organ149
organ 149
November 2014
2 manuals
16 speaking stops
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Hatfield College
Chapel
Durham
Builder:
Harrison & Harrison,
1883, 1970, 2001
Weblinks:
Hatfield College
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Organ of the Month archive
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In the middle of the week of last summer's IAO Congress, members were invited to take advantage of an "open consoles" session during which a number of city centre churches & colleges had agreed to make their organs available to be played by Congress delegates.
One such organ was in Hatfield College, very conveniently situated next to the St Chad's College accommodation used by most delegates. The chapel, surrounded by leafy trees (see left photo), is adjacent to the main entrance to the college on North Bailey, very close to the cathedral.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the organ is the work of Harrison & Harrison, whose nearby factory was visited as part of the 2014 Congress: a small but delightful instrument that is more than adequate for the modest dimensions of the college chapel.
Following tonal modifications in 1970 that included addition of a Swell Mixture and Pedal Principal, it was rebuilt in 2001 "to restore the essentials of the 1883 organ", which included the addition of a Pedal reed together with a Flageolet 2ft to the Swell. The stop jambs remain flat, but a piston system (including generals) now provides easy management of registration.
Click HERE to watch & listen to Andrew Scott, Head Voicer at Harrisons, demonstrating aspects of voicing during the IAO's 2013 London Organ Day at RFH.
The choir of Hatfield College features in this month's Music of the Month