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February 2009 |
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Newsletter for Friends and Donors
February 2009
It's February, the organ builders have just returned to Bonn and the Town Hall has
returned to its usual civic and concert roles.
Amongst the familiar, the observant eye will spot a difference. The organ pipes
gleam and the oak casework shines as never before. At the organ's centre a handsome new playing console sits ready to bring this magnificent instrument to life.
From January 5 to February 14, the Town Hall was one gigantic workshop.
Organ parts which had filled four containers were methodically installed behind
the restored facade.
While many elements were craned in as complete units, a considerable amount of intricate carpentry was necessary on site to fashion the various connecting parts. Up to a dozen organ builders from Bonn, assisted by staff from The Edge, worked tirelessly, often in shifts, to complete the major part of the project before the start of the 2009 concert season.
The organ's working parts, mechanical and electrical, are now in place.
On a massive three-storey high building frame these include: 24 wind reservoirs
(bellows), 18 windchests (on which the pipes will stand) and the complex maze of
wind trunking connecting them.
There are also the three 'walk-in' swell boxes with their venetian louvres, the largest pipes, the stairways and walkways.
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The new playing console sits at the centre of the organ, connected to the windchests via hundreds of kilometres of wire.
In the basement, ten metres below, sit four enormous new electric blowers.
Following tests of the wind system and the thousands of electrical circuits,
the organ made its first sounds a few days ago as the facade pipes were
'put on speech'.
Twenty two facade pipes, disconnected in 1970, were re-connected
and all were returned to their original higher wind pressure.
WHAT REMAINS TO BE DONE
The majority of the organ's pipes - about five thousand - are still to be installed.
Along with the voicing team from Bonn, they will arrive in August. Then, over a four
month period, working around all the activities in the hall, every pipe will be carefully voiced to match the Town Hall.
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After this, the organ will be officially handed over to Auckland City.
But that is not the end of the story! Up to three months more is needed for the organ to 'bed down' and be tested in every way. A final visit from Klais organ builders will prepare the organ for its inauguration in March 2010 - a landmark in the city's musical history.
THIS MONTH'S PICTURE PARADE
1. The Edge's Roxy Duclos stands beside the organ's largest pipes. These are the
twelve pipes of the 32 foot Open Wood, which stand along the rear wall of the
organ loft. They could only be photographed before installation began.
2. The console from which the organ will be played might be oak and ivory from the
public's view, but behind, it is a mass of wire and electical devices.
3. The cables from the console and those from the windchests above, were all
carefully connected together by organ builder Karsten Bayer seen here working at
the main cable interface.
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4. Zack Bennett, on loan from the South Island Organ Company, installs one of the
many concussion bellows. These take the shock-waves out of the wind supply
when the organist plays a sudden loud chord! In the top left of the picture is one of
the linkages of the mechanical chain that connects swell box louvres with control
pedals at the console.
5. This is the uppermost level of the organ. From left to right the photo shows (from
facade to rear wall): The top of largest metal pipe, the 32 Open Metal of the Pedal
Organ, tops of the largest pipes of the Great Organ 16 foot Double Open
Diapason, two of the wind reservoirs supplying pipes at the upper level awaiting
installation, three stops of the pedal organ - Clarion 4 foot, Trumpet 8 foot and
Ohpicleide 16 foot, and just visable against the rear wall is the 16 foot Pedal
Bourdon. On the right are some of the Solo Organ's venetian louvres.
6. View from the top.
7. Although the organ builders worked day and night, often in shifts, for six weeks
to put the mechanism of country's largest pipe organ together, there were
occasional moments of relaxation. Here, the Germans enjoy the hospitality of the
Auckland Organists' Association.
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NEWSLETTERS will continue monthly to reveal the many aspects of this project. The March
issue will cover Philipp Klais' meeting with Ngati Whatua and the story behind the organ's unique Maori sounds.
FOOTNOTE
The Town Hall Organ Trust has a Powerpoint presentation and presenter on hand for organisations and groups who would like to know more about this amazing project. If you know of a group looking for a guest speaker, contact Kerry Stevens at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
Several groups have already taken advantage of this service.
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