Press Release

New
Romantic Practice Organ
&
English Baroque Organ

for the

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

PRESS RELEASE

William Drake Limited is delighted to have been successful in winning the contract to provide two new organs for the Organ Studio in the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.

The acquisition of these organs is the result of an imaginative and energetic drive to present talented future musicians with a wide scope of resources, relevant to the needs of teaching repertoire, style and techniques on appropriate instruments.

Romantic Practice Organ

The first instrument is a 19-stop romantic practice organ, which is based on established English traditions with a leaning towards the 19th century up to the early 1880s. Although modest in size, its concept is remarkably complete and will present the student and teacher with a complete tonal palette, which can be accessed on two manuals, a coupler manual and pedals.

Specification

Great CC – c”” (61 notes)
OPEN DIAPASON
8FT
KERAULOPHON
8FT
(1-12 from flauto traverso)
FLAUTO TRAVERSO
8FT
(harmonic from middle G)
PRINCIPAL
4FT
TWELFTH
22/3FT
FIFTEENTH
2FT
CREMONA
8FT
Swell CC – c”” (61 notes)
VIOLIN DIAPASON 8FT
GAMBA 8FT (1-12 borrowed)
VOIX CELESTE 8FT (from C13)
STOP DIAPASON 8FT (stopped metal from C13)
FLAUTO TRAVERSO 4FT (harmonic from tenor g)
FLAGEOLET 2FT
MIXTURE 3RKS (with tierce)
CORNOPEAN 8FT
OBOE 8FT (lidded)
Coupler Manual CC – c”” (61 notes)
Coupling Swell to Great
Pedal CC – g’ (32 notes)
BOURDON 16FT (large scale)
BASS FLUTE 8FT (by extension)
TROMBONE 16FT (1-12 half length, leathered shallots)
Couplers
SWELL TO GREAT
SWELL SUB 8VE TO GREAT
SWELL TO PEDALS
GREAT TO PEDALS

The organ will be tuned to equal temperament, pitch A440Hz @ 20o Celsius.

English Baroque Organ 

The second instrument is a 6-stop English baroque organ. This will be the re-creation of an Organo di Legno, or organ with wooden pipes, which uses early 17th century English scales and voicing as the inspiration to create an instrument suitable for both the English virginal repertoire and the Italian keyboard repertoire of the same period. The style of the organ will make this ideally suited as an instrument to accompany a consort of viols and to be a continuo for Baroque performances.

Specification

Compass Short octave CC, DD, EE, FF, GG, AA – c”’ (45 notes)
OPEN DIAPASON
8FT
STOP DIAPASON
8FT
PRINCIPALL
4FT
(1-4 from Open Diapason)
NINETEENTH BASS
11/3F
TWELFTH TREBLE
22/3FT
FIFTEENTH 2FT

The organ will be tuned to 5th (Syntonic Comma) Meantone temperament, pitch A440Hz @ 20o Celsius.

 

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Organ

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire – Romantic Practice Organ

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire Organo di Legno

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire – English Baroque Organ