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R OYA L F E S T I VA L HALL organ
welcome The amazing sound of the Royal Festival Hall organ was first heard in March 1954. The organ was removed in 2005 so that the Royal Festival Hall could be refurbished and one third was re-installed when the hall re-opened in 2007. We restored this magnificent instrument to its full glory in time to celebrate the organ’s 60th birthday in March 2014. Everyone from young children to the keenest organ scholars are now able to enjoy the instrument again The organ was restored by Harrison & Harrison Ltd of Durham with incredible craftsmanship under the expert guidance of our organ curator William McVicker. We are very grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a grant of £950,000, and to the 60,000 people who sponsored pipes and made donations to help us raise a total of £2.3 million to enable you and future generations to hear the Royal Festival Hall organ again. Jude Kelly Southbank Centre Artistic Director Alan Bishop Southbank Centre Chief Executive Gillian Moore MBE Southbank Centre Head of Classical Music
Organs are the most versatile of instruments, the scope and power of an orchestra being at the hands and feet of one person; ranging from chamber organs shaped like a wardrobe to huge pieces of engineering, architecture and design. This greatly loved instrument that dominates the Royal Festival Hall, absent and incomplete for years, is now back home for tens of thousands to enjoy – euphonious, harmonious, melodious, thunderous. As a schoolboy in the 1960s I was captivated for life by attending free concerts at Southbank Centre, and I hope that people young and old will be enraptured by the programme of events, talks, recitals and concerts around the restored organ, dozens of them free to attend. I’m deeply grateful to the thousands of Lottery players who contributed to the Heritage Lottery Fund’s £950,000 towards the restoration, building on the £22.5 million contributed towards the restoration of the UK’s finest post-war concert hall. Its magnificent renewal completes another stage in Southbank Centre’s wonderful renaissance. Wesley Kerr Chair of London Committee Heritage Lottery Fund
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A school party meet the Royal Festival Hall organ during the restoration © Timothy Cochrane
THE ORGAN IN R O Y A L F E S T I V A L H A LL By William McVicker, Southbank Centre Organ Curator The design and construction of the Royal Festival Hall organ by Ralph Downes and Harrison & Harrison Ltd of Durham has a fascinating and engaging history. This instrument is considered to be the first major product of the English Organ Reform Movement. Origins of the Organ Reform Movement Albert Schweitzer (1875 – 1965) had asked some farreaching questions concerning the state of what was then contemporary organ building in Europe (circa 1900). His investigations gave rise to a conference in Freiburg in 1926 which sought to establish the principles of good organ-building. The instruments of the ‘classic’ period were rediscovered, and organ builders began to attempt to copy the sounds of these older instruments – notably those of the 17th and 18th centuries, as built by Arp Schnitger (1648 – 1719) and Gottfried Silbermann (1683 – 1753). This German organ revival became known as the Orgelbewegung. The seeds of this movement spread to America and the ‘American Classic’ organ began to develop. It was there that Ralph William Downes (1904 – 1993) first encountered this burgeoning organ-building philosophy. After taking his degree at Oxford, Downes became musical director and organist at Princeton University’s new chapel in 1928. When he returned to London in 1936, as organist of the Brompton Oratory, he rapidly established a reputation as a musician with what was (at that time) a rare interest in historical performance practice.
Commissioning the Organ Downes was resident organist for the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and in 1948 was commissioned by the London County Council (LCC) to design an organ for what would become the Royal Festival Hall. From the very outset Downes was firmly wedded to the idea of an instrument which sought a return to some of the tonal design principles of the 18th century. He sought an organ that could do justice to the finest contrapuntal music written for the instrument – that of Johann Sebastian Bach and the North German School – and in order to do this he was particularly interested in the development of characterful organ stops and architectural choruses of ‘clean’ organ sound, topped by what are known as brilliant ‘mixture’ stops – a characteristic which critics of his scheme loosely railed on as being ‘continental’ or ‘Baroque’.
Downes’ ideas met with opposition from several significant ‘establishment’ figures – notably Sir George Dyson, Sir George Thalben-Ball, Sir Malcolm Sargent and Dr Ralph Vaughan Williams; but there were others in favour of his organ revival scheme: Benjamin Britten, Sir Thomas Beecham, Sir Jack Westrup (Professor of Music at the University of Oxford), and G Donald Harrison (an organ-builder who championed the ‘American Classic’ organ). Those opposed to the scheme focused their objections on the nature of the ‘continental’ or ‘Baroque’ influence – a sound which was abhorrent to some, especially Ralph Vaughan Williams, who even went as far as writing a letter to The Times stating his disapproval. Perhaps these objections can now be contextualised in the aftermath of the Second World War; the nature of these comments about ‘foreign organs’ represents a fascinating chapter in English social and cultural postwar history. In the end it was agreed that the objections were differences in taste and Downes’ scheme was modified, adopted and built. Harrison & Harrison Ltd of Durham was chosen (on account of their excellent workmanship) to undertake the task of constructing the instrument to a ground-breaking specification.
1951 Festival of Britain We have a tendency to look back through history to the inauguration of the Royal Festival Hall organ without appreciating that it was born from the ideas which formed the aspirations of the Festival of Britain; that the organ took four years to construct tends to separate the instrument from the revolutionary thinking which underpinned that Festival in 1951 – an event inspired by the Great Exhibition of 1851 as well as the Stockholm Exhibition of 1930. The Festival promised revitalisation for post-war Britain: everything was to be new; it represented the future through invention, colour and excitement – a veritable ‘beacon for change’; it was a commercial and cultural showcase for the promotion of trade and the improvement of the people; it embraced a spirit of imagination and adventure which is wholly reflected
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in Downes’ thinking. The inquisitive architectural spirit of the age owed much to continental design – both Scandinavian and Italian. Barry Turner, in his book on the Festival, states that ‘what came after was distorted by a national culture that favoured picturesque cosiness over the more practical and, some thought, sterile design of the northern europeans.’1 There are some interesting parallels in the world of postFestival Hall organ-building; the instrument’s concept, design and construction thus accorded with the ideals of the Festival, and, in Downes’ own words, it was built ‘to embody excellence in quality of materials, workmanship [and] artistry.’ The Royal Festival Hall instrument thus occupies a pivotal position in the history of the english organ. Its design and inauguration caused a public furore in the early 1950s, and, whilst controversial in its day, this instrument was effectively the first ‘neo-classical’ english organ to reflect a desire to serve a wide range of earlier keyboard repertoires, and to apply the socalled ‘open-foot’ voicing technique to the instrument’s pipework and so heralded the arrival of the organ Reform movement in england. The Royal Festival Hall organ may not have produced any immediate successors, but it did cause a reassessment of almost every aspect of english organ design and had a far-reaching impact on organbuilding culture. Some of these influences have subsequently waned, but others are still very much part of the english organ scene.
The Organ’s Appearance It is well known that the organ’s appearance is something of an accident. There was much debate amongst the planners as to how the instrument should look. Some thought that a ‘town hall’ symmetrical array of large organ pipes – including some copper pipes – would be appropriate, whilst others thought that a grille covering the entire opening (in the manner of the cinema organs of the time) would suffice. The leader of the london county council and chairman of the South Bank committee, Isaac Haywood, resolved the deadlock: ‘we are paying for all these expensive pipes and we want to see them as a decorative feature of the Hall’.2 This led to the organ’s internal layout (initially assumed to be hidden from view) becoming the exposed pipe work we see today. The organ’s imaginative appearance stunned audiences at the time; and it is noteworthy that this open-plan design was adopted for a number of subsequent modernist english organ designs, notably at coventry cathedral (1962), liverpool metropolitan cathedral (1967) and Blackburn cathedral (1968). 1 Turner, Barry, Beacon for Change: how the 1951 Festival of Britain helped shape a new age (london: Aurum, 2011), 1-2. 2 Downes, Ralph, Baroque Tricks, Adventures with the Organ Builders (oxford: Positif Press, 1983; second edition, 1999), 165.
William McVicker, Organ Curator, holds an organ discovery workshop in Royal Festival Hall © Timothy Cochrane
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o rgan sp e c ifi c ati o n PEDAL ORGAN 1. Principal (from 54)
32 2. Major Bass 16 3. Principal 16 4. Sub Bass 16 5. Quintadena (from 74) 16 6. Salicional (from 40) 16 7. Quintflute (stopped) 102/3 8. Octave 8 9. Gedackt 8 10. Quintadena (from 74) 8 11. Nazard (conical) 51/3 12. Superoctave 4 13. Spitzflute (conical) 4 14. Open Flute 2 15. Septerz 17.21 31/5 16. Rauschquint 12.15 51/3 17. Mixture 19.22.26.29.33 22/3 18. Bombarde (from 19) 32 19. Bombarde 16 20. Dulzian (from 38) 16 21. Trumpet 8 22. Cromorne (from 52) 8 23. Clarion 4 24. Schalmei (from 53) 4 25. Cornett 2 I Positive and Choir to Pedal II Great to Pedal III Swell to Pedal IV Solo to Pedal
POSITIVE ORGAN 26. Principal 8 27. Gedackt 8 28. Quintadena 8 29. Octave 4 30. Rohrflute 4 31. Rohrnazard 22/3 32. Spitzflute (conical) 2 33. Tierce 13/5 34. Larigot 11/3 35. Mixture 15.19.22.26.29 2 36. Sharp Mixture 22.26.29.33.36 1 1 /2 37. Carillon 29.38 38. Dulzian (in Choir box) 8 39. Trumpet (in Choir box) 8 V Tremulant VI Positive on Great
VII Swell to Positive VIII Solo to Positive
CHOIR ORGAN
(On Positive keys) (Enclosed)
40. Salicional 16 41. Open Wood 8 42. Stopped Wood 8 43. Salicional (conical) 8 44. Unda Maris (conical) 8 45. Spitzoctave (conical) 4 46. Open Flute 4 47. Principal 2 48. Quint 11/3 49. Octave 1 2 /3 50. Sesquialtera 26.31 1 /2 51. Mixture 29.33.36.40 52. Cromorne 8 53. Schalmei 4 IX Tremulant X Choir on Solo
GREAT ORGAN 54. Principal 16 55. Gedacktpommer 16 56. Diapason 8 57. Principal 8 58. Harmonic Flute 8 59. Rohr Gedackt 8 60. Quintflute (stopped) 51/3 61. Octave 4 62. Gemshorn (conical) 4 63. Quintadena 4 64. Quint 22/3 65. Super Octave 2 66. Blockflute 2 67. Tierce 13/5 68. Mixture 15.19.22.26.29 2 69. Sharp Mixture 26.29.33.36 2/3 70. Cornet 1.8.12.15.17 (middle c) 8 71. Bombarde 16 72. Trumpet 8 73. Clarion 4 XI Sub Octave XII Reeds and Cornet on Solo XIII Positive and Choir to Great XIV Swell to Great XV Solo to Great
SWELL ORGAN 74. Quintadena 16 75. Diapason 8 76. Gemshorn (conical) 8 77. Quintadena 8 78. Viola 8 79. Celeste 8 80. Principal 4 81. Koppelflute 4 82. Nazard (conical) 22/3 83. Octave 2 84. Open Flute 2 85. Tierce (tenor f) 13/5 86. Flageolet 1 87. Mixture 22.26.29.33 1 1 88. Cymbel 38.40.43 /5 89. Hautboy 8 90. Vox Humana 8 XVI Tremulant
91. Bombarde 92. Trumpet 93. Clarion
16 8 4
XVII Octave (16ft, 8ft and 4ft stops only) XVIII Solo to Swell
SOLO ORGAN (Enclosed)
94. Diapason 8 95. Rohrflute 8 96. Octave 4 97. Waldflute (conical) 2 98. Rauschquint 12.15 22/3 99. Tertian 17.19 13/5 100. Mixture 19.22.22.26.29.33 11/3 101. Basset Horn 16 XIX Tremulant
102. Harmonic Trumpet 103. Harmonic Clarion
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COMBINATION COUPLERS
(rocking tablets) XX Great and Pedal Combinations coupled XXI Swell on General foot pistons
ACCESSORIES Eight foot pistons to the Pedal Organ Eight pistons to the Choir and Positive Organs (combined) Eight pistons to the Great Organ Eight pistons to the Swell Organ Eight pistons to the Solo Organ Eight general pistons (duplicated by foot pistons) and general cancel piston
Reversible pistons: I - IV, VII, VIII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVIII Reversible foot pistons: I - IV Full organ piston and foot piston Stepper, operating general pistons General crescendo pedal, with indicator Balanced expression pedals to Choir, Swell and Solo Organs
The pistons are instantly adjustable, with eight divisional memories and 512 general memories. The general crescendo pedal has one fixed and three adjustable settings. The actions are electro-pneumatic. The manual compass is 61 notes; the pedal compass is 32 notes.
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DESIGN AND SOUND: R A L P H D OW N E S O N T H E O R G A N During the 1970s Ralph Downes was presented with the opportunity to describe the organ more fully in a pamphlet issued by the Greater London Council (GLC, circa 1975). It is reproduced below. (Amendments to Downes’ text are in square brackets.)
Ralph Downes
While the hall itself was still in the early stages of construction the building of a monumental concert organ had been planned – in 1949. The word ‘monumental’ does not refer to its mere size: it is a large organ, but there are several larger in England alone. Rather it was to embody excellence in quality of materials, workmanship, artistry, on a number of levels, and comprehensiveness in the sense of a blending of different ideals and concepts, all deeply rooted in the long tradition of organ-building practice but presented in a new perspective. At the practical, utilitarian level, the Architects’ preliminary briefing was to the effect that the organ must be sufficiently powerful to supply ample backing for large choirs and orchestras and even a ‘capacity’ singing audience. If it could, in addition, serve satisfactorily for an occasional recital or concerto performance or as an accompaniment for smaller chamber orchestras and choirs – that would be an added, secondary, advantage. This was in the days before the Organ Reform Movement had really set foot in England, since when there has been such an upsurge of interest in the organ of Classic Tradition.
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The design of the typical organ of the period 1900 – 1950 was almost reducible to rule-of-thumb: you had your Loud Stops and your Soft Stops, your Imitative Tone-Colours, all usually grouped in clusters on the various manual sections. If there was a fourth manual [keyboard], it usually had at least one stop which was louder than all the rest put together. Of course this was supplied with very heavy pressure air. The Loud and Very Loud stops devoured (or shouted down) the rest. The Pedal division, played by the organist’s feet, was largely ‘borrowed’ from the manual divisions so as to provide a ‘suitable’ basis for any tone-colour. Before the age of pure electronics, such organs often served as mere ‘sound effects’ machines rather than true instruments of music: for the organs of tradition, and especially of the Golden Age (the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe), were not conceived or made in this way. In fact, composers in the early years of the 20th century were mostly repelled by the modern organ, just because it had lost its true character; in the search for mere power and ‘tone-colour’ tonal architecture had been a fatal casualty. The tonal architecture of an organ begins with one set of pipes, placed where they can be heard (and seen) to advantage, and speaking with an absolutely natural tone – quite unforced, but loud enough to delight the ear in the room they occupy. These are the Principals. Added power and richness comes from the addition of further rows of pipes equally mild in tone, ranged behind the Principals and tuned in octaves and fifths above them to form a Principal-chorus – the true organ sonority, rather penetrating and brilliant in musical effect, due to the fairly slender diameters of the pipes. Historically, wider types of softer, flutier sonority have grown up as neighbours of the Principals, both as a contrast and (in combination) as an amplifying element: semi-imitative reed pipes in which the sounds are produced by the vibration of brass ‘tongues’ have also added to the tonal palette. The sum of all this is an ensemble of mildtoned pipes every row of which contributes something characteristic and vital to the whole – and this whole is unexpectedly powerful but musically clear. In a larger organ there will be several such ensembles, each equal and complementary to the others, but with its own marked character – each is in fact a separate organ, controlled by its own (manual or pedal) keyboard.
The rediscovery and reinstatement of this tonal architecture has been one of the main achievements of the Organ Reform, which began in Germany in the 1930s and is now worldwide. Its first considerable manifestation in England was in the Royal Festival Hall organ. Here there are five manual divisions – controlled by four keyboards: the sixth, played from the pedal keyboard, is a completely independent bass section, which also contains useful ‘tenor’ and ‘descant’ stops. Because of the principle of tonal equality, mentioned above, the permutations and combinations of the separate stops and of the complete divisions are almost limitless. This accounts for this organ’s remarkable versatility, noticed many times over the years particularly in the hands of different eminent players. In this modern orchestral hall, the open ‘outlook’ necessary for good acoustical transmission was secured by giving the organ a siting of great width and comparatively shallow depth – compensating for the lack of traditionally available height in very large church buildings in which the magnificent organs of the Golden Age were often built over the great west door. The stereosonic effect is thus horizontal rather than vertical. The resonance of the traditional organ-case, so important for mixing and projection of the tone, [was originally] compensated for by the installation of reflector boards, some of which [were] clearly visible. [NB these reflector boards became redundant and were removed after the recent acoustical work in the auditorium.]
Visually, the architects favoured the idea of the open display of most of the 7,866 pipes as a decorative feature of the auditorium: similar procedures were followed [during the 1940s] at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris and the concert Hall of the Danish State Radio in Copenhagen. As a focal point in the Royal Festival Hall, a kind of fantasy-frontispiece was designed by Sir Leslie Martin, utilising organ-pipe forms of exaggerated dimensions and pleasantly varied materials, wood and metal. These pipes do not produce any sound. The individual characters of the various divisions of the organ are summarised as follows [refer to the line drawing on pages 8 and 9 to see a visual map of these elements of the Royal Festival Hall organ]: GREAT ORGAN (left centre) Manual two; 16-foot Principal, rather broad: mediumto-wide pipe scales (diameters). POSITIVE ORGAN (right centre) Manual one: 8-foot Principal, more brilliant: medium and narrow scales. SWELL ORGAN (left, in louvred box) Manual three: 8-foot Principal, more penetrating: wide and narrow scales. CHOIR ORGAN (right centre, louvred box) Manual one: 4-foot Principal, most brilliant, but with flute unison-pitch: narrow scales. SOLO ORGAN (right, louvred box) Manual four: 8-foot Principal, very broad: very wide scales to compensate the [original] low reverberation period of the auditorium. PEDAL ORGAN (centre) The counterpart of all manuals: 32-foot Principal (largest pipes to the extreme left): wide scales throughout. The organ was built during 1950 – 53 by the eminent firm of Harrison & Harrison (Durham). The voicing of the flue-pipes was carried out by the late Frederick Howe: that of the reeds by the late Louis Eugène Rochesson of Paris and Kenneth James. [The recent restoration of the pipework was overseen by Andrew Scott, Harrison & Harrison’s current Head Voicer.] A special tribute is due to the London County Council, predecessors of the Greater London Council, for their far-sighted and courageous decision to implement this project – so controversial at the time of its conception. Events have shown that the Council was not mistaken. The organ continues not only to play a significant role in all kinds of concerts and other functions taking place in the Hall, but is also the raison d’être for the annual international series of recitals by distinguished organists from all parts of the world.
The Royal Festival Hall console stops © Timothy Cochrane
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T H E r oya l f e stiva l ha l l O R G A N F ro n t E l e v a t i o n
pedal reeds 8, 4 & 2
MAJOR BASS
(behind Great reeds)
swell
great upperwork
principal 16ft great & 32ft pedals
sub bass reservoir
reservoir
ped great 8ft basses
The illustration above shows the positions of the various divisions and stops of the Royal Festival Hall organ. For the sake of clarity, the non-sounding, dummy pipes of the ‘monogram’ have been removed from this line drawing. In the centre at the lower
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great foundation
level is the Pedal Organ stretching back to front. Immediately above it are the Great Reeds and Cornet with the 8ft, 4ft, and 2ft Pedal Reeds and Mixtures. To the left is the Great Organ on two levels; to the right the Positive – also on two.
great reeds & cornet
solo
choir
positive upperwork
pedal reeds 32ft & 16ft (behind façade pipes)
reservoir
reservoir
pedal positive foundation
The large cylindrical pipes in the left corner are the 16-ft pipes of the Great Principal and the 32ft octave of the Pedal Principal. Behind the pipes at the far right-hand side are the conical pipes of the 32ft and 16ft Pedal Bombarde; the swell box on the left is that of the Swell
positive 8ft basses
Organ and on the right the Choir and Solo; the Choir box being that nearest the centre. The rather flattened U-shape of the various groups is due to the normal method of planting pipes in C and C# sides – the basses on the outer edges with the trebles in the centre.
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10Š Timothy Cochrane
T H E O R G A N ’ S R E F U R B I S H ME N T COM P LE T E D I N 2 0 1 3 By William McVicker, Southbank Centre Organ Curator
© Nick Rochowski
The instrument was removed from the Royal Festival Hall auditorium in preparation for the building’s refurbishment which took place between 2005 and 2007. The organ now benefits from a more favourable acoustic – particularly noticeable in the lower frequency range of the instrument. Remodelling the organ
Visual Changes
While preparing for the refurbishment it became clear that significant improvements to the Royal Festival Hall auditorium would be possible within the constraints of the building’s Grade I listing. The resulting changes in acoustic meant that nothing less than a complete reconstruction and remodelling of the organ’s structure would be required. However, it was agreed that the instrument’s epoch-defining character should be preserved. The stage was to be enlarged and the volume of the organ chamber reduced in order to yield much-needed choir seating and space on stage. Harrison & Harrison Ltd was appointed to the project and the policy which was adopted sought to preserve the original tonal (sound) design, to retain the principles of the original layout, and to re-use as much of the original material as possible. Preserving and respecting the musical style of the instrument was the main objective.
The front profile of the organ chamber was altered, reducing the depth of the central section by 1250mm and tapering out to the original depth at both ends. It was therefore necessary to rethink the interior planning of the instrument whilst respecting its original layout and appearance. The changes made were: • A replanning of the internal layout of the louvered ‘swell boxes’ within the organ. The pipework for these manual (keyboard) divisions (Swell, Choir and Solo organs) is out of sight. The changes make better use of the space at the upper level. This enabled the organ builders to retain the visual character of the unenclosed pipework. • An increase to the opening at the front of the chamber, from 17,900mm to the full width of 21,400mm.
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• The revealing of the full width of the organ chamber. Previously the walnut ‘blast’ walls either side of the stage were linked by timber strips which ran at lower and intermediate levels through the instrument. The acoustic redesign of the auditorium meant that it was possible to open up to view the full width of the organ chamber.
• Recreating the instrument’s visual character. As the depth for the instrument is now shallower, the original layout could not be reproduced exactly as it had been in 1954; better internal access was required within the organ for maintenance, and considerable trouble has consequently been taken to stay true to organ’s original appearance.
It was the instrument’s visual appearance which gave the most significant challenge through the redesign process. There was a clear principle on which the layout was based: a differentiation between the foundation stops on the lower level and the (higher-pitched) upperwork and reed stops above. It was also essential to ensure that Downes’ ‘stereosonic effect’ was preserved.
• The necessary removal of a series of important vertical elements – including ten steel posts. The verticals of the new organ frame partly replace this vertical thrust. The arrangement of the front flats of bass pipes at the sides has been given as much interest as possible without demanding drastic work to their soundboards.
Visual considerations included:
• Addressing the largest pipes of the 32-ft flue and reed stops, on the extreme left and right edges of the organ respectively, which appeared in the original design as a somewhat disorganised ‘jumble of stalks in a jar’ (these elements contrasted with the more regularised appearance of the rest of the pipework on the organ’s soundboards in the central section of the instrument). A team of consultants had been assembled to wrestle with the ins-andouts of the organ’s appearance, and it was decided to re-arrange the largest pipes of the Principal ranks in a more formal manner at the front on the instrument’s left-hand side. In order to create visual balance, a new arrangement of Pedal 16-ft Principal pipes was located immediately in front of the 32-ft Pedal reed stops (the Bombarde).1
• Addressing the pipework of the organ which had originally been set uncomfortably low in the chamber. The walnut band at lower level had to be altered in 1954 to allow the organ to be seen. In re-planning the layout this architectural glitch has been addressed: the lower soundboard level has been raised by 900mm, and the upper level by 1260mm, thus achieving a better visual balance and ironing out the anomaly. • The famous ‘monogram frontispiece’ of dummy pipes – one of the organ’s chief visual characteristics, designed at a late stage by the Hall’s deputy architect, (Sir) Leslie Martin. During the refurbishment planning process the future of these pipes came under review: the two flanks of (overscaled) wooden pipes and the central copper and tin design were to be scrapped on account of lack of space. At a later stage second thoughts prevailed, and it was decided that these highly characteristic designs deserved to be reinstated to its prominent place; Harrison & Harrison’s expert design team was able to accommodate this so-called ‘monogram’ in the revised design.
The scaffold rig used to remove the organ in June 2005 © William McVicker
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• The organ’s console, which was originally separated from the front of the organ by 1800mm. Its original location had caused problems for other activities in the hall – notably ballet productions, where the dancers regularly caught their shins on the top of the console as it protruded from the set backstage. This revision was made only with some reluctance, but the orchestral requirements had to take precedence. The console is now attached to the main structure of the organ. Reinstallation of the centre section of the organ, January 2012 © William McVicker
Changes to the mechanics
Reinstalling the Organ
Much of the original mechanism of the organ has been retained. However, work has been completed to enhance its performance, including:
The first stage of the organ was installed ready for the reopening of the hall in 2007 (Great fluework, the Swell Organ and 32-ft and 16-ft Pedal Principal stops). Eight years later the rest of the organ was finally completed and an opportunity presents itself to record for posterity the names of those who have looked after this instrument’s interests over the last decade or so.
• Retaining the organ’s electro-pneumatic action (built outside the soundboards as external units). • Retaining much of the original material from 1954. Only three new soundboards have had to be constructed, although all the soundboards and reservoirs are now in slightly different positions – a consequence of the reduction in size of the organ chamber. • Fully overhauling all components of the instrument, including the slider chests and the 26 double-rise reservoirs which constitute much of the organ’s wind system. New electric slider-actions have replaced the original electro-pneumatic slider machines (the new mechanisms are quieter than the old ones) and the organ’s key transmission, electronic coupler and combination systems have replaced the out-dated original equipment. In all other respects the mechanical design of the instrument remains exactly as completed in 1954.
Reconstruction of the Organ 2005 – 2013 The organ was dismantled in June and July 2005, the left-hand section of the organ was installed between October 2006 and June 2007, the central section was installed between August and October 2012, and the right-hand section was installed between July and December 2013. The organ was restored in Durham by 40 organ builders and apprentices, the names of those who worked on site in London at various times are as follows; Brian Alderson, Lee Berriman, Ian Bruce, Anthony Cain, Michael Clough, John Field, Ian Gibson, Lee Gibson, Jordan Gutteridge, Andrew Hale, Paul Hale, Kelvin Kent, Felix Kurt, Ian Lackenby, Czesław Ładogorski, Chris Lagan, John Oliver, Colin Palmer, David Parsons, Geoff Pollard, Dean Ramage, Jim Reeves, Rob Rowley, Nigel Turner, Chris Varley, Laura Venning, Paul Vickers, Craig Watson, Adriel Yap. Voicing: Peter Hopps (Head Voicer until 2011, then adviser) Andrew Scott (Head Voicer from 2011) Duncan Mathews, Ian Bruce, Jaroslav Strazovsky The project was managed by Duncan Mathews (Production Director) Designers: John Richardson (Chief Designer), Andrew Hale, Alan Howarth Production Manager: Michael Whitfield Managing Director: Mark Venning (until 2011), Christopher Batchelor (from 2011) Chairman: Mark Venning Consultant: William McVicker
Full technical details of the organ’s restoration and its reception history can be found in the Journal of the British Institute of Organ Studies 38 (Oxford: Positif Press, 2014), and the story of the organ’s design and construction is documented in Ralph Downes’ semiautographical book Baroque Tricks (Oxford: Positif Press, 1983, R/1999). I should like to take the opportunity to thank Alan Bishop (Chief Executive of Southbank Centre) and Jude Kelly (Artistic Director) for their unswerving commitment to the restoration of this organ. Their contribution has been phenomenal and their enthusiasm has cascaded through the organisation they lead. I should also like to record my thanks to Amelia Freedman MBE (former Head of Classical Music) for her enthusiasm both for the instrument and for the reinstatement of the organ recital series in 2000, and her successor, Gillian Moore MBE (Head of Classical Music), who has ensured that a wide-ranging programme of music and new commissions from leading composers will greet the restored organ in 2014 and add to the canon of repertoire which it has inspired. The refurbishment between 2010 and 2013 of the central and right-hand sections of the Royal Festival Hall instrument has cost £2.3m. The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) generously gave a grant of almost £1m, leaving a total of £1.3m to be raised – the largestever fundraising campaign for any pipe organ in the United Kingdom. That financial target was achieved in style and supported by some 60,000 donors. A team headed by Rebecca Preston (Director of Development at Southbank Centre) swung into action and raised the money in three years. Pete Warman and his colleagues devised the detail of the fund-raising programme – and the campaign caught the public’s imagination. On several occasions I was stopped in the street and handed cash by enthusiastic members of the public who wanted to sponsor a pipe and to contribute to the financial target. A substantial contribution was made by the Chairman of Southbank Centre’s Board, Rick Haythornthwaite, who cycled from Durham to London with a team of co-riders to raise the final £100,000 of the fundraising target. 1 The Organ Consultants’ Committee was convened in February 2000. It met several times over the next three years and again in 2010. The committee was chaired by Dr William McVicker, and participants included Ian Bell, Barrie Clark, Nicholas Kynaston, John Norman, Dr Nicholas Thistlethwaite, and representatives of the architects, acousticians and management of Southbank Centre.
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T e c hni c a l inf o r m ati o n Soundboards
These are of traditional slider-and-pallet design, split up into small sections to avoid warping of the wood.
Key-actions
Electro-pneumatic power-boxes, working on high-pressure wind, are placed under each soundboard; these give a very high degree of response.
Stop-actions and Combination movements
All electro-pneumatic. All electrical contacts are ‘silver to silver’.
Pipes 1. Materials ‘Spotted metal’ is used for all pipes (down to 16-ft C), except the following: Great Principal 8ft, Pedal Octave 4ft and Swell Cymbal (90% tin).
Pedal Quintflute, Gedackt, Nazard, Spitzflute, Openflute, Septerz, Positive Gedackt, Choir Openflute, Solo Wald Flute (all 30% tin). Pedal Major Bass, Sub Bass and Choir Open and Stopped 8ft wood. The 12 largest pipes of both 32ft stops are made of heavy zinc. 2. Construction The following stops have conical pipes: Pedal Nasard, Spitzflute, Great Gemshorn, Positive Spitzflute, Choir Salicional 8ft and Unda Maris, Spitzoctave, Swell Gemshorn, Nasard and Koppelflute (half-conical), Solo Waldflute. 3. Voicing A small number of ‘nicks’ (usually about four) have been used to help the speech of most pipes in the medium frequency-range: but control of output is always at the mouth (‘flue’) of the fluepipes, excepting only the Swell Viola and Celeste which are foot-regulated for very reduced
power. All reeds are voiced on the French principle without loaded tongues, except the bass of the Basset Horn and the Dulzian 16ft which have small felt loads. 4. Wind pressures Pedal 102mm (for 16- and 8-ft foundations). 92mm main soundboard and Bombardes), 79mm mixtures and other reeds Great main, 92mm, upperwork and reeds 79mm, Positive 70mm, Swell 92mm, Choir 83mm, Solo 114mm. 5. Scales (diameters) All scale-progressions are free and variable, and the basic figures are on the side of amplitude, matching the size and acoustical ‘dryness’ of the auditorium. Some of the Principal-scales recommended to the organ builders are given below for comparison, all measurements being quoted in millimeters, for the pipes sounding CC, C, c, c1, c2, c3 (as played from the keyboards).
Pipework of the Pedal Organ © Timothy Cochrane
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C
Pedal division Principal 16ft Octave Bass 8ft Superoctave 4ft Manual divisions Principals Great 16ft Great 8ft Principal Great 8ft Diapason Positive 8ft Swell 8ft Solo 8ft Great 4ft (main) Great 4ft (second) Positive 4ft Swell 4ft Solo 4ft Choir 2 ft and some representative flutes: Great, Gedackt 8ft Solo, Rohrflute 8ft Great, Gemshorn 8ft (at mouth) Great, Blockflute 2ft Positive, Quintadena 8ft Swell, Gemshorn 8ft (at mouth) Swell, Flageolet 1ft Choir, Flute 4ft Pedal, Majorbass 16ft
c
c1 c2
c3
245 159 96.5
159 98 53.7
101 57.5 32.6
250 136.5 144.5 131 144.5 149 88.5 – 84.7 92 92 52.5
144.5 84.7 96.5 81 84.7 96.5 57.5 – 46 57.5 64 30.5
81 57.5 60 46 48 62.5 30.5 33.3 28 33.3 37.2 17.3
50.5 28 35 30 33.3 35.6 17.8 21 16 19 21 9.7
30.5 17.8 20.7 19 20.7 21 12.5 14 10.5 10.7 12.5 6.8
131 136.5 92 65.3 92 149 55 84.7 298
96.5 107.5 65.3 44.2 57.5 101 31.3 64 177.5
56.5 65.3 42.3 24.5 38.8 64 18.3 42 110
34.5 42.3 28 17 27.5 40.5 11.3 28.5
24 25 18.5 9.5 17.8 25 7.3 16.5
The organ is blown by two large fans with 23 HP motors, and one small fan for high pressure air, given by 13 H.P. motor which also drives a rotary generator for the DC action current 16 volts.
th e c o ns o l e 1. Couplers join keyboards so they may be played together.
7. Stops for Great Organ and Positive Organ.
1 6
2. Manual or Keyboard for Solo Organ. 3. Manuals for Swell, Great and Positive/ Choir Organs.
7 2 4
4. Stops which switch the sets of pipes on and off.
3 3 9
5. Stops for Pedal Organ. 6. Stops for Solo Organ.
9. Swell Pedals which open and close shutters to various boxes such as that which encloses the Swell Organ.
3
5
8 10
© Timothy Cochrane
8. Thumb and Foot Pistons which select groups of stops or ranks to be played together.
10. Pedalboard for Pedal organ, played by the feet.
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Front cover: Royal Festival Hall organ Š William McVicker