21 January 1998
St Mary |
Organist:
Andrew Nethsingha (1994)
Andrew Nethsingha received his early musical training as a chorister in Exeter Cathedral under the direction of his father. From there he won a music scholarship to Clifton College. He spent two years at the Royal College of Music, where he won 7 prizes. During his second year there he was Organ Scholar at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, under Christopher Robinson. He was made a fellow of the Royal College of Organists when he was 18. Andrew went on to read Music at St John's College Cambridge, where he was Organ Scholar under Dr George Guest. In 1990 he moved to Wells where he was Assistant to the Cathedral Organist, Dr Anthony Crossland. He also taught organ and ran the senior choirs at Wells Cathedral School.
Since 1994 he has been Master of the Choristers and Organist at Truro Cathedral. He is also Musical Director of the Three Spires Singers and Orchestra.
Recent conducting engagements have included Bach's B minor Mass, St John and St Matthew Passions, Haydn's Creation, Handel's Messiah, Brahms' Requiem and Bernstein's Chichester Psalms.
He has performed in ten countries, including four tours of the U.S.A. and Canada. He has recorded several CDs, including two solo organ discs.
He and Lucy were married in Truro Cathedral last year.
Assistant:
Simon Morley (1990)
Organ:
'Father' Willis, rebuilt by Manders in 1991.
4 manuals. Sited behind Quire Stalls on the North Side.
Few people speak of the Truro 'Father' Willis without the use of superlatives. 'It is not easy, even today, to think how the magnificence of the Willis organ in Truro Cathedral could be improved' says W. L. Sumner in his epic tome, The Organ (1952). Sir John Dykes Bower, organist at Truro from 1926-29, and later of St. Paul's Cathedral, called it 'the Little Giant', and apparently his eyes were known to water even on mention of the Truro instrument.
The organ was built in 1887 in London at a total cost of £2,742, and arrived in Cornwall by boat. It has an almost identical specification to the organ he built a year earlier for the then parish church of St. Michael, Coventry (later Coventry Cathedral). In terms of specification, both instruments revealed standard Willis hallmarks - tierce mixtures on Great and Swell, characterful gedackts on the Choir, and a small but telling pedal division. Why then is the Truro organ so special, over one hundred years later?
There is no doubt that Willis was one of the greatest organbuilders there has ever been. At Truro we see the quintessence of his art as a voicer. We are most fortunate that the instrument has survived tonally intact - in fact this is unique in any cathedral. The fine position of the instrument in its own fan-vaulted chamber certainly adds to its impact and it matches the resonant cathedral acoustic perfectly. One should remember that the nave of the cathedral was not constructed until the first decade of this century, so Willis voiced the organ for a building that did not actually exist in its entirety - surely a mark of genius!
Willis built an organ of superb reliability. Apart from the addition of the electric blower in the 1920s, no major work was done until 1963, when the grandson of the original builder carried out a conservative restoration, at a cost of some £17,000. Prior to this date, the organ console was situated high up within the main case of the instrument. This meant a walk of two or three minutes up a spiral staircase in the North Transept (perhaps this explains the longevity and fitness of F. G. Ormond, organist from 1929-70!). The action was a mixture of Barker lever, pneumatic and tracker. There were very few playing aids and contact between the organist and choir, some forty feet below, must have been almost impossible.
In 1963, the organ committee, including Henry Willis, Guillaume Ormond, Sir John Dykes Bower and Mr. Roger Yates, wisely decided to keep the original tonal scheme and voicing, and to move the console over on to the south side in a new gallery placed above the choir stalls to a design by the architect John Phillips. Here the organist can not only hear the instrument in its full glory, but also maintain close contact with the cathedral choir.
In 1991, after twenty-eight years of splendid service, the organ was again fully restored, this time by the highly respected organ builders N P Mander Ltd of London. lan Bell Managing Director of Manders, summarises the aims of the 1991 rebuild:
"The work on the organ in 1991 has included the renewal of all the low-voltage electrical equipment installed in 1963, both in the console and in the organ itself. The system is now entirely solid-state, and the opportunity has been taken to upgrade the controls available to the organist, to bring the instrument into line with present day standards. The outer cladding of the console, and all of the ivory fittings, have been retained and refurbished, but all of the internal equipment is new.
"Up in the organ, again all electrical equipment and cabling has been renewed. All of the delicate leatherwork in the key mechanism has also been replaced, and several of the large reservoirs which store the wind pressure have also had their leatherwork renewed. The action of the stops, which was entirely operated by human power until 1963, was converted to a pneumatic system at that time. This has now been upgraded to powerful and silent electric solenoids.
"The large soundboards which support the pipes, and supply them with wind-pressure, have all been taken back to London and completely overhauled. The access ladders and walkways have been improved, and the humidification system enhanced.
"The organ has once more been left completely unchanged tonally; damaged pipes have been carefully repaired and cleaned, but the sound has been jealously preserved. Only one modification has been undertaken - the loudest solo stop, the Tuba, has always received criticism for being uncharacteristically modest. In a Willis organ the Tuba normally balances the Pedal reed in power, but at Truro this has not been the case, since the pipes were rather buried in the depths of the instrument.
"It was therefore decided not to alter the Tuba, but to move it to the front of the organ where it could be heard to rather better effect. This has resulted in a considerable improvement, but all of the original mechanism has been left in place in case anyone wishes to move the pipes back in future. In every other respect the instrument sounds exactly as it did when first built 103 years ago."
There is also a 2-manual organ by John Byfield and a chamber organ by Kenneth Tickell.
THE BYFIELD ORGAN
(The Organ in St. Mary's Aisle)
 |
It is said that this beautiful instrument was built for the Chapel Royal, but it did not suit the situation for which it was intended; that Mr. Lemon bought it and presented it to St. Mary's Church in 1750. It is somewhat strange that no record was made of this munificent act, as it would not have cost less than £300-£400.
The cherubims with trumpets in their hands, which now adorn the high altar reredos, were part of the organ case, but the roof was not sufficiently high to allow their being fixed on it. |
In 1862 the organ was restored, re-voiced and tuned. 'A new and powerful bellows replaced the former inefficient one, the pedal organ has been much enlarged - the range of two octaves from CCC to C being now, for the first time,
completed, and a new and more convenient pedal board has been added to the instrument'. The work was done by
Messrs. Hamlin & Son, the total cost was £76 11s. 4d.
The Bishopric of Truro Bill was passed on August 11th, 1876, and the See was founded by an Order in Council of
15th December. Edward White Benson was consecrated as the first Bishop of Truro in April 1877, and enthroned in
St. Mary's Church on May 1st of that year - the Parish Church had now become the 'Cathedral'.
It having been decided to build the present Cathedral in the autumn of 1880, the old church was pulled down with the exception of the south aisle, and a temporary wooden building was constructed to serve as the Parish Church and
Cathedral. The organ was removed from the old St. Mary's Church, thoroughly repaired and reerected by Messrs.
Brewer & Son in the temporary church.
It was in this little unpretentious wooden church that the 'Festival of the Nine Lessons', was born. The first of these services was drawn up by Bishop Benson and was held at 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve, 1880, under the conductorship of the Vicar-Choral (the Reverend G. H. S. Walpole) and the Organist (Mr. William Mitchell).
By 1887 the new building was sufficiently advanced and the last service was held in the wooden building on October 30th. The eighteenth-century organ was then taken by Mr. Brewer to his workshop and 'abridged', with two manuals instead of the original three, and installed in St. Mary's Aisle in the spring of 1888. The bellows had to be placed in the crypt of the Cathedral. The cost was £171 10s., including £5 for a new Clarabella stop and £30 for modifying the organ case. 'Mr. G. R. Sinclair, the Organist, reported that he was very pleased with the work done.'
How much of the original instrument by John Byfield remains is rather a matter of conjecture. Since its installation it has been cleaned and provided with an electric blower. One electric motor caught fire in the 1950s during a children's service but no damage was done to the organ. Since then Messrs. Hele & Co. Ltd., have overhauled it and replaced the pedal board and fitted a balanced swell pedal. The organ was cleaned and refurbished by Lance Foy of Truro.
Information about the organs has been extracted (by kind permission of the author, David Briggs) from an excellent booklet about Truro's organs and organists, available from the Cathedral. It contains more detail of the history and full specification of the organs.
Choir:
18 boys (choir school), 3A, 4T, 5B
Services:
Mon (boys), Tue, Wed and Fri at 5:30
Sunday: 10:00 and 6:00
Telephone: 01872 276782
Recordings:
:
Other
Information:
The Cathedral Organist is always pleased to hear from prospective Lay Clerks, Choral and Organ Scholars. Choral and Organ Scholars generally come to Truro for a year between school and university. The Organist is always glad to consider singers from abroad - they have recently had tenors from South Africa and the USA in the choir. Details from Andrew Nethsinga, The Cathedral Office, 21 Old Bridge Street, Truro, Cornwall, TR1 2AH (telephone 01872 276782, fax 01872 277788).
Previous
Organists:
Hubert Middleton (1920-1926)
John Dykes Bower (1926-1929)
F G Ormond (1929-1970)
John Winter (1970-1988)
David Briggs (1989-1994)
