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The 1963 organ
(Click here to see the stoplist as given in Kerr Jamieson's Glasgow Organs pages; it includes the original combination settings.)ORGANS IN & AROUND CHESTERFIELD
ST. MARY & ALL SAINTS, CHESTERFIELD
PART FOUR: 1961 - 1988 CONFLAGRATION & NEW BEGINNINGS
The final incarnation of the Snetzler organ lasted for just three years. In December 1961 an arsonist set fire to the choir vestry beneath the organ, and the church would have been entirely destroyed except for the prompt arrival for the fire brigade. Damage was confined to the north transept; the heat was so fierce that the stonework was calcined and the mortar turned to powder. The only part of the organ which survived was the Positif pipework, in its sturdy and evidently flame-proof swell-box.While the church fabric was being repaired, negotiations got underway for a new organ.
In 1958 Willis had removed the redundant 1903 organ by Lewis & Co. from Glasgow City Hall. (Other sources give these dates as 1960 and 1905 respectively.) This was a beefy four-manual instrument with the following stoplist:
GREAT 16 Double Diapason 24 zinc in front 16 Bourdon 1-24 wood 8 Open Diapason No.1 8 Open Diapason No.2 8 Stopped Diapason wood 8 Flute Harmonique 1-12 stopped wood 4 Octave 4 Flute Harmonique 2 2/3 Octave Quint 2 Super Octave IV Mixture 19.22.26.29 16 Contra Tuba ) 8 Tuba ) reeds enclosed in their own box 4 Clarion ) SWELL 16 Bourdon 1-24 wood 8 Geigen Principal 8 Rohr Flöte 1-12 stopped wood 8 Aeolian 8 Viole de Gambe 8 Voix Celestes tc 4 Geigen Principal 4 Rohr Flöte 2 Flautina III-V Cornet 12.15.17; TC 8.12.15.17; MC 1.8.12.15.17 16 Contra Fagotto 8 Horn 8 Oboe 4 Clarion Tremulant CHOIR (enclosed) 16 Lieblich Bourdon wood 8 Salicional 8 Dulciana 8 Lieblich Gedackt wood 4 Salicet 4 Flauto Traverso 2 Piccolo Harmonique SOLO (enclosed) 8 Concert Flute wood 8 Vox Angelica 8 Unda Maris tc 4 Suabe Flute wood 16 Cor Anglais tc 8 Orchestral Oboe 8 Clarionet 8 Vox Humana Tremulant PEDAL 32 Harmonic Bass 1-7 resultant from Sub Bass, 8-11 by extension 16 Great Bass 16 Violon 16 Salicional some in front 16 Sub Bass 8 Octave extension 8 Violoncello extension 8 Flute Bass extension 16 Trombone 8 Trumpet extension Couplers: 10 unison; Solo, Swell, Choir: 8ve & sub8ve; Great reeds 8ve; Swell 8ve & sub8ve to Great; Solo 8ve & sub8ve to Great. Other drawstops: Great stops to Pedal composition pedals; Great reeds to Choir; Great reeds to Great. Key touches: 8 each to Solo, Swell, Great; 5 to Choir (the first on each manual to control its pedal coupler - reversible) Interchangeable combination pedals: Great & Pedal; Swell & Pedal; Solo; Choir. Composition pedals: 5 to Pedal; 4 to Swell. (4 pedal coupler reversibles?) Composition pedals to Swell and Solo tremulants. Balanced expression pedals to Great Reeds, Swell, Solo, General Crescendo. Metal pipes 8ft. upwards spotted metal. 86 drawstop knobs. Compass: 61/32. Pitch: C517 at 60 degrees. Tubular-pneumatic action. Wind: Great 4 1/2in., reeds 10in.; Swell & Solo 4 1/2in.; Choir 4in.; Pedal 5in.
In 1960 the church at nearby Bolsover was damaged by fire, and its organ destroyed. Willis suggested a replacement instrument based on the Lewis organ; it was to have three manuals and 59 stops, an amazingly ambitious scheme for a not over-large church in a small working-class town. Bolsover felt unable to proceed with this plan (in 1962 they installed a much smaller Lewis/Willis), and the Glasgow organ was offered to Chesterfield. The initial scheme was for a divided instrument, with Great, Swell and Pedal at the west end; the former Positif was to be re-used in the chancel, with a new Chancel Pedal, the whole to be controlled from a console in the chancel. The price was to be £12,500, with an optional 32ft. reed extension (£950), Pedal Mixture (£400) and additional pistons (£680). The stoplist suggested by Willis III, dated January 8th 1962, was as follows:
GREAT
16 Bordun
8 Open Diapason No.1
8 Open Diapason No.2
8 Stopped Diapason
8 Harmonic Flute
4 Principal
4 Gemshorn
4 Stopped Flute
2 2/3 Twelfth
2 Fifteenth
IV Mixture 19.22.26.29
16 Contra Tromba
8 Tromba
4 Octave Tromba
(reeds enclosed in their own swell box)
SWELL
16 Quintaten
8 Open Diapason
8 Rohr Flöte
8 Viole de Gambe
8 Voix Celestes tc
4 Fugara
2 2/3 Nazard
2 Flageolet
III Quint Mixture 12.19.22
III-V Cornet 12.15.17/8.12.15.17/1.8.12.15.17
16 Contra Fagotto
8 Trompette
8 Oboe
4 Clarion
Tremolo
CHANCEL-POSITIF (enclosed)
8 Stopped Diapason
8 Dolce
4 Nason Flute
2 2/3 Nazat
2 Fifteenth
1 3/5 Terz
8 Krummhorn
Tremolo
CHANCEL PEDAL
16 Quintade
8 Quintade ext.
4 Quintade ext.
PEDAL
32 Sub Bass resultant
16 Open Diapason former Great Double Open?
16 Violon
16 Salicional
16 Bourdon
8 Principal ext.
8 Violon ext.
8 Bourdon ext.
4 Fifteenth ext.
4 Bourdon ext.
16 Trombone
8 Trumpet ext.
17 couplers.
Charles Bryars, the church organist, was less than pleased with Willis's offer. He suggested
that the Willis quote for Bolsover had offered considerably better value, as it
had included a Great Double Open, a Pedal Mixture and 2ft. flute, and a Positif mixture, at
a cheaper overall price. Willis replied that prices had risen in the intervening two years,
and that allowance had to be made for the fact that the Chesterfield quote was for an organ
divided within the building.Bryars decided that the proposed chancel section was too small; his ideal was to use the Lewis Choir organ with the Snetzler stops on a separate chest. He was also prepared to omit the three Great reeds in favour of an unenclosed Tuba playable from Great or Choir.
In the event these discussions came to nothing; it was decided that the new organ must occupy the old north transept site, above the new choir vestry. The agreed stoplist was a modified version of Willis's first proposal. Bryars got his combined Choir/Positif, his mixtures and his Great double open. A detached console was provided, which in normal use was situated at the east end of the north nave aisle with the player facing west. For concert use it was possible to bring it out slightly into the body of the church, and to turn it so that the performer was visible to the audience in the nave. The stoplist, taken from the Willis archives, was as follows. All pipework was from the Lewis organ except where indicated, and there was a fair and unspecified amount of re-voicing, particularly the reeds.
GREAT
16 Double Open Diapason 32 in front; CCC 9in., 4 1/2 mouth
8 Open Diapason No.1 12 in front; CC 6 3/4in., 4 mouth
8 Open Diapason No.2 12 in front; CC 5 15/16in., 4 mouth
8 Stopped Diapason
8 Harmonic Flute
4 Principal C 3 9/16in., 4 mouth.
4 Gemshorn "new ex Musselburgh"; conical 1/2,
C 2 3/4in. at mouth, 4 mouth
4 Stopped Flute old 4ft. flute, stopped
2 2/3 Twelfth C 2 5/8in., 4 mouth
2 Fifteenth C 1 7/8in., 4 mouth
IV Mixture 19.22.26.29
16 Contra Tromba CCC 5in.
8 Tromba CC 5 3/8in., open eschallots
4 Octave Tromba C 4 1/4in., open eschallots
(reeds enclosed in their own swell box)
SWELL
16 Bordun CCC 7x5in.
8 Open Diapason CC 5 5/8in., 4 mouth
8 Rohr Flöte
8 Viole de Gambe
8 Voix Celestes tc
4 Fugara old Geigen Principal; C 3in., 4 mouth
2 2/3 Nazard old Rohr Fl.
2 Flageolet C 1 5/8in., 4 1/2 mouth
III Quint Mixture 12.19.22 new, on old Aeolian slide
III-V Cornet 12.15.17/8.12.15.17/1.8.12.15.17
16 Contra Fagotto CCC 4 1/2in.
8 Trompette CC 4 1/2in., long openings
8 Oboe
4 Clarion C 3 5/8in., long openings
Tremolo
CHOIR ORGAN
Positif: enclosed (on former Solo board)
8 Stopped Diapason Snetzler; CC 4 5/8x3 7/8in.
8 Dolce Snetzler; CC 3 3/4in.
4 Nason Flute Snetzler; C 2 7/8x1 3/8in.
2 2/3 Nazat new
2 Fifteenth Snetzler; C 1 7/8in., 4 mouth
1 3/5 Terz new
III Cimbel 29.33.36 new
Choir: unenclosed
16 Lieblich Bordun
8 Open Diapason old (Salicional?)
8 Gedackt
8 Aeolian old Dulciana
4 Flauto Traverso
2 Piccolo
8 Krummhorn old Solo Clarionet; CC 1 5/8in., long openings
Tremolo
PEDAL
32 Sub Bass resultant from Great Bass
16 Great Bass wood; CCC 14 1/2x11 3/8in.
16 Open Diapason Great
16 Violon CCC 9in. 4 1/2 mouth
16 Salicional CCC 9 1/2in.
16 Bourdon
8 Octave Bass ext. Great Bass
8 Violon ext.
8 Bourdon ext.
4 Super Octave new; ext. Great Bass
4 Bourdon new; ext.
IV Mixture 19.22.26.29 new
16 Trombone CCC 7in., long openings.
8 Trumpet ext.
Couplers: 6 unison; Swell & Choir: 8ve, unison off;
Swell 8ve to Great; Swell 8ve to Pedal; Choir 8ve to Great; Choir 8ve to Pedal;
Great reeds to Choir; Great & Pedal combinations coupled.
Thumb pistons: 0,1,2,3,4,5,6 to each Swell, Great, Choir.
Reversibles to 6 unison couplers.
Octave couplers cancel; General cancel.
Rocker tablets: Doubles on/off; Pedal stops on/off.
Toe pistons: 0,1,2,3,4,5,6 to each Pedal and Swell.
Reversibles to Great to Pedal; Swell to Great; Full Organ.
Balanced pedals to: Swell, Positif, Great reeds, General Crescendo.
Indicator for General Crescendo pedal; light for Full Organ.
Wind pressures: Great flues 4 1/2in., reeds 10in.; Swell 4 1/2in;
Choir & Positif 4in.; Pedal flues 5in., reeds 10in.
3520 pipes.
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The 1963 organ
It combined the traditions of Lewis and Willis III in an interesting, sometimes
frustrating way. The Swell reeds, for example, were good specimens of moderate-pressure
voicing, re-inforced by Lewis's characteristic Cornet mixture which added harmonic interest
with a stringy tang. The ensemble was vigorous in a restrained sort of way, rather than either
brilliant or powerful. To this mélange Willis added a second mixture,
12.19.22; as if that was not enough quints, there was also a separate Nazard. But then,
this was the 1960s, and we should not be surprised to find another Nazard in the instrument,
on the Positif division. This enclosed section was one of the toy-positives so common at the
time, supposedly a gesture towards the performance of early music. Of course it bore no
relation, in tone or volume, to the flue choruses of Great and Swell, though it was charming
in such things as chorale-partitas and musical-clock pieces. The new mutations had nothing
in common with classical practice, and differed little from the 'tonal synthetics' which Willis
had pioneered in the 1920s. The Cimbel was an uneasy compromise, rather too loud to form
a silvery topping to the Positif chorus, yet too soft to tell when coupled through to the
Great chorus. And what a chorus it was! Sumner wrote:
The bottom manual was an uneasy marriage of unenclosed Choir (some useful though rather
characterless stops together with a very assertive Krummhorn) and enclosed Positif. This
caused two stopped 8ft. flutes and two 4ft. flutes to be concentrated on the same keyboard,
and there was no way of transferring one of the divisions to another manual. Used in dialogue
they would have been rather charming.
The Pedal division looks impressive on paper; in practise it was rather idiosyncratic. The
Great Bass was not a particularly fine specimen, rather indefinite in tone. The Salicional
looks like a luxury register; in effect it was a large-scaled, rather woofy soft diapason.
It bolstered the Bourdon (the softest stop, and not very good - what one would have given for a
creamy Harrison Sub Bass!) but was not very useful otherwise; much less so than a real
dulciana bass, for there was no pianissimo 16ft. pedal stop. The Bourdon was extended
to 8ft. and 4ft., as was the Great Bass - all in wooden pipes (shades of Arthur Harrison's
'Superoctave Wood'). The Mixture was big and bold, but there was no coherent
chorus below; it was unfortunate that money could not have been found for independent metal
registers at 8ft. and 4ft. The reeds were big climax registers, most impressive in their
way. When playing on full Pedal - and indeed full organ - the lack of 32ft. reed tone
was not felt. There was quite enough depth and drive in what was present.
For fuller tonal descriptions you are referred to W.L. Sumner's article in 'The Organ',
January 1964; though when reading it, it seems that quite often he is discussing a different
organ from the one I knew in the late 1970s.
The bottom manual was given a much clearer function as a small but telling Choir division.
For the first time in a century the Snetzler stops were freed from the confines of a swell
box, and sound much better for it. The Cimbel was replaced by a more useful Mixture,
and the chorus topped off with a Trompette.
The Great flue chorus remains largely as in 1963, though the Mixture has been re-ordered and
now sounds less abrupt and assertive. More importantly, the three Trombas have been consigned
to Solo and two new chorus reeds added, full-voiced but not dominating. The new Cornet is a
delightful stop in the 18th-century English tradition; another sound missing from the church
for over 130 years.
The Swell flue chorus has been rationalised; the Lewis Cornet is now a Sesquialtera, and the
Mixture has been re-composed to carry the higher pitches further up the keyboard. It is
much more telling than before, and adds noticeable brilliance. Despite all
this, one rather regrets the effective destruction of the Lewis full swell comprising
reeds plus Cornet.
Pedal has gained greatly with the appearance of metal chorus ranks at 8ft. and 4ft. The
rather useless Salicional has gone, and a soft bass is provided by the derived 16ft. register
from Choir. The Bourdon is no more satisfactory than it was, however, and might
with advantage have been replaced by something less prominently woody in tone. A 32ft. reed
has been added, that sine qua non of 1990s British organs, and adds a very effective
depth-charge.
The Trombas now sound more prominent; the unison register is quite powerful enough for proper
Tuba effects. Added to the tutti with the new Great chorus reeds and cornet, and with the
Pedal 32ft. Contra Trombone, the effect is shattering. The organs of this church have been
getting progressively louder for over a century; one might hope that a zenith has been reached
beyond which it will not be considered desirable to go.
This organ is now the largest in Derbyshire; the Compton at Derby Cathedral has more stops
but fewer pipes, and does not possess the 32ft. reed octave. It is only the fifth four-manual
organ to be built in the county (those at Derby Cathedral and St. John's, Buxton survive; the
1903 Binns residence organ for G.E. Franklin at
Derby went to Nottingham in 1909; the Walker/Ingram/Willis at St. Werburgh, Derby, went
to Manchester in the 1980s). Its stoplist is arguably more integrated than for many
years past, and the Snetzler ranks have found useful roles within the instrument as a whole
rather than being consigned to a 'historical' division. There is little of the uneasy
compromise that pervaded the 1963 scheme: a Fugara that was nearly a Geigen Principal; a
Flageolet that was nearly a Fifteenth; Trombas that were nearly Tubas, a Salicional that was
nearly a diapason, a Krummhorn that was nearly a Krummhorn. Everything is now clearly defined
and unambiguously labelled in the best 1990s fashion. I await future transformations with
some curiosity.
Here is the 1988 stoplist. Asterisked ranks indicate a change to the 1963 organ.
The organ was dedicated in 1963. W.L. Sumner wrote, in 'The Organ', January 1964:
One might equally well say that Willis had subtracted from it. The following Lewis
pipework was unused in the Chesterfield rebuild:
The Lewis pipework, when laid out in the Chesterfield Church, was a noble sight. Lewis used
tin, spotted metal and woods of the most expensive kind, lavishly... It is not surprising
that Lewis's organs have been used as quarries by other organ-builders, who were entirely
devoid of his skill and integrity, and that he himself hardly kept solvent. It is to the
credit of the present Henry Willis that he has preserved the tonal magnificence of the Glasgow
organ, while adding to it, in an entirely judicious manner, a few modern touches...
Great: Bourdon 16
The new pipework was as follows:
Swell: Aeoline 8
Choir: Salicet 4
Solo: 7 stops (the Clarionet 8 alone was retained, revoiced and moved to Choir)
Great: Gemshorn 4 (2nd-hand rank)
This organ was, above all, a grand statement of organ-building which had to be accepted on its
own terms or not at all. Unlike the majority of organs designed near the end of the second
millennium it was not foremost a vehicle for large amounts of repertoire. In this it stood
squarely in an uncompromising tradition of ding an sich instruments by such builders as
Cavaillé-Coll (the organs came first, the school of composers followed), Schulze, and the
first Henry Willis. It was an artistic statement in its own right, following its principles
to their logical conclusion; not a musical chameleon, a servant of the perceived needs of
composed works. It was certainly a good liturgical organ, equally capable of bullying the
most stubborn congregation and aurally caressing the most nervous choirboy.
Swell: Quint Mixture III
Positif: Nazard 2 2/3, Tierce 1 3/5, Cimbel III
Pedal: Super Octave 4 (12 notes), Bourdon 4 (12 notes), Mixture IV
This is not quite true, for the mixture was more glittery and brilliant than Schulze's
famous climax-mixtures at Armley and elsewhere. But there was great fullness and vigour, and
the ensemble up to Fifteenth had a golden, singing sound it is difficult to analyse
properly; certainly good materials, generous scaling and winding played their parts, as did
voicing which emphasised the first harmonic while not compromising a rich, broad
character. Of course the Swell flue
chorus could not begin to balance it, and was a restrained sparkle in comparison. And the
Great Trombas swallowed the Swell reeds whole, though considered alone they were a little
odd; too big to be generally useful as chorus reeds (although you could control their volume
as they had their own swell box); the unison too small to serve as a vigorous tuba. Their
10in. pressure and voicing led to a rather opaque sound, though not comparable with some
Harrison trombas of a few decades earlier. It is interesting to note that this combination of
Schulze-like flues with big Trombas was built in 1903, several years before Arthur
Harrison's schemes supposedly pioneered the formula.
The great organ diapason chorus is as near an approach to a Schulze chorus as it was
possible to achieve.
THE FINAL INCARNATION: WOOD 1988
After 25 years of use the organ was once more rebuilt, this time by Philip Wood of
Huddersfield. A fourth manual was provided at the console, controlling a Solo division
very much in the spirit of the 1903 Lewis organ, with soft
flues and woodwind reeds. The lush 8ft. Harmonic Flute from the Lewis Great was moved here,
as was the Snetzler 'Dolce'; flutes from the 1963 Choir and a new undulating rank completed
the flues, while - more surprisingly - an Orchestral Oboe and Vox Humana were installed
alongside a new Clarinet (a woody and characterful fellow, much more sociable than the 1963
Krummhorn). These romantic reed voices had been absent from the church since 1958, and their
return was therefore doubly welcome.
GREAT
16 Double Open Diapason
8 Open Diapason No.1
8 Open Diapason No.2
8 Stopped Diapason
4 Principal
4 Gemshorn
4 Stopped Flute
2 2/3 Twelfth
2 Fifteenth
IV Mixture 19.22.26.29*
V Cornet 1.8.12.15.17* tenor G
8 Posaune*
4 Clarion*
SWELL
16 Bourdon
8 Open Diapason
8 Rohr Flöte
8 Viole de Gambe
8 Voix Celeste tc
4 Geigen Principal
4 Flute*
2 Fifteenth*
IV Mixture 12.15.19.22*
II Sesquialtera 12.17*
16 Contra Fagotto
8 Horn
8 Oboe
4 Clarion
Tremulant
CHOIR ORGAN
16 Lieblich Bourdon
8 Open Diapason
8 Stopped Diapason Snetzler
4 Octave*
4 Flute Snetzler
2 Fifteenth Snetzler
III Mixture 22.26.29*
8 Trompette*
SOLO
8 Harmonic Flute
8 Dolce Snetzler
8 Unda Maris tc
4 Flauto Traverso
2 Piccolo
8 Orchestral Oboe*
8 Vox Humana*
8 Clarinet*
16 Contra Tromba )
8 Tromba ) separate enclosure
4 Tromba Clarion )
PEDAL
32 Sub Bourdon* to EEEE
16 Great Bass wood
16 Open Diapason Great
16 Violone
16 Bourdon
16 Lieblich Bourdon Choir
8 Octave (wood) ext. Great Bass
8 Octave (metal)*
8 Violoncello ext.
8 Bass Flute ext.
4 Super Octave*
4 Flute new; ext.
IV Mixture 19.22.26.29*
32 Contra Trombone* ext.
16 Trombone
8 Trumpet ext.
Couplers: 10 unison; Swell 8ve, unison off; Solo 8ve;
Great & Pedal combinations coupled.
Thumb pistons: 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 to each Swell, Great, General;
0,1,2,3,4,5,6 to each Solo, Choir.
12 reversible pistons; full complement of toe pistons.
Pistons set by setter piston; 8-level memory.
Switch: Trombas under expression on Solo pedal.
Balanced pedals to Swell & Solo.
New solid-state transmission system.
3864 pipes.