Restoration of the 1913 Norman & Beard Organ

The Challenge

The concert hall where the instrument was located was to undergo earthquake strengthening and there was to be an upgrade and rebuild of facilities around the school. As part of the upgrade there was to be a passage built at stage floor level behind the tiered stage, which meant that the floor under the back half of the pipe organ would be raised 400mm.

The organ was to be removed, restored and reinstalled in the hall in time for the hall opening. The organ consultant Douglas Mews recommended a heritage restoration of the instrument, which was in unison with the wishes of the Board. (The option of adding a Great and Pedal Trumpet/Trombone rank in screened cabinets either side of the organ was declined on aesthetic ground by the Heritage Architect.)

The project contained several challenges:
* Removing the instrument and safely transporting it to and from the workshop in Timaru;
* Assessing the space requirements for both the instrument, and the space requirements for the under stage passageway required careful measuring and rerouting of winding systems and blower location, and consultation with the architects, especially as the largest pipes were located along the side of the instrument and reached ceiling height;
* Reconstructing an in-built console and laying out the requirements for a digital transmission system with modern playing aids;
* Reconstructing the original tonal scheme (including the three additions saved from the 1974 rebuild);
* Re-erecting the instrument while the hall and other buildings were still a building site.

Implementation

The instrument was built by the London firm of Norman & Beard, and financed largely by a £2,000 donation of local philanthropist Thomas Cawthron. Installed in 1913, it was a three manual and  pedal, pneumatic action instrument of 29 stops. Alterations over the years had included adding an electric blower to the winding system, converting the action to electro-pneumatic from pneumatic, a movable detached console in place of the inbuilt console, and tonal alterations where some pipes were altered and moved in the instrument and others removed and different pipes added.

Since the 1974 tonal alterations had been done by SIOC, there was enough documentation in the company archives to identify the original tonal scheme and with the assistance of the British Organ Archives, some original drawings were sourced which showed enough detail to reconstruct the layout of the console. The new console made use some of the previous high quality fittings such as the ivory keyboards and original pedalboard.

With the organ dismantled and in the factory, a mock-up of the new stage floor was constructed so that the instrument could be erected and the modifications and alterations fitted. The many hours of Computer Aided Drafting in designing the alterations and new console enabled the individual parts to be worked on and assembled in sequence.

With the tonal reconstruction, some of the removed ranks of pipes had over the years been sold or recycled into other instruments. Some of the sold pipework had been resold to SIOC and other pipework had been retained in stock. Where original pipes had been cut down they were lengthened and reconstructed. When the original pipes were not available, similar pipes from a salvaged 1908 Norman and Beard instrument were used, so that all but one rank are Norman & Beard pipes.

The casework was totally stripped down, stained, and polished with shellac, and the front pipes were gilded with silver leaf. All the chests and reservoirs were cleaned, re-leathered and re-finished. Any splits on any surface of the organ were carefully repaired. The mechanism of the mechanical action of the Swell shutters was breathed a new life  into and restored to the highest possible degree. The previously removed Choir shutters and mechanical linkage were reconstructed.

After the organ had been tested in the factory environment, it was dismantled, wrapped, and packed into shipping containers and freighted to Nelson where it was unloaded into the hall. Reinstallation of the organ was commenced on 19th February 2018 and practically completed on 29 March, while voicing and tuning continued on to 20th April. For most of this period the auditorium was still a building site, which added considerably to the challenge of the installation by reason of dust, noise and space restriction.

The restored organ’s first outing in the refurbished auditorium was to accompany two performances of Handel’s Messiah on 25th and 26th May with the combined Nelson Civic and Chroma choirs, orchestra and organist Alan Gray, directed by Peter Rainey and with soloists Rebecca Ryan (soprano), Oliver Sewell (tenor), Claire Barton (alto), William King (bass).

Ruth Allison reviewing the concert for the Nelson Mail reported “At the centre of the strong performance was the beautifully restored organ and in the capable hands of Alan Gray it drew together the choir, the soloists and the orchestra”.

At the Gala opening Concert on 9 June the organ featured again in an accompanying role for a repeat performance of Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” by the combined choirs and orchestra.

The organ is being featured in a series of lunch hour recitals, the first of which was given by resident organist Alan Gray on 28 June. Eugene Lavery returns to Nelson to give the second concert on 26 July. Eugene, a former Nelson College pupil, graduate of Auckland and Juilliard Schools of Music, is now a professional church organist at St Albans Episcopal church Waco, Texas.

So, begins a new century chapter in the life of this remarkable organ and venue that enriches the cultural life of Nelson and New Zealand. We at South Island Organ Co are proud to add it to our long list of achievements, preserving and creating heritage organs.