two organs are as different as they could be, and I am not going to begin to compare them, but they provided some interesting trains of thought. St Albans is, of course, a rather unusual place in Britain’s organ world, thanks to the Organ Festival started by Peter Hurford (then Cathedral organist) in 1963. In the early years it performed a very important role in introducing the classical organ, and the younger firms who made them, to the attention of the public. It certainly provided a marketplace for Martin and me to display our small organs. Unfortunately, Andrew Lucas, who was supposed to introduce the day and this year’s Organ Festival, could not be with us, but Peter Collins had no difficulty in filling the extra time, introducing the Festival Organ at St Saviour’s. The organ was opened in 1989, an occasion I remember well. It is based on the work of Johann Andreas Silbermann, specifically the organ designed and finished by Bernhardt Edskes (when he was still working for Metzler) in this style for the Predigerkirche in Basel (Switzerland), inside the case of 1767. Peter’s organ reproduces the tonal and visual effect of the original, and perhaps the sensation of the mechanism, though the building style is closer to that of his other organs than to that of Silbermann. I would consider that to be a pity (naturally), but it is nonetheless a very good modern organ, which compared very well with my memory of it. We heard an excellent recital of high baroque French organ music from David Ponsford, who is as much at home in this repertoire as any Englishman. He played

From left to right: course participants Julie Foy (reporter), Joe Glenham (Kenneth Tickell & Co.), Brian Brooman (Wood of Huddersfield), Richard Clough (tutor), Christopher Foy.

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with verve and sensitivity, as well as introducing the music. The distinctive sounds of the organ gave this characterful music a life and interest which is not available anywhere else in the UK. This made me wonder why the British organist, organ builder and organ lover can get excited about the organs of other countries when abroad, but have no desire to reproduce the experience when home in the UK. At least the sounds of the French classical organ are available here. But where can one hear the music of (say) Zweelinck, or Frescobaldi, or this year’s anniversary boy Buxtehude, in this country with anything like the authenticity they deserve? Even the Romantic composers of France and Germany are a shadow of their true selves when played on British organs, with their (to my ears) rather stodgy, “spotted dick”, sort of sound. We welcome the astonishing expansion of the repertoire of the last fifty years without wishing to hear the organs that provided the music.

The Silbermann models for the St Saviour’s organ are more French than German in sound, but they do lie near the fault line between northern and southern European organs, and can be used for music of all regions quite successfully. Which is what it has to do – it is used for the “early music” section of the Festival. I am sure it does its job excellently. What is disappointing is to hear that the church does not use it. When I first became interested in organs in the late 1960s, one of the insults directed at the standard British organ of the time was that it was “only a hymn machine”. Now I realise that that is just what the organ is, particularly in the protestant churches. I can see that the chancel organ at St Saviour’s (Nicholson/Speechley/Willis/Aldred) will provide the gentle sounds that the Silbermann copy cannot, but as an encouragement to congregational singing the Collins instrument is surely immeasurably superior (and would be even more effective if placed at the west end). One suspects that, because there are so few of them, parish church organists do not get used to playing classical organs. Their immediacy, their focussed sound, and their position in the body of the church, make deficiencies (or imagined deficiencies) in

technique more obvious. The only answer would be to make more straightforward classical organs, an answer which seems to be going increasingly out of fashion. Which brings me on to the second of our two organs (leaving the middle of the day till later). It is an organ which has been designed and built very much for the use of the church. If I hadn’t already seen the organ in the Mander workshop, I might have wondered, at first sight, whether this was a restoration rather than a new instrument. But the problems of what sort of organ one should build in an English parish church, and where in the church to put it, are as evident at St Peter’s as elsewhere. For the classical organ in an Anglican church, these are problems not aided by the music for Common Worship, which encourages congregational participation (and therefore an organ and choir in the same “space” as the congregation), but in responsorial psalms and chants as much as in hymns (and therefore requiring variety of colour rather than dynamics from the organ). Twenty to thirty years ago, I hoped to see organs of reduced size put back in west galleries. The west gallery might make sense today, but the incentive to reduce the organ in size (by disposing of the romantic voices) is not what it was.

One can follow the reasoning behind each of the decisions made. The position is in the north aisle, two bays from the chancel, near the nave choir stalls, on the floor. This is the position of the previous organ, and it dictates a traditional Victorian horizontal layout. Like a Victorian organ, there is no roof, which allows the sound to fill the church, which it does admirably (and the old organ apparently did not). It is a large organ, with three manuals and 39 stops, with a wide variety of colours, many of them supplied by mutations and flutes at various pitches. The stoplist is built on classical choruses, and on paper, many of the medium-sized registrations look classical too. It would have pleased me to have heard more of these, rather than the sounds required for Howells’ Sarabande, a work which I cordially dislike, though expertly handled by the assistant organist Alex Flood (who was for the church the guide and mentor for the project).

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It needs a more extensive listening to than we had time for to judge the organ’s success in rendering the wide variety of music which will be played on it. What is notable is that an English parish church has had the initiative to buy a large new organ, and an English builder has delivered one, beautifully designed and made (having seen it from all sides, without its case, in the Mander workshop). Our short listen also showed that it is an organ with its own pronounced character, which is as it should be. Even so, this particular listener regrets that the neo-classical organ movement didn’t have a bit longer to leave a stronger legacy in this country. We were treated to an excellent lunch at St Saviour’s church hall, and afterwards had as beguiling a talk on the dread subject of Health and Safety as one could hope for, from Warren Triggs, who advises Harrison & Harrison on the subject (advice which is available to other firms – see opposite). Warren provided sound advice and not too many horror stories. We were treated to the informed opinion that organ building is as hazardous a trade as there is. Perhaps it needs an outsider to have that perspective, though I must admit that my daily round doesn’t make me feel as if I am living on the edge. The hazards derive partly from the variety of trade activities, and therefore the variety of the hazards that we encounter. What impressed me more, was to be told (or rather have one’s suspicion confirmed) that in the building trades and probably also in organ building, most of the accidents happen on site. Anecdotally one would expect that to be true - most of the horror stories retailed in our workshop concern site work. The AGM followed, at which Andrew Fearn and Alan Taylor were welcomed as board members in place of Michael Farley and David Wells, and Katherine Venning was reinstalled as President for a second term. Her review of the previous year’s achievements focussed understandably (but by no means exclusively) on the pipes4organs campaign. Thanks were rightly offered to those who had worked so tirelessly towards its eventual success, as well as to the wider membership for its moral and financial

support. “Any Other Business” was, however, notable for a disappointing lack of controversy! We are, as usual, most grateful to Carol Levey for organising the day. The organiser of these events rarely gets noticed, especially if they don’t address the meeting, or unless something goes wrong, but as somebody who has organised events in the past, I know how much work is involved. We were also grateful to Peter Collins and John Mander for sharing their knowledge and information about the organs and their design, no doubt wondering what all their colleagues are saying out of earshot! It is a healthy sign of our organisation that so much of our expert knowledge is shared. It amused me to see that the scales of the principal choruses were so similar, in two such different organs. Dominic Gwynn studied Modern History at St John's College, Oxford and started organ building with Hendrik ten Bruggencate in Northampton in 1976, before going into partnership with Martin Goetze in 1980. He has written articles on the history of British organ building, and his book Historic Organ Conservation was published by Church House Publishing in 2001. The handout which accompanied Warren Triggs’ talk is reproduced below. Members who wish to contact him may do so in confidence by one of the following means:-

48 Telford Close, High Shincliffe, Durham DH1 2YJ Tel. 07831 852 268 warren.triggs@btinternet.com

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Why do Ventil Soundboards Cipher? Soundboards with individual note actions (such as those on Compton organs where the stop control is in the electric switching) do not often cipher. When a motor fails, the result is a dumb note, not a cipher. So why is it that soundboards with ventil stop action are so prone to ciphers? In the 1880s, the harsh winters in middle America led many American builders to develop an alternative to the traditional slider soundboard. The obvious way to do it was to eliminate the soundboard grid by providing a separate pallet valve per pipe, using ventil-controlled chambers for the stop-action. The principle was not new, having been developed earlier in Germany as the Kegellade. What was new, however, was the operation of the pallets by pneumatic motors in the wind, giving much quieter operation than the external motors of a Kegellade. This idea was taken up on this side of the Atlantic as well, by Brindley and Foster from about 1888 and by Norman & Beard in 1896. Norman & Beard quickly went back to sliders but Brindley stuck to their design right up to 1914 (the photograph right is from St Thomas the Apostle P.C. Lymington, Hants, 1911) and J.W.Walker revived the genre after World War II. One characteristic of the ventil system is that when a stop is ‘off’ and the stop chamber exhausted, the individual note motors are blown inside out by wind

from the note channel, which is charged as long as the note is ‘off’. This sets a limit to the life to be obtained from the note motors (in the region of 40 to 50 years) even though they are protected from dust by being in the wind. One might still expect that the note will go dumb when the leather of its note motor fails. What actually happens first, however, is that one starts to get mysterious ciphers, generally when only one stop is drawn. These ciphers often go off when other stops are drawn. Why is this so?

Remember that the note should go off when the note groove is charged with air at pipe-wind pressure, the pallet spring ensuring that that the pallet closes. However, when the leather of the motor of the same note of an adjacent stop (which has not been drawn) perishes, the air in the note groove leaks away through to the empty chamber, reducing the pressure in the groove. This leaves a differential pressure across the motor of the stop which is ‘on’ providing a disincentive for the pallet to close when the note is released (see diagram). This leads to a trap for the organ builder searching for the failed motor. The motor that has gone is not the motor for the pipe that is ciphering but the motor for the same note on another stop.

John Norman

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Letters to the Editor Dear Sir,

The New College organ case: who actually designed it? In his obituary of Frank Bradbeer in IBO Newsletter No. 45 Peter Collins attributes the organ case design of New College Oxford to him, using this as the single illustration. The official leaflet published by the college, written by Maurice Forsyth-Grant and George Pace, is clear that the designer was the latter. In The Organs of Oxford (Robert Pacey and Michael Popkin) George Pace the consultant architect is accepted as the designer, and in The Architecture of George Pace by his son Peter, this project is firmly attributed to his father. Pace’s organ cases and pipeless organ screens from 1950 onwards did not use the acutely angled profiles which make the New College design so distinctive and effective, and neither as far as I know did Frank Bradbeer, except at St. Martin’s Hull where the result is not particularly successful. Interestingly during this project Pace was the church architect and encouraged Bradbeer in this design. The New College project began in 1966. Bradbeer’s first design in January 1967 placed the pedal towers against the walls, and the overall conception was a thin and insubstantial solution. This was not agreed to by the College Organ Committee. A second design in October 1967 was also rejected, and the Committee could not agree with any of Bradbeer’s designs. They then engaged an independent architect, George Pace of York. By now the general layout of the instrument had more or less been established as a werkprinzip design with Swell above Great, Pedal on either side, and Positive on the gallery front. The general appearance however was uninspired. What George Pace seems to have done was to accept this general concept and its overall proportions, but transform the design into a truly inspired and dynamic appearance which actually enhances the appearance of the medieval chapel (which with its seventeenth century windows and nineteenth century roof is already an amalgam of differing architectural styles and dates). Pace, in writing about the case design in the college booklet on the new organ, describes it and the thought behind it in great detail, which displays a close knowledge of the whole project and is clearly not the work of a mere consultant. The result is far more elegant and subtle than Bradbeer’s previous ideas. As well as possessing good general lines there is much subtlety in the minor details, such as the pared vertical aluminium channels and the use of colour and materials. The Organ Committee showed much courage and good judgement in accepting it. Following the success of the New College organ, Pace continued to use the strong profiles he seems to have

invented for the Oxford design. St. Mary Clifton, Nottingham, 1969, and St. Mary Putney, 1975 (the year in which he died) were perhaps the best. This latter design could have been the work of his long-term partner Ronald Sims who was the project architect for the restoration of this church. Sims has continued to use many of George Pace’s details, including these acute profiles, which had become a very recognisable house style. Another great achievement of the New College organ is the back of the instrument facing the ante-chapel, and highly visible. To make a solid back look attractive, with no pipes to assist, most designers would find difficult, but Pace achieved it, creating not just an adequate, but very fine design. In this he was able to draw on his extensive past experience of designing timber organ grilles where pipes were not to be visible. Pace wrote this in the New College organ booklet: “In designing the new case the architect’s task has been to give a little push here, and a little prod there, sharpening the silhouettes, increasing the controlled aesthetic fragmentation and kinetic viewing and intensifying the total impact of sound and sight, by the choice of materials, colour, texture and finish”. Peter Collins refers to Frank Bradbeer’s case design for St Joseph’s College, Birkfield, Ipswich, which he did in 1967 at the same time as the New College project was in progress. This is in my opinion one of his most interesting designs and it seems that he was given a free hand here. There is some subtlety shown in the treatment of the vertical elements, something which distinguishes the New College case. With neither Frank Bradbeer nor George Pace here to ask, one can only observe and speculate. Yours faithfully, Barrie Clark Reigate, Surrey 6th April 2007 Editor’s Note: it was my decision to publish the photograph of the New College organ case, and therefore my responsibility if we have inappropriately emphasised this aspect of Frank Bradbeer’s career. As a case designer myself, I should perhaps be more sensitive to the risk of mistaken attribution in this most artistic field of the organ builder’s craft. A less contentious example springs to mind from my own experience, namely the double case at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church, Atlanta (2002), for which I am jointly credited on the Mander Organs website. As the designer responsible for the working drawings that went to the case maker I am content to be recognised in this way, although it is equally proper that my drawing office colleague at the time, Aidan Nutter, is acknowledged as the draftsman

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Peachtree Road UMC, Atlanta – designed by committee?

who set out all of the gothic tracery required for the pipeshades, cresting and pierced panels. However the design’s original inspiration was Didier Grassin’s case for St Andrew’s University, Osaka (1990), to which the liturgically northern Atlanta twin in particular bears more than a passing resemblance. The organ committee briefed persuasively in favour of a symmetrically arranged pair of asymmetrical cases, and with hindsight that might be viewed as the decisive design intervention in this instance. One thing all parties would happily agree on is that the role of the church’s architects in the process was absolutely minimal – this was the first ecclesiastical contract for a practice which had hitherto cut its teeth on shopping malls!

GCRMcM.

Dear Sir, The President's article Cautionary Tales (IBO Newsletter No. 45, March 2007) makes some good points but presents an incomplete picture. The suggestion that “the pool of (DAC) knowledge is a series of puddles” is plainly wrong and, seemingly, discourteous. It appears, from the context of the article, that the President may be implying that DACs should maintain a “black book”. The legal implications of diocesan organs advisers maintaining an “approved list” were mentioned in my letter dated 18th September 2000 and published in IBO Newsletter No. 20 (December 2000). Surely Mrs Venning is not suggesting a similar approach for DACs at an official level? The IBO register ought to be the “approved list”. Later in the article there is confusion over the functions of the DAC which are specified by law - see Schedule 2 to the Care of Churches and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1991, wherein seven points are expressed fully and clearly. Nowhere in Schedule 2 is

the DAC enjoined to “ensure that their (i.e. the parish’s) money will be well spent”. No petitioners for a faculty (usually the incumbent and churchwardens) are obliged to accept the advice of the DAC. A number of faculties have been granted notwithstanding a “not recommended” certificate from the DAC. DIY organ builders are a menace. Some of them are good players. Even a full apprenticeship, training and years of experience is no guarantee of the quality of work. This is not unique to organ building. Forming an objective assessment of skills and track record is, as Mrs Venning suggests, very important. The buyer should beware.* Church authorities are well-advised to take up references themselves. A failure to do so can bring disastrous consequences and, potentially, liability for the PCC members in their capacity as trustees. Yours faithfully, Barry Williams (by email) 24th May 2007 * Since April 1999 lawyers are not allowed to use Latin! Burditt American Suction Harmonium For Sale. Currently the property of St John the Baptist Church, Preston Bissett (Oxford Diocese). A faculty has been granted for the sale. Further information can be obtained from the churchwarden, Chris Partington (chris@modusenterprises.fsnet.co.uk).

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Announcements

Christopher Gray wishes to announce that following the retirement of Mr Maurice Eglinton, Hele & Company of Plymouth has been purchased by The Midland Organ Company. The former Hele staff have all been retained, and a branch office is being maintained in the Plymouth area, although workshop organ building and administration will be undertaken from the newly-expanded Midland factory in Leicestershire. The combined companies have been trading since 6th April 2007 as a new entity: ‘Midland Organ, Hele & Company Ltd’. Congratulations to Arthur Chapman, former tuner for Harrison & Harrison, who celebrated his 100th birthday on March 31st (here seen at the Royal Albert Hall, on the occasion of the re-opening of the organ three years ago, in the company of son David, and Ian and Heather Frost).

Training Request: I am in the process of restoring our church pipe organ. I will be indeed thankful if you could arrange in-house advanced training on the pipe organ with a suitable organ building firm in the U.K. I am certain that the knowledge acquired from such a training programme will be of immense use not only to our church, but to other pipe organ users in Sri Lanka. There are several organs in Sri Lanka, but no organ builders. H&H has received the above letter from Niranga de Mel, a cabinet-maker who has been working on the organ in his church (probably a Forster & Andrews, but with no nameplate). He has been recommended by Paul Bell (a retired church building surveyor) who goes out to Sri Lanka each year to assist in repairing organs. He would like to come for about a year, maybe more. If there is any IBO member who would be willing to help him learn the trade, please could you get in touch with Katherine Venning, in the first instance. Conundrum Solution: the “next” frog (see page two).

THE INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ORGAN BUILDING PRESIDENT: Katherine Venning BOARD: Michael Buttolph Peter Collins Andrew Fearn John Mander Andrew Moyes Alan Taylor Kenneth Tickell

0191 378 2222

01760 440101 01664 410555 07776 307535 020 7739 4747 01886 833338 01706 826021 01604 768188

TREASURER: Rosemary Wakeford Canal Cottage Crofton Marlborough Wiltshire SN8 3DW Tel: 01672 870956 Fax: 01672 871352 rosemary.wakeford@virgin.net

ADMINISTRATOR & SECRETARY: Carol Levey, 13 Ryefields, Thurston, Nr Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk 1P31 3TD Tel/Fax:01359 233433 administrator@ibo.co.uk www.ibo.co.uk

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C A L C P W M S B K L E O M H F D L C I B O T S X P Q J A M B L M S K N I K P N Y W R V L M O T I N F M I J I R Q B P S K I Y N W Q K T A Z G S V L N A S B E T X L G O E A D G K H T L B E D Y T Q P I W V N Y F T R J P A V R S Z U F I E X T S Q I C H O I R K S E W U B A L C U Z U T O D M V D J I C L P F Z N I G K S A T R S L F Z D H Y L P W X O A K V E Q B E U F I O P O N O Z A S Q O P W T R X U B Z D U W E P R M Q U I N T O A J V B Y S C X B H M N T L S O V T K N P G L J W O O T E L P Z V H S I T I R B F T H M X F N I L P C E P I V L K Z Y A L E R L I F S O Z T I U H A K V P L I R D Z A C J I O N W I Z P O L W E L L S Y J D B Q R T L W N M L K B D P L S W Q T E M D L O U E P O Z X A B M A G Y K V E S P K O P M O S F L U T E L P X K D R Y J T Z W S T I K P W S A Z H O U V B O R L N O H C E

Christmas Competitions There were no clear rounds in the crossword this year, but three entries made it into the draw by virtue of having made only one mistake each. The complexity and diversity of our professional language, combined with the ingenuity of the competitors, lead to the discovery of more answers than had been envisaged by the compilers of the wordsearch! The adjudicating panel awarded additional credit for (amongst others) tin, Foy and ISO, and selected two entries to proceed to the draw at the AGM. Sincere thanks are extended to all those who entered, and our congratulations to winners Michael Broadway (crossword) and Saxon Aldred (wordsearch).

A D E S T E F I D E L E S

C X W M A L

T A P P E D S P E R L I N G

I R N R R S S L

O P E N T H E B O X M E N U

N S Y S V U E

M A S K S T R I A N G L E S

A I E O S D A

N O S C A R E Q U A T O R

N O E L H E

L E M O N S T E A M E R S

O A D F E T T

F O R K G R U M P I N E S S

T K R E P N I

S W E E T S I N G I N G