News
News articles are welcome and should be sent to news@theorganmag.com. Submissions may be edited, and this page is updated regularly. News is archived monthly, and news from previous months can be found here. More news can also be found in the current edition of The Organ. All editorial comment is that of the author and does not necessarily represent the view of The Organ.
UK News
The Temple Church Organ RestorationA major restoration of the magnificent 4-manual Harrison & Harrison organ of the Temple Church has recently been completed after 18 months of intensive work. Soon, this remarkable organ will once again accompany and colour the musical aspect of the Temple Church’s liturgy, and unleash its formidable power and immense subtlety upon the London organ recital scene. The organ was first heard again in all its glory at the morning service on Easter Day. There are two major events to celebrate the completion of this huge project. The organ will be re-dedicated by the Bishop of London in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen at a special evensong in May. The service will include an anthem, But let my due feet never fail commissioned for the occasion by Gabriel Jackson, setting words by John Milton: “There let the pealing organ blow, To the full voic’d choir below”. There will then be three recitals in conjunction with the City of London Festival, the first opportunity to hear the instrument in concert:
The Temple organ was originally built for Glentanar House in Scotland in 1923. It was very generously given to the Temple Church by Lord Glentanar in 1950 to replace the organ destroyed during the war. Its installation at the Temple was completed in something of a rush, but the instrument still lasted another 60 years before earning a long overdue major clean and overhaul. All of the components and the 3454 pipes have been painstakingly cleaned and restored. Four new stops comprising 354 pipes, made in the spirit and style of the 1920s, have been added to the Great Organ, bringing the total number of pipes to 3808. The final process of the restoration work was a major re-voicing of the entire instrument by Harrison’s Head Voicer, Andrew Scott, so that the organ now speaks with greater clarity and subtlety into the acoustic of the church, a much more favourable one than that of its original home in the ballroom at Glen Tanar House. The breath-taking result is an instrument which retains its distinctive 1923 Harrison & Harrison Durham accent, but now works with the acoustic rather than against it to produce music from the softest of pianissimos to the most thrilling of tuttis. |
York Minster’s most ambitious music programme unveiledNew Festival of the Passions, Early Music Festival and Handel’s Messiah for 2013 York Minster has announced details of its most impressive ever year of music with the launch of the 2013 programme of concerts and performances, which includes a new Festival of the Passions in March, participation in York’s Early Music Festival, a Summer of Music and rounding the year off with a performance of Handel’s Messiah in December. At the heart of the programme are the York Minster Choir and resident musicians, performing within the acoustically- celebrated cathedral. The York Minster Choir performed JS Bach’s St John Passion on March 23, the evening before the Palm Sunday parade through York City Centre which launched the Minster’s Holy Week, itself remarkable as York Minster is the only cathedral in the UK to host sung Evensong every day during Holy Week. They were joined during the Festival of the Passions by York Musical Society in Bach’s St Matthew Passion on March 9 and the Chapter House Choir’s Passiontide Splendours on March 16. “In 2012, we were lucky enough to be able to perform in one of the largest services in the liturgical year on Maundy Thursday in the presence of HM the Queen, which enabled us to highlight the fantastic sound of the York Minster Choir,” comments director of music, Robert Sharpe. “This year, alongside the daily sung services, we’ll be tackling some magnificent performances pieces, particularly JS Bach’s St John Passion and Handel’s Messiah, which promise to be real highlights in York, hopefully attracting music fans from much further afield to share the experience.” However, the music within York Minster is not confined to formal services and concerts. From May 17 to June 7, visitors to the cathedral will be invited to enjoy a series of Organ Promenades each Friday lunchtime. Played on the organ console by the Nave altar, these informal performances enable visitors to enjoy the sound of music as they wander around the Minster and meet the musicians responsible for much of the organ accompaniment performed within the building. During the York Early Music Festival, fans of Renaissance Music will have the rare opportunity to hear music from York Minster’s archives. |
A pdf download of this excerpt is available to download: UK Organ News excerpt.To see all the news items in this article, please subscribe to The Organ. |
The Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/ Aalborg, DenmarkThe Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus/ Aalborg, Denmark seeks an Organ Professor from the 1st August 2013. The application deadline is 13th May 2013. For more information please go to www.musikkons.dk see the Menu > Academy / Jobs. |
WANTED: Compton Electrone OrganMost models inc. 363, 357, Melotone. Email: comporg@btinternet.com. Phone 07935 259 269. |