Alex Fishburn plays at Bromley Parish Church

I am a student in my third year at the Royal College of Music and Assistant organist at St Peter and St Paul, Bromley, Kent.

The church, which dates from at least the medieval period, was badly damaged by a bomb in 1941, though the tower was largely saved. It was rebuilt using much of the original stone work embedded in concrete so looks older that it really is. The foundation stone was laid by Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth ll) in 1949 and the building completed in 1957.

The church acquired an old instrument from a private residence in Broadstairs, which soldiered on until enough funds were raised for an entirely new instrument.

The current instrument was built in 1991 by J.W. Walker & Sons Ltd. Designed by David Sanger, the organ is distinctly “Modern English” in style, with a rather French flavour to the voicing. The organ is therefore perfect for the performance of a wide range of French repertoire, both from the Baroque era and the romantic era. The organ is also very versatile for 20th century and modern music.

Due to its French voicing, the organ does not lend itself to the performance of English romantic repertoire very well; though with careful selection of stops it can deliver a rather convincing performance of almost any organ repertoire. As the organ does not make any huge attempt to be eclectic in voicing, it blends beautifully and every stop plays an integral part of the instrument. This integrity is what makes the organ excellent at performing many different repertoires of organ music from various schools, from North German Baroque (Buxtehude, Bach etc) through to 20th Century English (such as Matthias).

The piece I am playing, Mozart Changes, is by Zsolt Gárdonyli who was born in Hungary in 1946. It was composed in 1995 using the theme of the finale of Mozart’s piano sonata in D major K. 576, and changes it using elements of jazz. I find this piece regularly appears on my ‘encore’ list as it never fails to make an audience smile, or even laugh and it shows off the Bromley organ well. Click the jazzy picture or here to clear the music to make you smile.

The organ speciifcation is given http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=D03599

Alex Fishburn

Previous MyChurch

Peter Chester plays at St Swithun’s, Hither Green

Bach Fantasia in G minor.

As many of you will know, this piece rather stands alone in Bach’s organ Repertoire. Its style is unlike any of the other Preludes or Toccatas. There is an improvisatory feel to the main sections, interspersed with two delightful interludes or codas in contrast to the music before and after.I chose this piece to open a recital two months ago at St George’s Beckenham. The codas offer an opportunity to contrast the sound with just 8ft stops; as opposed to the plenum in the main sections.

Click my photo to hear the Bach, or click  https://www.youtube.com/embed/-6oLTNYLRwg

Pierné Prelude.

Gabriel Pierne followed Cesar Franck as titulaire at St Sulpice. He composed across all musical genres and while he joins the ranks of Parisian organist-composers hardly any of his organ music survives.

This Prelude comes from a set entitled Trois Pièces. It is in the key of G minor and is almost pianistic in manner. I studied it for grade 8 many years ago and it has remained   a firm favourite.

The photo of the organ to hear the Pierné or click https://www.youtube.com/embed/HBOiAESNsMM  

The organ

The present organ in St Swithun’s Church,Hither Green was built by Peter Conacher of Huddersfield, however, it did not begin life here. Sometime during the nineteenth century the organ was originally installed at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, home of the Duke of Marlborough. In 1891 a larger organ was built for Blenheim, by Father Willis (of Henry Willis and Sons of London); this new organ had four manuals and pedals, with seventy stops – huge for a private residence!I

It was probably two years later that the Conacher organ was installed in St. Swithun’s by Father Willis. It was installed in the north east of the church (where the pipes are today), and was a three manual instrument, with nine speaking stops on the Great, ten on the Swell and six on the Choir; the Pedal organ had just three stops (which was typical of Conacher) and there were five unison couplers. The full specification is given http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=N16392

In 1959 Sidney George Tuddenham, then St Swithun’s organist, paid £5000 for the rebuilding of the instrument. This amounted to a reworking – and a pruning – of the existing pipework, with the result that we now have a fine, healthy two-manual organ with some excellent Solo stops – notably the Basset Horn, the Oboe, and the Tromba.

The Conacher organ is a fine instrument and is still making music to praise the Lord to this day and it is a joy to be one of the people doing so.

Peter Chester

Previous MyChurch

Christ’s Chapel, Dulwich

Welcome to Christ’s Chapel Dulwich. The chapel’s full title is Christ’s Chapel of Alleyn’s College of God’s Gift at Dulwich. Founded by Edward Alleyn, a famous Shakespearean actor and entrepreneur,  it celebrates 400 years of continuous worship in 2016. Today, Edward Alleyn’s legacy consists of three top schools in Dulwich, Dulwich College, Alleyn’s School and James Allen’s Girls’ School. Other schools in and outside London also benefit from the founder’s legacy. As well as the schools there exists the charity that is the Almshouses, visible on College Road. Land and property are managed by the Dulwich Estate. The chapel is used by the schools for services at the beginnings and ends of terms. Dulwich College and JAGS occasionally join forces to sing Choral Evensong, maintaining and nurturing the tradition of sung services which began in 1616.They also give concerts, notably on Wednesday lunchtimes. Services using the Book of Common Prayer are held on Sundays on behalf of St Barnabas Church Dulwich, and these are the services for which I play the organ and direct the choir. I also organise a thriving series of organ recitals on Sunday evenings.

Although built in 1616 the interior is largely Victorian, and the reredos is particularly colourful, showing an image depicting one of the original 12 poor scholars and Edward Alleyn. Two big paintings are copies of works by Raphael, notably ‘The Transfiguration’.

The chapel is a jewel in London and Dulwich’s crown. Visitors to the Dulwich Picture Gallery, which the chapel adjoins, can walk round on Tuesday afternoons. Many say they had no idea it was here at all.

The organ was built in 1760 by George England and Thomas Wyatt. It had three manuals only, the pedal board being added by TC Lewis of Brixton in 1880. Since Mendelssohn had brought the music of Bach to London, English organs needed to catch up. In 1874 it was cleaned by Forster and Andrewes, and in 1908, Norman and Beard modified the action. Between the two world wars, the organ thankfully survived bombs that fell on Dulwich, and was cared for by a local Alleyn’s Old Boy, Arthur Coombs. He ran a grocery business but the organ was his passion. He added more ranks, including a Voix Celeste. Another example of Arthur’s work is in Penge Congregational Church, where the society likes to meet. In 1969, Alan Morgan, then Director of Music at Dulwich College, invited Manders to rebuild the organ. It became a neo Baroque instrument until 2000, when soaring temperatures caused by faulty thermostats caused the soundboards and leatherwork to dry out. William Drake was commissioned to restore the organ to the world class instrument here today. Many of the pipes are original, including the Vox Humana rank on the choir, found in bags inside the Swell Box. In 1880 it was out fashion but Lewis knew its qualities, and there it remained until 2009 when it returned, restored to its rightful place in the organ.

The National Pipe Organ register link is http://www.npor.org.uk/NPORView.html?RI=E01599

I have made a recording of the Buxtehude Choral Prelude Te Deum (Bux WV 218) Herr Gott, dich loben wir.

To see a 3 minute video of me describing this piece click here.

To hear the 16 minute recording  click here

The recording was made using levels set to auto-adjust and some sections sound distant. Thank you Martin for your help in editing.

Previous MyChurch