JULIAN RHODES' DREAM ORGANS
As is well known, the organ in St. George's Hall, Liverpool was built by Henry Willis in 1855. The genesis of the project was long and often troublesome.In 1851 William Hill submitted a proposal as follows. His design was more orderly and less insular than Wesley's, and included an independent Solo division in its 81 stops.Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-1876) was appointed consultant and, in 1846, presented the following stoplist to the organ committee:
With 84 stops (and some 15 to 20 of these to be duplicated on the 'Combination Organ'), this was the largest scheme yet essayed for a British organ. Wesley was criticised at the time for certain old-fashioned features such as the old English 'long-compass' for the manuals (which Wesley considered necessary for choral accompaniment) and the lack of tonal innovations. It was also pointed out that his specified pipe-scales, intended to increase the volume of sound, were impractical.GREAT 16 Double Open Diapason metal 8 Open Diapason Metal (CC not less than 8in.) 8 Open Diapason Metal (CC not less than 7in.) 8 Open Diapason Metal (CC not less than 6in.) 8 Stopt Diapason 8 Claribella large scale 4 Principl wood 4 Principal metal 4 Principal 2 ranks, metal, the upper Stop to draw the three Principals 5 1/3 Quint ) 3 1/5 Tenth ) metal, the upper to draw the three 2 2/3 Twelfth ) 2 Fifteenth metal 2 Fifteenth metal, the upper to draw both II Doublette metal V Sesquialtera metal V Mixture metal V Fourniture metal VII Grand Compound metal 16 Double Trumpet metal 8 Trumpet metal 8 Horn metal 4 Clarion metal 2 Octave Clarion metal CHOIR 16 Double Stopt Diapason wood 8 Open Diapason metal (CC not less than 8in.) 8 Stopt Diapason wood or metal 8 Dulciana metal 8 Claribella large scale 4 Principal metal 4 Flute Open hard wood, powerfully voiced 4 Flute Stopt 2 Fifteenth metal 2 Picollo (sic) hard wood 2 Flageolet II Doublette metal V Mixture metal Echo Cornet a compound of Double Stopt Diap, Stopt unison Diap, Principal, Fifteenth and 4-rank Sesquialtera, to be enclosed in a box. Fiddle-G upward - about 8 Clarionet tenor C hard wood 8 Cornopean 8 Cremona 4ft. C 8 Hautboy 16 Bassoon 8ft. pipe on 4ft. C carried upward hard wood 4 Clarion 8 Ophicleide or Great Solo Reed SWELL 16 Double Diapason stopt wood 8 Open Diapason metal 8 Open Diapason metal 8 Stopt Diapason wood or metal 8 Claribella large scale 4 Principal metal ) the upper to draw both 4 Principal metal ) 4 Open Flute hard wood 5 1/3 Quint ) 3 1/5 Tenth ) metal, the upper to draw the three 2 2/3 Twelfth ) 2 Fifteenth metal 2 Fifteenth metal 2 Picollo (sic) hard wood or metal II Doublette metal V Mixture metal V Sesquialtera metal 8 Trumpet metal 8 Hautboy metal 8 Cornopean metal 8 Cremona-Bassoon metal 4 Clarion metal 2 Octave Clarion metal COMBINATION ORGAN To give a selection of between 15 & 20 stops from the Choir and Swell PEDAL 32 Double Double Diapason open metal (CCCC 30in.) 32 Double Double Diapason open wood (CCCC 3ft. x 2ft. 8in.) 16 Double Diapason metal (CCC not less than 16in.) 16 Double wood (CCC 22x24in.) 16 Double Open wood smaller scale 8 CC wood (CC 11in x 9in.) 8 metal stop 8 Stopt CC 4 4ft. metal 4 Stopt 4ft. metal 4 Stopt 4ft. wood 2 2ft. metal VI-X Mixture 16 Trumpet metal 16 Horn metal 8 Clarion metal 4 Octave Clarion metal Couplers: Pedals to Great, Pedals to Choir, Pedals to Swell, Swell to Great. 9 composition pedals to Great, Choir and Swell. 3 or 4 composition pedals to Pedal.The opportunity to construct the largest organ in the country was naturally of interest to several organ builders, and in 1847 Aristide Cavaillé-Coll submitted the following proposal. Quite unlike his other work of the time, it evidently includes several features of Wesley's design such as the long compasses on two manuals and the duplication of tonalities. Note that the term 'Flûte' is used to describe a Montre as well as registers of the flute family.
Liverpool (England) Three manuals Grand orgue from low C to A 58 notes Positif from low G to A 63 notes Expressif from low G to A 63 notes Pédales from low C to A 31 notes Grand Orgue Montre 16' Bourdon 8' tin Flûte 8' tin Flûte 8' tin Flûte 8' wood Flûte 8' wood Flûte (stopped 8') Nazard Prestant Prestant Prestant Grosse Tierce Nazard Doublette Doublette Doublette Doublette Doublette Plein-jeu XV Grand Cornet VII Trompette 8' with 35 centimeters wind pressure Cor Anglais 8' with 35 centimeters wind pressure Clairon 4' with 35 centimeters wind pressure Positif Bourdon 12' Montre 8' metal Flûte 8' wood Cromorne 8' wood Salicional 8' Cromorne tin Cor Anglais 8' with 30 centimeters wind pressure Basson 8' with 30 centimeters wind pressure Bourdon 4' Flûte (stopped) 2' wood Prestant 4' Flûte 4' Doublette 2' Doublette 2' Doublette Clairon Cornet de Récit VIII Expressif Flûte 24' Bourdon 12' Flûte 12' Flûte 12' Flûte 12' Bourdon 4' Prestant Prestant Gros Nazard Grosse Tierce Nazard Doublette Doublette Doublette Doublette Flûte 2' wood Plein-jeu X Cor Anglais 8' Trompette 8' Hautbois Cromorne Clairon 4' Pédales Flûte 32' tin 30 pouces square Flûte 32' wood 39 pouces Flûte 16' tin 16 pouces Flûte 16' wood 22 by 24 pouces Flûte tin narrow scale Flûte wood narow scale Flûte 8' tin Flûte 8' wood Bourdon 4' wood Bourdon 4' tin Flûte 4' tin Flûte 2' Cornet II or III Trompette 16' with 35 centimeters wind pressure Basson 16' with 35 centimeters wind pressure Clairon 8' with 35 centimeters wind pressure Price for this organ without case 175,000 francs
GREAT
16 Double Open Diapason
16 Double Stopped Diapason
8 Open Diapason
8 Open Diapason
8 Gamba
8 Stopt Diapason
5 1/3 Quint
4 Principal
4 Principal
4 Gemshorn
4 Flute
3 1/5 Decima
2 2/3 Twelfth
2 Fifteenth
V Sesquialtra
V Furniture
III Mixture
V Cornet (from fiddle g)
16 Double Trumpet
8 Posaune
8 Trumpet
4 Clarion
SWELL
16 Double Open Diapason & Bourdon
8 Open Diapason
8 Dulciana
8 Stopt Diapason
5 1/3 Quint Stopt
4 Principal
4 Suabe Flute
4 Suabe Flute (two Suabe Flutes given in source)
2 2/3 Twelfth
2 Fifteenth
2 Flageolet
III Sesquialtra
III Mixture
16 Double Trumpet
8 Trumpet
8 Horn
8 Hautboy
4 Clarion
CHOIR
16 Double Dulciana & Bourdon
8 Salcional sic
8 Gamba
8 Quintatone
8 Stopt Diapason (metal treble)
4 Principal
4 Gemshorn
4 Stopt Flute (metal)
4 Wald Flute
2 2/3 Twelfth
2 Fifteenth
III Sesquialtra
16 Bassoon (lower notes wood)
8 Hautboy (sharp)
8 Cornopean Solo
SOLO
8 Claribel
8 Hohl Flute
4 Dolcan Flute
4 Spitz Flute (metal)
4 Harmonic Flute
2 Flute octave
IV Echo Dulciana Cornet
8 Cremona
8 Vox Humana
8 Tuba Mirabilis
PEDAL
32 Double Open metal (20 in.)
32 Double Open wood (22x24in.)
16 Open metal
16 Open wood
16 Violone small wood
10 2/3 Quint Stopt
8 Principal
8 Principal wood
6 Twelfth
4 Fifteenth
4 Fifteenth Stopt
VI Sesquialtra
32 Trombone
16 Trombone
8 Trumpet
4 Trumpet
Couplers: Solo to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
Great to Pedal Solo to Great Swell to Great Choir to Great
Choir to Pedal
Composition pedals: 3 to Great, 3 to Swell, 3 to Pedal
2 tremulants
Great organ to be fitted with the 'Pneumatic apparatus'
Composition pedals to use the 'Pneumatic principle'
Compass: 56/29
For S.S. Wesley's stoplist, and accounts of the genesis of
the whole project:
"'An Organ Should be an Organ'; Samuel Sebastian Wesley and the organ
in St. George's Hall, Liverpool", David Knight, BIOS Journal 22, 1998.
and
"The Making of the Victorian Organ", Nicholas Thistlethwaite, Cambridge
University Press 1990.
For the Cavaillé-Coll stoplist:
'Cavaillé-Coll and the French Romantic Tradition', Fenner Douglas,
Yale University Press 1999.
For the Hill stoplist: Knight, vide supra.