Inaugural Organ Concert – 19.00, Wednesday 30th September 2015
Grand Temple, Freemasons’ Hall, London
THE RENEWING OF ONE OF ENGLAND’S FINEST ORGANS – A MAGNIFICENT REBIRTH
A chance to hear one of England’s Finest Organs,
newly restored – at the Masonic Peace Memorial – known as Freemasons’ Hall
probably England’s finest Art Deco building and
certainly one of London’s hidden architectural gems.
Henry Willis III directed the construction by his company in 1933 of the superb instrument in the Grand Temple at the Masonic Peace Memorial building (Freemasons’ Hall), Great Queen Street, London, WC2B 5AZ
For eighty years and more, this superb instrument has accompanied masonic ritual, public events and the occasional concert.
With invaluable advice from the world-renowned distinguished organ consultant, Ian Bell, the organ has been restored throughout by Harrison & Harrison of Durham, with the work completed by April 2015, but the instrument as installed in 1933 survives entirely without alteration.
A third organ case, brilliantly matching the two original structures has been added immediately above the dais, together with a new chorus of stops, topped by a Grand Tuba, in order to assist further with the projection of the instrument into the body of the Grand Temple which, like the whole building, is one of the very finest examples of the art deco style in Britain.
Dr. Thomas Trotter, Organist of St Margaret’s, Westminster Abbey and to the City of Birmingham, is to give the opening concert on the newly restored instrument on Wednesday 30 September at 7.00. Admission is by (free) ticket only and the audience is asked to be seated by 6.40 pm for a short introductory talk on the restoration. A commemorative programme will be on sale for £5, all proceeds going to support the work of the Royal College of Organists. The event lasts just one hour to enable those travelling long distances to return home the same evening, and drinks and light refreshments will be available after the concert. A limited number of tickets is available from
https://event.bookitbee.com/3138/inaugural-organ-concert/
Thomas Trotter’s programme is designed to appeal to all musical tastes. Included are Bach’s Toccata in F, two pieces by Mozart, Freemasonry’s most prominent composer and three works on a London theme– Eric Coates’s Knightsbridge March, Vierne’s Carillon de Westminster and a work by the brother of the 1933 recitalist, Reginald Goss-Custard’s evocative Chelsea Fayre.
The first ever Grand Organist was Samuel Wesley, appointed by the Duke of Sussex on the union of the “Ancients” and “Moderns” in 1813. Harry Goss Custard’s predecessors as Grand Organist include composers and conductors Sir Arthur Sullivan and Sir Michael Costa, and numbered among his more recent successors are Alderman & Sherriff, Dr. Andrew Parmley, MusM HonFGS FRCO(CHM) FTCL; Dr. Simon Lindley, DUniv (Huddersfield & Leeds Beckett), FRCO(CHM), FTCL; and Carl Jackson MVO MA (Cantab) FRCO ARAM, the present-day Organist of Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace as Deputy Grand Organist. The incumbent Grand Organists are Paul Bowen MMus BSc (Hons) FCIEA for Grand Lodge and David Cresswell BSc for Supreme Grand Chapter.
The firm of Harrison & Harrison is widely regarded as a leader of the field of English organ-building today, while the name of Mr Bell is synonymous with recent major restorations of some of Britain’s most magnificent organs.
The project has been resourced with funds from the Supreme Grand Chapter of England and has been finished in time for the upcoming 300-year anniversary in 2017 of the establishment of the first Grand Lodge.
For more information or images please contact:
Keith Gilbert
Tel: 07913 465304
Email: [email protected]
Tickets: https://event.bookitbee.com/3138/inaugural-organ-concert/
