GOTHICISM IN AN ORGANMARTIN RENSHAW... as I have never in my life seen a church organ that I admired, I cannot suggest any other merit in the design than that of avoidance of any absurd ornament...all money spent on organ decoration is entirely wasted. An organ ought to be as simple as a violin - and I would as soon ask Paganini to play on a Gothic fiddle as cumber a church with Gothicism in an organ. My own advice in this matter would be to have the thing scrupulously and entirely made of good metal and wood - and of the finest tone possible in this space and for the money - and if ever the church is made entirely beautiful like the chancel - to keep the organ out of sight. From a letter of John Rushkin to Daniel Moore, concerning Camden College, Brooks, M.W., John Rushkin and Victorian Architecture (Thames & Hudson, 1989), 59. |