Me playing the organ at All Saint's Church in Penarth near Cardiff, South Wales.
The organ was built by the famous John Compton Organ Company Ltd in 1954 to replace an earlier instrument by Willis which was destroyed by enemy action in 1941. As usual for Compton, the organ is totally enclosed with the exception of the patent '32ft Polyphonic Bass'. Also, in true Compton custom, the 'extension' technique is used employing 6 ranks of pipes: First Diapason, Second, Diapason, Harmonic Flute, Salicional, Trumpet and Oboe. The specification reads:
PEDAL
Harmonic Bass 32'
Open Diapason 16'
Sub Bass 16'
Salicional 16'
Octave 8'
Flute 8'
Trombone 16'
Oboe 16'
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
GREAT
Bourdon 16'
Open Diapason 1 8'
Open Diapason 2 8'
Harmonic Flute 8'
Salicional 8'
Octave 4'
Flute 4'
Salicet 4'
Twelfth 2.2/3'
Superoctave 2'
Fifteenth 2'
Trumpet 8'
Swell to Great
SWELL
Contra Salicional 16'
Open Diapason 2 8'
Harmonic Flute 8'
Salicional 8'
Flute 4'
Salicet 4'
Nazard 2.2/3'
Piccolo 2'
Cymbale III
Contra Oboe 16'
Trumpet 8'
Oboe 8'
Clarion 4'
Tremulant (affects all divisions)
ACCESSORIES
5 thumb pistons to Great and Pedal duplicated by toe pistons
5 thumb pistons to Swell duplicated by toe pistons
1 canceller thumb piston - Great to Pedal
1 canceller thumb piston - Swell to Pedal
1 thumb piston - general cancel
1 balanced expression pedal - organ
1 balanced expression pedal - crescendo
Ventil switches
Double touch canceller to each department
Voltmeter
For this first video to show off the power of this instrument and to keep in with the Welsh spirit, im playing the Welsh national anthem 'Land of my Fathers'.
Many thanks to organist John Davies for allowing me access to this wonderful Compton organ.
NOTE: this is purely my interest in order to make sure that these fine organs are archived forever and I do not make any monetary profit by this video being on youtube.
For more information on the John Compton Organ Company Ltd and to see me play other Compton organs, please click on the following link for my site dedicated to the John Compton Organ Company Ltd:
http://comptonorgans.yolasite.com/
REQUEST: I am always on the lookout for Compton organs to play - particularly electrones - so if you know of any churches which still have these then please do let me know. I will happily give a donation or pay any applicable room hire charge.
If you have an interest in Compton organs then I invite you to join my facebook group at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/comptonorgans/
