David Bridgeman-Sutton seeks out the coy members of the organ world,
shyly hiding in the most obscure of places.
shyly hiding in the most obscure of places.
Invisible organs
"It's hidden under the floor", explained the lady arranging the flowers. A visitor had been looking for the organ and was puzzled; organs are rarely difficult to find.
Pic. 1 - St Mark's, Basin Reserve, Wellington
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The open console, 3-manuals, carried the plate of a pipe-organ builder, so an instrument of substantial size was lurking somewhere. An under-floor position was certainly a possibility. After all, many house organs are so placed, despite the disadvantages of the position. Grills, arranged to allow sound to travel upward, also tend to let dust travel down to damage pipes and action; dust baffles, where fitted, also act as sound baffles, so the arrangement is rarely entirely satisfactory.
Yet here, at St Mark's church, Basin Reserve, Wellington, there are no grills, and the thickly carpeted floor seems capable of baffling the most robust sounds. The visitor, either through good manners, or, more likely, because there were people about, refrained from turning on the wind and investigating further. |
Many years later, curiosity was satisfied by Snow Fenn of Wellington, who established that the instrument is, most unusually, placed behind the altar curtains. As his photograph, ( picture 1) shows, nothing of it is visible from the church. Those curtains, even if of thin material, must absorb sound, especially of higher notes. Was the instrument voiced with this in mind?
Pic. 2 St Paul's, Tai Tapu
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St Paul's Tai Tapu, on the plains of the South Island just outside Christchurch, is that rarity in rural New Zealand, a church built of stone that might have come from an English village. Surely so small a building has no space for a pipe organ?
There are no pipes to be seen and surely that is a harmonium in the choir stalls. A harmonium in a richly carved case, it is true, but then everything about this building displays craftsmanship of a high order. Only when we look closely do we see standard pedal board, and, on opening the lid, stop keys and the plate of Hill, Norman & Beard. Sounds ~ unmistakably from pipes ~ descend from roof level, directing attention to screened at the West end. They are not unlike those sometimes found in cinemas. (see picture 2). |
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Further investigation reveals that the organ, together with its blower, is in the tower, an unusual if not unique position.
John Webster is seen in Colin Loach's picture # 3 (left) looking towards the swell shutters that separate organ chamber from nave. Voiced with typical HNB refinement, this instrument was clearly designed to accompany Hymns Ancient and Modern with, perhaps, Handel's Largo as a voluntary; the popularity of Widor's toccata was far in the future when it was built. |
Pic. 3
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Another hidden organ is to be found at the Norman church of Adel, near Leeds. Again, limited space (and plentiful funds) caused the builder to seek an unusual solution. Here the organ is in the roof of the choir, between the outer tiles and the inner ceiling. Wisely, there are no reed stops included among its 14 registers.
David Bridgeman-Sutton,
August 24, 2003
August 24, 2003
Pictures: Many thanks to Snow Fenn (picture 1) and to Colin Loach (2 and 3) who both went to great trouble to take them.
