The pipe organ at St Peter's Church in Nottingham is due for replacement. This website explores the proposals for a new instrument in the context of the church's long-standing musical tradition, as well as visiting the history of the existing instrument. Detailed descriptions and explanations of the proposal design are given. Whilst state-of-the-art, the new organ will conserve elements of the existing organ, thus maintaining the fascinating heritage of the instrument.

background

St Peter's Church was constructed in 1180, with the magnificent tower and spire completed in 1340. Standing in the heart of the city of Nottingham, the church is open seven days a week and plays host to a great many visitors, whether they come to worship, to seek spiritual guidance, or just to appreciate the peace and quiet amidst the hustle and bustle of Nottingham's busy streets. But peace and openness are just the beginning of what St Peter's offers to the city. For many years, the church has forged links with the wider community. St Peter's reaches out into the community, and further afield, in a variety of ways:

• The Workplace Chaplaincy team offers pastoral care and support to city centre workers.
• The Overseas Committee offers support to countries in need across the world.
• The 'Drop-in' centre provides pastoral and medical support to the homeless and the needy.
• The popular Coffee Shop serves a wide range of sandwiches, cakes, tea and coffee throughout the week.
• The church is a popular concert venue, particularly through the thrice yearly series of Saturday morning 'Coffee Break Concerts'.

In addition to all this, St Peter's is of course a place of worship, and has been for more than 800 years. Traditional Anglican services are held throughout the week, and the robed choir sing every Sunday at the regular services of Matins, Eucharist, Evensong and Compline. St Peter's is now part of the newly formed parish of Nottingham All Saints, St Mary and St Peter, which covers most of the city centre. The parish is proud of its musical tradition, and maintains two flourishing choirs; that at St Mary's is a semi-professional ensemble who regularly perform to great critical acclaim. The choir at St Peter's is very much an amateur, voluntary group, though it still produces an exceptionally high standard of music. Its membership comprises a number of amateur adult singers, students and staff of both universities, and children from various local schools. It is one of the few church choirs left in the region with children on the top line. We enjoy a close relationship with both the Nottingham Bluecoat School and the Nottingham Emmanuel School, and our children receive an invaluable musical education through their participation in the choir. As well as singing in church every Sunday, the choir regularly performs both in Nottingham and around the UK and abroad. In August 2008, the choir was in residence for a week at Westminster Abbey.

Additionally at St Peter's, the thrice-annual series of 'Coffee Break' concerts every Saturday morning during February, July and October regularly attract audiences of between 100-150, and provide a popular opportunity for local groups and soloists to perform, as well as acting as a showcase for young professional musicians.

With such a flourishing musical life, it is a particular source of disappointment that the pipe organ at St Peter's has reached the end of its days. An organ is vital, not only for the continuation of our fine liturgical music tradition (itself a nationally declining art form which we are proud to maintain), but also for our position as a central and popular concert venue. Repair of the existing organ has been deemed infeasible by a number of experts. Indeed, even if it could be repaired, the instrument is of a poor quality, and not at all fitting in a church and in a City that prides itself on its music. Its lack of power, finesse and reliability has meant it was never an attractive recital instrument, which is a great pity since St Peter's is otherwise such an excellent and successful venue for concerts, school/university carol services and other events. The state of the organ is especially sad when compared to its case, which is one of great beauty. It was built circa 1770 in the style of the great organ builder John Snetzler, and so well was it made, in fact, that it gets special mention and a photograph in internationally renowned expert, Dr William Sumner's seminal book of 1952, The Organ. It is a gem and must be retained and treasured for many generations to come; without an instrument to house, however, it is merely an empty shell.

Without an organ, sadly the future of music of the quality presently enjoyed at St Peter's looks bleak.

history

An organ first appeared at St Peter's in 1812, when it was situated in what is now the gallery, under the west steeple. In 1878, it was moved to its present position in the chancel. The organ began to show its first signs of old age in the middle of the twentieth century. In 1934, Dr Sumner, internationally renowned as an authority on organs, was asked to make an examination and report. In his own inimitable style he made several such comments as:

as regards the tonal and mechanical side of the organ we are forced to say that both are entirely obsolete... no organist of repute would accept a recital engagement on the organ as it now stands... the action, despite constant small expenses merely to keep it in status quo, will collapse completely ere long... every pipe in the organ is to a greater or lesser degree inhibited in its speech through the dirt of years.

Any plans for a major overhaul had to be postponed because of the Second World War. In 1948 another report indicated that the organ, now 160 years old, was in a parlous state:

most of the notes in the last (bass) octave will not play at all... the console is obsolete... the metal pipes have gone soft owing to their great age and are bending over like blades of grass in all directions.

Under the guidance of Vincent Trivett (organist at St Peter's from 1906 to 1947), the church bought the organ of St Columba's, Mansfield Road, and the repairs and the blending together of the two organs was undertaken by the firm of Fenton Wragg in 1952. But even at this stage, the organ was not satisfactory, and further alterations were made in 1964 (Henry Willis & Sons) and in 1983 (Hill, Norman & Beard).

It is impossible to write about the organ without mentioning the very beautiful and noteworthy case of circa 1770, built as a copy of a John Snetzler case. For many years, the case was tucked away out of sight in the chancel, but following the 1934 report, it was removed to its present site at the east end of the north aisle where it can be seen in its full beauty. In Dr Sumner's words:

English organ cases of artistic value are extremely rare, but here is an example of great beauty... it is to be deplored that when so many churches are marred by hideous rows of zinc chimney cans masquerading as organ cases, St Peter's hides its very beautiful light under a bushel... the case should be erected in the north chancel facing the nave and visible immediately on entry.

As is clear from this brief summary, the life of the St Peter's organ has been a long and varied one, but one characterised by an almost constant need for refurbishment, due to its strange and mixed heritage. In November 2007, a major fault in the solid state electronic action rendered the instrument completely unusable. Since then, a number of the metal pipes have collapsed.

options

Repair or renovation of the existing instrument is not a feasible course of action. Even if the failed solid state system were to be replaced (at a cost of about £10,000), there is every probability that a slide might stick or more pipes might collapse the day after the new action was installed. A report commissioned from Groves & Son (the present organ's maintainers) in 2001 is very clear on this matter, concluding that

the organ, which has been made up from two different instruments, should not have any major money spent on it. A replacement quality instrument would, in the long term, be a far better solution both financially and tonally.

A report in 2008 from the Council for the Care of Churches agrees.

So, a new instrument it is, although, as discussed later, there are aspects of the existing organ that are eminently worthy of conservation. We are absolutely committed to finding the best possible musical solution; although money is an important issue, that must not be the first concern, not in a church with as rich and important a musical life as St Peter's. A full new pipe organ is, of course, the first option that springs to mind, and in a perfect world, this would always be the choice solution. However, the nature of the St Peter's building makes the choice significantly more complicated: In September of 2003 the National Conference of Diocesan Organ Advisors was held in Nottingham. They spent an afternoon at St Peter's listening to the organ, looking at it and discussing ways that the instrument might be improved or replaced. They were unanimously of the opinion that it is impossible for a pipe organ of the size of the current organ to occupy the organ chamber and be properly audible around the whole church. The suggestions they offered as to how to solve the problem involved either housing the entire organ in the west gallery (which would involve obscuring the west window, and make choir accompaniment nigh on impossible) or extending the organ chamber beyond the arch into the north aisle which would, of course, require substantial and profound changes to the fabric of the Grade I listed building.

The installation of a purely digital instrument is an option, though not one we are keen to pursue due mainly to its unavoidable musical shortcomings, but also due to the issue of heritage; pipe organs are an ancient and important part of our musical heritage. As a major centre of traditional music making in the centre of a major UK city with a flourishing musical life, we really should be setting an example, even acting as a figurehead as a centre of traditional church music, though within a forward-looking, modern environment.

So, we are faced with quite a conundrum. How do we get an excellent quality organ at St Peter's such that:

• it is clearly audible throughout the church,
• it does not require major changes to the Grade I listed church building,
• it is capable of fulfilling its liturgical role, i.e. robust enough to accompany a full congregation, and subtle and flexible enough to effectively accompany the choir,
• it is attractive as a recital instrument, and that
• it is adaptable for the future?

Given the problems outlined above, this looks to be an impossible set of criteria for any traditional method of organ design. There is, however, a third option. Organs that comprise both pipework and electronics are a new and exciting innovation in the field. In this paradigm, a single organ is designed and built using highly sophisticated digital stops integrated seamlessly with pipe ranks, voiced together as a single, complete instrument. It is not a pipe organ with some electronics; it is not a digital organ with some pipes; it is a single, coherent, musical instrument. The advantages of this ingenious type of organ are that it combines the relative cheapness and flexibility of a digital specification with the solid foundation of tone that comes from speaking pipes. But importantly in the case of St Peter's, it also affords a flexibility in how the organ is placed and accordingly offers a solution to problem of space. Not only does this technology give a greatly improved sound quality through the use of real pipes, but a good digitally reproduced organ sound, when placed among pipes, will excite the pipework in a similar way to a full pipe organ, thus creating a far more authentic sound than if it were heard in isolation.

After consideration of all the options (i.e., replacement of the solid state system in the existing organ, renovation of the existing organ, purchase and 'transplant' of a pipe organ from elsewhere, purchase of a new digital organ, purchase of a new pipe organ, purchase of a new hybrid pipe/digital organ), it has been agreed by the PCC, Director of Music and Diocesan Organ Advisor that the 'hybrid' solution is clearly the most sensible option. A report was commissioned from Rodgers UK Ltd, in collaboration with Modern Pipe Organ Solutions (MPOS) Ltd, who are the world leaders in this field by quite some distance. Although a number of pipe organs around the UK have one or two digital stops, the notion of a true hybrid instrument is still relatively embryonic in this country. Worldwide, however, such instruments have an impressive track record, and Rodgers have, among their 3,400 installations, instruments at such prestigious venues as Hong Kong and Singapore cathedrals. Their UK 'demonstration organ' was also used in Worcester Cathedral with great success during the rebuild of the cathedral organ.

The instrument specification drawn up by Rodgers/MPOS in consultation with the Director of Music and Diocesan Organ Advisor includes nine pipe stops (including three of the best ranks from the existing instrument) which would be seamlessly integrated with the digital stops into a single, coherent, and musically excellent instrument. Such an organ would be unique in the UK.

proposal

We plan to install a new organ at St Peter's that will combine the expertise of Modern Pipe Organ Solutions Ltd in traditional pipework with the state-of-the-art digital technologies of Rodgers UK Ltd, carefully voiced together into a single 52-stop instrument.

A new organ for St Peter's should, at heart, be a first-rate 'English parish church' instrument. It should be excellent for accompanying the congregation, inspiring them to lift their voices in worship, and providing full and solid support in the building. It must be colourful and versatile for accompanying the choir. It should also be an impressive recital instrument, with the ability to play the broad range of organ literature well. Importantly, the entire instrument should be a coherent 'whole', authentic to the ear and logical in its layout. The following proposal presents a new three manual and pedal instrument to be housed inside the current pipe organ chamber. The basis of the Great organ will be pipework (integrated with digital stops); as will the Choir organ. The Swell organ will be entirely digital, and the Pedal department will be digital but with the retention of a single pipe stop. The fact that the new instrument will have nine pipe stops means that there will be far more space inside the chamber, allowing great scope for a flexible internal layout. The instrument will have room to breathe!

Great

It is proposed that the new Great division is positioned behind the existing organ case in the north aisle. Scaled and voiced correctly, it will speak well into the nave and be a fine basis for congregational accompaniment. A new direct-electric action chest will be built for the following pipework:

Stopped Diapason 8	Re-use existing Choir Gedact (1812 pipework)
Principal 4	New
Fifteenth 2	New
Mixture IV	New

Choir

It is proposed that a new Choir case would be built on the balcony above the choir stalls to contain the following pipework:

Spitz-Principal 8	New (Notes 1-12 Digital)
Gemshorn 4	Re-using Gt 4'(1812 pipework)
Fifteenth 2	New
Mixture III	New

We envisage this as being the main department for choir accompaniment, perhaps regarded almost as a choir-facing 'Great', voiced for good balance in choral and liturgical music. For reasons of space and cost, it has been proposed that the bottom octave of the 8' Spitz Principal is digital. For obvious reasons, this division will be unenclosed. However, a Choir Pipes Off piston would be provided so that a complete digital Choir division (under expression) is available as needed for liturgical or recital work.

Swell

The Swell division would be entirely digital. There are no ranks on the existing Swell which are particularly worthy of conservation, and as the Swell is used mainly for 'colouring', it is well suited to the digital technology. In the cleared chamber, it is proposed that the speakers are positioned so that egress of sound is via both nave and chancel. The Swell division will therefore serve both for choir and congregational accompaniment, and will bring the organ together as a coherent single instrument.

Pedal

The Pedal department will retain the existing pipe Bourdon 16' which will be augmented with several digital stops. The low frequencies of the Pedal division are routed through the subwoofer speakers which can be placed on the floor of the chamber. These speakers will exploit the natural resonances within the space and provide a far greater pedal support in the building than currently. This will encourage congregational singing greatly.

Sheriff's Trumpet

This large solo reed will be provided digitally, and will be playable from any department of the organ. It is proposed that the speakers for this are positioned on top of the wooden screen separating the nave and chancel. It would speak directly into the nave, giving a particularly exhilarating effect!

Further notes on the proposed work

• The existing pipe organ will be disassembled, and the organ chamber cleared and cleaned.
• The Pedal 16' chest will be restored.
• The current organ console will be removed.
• A new Rodgers Custom T958 3-manual & pedal organ console will be built, with digital stops designed to integrate with the pipe stops.
• The current blower will be cleaned, serviced and reused.
• A Rodgers pipe interface system (circuitry, software and controllers) will be designed and installed.
• A Rodgers Automatic Tuning device will be fitted to ensure that the digital stops stay perfectly in tune with any fluctuations in pipe pitch due to temperature, humidity, etc..
• The complete instrument (pipes and digital stops) will be voiced and tuned to integrate seamlessly together.

It is also important to note that, with the exception of the 'Sheriff's Trumpet' speaking from the chancel screen, the entire digital audio system will be contained within the organ chamber, laid out as illustrated, to reflect the logical divisional geography of the organ. This way, the entire instrument, pipes and digital stops, will speak coherently as one.

The drawstop console will provide all the standard modern player aids, including unlimited piston and sequencer memory. The console's present position in the south aisle will be maintained, though it is intended that it will be placed on a moveable plinth so it can be wheeled into the centre of the church for concert and recital use.

the organ in the community

We are very keen that any new organ at St Peter's is used to its full potential, liturgically and otherwise, in creating an excellent, comfortable, flexible organ outside of a relatively inaccessible concert hall environment. Although there is considerable interest in organ music in Nottingham (the Nottingham & District Society of Organists has a busy calendar), there is really no 'community instrument' in the City. We very much hope that a new instrument at St Peter's would be the focus of a regular recital series, as well as an educational outreach programme concerned with bringing back to prominence an instrument now, sadly, rarely heard by school children.

heritage

It is very important to us that any new instrument maintains a sense of heritage, and that the design acknowledges the fact that there has been an organ in St Peter's since 1812. We are particularly delighted, then, that the existing Choir 8' Flute and Great 4' Principal feature in the design for our new organ, as they are the two remaining ranks from the original instrument. Also, of course, the wonderful case must be conserved without modification. The installation of a new instrument will be coupled with renovation work to the case, specifically, a careful clean of the magnificent display pipes.

fundraising

Click here to go directly to the donation/sponsorship form.

Becoming part of the project

Our appeal needs to raise £150,000. We are very fortunate that the church's own trust funds have already promised £45,000, but this leaves us with over £100,000 left to raise in order to safeguard the future of music at St Peter's. Any help you might be able to give us would be deeply appreciated. You are invited to either make a simple donation of money, or to sponsor a pipe (or pipes) in the new instrument by filling in the form here.

The new pipes in the replacement organ range in size from 4ft to just a few inches. Within the categories below, pipes will be allocated on a 'largest first' basis. Alternatively, sponsors may wish to select a particular pipe, or set of pipes, of their own choosing.

A record of all benefactors' names will be publicly recorded for posterity, whilst names of major donors (£1000 or more) will be recorded on a commemorative plaque. All sponsors will have the opportunity to hear, play and possibly even see the pipe(s) they have sponsored when the instrument has been installed. Donors of £100 or more will be invited to be our guests at the organ's inaugural concert.

Alternatively, you may like to discuss a donation or an In memoriam gift in more detail. For this, or simply for further information about the project, please contact

Dr Peter Siepmann (Director of Music)
peter.siepmann@nottinghamchurches.org
or
Parish Office, St Peter's Centre,
Nottingham, NG1 2NW

Click here to go directly to the donation/sponsorship form.

• Download a Donation Form - click here
  or
  
• Download a Pipe Sponorship Form - click here
  or
  
• Use the online form - click here

All donations should be attached to the relevant form and returned to:
Dr Peter Siepmann (Director of Music)
Parish Office, St Peter's Centre,
Nottingham, NG1 2NW

Donation/sponsorship form

Name:
Email:
Address:

I would like to make a donation of £.
or
I would like to sponsor a pipe(s):

Size	Price	Quantity
Up to 1ft	£25
Between 1 and 2ft	£50
Between 2 and 3ft	£75
Between 3 and 4ft	£100
Total:

If you are sponsoring a pipe as a gift or in memory of someone, please give details here:


I enclose a cheque for £
made payable to Nottingham City Parish.
(Charities Aid Foundation cheques also welcome.)
Please mark all cheques 'St Peter's Organ' on the reverse.

If you would prefer to make your donation through a series of up to twelve monthly payments, this is also possible - please get in touch and we can arrange this.

If you are a UK tax payer, please tick to indicate you are willing for us to reclaim the tax on this donation (and any subsequent donations) under the Gift Aid scheme*:



Signature: __________________________________________________



Date: ______________________

Please now print this form, sign it
and enclose it with your cheque in an evenvelope addressed to:
Dr Peter Siepmann (Director of Music)
Parish Office, St Peter's Centre,
Nottingham, NG1 2NW

Thank you very much indeed for your support.

* To be eligible for the Gift Aid scheme, you must pay an amount of Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax equal or above the amount of tax reclaimed by us through Gift Aid (28p for each pound of your donation). Any queries, please contact us.

St Peter's Church, Nottingham, has charitable status. The proposals described on this website have been carefully planned to meet the needs of the church, but the right to make changes in the light of new circumstances arising must be reserved.