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| Restoration of the 1819 Thomas Elliot organ at St Margaret of Antioch Crick Northamptonshire in 2008-9 |
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George Cooper (1793-1843) writing in The Christian Remembrancer thought the organ “generally esteemed the worst instrument of its maker: the tone being extremely harsh and unmusical. It is quantity without quality; and possesses what organ-builders term a cast-iron tone .” In The Musical World he described it as “a source of unceasing annoyance to the choir and organists.” Cooper seems to have had something against Elliot, but there are indications of hasty work in the organ, as if using parts made for another organ assembled rapidly for a royal emergency, perhaps George III's lying in state since he died a year later. On the other hand, nobody could accuse the organ of having a ‘cast-iron tone'. It is quite restrained and sweet, though still with some of the brightness of 18 th century organs. It is probably the earliest organ surviving in Great Britain with all its parts intact – nothing had to be reconstructed, apart from filling in a few gaps in the pipework, especially in the reeds, and supplying some of the GG-BB pipes. The reports written during the project and other pictures and information are to be found on the church's website at http://www.crick.org.uk/organrestoration/index.html . There is a report on the organ in preparation, available on CD.
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