Whilst working on the case pipes, Andy has made a few videos of the different processes in the voicing room to make one pipe speak again. The other videos will be posted as comments.
These pipes are of the Great 16ft Double Open Diapason which make up part of the west front. Click Here
Turning metal
Notes 1-6 are in the west towers, 7-12 in the north screen pit, 13-21 in the centre of the west front, with the remainder inside the case on the soundboard. click here
Whilst working on the case pipes, Andy has made a few videos of the different processes in the voicing room to make one pipe speak again.
These pipes are of the Great 16ft Double Open Diapason which make up part of the west front.
Notes 1-6 are in the west towers, 7-12 in the north screen pit, 13-21 in the centre of the west front, with the remainder inside the case on the soundboard.
To view the videos click HERE to go to our YouTube channel.
The first session of site voicing is now finished and the organ is now silent until voicing resumes after the installation of the south side. In the meantime, as you still have a long time to wait to hear it, for those not fortunate to have heard it in the flesh during the work over the past five weeks, here is a very brief musical tour of things so far to whet your appetite.
Wind pressures: Choir 3 ½” Transept Great 5” Solo 6” Solo HP 20” Pedal Open Woods 6”
(We have deliberately omitted including the Open Woods in this demo, as a compressed iPhone video recording does not capture them.)
Voicing of the north triforium organ is now well underway. Meanwhile in Durham the south triforium organ and console are being built. Here is a guided tour of the installation so far.
Video 2 – Kelvin talking about what’s happening on the top level (Click Here to view)
Video 1 – Kelvin Kent speaks to the Dean of Adelaide Cathedral in the first of a series of video posts by the Cathedral as the organ is reinstalled. Click Here to see video
Watch Andrew Scott, Head Voicer, as he is voicing the Solo 8ft French Horn. 20” wind pressure.
This pattern of French Horn is the same as the likes of those found in the Solo Organs of Durham Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, Temple Church, Colston Hall, Bristol and King’s College, Cambridge. Click HERE to view video
Dr David Flood, Organist and Master of the Choristers, plays one last tune on the organ he performed with for the past 39 years. Click HERE to see the video.
It is difficult to record such things on a mobile device and there is, of course, no comparison to hearing it in the flesh and in the cathedral, but here is a sound clip of work in progress. The unsteady start to each note is caused by a small single-rise reservoir, a long flexible wind trunk and there being no form of concussion. Bottom C was also too tall to stand directly on the chest and had to be conveyed to its position standing on the floor.
C25 of the Transept Great being set up for voicing
The Transept Great division is designed to translate and support the south triforium Great Organ into the eastern end of the cathedral. The new pipework has been scaled, fabricated and voiced to speak the same musical language to compliment and work with the Father Willis Great Organ chorus situated further west.
In addition to regular monthly tuning and maintenance visits, occasionally the Chapel organ needs some additional housekeeping work to keep it in good order.
Over the next three days, Andrew Scott (Head Voicer) and Jake Holmes (London tuner) from organ builders, Harrison & Harrison Ltd of Durham, are taking advantage of the quieter time in the Chapel during the Castle closure and are working inside the organ on the Swell reed stops.
The work entails removing each reed pipe to reset slipped tongues, tighten wedges and replace dropped loads.
After checking each pipe of the five Swell reed stops (305 pipes) they will be tuned and regulated.
Video – Lincoln Cathedral – Click Here to follow the story of the Cathedral’s Father Willis Organ Restoration by H&H
Video – St Peter’s Cathedral, Adelaide – Preparations have been underway ahead of our team travelling to St Peter’s Cathedral, Adelaide to begin the organ project. (Click Here)
Video – Lincoln Cathedral, Heritage Skills Festival – Kelvin Kent, Pipemaker at H&H showing off his work and craft. (Click Here)
Video – Andy Scott voicing the Frogner Kirke Pedal mixture (Click Here)
Video – Andy Scott voicing the Frogner Kirke Pedal Basun 32ft (Click Here)
Video – Frogner Kirke Pedal 16ft Basun (Bottom C has a window in the boot allowing a video of the starting and stopping of the note to be taken) Click HERE to view
Restoration Timelapse Video of King’s College Cambridge – Click HERE to view a sneak peek of the upcoming video.
A new video has been released on YouTube showing Andy Scott, Head Voicer and Ian Bruce, Team Leader, explaining what H&H have been doing behind the scenes at Peterborough Cathedral
This is the third installment in a series of short videos by Peterborough Cathedral following the story of re-pitching the Cathedral’s 5286-pipe Hill organ from Old Philharmonic to Standard concert pitch. (Click Here to watch the video)
This is the first* in a series of videos following the story of Peterborough Cathedral’s 5286-pipe Hill organ being changed from Old Philharmonic to Standard concert pitch. This complex work began in July 2015 and its completion will be celebrated at an Organ Festival in June 2017.
This the second in a series of videos following the story of re-pitching Peterborough Cathedral’s organ from Old Philharmonic to Standard pitch. This episode looks at the meticulous work involved in capturing the organ’s original sound before a single pipe was removed. It was work that involved the creation of a specially designed robot.
The Head Voicer from Harrison and Harrison organ builders explains what he and his colleagues have been doing behind the scenes at Peterborough Cathedral – other than lowering 16 foot pipes to the ground for removal to their workshop in Durham. This is the third in our series of short videos following the story of re-pitching Peterborough Cathedral’s 5286-pipe Hill organ from Old Philharmonic to Standard concert pitch
The fourth in our series of short videos following the progress of work on the Cathedral organ is now out. This one follows the pipes to Harrison and Harrison’s workshop in Durham and talks to the craftsmen involved.
This is the fifth in our series of six videos following the story of re-pitching Peterborough Cathedral’s 5286 -pipe organ. This intricate work is very nearly complete. In this episode the final rank of pipes is fitted and a new tuba mirabilis stop is added.
Finally the organ re-pitch is completed and all the pipes have been returned. Director of Music Steven Grahl, Cathedral choristers and members of the congregation tell us how they like the sound of the organ in its new form.
Temple Church, London – This series of pictures documents the 2011-13 refurbishment of this famous H&H instrument and is accompanied by James Vivian on the organ. (Click here to see the video)
Royal Festival Hall, London – Annfield Plain Junior School in County Durham and Telferscot Primary in Lambeth documented the whole restoration process of the organ.
Andrew Scott is Head Voicer at Harrison and Harrison, builders of the organ at the Royal Festival Hall, London. The video shows an extract from his presentation at the London Organ Day, 23rd February 2013 which was focused on the history of the organ built in 1954 and now undergoing restoration after the recent refurbishment of the hall itself. Click HERE to see the video
It will take two years, £2.3m and a team of experts to restore the Royal Festival Hall organ to its former glory. When it was built in 1954 the organ was the biggest in the country. The project to clean its 7,000 pipes is now well underway.
In August 2012 the 1,100 pipes of the Royal Festival Hall Organ’s Central section were put back in place. In Sept, three key members of H&H were filmed on a visit (click here to see the video)
In September 2011 the Royal Festival Hall launched a £2.3 million project to return the Hall’s magnificent 7,866-pipe organ to its former glory. Thanks to the support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, they have £1.3 million to raise (click here for the video)
Royal Festival Hall, London (January 2012) – The framework of the Royal Festival Hall Organ’s Central section was reinstalled. (Click here to see the video)
Royal Festival Hall, London (March 2012) – A camera was set up at the Royal Festival Hall to take a time lapse recording of the reinstallation. (Click here to see the video)
Royal Festival Hall, London (September 2012) – The 1,100 pipes of the Royal Festival Hall Organ’s Central section were put back in place. In Sept, three key members of H&H were filmed on a visit. (Click here to see the video)
Click HEREfor Current Job Vacancies. We welcome applications from tuners and general organ builders.
The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme gives grants covering VAT on repairs to pipe organs in listed buildings; the scheme may also cover tuning and maintenance costs amounting to £500-£1,000 in any twelve-month period.
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South Quire Organ chamber tour by Andrew Scott 
The first session of site voicing is now finished and the organ is now silent until voicing resumes after the installation of the south side.
Voicing of the north triforium organ is now well underway.
