sheffield and district organists and choirmasters association

journal
november 2012

1
SADOCA is affiliated to
the Incorporated Association of Organists Registered Charity No 1058118

in this issue
cover The mounted cornet of the Las Pias Bamboo Organ

annual meeting
The Annual Meeting took place on Tuesday 18 September at St Marys Wesleyan Reform Church, Hereford Street; this was the first AGM under the new Constitution
committee

from the diary

February Friday 22 John Scott-Whiteley Reminiscences 7.30 Tankersley Manor Hotel

subscriptions
A reminder that subscriptions for 2012/13 should have been paid by the end of November.

programme for the remainder of the 2012/13 season

December and January No meeting

Following election of officers and other Committee members

annual meeting members subscriptions programme for the season centenary year minefield recent events doncaster monk bretton las pias bamboo organ humour for sale 2 2 3

President Vice President Past President Secretary Treasurer Assistant Secretary Committee members

Roy Chamberlin Simon Lindley John Robinson John Roch Derek Smith Tony Beck Andrew Robinson Graham Wilkinson Frank Windle

3 4 4
subscriptions

March Friday 22 Annual Dinner 7.30 Whirlow Grange Conference Centre

Friday 22 February Reminiscences Talk by John Scott-Whiteley Friday 22 March Annual Dinner Peter Gould Thursday 18 April Composite Recital Thursday 23 May Outing to Ashbourne Saturday 22 June Bradfield Music Festival Recital Gordon Stewart & Tom Osbourne Saturday 13 July Presidents Reception with recital by Neil Taylor Organ access after lunch

Tankersley Manor Hotel 7.30

3 years to serve 2 years still to serve 1 year still to serve

Whirlow Grange Conference Centre 7.30

4 7

The meeting approved an increase in the subscription rates to 17.00 / 8.50 for the coming year
life member

Ecclesall Parish Church 7.30 Meet there 11.15

8 11 13

Cecil Higgins was elected an Honorary Life Member of the Association.

7.30

members
congratulations

Congratulations to Ian Hodgkin on his marriage.

condolences

Bradfield From 11.15 Recital 11.30

Our condolences to Harold Green on the death of his wife, Dorothy. Four members of the Association were able to join the family at the funeral.
amendments to details in the list of members

booking forms
There will be mailing in January with a booking form for the John ScottWhiteley event, and the menu and booking form for the Annual Dinner.

Copy for the February Journal should reach John Roch by 15 January (preferably before), please.

Colin Andrews Michael Bland Vivien Fisher

email address email address can deputise

colmar57@btinternet.com dylan18@talktalk.net Some Sunday evenings and weekdays

contacts
President Roy Chamberlin
40 Hallroyd Lane Silkstone Common Barnsley S75 4PP 01226 792580 jcmchamberlin@hotmail.com

centenary year
The programme for the Centenary Year will feature in forthcoming Committee discussions. It would be helpful to know if there is any interest in commemorative items shopping bags, pens, pencils, umbrellas, notepads, key rings, coasters, specially engraved organ stop knob . . . . . etc, etc . . . . . .

concerts
organrecitals .com National listings www.organrecitals .com

While the organ was being played from the fine new Nicholson console we were able to view the previous 1935 Walker console, with its very distinctive stop tabs, standing at the foot of the chancel steps. This had aroused a considerable amount of interest among visitors to the church, so much so that some had been photographed sitting in front of it. The Church Council has now decided to dispose of it, so it is looking for a good home. No doubt Darren Williams would be glad to hear from anyone who is interested. With an instrument of some 92 stops we could have done with some guidance; as always on these occasions we were just getting used to what does what, and the effect of each chorus in the cathedral-like spaces of the minster when it was time to leave.

Vice President Dr Simon Lindley

17 Fulneck Pudsey Leeds LS28 8NT

minefield
There have been a couple of comments on the mixed economy in the presentation of names in the List of Members, where some members are listed with initials, others with a first name, and ladies with Mrs / Miss. The prenominal Dr also appears. There are some members who I only know by their initials! Compared with even a few years ago, there is a much greater informality in addressing people, particularly in membership associations such as SADOCA; this is to some extent a result of the spread of the use of emails. On another list, one person who expressed a preference for not using first names straight away had an email address such as fds@smiths.bycoms.co.uk and the from line of his messages merely said Fred. (I hope that that is not a real email address!) What are your views about the way we list members? Should we use Mrs / Miss / Ms? Presumably we should use Dr / Lord / Canon. Please let me have your thoughts.
Our latest recitals information See link at www.sheffielddistrictorga nists.org.uk

0113 2556143

07860 293591 simon@simonlindley.org.uk

We are very grateful to Darren Williams for arranging the afternoon and for spending his time with us so generously. It was a fascinating time.

mjb
On Saturday 13 October 14 members visited Doncaster Minster to play the 5 manual Schulze organ built there in 1862. Many thanks to Darren Williams, the Director of Music, for opening up the church, introducing us to the organ, and providing tea and coffee. Following a disastrous fire which destroyed the old Doncaster Parish Church in 1853, a new church was built but on a much grander scale than its predecessor! The organist at the time, Jeremiah Rogers, was anxious to see an organ worthy of the church which was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott and generally considered one of his best. Indeed, it has been described as his most cathedral-like. Rogers was familiar with many European as well as English organs after touring round Europe and visiting the Great Exhibition of 1851. He was most impressed by the work of J F Schulze of Paulinzelle in Germanys Saxony. So it was that he advised the church to commission Schulze to build the organ for the new church despite criticism from many that an English organ builder should have been approached.

Immediate Past President John Robinson

44 Tylney Road Sheffield S2 2RY 0114 2759620 wjr6233@hotmail.co.uk

Secretary John Roch

39 Pine Croft Chapeltown Sheffield S35 1EB 0114 2464369 mail@jdroch.co.uk

Assistant Secretary Tony Beck

21 Osborne Drive Todwick Sheffield S26 1HW 01909 770802 tony.beck15@btinternet.com

jdr

recent events
Two comments on the visit to Doncaster Minster 13 October This was an afternoon visit, with plenty of time to explore the mighty Schulze organ, the largest Schulze outside Germany. The Organist, Darren Williams, spent the afternoon with us, and after kindly plying us with tea/coffee and biscuits he gave a short but entertaining account of the organ's history and present condition. We were intrigued to hear that Schultze himself had spent 4 weeks in the organ, sleeping inside on a mattress along with his fellow workmates, in order to get the work finished.
QR codes Scan the QR code with your smart phone to access the information

Treasurer Derek Smith

11 Lismore Road Sheffield S8 9JD 0114 2589331 dj27smith@gmail.com

It was actually Heinrich Schulze that supervised the building of the organ due to his fathers death in 1858. It was he who persuaded Rogers to have a 5 manual organ when a 3 manual had originally been planned. At the time this was the largest pipe organ in the country with 94 stops. It is said that during the construction of the instrument in the church Schulze and his workmen actually slept in the church on the bellows of the new organ! The Doncaster organ is still to this day the largest German organ built here and the organ exercised a considerable influence on organ building in this country. It included a number of technical innovations such as the huge slider

Chesterfield Parish Church Parish Office 01246 206506 Lunchtime recitals 12.15 on Thursdays Free, retiring collection

soundboards which were built to enable each pedal stop to be available at two pitches which enabled an independent pedal section of some 25 registers including 2 mixtures, 4 mutations and 8 reads. In terms of the number of stops (25) the pedal organ exceeded its rival in Liverpool and was the largest pedal organ in Europe. The organ occupies the whole of the north chapel of the church. There is no elaborate organ case thus a good deal of the inside of the organ can be seen from the chancel. The original foot blowing gear apparently needed four men to raise sufficient wind but in 1895 Abbot and Smith from Leeds replaced it with a Shipley gas engine and compressor (at the same time a new console was provided with pneumatic stop action).

Visit to St Pauls Church, Monk Bretton, Barnsley On Saturday 10 November about 12 members assembled in the morning at St. Pauls to play the Harrison and Harrison organ built there in the 1980s. It was difficult to be precise about numbers since the public had been invited to come and hear the organ substantial refreshments had been provided by the church for them, as well as our members, in the adjacent church hall. The organ had come from the Methodist Church in Holly Hill, Felling near Gateshead. Wood, Wordsworth and Co of Huddersfield had carried out the rebuilding on a new west end gallery (the earlier organ having been housed behind the choir on the south side of the chancel). The console, which was attached, consisted of two manuals and pedals with a radiating, concave pedal board. There were 19 drawstop stops and 6 couplers. The pedals consisted of a Sub Bass 16ft, a Dulciana 16ft and an 8ft Flute. The Great included a Contra Dulciana 16ft, Open Diapason 8ft, Hohl Flute 8ft, Dulciana 8ft, an Octave 4ft, an Octave Quint 2 2/3ft and a Super Octave at 2ft. On the Swell there was a Violin Diapason 8ft, Lieblich Gedeckt 8ft, Echo Gamba 8ft, Voix Celestes 8ft, Principal 4ft, Contra Oboe 16ft, 8ft Cornopean and a Tremulant. The voicing was of the usual very high Harrison standard. I enjoyed the strings (which might be regarded as excessive for this size of church) and I appreciated having a soft pedal stop. On the gallery there were seats for a small choir. I expect the solo stops are appreciated for the accompaniment of the voices.

Doncaster Minster Recitals on the fourth Friday of the month 1.10 - 2.00 Free, retiring collection

January 25 Joshua Stephens RNCM February 22 Laurence Caldecote St Nicholas Nuneaton March 22 Fraser Wilson Sheffield

Pipes of the Great division with the triangular Hohl Flute, a Schulze innovation
In 1935 J W Walker and Sons provided new electro-pneumatic action and a radiating pedal board with a new console (which has just been brought back into the church for all to see to mark the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the organ). Eight new stops were added by Norman and Beard in 1959 when the reedwork was also re-voiced (with the exception of the free-reeds). There was also then some refurbishment of the 1935 console but it was replaced in 1999 when Andrew Carter of Wakefield installed a new console built by Nicholson of Worcester. The blowing plant and the great action were overhauled at this time. I am indebted to Matthew Searles, Organ Scholar at the Minster 2010 - 2011, for most of this rather selective information which I have taken from his more detailed booklet about the organ recently published and available from the Minster. Write please for copies to Darren Williams at St Georges House, Church Street, Doncaster, DN1 1RD. cab

There are further details and photographs of the organ on the National Pipe Organ Register (Ref. RO1237). Many thanks to the organist Mr Robert Rowland for kindly making the organ available and spending his morning with us and to Mr Don Booker, retired Editor of the Barnsley Chronicle, who gave us a short address on the history of the organ and its installation. cab

forthcoming recitals
Latest information on local recitals is on our web site
www.sheffielddistrictorganists.org.uk

the las pias bamboo organ

Some of you will know that in June of this year I got married in the Philippines and I was extremely fortunate that some musical friends of my Filipino wifes family managed to arrange a visit to the world famous bamboo organ on the outskirts of the capital city of Manila. So it was that on arrival in the Philippines having had a meal in a local restaurant, we were whisked away through the chaotic traffic of Metro Manila and having successfully navigated a seemingly endless number of back streets we finally at St Josephs Parish Church in Las Pias which had been opened up especially for us. Here we were welcomed by one of the organs curators who proudly showed us the museum adjacent to the church which was solely dedicated to the history of the organ. I was allowed some 30 minutes playing time in which to enjoy the unique sound of this organ and was then given a personal tour of its innerds Below is a short history of the instrument accompanied by some photographs

History The builder of both the church and its organ was a Catholic priest Father Diego Cera de la Virgen del Carmen., who served as parish priest in Las Pias from 1795 to 1830. Having previously built organs in the Manila area with some organ stops made from bamboo, he chose bamboo for most of this organ only the trumpet stops are made of metal. He began work on the organ in 1816, while the church was still under construction. The church was completed in 1819 and the organ was playable in 1821, but without the trumpet stops. The organ was finally completed in 1824 after Fr Cera decided to use metal for the trumpets whose character he could not reproduce with bamboo. Sadly over a period of years natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons damaged both church and organ. And the instrument was largely unplayable for years. In recent years, several concerted attempts were made to save the instrument. In 1972, a contract for total restoration was awarded to Johannes Klais Orgelbau KG in Bonn, Germany, and it was shipped there in 1973. While the restoration of the organ was taking place in Germany, a massive project was completed at the church. With the help of the community of Las Pias and many others in the Manila area, the church grounds were restored to their original state. The restored organ returned home in March 1975, to a joyous welcome by the people of the Philippines. The joint restoration of the church and organ was a triumph of local and international cooperation. Since then, the church has been the scene of many concerts and festivals. Its construction of bamboo is noted as being one of the major factors that gives it a truly unique and lively sound. To retain a high standard of quality and reliability, the Bamboo Organ underwent a general overhaul from September, 2003 to November, 2004. This time, the work was done locally by European-trained organ builders of the Diego Cera Organbuilders, Inc. who are also contracted with maintaining the instrument so that future generations will be assured of hearing and experiencing the unique sound of a Philippine treasure.

Dronfield Parish Church Parish Office 01246 412328 Recitals on the first Wednesday of the month 8.00 Refreshments are served afterwards, and there is a retiring collection

Leeds Minster www.leedsparishchurch .org.uk Friday 12.30 to 1.05 Free All details on organrecitals .com

January The Magic of Mendelssohn His life, time and friends 4 Simon Lindley 11 Simon Lindley 18 Simon Lindley 25 Simon Lindley

The Las Pias Bamboo Organ in St Joseph Parish Church, the parish church of Las Pias City in the Philippines, is a nineteenth-century pipe organ made almost entirely from bamboo. The organ has been declared a National Cultural Treasure of the country. The site is a popular excursion location for Filipinos and foreign visitors alike.

Specification It has one manual, divided registers with separate knobs for the bass and treble, en chamade trumpets and a few short pull-down pedals. The total number of pipes is 1,031 and consists of: 747 36 119 7 122 speaking labial bamboo pipes dummy labial bamboo pipes dummy bamboo reed pipes speaking labial metal pipes (pajaritos) speaking metal reed pipes (horizontal trumpets)

memo to self
Playing the Thalben-Ball Elegy at last years Remembrance service is hardly adequate practice for this years service. Similarly . . . .

Leeds Town Hall Monday 1.05 to 2.00 Free All details on organrecitals .com

Lincoln Cathedral Information Office 01522 561600 5 on the door

noted in passing
"I then proceeded," he went on, with the same maddening conscientiousness of manner, "to Mr Carr (not Mr James Carr, of course; Mr Robert Carr) who is temporarily assisting our organist, and having consulted with him (on the subject of a choir boy who is accused, I cannot as yet say whether justly or not, of cutting holes in the organ pipes), I finally dropped in upon a Dorcas meeting at the house of Miss Brett. The Club of Queer Trades G K Chesterton The nexus between railways and the clergy (today including at least two bishops and extended to include such fringe churchmen as organists) has been often remarked upon but never fully explained. Bryan Morgan Foreword to 1977 reprint of Thrilling Stories of the Railway (1912) V L Whitechurch

January 7 Gordon Stewart Kirklees B Organist 14 Gerald Gifford Cambridge 21 Thomas Moore Wakefield Cathedral 28 Ian Tracey Liverpool Cathedral February 4 Jonathan Bielby Organist emeritus Wakefield Cathedral 11 Simon Lindley University of Huddersfield Brass Band Saturday 23 9:30 to 11:00am Simon Lindley Meet the Town Hall Organ Monday 25 Joshua Stephens RNCM March 4 Simon Lindley Philip McCann cornet 11 Simon Lindley 18 Thomas Trotter Birmingham City Organist

Pontefract St Giles Parish Office 01977 706803 Fridays 1.00 to 1.40 Free suggested donation 3

Mano Yzquierda (bass) FFc1 Flautado violin Flautado major Ocatava 1o Octava 2o Docena 1o Docena 2o Quincena 1o Quincena 2o Bajoncillo (chamade) Clarin campana (chamade) Pedal FFE (12 notes) Contras (II) 4' 8' 4' 2' 2' 1a' 1a 1' 1' 4' 2'

Mano Derecha (treble) c#1f3 Flautado violin Flautado major Travizera (II, beating) Octava 1o Octava 2o Otavina Docena 1o + 2o (II) Quincena 1o + 2o (II) Corneta (mounted, V) Clarin claro (chamade) Clarin campana (chamade) Accessory stops Pajaritos (bird song, 7 pipes) Tambor ("drums", 2 pipes) 16' 8' 8' 4' 4' 4' 2b 2' 8' 8' 8'

trailer
A future article will link

Organist knighted

Ian Hodgkin

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if organists wrote the wedding column

On Saturday, the fifth of August, at well after the stated time of 2:00 pm, Ann Jones and Bob Smith were married at Our Lady of Sorry Acoustics. The groom wore a black suit and the bride wore a dress. The organist's shoes, in tasteful basic black, were by Organmaster. The organ is a rebuild by Harvey Piston Schotz VI of a 2m Whisk which contains pipework from the original Ox tracker that existed before the tragic fire. The harmonic flute is to die for and the cor anglais is like buttah, but the combination action is unreliable. There were attendants all over the place, but the organist still got only 3/4 of the way through "The Prince of Denmark's March" with no repeats, ending in the dominant. That the 8' Tuba was the central feature of the processional was obvious; this could be seen on the smiling faces of everyone in attendance. After a few minutes of some speaking by some clergy-type, the organist played the first four phrases of the Schubert "Ave Maria" (in E-flat) on the Gemshorn 8' while the couple did something. Later, the bride's sister's best friend's adopted niece breathily sang "The Wedding Song" from the balcony, without interludes. (The organist left them in.) This didn't matter because she used the microphone, obliterating the subtle chiff of the Gedeckt 8'. The recessional was the Mendelssohn, played on a satisfying plenum. It was played in ABABA form to fit the length of the movement. The guests talked throughout the postlude, but the organist added stops as the noise level increased, masterfully manoeuvring each drawknob, coupler, and reversible WITHOUT MISSING A SINGLE NOTE OF THE WIDOR!!! This noble feat did not go unnoticed by the congregation, as attested to by the audible sighs of relief which were heard as soon as the music stopped. The bride and groom went to college somewhere, but they did not take any music appreciation courses. After their honeymoon somewhere, they plan to blend into suburbia, where the highlight of each year will undoubtedly be the replaying of their wedding video and reliving each musical moment.

an alternative hymn
Send thy deep hush, subduing all Dear Lord and Father of mankind, those happy claps that drown forgive our foolish ways; for most of us, when asked our mind, the tender whisper of thy call; triumphalism is not all, admit we still most pleasure find for sometimes we feel down. in hymns of ancient days. The simple lyrics, for a start, of many a modern song are far too trite to touch the heart; enshrine no poetry, no art; and go on much too long. O, for a rest from jollity and syncopated praise! What happened to tranquillity? the silence of eternity is hard to hear these days. Drop thy still dews of quietness till all our strummings cease; take from our souls the strain and stress of always having to be blessed; give us a bit of peace. Breathe through the beats of praise-guitar thy coolness and thy balm; let drum be dumb, bring back the lyre, enough of earthquake, wind and fire, lets hear it for some calm.

Sheffield Cathedral
www.sheffieldcathedral.org

Tuesday and Friday in term time 1.15 - 2.00 Free - suggested donation 3

Picked up on the internet

for sale Eavestaff Mini Royale piano. Very good condition. Approx. 54" wide; 36" high; 20" deep. Colour: reddish brown. Offers above 500. If interested, please contact Vivien Fisher 0114 255 0560.

an adopted lancastrian This book traces the life of Dr J H Reginald Dixon (not to be confused with his namesake of Blackpool), the Yorkshire born organist, composer and inventor, who moved to Lancaster as a young man and adopted the town as his own. He was a founder member of the IAO. Written by Joan Johnson, a former pupil of Dr Dixon, the book records some of the recitals, concerts, lectures and music festivals the great man was involved with, and evaluates a selection of his compositions, many of which were performed to great acclaim. 224 pages Illustrated in colour throughout ISBN 978-1-904244-89-9 More info, and available from Joan Johnson, 4 Mayfield Walk, St Helen Auckland, Co. Durham DL14 9UY 01388 607710 jjpiano@tiscali.co.uk

Picked up on the internet

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correction As a result of a misunderstanding there was no attribution of the picture of Francis Jackson in the last issue. It was taken by Andy Paraskos, a professional photographer from Leeds www.paraskos.com,who took the photographs of FJ's 90th birthday celebrations.

Southwell Minster Minster Office M - F 9.00 to 1.00 01636 812649

Staveley Information 01246 852034 Wednesday recitals on the new Phoenix digital instrument 8.00 for approx 45 mins Retiring collection. Tea and coffee served afterwards.

contributors

mjb cab jdr

twitter

Michael Bland Tony Beck John Roch

Follow SADOCA on Twitter @SheffOrganists Follow Organists Review on Twitter @organistsreview journal The SADOCA Journal is published in February, May, August and November. Articles and suggestions for features are always welcome, preferably well in advance of the closing date for copy, which is usually the fifteenth of the preceding month. Copy may be sent in MS Word format (preferable not in .docx format) or in the body of an email. Dont worry about the formatting, as everything has to be reformatted into WordPerfect once received. Pictures in the usual formats jpg, etc are OK. Some PDF files are usable, but they are a nuisance to convert. The Journal is available in PDF format by email. Contact John Roch mail@jdroch.com

The stunning view through the doorway of Bradfield church, which we will be seeing during the course of the year at events organised by its organist, our President, Roy Chamberlin.

The Journal is available in large print on request to John Roch 0114 2464369.
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Body text is 9.6 pt Palisade Condensed Headings and left column are set in Clearly Gothic