NOT BAD FOR ITS AGE (…just badly positioned)

[@orioninthepolder]

Nice to hear a Forster & Andrews again. My grandfather worked for them and I played the City Hall organ in Hull a lot (had my lessons there) and played the old Queens Hall organ (in the Central Methodist hall) and it was a very mellow orchestral sound even in their small organs. The Resultant 32 has a deeper cousin in the City Hall in Hull at 64 ft. You don't hear it you feel it, I suspect the Whitby resultant would have the same qualities as long as it was working. I also spotted the unforgiveable spelling mistake that Willis made, glad someone else did too. I don't think many people realise what difficulties organ builders have in placing and rebuilding organs in many of our churches, it is as if the clergy and various committees think it can go anywhere and can produce miraculous sounds. Try St. Marys in Beverley, the organ was hidden away in the North transept and in the front row sounded great, sit two rows further back and a forte suddenly becomes mp, the poor organist just has to blast it out and hope for the best. Enjoyed the video, I look forward to more. I now play in Holland and miss my old F & A's , have to endure screechy continental characterless psalm pumps.

[@OrganicVisitations]

Thank you for your comment and few relatively local organs that sound as though they may be worth visiting 😊 I love Holland and have been several times - you’re lucky to live there and happy playing 👍🎹

[@OrganicVisitations]

There are a few other F&A organs I’ve covered on my channel - have a look 👍🎹

[@buttersrow426]

The console looks like it's in someone's Living Room!

[@OrganicVisitations]

For its age it's OK, just very badly positioned. There's not really anywhere else in the building to put it though

[@buttersrow426]

It sounds nice to me!

[@OrganicVisitations]

It's not bad. I might have to change the title - perhaps I've been a little harsh...

[@mg3261]

what they should of done when they rebuilt this organ would be to reposition the pipework to another position in the church to allow better sound for accompanying hymns the console is needng a bit of tlc and the tremolo or tremulant sounds like its a chain driven configuration or could be just noisy which means you get that sort of chugging sound bit like a diesel engine or something like that

[@OrganicVisitations]

There is really nowhere else in the church to put it, but that would have been the ideal solution. The pipework, hidden away behind the console, is obviously not ideal. I think the tremulant is just noisy. I've been a bit harsh with the title of this video - it's not bad for its age 👍🎹

[@Knappa22]

@mg3261 I googled the church - an absolute hideous mess. Beautiful Norman masonry obscured by horrid protruding (Victorian?) galleries. It would once have had (I assume) a handsome nave roof, now gone and replaced by a bizarre flat ceiling supported on a colonnade type affair. Dreadful. The organ isn’t the only victim here!

[@Knappa22]

Odd that Willis didn’t insist on re-locating the organ and designing it anew. It’s a bog standard organ - would sound ok in a good building. As it is, squashed up against the ceiling and blocked by the console, the sound is so immediate and without reverb, it sounds like a toy organ or a melodica!

[@OrganicVisitations]

There is nowhere else in the building to put it unfortunately 👍🎹

[@Knappa22]

😎 Thanks. I saw that after I googled the church! It’s quite a jumbled affair hey 😁

[@OrganicVisitations]

It is! It's very chaotic to say the least. I could be wrong but I think this church is mainly a tourist attraction rather than a parish church. The main church is St Hilda's which is a huge! That was last week's video - an amazing organ there!

[@TB76Returns]

Pretty weird if you ask me. I just wonder if they do use the organ they have to use the loud stops. But still pretty interesting.

[@OrganicVisitations]

It is an odd one. Not sure how often it’s used other than funerals and weddings 👍🎹

[@TB76Returns]

@@OrganicVisitationsMight it be a good idea if they invested in an electronic organ?

[@paulaustin9634]

@@TB76Returns Not my church, or organ, to suggest that, but it could be an option given the space available 👍🎹

[@williamuhren5639]

It's a shame really, the chuch is in a a prominent position above the town, you'd expect they would keep the instrument in good repair. The organ didn't sound too bad when you played that short piece. Who's that bloke giving you stick in the comments,very naughty.

[@OrganicVisitations]

Get used to stick after a while - you can't please everyone and I won't lose any sleep over it. I imagine, like most churches, keeping the organ in good repair will boil down to cost 👍🎹

[@johnwilson-mr6pw]

Interesting that you played this organ as a boy. Some time you must tell us about your own organ playing and where you learned to play. As for the organ, well let's say an electric organ would improve things greatly. Place the console anywhere you like and have speakers in the body of the church. Another good video. Thanks.

[@OrganicVisitations]

Agreed! A digital would be a possible solution but I’m more for preserving pipe organs than replacing them to be honest. In this case, with such limited space, a digital wouldn’t be a foolish idea 👍🎹

[@anthjs70]

They could at least have managed to get Forster & Andrews name right. It's very rare indeed that I would advocate for an electronic instrument but I think this might just be one such instance.

[@OrganicVisitations]

Well spotted!! I hadn’t noticed the misspelling and you’re the first to mention it. As for replacing it with a digital, it would be a shame, but given the lack of space it’s unfortunately a possible solution👍🎹

[@ianbrowne8871]

There are two problems when trying to make sense of this video and the comments made. You need to show the context of the instrument, where it is placed in a church. A few minutes of the unique interior of Whitby’s church will show why it cannot be relocated. The church never went through a Victorian restoration which cleared away pews and galleries. A general view will show it looks more like a theatre and as a very rare survival of a Georgian interior it will be listed. Any viewer can Google Whitby Old Church interior and then they would see the problems. The second problem is we never get to hear the build up of the choruses. Just pulling out stops, particularly high pitched ones does not tell us much. A squeaking 12th or 15th is neither pleasant to listen to and one would never use them alone to play a hymn. It makes more sense to play 8’ then 8+4, then 8,4,2, the. Add a 12 and Mixture. Just to hear stops individually is a bit like being given a cake recipe but never seeing the mix or the finished masterpiece. You take us to see some interesting instruments and always play something well to demonstrate the instrument. The site has so much potential. In most recent posts yiu have been able to show the organ in its place. It may be you felt this was not possible but half a minute filming the chaotic but glorious interior of Whitby could have been made this video. A bit like a spot the ball competition - where on earth is the organ??? The one place where a sample sound of high pitched pipes is a good idea in working out the composition of a mixture. You did this on the swell, and one could hear the tierce rank giving a reedy tang to the sound. A quint and unison stop will have a much cleaner sound which helps Bach. You can engage the viewer by drawing an 8’ on the other manual, playing a note on the compound stop and the running up the keyboard to match the notes. All this sounds a bit critical but it is meant to be helpful.

[@OrganicVisitations]

Thank you for you advice…much appreciated! I found this Organ particularly difficult to film as it is so badly positioned and with hardly any space to manoeuvre. Also, the main body of the church was full of tourists and difficult to film, not that you can see the organ from there anyway. Always open to critical advice so thank you for that 👍🎹

[@ianbrowne8871]

I always hesitate if I fear comments might be seen as negative or a appear a 'rear seat viewer' who does not appreciate the practical difficulties of producing these little gems. I have not been to Whitby since 1972 but know the church and I could hear the tourists in the background. Should you be faced with such conditions again, a short section showing the view that you cannot see the organ and that the place is crowded would be perfectly appropriate. I used to have an LP (remember those??) of the wonderful 18thC organ of St Mary Rotherhithe where they gave up trying to scare away the chirping sparrows which nested in the external netting over the windows! Any one visiting the church would always hear the instrument with the birdsong and so it was a true reflection of the visit! I watched a YT post about a reconstructed De Haviland Mosquito in New Zealand, where the sound of the RR Merlin engines have been drowned by unnecessary music. All the comments wanted to hear the engines - as this was the authentic soundscape. The chatter at Whitby contributed to make your post so real - as if we were there. 🙂 @@OrganicVisitations

[@paulh5293]

It's a strange beast all right. Back in the 90's there was pretty much a "you're welcome to have a go if you can play" attitude so I had a few goes before bellringing practice. To be honest it sounds in better condition now than it was then! Having two tierce mixtures is a bit of a waste - way more useful to have say 15-19-22 on the Swell. The Contra Oboe is rather nice though. Too many rumbling 16ft's on the Pedal and not personally a fan of resultant basses. And you're right, the location is dreadful but then the church is laid out really oddly and there's probably nowhere else for it. In fairness the sound does carry quite well down the nave. "Certainly not a recital organ" got me chuckling! If you get chance, go a bit further down the coast, try St Mary Scarborough or St Oswald Flamborough for something a bit different. As always, thanks for posting - good to hear these not-so-well-known organs.

[@OrganicVisitations]

It certainly is a strange one. I remember getting my first play on it whilst on a school trip in about the late 1980's, but not having played many organs at that age it didn't stand out to me as 'odd' - it was just an organ and I was excited to play it. And yes, awfully situated but nowhere else to put it. I've made a note of the Scarborough ones and I will look into arranging a visit. Not a million miles from me 👍🎹

[@louisglen1653]

Another interesting organ. It is too bad they don't relocated it to a better position where it can breathe and be heard. Thanks!

[@shanehall98]

It is a bit odd it isn’t too bad. Have you heard any iPad/ Apple organs? there are some beautiful ones with real sounds from sample sets. I use Pitea.

[@OrganicVisitations]

I’ve heard them online but never used them 👍🎹

[@Nilguiri]

Not bad for ITS* age. When you play the larger pipes, like the 16s and the pedals, it would be nice to hear the lowest, deepest base notes. Cheers!

[@OrganicVisitations]

Thank you - I’ll remember that. Problem on this particular organ was that lots of the pedal notes didn’t work 👍🎹

[@Nilguiri]

@@OrganicVisitations Thanks!