Tonal tour of the organ at Waltham Abbey @jonathan.lilley

Jonathan Lilley An impromptu demonstration of the Abbey organ, with digressions into its history, given to James and Mark from PresentDay Production, who brought a Lewitt microphone system to see how it coped with the acoustic complexities of a large pipe organ – and kindly turned our experiment into this video.

To see what this what about and meet the guys behind the camera – youtu.be/9OZ3P3dhrMY

Organ originally by J. W. Walker & Sons – 19th century (in stages) & 1953 – superbly rebuilt by Mander Organs in 2019. For the organ specification and other information, including details and photos of the old organ and the rationale behind the rebuild, see walthamabbeyorgan.wordpress.com

Disclaimers:
· The Lewitt mikes proved excellent throughout. However, the full dynamic range has been compressed here for ease of listening, also the quiet bass notes may be inaudible at home, especially on a mobile device.
· The demonstration was entirely unscripted and unedited, so please excuse anything that is fudged or misjudged.

updated 4 years ago

Tonal tour of the organ at Waltham Abbey

Jonathan Lilley 2022-04-08 | An impromptu demonstration of the Abbey organ, with digressions into its history, given to James and Mark from PresentDay Production, who brought a Lewitt microphone system to see how it coped with the acoustic complexities of a large pipe organ – and kindly turned our experiment into this video.

To see what this what about and meet the guys behind the camera – youtu.be/9OZ3P3dhrMY

Organ originally by J. W. Walker & Sons – 19th century (in stages) & 1953 – superbly rebuilt by Mander Organs in 2019. For the organ specification and other information, including details and photos of the old organ and the rationale behind the rebuild, see walthamabbeyorgan.wordpress.com

Disclaimers:
· The Lewitt mikes proved excellent throughout. However, the full dynamic range has been compressed here for ease of listening, also the quiet bass notes may be inaudible at home, especially on a mobile device.
· The demonstration was entirely unscripted and unedited, so please excuse anything that is fudged or misjudged.

Inside the organ at Waltham Abbey

Jonathan Lilley 2022-04-08 | James from PresentDay Production is taken on an abridged tour of the organ interior, and kindly turned what he saw and heard into this video. To meet the guys and learn why they were here – youtu.be/9OZ3P3dhrMY

Older organ pipes by J.W. Walker & Sons, 19th century & 1953. Organ infrastructure and newer pipes (the shiny metal ones) by Mander Organs, 2019.

For the organ specification and other information, including details and photos of the old organ and the rationale behind the rebuild, see walthamabbeyorgan.wordpress.com

Rosace • Henri Mulet

Jonathan Lilley 2021-01-31 | from Esquisses Byzantines - ten musical depictions of the Sacré-Coeur Basilica, Paris, 1914-19 - Henri Mulet (1878-1967)

No.3 'Rosace' bathes the listener in aural sunlight as if streaming through a rose window.

Recorded for online worship, Candlemas 2021, Waltham Abbey Church.

A very short recital for 24th January

Jonathan Lilley 2021-01-28 | An excerpt from a short, virtual recital for 24th January 2021
(for Mum’s birthday in lockdown)

Berceuse from Dolly Suite – Gabriel Fauré

In dir ist Freude · Bach

Jonathan Lilley 2021-01-01 | Chorale prelude on ‘In dir ist Freude’
from the Orgelbüchlein – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Recorded at Waltham Abbey Church for New Year 2021

Noël X • Louis-Claude Daquin

Jonathan Lilley 2020-12-24 | Noël: 'Bon Joseph, écoute-moi'
No.10 of Nouveau Livre de Noëls (1757)
Louis-Claude Daquin (1694-1772)

Jonathan Lilley plays the organ of Waltham Abbey Church

Sleigh Ride • Leroy Anderson / Thomas Trotter

Jonathan Lilley 2020-12-22 | Sleigh Ride • Leroy Anderson (1908-1975)

Organ arrangement: Thomas Trotter
Recorded in Waltham Abbey Church, December 2020
for the Abbey’s online Christmas Eve children’s service

Chanson de la Vierge Pensive: an aria for organ

Jonathan Lilley 2020-12-20 | “To me be as it pleaseth God”, she said.

Aria – Andrew Carter (b.1939)
also published as ‘Chanson de la Vierge Pensive’
and recorded at Waltham Abbey Church on 4th Sunday of Advent 2020

Naïades

Jonathan Lilley 2020-10-09 | Naïades – Pièces de fantaisie, 4ème Suite op.55
Louis Vierne 1870-1937

Informal recording made on and in honour of the composer’s 150th birthday, 8th October 2020
on the 2019 Walker/Mander organ of Waltham Abbey Church, Essex

Dialogue sur les Mixtures – Langlais

Jonathan Lilley 2020-09-29 | A bit of fun with Dialogue sur les Mixtures, the final movement of Jean Langlais’ Suite brève, suggested by and initiated amid the temporary presence in Waltham Abbey Church of four pipe organs.

Like the performer’s haircut, the filming was completed and edited single-handedly and somewhat informally by the performer during the 2020 Covid-19 lockdown.

The organs, in order of appearance:
· Main organ, originally by J.W. Walker & Sons (19th century in stages & 1953), rebuilt by Mander Organs 2019, mostly featuring the new Great principal chorus.
· Continuo organ by Vincent Woodstock, 8’ 4’ & 2’ stops on one manual, hire instrument subsequently sold to the Abbey.
· Practice organ by Orgelbau Schumacher (Belgium) 2005, belonging to JL and housed in the Lady Chapel.
· Portative organ by the late Noel Mander, very kindly loaned to the Abbey by Mander Organs for post-rebuild education & outreach activity, and pumped by draftsman and site supervisor Josh Anderson.
The pitch of the portative organ is digitally matched to the others, with one passage also recorded in transposition to keep within the instrument’s compass. Organ 3 is briefly dubbed in as a second manual to organ 2.