DREAM ORGANS
JULIAN RHODES' IMAGINARY ORGANS

 

This red-brick chapel was built in 1881. It contained a substantial organ of 36 stops by Albert Keates, which was removed when the building was sold in 1971.

It has escaped demolition, and remains an imposing presence to remind passers-by of the confidence and prosperity of a now-disappeared congregation.

I find this building curiously attractive. Here are two imaginary organ stoplists for it.

In the first (III/36), Choir and Great have undergone a partial inversion of their usual characters.

GREAT (enclosed)
    16        Salix                 conical salicional
     8        Geigen
     8        Salicional            mild
     8        Vox Angelica          beating flat
     8        Koppel Flute
     4        Fugara                gentle conical geigen
     2        Salicetina
    III       Harmonics 17.19.22
     8        Vox Humana
 
CHOIR (unenclosed)
    16        Rohr Bourdon
     8        Open Diapason
     8        Doppel Flute           open wood
     8        Gamba                  full, rich tone
     4        Principal
     4        Spitz Flute
    II        Doublet  12.15
    IV        Furniture  15.19.22.26
     8        French Horn
 
SWELL (enclosed)
     8        Cor de Nuit            metal, wide-scale, dark tone
     8        Dolce
     8        Petit Viole IIrks      soft and keen, natural and sharp
     4        Traverso               overblowing, wood
    2 2/3     Nazard
     2        Flageolet
    1 3/5     Tierce
    16        Bassoon
     8        Cornopean
     8        Cor Anglais
 
PEDAL
    32        Sub Bourdon            extension
    16        Open Bass              wood
    16        Violone
    16        Bourdon
    16        Salix                  Great
     8        Octave                 wood
     8        Gemshorn
    16        Euphone
 
(June 1999)

With an impractical design such as the following (III/45) we are in the realm of organ-as-symbol, where a detail in a stoplist can suggest the same nuance of feeling as the subtle curve of an arch on an architectural plan, or the emotive quality of brushstrokes on canvas.

Here, the uncompromising diapason character of the Great is balanced by the stringy/reedy Swell. The small fluty Choir and foundational Pedal complement them in an intuitive, non-logical way.

GREAT
    16        Double Diapason
     8        Diapason I
     8        Diapason II
     8        Diapason III
     8        Diapason IV  (Horn)
     8        Diapason V  (Gemshorn)
     8        Diapason VI  (Dolce)
 5 1/3+3 1/5  Quinta-Decima
     4        Octave
     4        Gemshorn Principal
2 2/3+2 2/7   Quinta-Septima
     2        Doublet
    2+1 3/5   Octava-Terza
1 1/3+1       Quinta-Super
 
SWELL
    16        Double Salicional
     8        Diapason Phonon
     8        Rohr Gedackt
     8        Aeolian
     8        Celestis I
     8        Celestis II
     4        Geigen
    2 2/3     Twelfth
     2        Flautina
    16        French Horn
     8        Horn
     8        Oboe
     8        Cor Anglais
     8        Vox Humana
     8        Clarinet
 
CHOIR
     8        Gamba
     8        Claribel Flute
     8        Spitz Flute
     8        Doppel Flute          stopped wood
     8        Vox Angelica
     4        Suabe Flute
     2        Harmonic Piccolo
 
PEDAL
    32        Resultant I           Open Bass + Diapason
    32        Resultant II          Sub Bass
    16        Open Bass
    16        Diapason              Great
    16        Sub Bass
    16        Salicional            Swell
     8        Cello                 wood
     8        Bass Flute
    16        Euphoneum
 
(1994)

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