Almost two years ago now we took an order from the United Reformed Church in Muswell Hill who were planning a £3.0 million refurbishment of their building.
It is unusual to get this much notice of a firm order but the church were anxious to fix the price in the context of the looming Brexit situation. This turned out to be a good decision in light of the current exchange rate compared with two years ago as our instrument prices are directly influenced by the £ to Euro exchange rate.
Two church organs installed in one church
The order was also unusual in that it was for two instruments. The large conventional church was to be divided into two spaces horizontally and the pipe organ which rose the full height of the church had to be disposed of. It like many other UK instruments has now found a new life in Poland.
The new layout provides for a substantial space in the top half of the old building and has divided the ground floor into a welcoming public reception area with café bar but also provides a smaller worship space which is intended as the main location for the usual church services.
In this smaller chapel we have provided an Envoy 33 DFD which plays just through its internal speaker system which is more than adequate for the size of room. Upstairs we have a Regent 356D on a plinth so that is can be moved out of ‘harms way’ when the space is used for larger and probably more social gatherings.
Speaker installation and the setup of the Regent organ
The Regent church organ ‘plugs in’ at two points in the room. One at the west end and one at the regular playing position near the east end altar. It plays through a sub bass floor mounted speaker to the north and 10 external cabinets. 5 mounted high on each of the north and south walls of the nave.
To help with cost control these speakers can also be used for the pa system with the audio signal fed through a microphone feed in the instrument. This option is a suitable use of our organ speakers, while trying to use pa speakers to broadcast organ is not. The very wide audio frequency range needed for organ speakers is just not available in pa speakers but the converse use is usually OK.
So we add another church to the ever growing list of Viscount organ installations. Shall I plant one flag or two on the installation map? Why not take a look at our organ installation map and find out what I finally decided!
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.
