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The organ was installed in the church in May 1977. It was originally built by

Cedric Arnold of Thaxted, Essex in 1951. The specification in 1977 was: Pedal Bourdon 16 Open Diapason 8 Dulciana 8 Swell to Pedal Great to Pedal Great Open Diapason 8 Claribel 8 Dulciana 8 Principal 4 Flauto Traverso 4 Fifteenth 2 Clarinet 8 Swell to Great Swell Lieblich Gedact 8 Salicional 8 Voix Celeste 8 Lieblich Flute 4 Piccolo 2 Octave coupler Sub octave coupler

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Between 1977 and 1986 several changes were made to the organ. In 1986 the organ was cleaned and overhauled. The resulting specification was: Pedal Bourdon 16 Bass Flute 8 Octave Flute 4 Great to Pedal Swell to Pedal Great Open Diapason 8 Clarabella 8 Dulciana 8 Principal 4 Twelfth 2 2/3 Fifteenth 2 Tierce 1 3/5 Swell to Great Swell Lieblich Gedackt 8 Salicional 8 Lieblich Flute 4 Principal 2 Trumpet 8 Octave Sub Octave

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By 2003 it was apparent that the organ needed further maintenance work carrying out. The electric action had originally been put in on a tight budget and was very limited; the Swell couplers did not even couple through to the Great. Discussions were held with Peter Wood and Mike Young (organ builders looking after the instrument) and Andrew Wright (Diocesan Director of Music) about the various options for the instrument, including increasing the specification. The main work needed was a clean and overhaul and whilst this was being done it seemed advantageous to have other enhancements to the organ carried out, or, at least, prepared for. Accordingly, in January 2003 the work started. A new solid state action was installed along with a two level memory capture system providing 4 thumb pistons to each of the Great and Swell, and 4 toe pistons to the Pedals. Six general pistons were also included as were the usual reversible thumb and toe pistons and a general cancel. One of the biggest changes to the organ’s flexibility was that the Swell sub and super octaves coupled through to the Great. To further improve this flexibility the sub and super octave couplers are available on the Great independently of the unison coupler. It was also decided to carry out some tonal alterations. A Vox Angelica (originally from a local parish!) and a new II Rank Mixture were added on the Swell. The Swell trumpet was moved from the back of the swell box to the front. It was also revoiced and extended to 4’ and 16’ pitch, the bottom octave of the 16’ extension being new. The new 16’ Trombone was also made available on the Pedals. For increased versatility, the Trumpet was also made available on the Great at 8’ pitch only. All these additions to the Swell required a new soundboard to be fitted. This would have made the Swell too large for its previous position above and behind the Great. The organ case was extended to accommodate the new box which now sits at floor level to the right of the organ, speaking directly into the player’s right ear! It was felt that the Pedal department needed some extra weight, but there was no room for a second 16’ stop. This was why the Swell Trombone was made available on the Pedal. Whilst this work was carried out, two further stops were prepared for on the Pedal, an 8’ Principal and 4’ Fifteenth.

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The organ was mostly up and running in time for the Easter services of 2003, although the Swell had not been regulated nor the shutters fitted and the Mixture had yet to be installed. (The sound of this unregulated division was quite striking, and it was almost a shame to lose the vulgar harshness that the Trumpet had developed!) The effect of all these changes was immediately noticeable. Once the Mixture had been added and the Swell regulated, the organ suddenly came together. During the following months there were concerns over the winding of the organ. A concussion bellows was added to the Swell to steady the wind and a larger blower installed to cope with the extra demands of the instrument. Just before Christmas 2003 the Pedal Principal and Fifteenth pipes were added. In December 2004 further work was carried out on the organ. A Trumpet and new II rank Mixture were added to the Great. The Trumpet stop came from the organ in the chapel at the old Warley Hospital (now converted into flats) and was revoiced for the St Bede’s organ. It makes a fine addition to the instrument both as a chorus and solo stop. The Mixture, whilst having the same ranks as the Swell (19.22) is of larger scale and adds brilliance to the Great chorus. The very strident Great Tierce was revoiced and is much softer as a result. It can now be used to good effect in combination with other stops for solo work without being too piercing. It also adds a third rank to the Mixture when drawn in combination. The organ was now much more flexible. It could easily support a full congregation as well as accompany the choir or a soloist. The specification was as follows: Pedal Bourdon 16 Principal 8 Bass Flute 8 Fifteenth 4 Octave Flute 4 Trombone 16 (from Swell)

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Great to Pedal Swell to Pedal Great Open Diapason 8 Clarabella 8 Dulciana 8 Principal 4 Twelfth 2 2/3 Fifteenth 2 Tierce 1 3/5 Mixture II (19.22) Trumpet 8 Swell Octave to Great Swell to Great Swell Sub Octave to Great Swell Lieblich Gedackt 8 Salicional 8 Vox Angelica 8 Lieblich Flute 4 Principal 2 Mixture II (19.22) Trombone 16 Trumpet 8 Clarion 4 Octave Sub Octave Accessories Solid State combination action with 2 lockable memories 4 thumb pistons to Great 4 thumb pistons to Swell 4 toe pistons to Pedal 6 general thumb pistons

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Reversible thumb pistons for: Swell to Great Great to Pedal Swell to Pedal Reversible toe pistons for: Great to Pedal Swell to Pedal General Cancel thumb piston In 2009 it was decided to enhance the instrument digitally in order to provide missing key stops and provide the most versatile instrument possible. The key stops missing from the Swell were Open Diapason 8 and Principal 4 and the Pedal needed a second 16 flue. Although it would have been good to add actual pipework, there was no more room in the Swell box or pipe chamber. By deciding to go down the digital route there was more scope for further tonal enhancements. However, the Solid State action was at the limit of the number of stops it could handle, so the system had to be upgraded. The opportunity was taken to increase the number of memories available from two to 100. The number of divisional and general pistons was also increased. Mike Young installed the upgraded SSOS system and the MFM-D digital interface. Having spoken with a few companies we decided to go with Rodgers UK who, along with MPOS Ltd, have years of experience with hybrid instruments. The final installation consists of two Rodgers MX-200 units (which also contain Hector’s Voices), one controlling the Swell organ and one for the Great and Pedal organs. There are two speakers mounted on top of the Swell box for the Great and Pedal top end. The two Swell speakers have been installed inside the Swell box. There is also a subwoofer to handle the bass frequencies. In addition the organ is

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now fully MIDI compatible. A Roland MR-200 unit was supplied by Rodgers which allows not only the playback of MIDI files but enables music to be pre-recorded. This is not only useful for choir accompaniments but lets the music for a whole service be pre-recorded for when the organist is away. It also allows the organist to listen to the organ away from the console, a luxury not many organists have. The Swell and Great each have two alterable stops which can be easily changed via the MFM-D panel at the console. This gives access to the 76 pipe organ samples on the MFM-200s and the other 1000 voices on each of the units. There is one alterable stop for the Pedal section. An auto tuning device has been fitted which ensures that the digital stops are always in tune with the pipes. An unforeseen benefit is that when the organ is out of tune with the Great Trumpet, a digital one can be used which will always be in tune! Members of the congregation have commented on the enhanced bass and the already good singing in the parish has noticeably improved because of this. We are very proud of our instrument. It is more than capable of fulfilling its primary role of accompanying the liturgy and makes a fine recital instrument. It is supremely flexible and the digital / MIDI additions have opened up a whole new world of tonal possibilities. Members of a recent wedding congregation were rather surprised to hear a harpsichord playing with the organ and accompanying a soloist during the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria! The current specification is listed on the next page. Pedal Open Diapason 16 Digital Bourdon 16 Principal 8 Bass Flute 8 Fifteenth 4

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Octave Flute 4 Bassoon 16 (Swell Trombone) Trombone 16 Digital MIDI on Pedal Great to Pedal Swell to Pedal Great Open Diapason 8 Clarabella 8 Dulciana 8 Flute 4 Digital Principal 4 Twelfth 2 2/3 Fifteenth 2 Tierce 1 3/5 Mixture II (19.22) Trumpet 8 MIDI on Great 1 MIDI on Great 2 Swell Octave to Great Swell to Great Swell Sub Octave to Great Swell Open Diapason 8 Digital Lieblich Gedackt 8 Salicional 8 Vox Angelica 8 Principal 4 Digital Lieblich Flute 4 Principal 2 Mixture II (19.22) Trombone 16 Hautboy 8 (Relabelled Trumpet) Clarion 4

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MIDI on Swell 1 MIDI on Swell 2 Octave Sub Octave Accessories Solid State combination action with 100 lockable memories 6 thumb pistons to Great 6 thumb pistons to Swell 5 toe pistons to Pedal 10 general thumb pistons Reversible thumb pistons for: Swell to Great Great to Pedal Swell to Pedal Reversible toe pistons for: Great to Pedal Swell to Great General Cancel thumb piston