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Originally built by Hunter in 1881, for the
church of St. Mary-at-the-Walls, Colchester, the
Cathedral organ is now sited at the west end of the
original Gothic nave of Brentwood's Victorian Catholic
church, in a case designed by the architect of the new
Cathedral, Quinlan Terry.
When St. Mary's became an Arts Centre in 1977, the organ was given to Brentwood Cathedral, and was completely rebuilt and restored by Percy Daniel & Co Ltd. of Clevedon for installation in the new Cathedral dedicated in 1991.
The organ has recently been thoroughly cleaned and refurbished through the generosity of the Brentwood Diocesan Cathedral and Choral Trust Fund. A new solo Fanfare Trumpet stop has been added together with tonal revisions to the positive completed by Percy Daniel & Co Ltd and Dr David Frostick.
Click images for enlargement.
Stop list
The Cathedral organ was built by the
London firm of Alfred Hunter in 1881 for the church of St.
Mary-at-the-Walls, Colchester. It was rebuilt by Hill,
Norman and Beard in 1931, when the Twelfth and the
Mixture on the Great Organ were replaced by Diapasons.
The organist at this period was W.F.Kingdon, who had been
appointed to St. Mary's from St. Lawrence Jewry in London.
The choir organ was later enclosed in a swell box, which
rather spoilt the tone, and was also muffled by the Bass
pipes of the Double Open Diapason. Nevertheless, the
organ sounded remarkably well in this church, its Hunter
ancestry (the firm was noted for the high quality of its
pipe-work) and the Hill, Norman and Beard finish giving
it a rich Pleno with some charming soft stops.
After the closure of the church in 1977, it became the property of the Redundant Churches' Fund and was subsequently reopened as an Arts Centre, the organ being used for recitals. Later, in need of complete rebuilding and restoration, it was offered as a gift to Brentwood's Catholic Cathedral by the Diocese of Chelmsford.
In its present setting it has been totally rebuilt and enlarged. The splendid classical case was designed by the architect of the new Cathedral, Quinlan Terry. Viewed both from the east, looking down the nave of the old church, and from across the new building, the organ harmonises well with its surroundings.
The organ builders, Daniel of Clevedon,
have provided a three-manual scheme with a new unenclosed
positive division. A three-rank Mixture has been restored
to the Great organ, and the provision of two sets of
independently controlled swell shutters facing east and
north respectively provides a strong and versatile Swell
division as a contrast to the Great. The addition of a
Twelfth to the Swell organ makes a valuable contribution
to the tonal variety of this division. The action is
electro-pneumatic, and a full complement of registration
aids (thumb and toe pistons) are adjustable by means of a
new solid state capture system, with twelve levels of
memory.
The organ is a fine example of the English Romantic tradition, while being well suited to the performance of organ music of all periods. This is important as the instrument is used for very varied accompaniment purposes, as well as for recital and concert work.
The organ has recently been thoroughly cleaned and refurbished through the generosity of the Brentwood Diocesan Cathedral and Choral Trust Fund. A new solo Fanfare Trumpet stop has been added together with tonal revisions to the positive completed by Percy Daniel & Co Ltd and Dr David Frostick.
Stop list |
||||
| Great | Swell | |||
| 1. Double Open
Diapason 2. Open Diapason No.1 3. Open Diapason No.2 4. Clarabella 5. Dulciana 6. Principal 7. Harmonic Flute 8. Fifteenth 9. Mixture 19.22.26 10.Trumpet 11.Clarion 12.Corno di Bassetto |
16 8 8 8 8 4 4 2 3 rks 8 4 8 |
1. Lieblich
Bourdon 2. Geigen Principal 3. Lieblich Gedackt 4. Gamba 5. Voix Celeste T.C. 6. Flute 7. Geigen Principal 8. Fifteenth 9. Mixture 19.22 10.Contra Fagotto 11.Cornopean 12.Oboe 13.Clarion Tremulant Swell Suboctave Swell Octave Swell Unison Off |
16 8 8 8 8 4 4 2 2 rks 16 8 8 4 |
|
| Positive | Pedal | |||
| 1. Gedeckt 2. Principal 3. Nazard 4. Block Flute 5. Tierce 6. Sifflet 7. Sharp Mixture (22)26.29 8. Corno di Bassetto 9. Trumpet 10.Fanfare trumpet Tremulant Positive Suboctave |
8 4 2 2/3 2 1 3/5 1 3 rks 8 8 |
1. Acoustic Bass 2. Open Diapason 3. Violone 4. Bourdon 5. Principal 6. Bass Flute 7. Octave Flute 8. Twenty-second 9. Posaune 10.Contra Fagotto 11.Trumpet 12.Fanfare Trumpet 13.Clarion |
32 16 16 16 8 8 4 2 16 16 8 8 4 |
|
| Couplers | Accessories | |
| Swell to Great
Swell to Positive Positive to Great Positive to Pedal Swell to Pedal Great to Pedal Great and Pedal Combinations Coupled |
7 adjustable
thumb pistons to Great 6 adjustable thumb pistons to Positive 7 adjustable thumb pistons to Swell 7 toe pistons to Swell (duplicating) 7 adjustable toe pistons to Pedal 1 thumb reverser Swell to Great 1 thumb reverser Great to Pedal 1 toe reverser Great to Pedal 1 toe reverser Swell to Great 8 adjustable General thumb pistons 1 General Cancel thumb piston |
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