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Tamar Organ Club Newsletter Spring 07
Tamar Organ Club Newsletter Jan-Feb 07
Tamar Organ Club Newsletter Autumn-Winter 07
Restoration News (November 2007)
We have made great progress with the restoration work. This has included complete stripping out and releathering all the pallet motors in the windchests, replacing the pallets where necessary, The windchests have been cleaned inside and out and re-lacquered with Shellac. We are now engaged in rewiring these chests using modern colour-coded telephone cable.
ALL the tonal and non-tonal percussions have been completely cleaned, restored and rewired. The Tremulant units and "Whiffle Tree" swell engines have been cleaned and releathered. All the orgam frame, pipe chest tressles etc. have ben cleaned and revarnished.
We have now turned our attention to the console rebuild - the carcass of the ex-Gunton Hall console and the illuminated surrounds and bench from the ex-Malvern console ar being prepared ready for respraying in gold paint. The light box trays from the illuminiated surround are being resprayed and rewired, with new colour filters installed. From a vendor in Scotland, we have bought the reconditioned colour change unit originally with the Odeon Kingston console so this will be reunited with the illuminated surrounds it controlled when in the cinema and at Malvern.
The pedals, manuals and stoprails are being stripped down, cleaned and restored ready for the arrival of th new Opus Two digital control system including "hall effect" magnetic sensors to replace the old first and second touch key contacts.
We are progressing the console so that - come the re-opening of Dingles in April 2008 after the winter closure - we will have a shiny new up-together console - lit up in all its glory - and fitted with Opus two and MIDI facility so that (ahead of the pipe chamber installation which will be some time off) we can present organ concerts using sampled theatre organ pipe and percussion sounds digitally reproduced by a computer.
Dudley Savage MBE
We are delighted and greatly honoured that Dudley Savage MBE has accepted our invitation to become an honorary member and the club's President.
An interesting account of Dudley Savage's time as organist at the fine 3/8 + Melotone Compton Organ of the Royal/ABC Plymouth can be found at www.blackheath-compton.org.uk where you can also listen to some of his recordings on the Compton and see a recent video of Dudley being interviewed by keyboard rock star Rick Wakeman.
Tamar Organ Club CDs
In order to promote interest and raise funds for the project, we have produced our own CDs of recordings of concerts in the mid 1980s by various organists on the Compton Theatre organ when it was in Gunton Hall in Lowestoft.
Organists featured are Dudley Savage, Lew Williams (famous American organist currently resident at the "Organ Stop" Pizza Palace in Mesa Arizona, who has kindly given us permission to use the recording) George Blackmore and Ken Stroud.
The quality of these recordings, being amateur and taken during live concerts, is variable, but they give a good account of how the organ sounded and will hopefully soon be sounding again. A suggested donation of £5 per CD (plus a bit more for postage) towards organ restoration funds would be greatly appreciated. Contact TOC via the contacts page
Richard Hills at Weston-Super-Mare
On July 8th, 3 members of the TOC travelled up to the Odeon, Weston Super Mare to hear young organ virtuoso Richard Hills at the 3c/6 Compton Theatre Pipe organ still in its original home.
The Weston organ was installed in 1935 - the same year as our State Dartford organ - and has the same style console and illuminated surround. However, whereas the State Dartford organ chambers were under the stage, the Odeon, Weston's chambers are situated above the proscenium arch, directly over the console which is in a lift in the middle of the orchestra pit. We were privileged to be shown the organ chambers which involved a climb up a staircase and a vertical ladder out onto the roof of the cinema!
Rising from the orchestra pit on the beautifull illuminated console Richard began his concert with the stirring march "Down the Mall". He continued with a variety of pieces from novelty tunes to song medleys from musicals and operettas, and he finished with a spirited and orchestrally faithful rendition of Von Suppe's "Poet and Peasant" overture (Richard did point out that it is a peculiarity of British concerts that we seem to like ending with an overture!)
Richard gave a most brilliant and entertaining performance on this lovely organ which responded well and sounded excellent, with a rich and lush tonal range. It was a real credit to the West of England Theatre Organ Society members who look after this splendid instrument.
The next concert at the Odeon will be in September - see our "Events" diary and or links to WETOS. If you want to see a cinema organ still in a working cinema - this is one 2 places left where you can! The other is the Odeon Leicester Square, London.
GRANADA TOOTING
Following the exhilarating success of the re-opening of the wonderful 4/14 WurliTzer organ in its original home in April (see review in Newsletter #2 above) , the terrible news has come that the organ has been once again flooded in its understage chambers following a similar scale of deluge on that flooded the organ and caused so much damage back in 1973. This is an enormous set-back for Len Rawle and members of the ATOS London chapter who have worked so hard over many years to bring the organ back to playing condition. Our heartfelt sympathy and commiserations go out to them. (24/7/07)
APOLLO HAMMERSMITH
With just days to go before the gala preview on 25th July of the 4/15 Compton Organ - another still in its original home - the new £30,000 organ lift has suffered flooding damage when the orchestra pit was inundated in the same deluge as the one that caused far worse damage at Tooting (the organ chambers at Hammersmith being high above the stage not beneath it as at Tooting) By a stroke of luck, the console was up at stage height when the flood occurred as Peter Hammond and crew were putting the finishing touches to the organ tuning, so it did not suffer damage. I will report back on the re-opening on my return. (24/7/07)
APOLLO HAMMERSMITH COMPTON RE-LAUNCH
I attended this event on 25th July. There was an invited audience of about 50 guests who had been involved in the restoration work in some way (yours truly had spent a mere 3 hours helping out in the chambers on a previous visit to London) plus theatre owners/mamangement and local dignitaries including the Myor of Hammersmith and Fulham.
After a reception and speeches in the luxurious art-deco foyer, we were invited to take our seats in the front stalls and the organist Richard Hills was introduced. To a rousing introduction into "That's Entertainment" Richard played quite a number of bars befor the magnificently restored console rose into view on the extended stage. [Thankfully the lift had been repaired with a new motor and gaering on Monday following the flood on the previous friday] This was an awsome, spine tingling moment - the organ making its first public appearance after 25 years of neglect and deterioration: ( When the stage was extended over the Orchestra pit, The console had been severed from the main cable with an axe and dumped outside in the theatre's back yard for some time.)
After Richard Hills' opening number which received a rapturous reception, guests were given a demonstration of the various sounds of the organ to show off the amazing tonal variety of this 15 rank instrument. Guests were then invited onto the stage to take a closer look at the resplendent console, and to wander around the auditorium to hear how the organ sounded in various parts of the theatre. Surrounded by a constant crowd of excited onlookers, Richard continued to play undeterred and gave another customarily stunning performance, much to the delight and amazement of the assembled throng!
The organ sounded truly magnificent - even at the back of the balcony some 300 feet away from the chambers - with a good bass responseand a blistering chorus of "brass" - firy trumpet and more mellow tuba and French Horn. The keen oboe, nicely rounded clarinet and well balanced vox humana made up the other reeds. The Compton metal Tibia had been finely regulated by Robert Rowley and was comparable to the best wooden tibias with the tremulant set to perfection. The string section and other flue pipes formed a lush chorus, and the tonal and non-tonal percussions all came over very well, including the replacement chrysoglott/ vibraphone (as the original was missing, presumed stolen) and the new crash cymbal which replaced the "dustbin lid" sounding original.
The rapid response of the organ played through the Opus Two system (which we will be installing on our "Dartford Warbler" Compton) was apparent and all in all this was a demonstration of a fine instrument in its excellent original installation - one of Compton's best!
This was a remarkable occasion and it is very encouraging to know that the management were very impressed and would like to feature the organ whenever and as regularly as they can in solo and other performances. We would like to extend our heartiest congratulations to Peter Hammond and crew of HWS Associates for another excellent and most successful organ restoration project under their belts. (See HWS Link in "Links" for this and their other project details)
You can see photo's of the restoration and opening, and listen to soundfiles on the Yahoo UK Cinema Organs Discussion board:
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/UKCinemaOrgans/
Videos on " You Tube" :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g_57roXuIw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu_xum_sHHY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFzcVN3Fu4w
