Music at Saint John the Evangelist church both Past and Present

St John’s church has had a long and glorious musical tradition beginning in 1850, in the days of Canon Oakley (translator of the famous hymn ‘O come all ye faithful’), when monthly choral and orchestral concerts were given, featuring famous artists such as Vincent and Clara Novello.
The choir was disbanded at the outbreak of the Second World War, but was revived in 1955 by Edward de Rivera, who boasted that a different Mass setting could be heard each week over a three-year cycle. This was when many new works received their first performance here, by composers such as John McCabe and Malcolm Williamson. The late Malcolm Williamson, Master of the Queen’s Music, was organist at St John’s in the early 1980’s.

In the early 1970’s Vatican II saw the disbanding of the choir once more, and since then an amateur choir has sung each week. There is a professional choir that sings for the Holy Week Triduum and Christmas Midnight Mass when music plays such an important role in the liturgy of the church. The organ is used for Sunday worship for the Noon Mass each Sunday, weddings, funerals, and other important ceremonies. The gradual restoration of our unique and famous 1963 Walker organ at St John’s has meant the revival and continuation of the organ concert series, which began in the early 1960’s, and now continues every month from April to September.

Early instruments at St John’s.
At the opening of the church in 1843 an organ was hired (possibly by Hill) and placed in one of the chapels facing into the church. This temporary arrangement became a great financial burden on the parish. So it was decided to purchase an instrument, which was placed to the right of the altar where it remained until the early 1960’s. The organ was built by J C Bishop & Son, and subsequently enlarged by Bishop, Starr and Richardson in late 19th century.

Click picture to enlage

The Organ that got away
During the 1860’s Fr Boyle, the priest in charge at St John’s, decided it was time for a far grander instrument. Being a man of considerable means, it is recorded that he ordered a new instrument from the famous London firm of William Hill & Son in York Way, Islington, at his own expense as a gift to the parishioners. This organ was apparently to be placed in the gallery at the back of the church with the choir, but there are no records proving this. It is possible that the temporary organ might have been this Hill instrument, but then something rather untoward happened. According to the church archives, Cardinal Wiseman appointed Canon Frederick Oakley as Parish Priest to St John’s. Oakley was a convert to Catholicism, and some parishioners (including Boyle) were unhappy with this arrangement. A legal battle subsequently ensued between Boyle and Wiseman over the appointment. Fr Boyle had possibly thought he would be in the running for the position of Parish Priest and so his organ project was put on hold while the situation could be resolved. Boyle was most uncomfortable with the situation, and it is recorded that Oakley and Boyle refused to speak to each other, and eventually even used different rooms to dine in! The situation was hopeless, and eventually Fr Boyle was asked to leave; he moved to St Philips Church, Arundel, Sussex, a new building which was completed in 1873. In the circumstances Boyle decided that his ‘gift’ of an organ would be better suited to Arundel, and once he was installed, had it rebuilt there. This church, (now Arundel Cathedral), is a much larger building and so the organ was increased in size. This instrument has just had a major restoration and a full documented history of the Arundel organ was recently published by Nicholas Plumley.

Arundel Cathedral
Click picture to enlage

The present Organ at St John's is by J.W.Walker & Sons of Ruislip and was built in 1963, in consultation with Shaun McCarthy who was organist at the time. Douglas Mews, then organist of Southwark RC Cathedral, gave the opening recital in February 1963.
By the late 1950’s the choir had expanded a great deal and the choirmaster, Edward de Rivera, and organist Shaun McCarthy, decided it was time for a new, much more modern organ to be installed in the church that could accompany the choir, congregation, and perform organ recitals.
This organ, which turned out to be one of the wisest purchases St John’s church has ever made, was built by Walkers in 1963. It was completely up to date for the time, and conceived in a style that had hardly been heard in this country, but found in Northern Europe, principally North Germany and the Netherlands. It differs from conventional British instruments in its tonal make-up and appearance. The Ruckpositive division, which hangs over the gallery and can be seen above as you enter the church, was unique for this country in 1963. This section of the organ was not for accompanying the congregation but for soloing lines of music and chorale melodies found in the 17th century music of Bach, Bruhns and Buxtehude etc., and to some extent in French Classical music from the 17th and 18th centuries. What in fact was produced was an eclectic sounding organ, which could adapt to many areas of the organ repertoire – although not to the late English Romantic style. The rest of the organ was conceived with balanced choruses which, when coupled, produce a magnificent bright, translucent, and breathy sound quality.
This formula or ‘new classical’ style—fashionable in the mid twentieth century, particularly in France and America—aimed at an ideal fusion of French romantic reeds and classical flues. Walker’s produced a plethora of instruments in the 1960s which reflected the firm’s new ethos and took on board new ideas brought about by the organ reform movement (which had arrived in Britain some thirty years later than in other countries). New materials were available and used in the building process. Although not all of these proved long-lasting, the drive and vision of the Ruislip firm was laudable. Major instruments from this firm, such as those at Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral, Blackburn Cathedral and here at St John the Evangelist were regularly used for recordings and BBC broadcasts in the 1960s and early 70’s. Dennis Thurlow, flue voicer at Walker’s, was the creator of this sound, for which Blackburn and Liverpool (R.C.) Cathedrals and the London Oratory are most famous.

Having ‘continental’ voicing with French reed stops, the St John’s organ was the ‘talk of the town’ in the 1960’s, and many people came to hear it and play it. The BBC regularly used it for recordings and live Radio broadcasts until the 1970’s, when suddenly it was decided to sell the organ. Because of outstanding debts from its initial installation, and the changing fashion of music in the church at that time, it was felt an organ was no longer required! The Royal Academy of Music in London very nearly bought it for installation in the Academy's "Duke's Hall". The great change in mood, coupled with Vatican II, (although this never stated that the traditional instrument of the church should be given a back seat), coupled with a new Parish Priest, meant difficult times for the music tradition of the church. Thankfully, pressure from various organ bodies that understood its importance as an instrument helped to save the day, and we now have it here to enjoy each week.
The instrument is considered by many to be one of Walkers’ greatest achievements from its period, and a direct influence of the late Ralph Downes' consultative schemes. Because of the organ's unique musical voice and thrilling Tutti, it has been in constant demand for recordings, and a number of vinyl discs were made by artists including Christopher Bowers-Broadbent, George Malcolm, Jane Parker Smith and Simon Preston. Recent CDs have been made by Adrian Gunning (organist at St John's), Sir Nicholas Jackson, Jennifer Bate, Joanna Paul, Martin Stacey, John McGreal and the St. Etheldreda Ely Place choir, two by Jeremy Filsell with the Vasari singers, and one of The London Oratory Choir conducted by Patrick Russill.

Research has found that the initial cost of the organ in 1963 was £15,000. To replace the organ now with a similar-sized instrument would cost in the region of over half a million pounds! A sound investment indeed.

Like all things with moving parts, renovation and repairs have to take place. Work was carried out in 1991, 1998, and our recent major restoration coincided with that of the church fabric in 2006. Keith Bance Organ Builders, who have looked after the organ for twenty years, worked throughout 2005 and 2006 in conjunction with Nicholsons organ builders and the project took over a year to complete. The organ was silenced after mass on Easter Day 2005. The opening of the restored organ took place on Saturday 24th June 2006 and a concert to mark its restoration was given by Dame Gillian Weir.

Present 1963 Walker Organ

Click picture to enlage

Specification

Swell		Ruckpositive
Open Diapason	8	Stopped Diapason	8
Chimney Flute	8	Principal	4
Viola da Gamba	8	Koppel Flute	4
Celeste	8	Quint	2 2/3
Principal	4	Block Flute	2
Wald Flute	4	Tierce	13/5
Nazard	2 2/3	Scharf 29-33-36	III
Octave	2	Crumhorn	8
Mixture 22-26-29-33	IV	Tremulant
Bassoon	16	Swell to Positive
Trumpet	8	Zimbelstern
Vox Humana	8
Zink	4
Tremulant
Great		Pedal
Quintaton	16	Open Wood	16
Principal	8	Subbass	16
Nachthorn	8	Quintaton (Gt)	16
Spitzflute	8	Octave	8
Octave	4	Bass Flute	8
Nason Flute	4	Fifteenth	4
Twelfth	2 2/3	Nachthorn (Gt)	4
Fifteenth	2	Mixture 22-26-29	III
Tertian     19-24	II	Oliphant	32
Furniture 19-22-26-29	IV	Bombarde	16
Trumpet	8	Bassoon (Sw)	16
Great Sub Octave		Posaune	8
Swell to Great		Schalmei	4
Positive to Great		Positive to Pedal
Gt & Ped combs coupled		Swell to Pedal
		Great to Pedal

The organ was awarded a BIOS Certificate of National Importance in 2007 in recognition of its part in a changing phase of British organ building, and recordings and broadcasts by eminent musicians of the day.
Accessories : Mechanical Swell Pedal. Reversible pistons for Sw to Gt, Pos to Gt & Gt to Ped. Reversible foot pistons for Gt to Ped, Zimbelstern, Gt Sub Octave and Tutti (with indicators). Four thumb pistons to Sw, Gt & Pos. Four toe pistons to Ped. Eight generals and eight general toe pistons. General cancel. All the departmental pistons are adjustable on a setter board while the Generals are adjustable by means of an eight-channel capture system. Electropneumatic action. Wind pressures 3 to 3½”. There are some 2,825 pipes. Manuals 61 notes & Pedal 32 notes.
Adrian Gunning – organist at St John’s www.adriangunning.com

2008 Organ recital series ‘Messiaen and Scandinavian music’
May 31st Jan Börjesson - Sweden
June 28th June Travis Baker - St Michael’s Highgate
July 19th Arnfinn Tobiassen - Norway
September 27th Matthew Martin - Westminster Cathedral

2009 Organ recital series ‘B.A.C.H.’
25th April - Dame Gillian Weir (International concert artist)
30th May - Adrian Gunning (St John’s Islington)
27th June - Stephen Disley (Southwark Cathedral)
25th July - Tim Wakerell (St Paul’s Cathedral)
26th September - James O’Donnell (Westminster Abbey)

2010 Organ recital series ‘Jehan Alain and his Contemporaries’
April 24th Frédéric Blanc (Notre Dame d’Auteuil Paris)
May 29th  James McVinnie (Westminster Abbey)
June 26th  Graham Barber (St. Bartholomew’s Leeds)
July 24th   Martin Baker (Westminster Cathedral)
No recital in August
Sept 25th  Adrian Gunning (St John’s Islington)

To Download the 2010 Poster Click here

Saturdays at 7.30pm.
Free Entrance with collection: Angel Tube