September / October 2019Number 74

Derby & District Organists' AssociationRegistered Charity No. 510567

Newsletter

demonstration of the 1952 Walkerin the main church, encouraging usto stand in the north transept toadmire the clarity of voicing andeffectiveness of the organ in thecavernous building. He thenremained on hand to advise onregistration for our own playingefforts. The organ was designedby its first titulaire, Ralph Downes,one of principal pioneers of theneo-classical reform movement ofthe early 1950s. The then brand-new instrument instrument wasperhaps a testing ground forDownes’s ‘Baroque Tricks’ that he

Concerts & RecitalsWednesday Lunchtime Recitals12.30 - 1.10pmat St Modwen’s, Burton-upon-Trent4th September Richard Syner (Burton)11th September Cathy Lamb (Lichfield)18th September Tony Westerman (Burton)25th September Stanley Monkhouse

Saturday 21st September, 7.30 pmSt Mary’s Parish Church, Bulwell NG6 9ADAlfreton Male Voice Choir with MichaelAnthony (organ) Free admission.

Friday 27th September, 7.30 pmSt Michael & All Angels Church,Hathersage S32 1AJOrgan Recital by Ian Tracey (Liverpool)

Binns Organ Recitalsat the Albert Hall, NottinghamSundays 2.45pm Admission £6 & £10.15th September Peter King (Bath)6th October Christopher Herrick

Lichfield Cathedral RecitalsFridays at 7.30 pm Admission £1020th September Catherine Ennis (London)4th October Martyn Rawles (Lichfield)11th October James Lancelot (Durham)

Organists neededSt Francis Church, Mackworth, is inneed of volunteers to help fill gaps intheir Sunday organists’ rota up to theend of December. If you are willingto help, please contact Barbara Hartat barbarashart@hotmail.co.uk

Photo: St Albans Cathedral; Gillian Chatto at theconsole facing east. Note the shutters at therear of the Choir case.

A small but enthusiastic group ofeight of us visited both theBrompton Oratory, London and StAlban’s Cathedral on 27 June.Sadly both illness and familycommitments depleted ournumbers. For those of us whomade the journey by car to StAlbans and parking at the station,frequent Thameslink trains tookthe strain of commuting to London.

Ben Bloor, a former organ scholarat Derby Cathedral and pupil ofboth Peter Gould and Tom Corfield,was the perfect host at theOratory. He gave us an excellent

DDOA Events 2019

7th September (Saturday)Visit to organs in Lincolnshire. See page 8.

15th October (Tuesday)Organs in Denmark - Audio-visualpresentation by Denis Littleton andLaurence Rogers recalling the NDSO 2016tour of organs in Denmark. See page 7.

11th November (Monday)AGM followed by a talk by Stephen Allissreflecting on his experiences tuning organsin many prestigious locations.St John’s Methodist Church, Allestree.

The Other King’s College Chapel

Retracing Britain’s Organ Reform Origins

(Burton)

employed in the design of hismagnum opus at the Royal FestivalHall, completed a year or so later.One might have expected that anyrepertoire beyond the Baroqueperiod might have been poorlyserved, but Ben’s careful guidingallowed us to play a range ofpieces with great effect.

What we hadn’t expected wasthe delight of playing the 1975Flentrop instrument in the LittleOratory Chapel, used by theBrothers. This, as you will seefrom its specification, is a muchsmaller instrument but its clarityand precision of voicing was asheer delight. Not an easyinstrument to play with its veryprecise touch and straightpedalboard, it well repayed theeffort of persevering. Again,members demonstrated that theinstrument worked for a range ofpieces and all enjoyed theexperience.

Many thanks to Ben for beingsuch a welcoming host.

We are also grateful to AndrewLucas for allowing us to play thefamous Harrison and Harrisonorgan in St Albans. Thisinstrument, designed in 1962 byPeter Hurford in association withRalph Downes, is justly famous forits position in the development andchange in tastes witnessed in thesecond half of the twentiethcentury. Having welcomed us intothe organ loft, Andrew then left usto our own devices. Sitting at theconsole midway between the northcase (Swell) and south case(Great), the brilliance of the organwas stunning. Together with the

open shutters at the rear ofthe central Choir case, onewas surrounded by sound andthere was no doubting itsimmediacy and clarity. Thiswas a very rewardinginstrument to play, whateverthe repertoire.

Andrew explained to us themain features of therestoration back in 2009;these included someadditional stops, but theywere made to match theexisting instrument so as topreserve the original tonalcharacter. New speakingdisplay pipes were made forthe north and south cases

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with extra spaces between them toenhance the egress of sound. Thesereplaced about 45 dumb pipes in theoriginal facades. Their gleamingappearance matched the brilliantsounding choruses within. Perhaps themost significant innovation was theaddition of a fourth manual, to serve anew Nave division to be sited in thetriforium. It is extraordinary that, tenyears on, this is only ‘prepared for’,still awaiting faculty approval fromarchitectural authorities!

Our thanks must go to TonyWesterman for all his hard work inplanning and preparing a mostrewarding visit to prestigious venues.

John Maxwell-Jones

The Ralph Downes Legacy - see page 6

HoofdwerkPrestant 8Roerfluit 8Octaaf 4Fluit 4Fluit 2Mixtuur III-IVKromhoorn 8TremulantBovenwerk to Hoofdwerk

BovenwerkGedekt 8Roerfluit 8Prestant 2Nazard 11/3Sesquialter IITremulant

The Oratory Chapel, London

Organ by Flentrop, Holland 1975Consultant: Ralph Downes

PedaalBourdon 16Bourdon 8Octaaf 4Fagot 16Hoofdwerk to PedaalBovenwerk to Pedaal

Ben Bloor demonstrates the Oratory organ The Oratory Chapel organ with Ben Tony Westerman

Gillian Chatto at St Albans

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Recent EventsDDOA Visit to Oxford

Laurence Rogers writes:

The organs to be found in thechapels of the thirty nine Oxfordcolleges comprise one of thelargest collections of well endowedorgans in the country and offer awide spectrum of genresrepresenting the whole world oforgan building. Our most recentvisit to the city in July featuredmechanical instruments built in thepast sixty years. The return tomechanical action during thisperiod reflected a growing interestin the artistic possibilities that theyafford and the timbres associatedwith Baroque traditions. It may beargued that this marks them outas principally concert andeducational instruments, withservice accompaniment asecondary role. Organs visited:

St John’s: Aubertin (France) 2008Queens: Frobenius (Denmark) 1965Magdalen: Mander (England) 1986

It was clear that the consoles ofeach instrument posed unusualchallenges for the player: flatpedal boards, short keys, sensitivetouch, doorknob-style stops inunfamiliar configurations on flatjambs, and the complete absenceof 'playing aids'. Interestingly, allthree had an enclosed divisionwith an expression (swell) pedal.

The arrangement of stops on theAubertin and Frobenius consolesfollowed the configuration commonin French organs with stops foreach division on both sides of themanuals, but without theterracing. 8 and 4 foot fluestended to be on the left hand side,and reeds, mutations and mixtureson the right. (see photos) The

Mander console had the conventionalleft Swell and right Greatconfiguration, but the third and lowestmanual had no stops of its own, butwas exclusively coupled to the Swelland Great.

My personal favourite of the day wasthe Frobenius, for its welcominglightness of touch and beauty ofvoicing. This instrument is regardedby many as the most significant post-war organ in Britain.

Tom Corfield writes:

The three organs we tried were all ofwhat one might loosely term a classicaldisposition, yet they are so different.The Aubertin had a lovely sound, sosweet yet powerful enough when itneeded to be. I found it uncomfortableto play, however, and not only becauseof the straight pedal board. On two ofthe three manuals the keys were veryshort leaving little room for the handto lie over them. The stops for eachdivision were on both sides which alsotook a bit of getting used to. It isundoubtedly a fine instrument, but

rather idiosyncratic and not friendlyto the user.

The Frobenius in The Queen’sCollege, on the other hand, is ajoy. The organ and the acousticare one. I can well understandRobert Quinney’s enthusiasm for itas an instrument where every stopis beautiful in itself but where theyblend to make lovely choruses.And it is user-friendly. Whereasthe Aubertin seemed to be trying tocatch one out, the Frobenius bringsout the best in the player.

We approached the Manderexpecting the worst, as the Directorof Music and others had suggestedan instrument falling apart and inurgent need of replacing. Itcertainly has its eccentricities,starting with a third manual whichdoes no more than couple togetherthe other two. Also, the action is alittle bit spongy. But it has a lovelywarm tone and sounds well in thebuilding A very effective swell boxmakes for much expressivepotential.

St John’s Organ by Aubertin 2008 The Queen’s College Organ by Frobenius 1965 Magdalen College Organ by Mander 1986

Aubertin stops: note the colours of the stops andlabels to identify the manuals and pedals.

Frobenius stops: note the letter ‘B’, ‘G’ and ‘P’to identify the Brustpositive, Great and Pedals.

Richard Brice writes:

The Aubertin organ at St John'sCollege was the first organ on ourtour and in all respects it was themost alien - we all felt the need ofan instruction sheet, or perhaps weshould have done some homeworkbefore the visit. Personally, I foundit the best of the three and a delightto play.

A three manual and pedals organbuilt in a very old-fashioned way sothat it could almost have been builtin the seventeenth century;wonderful huge stops which pull outseveral inches with a very satisfyingfeel to them - none of thoseilluminated stop tabs here! Thekeys were very short and althoughthis might seem a problem, I didn'tfind it so. The pedal board wasstraight with the sharps on a radiuswhen seen from above so that theextreme ends were easier to playthan on a normal straight board.The pedals themselves were flat andquite wide and the naturals were cutaway at the sharps. It looked quiteawkward to play but I found it verycomfortable, once I stopped losingmy foot down the side of thesharps. At first, we couldn't get theTrompette and Buzaine reeds towork until we discovered the secret;pull out the stop and depress theappropriate ventil pedal. Two morepedals did the coupling, and tocouple the Choir to the Great yousimply pulled the keyboard in andout; if you like registration aids thenthis organ is not for you!

I played some Couperin, obviouslyvery suitable, but it also made agood account of the first part of theThird Chorale by Ceasar Franck.Whatever was played on the organit sounded lovely - aided by anexcellent acoustic.

Tony Westerman writes:

The Frobenius organ in the chapelof Queens College was installed in1965 and so might be regarded asone of the earlier instrumentsinstalled in Oxbridge college chapelsthat reflected the new interest inclassical building styles, rather likethe Grant, Degens & Bradbeerorgan in New College (1969). Itwas comfortable to play and had aconcave, radiating pedalboard, andalthough only possessed of twentytwo speaking stops, provided arange of timbre that wasimpressive. The touch wasrelatively light, even when coupledthrough, though there were no

registration aids. As with theAubertin organ in St John's College,the stops were 'terraced' thoughwithout the terracing to supportstop positions; familiarity with thelayout would undoubtedly makeregistration easier. I found thetone of the organ, which wasrounded by a gently-flatteringacoustic, to be delightful - everystop contributed something to thepleno. Playing selections ofbaroque repertoire was veryrewarding: not too much chiff onflues; reeds were characterfulwithout being overbearing, andmixtures added clarity andbrilliance without screaming. Thisis an instrument that bears muchexploration.

Geoff Howell writes:

L. N.Cottingham’s outstandingRegency Gothick refurbishment ofthe Magdalen chapel around 1830included a finely carved stonescreen crowned by a unique stoneRückpositiv case. When JohnMander built the 1986 organ thatwe have today, he placed the Greatpipework (8 stops) in this case andadded a new oak case designed byJulian Bicknell for the Swell (9stops) and Pedal (5 stops)divisions.

Excited to try the Mander, I wasaware of this distinguished historyas we climbed the stairs to theorgan loft, past the board listing

the Informatores Choristarum andOrganists from 1481. It didn’tdisappoint. I found it a joy both toplay and to listen to in thewonderful surroundings – more sothan the previous Magdaleninstrument, which I last played in1976, as a student. The tone wasperhaps not as harsh as that of theground-breaking organs at St John’sor Queen’s and it blendedbeautifully with the warm acousticof the chapel.

There was just room for us all inthe loft, alongside the board oforgan scholars from 1950, whichincluded such names as DudleyMoore (1954-58), ChristopherGower (1958-61) and Jeremy Suter(1970-73). A steady stream oforgan scholars have honed theircraft on the Mander instrumentbefore becoming well knownmusicians. Magnus Williamson(1987-90) has written that hisplaying was transformed by ‘JohnMander’s wonderfully disciplinedand responsive instrument’. Headded: ‘Physically shoe-hornedbetween choir screen and vaulting,and reluctant to overspill thescreen’s parapet like its pot-belliedpredecessor, the 1986 Magdalenorgan shows the virtue of makingchoices.’ (Organists’ Review, June2018, page 25)

However, other organ scholarshave remarked that the organ is notpowerful enough to fill the chapelon big occasions. And two recentorgan scholars have told me thatthe instrument is “on its last legs;the action is unreliable and uneven– it cannot be tightened properlyand is beyond repair”. The collegeagrees with this, and that the costof refurbishing it to a state thatwould be sustainable in the long-term comes close to the cost of anew instrument. So after just 33years they have decided to pursuethat course – it will be fascinating tofollow their quest for a new organ.

After descending from the loft, westrolled through the cloisters for acup of tea by the river; others madetheir way to the railway station. Weare most grateful to the currentInformator, Mark Williams, foraccommodating us on a what was abusy day for the chapel, and also tothe organ scholar, Rupert Jackson,who called in and was most helpfulin talking about the organ. TheMagdalen organ fitted in well withthe whole visit – three superbpieces of craftsmanship but threevery different organs.

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Chris Darrell at St John’swith Tony Westerman looking on.

Recent EventsCrème de la crème at SymphonyHall, Birmingham

Several of our members areregular visitors to the SymphonyHall to hear the superlativelunchtime recitals by BirminghamCity Organist, Thomas Trotter. Theorgan and location are equallyspectacular, but of course the qualityof the music is what makesaudiences return, and in this respectThomas Trotter never disappoints.

I would like to commend anotherinspirational musical experiencewhich occurs as an annual eventduring the first week of July. This isthe showcase of young talent in thefour-day National Festival organisedby the Music for Youth charity (MFY).For many of us in our choir-trainingrole, the task of nurturing youngsingers in our church choirs hasbeen a lifelong preoccupation, andthe occasions of high achievementare joyous indeed. Knowing howmuch commitment and hard workthat goes into cultivating youngtalent and perfecting choir singing,one becomes full of admiration forall the choirs invited to sing at theMFY Festival.

During the course of the schoolyear, school choirs, ensembles,bands and orchestras compete inover 50 regional festivals organisedby MFY in all parts of the country.Winning groups in each category arethen chosen to perform at theNational Festival. Every July thisresults in 10,000 children convergingon Birmingham to perform in theSymphony Hall, Town Hall, CBSOCentre and the Royal BirminghamConservatoire. As in many previousyears, I joined audiences on the twodays that featured the choir events,and as usual, I return home in theevening with thrilling memories of

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superb singing humming in myears. In total I experienced andenjoyed the performances of 11primary and 19 secondary agechoirs.

The variety of repertoire madebrilliant entertainment for theaudience and emphasised theversatility and range of skillpossessed by the voices, bothcollectively in chorus andindividually in solos. There weresome sacred pieces, but in themain we heard a broad range ofsecular music; traditional, folk,ethnic and lots of contemporarycompositions and arrangements.Several choirs also presentedextremely accomplished studentcompositions. With only oneexception, in a performance fromThe Armed Man by Karl Jenkins,all choirs sang their music frommemory. It was thrilling to seethe engagement of singers‘written’ all over their faces, notonly creating a strong stagepresence, but more importantly,communicating the essence of themusic to the audience.

Of the secondary choirs, if I wereto pick out the performance thatmoved me most, it would beBogoroditse devo by Rachmaninoffsung by the Tees Valley YouthChoir. The dynamic range, blendand beauty of tone and sheercorporate discipline were absolutelysuperb, creating a spine-tinglingemotional atmosphere in the halland quite a few moist eyes! Of theprimary choirs, it is impossible tosingle out one performance.Enthusiasm, dynamism and purejoie de vivre were on show inabundance.

For me, this sort of day outconjures up so much hope for thefuture of music in the nextgeneration, but it must berecognised that underpinning thisgalaxy of excellence is the skill,dedication and charisma of musicleaders, conductors and teachers upand down the country. It hasalways been thus, whether inschools, county music centres orchurch choirs and one hopes thatpolitical and commercial entities andeducational authorities will notneglect to encourage, support andsponsor these key people. The MFYfestivals have demonstrated thatthere is plenty of youthful talentfrom which the next generation ofmusic leaders can be nurtured, butthe provision of a nationalinfrastructure to achieve this islargely in the hands of politicians,administrators and entrepreneurs.

Next year’s National Festival willcelebrate 50 years of Music forYouth. I fully intend to be there formy annual dose of youthfulinspiration. If you are minded tojoin me, I can assure you that youwill be truly inspired.

Laurence Rogers

Tees Valley Youth Choir at Symphony Hall, Birmingham

Joyous faces abound: Maybury Primary School Choir from Hull

Born in Derby, Ralph Downes(1904-1993) became one of themost influential figures in post-warBritain during the renaissance oforgan building and restoration. Thepost-war period provided plenty ofscope for a new approach as somany organs had been destroyed,damaged or poorly maintainedduring the years of conflict, thoughwhilst there was scope for changethere was a considerable shortageof materials (particularly metals)available to organ builders. Therewere other difficulties that also hadto be faced: the lack of man-powerand changes to working hours;government restrictions on non-essential work, and of course theavailability of finance when so muchwork needed to be done rebuildinghousing and infrastructure.

There had been a reappraisal ofwhat constituted a 'good'instrument during the last decadesof the nineteenth century and thefirst four of the twentieth, withbuilders such as William Hill andWillis III in this country and GDonald Harrison, Tonal Director atAeolian Skinner in America, movingtowards lighter choruses topped bybright mixtures. Their move awayfrom octopodal instrumentsdominated by loud reeds wasinformed by their study of 17th and18th century European organs,particularly in Germany, whereWillis, Harrison and SenatorEmerson Richards visited manyinstruments.

Willis frequently bemoaned thefact that whilst he wanted tointroduce brighter choruses,independent pedal departments andeven, heaven forbid, pedalmixtures; he was constantly

Richards (Consultant and movingforce behind the giant Atlantic CityAuditorium organ) and Harrisonexchanged their thoughts on pipescaling, mixtures, metal compositionand actions, often passing on whattoday would be considered 'tradesecrets'. Indeed, parts, pipes andblueprints were exchanged, suchwas the goodwill and respect inwhich each held the other, thoughone should bear in mind that Willisand the American builders were notin competition - those difficultiescame after WWII.

It was into this environment thatDownes appeared as something of avisionary, promoting ideas that leftmany more than a little breathless.He had developed his ideas on organtone and construction during histenure at Princeton, USA, as ChapelOrganist. Whilst there he movedranks to different parts of the organto experiment with the effect ontone, projection and integration withother ranks of different scale - hedid, apparently, move everythingback before he left. Downes had aparticular regard for the work andvision of G Donald Harrison.Harrison had been trained by WillisIII and had moved to America towork with EM Skinner, with Willis'sblessing, and was already movingtowards a more classical tonaldesign before his first visit toGermany in 1936. Harrison's moveaway from the symphonic organ to aconcept in which each stopcontributed to the pleno, was aconcept that was very close toDownes' own ideas.

After his return to England in 1935Downes took up post as organist ofthe London Oratory in 1936, a posthe held until 1977, and influenced a

number of English musicians with hiswell-researched, historically accurateperformances and broadcasts ofbaroque music. He was appointedProfessor of Organ at the RoyalCollege of Music in 1954 and wasregarded as one of the leadingorganists and teachers of his day;amongst his pupils were DameGillian Weir, Thomas Trotter andJohn Scott.

The post-war period was a busytime for Downes, who not onlycarried out his duties at the LondonOratory and fulfilled concert andbroadcast engagements, but wasinvited in 1948 to be the consultantfor the new organ to be installed inthe Royal Festival Hall (RFH). Hewas to have total control of theproject, as indeed he had at theOratory during the design andinstallation of the new Walker organ(1952-54), one of the first to be builton neo-classical lines in this country.He was offered much advice byestablished builders on both sides ofthe Atlantic who thought him anupstart with insufficient experienceto lead such a prestigious project asthat at the RFH. Downes paid lipservice to the advice, much of whichwas well-intentioned, though all ofwhich he ignored.

The RFH organ, built by Harrison &Harrison (H&H) during the period1950-54 was strikingly different toanything that they had built before,though to their credit they enteredinto the project with an open-mindedapproach, accepting Downesdirection and, rather controversially,the introduction of ranksmanufactured in France. Downesand H&H had to design an organ fora hall that was not yet constructed, a

The Ralph Downes Legacy - Tony Westerman

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thwarted by conservativeorganists who simply wantedmore of the same. Harrisonexperienced much the same inAmerica, though there seemsto have been a greaterwillingness there to open themind to change. His greatsuccess with the large organin the Mormon Tabernacle inSalt Lake City won the seal ofapproval of many Americanorganists as the way forward.

Perhaps surprisingly, therewas a constant exchange ofletters between Willis andthose of the American organworld. Willis III, Emerson

terrific problem as the firststep for an organ builder is toassess the characteristics of abuilding's acoustic to informdecisions on scale andvoicing.

The distinctive, somewhatover-bright sound of the RFHorgan proved to becontentious thoughinspirational. Some firms,such as Grant, Degens &Bradbeer adopted the tonalprinciples of the RFH and theOratory in their work, furtheropening the minds of Englishorganists to the joys of lightwind pressures, open-footneo-classical voicing,Ralph Downes (right) with an apprehensive observer.

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independent pedal departmentsand pipework with a highproportion of tin.

Downes went on to advise on therebuilds at St Albans andGloucester cathedrals employingthe same principles. It would,perhaps, be balanced to observethat both the RFH and St Albansorgans have been tamedsomewhat, with the mixtures toneddown in both pitch and volume,and at Gloucester some of Downeswork was undone during the lastrebuild.

Downes' designs didn't meet withuniversal approval - radicalconcepts rarely do and oftenrequire further development. Hisconcept for these neo-classicalinstruments was, however, thecatalyst for the renewal of Englishorgan building practices, and,fortunately for us, brighter andmore exciting instruments.

Tony Westerman

The following links give details oforgans for which Downes was theconsultant:

The London Oratory

St Albans Cathedral

Royal Festival Hall

Gloucester Cathedral

Your AssociationNew members

We are delighted to welcome twonew members to the Association:

Stuart Bassett has been known tous for a good while now and hasrecently contributed to the columns ofthe Newsletter. Stuart presides overthe Nigel Church organ at St Giles,Sandiacre, a much-admired instrumentin Derbyshire.

Mary Cobbold is Director of Music atHoly Trinity, Millhouses, Sheffield. Sheteachers piano and organ, holds FRCOand is an RCO accredited teacher. Itwas a great pleasure meeting Mary onour recent visit to Oxford and we lookforward to her involvement in futureevents.

Ken Blockley R.I.P.

Ken Blockley, a former, well-known and respected Derby organist andprimary school head teacher died on 9 April aged 97. He studied piano andorgan under Sydney Morecroft and obtained his LRAM in 1951. He servedtwice as organist and choirmaster of St Peter’s, Littleover, firstly in the1950s and again in the 1960s. He then went to St Werburgh’s, Derby whenhis good friend and colleague, Dr Arthur Pope, died. In the 1970s and1980s he played at All Saints, Mugginton. In his retirement he filled in atmany local churches including Kirk Langley, Mackworth and St Paul’s,Quarndon. He continued playing into his 90s when deteriorating eyesightand arthritic fingers caused him to stop. However, he enjoyed listening tomusic right to the end of his life.

John Maxwell-Jones

Mary Cobbold at the Queen’s College organ.

Forthcoming DDOA Meeting

Tuesday 15th October 2019 at 7.30 pm

at St John’s Church, Mickleover DE3 9HD

Organs in Denmark - An audio-visual presentationby Denis Littleton and Laurence Rogers

In March 2016 David Butterworth organiseda mega-tour of Denmark organs for theNottingham and District Society ofOrganists. The week-long tour took in choirconcerts, recitals, a visit to the Marcussenorgan factory and visits to 39 organs, manyof which members were able to play. Forall participants, travelling the length andbreath of the country, this was amemorable tour for its sounds, images,historic locations and above all foropportunities to meet friendly andwelcoming Danish musicians.

Our speakers for will attempt to recapturethe fascination and amazement of the visitstogether with the heart-warmingcommunity activities encountered in theDanish world of church music. All will bebrought back to life with a selection ofphotographs and video recordings taken onthe tour.

www.derbyorganists.co.uk

Items of news or articles for the November/December edition of the should reach the Editor by Monday21st October, either via e-mail: DDOAnews@gmail.com or by post: Dr Laurence Rogers, 24 St.David’s Crescent,Coalville, Leicestershire LE67 4SS. The Secretary, Andy Storer, may be reached via mail@derbyorganists.co.ukPlease visit the DDOA Website www.derbyorganists.co.uk for information about Association activities, past editionsof the newsletter, photo gallery and many special features of local interest.

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Forthcoming DDOA Meeting

Saturday 7th September 2019

Visit to a quartet of organs in Lincolnshire

Programme for the day:

10.30 am. Lincoln, All Saints, Monks Road(organ by Fr.Willis) LN2 5JN

12.00 noon. Lincoln, St Hugh’s RC Church(organ by Willis and Groves) LN2 5AQ

1.00 pm. Travel to Stow for lunch at TheCross Keys LN1 2DE

3.00 pm. Stow Minster (organ by Brindley& Forster, 1873) LN1 2DE

4.30 pm. Spridlington, St Hilary (organ byNicholson of Lincoln, 1878) LN8 2DF

Terry Bennett has arranged visits to fourorgan gems in Lincoln and environs:

All Saints is a most imposing Edwardiangothic building with a vintage Father Willis(2 manuals and pedals, 18 stops) in a highgallery above the quire.

St Hugh’s RC is another impressive buildingwith a fine tower and spire. The large organ(3 manuals and pedals, 42 stops), originallyby Willis, was installed in 2001 by HenryGroves from a Liverpool hospital chapel.

Stow Minster is a beautiful church ofAnglo-Saxon foundation situated in the quietvillage of Stow, 20 minutes drive fromLincoln. The beautifully preserved organ(2 manuals and pedals, 13 stops) is byBrindley & Forster, 1873.

Spridlington Parish Church is a shortstraight drive from Stow. The organ (2manuals and pedals, 16 stops) by T HNicholson Lincoln, 1878, is claimed to be thebest surviving example of the builder's work.There is a fine stencilled case.

PARTICIPATION and TRANSPORT

Members are asked to travel independentlyby car. If you need a lift or have spareplaces to offer other members, pleasecontact Terry Bennett. In any event,please let Terry know that you wish toattend; this will be helpful in securing luncharrangements and notifying members if it isnecessary to make last minute changes.Please ring Terry at 01332 670999 or emailtb@chamades.co.uk