BERNARD EDMONDS_________________________________

NOTES & QUERIES

Query - Which eighteenth-century musician published An Essay Towards a History of Comets?

Who wrote this? - There is something fascinating about science. One gets such wholesale returns of conjecture out of such a trifling investment of fact.

Handel, the great composer, chanced to visit Haarlem, and of course he at once hunted up the famous organ. He gained admittance, and was playing upon it with all his might, when the regular organist chanced to enter the building. The man stood awe-struck; he was a good player himself, but he had never heard such music before. 'Who is there?' he cried; 'if it is not an angel or the devil, it must be Handel!' When he discovered that it was the great musician, he was still more mystified. 'But how is this?' said he. 'You have done impossible things; no ten fingers on earth can play the passages you have given; human hands couldn't control all the keys and stops!' 'I know it,' said Handel, coolly; 'and for that reason I was forced to strike some notes with the end of my nose.'

I was amused to see a mis-print in a booksellers' advertisement offering 'histerical romances'. This category would clearly suit The Silver Skates ( 1 ) from which the above is a further quotation. Though not usually so corybantic as this, there are numerous fairy stories in the organ world. One brought to mind recently concerns the 1826 Allen organ in Lincoln Cathedral. 'The Choir organ of this instrument was used by Gray & Davison for an organ built for Bishop's Stortford Parish Church. It was removed by Kirkland in 1888 and then used two years later by Norman & Beard in another instrument, at Lycett Memorial Weslyan Church, Mile End Road.' (2) This occurs in several variants in other places.

In fact, Bishop's Stortford only appears briefly in the wings. In 1888, Kirkland removed the Gray & Davison to Lycett (3). The 1900 reference to Lycett has been mis-read by everyone, it seems. It does not say that Norman & Beard rebuilt the Kirkland, but that 'an organ has been placed ... by Norman & Beard after having been rebuilt. The original builder was Charles Allen, and the choir organ once formed part of the organ in Lincoln Cathedral'. Not that it was the Choir Organ from Lincoln, as a look at the specification will show.

However, it does tally with the Choir at St Mary, Walthamstow (4) (except gamba instead of cornopean), which is in fact whence Norman & Beard took the organ when they installed a new one there in 1900 (5). It had been built by Willian Allen in 1807, as 'Mackeson' confirms, and enlarged and a Choir Organ added by Charles in 1845. Thus the whole of the organ was by the Aliens. How Lincoln fits in is not immediately apparent; the Lincoln dates, 1826 and 1851, do not fit the Walthamstow ones, so far as any major work is concerned. I have gone into this, not because it has any earth-shattering importance, but because it is a prime example of mis-reading of sources, of guesswork and of a lack of cross-checking. Lycett was badly damaged in a storm and rebuilt with replacements from a blitzed organ, with a new 'coupler manual' console, in 1955, by Slater. When the chapel closed, in 1963, the organ was put into stock.

Following the account of the bicycle-wheel blower known as the Rotasphere (6), I find that the same principle (pressing the tyre against a varying-diameter rotor) is being applied by Ford to a new type of car transmission. I gather that the scheme was mooted almost a century ago, but difficulties due to the lack of suitable lubricants militated against its success. This has now been resolved.

Mechanisms related to organ actions include Hunting Gear as used for steering ships, amongst other purposes, functioning on the same principle as Vincent Willis's floating lever. One Albert S.Iles, organ builder of Birmingham, inventor of' 'Iles' Simplex adjustable pistons' (about which one would like to know), also became known for his 'Daisy' vacuum cleaner (7). We once had one; a crank on the wheel was connected to cuckoo-feeders as on some hand-blowing installations - but in this case exhausters. So pushing it along did the cleaning - though not of course to the standards of today.

Enquiries come - organs by Reeve of Nunhead, who had been foreman to T.S. Jones. Dr. Pacey is anxious to compile a complete list of cases by Bodley and would appreciate information, please. A tune-list in the 1840 Bryceson barrel-organ once at Milton, Cambs., contained the LM tune 'Libbens'. Does anyone know of it? Who was the original builder of the organ at Holy Trinity, Ripon, which has narrow-scale front pipes with fenders? What happened to the historic Holdich at Bowood, Wilts? Is anything known about a Flight & Robson organ said once to have been in Turville Heath Methodist?

I can only say that the Bowood organ was rebuilt by R.H. Walker (Peter) (8) in 1958, at Tolleshunt d'Arcy, Essex. There are many references to organ cases in The Organ from Number 111 onwards, including much about Bodley. Was the Turville Heath in an older church? I understand the present one is fairly new.

'Daniels' (9), Betty Matthews tells me, is London Riverside Churches by A.E. Daniell 'author of London City Churches'; it was published in 1897 by Constable. The organ in St Maurice, Winchester (10), with which Father Smith's name has been connected, is now at S.Denys, Southampton, after spending a time in S.Thomas, Winchester. The 1808 Elliott at Bromsgrove (11) was rebuilt by Nicholson in St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Leigh (Lancashire) in 1858. It is still there, considerably rebuilt in 1930 by Pendlebury.

'Notice is hereby given that the Partnership heretofore subsisting between us, the undersigned Frank Evans Wade and Samuel Meggitt, carrying on business as Organ builders and Musical instrument dealers at High Street, Tenby and Dimond Street, Pembroke Dock ... under the style or form of 'Wade and Meggitt' has been dissolved by mutual consent as from the First day of November 1890'. This notice in the Tenby Observer tells us something about a shadowy firm sometimes referred to as 'only a music shop'.

It comes with other information through the kindness of Michael Grange, organ-builder of St. Davids, and was gleaned by a friend of his. The same periodical in May 1890 reports the opening of a new Wade & Meggitt organ at St. Brides Major and another at the English Congregational Chapel, Ystalyfera, and the acceptance of their tender for the rebuilding of 'the fine three manual organ at the Weslyan Chapel, Mansfield, Notts.'. The only two I discovered were Monkton Priory and St Michael, Pembroke.

The firm certainly took a part in the musical life of its neighbourhood. Mr. Wade sang at concerts as well as organising them. He started organising Annual Concerts in Tenby in about 1877. In 1882, he announced from a Newport address the re-opening of his Tenby premises. By 1890, there were weekly advertisements concerning forthcoming concerts by the firm which 'had so successfully toured the North and South'. The engagement is announced of Miss Fanny Moody 'and several other principals of the world-famous 'Car! Rosa' and 'Marie Roze' opera company' including Miss Lily Moody, Payne Clark, and Charles Manners; and 'by special arrangement with Messrs Chappell, the beautiful Covent Garden scene from Faust will form the first part of the programme'.

They pointed out that there had been nothing like this for ten years, when the late Mr. J. Gregory and Mr. Wade had organised one on which they lost £40; they hoped that this time the result would be different. Was it? Did it lead to the dissolution of the partnership? Were any more organs made? Information about other organs of theirs would be welcome, and indeed anything about the firm. Were they makers or factors?

A paragraph from Peeps into the Past compiled by 'Dal Segno' in 1908 (12) elicited a reply which illuminates the problem of the 'split' in the nineteenth- century organ world whose results are more obvious than its causes. The paragraph was from Musical World of 1843:
The newspapers tell us that his grace the Archbishop of Canterbury has conferred the degree of Doctor of Music on Dr. Gauntlett. We give Dr. Gauntlett joy of his honours, so nobly won. His grace also confers the title of 'footman' upon the enlightened person who drives his coach.

This brought about a letter from the Doctor's son:
Paul E. Gauntlett, 6 Root Lane, EC. July 9, 1908 ... with reference to the remark concerning Dr. Gauntlett taken from the Musical World it may interest some of your readers to know that this paper was originally started and edited by Dr. Gauntlett: and I believe that in the earlier numbers nearly the whole of the matter came from his pen ... Afier a while Dr. Gauntlett sold his interest in the paper to Mr. J.W. Davidson (sic); subsequently, on a purely domestic matter connected with Mr. Davidson and Madame Arabella Goddard (Mrs. Davidson) these two gentlemen became exceedingly unfriendly; but I think I may claim for my father that, although he was a candid and a fearless critic, he was the soul of honour and intensely disliked anything savouring of malice. The extract from the Musical World now referred to emanated from the pen of Mr. Davidson, who apparently was so anxious to have a 'dig' at my father that he overlooked the fact that footmen do not drive coaches!

About forty-five years ago, the moving of some long-stored scenery at Covent Garden led to the surprise discovery of a small organ. Its purpose and very existence had been forgotten. R.W. Davidson was called in, and the instrument was installed in a small room in the stage wall, which had shutters which opened only when the wind was on, to protect the organ from dust and stage debris. There was a detached console in the orchestra pit. Davidson took me to see it when I was facing an advisory problem.

A new church in a newly-developedarea had been built, one of the then- fashionable glass and concrete affairs, an efficient night-storage-cooler and source of numerous future troubles which ought to have been foreseen. The architects cdculatefl that it would be at least five years before the structure dried out (the heating system was not such as to help in this) and they suggested that a small second-hand organ be acquired which need last only five years. One was secured and installed satisfactorily. Disaster! The building defeated it. Condensation proved so bad that the organ was running with water before long. An electronics supplier declinBd to install one of his products if he were to be expected to keep it in order, unless the console had tropical finish and the works were enclosed in a special sealed chest. R.W.D. suggested 'doing a Covent Garden'. An air-conditioned enclosure with shutters on the same pattern should meet the need. This was turned down. I pass the idea on to you!

Tailpiece

Answers (respectively) Charles Burney and Mark Twain (Samue! Langhorne Clemens).

Double bed, as new, £25 ... Otter man included. (Birmingham Metronews)

Sex crimes are on the increase in Beds. (Bedfordshire Herald)
We run a subsidised neutering service for people on low incomes. (Winchester Cat Protection League)
At a meeting of the local Women's Institute to consider 'Resolutions':- Pornography. Mrs. J... G... explained this and members voted in favour of it. (A Worcestershire newsletter)

Lo, startled chieftains - William Crotch. (Honiton service sheet)
... the plaintiff saxaphone in Mussorgsky's Old Castle. (report of a Wimborne Music Society)

Notes
1. BIOS Reporter, Vol. 18, 3, 28.

2. Organa Britannica, Vol. 2, p. 124.

3. Musical Opinion, No. 8, 1888, p. 502; No. 11, 1900, p. 103.

4. Sperling II 97, 177.

Musical Opinion, No. 1, 1888, p. 237; No. 2, 1898, p. 308.

5. British Organ Archive.

6. BIOS Reporter, Vol. 18,2, 20.

7. Lightwood's notes.

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