All Saints Church organ will be falling silent over the next few days - but don't get all keyed up about it because it is going to get a full 'Restorative Renovation'.
The glorious 131-year-old Hele pipe organ in the church on Killigrew Street will be out of commission for about six months while the organ building company Henry Willis & Sons Ltd in Liverpool will be dismantling major sections of the organ in order to carry out the renovation’.
The current plastic covered keys. Pictures All Saints Church
Posting on Facebook, Daniel Shermon, director of music at All Saints Parish Church says that many of the parts of the organ will be restored to their original condition.
"The console (where the organist sits and from which the organ is played) is to be fully renovated. The Manuals (keyboards) will undergo thorough restoration, since over the years they have suffered a lot of wear and tear.
"The 'white note' keys are currently covered with plastic, which some years ago replaced the original ivory coverings. For various reasons plastic is not the ideal material for keyboards - especially on an instrument of this superb quality - so the keys are to be re-covered with polished bone, a material commonly used nowadays, since for obvious reasons ivory can no longer be used.
Part of the Great Pipe work with the Choir pipe work in the top front of the pic. Pictures All Saints Church
"The present draw-stops, (which are also plastic and out of proportion because they were designed for a modern console with electric action), will also be replaced with stops in the original style and size, thus returning the console to an authentic appearance."
Mr Shermon says the organ has three keyboards, known as manuals: the top one of these controls the Division known as the 'Swell Organ', the middle one controls the 'Great Organ' and the bottom one controls the 'Choir Organ'. There is to be some tonal restoration work, which will reverse certain alterations made some years ago to two of these Divisions.
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The choir organ will be having other extensive work too. It suffers from an unsteady wind supply which gives the sound an audible and disconcerting 'wobble'. This will be rectified. In addition, the electro-pneumatic action between the keys and the pipes on this particular Division is of a poor design and quality. This action will be replaced and corrected, thus ensuring that the keyboard of the Choir Organ performs in the same way as the other two.
"There will be many other repairs carried out to other parts of the organ, including quite a lot of re-leathering where necessary," said Mr Shermon. "The aim of this is to ensure many years of reliable service.
"Once the work is complete we will be eagerly looking forward to the organ returning later in the year, and the continuation of its use for the next 100 years (it is 131 years old this year)."
The work is to be carried out by Henry Willis & Sons Ltd, one of the oldest English organ building company, having been in continuous operation since being founded by the famous 'Father' Henry Willis in 1845.
The company has an enviable track record and is notable for the organs it has built in such places as St Paul’s Cathedral, The Royal Albert Hall, Truro Cathedral, Hereford Cathedral, Lincoln Cathedral and Liverpool Cathedral.
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