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THE ORGANS OF WENCHOSTER CATHEDRAL |
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Wenchoster Cathedral has four organs. The most famous of these is the Father Sydney Organ of 1845, which is widely regarded as one of the finest instruments in the country. Few people speak of his organ without the use of superlatives. "It is not easy, even today, to think how the thrusting vibrations of the Father Sydney organ in Wenchoster Cathedral could be exceeded" says Chuffer Dandridge in his monumental work, "The Organ - a symbol of sacramental power" (1948). Sir Julian Dyke Lipsynch, organist at Wenchoster from 1914-19, (and thus in a reserved occupation for the duration of the Great War, much to his regret) and later of St Paul’s, Bombay, said that "size is immaterial", though apparently his eyes were known to water even on mention of the Wenchoster instrument. The organ was built in 1845 in London and arrived in Wenchostershire by boat, being brought up the Wen to the city in small brown-paper parcel, each numerically coded, for reconstruction in situ. It has an almost identical specification to the organ Father Sydney built three years earlier for the parish church of St Euphrasia, Athens, (later burnt down in the "altar riots" of 1931). In terms of specification, both instruments revealed standard Sydney hallmarks – alcoholic mixtures on Great and Swell, sonic vibrations throughout the Choir, and a small but electric pedal division. Why then is the Wenchoster organ so special, over one hundred and fifty years later? There is no doubt that Father Sydney was one of the greatest organ builders there has ever been. At Wenchoster we see the peak of his art as a pipe and reed fabricator. The cathedral is most fortunate that the core instrument has survived tonally intact – in fact this is unique in any cathedral. The fine position of the instrument in its own fan-vaulted chamber certainly adds to its impact and it matches the resonant cathedral acoustic perfectly. That such a match could be created for this medieval building is surely in itself a mark of genius! Father Sydney built an organ of superb reliability. Apart from the addition of the couplers and accessories installed by Throbbing & Pulse to mark Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1887, and the addition of an electric fan heater and automatic commode assembly in the 1920's, no major work was done until 1959, when the grandson of the original builder carried out a conservative restoration, at a cost of some £12,000. Prior to this date, the organ console was situated high up within the main case of the instrument. This meant a walk of two or three minutes up a spiral staircase in the North Transept (perhaps this explains the longevity and fitness of Ambrose Flackett, organist from 1927-72!) The action was a mixture of wheel and pulley, lever, pneumatic and tracker. There were very few playing aids and contact between the organist and choir, some forty feet below, would have been almost impossible were it not for the semaphore system devised by Charlie Whippet, head-chorister 1931-35, and later organist's personal assistant 1935-64.
In 1961, the organ committee, including Archibald Scrote, Henri Volauvent, Sir Lucien Orphry and Mr Jasper Goose, wisely decided to keep the original sound scheme and stops, and to move the console over on to the south side in a new gallery placed above the choir stalls to a design by the architect Percival Fitzgerald. Here the organist can not only hear the instrument in its full glory, but also maintain close contact with the cathedral choir, passing notes to his favourites. In 1995, after thirty-four years of splendid service, the organ was again fully restored, this time by the organ builders E R Ection Ltd of Truro. Ivor Biggun, Managing Director of Ection, summarised the aims of the rebuild: "The work on the organ in 1995 has included the renewal of all the electrical equipment and synchronised vibration couplers installed in 1961, both in the console and in the organ itself. The interior workings are now entirely solid-state, and the opportunity has been taken to upgrade the controls and comfort facilities available to the organist, to bring all into line with present day Health & Safety standards. The outer cladding of the console, and all of the mother-of-pearl fittings, have been retained and refurbished, but all of the internal equipment is new. Up in the organ, again all electrical equipment and cabling has been stripped and replaced. All of the delicate leatherwork in the key mechanism has also been replaced, using soft skins obtained from the Siberian yak, and several of the large gin reservoirs have been re-lined. The large bellows which operate the wind pressure have also had their leatherwork and decorative studding renewed. The action of the stops, which was entirely operated by choirboys in detention until 1961, was converted to a pneumatic system at that time. This has now been upgraded to powerful and silent electric pumping. The large planks which support the pipes, and the tubes which supply them with wind-pressure, have all been taken back to Truro and completely overhauled. The access ladders, bosun's chair and walkways have been improved, and the humidification system enhanced with the addition of self-dripping taps. The organ has once more been left completely unchanged in its tone; all damaged pipes have been carefully repaired and given a thorough de-scaling, but the sound has been preserved. Only a single modification has been authorised – the loudest solo stop, the Tubby Tuba, has always received criticism for being uncharacteristically rotund. In a Father Sydney organ the Tubby is normally of equal power to the treble descant of the choir, but at Wenchoster this has not been the case, since the pipes were affixed to the exterior of the casing, thus drowning out all descant melodies. It was therefore decided not to alter Tubby, but to move its pipes to the rear of the organ where it could be muffled to better effect. This has resulted in a considerable improvement, but all of the original mechanism has been left in place in case anyone wishes to move the pipes back in future. In every other respect the instrument sounds exactly as it did when first built all those years ago." Click here for the specifications of the Father Sydney organ
THE AKINGBACH INSTRUMENT The organ in the south transept was built by Leopold Akingbach in 1721. When the parish church of St Sophie the Unwise at Thropping was inundated by the floods of 1755, (caused by the accidental diversion of the river Wen), the Akingbach organ was thoroughly repaired and "circumcised" from a "three-hander" to a "two hander" manual. The instrument was re-installed in the south transept by Messrs Coddling and Partner in 1759. THE TICKLING INSTRUMENT Kenneth Tickling specially built a two-dozen stop convenience organ for the Cathedral in 2000 to mark the Millennium. It is housed in the Madylion Chapel of the Cathedral. THE BROADWENCH INSTRUMENT To commemorate his 97th birthday, Canon "Dickie" Bow, Canon Emeritus of the Cathedral since 1962 and holding the title of Broadwench Minor, presented this instrument to the Clergy Chapter in 1984. A 9 stop, three pedal electrically-blown pumping double manual, this fine organ is installed in the Chapter House where it is used every Tuesday morning at Chapter Matins. |
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