ORGANS AND ORGANISTS

THE WEST COAST STORY

 

ORGAN HISTORICAL TRUST OF AUSTRALIA 27th ANNUAL CONFERENCE

PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA, 25-29 SEPTEMBER 2004

 

 

IMPORTED ORGANS

 

 

Hill & Son, London

 

 

ST LUKE'S ANGLICAN CHURCH, MOSMAN PARK

 

 

St Luke's Church was designed by architect James William Wright;  the foundation stone was laid in 1897.  Wright was born in England in 1854 and after serving his articles there, arrived in Perth in 1881 following four years in Adelaide.  He was also responsible for several buildings at the Ascot Racecourse at Belmont.

 

The organ was imported for Mr George Hillman and was built in 1893 by Hill & Son, London (job no. 2115).  It was moved to St Luke's in 1905, probably by R.C. Clifton, who added casework and a tremulant.  The instrument is of compact dimensions and thus the Great Gedeckt (with metal trebles) provides the bass octave for most of the Swell.  A similar arrangement may be found in the 1879 Hill & Son organ now at Wesley College, Glen Waverley, Victoria.  In the early 1990s, the Hill Dulciana was transposed to form a Fifteenth, but the tenor octave pipework has been stored and this change is reversible.  The organ was fully restored in 2000 by F.J. Larner and Co and Pipe Organs WA as a joint project which has included a restoration of the facade decoration and the casework, with new side panelling.  The project consultant was Anne Page, a well known Perth Organist who has been based in Cambridge, England since 1978.  The instrument retains its characteristic Hill sound and console details, including scrolled key cheeks.

 

GREAT				SWELL
Open Diapason	8			Hohl Flute	8
Gedeckt	8			Salicional	8
Principal	4			Wald Flute	4
Fifteenth	2			Oboe	8
				Tremulant
Compass:  56/30
2 couplers				PEDAL
2 composition pedals to Great				Bourdon	16

Mechanical key and stop actions

Attached drawknob console

 

         •    Ian Molyneux, Looking around Perth:  a guide to the architecture of Perth and surrounding towns.  East Fremantle:  Wescolour Press, 1981, p.40

 

 

William Hill & Son and Norman & Beard Ltd, London

 

 

TRINITY UNITING CHURCH, PERTH

 

 

Trinity Church has probably the most distinctive style of architecture among the churches of the City of Perth, which are predominantly in the Gothic idiom.  Trinity is of American Romanesque style and was designed by architect Henry S. Trigg ARVIA and built in 1893 in the heady days of the goldrush when architects emigrated to the West to find work.  Trigg was the first locally trained architect to practise in the West.  The Church is the third to be built on this site.  The second still stands behind the present church, serving as a hall.  It is classified by the National Trust and was built at around the same time as the Barracks Arch and the Town Hall, of similar brickwork.  The main facade of the church incorporates twin flanking towers capped by octagonal spires roofed in slate, a rose window and large entrance portal.  The interior is of note for its galleries and their cast iron balustrading and stained glass by Ashwin of Sydney.

 

The organ was built by William Hill & Son and Norman & Beard Ltd of London in 1929 and is the second organ to be placed in the church.  The original was a Norman & Beard organ of 1892 now at St Patrick's Church, Mt Lawley.  The instrument is comparable in size with the contemporary and intact Hill, Norman & Beard instrument at St Peter's Anglican Church, Ballarat, Victoria.  The casework, of three broad flats with finely carved pipeshades, is of fine quality and likely to have been designed by Philip Selfe, of the organbuilding firm.

 

The organ was restored in 1963 without alteration by Paul F. Hufner.  Further mechanical refurbishment, with tonal additions, took place in 1993 by F.J. Larner and Co.  The original "Christie style" coupler and combination mechanisms are stored within the church.  The overall Hill, Norman & Beard sound, of great boldness, and delightful softer colours and reeds, has been preserved.

 

GREAT				SWELL
Open Diapason		8		Bourdon	16
Stopped Diapason		8		Open Diapason	8
Dulciana		8	A	Lieblich Gedackt	8
Principal		4		Salicional	8
Orchestral Flute		4		Unda Maris	8	TC
Twelfth		2–2/3	*	Gemshorn	4
Fifteenth		2		Mixture	III
Fourniture		IV	*	Horn	8
Trumpet		8	B	Oboe	8
CHOIR				PEDAL
Claribel Flute		8		Open Diapason	16
Viole d'Orchestre		8		Bourdon	16	C
Flauto Traverso		4		Bass Flute	8	C
Cornet		III	*	Dulciana	8	A	*
Clarinet		8		Dulcet	4	A	*
Trumpet		8	B	Trombone	16	B	*
				Trumpet	8	B	*

* 1993 additions

Compass:  61/30

11 couplers

Electro–pneumatic action

Detached drawknob console;  ivory keyboards and drawknobs

 

         •    Ian Molyneux, Looking around Perth:  a guide to the architecture of Perth

              and surrounding towns.  East Fremantle:  Wescolour Press, 1981, p.19.

 

 

Albert Moser, Munich, Germany

 

 

NEW NORCIA:  ABBEY CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY

 

 

The first parts of this building date from 1855–60, constructed of bush stones, mud plaster and rough–hewn tree trunks.  It originally consisted of a simple cruciform plan of nave, transepts and sanctuary, of classical proportions.  The retro choir was added in 1870 behind the high altar and choir screen.  Abbot Fulgentius Torres designed the stucco facade with its lofty pediment, and the bell tower with its clock and turret, which were added in 1907–08.

 

The organ was designed in consultation with the Abbey Organist Dom Moreno and built in 1922 by Albert Moser of Munich.  It was displayed at the German trade exhibition in Munich in 1922 before it was dismantled, packed in 24 zinc–lined cases and shipped to Australia, arriving at Fremantle on 21 April 1923.  It was installed at New Norcia from April to August 1923 by Dom Stephen Moreno, assisted by his brother Dom Henry Moreno, Dom Boniface Gomez, Dom Vincent Quindos and an aboriginal boy Harry Weston.  The opening concert was given by Stephen Moreno on Sunday 2 September 1923. 

 

The organ is totally enclosed within massive swell boxes with shutters at the front and on top of the organ.  The oak casework, of elaborate neo–classical design, incorporates five flats of non–speaking pipes and fine carvings especially on the front of the reversed console and on the pediment, at the top of the case.  The instrument is of interest, particularly for the comprehensive series of solo mutations on Manual II, extremely advanced for the time, its generous tonal structure and wide dynamic range.

 

A refurbishment of the organ by Belsham Pipe Organs (WA) took place in 1978.  Many of the pipe mouths were found to be blocked by candle grease.  The concrete floor on which the organ was placed was sealed and the organ reinstated to its former level, supported on a new steel frame.  A new Discus blower, of high capacity, and new wind regulators were installed.  The sliderless chests were electrified simply by using electro–magnets to operate the primary pneumatic motors.  Many of the timbers in the chests and console case had split so badly, owing to climatic extremes, that they had to be restored by the insertion of new pieces of timber.  The complicated original console pneumatics operating the couplers and the accessories were also removed and replaced by a combination of solid state and direct electrical switching – they still exist in a room at the top of the Monastery buildings.

 

Further work was carried out in 1997 with the replacement of the wind regulators with a very large floating frame reservoir and new wind trunking, designed by Lynn Kirkham and approximating as closely as possible to the original design.  These were manufactured and installed by Pipe Organs Builders and Services.

 

MANUAL I (enclosed)					MANUAL II (enclosed)
Bourdon	16	A (wood)			Rohrflöte	16		*
Principal	8	(wood bass)			Viola di Gamba	8		*
Soloflöte	8	(wood)			Aeoline	8		*
Unda Maris TC	8	(wood)			Vox Coelestis	8		*
Dulciana	8	(wood bass)			Konzertflöte	8		*		(wood)
Oktav	4				Gedeckt	8		*		(wood)
Mixtur   III	2				Fernflöte	4
Solo–Trompete	8				Gemshorn	4		*
Tremolo I Man					Nassard	2–2/3
Manual–Koppel II–I					Piccolo	2				(harmonic)
- (stopkey, thumb piston and toe lever)					Terzflöte	1–3/5
Suboktav––Koppel II–I					Septime	1–1/7
- (stopkey & thumb piston)					None	8/9
Superoktav–Koppel II–I					Harm. aetheria	2–2/3		V
- (stopkey & thumb piston)					(selects 2–2/3, 2, 1–3/5, 1–1/7, 8/9)
					Cimbal	1–1/3		III
					Eng. Horn	16		*
					Clarinett	8		*
					Vox Humana	8		*
					Clarine	4		*
					Tremolo II Man
					* 70 notes for use with super–octave coupler
PEDAL					VENTILS
Echobass	16		A		Engl. Horn	16	ab
Subbass	16		(wood)		Clarinett	8	ab
Contrabass	16		(wood)		Vox Humana	8	ab
Dolcebass	8		(wood bass)		Clarine	4	ab
Gedecktbass	8		B		Calkant
Violon	8		(wood bass)		Rohrwerke		ab
Bombard	16		(wood bass with		Solo–Trompete		ab
			metal trebles)		Bombard	16	ab
					I. Man.		ab		(hitch–down lever)

   Pedal–Koppel I.M. (stopkey, thumb piston & toe lever)           

   Pedal–Koppel II.M (stopkey ,thumb piston & toe lever)           

   Superoktav Koppel II.z.Ped. (stopkey & thumb piston)            

 

ACCESSORIES

Crescendo            an  (balanced crescendo pedal and hand lever)

Ped. Reg. II. Man. ab

Feste Pedalumsch. ab

Handreg. z. Schweller

Transpositeur             (hand lever, up or down two semitones)

 

REGISTRATION PISTONS

Freie Comb. an.

A.L. (cancel)

P.P.,  P.,  M.F.,  F.,  F.F.

 

Compass:  58/30

Detached stopkey console (pedal stopkeys duplicated for independent use with Man.I and II)

Free combination operated by miniature drawknobs

Balanced swell pedals (manual I, manual II) with indicators.

 

 

         •    Ian Molyneux, Looking around Perth:  a guide to the architecture of Perth and surrounding towns.  East Fremantle:  Wescolour Press, 1981, pp.127–9.

 

         •    Information supplied by Jeremy Fletcher, July 2004.

 

 

ORGANS OF INDIGENOUS MANUFACTURE

 

 

Robert Cecil Clifton, Perth

 

 

ST AIDAN'S UNITING CHURCH, CLAREMONT

 

This instrument is the earliest example of the work of Robert Cecil Clifton and was completed in 1878.  In 1879 it was moved to St John's Anglican Church, Fremantle and in 1884 to St Matthew's Anglican Church, Guildford.  It was installed in its present location in 1912 by J.E. Dodd who carried out an overhaul, with changes to the original tonal scheme that included a Labial Oboe and Viole d'Orchestre.  In 1975 an overhaul was carried out by F.J. Larner and Co., with further modifications to the tonal scheme including upperwork, followed by a more comprehensive restoration in 1987 when the tonal scheme reverted back more closely to the original, although the Swell Trumpet and Quint have remained.  In 1999 the organ was cleaned and the bellows releathered by F.J. Larner and Co.  The facade pipes were restencilled by Pipe Organs WA.  Five ranks of Clifton pipework remain in the organ, some only partially surviving.

 

GREAT			SWELL
Open Diapason   (Clifton trebles)	8	*	Hohl Flute	8	*
Stopped Diapason	8	*	Wald Flute	4	*
Dulciana	8		Principal	2
(from St Andrew's Church, Perth)			Quint	1–1/3
Principal   (new treble pipes)	4	*	Trumpet	8
PEDAL
Subbass	16		* Original Clifton pipework

 

Compass:  56/30

3 couplers

Mechanical key and stop action

Attached drawknob console

 

         •    Leon D. Cohen, Gathered Fragments:  the Biography of Robert Cecil Clifton, I.S.O. 1854–1931.  Bunbury, W.A.:  Charta Duplicating and Binding Service, 1979, pp.42–45.

 

         •    Pipe Organs WA website.

 

 

ST ALBAN'S ANGLICAN CHURCH, HIGHGATE

 

St Alban's Church was built in 1889 as an "outreach" into the bushland surrounding Perth and was an early example of a mission church.  The congregation grew so rapidly that it was necessary to enlarge the building, this being completed in 1898.  The building is in the Norman style;  the stained glass windows are said to be Norman–style windows intended for St  George's Cathedral but given to St Alban's as they were considered unsuitable for the Gothic cathedral.  The free–standing church bell is thought to be one of the oldest in the Commonwealth, cast in London in 1806 and intended for the docks area.  However, the people objected to the bell being "too loud" and it was bought for St George's Church, Perth (the forerunner of the Cathedral) in 1842.

 

The organ was the last to be built (1895–1908) by Robert Cecil Clifton for the music room of his home at 231 Adelaide Terrace, Perth.  Many years after his death in January 1931 it was moved to the then North Perth Congregational Church by J.E. Dodd;  the instrument was opened on 22 December 1946 by Dr C. Edgar Ford.  In 1976 it was sold to St Alban's Church for $5,000.  There have been several alterations to the organ.  After installation in St Alban's, the Great Salicional was removed by F.J. Larner and Co., and replaced by a metal Fifteenth and six pipes provided to complete the compass of the Great Open Diapason.

 

The casework of this organ, designed by Clifton in the Gothic style, resembling the work of A.G. Hill in Britain, is of considerable distinction, with carved pipeshades, cresting and projecting V tower.  The spotted metal pipework was manufactured by George Fincham & Son.

 

GREAT						SWELL
Open Diapason		8				Lieblich Gedeckt		8
Lieblich Gedeckt		8				Gamba		8
Octave		4				Viol d'Amour		4
Spitzflöte		4				Flautina		2
Fifteenth		2				Oboe		8
							Compass:  56/30
PEDAL							2 couplers
Gedeckt		16					Mechanical action to manuals;  tubular–
Salicional		8					pneumatic action to pedal and drawstops Attached drawstop console 3 thumb pistons to Great 3 thumb pistons to Swell

                                                                      

 

         •    Leon D. Cohen, Gathered Fragments:  the Biography of Robert Cecil Clifton, I.S.O. 1854–1931.  Bunbury, W.A.:  Charta Duplicating and Binding Service, 1979, pp.98–100.

 

J.E. Dodd, Adelaide

 

 

ST THOMAS' THE APOSTLE CATHOLIC CHURCH, CLAREMONT

 

The Church consists of a nave built in neo–gothic style in 1936 designed by Edgar Le B. Henderson.  Growth in the Parish meant that by the postwar period it was too small for an expanding congregation and a modern sanctuary, designed by parishioner Brian Jackson, was built onto the existing nave in 1963.  The sanctuary was completely carpeted until a piece of carpet had to be removed in order to place the frame of the organ.  It was then found that the floor underneath was of timber parquetry, on which the carpet was removed completely and the parquetry polished.

 

The organ was built by J.E. Dodd for Epworth Methodist (later Uniting) Church, Parkside, South Australia where it was opened by Dr E. Harold Davies on 27 November 1912.  Following some years when the organ was out of use, the building and instrument became redundant.  St Thomas' discovered the organ through the OHTA redundant organ listing. 

 

The organ was erected in St Thomas' Church by Patrick Elms and Co. of Albany in 2003, unaltered except for a restoration of the primary pneumatic action including the provision of new polyethylene tubing replacing the original lead tubing which was destroyed when the organ was dismantled for storage in Adelaide.  All windchest pallets and pulldown motors were releathered throughout and the swell and great slider motors were restored.  The console and its mechanics, pipework, windchest valves and casework remain untouched.

 

This is a highly significant example of Dodd's work, built when he was at the height of his career and incorporates outstanding examples of flue and reed voicing;  the strings are likely to be the work of the UK artist Carlton C. Michell, with reeds from Alfred Palmer & Sons.

 

                                                        

GREAT				SWELL
Bourdon	16	A		Lieblich Bourdon	16	D
Open Diapason	8	B		Open Diapason	8
Claribel	8			Hohl Flute	8
Lieblich Gedact	8			Viole d'Orchestre	8
Salicional	8	C		Voix Celeste          II	8
Principal	4			Octave	4
Flute d'Orchestre	4			Flauto Traverso	4
Mixture	III			Cornopean	8
Trumpet	8			Oboe	8
				Tremulant
PEDAL
Violone	16	B
Sub Bass	16	A
Echo Bourdon	16	D
Dolce	8	C

 

Compass:  58/30

4 couplers

Detached drawknob console

Tubular–pneumatic key and stop actions, with mechanical coupling in console

3 thumb pistons to Great and Swell

4 toe levers:  Full Swell,  Full Great, Full Organ and Tremulant

Balanced swell pedal

 

 

ST MATTHEW'S ANGLICAN CHURCH, GUILDFORD

 

 

St Matthew's Church was built in 1873 by Matthew Wallace to the designs of F. Sherwood and located on the site of the earlier church of 1860.  The building is in the Gothic style;  the west end includes a porch and a bellcote surmounting the gable.

 

The original organ was the 1878 Clifton instrument originally in St John's Church, Fremantle and now placed in St Aidan's Uniting Church, Claremont.

 

The present organ was built in 1911 by J.E. Dodd with a tubular–pneumatic action, according to vestry records.  Paul F. Hufner carried out an electrification of the primary pneumatic stage of the key action in 1951 and at some stage after this date the original wind system was replaced with a single–rise regulator.  In the 1970s the pneumatic slider motors were replaced by SLIC slider motors by a teacher at Guildford Grammar School.  In 1994, F.J. Larner and Co. constructed a new mechanical action for the Great, although this was never completed owing to lack of funds.  At this time, the original Great Claribel was replaced by a Lieblich Gedact of Dodd manufacture and the Dulciana cut down to provide a Fifteenth.

 

In 2003–04 Patrick Elms and Company refurbished the organ using the original restored slider chests with a new electric action and refitting of the console with replica Dodd stopkeys of the period.  The pattern for the stop keys was taken from the original stop rail of St Mary's Cathedral, which had used the same unusual style of stop keys.  The Dodd sound of the organ has been preserved.  All of the existing Dodd components were reused while missing parts have been remade in the Dodd style – new winding, slider motors, Great windchest pneumatics and console fittings – it continues to have a recognisable Dodd sound.

 

GREAT			SWELL
Open Diapason	8		Geigen Diapason	8
Lieblich Gedact	8		Hohl Flute	8
(replacing original Claribel)			Viole d'Orchestre	8
Principal	4		Flauto Traverso	4
Suabe Flute	4		Oboe	8
(pipes not original to organ;  installed later)
Fifteenth    (Dulciana pipework)	2		PEDAL
			Bourdon	16

Compass:  58/30

6 couplers

Electro–pneumatic action

Attached stopkey console

 

         •    The Heritage of Western Australia:  the illustrated register of the National Estate.  South Melbourne:  Macmillan, 1989, p.50.

 

         •    Information supplied by Patrick Elms and Co.

 

 

ST MARY'S CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL, PERTH

 

 

The nave of St Mary's Cathedral was commenced under Bishop Serra and Brother Ascione and opened in 1863.  The transepts and sanctuary, in a spacious Perpendicular Gothic idiom, were built in sandstone in 1925–26 to the design of Cavanagh & Cavanagh.  Michael Cavanagh had been born in Victoria in 1860, studied at the Adelaide School of Art and was studying in England 1887–88, starting his practice in Adelaide in 1891 and moving to Perth by 1898 (the year when he was elected FRIBA) where he was in partnership with his brother James Francis.  Their plans to rebuild the nave on the same scale have not been realised although provision can be seen in the side walls for grafting in the new parts of the nave.  The 1920s work includes large multi–light windows filled with colourful glass designed and executed by John Hardman and Company of Birmingham.  The sanctuary and transepts have  elaborate plaster vaulting in a Gothic idiom.  The building boasts an outstanding acoustical environment for organ music.

 

The organ, originally of two manuals, was built in 1910 by J.E. Dodd and was rated by former organist and noted composer Dr C. Edgar Ford as "the finest small organ in Australia", its effect complemented by the astounding acoustic.  Its tonal design was almost identical to the organ in Wesley Church, Perth.  The instrument was rebuilt and considerably enlarged in 1964 by J.E. Dodd & Sons Gunstar Organ Works, Adelaide.  New electro–pneumatic action was installed in place of the original tubular–pneumatic, a new stopkey console supplied, and the organ resited on a new gallery in the south transept behind a new case of Gothic design.  There is much borrowing and extension on the Choir and Pedal, but the overall effect of the organ is extremely impressive, with pipework of excellent quality.

 

GREAT				SWELL
Violone	16	A		Geigen Diapason	8	*
Open Diapason	8	*		Hohl Flute	8	*
Melodic Diapason	8	*		Viole d'Orchestre	8	*
Clarabel	8	*		Vox Angelica   II	8	*
Gamba	8	A		Octave	4	*
Gedact	8	*		Flauto Traverso	4	*
Dulciana	8	*		Super Octave	2
Principal	4	*		Mixture   15.19.22	III	*
Gamba	4	A		Double Trumpet	16	C
Harmonic Flute	4	*		Trumpet	8	C
Twelfth	2-2/3	A		Oboe	8
Super Octave	2	*		Clarion	4	C
Gamba	2	A		Tremulant
Gamba	1-3/5	A
Mixture   15.19.22	III
Trumpet	8	B *
Tuba	8	H
Closed Horn	8	G
Clarion	4	B *
CHOIR				PEDAL
Lieblich Gedact   (ex Swell)	16	D*		Major Bass	16	I*
Violin Diapason	8	E		Open Diapason	16
Stopped Diapason	8			Violone	16	A
Gedact	8	D*		Subbass	16	J*
Salicional	8	F		Bourdon	16	D*
Octave	4	E		Quint	10–2/3	J
Flute	4	D		Principal	8	I*
Salicet	4	F		Bass Flute	8	J
Nazard	2–2/3	D		String	8	A
Piccolo	2	D		Salicional	8	F
Tierce	1–3/5			Octave Quint	5–1/3	J
Closed Horn	8	G		Super Octave	4	I
Clarinet	8			Octave Flute	4	J
Trumpet	8	B		Mixture	IV
Tuba	8	H		Ophicleide	16	H*
Tuba Clarion	4	H		Double Trumpet	16	C
Tremulant				Trumpet	8	C
				Clarion	4	C

* Dodd stops from 1910

Compass: 61/30

12 couplers

Electro–pneumatic action

Detached stopkey (horseshoe) console

 

         •    Building, vol.5, no.26 (12 May 1925), p.1, 158

 

         •    Directory of British Architects 1834–1914, updated edition.  London:  Continuum, 2001, vol.1, p.348

 

         •    Complete specification researched by Patrick Elms

 

 

Alfred Fuller, Kew, Melbourne

 

 

SCOTS PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, FREMANTLE

 

 

The building was designed by Sir J.J. Talbot–Hobbs in an unusual rustic Gothic style and built in 1890 by Petrie and Co. in Fremantle limestone with contrasted quoining on the buttress faces and window edges.  The main facade incorporates a tower, with octagonal spire, porch and triple lancet windows.  Heritage Commission grants have assisted the restoration of the building and stained glass windows.

 

The organ was built by Alfred Fuller, of Kew, Victoria, in 1897 and is one of the final instruments he constructed before the closure of his business in 1900.  The date of installation in the church, and how it arrived in Western Australia, is uncertain.  It was restored in 1990 by F.J. Larner and Co. and more recently the decoration of the overpainted facade pipes has been restored by Pipe Organs WA.    The original hand blowing still survives.  The instrument is typical of Fuller's smaller instruments where the longest pipes are placed in towers at floor level on either side of the console, together with the absence of an internal passage board between the two manual chests.

 

GREAT				SWELL
Open Diapason	8			Lieblich Gedact	8
Claribel	8			Viola da Gamba	8  gvd bass
Dulciana	8	gvd bass		Lieblich Flute	4
Principal	4			Cornopean	8
Piccolo	2
				PEDAL
Compass: 56/30				Bourdon	16
4 couplers (incl Swell Octave)

Attached drawstop console with roll top                

Mechanical key and stop action                            

2 composition pedals to Great

2 composition pedals to Swell

Trigger swell lever

 

         •    The Heritage of Western Australia:  the illustrated register of the National Estate.  South Melbourne:  Macmillan, 1989, p.20.

 

         •    J.R. Elms, Gazetteer of Western Australian Pipe Organs.  Melbourne:  Society of Organists (Victoria) Inc., 1972.

 

         •    Pipe Organs WA website.

 

 

Lynn Kirkham, Perth

 

 

TRINITY COLLEGE CHAPEL, PERTH

 

 

The College is a comparatively new one, replacing the old Christian Brothers College which was situated in Adelaide Terrace.  The College is situated on the banks of the Swan River on the rover reserve behind two great sporting arenas (the WACA Ground and Gloucester Park) and alongside the Causeway.  The Chapel is circular with the organ placed on a gallery in a prominent position where it speaks with authority into the chapel.  The acoustic of the chapel lends itself well to the organ.

 

This important organ, of outstandingly high tonal, mechanical and visual quality, was built in 1984 by Lynn Kirkham.

 

HAUPTWERK				OBERWERK (SCHWELLER)
Praestant		8		Gedackt	8
Rohrflöte		8		Viola da Gamba	8
Octav		4		Prinzipal	4
Nachthorn		4		Rohrflöte	4
Nasat		2–2/3		Gemshorn	2
Octav		2		Nasat	1–1/3
Hohlflöte		2		Scharff	IV
Terz		1–3/5		Krummhorn	8
Mixtur		V–VI
Trompete		8
PEDAL
Subbass		16
Octav Bass		8
Pommer		8		Compass:  61/32
Octav		4		Mechanical key and stop actions
Stillposaune		16		Attached drawstop console

 

 

F.J. Larner & Company, Perth

 

 

 CHAPEL OF SS MARY & GEORGE, GUILDFORD GRAMMAR SCHOOL, GUILDFORD

 

 

The Chapel was built between 1912–14 to the design of the noted English architect Sir Walter Tapper (1861–1935).  The building contains many splendid fittings, such as the painted reredos (by Jack Bewsey), lectern (by William Bainbridge Reynolds) and stained glass; it is undoubtedly the most lavish school chapel in the country.  The building and its fittings were donated by an Englishman, Cecil Henry Oliverson, and built of Donnybrook stone.  Externally, the west front is framed by two prominent stone turrets, the side walls of the six–bay nave run sheer to the parapet, and at the east end the vestries are placed under a low lean–to roof between buttresses of huge projection.  Internally, there is a plaster barrel vault intersected by stone ribs while the finely crafted pews are placed parallel to the side walls of the building.  The floor is of marble laid in contrasting slabs and high in the side walls a stone passage runs around the building between the windows.  The Resurrection window, dating from 1988, was designed by Perth artist Robert Juniper and made and installed by Adelaide–born, stained glass window artist Cedar Prest.  The new stained glass window behind the organ, at the west end (1995), is also by Cedar Prest.

 

The original organ, built by Norman & Beard, of two manuals and seven speaking stops, was divided on either side of the large west window behind cases designed by the architect.

 

The present organ was built in 1972 by F.J. Larner and Co. and is a seminal early example of the work of the Australian organ reform movement, with the pipework encased within reflecting boxes without pipeshades.  In 1995 a new Gothic–style case, more in keeping with the architecture of the building was designed by Lynn Kirkham, constructed and installed by Ridge Furniture.  In 1996 Lynn Kirkham designed and built a new mechanical key action.  The only tonal alteration from the original is the addition of a Viola da Gamba stop on the Swell and a lowering by one break the pitch of the Swell Scharff.

 

GREAT				SWELL
Principal	8			Spitz Flöte	8
Rohr Flöte	8			Viola da Gamba	8
Octave	4			Principal	4
Koppel Flöte	4			Rohr Flöte	4
Nasat	2–2/3			Octave	2
Block Flöte	2			Larigot	1–1/3
Tierce	1–3/5			Scharff   29.33.36	III
Fourniture   19.22.26.29	IV			Dulzian	16
Trompette	8			Trumpet	8
Tremulant				Tremulant
PEDAL				Compass:  56/32
Sub Bass	16			Mechanical key action
Octave	8			Electric stop action
Gemshorn	4			Attached drawstop console
Mixture   15.19.22	III			Adjustable thumb & toe pistons
Posaune	16			(40 channel capture system)
Schalmei	4			Cymbelstern

 

         •    Brian Andrews, Australian Gothic:  the Gothic Revival in Australian Church Architecture from the 1840s to the 1950s.  Carlton, Vic.:  Melbourne University Press, 2001, pp.92–95, ill. 111.

 

 

Knud Smenge, Melbourne

 

 

ST GEORGE'S ANGLICAN CATHEDRAL, PERTH

 

 

The earliest church on this site was in the classical style, not unlike such buildings as St George's Battery Point and the original St David's in Hobart.  The foundation stone of the present building, designed by the eminent NSW architect Edmund Blacket, was laid in November 1880 and the opening took place in 1888.  The cathedral is comparable in scale with Blacket's St Thomas' Church, North Sydney, but is constructed in red brick with Rottnest stone dressings both internally and externally;  the roof beams are of jarrah, a local timber.  It consists of a five bay clerestoried nave, with prominent flanking porches, lofty transepts and square–ended sanctuary.  The completion of the building was entrusted to Blacket's son Cyril as Edmund had died in 1883.  The firm had designed a magnificent tower and broach spire for the building, but the present crenellated tower with elevated stair turret was erected in 1902 to a reduced design by local architect Sir J.J. Talbot Hobbs.  The building incorporates splendid fittings, particularly a wide range of imported stained glass by such makers as Clayton & Bell, and James Powell & Sons, both of London, together with local makers such as Mathieson & Gibson, of Melbourne and Barnett Bros, of Perth.  The floors are of tessellated tiles.  The wrought iron chancel screen was added in 1906 and the carved alabaster reredos with its elaborate statuary in 1909.  The Soldiers' Memorial Chapel, built from Donnybrook stone and brick, was constructed in 1919, while the pulpit, font and north transept panelling were designed by George Herbert Parry.

 

The earlier organ of two manuals, 15 speaking stops and mechanical action, was built in 1874–75 by Hill & Son, London (job no. 1554) for the former building.  In 1903 it was enlarged by J.E. Dodd who added a third manual and converted the action to tubular–pneumatic.  This was the first work carried out by Dodd in WA and the planning of it resulted in the setting up of the WA branch of the firm in 1902, managed by his son Ebenezer Dodd.  A major rebuilding and enlargement took place in 1958 by J.W. Walker & Sons Ltd, of Ruislip, Middlesex and the majority of the instrument sited on a platform in the south transept, with the console and choir organ placed in a gallery under the tower.  This instrument was dismantled in 1994 by F.J. Larner and Co.;  the surviving Hill chests and pipework were used in an organ for St Hilda's Anglican Girls' School chapel, Mosman Park, while the Tuba went to St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne, and the console to St Paul's Cathedral, Bendigo.

 

There are now three organs in the Cathedral, all built by the Melbourne organbuilder Knud Smenge, two of which are electrically connected to an all–electric console at floor level.  The first instrument, a chamber organ, was built in 1988.

 

MANUAL

Gedackt	8		Stops simply labelled with pitch designations
Rohrflute	4
Principal	2		Compass:  56 notes;  no pedals
Mixture   19.22	II		Mechanical key and stop action Pipework enclosed behind swell shutters with knee lever.

                                                                                                                                   

 

The west organ, sited on a new west gallery, was installed in 1993.  This has casework of Tasmanian oak, and includes a ruckpositiv division, placed on the gallery rail.  The façade pipes are of burnished tin.  The Pedal, Great and Positiv divisions are visible in the facade;  the larger pipes of the Pedal and the Swell are placed in a separate case to the rear.

 

GREAT				SWELL
Pommer	16			Bordun	16
Principal	8			Gedackt	8
Rohrflute	8			Salicional	8
Octave	4			Voix Celeste	8	TC
Flute Harm.	4			Principal	4
Octave	2			Spitzflute	4
Mixture      VI–VIII	2			Nasard	2–2/3
Cymbel       II	1			Waldflute	2
Cornet         III	2–2/3	TC		Terz	1–3/5
Trompet	8			Mixture             IV	1–1/3
Clarion	4			Trompet	16
Tremulant				Trompet Harm.	8
				Oboe	8
POSITIVE				Clarion	4
Gedackt	8			Tremulant
Spitzgamba	8	gvd.bass
Principal	4			PEDAL
Kobbelflute	4			Untersatz	32	A
Octave	2			Principal	16	B
Gemshorn	2			Subbas	16	A
Nasat	1–1/3			Octave	8	B
Scharf         IV	1			Gedackt	8
Krumhorn	8			Choralbas	4
Vox Humana	8			Rauschquint         V	2–2/3
Tremulant				Bombarde	16
				Trompet	8
				Zinka	4

Compass:  58/30

6 couplers

Mechanical key action with electric stop action and override for electric (mid) console

Electric transmission to swell shutters

Adjustable thumb and toe pistons with 40 channels

Attached drawknob console.

 

The chancel organ, placed under the tower at the south–east junction of the building, speaking across the chancel, was built in 1993–94.  The Swell occupies a brustwerk position in the striking case front, in modern Scandinavian style.

 

GREAT				SWELL
Principal	8			Gedackt	8
Rohrflute	8			Koppelflute	4
Salicional	8			Principal	2
Octave	4			Nasat	1–1/3
Flute Harmonique	4			Schalmey	8
Waldflute	2			Tremulant
Mixture        V	2
Trumpet	8
Tremulant				PEDAL
				Subbass	16
Compass:  58/30				Gedackt	8
4 couplers (inc. Swell to Pedal 4ft)				Italian Principal	4
Mechanical key action;  electric stop action				Fagot	16

with 40 channels

Adjustable combinations action

Attached drawknob console

 

         •    Bronwyn Hughes, Lights of our Past:  Australian Stained Glass.  Melbourne:  RMIT Publishing, 1999. (CD ROM)

 

         •    John Beaverstock, "The Organs of St George's Cathedral, Perth", Victorian Organ Journal, part one, June 1994, pp.6–12;  part two, December 1994, pp.28–35.