TOO EXPENSIVE TO FIX? (...mice in the organ 🐭)

[@jenb7756]

That facade is gorgeous!

[@OrganicVisitations]

Isn’t it just!

[@Mr05241948]

I hope you can raise the funds needed to put this beautiful old organ in good condition. At the very least put some traps inside the organ to get rid of the mice and prevent them from doing more damage. The fascade of this organ is beautiful and the music it makes is too. I hope you will be able to preserve this musical treasure.

[@louisglen1653]

I think one reason for the split manuals on the two stops is to allow just the lower notes of those stops to be coupled to the pedal. So that allows you to only couple the bass part of those ranks if you don't want to use thosee ranks on the manuals. I like the sound of the stopped Diapason! Thanks for another great video. I hope they can do a fund raiser to repair the organ. It is worth saving!

[@OrganicVisitations]

Yes, that was the only reason I could come up with and it makes sense. Fingers crossed for a fund raiser - the words ‘digital organ’ have been uttered

[@louisglen1653]

@@OrganicVisitations A lot of organists will shudder when I say this, but there is a place for digital organs, and if the cost of repairs is out of reach for the congregation then sadly it would make sense to go digital. There are so many things that have to be taken into consideration, and where a full restoration of the organ fits into the picture. But it is certainly a nice organ!

[@benjamindaniel8467]

The reason for a separate bass stop is usually because the bass pipes need to be shared with more than one rank which doesn't extend all the way down to the bottom end of the compass.

[@louisglen1653]

@@benjamindaniel8467 Yes!

[@andrewgrahame6000]

The reason why the Stopped Diapason 8 has its bottom octave on a separate draw stop is to allow the lowest 12 pipes to be drawn with the Dulciana, and possibly with the Salicional. You would probably find that those 2 ranks only go down as far as Tenor C, so the separate bottom octave provides a sound of sorts to complete the compass of those stops. It's not an uncommon thing for Victorian English organs to have this. In later years those missing bottom octaves would be "grooved" - that is, the wind chest would have special grooves cut in it to allow for wind supply from the pallets for the bottom octave to convey wind directly to the feet of the Stopped Diapason pipes when the Dulciana or Salicional stop knobs were drawn. That way there's no separate draw stop for the lowest 12 pipes, but those pipes are still used to fill in the missing bottom end of what otherwise are Tenor C 8-foot ranks.

[@hansbeestman7460]

Mooi gemaakt Hans uit Zwolle Nederland ik geniet ervan

[@OrganicVisitations]

Ontzettend bedankt 😊

[@RobertOrgRobert]

Having a separate common bass stop knob for the shared 12 pipes is a much better option than extra grooving etc on upperboards ! ie,in a poor set up, a pipe may receive less wind depending which stop is being used !

[@OrganicVisitations]

Thanks :-)

[@michorg]

I’m not sure if the string stops on the great and swell have bottom octaves, but on American organs of that period they often don’t, so those bass stops serve as the bottom octave for not only the 8’ flutes, but also strings… thereby saving money and space. Not completely satisfying, since the timbre of the bass stop is different from the treble string!

[@grahamford3075]

Separate basses are handy because sometimes one can use the stopped bass with some ingenuity to "acomany" a top line (or two) in a different tonality ( usually string). The main point however is that it saves space and pipe metal and also helps the winding.

[@OrganicVisitations]

I’d never thought of it like that. Very useful comment - thank you 😊

[@shanehall98]

It is a shame about Micky Mouse in the organ they need to go back to Disney land lol. We had nice in our bathroom it is stressful!.

[@benjamindaniel8467]

A very nice organ. Anyone from the church who thinks an electronic substitute is preferable only needs to watch this video to realise the error of their ways. At least, you'd like to think so...

[@OrganicVisitations]

I agree, but I suppose it all boils down to cost. If I win the lottery tonight…

[@benjamindaniel8467]

@@OrganicVisitations NPOR says it’s been awarded a Historic Organ Certificate and any past alterations have been minor. In which case restorative work (which does not include such things as adding a pedal Trombone on electric action, etc) could attract grant funding. The church must appreciate what it’s got; they also have a duty towards its care.

[@ringerpaul3118]

What a lovely instrument! I've never seen stops with no pipe lengths shown. The split ranks are interesting too.

[@thomaswalters4365]

I think some old Italian organs show no indication of pitch on their stop labels.

[@peterw29]

This really is a lovely organ. It would be a great shame to lose it, but this is happening everywhere. The world moves on. The "Salcional" seems a slightly odd thing to have on the Great, and its position on the jamb among the higher registers suggests that it may be a replacement for something else. On the other hand, the mis-spelling suggests that it is original. Very strange.

[@OrganicVisitations]

Agreed - we’ll see what the future holds! The Salicional is in an odd place and I notice on the NPOR report that it is marked [sic] which suggests that it is questionable, although it does ‘sound’ accurate. It also says the Cremona is an 8’ which I disagree with (judging by the sound).

[@peterw29]

@@OrganicVisitations The 'sic' is to indicate that the mis-spelling (the first i is missing) is on the stop and not in the listing. I think the Cremona is 8' but probably has a strong 2nd harmonic.

[@OrganicVisitations]

@@peterw29 Well spotted 👍

[@ryanqu3294]

I found a manual 16’ being one of the most important stops on an organ -- in fact it’s been quite problematic since on my instrument, the manual 16’ was removed during a rebuild. When a lot of upper work is pulled, the sound simply won’t ground and becomes shrill and lacks body. Thankfully there is a sub coupler that I can cheat with. For that reason I always want a 16’ on the swell when playing hymns since that’s the only way to have a full swell with a lot of upper work and still have a full sound. Also, when forming a large plenum, at least the Great manual must go down to a 16’ before a pedal 32’ can be drawn. If you’re using a manual 16’ too early in a crescendo with no upper work, well then all it does it turn the sound into mud.

[@OrganicVisitations]

That was helpful - thank you!

[@benjamindaniel8467]

Sorry if this is an obvious comment but wouldn't a good approach be to first "deal" with the issue of mice, and second obtain a quote for work to keep the organ playable in the short term?

[@OrganicVisitations]

Obvious but good point. The mice are being dealt with and then the future of the organ will be discussed. Mice seem to love organs when it’s cold outside 👍

[@benjamindaniel8467]

@@OrganicVisitations is this "your" organ? The organ seems to be playable so it ought to be possible for the worst damage to be patched/repaired even if a full restoration is desirable. The organist at a church near me has raised ~£50k for work to the organ through the usual "sponsor a pipe" campaign, lunch time recitals, and sheer determination. Whilst an electronic substitute might seem more cost effective to a PCC it would be short-sighted and a false economy in the long term. People are also generally much more willing to part with their money for a project where there is a "physical" outcome - such as this.

[@johnwilson-mr6pw]

I cant help thinking that this attractive church would be better off with a nice three manual Johannus electric organ. You could leave the organ case as it is and just rip out the two manuals and fit the Johannus in the recess. A number of big "woofer" speakers and others and you would have a great sounding instrument with the original organ still in tact.

[@OrganicVisitations]

I have a feeling that this is the way it will go...

[@ianrichardson8865]

I will make sure that never happens!

[@matthewbellocchio5877]

Installing an 'electric' (i.e. electronic) imitation would be a costly and tragic mistake. I'll wager that repairing the mouse damage will be far less expensive than installing an electronic imitation. Tracker action pipe organs are built to last for centuries. This one is already 153 years old and still functioning! With proper repairs and maintenance it can last for another 150 years. In contrast, an electronic organ will need repairs in about 25 years. But by then its circuit boards and/or processor will be obsolete technology, incapable of repairs. Just think of how often you need to replace your TV, laptop, or mobile phone. How many churches do you know of with a 50 or 75 year old electronic organ that is still in good condition?

[@w270rab]

@@matthewbellocchio5877 an 'electric' (i.e. electronic) imitation is ok as temporary solution while the pipe organ is being restored so that it will last for another 100yrs.