WHAT THEY WERE SAYING

....Mixtures are doomed. Many of our finest performers never use them now; Sir W.Parratt and Dr Turpin, in particular, are dead against them. Mr Willis appears to be gradually dropping them: we sometimes get a Great Sesquialtera, or a Swell Mixture, but no more. Mr Hope-Jones openly derides them; and, I may say, now and then puts in a Mixture on the Swell only in deference to some organist's express wish. With a large organ on two or two and a half inch wind, mixtures had a function to perform; but with reeds now on moderately large organs on ten, twelve and, say, up to eighteen inches of wind, mixtures are not required; and neither Mr Casson nor his friends can deny my statement, - Mixtures are doomed.
("Lennox" l895)

(Musical Opinion 5/l895 558. "Lennox" described himself as a young organist he expressed decided views often and at length. It would be interesting to know who he was, and whether age brought enlightenment.)

Lamentings heard i' th' air; strange screams of death;
And prophesying, with accents terrible,
Of dire combustion and confused events
New hatch'd to the woful time. (Lennox l606)
(Macbeth Act 2 Scene 5.)

Elliot and Hill's organ stood upon the screen which closed in the choir. ....The whole of the vast nave, octagon, and transepts were to the west of it. From a musical point of view, such a position for an organ is unrivalled. To its position may be attributed partly the indisputable fact that the organ of 1851, containing twenty stops, was heard with more effect in all parts of the church and produced, on the whole, an impression of greater volume and power than its successor, the present organ, with forty stops. (W.E.Dickson l887)

(Musical Opinion 4/1887 515. W.E.D. was connected with Ely Cathedral from 1845, and was Precentor from 1858 to l895.)

I have your letter and quite agree with you that a word of protest shd be made regarding that impudent charlatan's doings at Worcester; as you know, he has only been a kind of sewer-maker between 'pipe' and 'key'.-Now he builds _ censored - I should be glad to intervene as named, but have never been in Worcester in my life, so would inevitably get into hot water, sooner or later; but why don't you get Stainer, or the bird Parrot to write? - both must have heard the organ and played on him, and ought to serve you with a note of remonstrance. - I have been down on the Electric-fluid man in and out of season when silly 59-Artide-men have asked about his capers; - the organs here brawl in church continually and his name is accursed by his asinine clients. - Get the southern men named to blow upon him with their east winds.
I am not insensible to your cry of agony, and have sent a letter re Panopticon organ, to 'Musical Opinion' which ought to ornament the April No., though it goes quite against the Editor's grain. - My impression is that there is a vast conspiracy to be-little all organ builders of eminence by H.Jones's syndicate fellows in order to puff him - the beast Jones. Without giving us the least taste of his quality, J. has, through the silly and perpetual letter-writing of other people got a huge advertisement before showing a card I ...You will find my letter is a scorcher, and I have smote your enemies on the hinder parts, considerable. - I am now almost bed-ridden with swelled ankles and blue with indignation. X . ,
Yours truly, W.T.Best (l895)
(Original in the possession of B.B.Edmonds

On the late excellent organ builder, Mr Bishop, being summond to Durham Cathedral to move the organ from the centre to the side of the choir, I was induced to inquire of him how he, a conscientious man, and friend to music, could be party to so scandalous an act, as that of ruining the effect of both the organ and the choir-service for all future times. He replied thus;- "I may as well do the job now, for if I don't somebody else will. Depend on this; we shall soon have to put all the organs back again." This, however, has not yet proved true. the organs are not put back, and architects are still successful in their in- excusable efforts to displace our cathedral and other church organs. On this subject I must not venture. I merely glance this way, to show that it is not always easy to correct, soon, a bad fashion.
(Musical Standard 1/7/1865 558.)

"The old organ, magnificent in its day, was erected in the year l8l8. The builder was Thomas Elliot. ... The organ up to the present reconstruction was throughout, upon only 2in. wind pressure, but the effect (owing, doubtless, to the voicing) was very fine"
" In other words, if you're no good at voicing, put title pressure up! They did - 12in. static - and the rebuild broke down completely within 20 years. " (Anon. 1901;+ graffito 1979)
(Musical Opinion 8/1901 759; 9/1925 1162. (graffito B.B.E.)).

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