Blog
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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.
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Great Tew completion
We have completed the restoration of the ca1863 organ by Henry Williams of Cheltenham at Great Tew in Oxfordshire. The first pipe to go in was the bottom C of the Swell Open Diapason, here is C# being passed by Joseph to Edward
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New Cornopean and Cremona for Great Tew
The new Cornopean 8ft and Cremona 8ft made by Joe and Chris and voiced by Abi, have been installed in the organ at Great Tew
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Emile visits
We have had the honour of a visit from baby Emile, son of Guillaume and Lucille, who will shortly with much regret be leaving and return to a new life near Belfort.
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The completed and restored organ back at Erddig
We have completed and installed the restored 1864 organ by Bevington and Sons at Erddig Hall near Wrexham, a National Trust house famous for the portaits of it’s servants, accompanied by ditties written by their employers the Yorke family.
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Tunes on the dumb organist at Erddig
Here is the list of tunes available on the dumb organist – the taste of the times. “Off she goes” is an extended version of Humpty Dumpty
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Testing the dumb organist for the organ at Erddig
Stuart Dobbs restored the dumb organist which was supplied with the 1864 Bevington and Sons organ at Erddig Hall near Wrexham (National Trust). It is a conventional barrel with keys and stickers resting on the Great keys.
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Great Tew installation – underway!
Loading the Great Tew organ ready for installation later today
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All welcome to play the organ at Pilning
Following the wonderful opening concert at Pilning, Jonathan Edwardes has said that anyone wishing to play the organ is most welcome and should contact him on churchwardenpilning@gmail.com
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The Italian Chamber Organ at St Saviour Hampstead
Our Italian chamber organ now lives happily at St Saviour Hampstead. It is seen here with the (sadly silent) Bevington/Rothwell organ in the background (NPOR N17105). It has been used in services at the church and in a couple of concerts by Tim Roberts. The priest is Paul Nicholson, one of our finest early keyboard …
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Abigail voicing the Great Tew Cremona
The new Cremona for the Henry Williamson organ at Great Tew Oxfordshire, based on the 1879 Gray & Davison Choir Cremona at St Anne’s in Worksop, made by Joseph Marsden and Chris Davies, being voiced by Abigail Balfour.
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Music from the Lost Palace of Westminster
This is a new CD from www.delphianrecords.co.uk (producer Paul Baxter), with Geoffrey Webber and the choir of Gonville and Caius College Cambridge singing music written by Nicholas Ludford, anon. and others for St Stephens Chapel in the lost royal palace of Westminster. Organ versets ‘upon the Squares’ devised and played by Magnus Williamson on our …
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Late Medieval Liturgies Enacted
This is the book that was the outcome of the www.experienceofworship.org.uk project led by Professor John Harper at Bangor University between 2010 and 2103 in partnership with Salisbury Cathedral and St Fagans National History Museum near Cardiff, for which we made a late medieval organ. It was edited by Sally Harper, Paul Barnwell and Magnus …
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Jennifer Bate plays the opening concert on the restored organ at St Peter Pilning
On Saturday April 30th Jennifer Bate played a concert of music from Handel to Samuel Wesley on the newly-restored William Allen chamber organ. Jennifer has supported the restoration of the organ from the beginning and gave us a wonderful excursion through the English organ music of the period, and through the colours available on this …
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Study day at Thaxted on May 28th
Gillian Ward Russell, who is a leading expert in the performance of Georgian organ music will talk about the 1820 Lincoln organ at Thaxted and lead masterclasses, on Saturday May 28th. The day is organized by the Cambridge Academy of Organ Studies. Details from Andrew Johnson: andrewpj@waitrose.com See also www.cambridgeorganacademy.org.
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Baby Émile visits the workshop
Émile was born to Guillaume and Lucille on April 1st, also coincidentally the 36th birthday of the firm, so we hope he feels a special connection to his father’s craft. It was a beautiful spring day, and we felt especially honoured to be treated to Émile’s first adventure outdoors.
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Fiona Hutchinson redecorating front pipes from the Hill organ at All Saints Rothbury
Fiona Hutchinson is a ceramics restorer occupying a neighbouring workshop here at the Harley Foundation at Welbeck, a long-time friend and encourager of our firm. Here she is using her super-refined sense of colour to re-decorate repairs to the patterned front pipes from the 1866 William Hill organ at All Saints Rothbury in Northumberland.
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Choosing oak at Somerscales
Nick Hagen and Dominic Gwynn had a happy morning choosing oak boards at Somerscales at Keelby in North Lincolnshire http://stuartsomerscales.com for the new organ at Trinity College Dublin, which we will start making in August.
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Stuart Dobbs and Nick Hagen and the Erddig Dumb organist
Stuart has finished restoring the dumb organist which attaches to the 1864 Bevington organ from Erddig House (National Trust) near Wrexham North Wales. It has six popular tunes, waltzes from Faust and La Traviata, ‘Off she goes’ which I would sing to Humpty Dumpty, etc. A recording of one of the tunes will appear on …
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Visit by a group from St Michael and All Angels, Great Tew, Oxfordhsire
On March 30th we were visited by a group from Great Tew, the customers for our current project, the restoration of their ca1865 Henry Williams organ. It is a small two manual and pedal organ, very solidly and confidently made. From the left Charles Mould, Jeremy Treglown, Naomi Bowen, Ann Abbotts, Patrick Thomas and the …
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The finished reed blocks and shallots for Great Tew
Here are the finished reed blocks and shallots for the new Swell Cornopean and Great Cremona for the ca1865 Henry Williams organ at Great Tew. Henry Williams described himself as ‘of Gray & Davison’ even though he seems to have worked independently in Cheltenham Gloucestershire, so we have copied the Cremona and Cornopean in the …
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Chris Davies making reed blocks
Chris Davies is cleaning up the top surface of reed blocks which have been cast in the workshop. The reeds are for a new Swell Cornopean and a new Great Cremona in the style of Gray & Davison, for the ca1865 Henry Williams organ at Great Tew. The Cremona was prepared for but never made, …
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Jennifer Bate opens the restored William Allen organ at Pilning, Gloucestershire
Jennifer Bate is playing the opening recital on the restored William Allen organ at St Peter Pilning Gloucestershire on Saturday, April 30 at 7.30pm. Tickets £20, available by calling 01454 632670. Here is a picture of Guillaume Zellner sitting triumphantly on the nag’s head swell box, waiting for the new urn which Nick Hagen made …
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A pleased looking churchwarden at St Andrew Boxford receives delivery of a restored barrel organ
Andrew Lyle playing a tune on the ca1810 barrel organ at the Heritage Centre, Boxford, Berkshire after delivery by Dominic Gwynn and Stuart Dobbs on March 15th, 2016
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Restored organ returns to Pilning
We have just returned the restored ca1800 William Allen chamber organ to its home at St Peter’s Church, Pilning near Bristol. It has been restored to its original condition, having suffered some alteration over the years. The restoration was the initiative of Jonathan and Sharon Edwardes, Director of music and organist, who also raised the …
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Duncan Elson prepares to take another picture at Rothbury….
As part of the Heritage Lottery Fund grant the restoration of the Hill organ will be captured on camera at every stage, including the organ builders themselves dismantling the organ taken by local photographers.
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Dismantling at Rothbury
Joseph Marsden, Nick Hagen, Chris Davies and Dominic Gwynn are posed amongst the dismantled parts of the 1866 Hill organ at All Saints Rothbury in Northumberland for a photograph by Duncan Elson
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Nick Carving Finials
Nick Hagen is completing a series of damaged finials from the case of the 1864 Bevington organ at the National Trust House at Erddig near Wrexham.
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Goetze and Gwynn team on February 20th
Amongst the people who came to Martin’s celebration at St Botolph Aldgate on February 20th were present and past members of our team and people who have worked with us or for us over many years. From left to right (front row) Margaret Hamilton (Martin’s partner), Emma Hagen (our administrator), Antonia Gwynn, Abigail Balfour, and …
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Tea and cakes after Martin’s celebration on February 20th
And we are grateful to those who provided us with tea and cakes after the event. It was a great pleasure to meet so many from the worlds of organ building and playing, from the early keyboard instrument making and playing worlds, and Martin’s family and friends.
