HISTORY

The cathedral's organ was built by Henry Willis in 1892, replacing an earlier instrument by Gray & Davison dating from 1862­4. The pipe-rack which forms the case of today's instrument also dates from the time of the Gray & Davison instrument and was designed by Gilbert Scott. The console was orginally situated within the organ case and the instrument was the first cathedral organ in the country to have adjustable pistons, which had recently been invented by Willis. Further modifications were made in 1909 by Henry Willis II, including the addition of 32 ft Bombarde and 16 ft Ophicleide stops to the Pedal organ. By 1933 the organ's pneumatic actions was wearing out and the instrument was rebuilt in a conservative fashion by Henry Willis III. A new detached console in the characteristic style of the builder was provided, positioned on the north side of the choir, opposite the case. The few tonal changes at that time included the addition of mutations on the Choir organ, and enclosure of the flutes on the Solo organ. Over forty years of daily service later the instrument was again in need of attention; amongst other signs of wear and tear the 1930s wiring at the console had become a fire hazard. This time restoration work during 1977­78 was undertaken by the Durham firm of Harrison & Harrison, who have looked after the instrument ever since. Once again, very little was done to the organ tonally, save for the addition to the Pedal organ of two chorus stops, a Schalmei 4 ft reed and a four-rank Mixture. A four-rank Mixture was also added to the Great organ. Today the instrument has four manuals and 67 stops. During 2004 the instrument will once again undergo major re-furbishment. A far more extensive account of the history of both the Willis instrument and earlier organs in the cathedral may be found in Dr Roy Massey's excellent chapter 'The Organs' in Hereford Cathedral: A History (Hambledon Press 2000)

CHAMBER ORGAN

In 2003 the cathedral took delivery of a new five-stop, one-manual chamber organ built by Kenneth Tickell of Northampton.

Its specification is as follows:

The Stopped Diapason has wooden pipes and the remainder are made of tin. The 54-note keyboard has naturals of African blackwood, and sharps of pearwood. The casework in natural oak includes pierced grillework details in Gothic tracery style which were specially designed so as to relate the instrument to its surroundings in the cathedral.

The organ has a foot pedal which enables any stops of 4 foot pitch and above which are drawn to be silenced. This makes contrasts of dynamic possible when no hands are free to change stops in the conventional way.

It also has a transposing device, enabling the instrument to be played at three different pitches, especially useful when working with period instruments which usually play a semitone lower than modern pitch.

The blower is contained within the case, which makes the instrument remarkably compact and fully mobile.

ORGAN RESTORATION

Organ restoration to go ahead with aid of lottery grant

During 2004, Hereford Cathedral's famous Willis organ will be extensively refurbished with the aid of a grant of £269,500 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The work will be carried out by the Durham firm of Harrison & Harrison, who currently maintain the instrument, and who carried out its last rebuild in 1977-78. In recent years, Harrisons have also rebuilt and/or restored many other important instruments in the British Isles, including the organs at Westminster Abbey, King's College Cambridge, and the cathedrals of St Patrick's Dublin, Durham, Ely, Exeter, St Davids, Salisbury, Southwark, Westminster, and Winchester. The dismantling of the instrument began shortly after a live broadcast of Choral Evensong on BBC Radio 3 on Wednesday 21 January, and is scheduled be recommissioned in late 2004 or early 2005.

The work includes extensive overhauling of the wind system, actions, soundboards and the opulent Henry Willis III console of 1933. The instrument will remain completely untouched tonally, apart from the remodelling of one four-foot pedal stop which was added in 1978: originally named Schalmei it will be remade as a Clarion.

A significant aspect of the HLF bid was to develop use of the organ in the cathedral's recently-established music outreach programme for local schools. This will include a permanently available video projection system, which will enable schoolchildren, other visitors and a new generation of concert-goers at the cathedral to see the organ being played in a way never before possible.

Geraint Bowen, organist and director of music at the cathedral, commented: It is wonderful that with the aid of this major grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, we will be able to restore this magnificent instrument. Twenty-five years since the last restoration, it sounds as fine as ever, but the demands of so much daily use have inevitably taken their toll on its mechanical reliability. All of us at the cathedral will realise how much we take it for granted when it is dismantled in late January, and we shall all look forward immensely to its being returned in first-class condition once again towards the end of 2004.