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History of the Organ
The organ in the Cathedral of St Michael and St George has evolved alongside the building in which it stands. The original 1860 organ, built by H. Bevington & Sons of Soho, London was erected on the west gallery in the old St George’s. Much of this original material still exists in the present instrument. The clearest expression of this survival to the layman is the casework, in reality a post and rail facade with gothic detailing.
The organ was moved to the South-East corner of the old nave in 1877 to allow for the building of the new tower which was being constructed: the first stage of what was to be a complete rebuilding of the cathedral in a “correct” gothic revival style to the designs of Sir George Gilbert Scott, one of the leading gothic revival architects of the nineteenth century, and completed by his son, J. O. Scott.
The cathedral’s reconstruction was planned and carried out in three main stages. The first already mentioned being the building of the new tower and spire. The second and third stages being the building of the quire and the nave respectively. This resulted in a rather odd looking building which existed for some years with tall neo-gothic eastern and western portions sandwiching a broad, squat utilitarian nave. With the quire completed in 1893 the organ was moved into its new loft raised high above the choir stalls.
The organ in the South-East corner, picture dated 1877-1890. Notice the protruding pinnacles in the right of the image.
In his Guide and Short History, the Rev’d Charles Gould states that the organ was ‘restored and enlarged’ in 1905, This was, however, essentially the same instrument; a two manual organ with tracker action and pipework mostly, if not all, by Bevington. Bevington and Sons exported a great many pipe-organs to South Africa. Albert Troskie, in his book The Pipe Organ Heritage of South Africa, lists ten instruments installed between 1814 and 1914 that are still in their original condition. At least two other instruments in the city are, in origin, Bevington organs. The organ at Christ Church is one of the original instruments mentioned by Troskie and the organ at Commemoration Methodist Church was a Bevington organ which has subsequently been rebuilt and enlarged.
The console, likely installed in 1934.
The Cathedral organ owes its basic form to the work executed in 1934 by Cooper, Gill and Tomkins, a South African organ building firm, founded in 1912 by three employees of British organ building firms working between 1880 and 1905 to install their companies’ instruments in South Africa. The firm continued following Cooper’s return to England in 1927 to become General Manager of the organ building firm of Rushworth & Dreaper based in Liverpool. Rushworth & Dreaper later became the main supplier of pipework for Cooper, Gill and Tomkins. Cooper, Gill and Tomkins became its own legal entity in 1927, and built many new organs throughout the twentieth century using pipework from England but also imported from Germany and America.
A business card pinned to part of the building frame in the cathedral organ notes that the organ was ‘Rebuilt into 3 manual Sept 1934’. This records the most substantial reconstruction of the organ since Bevington’s original instrument was completed in 1860. Jeannette Eve writes in her appendix to Gould’s history of the cathedral that new pipework was also provided by Rushworth and Dreaper. The changes made to the instrument were such that Eve goes so far as to call the result a ‘new’ organ.
Many ranks have been added to the organ over the years. A large proportion is probably from 1860 and a more detailed study of the pipework would reveal their various origins. A plaque, located in the quire just below the organ, mentions the donation of a ‘Principal’ stop to the memory of a certain ‘A. G. H.’, without mentioning when the donation was made. This could well have been that in the swell division when still in its incomplete form.
Organ builders’ cards pinned to a beam in the organ, informally documenting some of the work done in the last century.
The original organ of 1860 will have had tracker action. This is a system of rods and levers making a mechanical connection between the keys and the windchests upon which the pipes stand and control the entry of air into the pipes when required to make them sound. It is most likely that this mechanism was replaced during the 1934 rebuild by a pneumatic system, most of which is still operational. In place of a mechanical linkage from keys to pipes small-bore lead tubes make this connection and puffs of pressurised air achieve the opening of the pallets to allow air into the pipes. This system also greatly reduces the effort needed by the player to counter the pressure holding the sprung pallets closed: the touch of the keys is therefore much lighter yet still sensitive. In 1976 the pedal division was converted to electric action, the electrical key contact sending a signal directly to the pallets of the pedal chests.
The backs of the swell and choir boxes are pictured. Note how the choir box is perched atop the swell box.
At the time of the electrification of the pedal action the Great and Choir divisions were re-sited; James Riadore was responsible for this work. The great was re-positioned to speak out into the south through an opening above the muniments room and the choir division, in its expression box was placed upon the swell, both speaking into the quire. Eve writes that, at the same time, concrete slabs were laid, allowing the organ to be placed further forward in its gallery and the console protrude a little into the quire. This was done to help improve the projection of the sound of the organ. The repainting of the facade to its current white, blue and gold with rather startling red pipes was also completed at this time.
More work was done throughout the 1990s. Most noteworthy was the addition of a Mixture III to the great and the borrowing of the Open Diapason I to the pedal as a Principal 8 and Fifteenth 4 in 1993. This, and other work, was undertaken by Roy Brown. Eve adds that an appeal for work to be done was launched in 2008 and that the target was met and the work completed, without specifying the nature of the work.
Pictured is the opening through which the great speaks and the small door that leads up to the organ.
Most recently (2021) restoration work by Daniel and Sebastian Pekelharing was necessitated, the cathedral having been struck by lightning and the organ's electrical components being severely damaged rendering it unplayable. A new solid state system was installed, replacing the system installed by James Riadore in 1976.
As the Cathedral building grew in stages - the tower 1879, the quire 1893, the nave 1912, the Lady chapel 1952, an extensive restoration in 1986 - so the organ has likewise developed from its first incarnation of 1860 to the instrument we can see and hear today.
References
C. Gould, ‘Grahamstown Cathedral; A Guide and Short History’, Grahamstown Cathedral; A Guide and Short History, Facsimile Reprint, Eastern Cape Reprints, Cory Library, Grahamstown, 1924 (2011 reprint).
J. Eve,‘New Features of Grahamstown Cathedral’, Grahamstown Cathedral; A Guide and Short History, Facsimile Reprint, Eastern Cape Reprints, Cory Library, Grahamstown, 2011.
A. Troskie, The Pipe Organ Heritage of South Africa, p 133, 2010.
Organ builders’ notes inside the Cathedral Organ.
Notes framed on the wall in Commemoration Methodist.
Specifications
Great C-C3 (61 notes)
Double Diapason 16 (from TC)
Open Diapason I 8
Open Diapason II 8
Claribel 8
Dulciana 8
Principal 4
Wald Flute 4 (from TC)
Twelfth 2⅔
Fifteenth 2
Mixture III (19 22 26)
Trumpet 8
Swell C-C3 (61 notes)
Geigen Diapason 8
Lieblich Gedact 8
Echo Gamba 8
Voix Celeste 8
Octave Geigen 4
Fifteenth 2
Mixture III rks (15 19 22)
Contra Fagotto 16 A
Cornopean 8
Oboe 8
Clarion 4 A
Tremulant
Choir C-C3 (61 notes)
Hohl Flute 8
Viol d’Orchestre 8
Dulcet 4 (Sounds Dulciana 8; from TC)
Harmonic Piccolo 2 (Sounds Harmonic Flute 4; from TC)
Clarinet 8
Tremulant
(The Dulciana and Harmonic Flute were, at some stage, transposed up an octave and the stops heads engraved to reflect this. In 2019 they were returned to their original pitches, and await their respective bass octaves of pipes.)
Pitch naming:
C . . . TC . . . C0 . . . C1 . . . C2 . . . C3
Pedal C-F0 (30 notes)
Open Diapason 16 (Wood) C
Bourdon 16 B
Quint 10⅔ B
Principal 8 (fr Gt Open I) D
Octave 8 C
Bass Flute 8 B
Fifteenth 4 D
Bombarde 16
Contra Fagotto 16 A
Trumpet 8 A
Clarion 4 A
Couplers
Swell Octave
Swell Sub Octave
Swell to Great
Swell Octave to Great
Swell Sub Oct to Great
Choir to Great
Swell to Choir
Choir Octave
Choir Sub Octave
Swell to Pedal
Great to Pedal
Choir to Pedal
Registration Aids
4 thumb pistons to swell, 5 thumb pistons to Great, 3 thumb pistons to Choir, 5 toe pistons to pedals, 1 reversible toe piston - Great to Pedal, Great and Pedal Pistons drawstop.
Pneumatic and electric key action. Electric pedal action. Pneumatic drawstop (electric for pedal borrowings) action. Balanced expression pedals to Swell and Choir.. Radiating and concave pedalboard.
Other:
A: Inter-divisional reed unit
B: Inter-divisional flute unit
C: Pedal Diapason unit
D: Inter-divisional Diapason unit