Organ builders as a class are placid people, quick to appreciate
the qualities of others of their craft. Their views are carefully
considered and invariably expressed in moderate and civil language.
This is in marked contradistinction to norms in the heavy construction
industry, where more robust expression is the rule.
One way to shake the calm of a British organ-builder is to mention
the names Brindley & Foster.
This firm was in existence for 85 years from 1854 and built
several hundred instruments. Today it seems impossible to find
an example in original condition. Other builders, no matter how
much in need of contracts, invariably refused to restore a B & F
organ; many would not even undertake tuning and maintenance. The
best that could be hoped for was for pipework to be used in replacement
instruments; – too often, the whole was scrapped entirely.
Were they so dreadful? Forty years ago, Miss Miles who was then
elderly, recalled playing a Brindley organ in its – and
her - youth:
“It was a joy, with quickly responsive pneumatic action throughout. It could be played as a straightforward two manual and pedal using the drawstops and composition pedals only. I soon found that the general crescendo pedal and the “transformers” added
great flexibility that other, much larger, organs lacked. I missed
them when playing at other churches in our circuit. Tonally, too,
the Brindley was my favourite - it had such a lovely, singing tone
that was ideal for Bach”
The drawstops seen above the swell keys (pic
1) are the transformers, as the builder called these accessories. They performed the role somewhat akin to that of general pistons, as a few examples from the labels of various organs show:
Oboe Solo: Clarinet Solo; Grand Chorus; Accompaniment pp; Flute Celeste; String Celeste – and, more obscurely – Orchestral Chorus.
These could be drawn singly or in combination but did not take effect until an additional stop, at the left end of the row marked “Transformers On” (or merely “+”) was also drawn. Existing registration was then temporarily overridden without the departmental stops being moved. Picture 2 shows a larger instrument equipped with transformers. The player here is JR Knott, whose history of the firm is a valuable source.
Comparison of specifications with stop-lists suggests that some tonal effects provided by transformers were achieved synthetically.
The firm's drawstop handles were made of porcelain, a material
much used by French builders, but rare in Britain. Transformers,
however, were sometimes of turned wood with porcelain labels, as
may be seen in picture 3. Brindley & Foster consoles were
most distinctive: another feature, usually placed on the right
stop jamb was the “Bringradus” indicator to show the
position of the crescendo pedal (pic 4).
In the 35 years from 1885, the Brindleys, father and son, took
out 18 patents covering aspects of their increasingly complicated “metechotic” pneumatic.
Their instruments offered some of the advantages later achieved
by electric – and later by solid-state - stop control. When
they started development, mains electricity supplies were non-existent
and they did not become universal until some years after the firm
had closed.
In an oil and gas lighted age, the future for the system must have seemed bright indeed. Next month we'll consider other reasons for its unpopularity.
