Please note the date of this meeting which has changed, initially being
planned for the 13th May.
The organ has an unusual history in being built in the 1960s by the
grandfather of the present organist. It was a hybrid from the start, using
parts form a number of different organs. Since then there have been a
number of alterations. About ten years ago it was decided to enlarge it,
mostly in the pedal division. A number of digital stops were provided by
Phoenix Organs, making it truly a hybrid in the modern sense. The Church
of the Nazarene is on Southend Street, Daubhill, Bolton, BL3 3PU.
As has become our custom, we will join with the Oldham, Rochdale & Tameside Association for a joint summer trip. The final details or not quite confirmed but we will start at 10:00 at Blackburn Cathedral. This year, as our venues are relatively nearby, it will not be a coach trip, but one using personal or public transport. Blackburn Cathedral is just across the road from both the bus and train stations.
Blackburn Cathedral is home to the 1969 Walker organ, designed by John Bertalot and Francis Jackson and enhanced in 1994 by David Wood. The details can be found at A00531.
The Cathedral also houses the Checks & Greys café where we will take lunch.
After the cathedral, we are hoping to move across town to St Silas Church, where, other than minor changes, the organ is in essence an early 20th century Harrison & Harrison. The organ details are at N01640.
St Silas is found on Preston New Road, the A677, at the postcode BB2 6PS near the roundabout with Billinge Avenue.
After
an absence of five years, we returned to St Bart's in
Westhoughton. After an uneventful AGM at 2:00 pm, we were treated to a
public recital at 3 pm by resident organist Edward McHale. At
4pm the church provided a diverse range of refreshments.
This
was a timely schedule as 20th April was also the day designated by the
Royal College of Organists as 'World Organ Day', a time for every
possible celebration of the organ.
The 1995 Nicholson organ is part of the post-fire rebuild scheme. Organ details on the NPOR are found at D02707 and the church is on Church Street,
Westhoughton, BL5 2BG.
Six
members and two guests met at the church where the BDOA Secretary
welcomed everyone and provided an introduction to the
organ demonstratin using a Bach chorale prelude followed by an
improvisation on the same tune to explore some of the other sounds.
There was general appreciation of the convincing nature of the Content
Mondri M5400, though perhaps less so in louder material.
The BDOA meeting yesterday was a joint one with the Oldham Rochdale and Tameside Association. Almost 30 members and friends gathered at Church Organ World in Shaw. MD Keith Harrington first welcomed us and provided an introduction to the company, its products and structure. Staff member Matthew Pearson then demonstrated a current Johannus Live.
A generous buffet lunch was provided by Church Organ World and several members purchased music and other items. Over lunch we were accompanied by music from the multiple organs, with some players using headphones so several could play simultaneously.
We then adjourned to the nearby Holy Trinity Church to hear a Makin organ in a church context.
We had hoped to again gather at the Ridgeway Arms in Blackrod, just 300
yards from Blackrod Station on the Bolton-Preston-Blackpool North line.
Unfortunately, many of us were not able to confirm attendance and so the event is cancelled.
We will look forward to our next meeting.
Half a dozen members gathered on a rather wet and obviously dark evening. We were joined by almost as many parish members to hear resident organist, Jenny Johnson tell us something of the history of the organ and and her succession in the role from her mother.
The secretary then provided some background to the history of the W.E. Richardson company which provided instruments to a number of churches in our area. Only a few have ot survived and Christ Church, Ainsworth has a nice little example of his work from 1908. Its details are in the NPOR at D03483. Other than routine cleaning and maintenance it is pretty original condition
The church is on Church Street, Ainsworth with a postcode of BL2 5RU.
The New
Jerusalem Church in Kearsley, Bolton has an eight rank Sixsmith organ from
1986. Although built as new for this building, the pipework came from the
J J Binns organ in the previous church building.
The church is at Charles Street, Kearsley, BL4 9DD and nine BDOA members were welcomed by organist and church secretary, Mrs Pauline Grimshaw who gave a short history of the buildings and their organs. We were joined by a good number of church members who seemed to appreciate the diverse music offered by the BDOA's players. The organ details are in the NPOR at R01103.
This was a joint event,
organised by the church who had invited members from all the IAO
Affiliated organisations in NW England to attend. The church roof and
interior was destroyed by arson in 2017 but has been rebuilt. Henry Groves
& Son of Nottingham have created a new organ using vintage Nicholson
pipework a new Tuba on 12" wind from Booths of Leeds and using their own
direct-electric action soundboards. The total of 52 stops are controlled
from a 3 manual moveable low-level terraced detached console built by
Renatus of Bideford.
Resident organist, Anthony Williams, was host and it provided an opportunity to catch up with friends from around N W England and perhaps to make new ones.
The church is on Ascension Road, Salford, M7 1AG and is just four minutes walk from bus stops supported by various services.
As in recent years, the Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside Organists' Association (ORTOA) invited us to join them in a coach trip. This year's destination was Leeds, visiting three large instruments. We were welcomed to Leeds R C Cathedral by director of music, David Pipe. He told us something of the history and then briefly demonstrated the organ Klais had rebuilt from the previous Hill Norman & Beard, creating a very individual instrument. The lowest two manuals control the Nave and Choral Great divisions and David assisted as we enjoyed exploring the features. Organ details are at E01605.
We
then re-boarded the coach for the short trip to Leeds Minster, for much of
its life known as Leeds Parish Church, with its associations with S S
Wesley, Edward Bairstow, Melville Cooke, Donald Hunt and Simon Lindley.
Today, Chris Newton was our host and after he had played Dupré's Cortege
et Litanie, members began to discover both the power, but also the more
subtle sounds of what remains essentially a Harrison & Harrison organ.
Minster staff had prepared a very welcome lunch which everyone enjoyed. Some more shy members used the lunch break as their chance to quietly explore an instrument very different from their usual one.
The NPOR listing for the Minster organ is N02793.
With time to spare, several members took advantage of having a second helping of this important organ, and also the lunch.
After lunch the coach took us to Armley on the south side of Leeds and St Bartholomew's, home to the much moved 1866 Schulze organ, whose first and brief home was a private residence in Meanwood, Leeds before being purchased and loaned to St Peter's in Harrogate before settling in Armley. The full details can be found at N02809.
Graham Barber provided an overview of the history, before giving a short recital, ending with the Ilkley Moor section of Noel Rawsthorne's Dance Suite. More drinks and biscuits were served and members needed no encouragement to limb to the organ loft and explore this landmark instrument of the UK organ scene.
The postponed AGM took place on Monday 3rd July at 7:30 pm at Ainsworth
Methodist Chapel,
BL2 5PQ with eight members present. Officers' reports included
observations about the number of members and the future viability of the
Association. We also noted the very recent death of long term committee
member and auditor, Arnold Tyson.
After the business meeting and a break for refreshments, secretary Mel Plumley delivered a talk "Curious Organs" examining some of the strange variants in which our instrument is found.
Ainsworth Chapel is home to the 1900 Alexander Young organ described at G00578 and it was also heard.