Ancient European organs; Adlington Hall

We. Broadcast American European or Atlanta musical and historical interest your performances of music of the same era. The instrument to be heard today is perhaps the most historically important in the British riot.

The precise date of its building cannot be determined but it reached its present specification by a proper 16 18. It should be noted that at this time British organ building was in a rather curious state organs were small by French and German standards and were entirely without that. Little organ which did not appear on British organs until the end of the century. Then only in a very immature form. Complete but all organs comparable to those of the North German school are not found until 1840 and then they are rarities even the reed stops were unknown in England until the 16th six days. The small British organs of the seventeenth and eighteenth century did suit the requirements of the Anglican letter J. They even developed a solo repertory of their own but it was only a matter of time until they were found inadequate in that time arriving when British players and audiences were introduced to Mendelssohn and Bach. No complete organ of any size survives intact from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries except

this one in Addington hall although it's located in a house as opposed to a church. It is superior in size to several English cathedral organs of its day. Before really the more fascinating facts about this unusual organ in the building in which it is housed we'll hear organist Alan Helgerson will play a composition by Orlando Givens Fantaisie in four parts. Givens will live from 15 83 to 16 25 stands with William Byrd and John Boehner as the greatest keyboard composers of the tooter school. The composition we are about to hear was ranked as his finest work for organ Fantaisie in four parts by Orlando given its. Heading to the hall where today's ancient European organize housed is not very

far from Manchester it has been the home of the leaf family since 13 15 and has been added to constantly from the Middle Ages to the late 18th century. Some of it is built of stone and some of brick and some in the timber frame style known in England as have timber. The great hall in which the organ stands is late medieval but its foundations go back much earlier to the eleventh century. It measures about 33 feet in length and about the same distance to the top of the elaborate open timber roof. There are two great oak posts at one end of the hall. These were originally growing trees around which the hall was built between them is a gallery on which the organ stands. The console has two keyboards Ebony naturals with arcade fronts and ivory accidentals. The stops turned knobs on square rods with the names on very ancient perhaps contemporary paper labels stuck onto the frame immediately above the music rack is a row of pipes and two side

panels of pipes quite reminiscent of a German roast Beck. Although the pipes above the music rack are now silent they are capable of speaking and from the holes in the woodwork of the case it's obvious that they once did so totally. Although the organ has some characteristics unusual to a 17th century British organ it's quite clearly contemporary with the upper part of the case. No records dealing with the history of the organ have been found in spite of copious accounts and other Lee family documents surviving at the hall. Several tonal examples will give us some idea of the composition of this instrument. First we will hear the forefoot principle over a stop which appears to be older than the rest of the pipes suggesting a date in the first half of the seventeenth century. This is the box you might not.

Now we will hear the Bastille. The third read stop is the trumpet. And this is how it sounds. Our final tonal example illustrates the full principal chorus although English mixture stops at this time generally included the tierce rank. Many of the continental builders did not use it. This illustration does not include it. Here now is the full principal chorus.

Thus a brief resume of the tonal characteristics of the organ in Addington hall

Cheshire England. Today's ancient European organ the maker of the organ is not known but there are a good many stylistic indications suggesting that it may have been Bernard Smith the foremost and highly prolific builder of the 17th century. Smith had been abroad during the Commonwealth Sixteen forty nine to sixteen six day probably in Holland and brought back a number of continental ideas with him although he apparently never tried to introduce pet owes to his compatriots. The tone of the vox humana stop is remarkably like that of the same stop on the continent during this period the dawn of the trumpet is somewhat fuller than surviving good temper a French stops and it's more refined than German stops. Some of these dove features could be observed in the voluntary in C Major for double organ meeting an organ with two keyboards by John Blow organist at Westminster Abbey from 16 68 to 16 79. Here now is the voluntary in C Major for double organ

A. Today those are good in Atlanta and haw is an important to music a link to the past.

Rondo certainly played it during the 18th century. He was a good friend of the leaves and stayed at Adlington hall more than once. His autograph of a hunting song is still there and bears the inscription presented by him in his own hand to Charles Lee Esq. in the year 1750 what. We will now hear a composition by the blind London organist John Stanway voluntary in D major. During the course of which we will hear in turn the great chorus the trumpet and Bastogne the Vox Humana and the cornet and flutes voluntary in D Major by John Stanley. Who.

Organist Alan help us and has played the voluntary in the major by John Stanway. In conclusion we will hear in spirit Oh Rob the third concerto by Thomas R. O.

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Your. Own spirit Oh by the eighteenth century English composer Thomas R.. The organist was Al on our side. You have been listening to another program in the series ancient European organs presenting

instruments erected during the period from the Middle Ages to the middle of the 18th century together with facts about them and the structures in which their high and music which was performed on them by their contemporaries. Today's broadcast featured an instrument probably built by the Englishman Bernard Smith about the year 16 sextape that was erected in the Great Hall at Lincoln Hall at Cheshire and that there are 13 stops distributed on two manuals and there are no pedals materials for these programs are recorded by members of the European Broadcasting Union. A program having been recorded at Lincoln Hall by the British Broadcasting Corporation especially for presentation United States by Stations of the N E R network. Program was prepared and written by Harry well over and produced at the University of Michigan. Speaking of fighting here listen again next week at this same time for another program of ancient European order.

This is the national educational radio network.