The UK's leading Digital Church Organ specialist
The first performance of Poulenc’s Organ Concerto took place in 1938 and has been one of my favourite pieces since I first heard a recording in the 1960’s. The B side had Poulenc’s Concert Champetre for Harpsicord, which is also a very appealing composition. I recommend you watch the video below, where International Recitalist Joseph Nolan…
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Earlier I wrote about my first visit to Viscount HQ in almost 18 months. I left Mondaino and Viscount behind early in the morning after a brief farewell with the staff. After a few miles I left Emilia Romana behind and was back in Tuscany on the winding hill route toward the town of Sansepolcro….
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It is fair to say that there was a little anxiety, the evening before the event, that our ‘Battle Concert’ audience might be small as early ticket sales were rather slow. In the end the fears were misplaced and an audience approaching 150 slowly filled the Abbey on Friday evening. One attendee had even driven…
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The plans are coming together for a repeat organ battle performance with a twist in Selby Abbey on September 3 2021 . Internationally renowned organists Martin Baker and John Scott Whiteley will be taking turns on the Abbeys magnificent Hill organ, recently restored by Principal Pipe Organs, and the digital Regent Classic Skinner style instrument…
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It was on almost the eve of the first lockdown in March 2020 that Richard Goodall and I visited Lambeth Palace Chapel to explore the options for a digital organ there. Here 15 months later is the story of the installation in this most important historic London building, which is also the residence of the…
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I am sure just like me many readers will have wondered when if ever they were going to be able to travel again. We have all become accustomed to ‘managing’ in new ways to run our lives. Customers in significant numbers had been buying organs without visiting to play and explore options. Business meetings that…
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When I came into the warehouse earlier this week I could not believe my eyes. I was greeted with the sight of a Philips Philicorda that we had been asked to scrap when we supplied a new Chorum 20. “What do you want to do with it?” quickly came the question from colleagues, hoping no…
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One of the distinguished organ musicians of his generation, D’Arcy Trinkwon is an acclaimed artist around the world. He has performed more than 1000 recitals in concert halls, cathedral, and churches worldwide, including radio and television appearances. D’Arcy Trinkwon studied at the Royal Northern College of Music (Manchester). In addition to other studies around Europe,…
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If you read our blog or follow us on social media, you will know that we have been able to help a number of young organists over the last year with home practice instruments. The pandemic has prevented many students and organists from using instruments in churches as they would normally do. Our practice instruments…
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Leicester MusicFest was founded in 2016 by a team of professional musicians and teachers who wanted to create more high-quality and accessible performance opportunities for young people and amateur musicians in Leicester. At each festival over 200 musicians take part in a varied programme including concerts, educational workshops and competitions in piano, singing, pipe organ, classical guitar…
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Unusually on a Sunday morning I was sat at home close to my phone when a Facebook Message popped up from Jonathan Eyre (Chapel Organist at Old Royal Naval College) asking if we could provide a hire organ in the Chapel the next day. That might be challenge enough for most companies but the next…
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The musical world is slowly waking up and it was lovely on a very sunny Friday to travel to Cambridge to voice and regulate a Viscount Organ in a very special location. Oxford and Cambridge must due to the large number of college chapels possibly have the greatest number of pipe organs to the square…
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The ailing state of the large Compton Organ at Derby Cathedral is well known in the organ community and so readers will expect this blog to be about a hire triggered by the failure of this instrument. Many will be relieved to learn the Compton limps on and it was the failure of the Cousans…
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Organs, organ music and organists around the world will be celebrated in a week of online broadcasts leading up to interNational Organ Day on Saturday 24 April. With global pandemic restrictions still in place, The Royal College of Organists (RCO) has turned interNational Organ Day 2021 into a fully online event, and made it the…
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Many importers were rightly worried that Brexit would seriously disrupt goods flow from Europe into the UK and we were among those concerned. We took steps to ensure the warehouse was full pre-Christmas and achieved that rather well. But not as well as we did earlier this week! This is our second post Brexit delivery…
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In 2015 we recorded a series of performances by John Scott Whiteley, for a DVD entitled “Paths that lead away from Bach”. The sessions took place in the dramatic setting of Selby Abbey, where a Viscount Regent 356 organ was temporarily installed while the Abbey’s famous Hill organ was being restored. John Scott Whiteley English…
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Australia as a continent is no stranger to managing the huge distances involved to make society work. As early as 1928 the country established the Flying Doctor Service which as far as I know remains a unique Australian feature of life. So I was hopeful for this and a few other reasons that customers in…
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This much loved and recently restored Harmonium/Reed Organ is looking for a new home. It was restored a few years ago by its former owner so in good condition and a lovely piece of furniture. This instrument from Karn Organs is currently with Chris Edwards in Cardiff, Wales. It can possibly be delivered depending on…
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One of the pleasing things about managing our business is the huge number of connections we make within the wider musical community. This often has nothing to do with ‘business’ in its strictest sense as the story below illustrates well. I make no secret of my Welsh roots and although I left home to live…
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I had to laugh when the vehicle turned up last week. Our main carrier DSV had obviously subcontracted the job and as you see a vehicle blazoned ‘Eurospeed’ arrived at Bicester last Friday. While the shipment made the journey in its usual time frame of 3 to 4 days without any issue at UK customs…
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The Northampton and District Organists’ Association (NDOA) exists to advance the knowledge and enjoyment of the organ. They belong to the Incorporated Association of Organists, and welcome anyone with an interest in the organ – whether organists or simply those who enjoy the music of the organ. NDOA work within Northampton and District (stretching into…
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Our sister company, Regent Classic Organs, are planning an organ concert with Jonathan Kingston. The organ recital will be streamed on YouTube and Facebook on Friday 12 February 2021 @7.30pm (GMT) and will consist of a varied and uplifting programme. Jonathan will be playing on not just one organ but four different instruments; two Regent…
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It is usually with enthusiasm that I sit down about now each year and look back through our web site to remind me of all the past year’s achievements that I would like to talk about and share with you. And perhaps speculate a little about what is lining up for the year ahead. As…
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Recently I wrote about Ian Higginson and one of his latest published composition – Organ Sound Colours – Volume 1. Ian is not only an accomplished composer who has written numerous choral, organ and instrumental works that have been widely performed & published in the UK and the USA. He is also active as an…
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