Blog
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The Swan Singers with the Wingfield Organ
The Swan Singers sing a concert in St Cuthberts Wells on September 11th with the Wingfield organ
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St Cuthberts, Wells on a Heritage Open Day September 11th
The Wingfield organ took part in the display of the church including the reredos project, the ca1380 north transept and the 1470 Jesse reredos, see https://reredosproject.wordpress.com/
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Front Pipe Restoration on Trinity College Dublin
Joe Marsden begins restoring the front pipes from Trinity College Dublin
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Completed restoration at Rothbury
The restored ca1866 Hill & Son organ at Rothbury, ready for it’s opening concert on Saturday 17th September 2016. Photos by Duncan Elson
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Dominic deep in thought…
Dominic deep in thought….
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End of week one at Rothbury
The end of week one at Rothbury. The organ is up and together, ready for the pipes and tuning next week. Left to right, Willie Hendry, Chris Davies, Dominic Gwynn, Nick Hagen and Joe Marsden
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Dominic gives a talk during the installation at Rothbury
Dominic Gwynn gives a talk to the congregation during the installation of the newly restored organ
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Front pipes being put into the organ at Rothbury
Nick getting the middle front pipe central during installation of the newly restored organ at Rothbury
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Installation of the organ at All Saints Church Rothbury
Leveling the organ case, and adding the bellows and key bed during installation of the newly restored organ at Rothbury
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Selfie at Rothbury during installation of the newly restored ca1866 Hill & Son organ
Tea break at All Saints Church, Rothbury during the installation of the newly restored 1866 Hill & Son organ. From left to right, Chris Davies, Joe Marsden, Willie Hendy, Dominic Gwynn and Nick Hagen.
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Completed organ at Great Tew in Oxfordshire
The completed ca1683 organ by Henry Williams of Cheltenham at Great Tew in Oxfordshire. The full report is now available at https://www.goetzegwynn.co.uk/organ/great-tew-oxfordshire-restoration-henry-williams-organ-st-michael-angels/
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Wooden Pipes at Great Tew
The wooden pipes laid out in church ready to be put back in the newly restored organ at Great Tew
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Pip and Andrew get married
Dominic’s daughter Pip was married to Andrew Sweeney on July 22nd, at Castell Coch near Cardiff (which is where they live) with daughter Daisy and son Joseph. They are being marshalled here by Pip’s friend Rachel for a photo with Pip’s sister Lucy, Andrew’s sister Angela and brother Adrian, with Angela’s son Rowan (the ring-bearer) …
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Moving the Snetzler Bureau Organ from the Handel House Museum
During the International Society of Organ builders congress in London, we collected the Snetzler bureau organ given from the estate of Ellie Warburg to the Handel House Museum in Brook Street Westminster. We were assisted by our former colleague Peter Meier who has a successful firm in Rheinfelden Switzerland http://petermeierorgelbau.com/ and his colleague Marco Venegoni …
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Unloaded organ from Trinity College Dublin
On July 14th the cases for Trinity College Dublin were unloaded at Welbeck, ready to be examined and measured, before the restoration of the cases and the provision of a new organ in the style of Renatus Harris in about 1700
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Collection of 1684 and 1705 organ from Trinity College Dublin
Charles and Josh of Ballards (Tuxford) http://www.ballards-move.co.uk/ and Nick and Joe posing in front of the Ballards lorry filled with the 1684 and 1705 organ cases and front pipes from the Public Theatre at Trinity College Dublin on July 13th
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Guillaume leaves for France
On June 30th Guillaume Zellner worked his last day with us, before travelling a fortnight later with Lucille and Émile and all their belongings (including his workbench – see picture) to Hirsingue in Alsace. Guillaume is starting a new phase in his career with Jean-Christian Guerrier in Willer http://www.orgues-guerrier.org/Accueil.html
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Anne Page giving a recital on the Thaxted organ
On July 9th Anne Page gave a recital on the Lincoln organ at Thaxted parish church, in the course of the Thaxted Festival, the 100th since Gustav Holst started them in 1916. She played some of Holsts’s music for organ, written when he was a young man. In the following week Anne recorded a CD …
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ISO congress
At the Congress of the International Society of Organbuilders in Monday July 4th Goran Grahn, Simon Hebeisen and William McVicker play a stave each of the St Anne fugue, as three organists did in 1829 at the opening concert of the J.C.Bishop organ at St James Bermondsey. Goran plays the finger pedalboard to the left …
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Alan Rubin with the Byfield Organ
Alan Rubin and the museum director Luc Duchamp flanking the Byfield organ in the Museum after its re-assembly, embarking on the new phase in its life
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The Byfield Organ has arrived in France
The Byfield organ arrived in Provins on June 30th and was re-assembled in the museum http://www.provins.net/fr/decouvertes-et-visites/monuments-et-sites-a-decouvrir/le-musee-de-provins-et-du-provinois.html
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Last pieces of the Byfield on their way to France
Edward and Graham the house manager at Finchcocks packing the last pieces of the Byfield organ
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Byfield Organ on it’s way to France
On June 29th Edward and Dominic moved the unique 1766 chamber organ by John Byfield from the Finchcocks Musical Instrument Museum to its new owner Alan Rubin in Provins France. Here Edward is being assisted by Kevin and Mark of http://www.ganderandwhite.com
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The Wingfield organ at St Giles Cripplegate
The Wingfield organ later in the day at St Giles Cripplegate, in readiness for the congress of the International Society of Organbuilders and the Royal College of Organists Academy Summer Course for Organists. Milton is looking appropriately snooty…
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Original Wingfield soundboard
On Wednesday June 15th Dominic visited the church at Wingfield Suffolk to fetch the Tudor organ with Nicholas of Manders, and saw the display of the original soundboard for the first time
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CD of music recorded at Santa Clara
Rosana Orsini and Marco Brescia have made a wonderful CD of music written by Melchor López, Frei Francisco de São Boaventura and António da Silva Leite for convents in Santiago de Compostela (Spain) and Oporto (Portugal), recorded at the convent of Santa Clara, where we restored the organ in 2003 (http://www.arkhemusic.com)
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Choir lectern in use at Ranworth church
The lectern which Nick made for a Birmingham University research project led by John Harper has taken part in a symposium at Ranworth church in Norfolk (‘the cathedral of the Broads’), see http://www.broadsideparishes.org.uk/churches/ranworth-symposium.htm The photograph was taken by Mark Cator http://www.markcator.co.uk/contactbiography/
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Nick working on Rothbury’s case
One of the challenges of the organ at Rothbury is that the case had been reduced to accommodate a War Memorial screen. Here Mr Hill’s original casework is being reconstructed by Nick Hagen.
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Restoring the bellows
Willie Hendry and Guillaume putting the finishing touches to the restored bellows from the Hill and Son organ of 1866 from All Saints Rothbury. The organ will be installed in August and will receive a festive opening on September 17th.
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Willie Hendry from Dalkeith spent a week here
Last week we were visited by Willie Hendry from Dalkeith, who works as a church organist and harpsichord hirer. Willie spent the week working on organs, here restoring the keys for the Hill organ at Rothbury.