|
 The
Parr Hall’s magnificent pipe organ, affectionately named the
‘Bracewell Queen’, is the only tonally unaltered instrument in the
United Kingdom produced by the celebrated French organ builder, Aristide
Cavaillé-Coll (pictured). Possibly one
of only two in such original condition in the world, it
was built in Paris in 1870 as a three-manual organ of 44 stops with two
enclosed divisions for the private home of John Turner Hopwood, music
publisher, of Bracewell Hall, near Barnoldswick, Skipton, England.
Saint-Saëns and Widor
shared the first two performances on the instrument in the Paris
workshop hall of Cavaillé-Coll in March 1870.
A third performance was given soon after by Alexander Guilmant.
Following its installation in Bracewell Hall under the
supervision of the skilled voicer Félix Reinburg, the organ was
inaugurated by William Sparke, on 7th November 1870.
The sophistication of the French organ led to further orders for
Cavaillé-Coll organs in Sheffield’s Albert Hall (1873, destroyed by
fire in 1937), Paisley Abbey (1875), Bellahouston Church, Glasgow
(1875), Blackburn Parish Church (1875, now Cathedral) and Manchester
Town Hall (1877). All of
these instruments have since been modified by others and have largely
lost the unique Cavaillé-Coll sound.
The
‘Bracewell Queen’ was removed to Ketton Hall, Rutland in 1883,
following Hopwood’s earlier move to the new mansion.
It was enlarged by adding three pedal stops and two reservoirs,
and the work was again managed by Félix
Reinburg. Remarkably -
perhaps uniquely - the organ was blown by three water engines supplied
by a purpose built water supply system.
By 1926 the hall had become the property of the Ketton Cement
Company, who sold the organ to Warrington
Corporation for £2,000 for installation in the Parr Hall.
The efforts of Alderman A. Bennett JP, Dr. M. Darby, W.H. Payton
and T. Tanner were pivotal in persuading the Council to make the
purchase to replace the existing organ. Henry Willis & Sons managed the installation.
The civic opening performance was given by Wilfred Sanderson on
30th September 1926, followed by a recital by Marcel Dupré
of the Paris Conservatoire on 28th October 1926.
Both concerts opened with Toccata
and Fugue in D Minor by J.S. Bach.
By
1969 the organ had fallen into disrepair, largely caused by a lack of
humidity in the hall, and a full restoration became imperative.
Plans to sell the organ for its scrap value were opposed and a
‘Cavaillé-Coll Organ Retention Committee’ was formed to raise
funds. The Committee
received the public backing of Prime Minister Edward Heath, amongst
others. Warrington
Corporation added to the amount raised to bring it to the £9,000
necessary for the restoration. Henry
Willis & Sons carried out the work which included removing the
original pneumatic Barker lever mechanism and replacing it with a modern
electric action. A manual
change-over switch was also added, allowing the three manuals to be used
in the normal English position. Crucially,
no tonal changes were made. On
completion of the restoration, a civic Inaugural Concert was given by
Gilbert Kennedy and Nicholas Kynaston, with massed Warrington choirs, on
23rd November 1972.
Recently,
doubt has again been raised over the future of the organ. It is
currently under threat of removal as part of modernisation plans for the
Parr Hall, and although
interest has been expressed in rehousing the organ elsewhere, the
proposal is strongly contested by the Warrington Male Voice Choir.
Whether the Cavaillé-Coll organ should remain in its current
location or be moved to where it would receive a wider audience remains
a matter of debate.
Douglas
Carrington, former editor of The
Organ magazine, has written of the Parr Hall organ: “The tonal
beauty and excellence of the specification and voicing is immediately
apparent. Prior to 1850 the English Pedal Organ had been markedly
deficient: here though, there is a suitable Pedal bass for every
combination of manual stops, showing that Cavaillé-Coll had a voicing
skill seldom surpassed. It
is the only one in this country capable of producing the authentic tone
colours created by Cavaillé-Coll and so brilliantly realised in the
compositions of César Frank and all the French symphonic romanticists.
Many of the Cavaillé-Coll organs in France have been altered, so
Warrington can congratulate itself on having a Cavaillé-Coll envied by
French organ enthusiasts. The
importance to the nation of this organ cannot be overstated.”
Barrie
Johnson
(With
acknowledgements to Douglas Carrington)
An organ audition in
Aristide Cavaillé-Coll’s workshop hall on avenue du Maine, Paris,
featuring the Parr Hall organ as newly constructed.
It was Cavaillé-Coll’s normal practice to build the console
facing the audience. From L’Illustration,
1870 (University of California Library, Berkeley). |
