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Old 11th Nov 2022, 12:18 am   #21
Lucien Nunes
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Default Re: Silent film + organ concert with optional insider tour of vintage electrics

Any Compton is potentjally a good Compton, and this is not a competition, but regular cinema instruments like Summerlee are not really comparable to Southampton. IIRC Summerlee was originally 6 ranks expanded to 7, while Southampton has 50 ranks on 40 units. That means six times the tonal palette, enabling it to do things a cinema organ simply cannot do. Even considering just the subset of voices that make up the variety spec, Southampton has 25 or so, making it bigger than many big famous cinema organs including Leicester Square.

AFAIK Summerlee had a Melo, but it went missing during the 2010 overhaul. Southampton's Melo is not its original one - about the only part that isn't. It came from the closed Forum cinema opposite, when its own unit was due an overhaul.
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Old 11th Nov 2022, 2:26 am   #22
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Default Re: Silent film + organ concert with optional insider tour of vintage electrics

'Went missing' doesn't sound good. Hopefully lost through oversight rather than dodgy activities.

The Summerlee Compton is no competitor to Leicester Square and the Southampton one, unless you live a lot nearer to it!

It will still serve to demonstrate the difference between instruments in churches and those in theatres and cinemas. I was last at Summerlee before 2010, the chap doing the guiding was talking about fund-raising for some restoration work. I must go over again next year. My music teacher played a 4-manual Willis so I had a bit of a spoiled upbringing.
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Old 11th Nov 2022, 5:55 pm   #23
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Default Re: Silent film + organ concert with optional insider tour of vintage electrics

I've just booked via Ticketmaster, but it appears I could have gone low-tech with a phone call if I'd have scrolled down to the bottom and read the poster in the Southampton Film Week link!

Lucien, thanks for your tip, I could be in Southampton early afternoon. I do hope that you'll be feeling well enough to come and take credit for (and show-off) this marvellous instrument that you and the team have been looking after.

Maybe I'll see some fellow vintage technology buffs there?

Best wishes,

SR
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Old 11th Nov 2022, 6:49 pm   #24
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Default Re: Silent film + organ concert with optional insider tour of vintage electrics

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucien Nunes View Post
We're putting on a show at Southampton Guildhall on Tuesday Nov 15th.

Our organist for the evening is none other than Richard Hills, a pre-eminent musician whose skill and artistry covers every conceivable genre of music that can be played on the organ.

Peter, Lyndon, Nigel and others including myself will all be there to welcome you and talk about the organ. But come for the movie and the music!
Hi Lucien,

I so much wanted to book this but diaries didn't allow this time. Will there be another similar event. I was very much looking forward to the whole thing, musically, for electronic interest and hoping finally to meet you!

Please post if there are any similar coming up again.
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Old 11th Nov 2022, 7:26 pm   #25
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Default Re: Silent film + organ concert with optional insider tour of vintage electrics

I would also love to know if there are any other similar events in the future. I was hoping to be able to come to this one, but unless the flights / trains are discounted at the last minute I won't be able to.
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Old 11th Nov 2022, 8:09 pm   #26
Lucien Nunes
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Default Re: Silent film + organ concert with optional insider tour of vintage electrics

We used to hold 2-3 concerts annually. The Guildhall is a busy commercial music venue so our access to the instrument is limited. However the operators are obliged within their contract to keep three days free for organ events. From our side, over the last few years, rising costs and diminishing audience have made it difficult to keep this up, and we haven't done anything since Covid.

Yes, there will be more events, but I don't know when, or whether I will be there. We are hoping to get some maintenance budget again (there was some 10 years ago, but lately we've been doing it at our own cost) which will ease the pressure.

Having just got out of hospital after a pulmonary embolism, I'm back in with pancreatitis and had to postpone my chemo. I'm crossing my woods and knocking my fingers that it will be possible to go on Tuesday.
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Old 13th Nov 2022, 4:13 pm   #27
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Default Re: Silent film + organ concert with optional insider tour of vintage electrics

Certainly hoping your health will permit your presence this time, Lucien.

I've booked my tickets in gleeful anticipation! Will you be able to post here any details of a 'behind the scenes' tour that might be arranged?
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Old 13th Nov 2022, 4:36 pm   #28
Lucien Nunes
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Default Re: Silent film + organ concert with optional insider tour of vintage electrics

Well I'm hosp tonight as they monitor my pancreas but they know I want to be out for Tuesday if it's not a risk to my health.

As for the tour, you get to see the four pipe chambers, the relay room and a demo of some of the electromechanical components within. Four flights of stairs involved, access in the main chamber needs some agility.
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Old 14th Nov 2022, 11:51 am   #29
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Default Re: Silent film + organ concert with optional insider tour of vintage electrics

It’s probably too late now, but if you want to increase your future audience have you considered contacting the local tv company and suggest they might like to do a feature piece on your activities? Perhaps in time for your next event?

Itvnewsmeridian@itv.com would be the starting place for email contact.

I’m sure the local BBC station might also be interested?

(Your story would be right up Meridian’s street, my wife used to direct the Meridian news programme many years ago and she agrees).
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Old 14th Nov 2022, 7:18 pm   #30
Lucien Nunes
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Default Re: Silent film + organ concert with optional insider tour of vintage electrics

Yes there are all sorts of publicity channels we could and should use. Peter is quite media-savvy (as his other other day job is as a producer and editor) and we have had news coverage of the instrument and events in the past.

The good news from my side is that I've managed to stay out of hospital for 24 hours and seem to be OK to get to Southampton tomorrow. A friend is taking me and will help be my arms and legs for the day so that I can sit quietly and work away at the action repairs and adjustments. Peter and crew were down there tuning last week, there's a lot more to do throughout tomorrow and it will be the noisy stuff. It takes about three days to do a full, thorough tuning, but doesn't all usually need doing at once unless there has been a dramatic change in the weather.

My to-do list includes:
* De-crackle the Melotone. It grows tin whiskers that need cleaning out of the tone generators, otherwise it lets out loud bursts of machine-gun noises. Then see what regulation I can do. It still has some paper capacitors in use that are quite leaky, which upset the voltage divider networks that operate in the megohms. So until they are all replaced there is a limit to the finesse with which it can be regulated.

* Service the action generator. The electric action of the instrument operates at 18.5V DC using up to 100A continuously and 300A peak, supplied by a generator driven by the blower motor. This tends to suffer from oil migration and the brushes get sticky and the commutator slots filled with copper-loaded conductive goop.

* General pull-through of the Grand Console combination capture action. Unlike the one on the Variety Console, I have never given this a complete overhaul and it sufffers from dirty and maladjusted contacts and doesn't always recall accurately. I can usually make it work OK for the evening but it really needs the complete strip down treatment. Fully 50% of the problems rectified on the Variety setter were accumulated damage by ham-fisted and hasty interventions in the past, rather than true faults that had occurred by themselves.

And deal with any specifics that show up during the day. TBH if I can just get the Melo playing nicely I'll be a very happy man.

One final random comment; for decades I have given evasive and inconsistent answers to the question: 'How many pipes does it have?' Today I worked it out at last, and to the best of my knowledge it's 3678, but I can't now recall whether I counted the biphone pipes as two each (they are pipes with a switchable port that play two different notes).

Those coming, see you tomorrow. I will be either wearing a shirt with vertical grey stripes, or a greasy T-shirt covered with said copper-laden conductive goop.
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Old 14th Nov 2022, 7:55 pm   #31
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Default Re: Silent film + organ concert with optional insider tour of vintage electrics

One final random comment; for decades I have given evasive and inconsistent answers to the question: 'How many pipes does it have?' Today I worked it out at last, and to the best of my knowledge it's 3678,

Crikey! Amazing !!! Good luck with your health Lucien
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Old 14th Nov 2022, 9:40 pm   #32
Lucien Nunes
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Default Re: Silent film + organ concert with optional insider tour of vintage electrics

Hmm, I think that figure is too high by a dozen or two, I need to do this again. I also can't work out how many pipes I declared for the polytone bourdon, which is a box-like device that functions as a 32ft stopped bass extension. Because one only ever wants it to play the lowest note held, it uses multiple compartments inside to switch to any one of a number of pitches. True 32ft stops (not resultants) are big and expensive and to have three is a luxury.
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Old 16th Nov 2022, 11:19 am   #33
Lucien Nunes
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Default Re: Silent film + organ concert with optional insider tour of vintage electrics

I'm pleased to report that the show went very well. I don't have the final attendance figure but there was a good crowd including many people who came for the film specifically, who might not otherwise have been familiar with the organ. In attendance were at least two other forum members, @GroovyG and @Stuart R, whom I had the pleasure of showing around the instrument as we worked.

Richard played some excellent music, including selections of favourites from the pens of DaSylva, Brown and Henderson, Porter and other tunesmiths from the era of the film (1924). He also gave a demonstration and description of the organ's tonal resources, including crossing the hall to the Grand Console to deliver a fascinating improvisation that built up from a whisper to the full organ.

The film accompaniment was flawless and supported the story precisely; like a good movie soundtrack one could experience it as part of the film imagery itself, rather than a distinct thing emanating from somewhere in the room.

After the film, the audience called for an encore which Richard well and truly satisfied with another great rendition of his signature showpiece 'Tiger Rag'

The organ performed equally well; most of the problems that had arisen during its long slumber since the last event before lockdown, were shaken out during the day's preparation. After a few tribulations with RC networks and some vigorous chasing of tin whiskers out of the tone generators, we even got the Melotone completely crackle-free for the whole evening.

It was a great pleasure to help create a good evening's entertainment.
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Old 16th Nov 2022, 11:42 am   #34
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Default Re: Silent film + organ concert with optional insider tour of vintage electrics

Well done, Lucien. What an achievement! (as always).
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Old 16th Nov 2022, 2:38 pm   #35
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Default Re: Silent film + organ concert with optional insider tour of vintage electrics

I had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon!

Thanks to Lucien and the team for making me so welcome and allowing me to see the pipe chambers and associated switch gear behind the scenes. Good to meet Mr & Mrs GroovyG too.

I think the most impressive part of this installation is that the organ is still running in its original state. When you get upstairs and see the cramped working space amongst the pipes and the delicate nature of the relays and setters (I'm bound to have got this wrong) it is amazing that the system has survived all these years.

A very entertaining demonstration/concert and then a silent film accompaniment created by technology from the 1930s, still in excellent working order. The audience certainly seemed impressed, some looking surprised when the sounds of chimes, whistles and klaxons were thrown into the mix. The variety console was star of the show and was the subject of many photographs afterwards.

It's thanks to the dedication of Lucien, Peter and their colleagues that the organ is preserved and enjoyed as-is rather than having its internals replaced with a modern system. Lets hope it keeps going this way for many more years!

SR
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Old 3rd Feb 2023, 7:14 pm   #36
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Default Re: Silent film + organ concert with optional insider tour of vintage electrics

If anyone is interested St Mary's Hitchin is showing 'The Mask of Zorro' with live organ accompaniment tomorrow (4/2/23) evening - 7:30!
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