I addition to those events mentioned previously, highlights included the Annual Parish Church Carol Service, on 21st December, which proved very popular, bringing many new faces into the congregation.

The Nativity Service for younger children and their families was, once more, a great success with its puppet show, and the trend for new members of the congregation coming in was repeated, both at the First Communion of Christmas, commencing at 11:30pm on Christmas Eve, and at the Family Communion service on Christmas Day, where we experienced a last-minute influx of new members of the congregation!

The First Sunday of Christmas afforded the opportunity to put together a service of Carols and readings focusing on the way Christmas had been perceived and celebrated in times gone by, interlaced with those carols which had not been sung at other points over the season. Again, a few new members of the congregation introduced themselves to us.

A new Vice-Chancellor brings with it a new approach to Edge Hill University’s engagement with the wider community. Members of the university, the Side-by-Side Staff Singers, the Gospel Choir and the Performing Arts students (in Victorian costume) under Senior Lecturer in Musical Theatre, Nick Sanders, teamed up with local schools to produce a fantastic result, hitherto unseen in Ormskirk Parish Church. The piano accompaniment was provided by Dr Sahsa Millwood. Between them, they delivered a very varied programme of musical treats which were enjoyed by all present. We were also indebted to Sara Ainscow, Corporate Events and External Relations Officer, who coordinated the event and the members of the technical team, including Neill Cockwill and Daniel Harper, and anyone else whom I may inadvertently have overlooked!

Following on from the past two years’ very successful festivals, this year’s event opened on Sunday 23rd November, to coincide with the switch-on of the Christmas Lights in the town centre. To add to the festivities this year, an artisanal craft fair was organised in New Church House, and hot food retail outlets and entertainments took place in the immediate vicinity of the church. The Tandoori wraps, supplied by a couple who had travelled all the way from Harrogate, were superb! I’m sure the paella was equally fine but didn’t have the time (or the bodily capacity!) to try that! Sadly, the weather was not the best, although we did escape a downpour!

And finally, The trees themselves!

As part of the national Heritage Open Days initiative, Ormskirk Parish Church opened its doors and provided guided tours (usually available on Saturdays and Thursdays during the summer season, or otherwise by appointment, in any case) as well as presentations on plans for celebrating the heritage of this iconic building – the only church in the country to have a tower and spire side-by-side and the symbol of West Lancashire and on recent discoveries which question the accepted and widely-published history of the building, as well as a short recital on the organ which also has its own claim to be of heritage significance, containing some pipework originating from the C18

Daniel Mansfield, BA, ARCO, started his musical life at the Parish Church of St Mary, West Derby, where he joined the choir, aged 7.  On occasions, he was taken by his grandparents to Liverpool Cathedral, where the music was led by Prof. Ian Tracey and Ian Wells, each of whom later became his teacher and mentor.  He started to learn the organ whilst at St Margaret’s CE High School, Aigburth, under Ian Wells, who later appointed him to Holy Trinity, Southport, as Organ Scholar.  During his university years, he became Organ Scholar at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral; another great experience for him.  Having graduated, he spent a couple of years as Organist of St John’s, Tue Brook, before returning to Southport this time as Director of Music.  Since then, he has been awarded the prestigious Associateship of the Royal College of Organists (ARCO).
It was fitting that Dan should give this recital, as one of his his C19 predecessors at Holy Trinity was Henry Hudson, FRCO, who served as consultant to the rebuilding of the Ormskirk instrument in its present form and location by William Denman of York and Robert Hope-Jones between 1877 and 1894

Around 250 visitors, almost all having little or no previous connection with Ormskirk Parish Church, gathered on 14 June to be treated to country music, both modern and traditional, hosted by Ethan Allen. Due to the event having had to be postponed for a fortnight, some members of the original line-up weren’t available and so the whole programme had been replanned. The result was a superb evening with very positive feedback from the audience members. As one of the warm-up acts, the main performer had decided to give his own daughter an opportunity to showcase her own musical talents, which she did in a couple of items, to great acclaim; still at school herself, she obviously has a very promising career ahead of her! Ethan himself was at pains to point out to the audience that we didn’t get funding from other than our congregation and that they were privileged to be at a concert in so iconic a building, which needed support; a great first concert under the banner of our Heritage Project aims and an equally helpful message being delivered! Grateful thanks are due to Mike Durgan of Proud House Productions and his team, who produced the evening so spectacularly.

‘Country by Candlelight’ – the warmup artists:

Following the success of last year’s event, we were pleased to celebrate relationships with local businesses and voluntary organisations through their sponsorship of the Christmas Trees displayed. This year, these included:
* NSW Properties – rentals and letting agents – Church Street
* West End Primary School, Ormskirk
* The Cottage – crafts and gifts
* Edge Hill University
* Asmall Primary School, Ormskirk
* Girl Guiding – Ormskirk & Skelmersdale Division
* Mothers’ Union, Ormskirk Parish Church Branch
* ‘Knit & Natter’ – OPC
* Ormskirk School and College Pastors and Ormskirk Street Pastors – building relationships and providing support and practical help for those in distress on the streets of our town
* Church4All – a new cafe-style approach to ‘church’
* Clocktower Rotary Club
* The Civic – Events venue for productions and private hire (formerly Ormskirk Civic Hall, Southport Road)
* Thomas Samuel Estate Agents – Church Street
* Cobblet Farm – Equestrian Supplies, Ormskirk
* Lathom Park Chapel – Historic church from 1500 on the Lathom Park Estate
* St Anne’s Catholic Primary School, Ormskirk
* Ormskirk Parish Church Choir
* Patrick Wilson Architects, Library Street, Wigan – innovative and heritage architects, and Consultant Architects to Ormskirk Parish Church
* Ormskirk Church of England Primary School
* Ormskirk & District Family History Society
* Lathom Park Trust – maintaining and exploring the heritage of the ancient seat of the Earls of Derby, taken siege during the English Civil War and later home of the Lords Skelmersdale

SATURDAY 7th DECEMBER 2024 at 7:30pm

Following on from last year’s incredibly memorable event featuring a live-accompanied screening of Raymond Brigg’s ‘The Snowman’ accompanied by the world-renowned Fairey Band, the band is returning this year to put on a similar event featuring a screening of Charles Dickens’s timeless story, ‘A Christmas Carol’, in which Ebenezer Scrooge recants from his mean and penny-pinching ways.

 The KNDS Fairey Band is one of the most successful contesting brass bands in the world. Founded in 1937 by a group of employees at the Fairey Aviation Works in Stockport, the band achieved many musical successes under the brilliant direction of Harry Mortimer, their Musical Director for over thirty years. Since those early days, the band has won every elite band event on the contest calendar, including the National Championships of Great Britain on nine occasions and the British Open an incredible 16 times. 

For more details, click here: https://faireyband.com/history-of-the-band/

Tickets are available in advance via Eventbrite at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-christmas-carol-with-the-knds-fairey-band-tickets-1070359115929?aff=ebdssbdestsearch&keep_tld=1

A rare opportunity to see documents and artefacts from our collection in the magnificent setting of Ormskirk Parish Church

Ormskirk Parish Church – Saturday 12 October 2024 from 10:30am until 3:00pm.

Following last year’s hugely successful Open Day, ODFHS is holding another event, with anticipated attractions including a guided tour with local historian and author Jean Gidman at 11:00, an illustrated talk on the occupants of the church’s burial vaults by local history expert Dot Broady Hawkes at 1:30pm, and ongoing Family History Helpdesk, including access to FindMyPast and Ancestry.com, a Graveyard look-up (find the sites of your family burials!) and refreshments

I just thought it appropriate to express my great thanks to David Wells Organ Builders for their recent emergency work at Ormskirk.

I arrived at the church on the morning of Sunday 8th September to find a cypher on bottom C of the entire Swell Organ, involving both the 5″ and 10″ chests. On the Ormskirk organ, this is particularly problematic, as I tend to use only the Swell and Unenclosed Choir choruses for the majority of service accompaniment, with the Great reserved for use with large congregations. Additionally, the Enclosed Choir is limited for accompanimental work, being effectively a Solo division without its own manual. A brief inspection under the Swell revealed nothing obvious, so I concluded that whatever was wrong was inside the low pressure chest and not something I could tackle without risking extensive damage; an expert was needed!

As a result, I was obliged to use the Clavinova in the Scarisbrick Chapel for that morning. The bonus was that members of the congregation were commenting, after the service, on how much difference it made, not having the organ available!

A telephone call to DWOB followed on Monday morning to explain my predicament; there would be no finesse in playing, should that situation persist!

Without hesitation, Gordon Blackledge offered to come out to fix the problem by the end of the week, which was followed up by a call from Nigel Huntington shortly afterwards to confirm that agendas had been rearranged and that Gordon would be in in on Friday.

By Friday evening, we were back in business, with the Swell fully operational and the whole instrument tuned. The fault turned out to be not in the chest at all, but rather a fault with the key contact, although why it had happened whilst the instrument wasn’t even being played remains something of a mystery.

I cannot but pay great thanks to the attentive service which we have had since the tuning and maintenance was moved to DWOB, following the death of Keith Edwards, who had kept the organ running for some years previously; minor faults have been corrected at no extra cost and, sometimes, without even being notified!

The organ in Ormskirk Parish Church has the services of seven wind reservoirs, delivering wind at a variety of pressures to different parts of the instrument. Pressures vary from 4″wg for the Choir Organ through 4 ¹/₂ “wg for the Great light wind and the Pedal flues, 5″wg for the Swell light wind and 6″wg for the Great Heavy Wind to 10″wg for the Swell Heavy Wind, Choir Tuba and Pedal reeds. The action is also on 10″wg (or, presently 9^3/₄” to be pedantic). After many months of leaking wind, with a large split having developed along both sides of one corner of the main action reservoir, and a great amount of gaffer tape in an attempt to keep it sealed, given its inaccessibility for releathering, it finally refused to be patched up any longer. The team from David Wells Organ Builders, headed up by Gordon Blackledge and Andrew Chattan, moved in, to remove the entire reservoir and take it back to the works to be completely rebuilt. Removal of the bellows from the bowels of the organ proved problematic, as it was surrounded by structural members of the building frame with tolerances of as little as half an inch. To add to this problem, trays of redundant pneumatic tubing from Rushworth’s rebuild of 1927 had been left in situ, but required removal to allow it to be taken out. Given that it, and the leather which had finally failed, had been in place since 1927 (almost a century) it was testament to the superb quality of work which had been done at that time and it demanded that similar care and attention was accorded it at its return to working life. It became necessary to split it down into two sections for removal; this also meant that the final part of the process demanded the two sections being reassembled on site, and the final gluing process completed, using a cauldron of Hot Scotch glue to enable bonding to the splitskin. THe photographs below show various stages of the process, from the dis-assembly on site through the reconstruction in the DWOB works to the reassembly in the organ chamber.
Working to a tight schedule, we cannot thank David Well’s team enough for their commitment and attention to detail, even down to Rob Bateman’s attendance on the Saturday morning, accompanied by his daughter, to make final adjustments so that the organ was in perfect playing condition by the Sunday!

I would add here that David himself has been a great ally, careful critic, and, above all, kind friend to me since the days when he first set up in business on his own account. For my part, I am a leading example of the phrase which declares that ‘a little knowledge is a dangerous thing’! He has supported me (even during a period when I was playing an electronic instrument!) and doggedly (and wisely!) refused to carry out some of my more whacky suggestions and counselled me as to why they were better avoided. He has been a great friend and supporter (despite what some might have imagined!) and, above all, a gentleman of the first order; qualities which he seems to have imbued in his workforce. He has been untouched by the arrogance which has been seen, over the years, to have overtaken some other equally skilled captains of the trade and which has ultimately been the instrument of their downfall. One could not find a better person to work alongside in these matters.

A drop-in session facilitated by local historians and through Edge Hill University offered a spectacular display of local history documents and photographs in the Tower Room, with an opportunity for local families to recount their own history. This was accompanied by external and internal flood lighting of the building, with additional images of the town in years gone by, projected as a rolling display onto the walls of the building, as seen in the photographs following:

Look carefully at the photograph; Wayne’s attention to detail is simply spectacular!

In collaboration with West Lancs District Council, local arts centre ‘The Chapel’ (also known as The Chapel Gallery) and with funding from Historic England, Ormskirk Parish Church formed the venue for a concert by the prizewinning Fairey Band (formerly Fairey Aviation) culminating in a live, big-screen performance of Raymond Briggs’s ‘The Snowman’ on Saturday 2nd December 2023. The ‘Walking in the Air’ solo was beautifully provided by local singer Hannah Arnold, grand-daughter of our very own Ken and Mary Arnold. This was a huge success, played out to a packed audience. At the same time, this year saw the revival of Ormskirk’s Christmas Tree Festival, in which local businesses, schools and voluntary organisations displayed their individually-decorated (and often themed) Christmas Trees along the north and south aisle walls of the church.

The story behind The Fairey Band:

Date for your diary

Saturday 9 September

To include an afternoon Masterclass on the organ, from 2:00pm until 5:00pm, given by Dr. John Kitchen, FRCO, MBE and followed in the evening by an evening recital, commencing at 7:00pm, by the renowned Tom Bell.

The Masterclass is provided under the auspices of the Royal College of Organists and sponsored by the Liverpool Organists’ Assocation. Participants may be of any level of playing, and should bring along their own music. Tuition will be under the direction of Dr John Kitchen.

John Kitchen, MBE, Ph.D, MA, BMus, LRAM, FRCO

Born in 1950, John Kitchen’s interest in playing the organ began at the age of 7. Originally from Coatbridge, he was awarded a MA and BMus from Glasgow University before becoming Organ Scholar at Clare College, Cambridge, where he studied organ under (now Dame) Gillian Weir and composition under John Rutter. During this time, he was awarded his Fellowship of the Royal College of Organists. His doctoral thesis was titled “Harpsichord music of seventeenth century France: the forms, their origins and developments, with particular emphasis on the work of Louis Couperin (1626–1661)”.

From 1976 until 1988, he was Lecturer and University Organist at the University of St Andrews. When the department closed, temporarily, in 1988, he moved to the University of Edinburgh, where he became Senior Lecturer and University Organist. He is also Organist to the City of Edinburgh. His especial academic interests focus on early keyboard music and he has recorded the complete works of William Russell (1777-1813) and Johann Ludwig Krebs (1713-1780). For many years, he has also served as Director of Music of Old St Paul’s Episcopal Church, Edinburgh. He was awarded an MBE for his services to music in the 2016 Birthday Honours of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Tom Bell, GRNCM

Tom Bell moved from Gateacre, Liverpool, to Ormskirk, at an early age. He undertook his primary education at Ormskirk CE Primary School and then attended Ormskirk Grammar School (now Ormskirk School) for two years before moving to Kent. His father was, for a short time, Organist at this church and it was here, whilst at primary school, that he sang in the choir and became interested in playing the organ. Subsequently, studying Organ at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, under Kevin Bowyer, he became a prize-winner. He has recorded commercial CD’s in locations including Blackburn and Durham Cathedrals, as well as St. Bartholomew’s, Armley, Leeds (home of the famous Schulze organ). These have included the complete organ works of Arnold Schoenberg – no mean feat!
Tom is Director of the annual London Organ Day, in which capacity he has worked previously alongside John Kitchen, and Royal College of Organists Director for the North of England, Wales and the Isle of Man, for which purpose he relocated to Lancashire. Previously, he had been Director of Music in churches in Westhoughton, Esher and, latterly, St Michael’s, Chester Square, Belgravia, where one of his predecessors was Sir Arthur Sullivan (of Gilbert and Sullivan fame). He is married with one infant son, has interests in fell-walking, real ale and steam trains! He is very much looking forward to returning to perform on the organ which first sparked his interest in the organ and all that it entails.
He has played recitals at many of the major cathedrals in the UK and, in two recitals at Blackburn, in May, he will be playing two pieces by Olivier Messiaen – L’Ascension and Messe de la Pentecôte.
Tom is a regular columnist in the Organists’ Review. In collaboration with Richard Brasier, he recently led a UK tour for organists hailing from all over the USA, entitled ‘Pipeworks‘. As part of his RCO portfolio, he is heavily committed to introducing ordinary young people from other-than-privileged backgrounds to the sound, music and playing of the organ.

BOOKING

Booking for the Masterclass, either as a participant or as an observer, is via the RCO website; head to:

RCO Courses, Classes and Events: Performance Class with John Kitchen

Booking for the Evening Recital by Tom Bell is via Eventbrite; head to:

PLEASE NOTE THAT MASTERCLASS ATTENDEES WILL RECIEVE FREE ADMISSION TO THE EVENING RECITAL

If there is sufficient demand, we will attempt to secure an early evening meal in one of the local restaurants between the class and the recital; attendees will be approached individually.

LIVERPOOL ORGANISTS’ ASSOCIATION MEMBERS

Liverpool Organists’ Association members who are not attendees at the Masterclass will be admitted to the evening recital at a reduced price; simply enter the Promo Code of which you will have been advised by email to avail yourselves of this opportunity!

Parbold Sing4Fun provided an evening of fantastic entertainment for a large gathering; some local, others visitors. Many people have stopped me since the evening to say how much they’d enjoyed it, and I agree completely. If you weren’t there, I’d hope we’d be able to repeat the experience at some point in the future, albeit with a different programme. But there was, as they advertised, something for everyone. Sincere thanks go to all the individual members of the group, including, of course, their Leader, the irrepressible Jo MacRae, and their fantastically adept accompanist, Nigel Hill. And, of course to the members of the congregation of Ormskirk Parish Church who worked so hard on the refreshments and on manning the door! Wonderful stuff!!

Wednesday 25 January saw the official launch of our Heritage Project. As the church building is used infrequently during the week, we are aiming to return it to its original, mediaeval function, as a meeting-place for the whole community. The aim is to make it suitable for use in hosting a wide variety of events. Initially, this would include only those which could take place in the building as it now appears, but the limitations of a building which, despite its immense size, currently has only a limited amount of performance space, are very much appreciated.

To resolve this, we aim to secure funding which would allow us to make some changes to the furnishings of the building whilst maintaining its integrity as a place which reflects the history of the town itself through its architecture, monuments and memorials. This will involve the involvement of an architect with considerable experience of working in such a building, so that nothing of its present character is lost.

We hope to end up with a building which is flexible enough to be able to cover all eventualities. Ideas already mooted by members of the public have included art exhibitions, classical music concerts, rock concerts, dance, boxing matches, food and beer festivals, awards ceremonies, etc. So, if you have any aspirations to put on an exhibition, an awards ceremony, a workshop, a conference or congress, or anything else, if this takes off, you’ll be able to do it in the surroundings of a beautiful and historic building, reflecting a new dawn in the history of our town!

Please do let us know your thoughts and suggestions!

The builder of the organ currently in Ormskirk Parish Church was one William Denman, a former apprentice of Robert Postill of York, who himself had previously looked after the old organ in Ormskirk. Postill had been a major player in the organ-building industry based in York, had rebuilt the organ in Durham Cathedral and built one for the chapel in Blenheim Palace, and had also built a number of instruments around our area, including St John’s, Burscough Bridge, Westhead Lathom St James and what is now Lord Street West URC in Southport. Denman would have worked with him on these and this is the most likely reason for his being appointed to build the new organ in Ormskirk.

Dr. Max Elliott, a former President of the York and District Organists’ Association, completed his PhD thesis on the organ builders of York and has presented a fascinating and detailed online discourse on the life and works of William Denman to that Association, which can be found on YouTube, and which is included here with his permission.

Please do have a look! It can be found by clicking the link below:

Mark Jones, who hails from the neighbouring parish of Aughton Christ Church, has recently gained the Associateship of the North & Midlands School of Music (ANMSM) in Organ Performance. Mark is a pupil of Dr Colin Porter, who regularly plays the organ at Ormskirk Parish Church for funerals and who travels to Ormskirk Parish Church to teach him.

Mark tells us:

“I recently became a member of North and Midlands School of Music. A few days after my fourteenth birthday, I sat the Associate Diploma in Organ Performance, at Ormskirk Parish Church in Lancashire. I was quite nervous, as this was my first organ exam. Chris Pilsbury, the Academic Registrar, tried to put me at ease and talked me through the assessment process.

The church was very cold and I had to warm my hands with hand warmers in between playing my pieces of music. At the end Chris discussed the music with me and told me that I had passed. I later received an encouraging report from him.

I wouldn’t have achieved this without Dr Colin Porter (Chairman, NMSM). I started organ lessons with Colin when I was eight years old, as an organ student with a bursary from the Lythgoe Fund of the Liverpool Organists’ Association. I couldn’t reach the pedals then. I’ve grown a bit now. Colin has been a great encouragement to me and an amazing teacher.

I hope to do the Licentiate Diploma in the future.”

The assessment took the form of a recital at an appropriate level of difficulty. Mark’s programme included the following pieces, with a short viva voce with the examiner at the end:

• March of the Priests (from ‘The Enchanted Flute’) – W A Mozart, arr. Dr CWP
• Prelude in D from ‘L’Organiste Moderne‘ – L J A Lefebure-Wely
• Tuba Tune – C S Lang
• Air & Gavotte – S. Wesley
• Prelude & Fugue in E Minor (_{BWV 533}) – J S Bach
• Andante – T Mee Pattison
• Allegro – T Mee Pattison

I am hoping that Mark will be able to perform a recital at the church at some point in the future.

Mark recorded his performance, which is available on YouTube at:

Please note that, due to precautions being taken to slow the spread of the current Coronavirus outbreak, the Church of England has suspended all formal public services indefinitely, in support of social distancing measures.  We hope to be back to normal as soon as possible!

Once again, the Ormskirk Occasional Singers, under the baton of former OPC Organist, Michael Kelsall) treated us to a memorable evening of musical delights!  Punctuated by audience-participation with seasonal hymns, the programme included a number of very familiar items, as we as some not so familiar.  This consisted of:

• Adam lay ybounden
• Gabriel’s Message
• Cherry Tree Carol
• And the Glory of the Lord (Messiah)
• For unto Us a child is born (Messiah)
• Angels’ Carol
• O Holy Night (solo)
• Angelus ad Virginem
• Sans Day Carol
• Star Carol
• Up, good Christen Folk
• Wassail
• What Cheer
• Rejoice and be Merry
• Tomorrow shall be my Dancing Day
• Masters in this Hall
• The Christmas Song
• Jingle Bells
• Storke Carol (duet)
• The Twelve Days of Christmas
• We Wish you a Merry Christmas

What appeared to be a very long programme was entirely mitigated by the high performance quality throughout the concert.

Michael Kelsall (above) also played an organ solo; no mean feat given that his music was so tattered that each page was completely loose; a page-turner’s nightmare (as I soon discovered!).  The concert was well-supported and we look forward to future visits by the choir.

 

Saturday 12 October, 2019

Not related to the Organ Appeal, but worthy of a mention, is the visit by the Choir of Liverpool Cathedral who gave a free concert of popular choral music, with donations as a fund-raiser towards their annual visit to foreign parts.

Directed by Cathedral Director of Music, Lee Ward, and accompanied by Professor Ian Tracey, Cathedral Organist Titulaire, the sound in the church was phenomenal.  The concert lasted about an hour, and was made up of the following programme:

• Zadok the Priest – Handel
• Jesu, joy of man’s desiring – Bach
• Crucifixus – Lotti
• (Organ solo) Crown Imperial – Walton
• Justorum Animae – Stanford
• Te Deum – Vaughan Williams
• Jubilate – Britten
• This is the day – Rutter
• Let the people – Mathias
• (Organ solo) Toccata in F – Widor
• Hallelujah Chorus – Handel

Lee Ward’s demonstrative conducting was a model of how to give the choir continuous reminders of exactly what was needed, in terms of dynamics, phrasing and general style and had none of the hallmarks of the ‘token’ conductors so often seen.  Professor Tracey managed the organ as he always does, never obviously falling foul of the instrument’s inconsistencies!  All in all, an excellent experience which no-one should have missed!

Liverpool Cathedral Choir at Ormskirk Parish Church

Despite the organ loft being kept locked, at some point towards the end of August 2019, an unknown (and unauthorised) person seems to have accessed the inside of the organ and, in so doing, moved along the central passage board of the Great Organ, catching and damaging the resonators of  seven of the treble pipes of the Great 16′ Trombone.  Whoever did this needs to realise that moving around inside an organ is hazardous in the extreme!  Some pipes were bent, others had snapped at the point where the resonator meets the block and, in one case, the entire resonator had parted company with the block.

Staff from David Wells Organ Builders responded immediately they were informed by accessing the church and removing the affected pipes for repair.  Whereas previous repairs by other builders had amounted to simply re-soldering the resonators to the block, in this case, new sleeves were made for the bottom of the resonators and the blocks re-bored to accommodate them, providing a stronger mechanical joint as well as the soldering.  The image below shows one of the affected pipes lying on the passage board; the reconstruction can clearly be seen, as can the proximity of the resonators of the smallest pipes to that passage board.

The evening of Friday 13 October saw the return of The Occasional Singers to Ormskirk Parish Church to deliver an evening’s entertainment under the leadership of their Musical Director, Michael Kelsall, who is also a former Organist here.  Setting off with a rendition of Parry’s setting of William Blake’s poem, ‘Jerusalem’, with audience participation, the first half included a Mozart Anthem (translated into English as O God When Thou Appearest, a  short setting of the text of Psalm 91, On Eagle’s Wings, by American priest, Fr. Michael Joncas and three songs S’Wonderful (Gershwin), Tea for Two (Youmans) and Deep Purple (de Rose).  The ‘Madrigal’ from the comic opera, ‘The Mikado’, by WS Gilbert and Sir Arthur Sullivan then led into the closing piece, Rodgers & Hammerstein on Broadway,  a very cleverly-woven medley of excerpts from the musicals of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein.

Following the interval (the ubiquitous tea, coffee and biscuits having been served!) we returned to Charles Villiers Stanford’s fine B-flat setting of the Te Deum, accompanied on the organ, which was followed by a selection of songs from World War I, including the audience-participation item, Ticket to Heaven.  The evening was rounded off with a medley of items arranged by MacHuff from Les Miserables, the Victor Hugo-inspired musical by Schönberg.

This was an evening enjoyed by all who attended (and missed by all those who didn’t!) and we thank the Occasionals for their dedication and commitment, and wish them every success in the future.

The Occasional Singers welcome new members and invite prospective singers to join them on a Monday evening, between 8pm and 10pm in The Arts Centre at Edge Hill University.  For  further information, contact the Secretary, Steph Ellis, on 01257 463461

 

Day 2 of the installation process got off to a good start; here, Keith and Martin (on floor!) go to great lengths to align the new blower perfectly with the box above, which encloses multiple non-return louvres to prevent wind moving back towards the blower itself.

The new stop-start control is fitted onto the console:

Finally, the whole lot is left running on test, ensuring that the start-up time is correctly adjusted and that the blower is delivering capacity to cover a sustained chord held on Full Organ; the new starter appears on the wall on the left:

At last!  Time to celebrate a job well done by the whole team from Watkins and Watson, with minimum fuss and ahead of the scheduled time:

Thanks once again to all who have put so much time and energy into overseeing this project; Martin Legg and his staff at Watkins and Watson, Stephen Derringer, the Diocesan Organ Advisor, the staff of British Organ Blowers and DRB Engineering, who submitted alternative solutions for consideration, Chris from Ventbrook Ltd., the traffic management company, who oversaw the traffic control to allow the movement of the old blowers out and the new one in, and who was so very helpful in that process, and, not least, the Wardens of Ormskirk Parish Church who have each put their own efforts into ensuring that we got the very best solution possible.  Now we have a working instrument again, we can look back to the original part of the restoration process!

 

 

 

Having travelled to Ormskirk from Poole, Martin Legg and his team arrived, ready for the task of dismantling and removing the old blowing plant, running cabling for the new switchgear and installing the new starter, preparing for installation and commissioning on Day 2.

The afternoon was spent dismantling the 1927 blowers, which was a task in itself!  The photograph below shows the process partially completed; the blowers are disconnected and the motor and starter have been removed; the blowers themselves, however, remain in situ.

6:00pm saw the road closure in place, with traffic lights restricting the flow on the A570 past the church wall; here, we can see just how little room there is for manoeuvre.

All the movement of equipment had to take place through the door leading straight onto the carriageway; this leads down a tunnel under the churchyard to the blowing chamber beyond:

A mobile crane had to be used to take the weight of the new blower, which finally arrived in its new home:

All is now set for Day 2!

 

 

 

 

Watkins and Watson

As you will have seen, we have been without a blower since April, and the decision-making process has been an extremely long and tortuous one.  However, a decision has now been reached and the order will be placed with Watkins and Watson, Ltd., of Poole, Dorset.  This has seemed to be the best option for a variety of reasons, taking into account all the factors concerned.  We now have to hope that the work can be completed in time for the licensing of our new Priest-in-Charge, Rev. Pauline Bicknell, on Wednesday 30 August.  This had seemed a long time away, but is now looming large!

In short, the work will be carried out over a few days, and will involve removal of the old blowers, replacement by a new, single blower and replacement of the starter system, which had also failed and, like the blower, dates from 1927 at the latest!  90 years isn’t really a bad innings!  The new system will involve and continuous soft-start, so that the blower speed will increase gradually, avoiding sudden stresses on the mechanical parts, and being less audibly obvious.

We should point out that each of the other two firms who had tendered for this work (British Organ Blowers, Ltd., of Derby and DBS Engineering of Deeside) had put a huge amount of effort into their considerations and suggestions, and anyone finding themselves in a similar position would be well-advised to approach either or both of them, as well, of course, as Watkins and Watson, when considering their options.  This has been a very long process!

Not, strictly speaking, a post about the organ; however, we are delighted to congratulate Tom Bell on his appointment by the Royal College of Organists as Regional Director for the North West of England and the Isle of Man.

Tom, who is currently Organist and Choirmaster at St Michael’s, Chester Square, London (where one of his predecessors was Sir Arthur Sullivan, of Gilbert & Sullivan fame) had his first experiences of the organ here in Ormskirk, where he sang as a chorister and where his father, Philip, served for a time as Organist.  The structure of Regional Directors is a new venture by the RCO, which is the premier body of organists in the UK, in an attempt to reach out into the community.  Tom has done a lot of outreach work already, is a regular contributor to the Organists’ Review, and is Artistic Director of the London Organ Day, amongst other ventures.

Visit his website at: http://tombell-organist.net/about-tom

 

 

We are currently considering three options and hope to make a decision in the very near future.  We have received professional advice from three potential top-quality contractors, each of whom has suggested a different solution.  All these companies have given us first-rate attention and are worthy of consideration by anyone finding themselves in the same situation!  The companies concerned are Watkins & Watson, Ltd., of Poole, British Organ Blowers, Ltd., of Derby and DBS Engineering, Ltd., of Deeside.  The first two have long track records of first-rate specialist knowledge and the third has done very successful remedial work on a number of major installations, including Liverpool and Chester Cathedrals.

 

Our options are as follows:

1. Install a single, reconditioned blower, being one which was previously in use for a short period at the church of St Mary, Redcliffe, Bristol, including a new motor and starter.  This is the Watkins & Watson suggestion.
2. Install two new BOB blowers to replace the existing pair, but running independently, along with new starter arrangements.
3. Re-engineer the faulty parts and fit a new motor and switchgear; the suggestion of DRB Engineering.

We are just waiting for the final estimate to come in, after which we hope to be able to proceed.

It just remains to thank all these firms for their kind attention overt this period.

After 90 years of continuous service, our blower engineers, Watkins and Watson, tell us that the time has come for its replacement.  Following two rounds of major surgery over the past few years, it is now beyond repair.  Reflecting the size of the instrument, it is an unusually large blowing plant, which is necessary in order to deliver the requisite quantities of wind at high pressures.  (For the technically-minded, the lowest pressure on this instrument is 4″wg for the Choir Organ!)  And so the organ, for the moment, is silent.  We hope to be able to remedy this in the near future.

 

 

 

 

 

04 June 2016 saw the annual Summer Fair at OPC; this year, it was themed around the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations.

 

To raise awareness of the organ, four short recitals were organised, to provide music as visitors looked around the church.

 

10:30 am and 11:30 am

Terry Crolley, MSc, FRSA, FLSM;

Organist of St Margaret’s PC, Altrincham

 

10:30 –

Overture to Occasional Oratorio .   G.F. Handel

Arioso.   J.S. Bach

Voluntary in D.   J. Hook

Intermezzo (Cavalleria Rusticana).   P. Mascagni

Fugue on Carillon Soissons Cathedral.    M. Durufle

Largo.   S. Burtonwood

Alla Marcia.   J. Ireland

 

11:30 –

Rigaudon.   A. Capra

Largo.   G. F. Handel

Prelude and fugue in b.   J.S. Bach

Intermezzo (Cavalaria Rusticana).   P. Mascagni

Toccata.   A. Knevel

 

 

2:15pm and 3:15 pm

Simon Russell, MA (Cantab),FTCL, FLCM, LGSM, ARCM, ARCO, FLCM

Organist of St Mary’s PC, Nantwich;

Regional Director of the Royal School of Church Music

 

 

Chorale prelude on Abridge. C.S. Lang (1891-1971)

Chorale Prelude on ‘O Mensch, bewein’ dein’ Sunde gross’ (BWV 622) J.S. Bach (1685-1750)

Chorale Prelude on Martyrdom. CHH Parry (1848-1918) and also the one on Rockingham

Meditation on Love Unknown . Francis Jackson (b.1917)

Chorale Prelude on Herzliebster Jesu. Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Chorale Prelude on Caswall. Peter Hurford (b.1930)

Hymn Prelude on Song 13. Percy Whitlock (1903-1946)

Chorale Prelude on ‘Komm, heiliger Geist,Herre Gott’. Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707)

 

On Sunday 22 May, Ormskirk Parish Church was the venue for a group of around 50 organ enthusiasts from across the USA, as part of their fortnight-long ‘Pipedreams Tour 2016’ of the North of England and Scotland.  This annual tour takes members of the group around the world; this year’s focus being the North of England and Scotland, they were visiting a number of interesting organs, under organiser J Michael Berone, along with UK link Tom Bell, who started his musical life here in Ormskirk.  On the day of the visit, OPC fitted in between visits to Lancaster Priory and Liverpool Cathedral, although they had also had the opportunity of visiting the Metropolitan Cathedral in Liverpool, as well as St George’s Hall.  Amongst other venues visited was Adlington Hall, Cheshire, where the 1670 instrument reputed to be by ‘Father’ Smith had been rebuilt in 1741/2 by Richard Parker, who also undertook the 1758 rebuild in Ormskirk.  Tom Bell gave an excellent demonstration of the organ and its resources, and other members of the tour had the opportunity to try it out.  Altogether, a very interesting day which they seemed to have enjoyed, before hastening off towards Liverpool!

During the preparation for the new CD – ‘The Organ of Ormskirk Parish Church’, several photographs were taken, using a drone camera.  Photos were by Martin Maynard of Sounds Good ODM Ltd., the producers of the CD

Some of these appear below:

The church from the south-west.

 

The church from the south

The church from the west

 

Entitled ‘The Organ of Ormskirk Parish Church’ this CD has been recorded to demonstrate the many sounds available from this versatile instrument.  Played by Colin Porter, Organist of Mossley Hill Parish Church, Liverpool, the details are as follows:

The Organ of Ormskirk Parish Church – recording and programme notes:

It was decided to record the organ exactly as it is heard in the building.  On that basis, no enhancement has been made to the sound and so the recording was made using two Sony electret condenser cardioid microphones facing the organ diagonally at a height of only 5’, from the Scarisbrick Chapel.  The pieces have been selected to reflect the variety of sounds available from the instrument, whilst accounting for the current deficiencies, which it is hoped a restoration would rectify.

The Programme is as follows:

March in D – Best:  Included here chiefly because WT Best was probably the greatest concert organist of all time and was a local man, playing at St George’s Hall, Liverpool, to huge audiences.  Whilst he was responsible for many transcriptions of orchestral music to bring them to the wider population, this is an entirely original piece.  It provides a good impression of the massive Full Organ sound.

Sonata pour l’Offertoire – Petrali:   Petrali was the teacher of the great Italian organist/composer, Marco Enrico Bossi.  This piece was written as an incidental piece for the mass; it demonstrates movement between Great, Swell and Choir.

Trumpet Voluntary – Clarke: Clarke was the first Organist of the new St Paul’s Cathedral, London, built by Sir Christopher Wren after the Great Fire, and became simultaneously Organist of the Chapel Royal.  His inability to establish a relationship with the woman of higher social status with whom he had fallen in love resulted in his committing suicide by shooting himself.  He is buried at St Paul’s.  Nevertheless, this piece is a staple of many weddings, and features the Tuba on the Choir Organ.

Fugue in G – Krebs:  This piece has been selected to demonstrate the organ’s ability to deliver the lighter music of C17/C18 northern Europe in a piece by Krebs, who was a pupil of JS Bach.

Choeur des Sauvages – Rameau:  Rameau was born at the end of the C17.  This piece is part of some incidental music to a play with a plot involving French and Spanish settlers and their interaction with the ‘Savages’, i.e., the indigenous population.  There is nothing remotely savage about this piece!

Allegro – Thorley: The Ormskirk organ still retains a few stops from the C18 predecessor instrument, including flutes on the Choir Organ.  These are used to effect in a piece of music contemporaneous with them, written for organ without pedals.

Grand Choeur – Fletcher: A feature of the Ormskirk organ is the distinctive characteristics of each of the departments; the Choir Organ is in fact two divisions, with the Enclosed Choir being, in reality, a Solo Organ, albeit on the third manual.  This piece demonstrates the differences between the Great and Swell, heard at the opening, the Swell on its own, which is almost as powerful as the Great and has a massive crescendo ability, and the Choir, heard in the lighter interludes, although not markedly smaller in volume.

Gavotte – Camidge:  Camidge was Organist of York Minster and wrote a large amount of light-weight organ music for the classical English organ without pedals.  This piece alternates between the C18 Choir Open Diapason (originally on the Great in the predecessor instrument) and the Great no.3 Open Diapason of 1887.

Te Deum Prelude – Charpentier:  More recently adopted as the European Anthem, this piece was popularised by Dr Noel Rawsthorne during his tenure as Organist of Liverpool Cathedral.  It demonstrates the Tuba in the playing of a large orchestral transcription and is very effective, although Charpentier would never have had the opportunity to hear it in this form!

Post Communion – Morandi:  This piece is in a lighter idiom; Morandi was a major Italian composer in the first half of the C19 and this piece forms a bridge between the classical style and the incoming romantic movement.  It has something in common with the slightly later Court music of Johann Strauss II in Vienna.

Scherzo Pastorale – Federlein:  Gottfried Heinrich Federlein’s writing, although from the early C20, is more modern in idiom; here, the Choir Clarinet features.  This delightful scherzo pastorale is one of his more popular pieces.

Prelude and Fugue in D – Buxtehude:  Buxtehude was the organist whom legend has it that JS Bach walked many miles to hear.  It will be clear from this piece the extent to which he influenced Bach.  It demonstrates the ability of this instrument to render some authenticity to north European organ music of the baroque period.

Rondeau – Mouret:  Mouret represents the early C18 French school of organ-writing. This piece is a fanfare-like trumpet tune, again rendered on the Tuba against the remainder of the Great, Swell and Pedal.

Sarabande – Karg-Elert:  Karg-Elert was a German organist at the beginning of the C20.  Probably his most famous piece is ‘Nun Danket Alle Gott’ from the ‘66 Chorale Preludes for Organ’; this miniature from the same collection demonstrates the string-tones on the Swell of the Ormskirk organ.   The final episode is delivered on the Clarinet.

Bluebell Polka – F Stanley:  Not to be confused with the great blind organist John Stanley, no-one seems to know who F Stanley was, although this polka became popular in the mid 1950’s rendered on an accordion!  The sound of a French Trompette can be heard in this very lightweight piece; it is achieved by the combination of the Choir Clarinet and Orchestral Oboe!

War March of the Priests – F Mendelssohn:  Written as part of the incidental music to Racine’s play Athelie, this has become very well-known and provides a tongue-in-cheek option as a voluntary at the end of a service involving a great number of clergy!

 

Colin Porter has been Organist of Mossley Hill Parish Church, Liverpool, since
1985, presiding at the famous Father Willis Organ. Along with this appointment,
he has also been since 2004 Hon. Organist & Director of Music at St. Barnabas,
Penny Lane. He is Chairman of the North & Midlands School of Music, along with playing organ
recitals in many churches, cathedrals and other venues, including Lancaster
Town Hall, where he is a regular concert organist and Vice-Chairman of the Ashton Hall Organ Restoration Project. In a number of school holidays,
he plays for service in various cathedrals when accompanying the choir of
St.John’s College, Southsea. He has been a personal friend of the current Organist
at Ormskirk Parish Church since 1980, is Godfather to one of his children and
is currently tutor to student organists at the church.

The CD is available from the church; otherwise, contact the Organist on +441695 578640.

 

Saturday 12 March 2016 at 7:30pm – Concert of music for Passiontide and Easter by the Liverpool Festival Choir, in aid of the Organ Fund.

Admission is free; there will be a collection in aid of the Organ Fund

Once more, we welcome the Liverpool Festival Choir to Ormskirk Parish Church.  The programme is as follows:

Programme

On the way to Jerusalem                                                                J. Maunder

O Saviour of the World                                                                        J. Goss

Ave Verum Corpus                                                                     W A. Mozart

Deep Peace                                                                              S. Burtonwood

Reading

Thy Perfect Love                                                                     S. Burtonwood

Panis Angelicus                                                                                C. Franck

*

Hymn:     Praise to the Holiest in the Height                   T: Sir A. Somervell

*

Our Lord is Risen from the Dead                                                   H L. Sartin

The Strife is O’er                                                                                   H. Ley

Easter Song of Joy                                                                        R. Shephard

Organ Solo:   Joseph Wakefield  –  Organ Scholar

Mighty Glorious is God the Father                                                   J S. Bach

I am Alpha & Omega                                                                        J. Stainer

Reading

Surely                                                }

Since by Man came Death                } Messiah                            G F. Handel

Alleluia  Chorus                                }

Hymn:     Thine be the Glory

*

Tea / Coffee etc Served

Liverpool Festival Choir is made up of Christian singers from all walks of life and denominations. The choir sings ‘Church Music’ past and present, old and new and always for a particular charity, usually about six times a year at ‘Festival Times’  in various churches including both of Liverpool’s two great Cathedrals.

Over the past 14 years or so, the choir has helped to raise over £39,000 for various charities.

The choir was rejuvenated by Colin Porter when he was asked to take over the then ‘Liverpool Praise Choir’, a choir which was then ailing.

It was agreed to combine with the forces of the Mossley Hill Parish Church choir with a change in the repertoire. The choir these days enjoys a fine reputation making return visits to many of the venues it has sung in.

The Choir rehearses at Mossley Hill Parish Church each week with the church choir on Friday evenings and non-church choir members on a Wednesday evening.

New singers are always welcome.

 

The care of our instrument is once more in the capable hands of David Wells Organ Builders of Liverpool.  Following the sad death of our previous tuner, Keith Edwards of Tattenhall, Chester, it has been decided to ask David Wells to look after the organ.  David has built his firm up over a number of years, having worked with both Henry Willis and Son, where he was trained, and later Harrison & Harrison of Durham.  For many years, he has been responsible for the maintenance of the organ in Liverpool Cathedral, and he currently looks after a number of cathedrals and large concert halls.

In 2014, we were hit with two episodes of failure of the blowing plant, which had been installed by Watkins & Watson in 1927.  Overall, the repairs, carried out by the original manufacturers, cost something in the region of £4000, which was an unexpected outlay!  There are two linked blowers, situated in the chamber below the Choir Vestry; wind is conveyed through an enormous trunk, running through the vestries, into the organ above.

 

  The twin Watkins  & Watson blowers, deep in the bowels of the Earth!