Author Archives: Goetze and Gwynn

  • Collecting the Snetzler chamber organ from Birmingham University

    Posted on Thursday July 22nd, 2021

    In the autumn we will be doing some restoration work on the 1755 Snetzler chamber organ now in the Barber Institute at Birmingham University.  It is an almost unaltered example of his work.  The only alteration was to replace the keys (by T.R.Willis of The Minories on the eastern edge of the City of London).  These very short keys had obviously given trouble, and had been altered by Manders when the organ was sold to the Barber Institute in 1956, possibly doing more harm than good.  We will be making new keys in the style of the original, with ebony covered naturals and Snetzler’s characteristic sharps, ebonised fruitwood with a covering of ivory.  We will also put rollers under the organ, instead of the very effective and amazingly ugly wheels.

  • Pipe repairs on the organ at Merthyr Tydfil

    Posted on Tuesday June 8th, 2021

    A front pipe in need of repair from the 1890 Peter Conacher Organ at Theatr Soar, Merthyr Tydfil. Joe Marsden will repair damage to the zinc front pipe that has been folded over the tuning window in the next few posts.

  • Edward making the keys for the Thomas Mace table organ

    Posted on Tuesday May 11th, 2021

    Edward has been making the keys for the Thomas Mace table organ.  They can be longer than the keys usually are for the chamber organs of the period, but the dimensions and the decorative overlay is based on those, like the anonymous ca1675 chamber organ now at Canons Ashby. 

  • Silas and Dominic with the Italian chamber organ and a chest organ by Walter Chinaglia

    Posted on Tuesday May 11th, 2021

    The recording is of Italian music for cornett and organ, using our chamber organ (based on a ca1700 Italian chamber organ which we restored for Sheila Lawrence) and an extended chest organ with wooden pipes (an ‘organo di legno) by Walter Chinaglia.  Gawain Glenton is playing the cornett and Silas Woolston the organs. 

    Silas and Dominic with the Italian chamber organ and a chest organ by Walter Chinaglia

  • Silas Wollston playing the Italian chamber organ with cornett player Gawain Glenton controlling stops for a recording at St Saviour Hampstead

    Posted on Tuesday May 11th, 2021

    Our Italian chamber organ has been used for a recording by Delphian Records https://www.delphianrecords.com/ in St Saviour Hampstead, thanks to the Rev Paul Nicholson.  You can read about the project on http://www.gawainglenton.com/ and contribute to it on https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/labrillantina

    Silas Wollston playing the Italian chamber organ with cornett player Gawain Glenton controlling stops for a recording at St Saviour Hampstead

  • The Pilcher chamber organ in position

    Posted on Wednesday May 5th, 2021

    The organ is in a large practice room overlooking the Thames.  The intriguing arrangement of wires making up the front was a solution by Edward and his brother Henry.  The pins in the frame would originally have held pleated silk, in the form of a sunburst.

  • Moving a ca1830 Pilcher chamber organ to the City of London School

    Posted on Wednesday May 5th, 2021

    We moved a ca1830 William Pilcher chamber organ to the City of London School.  It used to belong to Edward, and has been bought by Justin Berg, an American musician and musicologist.  His plans for it have been put on hold, so it has spent a few months in St Peter Vauxhall while we were restoring the Lewis organ there, and has now been loaned to the City of London School.  It is a delightful house organ by a little known organ builder.  Pilcher was also known as a piano maker, and this organ has a keyboard which was originally intended for a piano, which may partly account for its five octave compass.  The keyboard is hinged and folds up when not in use.

  • Wurlitzer at Saltaire 2

    Posted on Thursday April 29th, 2021

    After our workshop restoration of the actions and business end, we installed the huge Nicholson made resonators.

  • Wurlitzer at Saltaire

    Posted on Thursday April 29th, 2021

    Coming out of lock down and seeing venues look towards re-opening, and looking forward to being  able to attend concerts again, has reminded me to share some pictures of some resent work we have done for the Cinema Organ Society (COS), on their Northern District organ installed at Victoria Hall, in the lovely Yorkshire town of Saltaire.  This fine Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ is much traveled, and in the course of it’s five homes slightly enlarged, but also, unfortunately, slightly reduced! At some time in the past the lowest four resonators of the 16’ Wood Diaphone pipes were destroyed, so replacements had to be made, whilst they were good in themselves, they were the wrong scale, by a significant margin. So, at the behest of the COS, and in conjunction with Nicholsons & co. a plan was made to replace these mammoth pipes, with larger pipes of the correct scale, and restore the beaters and actions upon which they sit.

    The first picture shows the vibrator units and chests as delivered to the workshop and in the second picture the vibrator units show the beater disks, and new Poplar timber to replace the water damaged material.

  • Theatr Soar the swell box in position

    Posted on Tuesday March 23rd, 2021

    To convert the chapel into a performing space with the dance studio below, the floor has been inserted at gallery level, at about the height of the Great wind chest.

  • Theatr Soar lifting the Swell wind chest

    Posted on Tuesday March 23rd, 2021

    The Swell wind chest being brought to the top floor by Edward, Joe and Chris (and Dominic taking the picture) before being man-handled onto the support structure

  • Theatr Soar bellows in position

    Posted on Tuesday March 23rd, 2021

    The 1893 Peter Conacher organ was built over four levels, the bellows below the console, the mechanism to the Great wind chest, the Great chest and pipes, and the Swell chest, pipes and box above. 

  • Wynnstay organ: Art and Stuff

    Posted on Tuesday March 23rd, 2021

    I was reading the Art Fund quarterly magazine, and a picture of the Wynnstay organ in the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff caught my eye.  It led me on to an Art Fund podcast: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/art-and-stuff/the-wynnstay-organ-ykjSzhbGCZt/  It has to be said that you don’t hear the organ much (Andrew Willson Dickson) with snatches of Thomas Chilcot, and the commentary is not quite as factually reliable as it should be, but the variety of reactions to this lovely organ is fascinating.