THE ORGAN PAGE

Welcome to the organ page! On this page you will find details, pictures, specifications and audio clips of organs which I have been associated with.

At the console of St Paul's Cathedral (Nov 1999)

LATEST

THE CHURCH OF ST EDMUND THE KING, NORTHWOOD HILLS, ENGLAND

Click on the image above for my performance of Grainger's "Country Gardens", given at a St Edmund's concert

The organ was built by Norman & Beard in 1908 and was orginally installed in a church in east London.

Great Organ

Bourdon 16'
Diapason 8
Gamba 8'
Hohn Flute 8'
Principal 4
Harmonic Flute 4
Twelfth 2.2/3
Fifteenth 2
Mixture III
Trumpet 8

Swell Organ

Salicional 8
Voix Celeste 8'
Bass Flute 8
Principal 4
Triangular flute 4'
Fifteenth 2
Mixture II
Mixture III
Fagott 16'
Oboe 8
Trumpet 8'
Clarion 4'
Tremulant
Swell Octave/Sub Octave/Unison Off

Choir Organ

Gedact 8
Dulcet 4'
Flute 4
Fifteenth 2
Sesquialtera II
Trumpet 8'
Clarinet 8
Tremulant

Pedal Organ

Open Wood 16
Bourdon 16
Gedact 8
Gamba 8
Gamba 4
Super Octave 2
Trombone 16
Trumpet 8

Couplers & Accessories

S/G
S/C
S/P
G/P
C/P
C/G
Great/Swell/Choir: 8 Thumb Pistons
(8 MemoryChannels)
General: 8 Thumb Pistons/4 Toe Pistons
(8 Memory Channels)
G/P,S/G,S/P, C/P, S/C, Sw Trem: Reversible Thumb Pistons
G/P,S/G: Reversible Toe Pistons

"Stabat Mater (Excerpt) - recorded on May 19th 2002 at St Edmund's Church. St Edmund's Church Choir, Nora Wood - conductor, Mark Hammond - organ

Colour Line

PETERHOUSE CHAPEL WINDOWS SUITE

On June 30th, on the occasion of the 2007 Peterhouse Society Annual Gathering, six former Petrean organ scholars gave the premiere of Barry Ferguson's "Peterhouse Chapel Windows Suite". Ferguson, former organist of Rochester Cathedral, was inspired by the Chapel's stained glass and wrote a ten-movement work. I was honoured to perform the second movement - "The Sacrifice of Isaac".

Pictured above (left to right): Andrew McIntyre (m1974), David Lee (m1953), Mark Rowland (m1999), Barry Ferguson (m1960), Mark Hammond (m1983), Tim Hone (m1976).

THE CATHEDRAL AND ABBEY CHURCH OF ST ALBAN'S, HERTFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND

This instrument is a 1962 3-manual Harrison & Harrison incorporating pipework from earlier organs - Hill (1861), Abbott & Smith (1908) and probably an Open Diapason from a 1670 Father Smith.

Click on the image above for my performance of Widor's "Toccata", recorded at a live Evensong on 9th November 1988 at St Alban's Abbey, Hertfordshire. Mark Hammond - organ. Taken from the CD "The Chapel Choir of St Margaret's School, Bushey" © 1988.

THE CHAPEL OF ST MARGARET'S SCHOOL, BUSHEY, HERTFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND

St Margaret's School Chapel - External view

Click on the image above for my performance of an extract from Purcell's Trumpet Tune, recorded in the Chapel of St Margaret's School. Taken from my wedding music page (see below)

The organ was originally built in 1900 subsequent to the construction of the chapel. The builders were F H Browne & Sons of Deal, Kent. The instrument has been subsequently re-built twice, in 1968 by Peter Collins and in 1981 by Martin Renshaw. It is currently in need of some attention and it is hoped to re-build to coincide with the school's 250 years' anniversary which is being celebrated in 1999.
The action was originally tubular pneumatic which was replaced in the 1981 re-build by electric action connected to the original pneumatic action.

Great Organ
Stopped Diapason (8')
Principal (4')
Fifteenth (2')
Nineteenth (1.1/3')
Swell to Great
Swell Octave to Great
Swell Sub-Octave to Great

Swell Organ
Chimney Flute (8')
Dulciana (8')
Open Flute (4')
Oboe (8')
Swell Octave
Swell Sub-Octave
Unison Off

Pedal Organ
Bourdon (16')
Bass Flute (8')
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal

St Margaret's School Chapel - Organ Console

THE CHAPEL OF PETERHOUSE, CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY, ENGLAND

Between 2016 and 2024 the organ underwent a significant renovation, details of which can be found here

Peterhouse Chapel - Console

Click on the image above for my performance of Mulet's "Carillon Sortie" recorded in Feb 1984 in the Chapel of Peterhouse, Cambridge

The case and much of the pipework date from Snetzler s 1765 organ.
The instrument was last rebuilt in 1963 by Noel Mander
Unit chests electrically operated tracker action to manual soundboards.
Electro-pneumatic action to stops and accessories.
(* wholly or partly by Snetzler)

Great Organ

Open Diapason 8 *
Stopped Diapason 8
Principal 4 *
Nason Flute 4
Twelfth 2.2/3 *
Fifteenth 2 *
Mixture II
Trumpet 8

Swell Organ

Salicional 8
Stopped Diapason 8 *
Principal 4 *
Fifteenth 2
Mixture III
Oboe 8

Choir Organ

Echo Dulciana 8 *
Stopped Diapason 8 *
Flute 4 *
Principal 4 *
Gemshorn 4
Nazard 2.2/3
Gemshorn 2
Tierce 1.3/5
Larigot 1.1/3
Trumpet 8

Pedal Organ

Open Diapason 16
Bourdon 16
Octave 8
Flute 8
Fifteenth 4
Flute 4
Trombone 16
Trumpet 8
Clarion 4

Couplers & Accessories

S/G
S/C
S/P
G/P
C/P
Great/Pedal Combined
Great/Swell/Choir: 5 Thumb Pistons
Pedal/Swell: 5 Toe Pistons
G/P,S/G,C/P: Reversible Thumb Pistons
G/P,S/G,C/P: Reversible Toe Pistons

Compass

Manuals: C-g3
Pedals: C-f1

The account book for the building of the new Peterhouse chapel (1628-32) records that 140 was spent on an organ. It is not known who built it or precisely when it was installed, but it may be assumed that this organ played its part in the choral services which flourished in the chapel during the years preceding the Civil War and to which the surviving Peterhouse part-books bear witness. Evidently the instrument was dismantled soon after the War began and was stored in the college library. The Fellows eventually despaired of a return to the old pattern of worship and sold the organ to Mr Gregory Hardwick, a citizen of London. "Mr Peas" took the organ, together with "the remaining pipes of Our Hall Organ" to London and set it up there. When the prayer book was restored in 1660 the college attempted to recover the organ from Hardwick, and when he proved uncooperative, considered taking him to law. It is a measure of the college s success that in 1666 the chapel was still without an organ. Shortly after this an instrument was purchased, and the accounts for 1666-7 record the first payments to an organist and a bellows blower. No details have emerged concerning this organ but annual payments for maintenance suggest that it may have survived until displaced by Snetzler s organ. John Snetzler built his new organ for Peterhouse in 1765: the case still bears the date and the name of the donor - Horatio Mann. It was a 2 manual instrument with nine stops on the Great (including a Mounted Cornet) and a second manual consisting of a combined Choir and Swell, each with 4 stops. Avery added a few unison (8 ) Pedal Pipes in 1804 which sufficed until 1852, when William Hill replaced Avery s work with a German Pedal board of 27 notes and complete rank of 16 open wood pipes.
Hill s returned in 1894 to carry out a conservative rebuild retaining the "old black keys" and most of Snetzler s pipes. The Swell was rebuilt on modern lines with a keyboard to itself, the compasses were reduced to C, and 2 further Pedal stops were added.

© Nicholas Thistlewaite - The Organs of Cambridge (Positif Press 1983)

Click on the church icon above to go to my wedding music page which includes audio clips of suitable nuptual music