I think there is little doubt that we can claim to be the leading UK company in the Church Organ hire and rental market. Our organ hire installations are substantial and numerous – some of which you can find in this blog section. We also pride ourselves on working hard at short notice to ensure that a church’s normal musical life carries on when an unforeseen problem occurs with their pipe organ.
Happily, most requirements are pipe organ repairs that we have time to plan into our busy schedule. On Wednesday March 27th 2019 however we got a call from Worcester Cathedral. The Tickell organ blower had failed and an important memorial evensong was scheduled for the following Sunday. Could we help?
Emergency digital hire organ to the rescue
The team here quickly sorted out the required amplification and speakers to allow an Envoy 350-FV to be delivered by noon the following day just over 24 hours later. I think this beats all our previous records for speed. The closest previous will have been a similar break down at Wells Cathedral Organ Hire just over a year ago.
There is of course a Rogers digital organ at Worcester but this sounds mainly in the Nave. Our temporary set up placed the speakers on the floor of the aisle to the north of the Quire. While a much higher location would have been preferable, time and materials were against us on this job.
We did not have available the estimated 500 meters of cable needed to reach the triforium as a speaker location. Four speakers and a sub bass are visible in the picture while there were another four speakers in a second location.
So we now wait for the opportunity to supply an instrument on the same day as the call! While that may prove to be beyond the ‘sound barrier’ limit for such challenges, until we try and are defeated we will keep the option open.
If you would like to hire an organ for your church, cathedral, school or for an event then please get in contact with us or find out more about our organ hire service.
I have had a passion for church organs since the tender age of 12. I own and run Viscount Organs with a close attention to the detail that musicians appreciate; and a clear understanding of the benefits of digital technology and keeping to the traditional and emotional elements of organ playing.
