Sydney Town Hall Grand Organ

The Sydney Town Hall Grand Organ is a large pipe organ built by English firm William Hill & Son in 1890. It is located in the Centennial Hall of Sydney Town Hall in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.[1]

When it was installed in 1890, the Sydney Town Hall Grand Organ was the largest in the world and remained the largest concert organ built in the 19th century. It was described by Westminster Abbey's organist, Dr Bridge, as the 'finest organ ever built by an English organ builder'.[2] It remains the world's largest organ without any electric action components and is of international significance. It contains one of only two full-length 64′ organ stops in the world (the Contra-Trombone in the pedal). The other 64′ stop is the Diaphone-Dulzian in the Right Stage chamber (Pedal Right division) of the Boardwalk Hall Auditorium Organ at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States.

History

When the City Council decided to commission the organ they called on a small group of experts to formulate a process for achieving a transparent and defensible decision on supplier and installer. In this they received generous support and advice from the Melbourne City Council, who had been through a similar process.[3] As a result, they assembled a committee to compile a set of specifications for a Great Organ, which for power and versatility would be the world's largest and finest, call for tenders for both manufacture and erection, and select the successful tenders. The committee consisted of

Submissions were received from twelve companies, which were assessed on their perceived capacity to fill the contract, personal experience of the companies' products, technical considerations in the submissions, and finally price. The choice boiled down to two: Gray and Davison and William Hill and Son. The ultimate selection of Hill and Son may have been a foregone conclusion despite its higher price, as they had supplied and installed instruments for the Town Halls of Adelaide, and Melbourne, also St Andrew's Cathedral, Sydney. Several modifications suggested by the company were approved, and a new requirement added: that the organist's console should be situated at ground level, despite the additional expense and complexity.[14]

Sharp dissented from the majority decision on the grounds that (1) the organ was too large for the Centennial Hall, and (2) that it would be difficult and expensive to find an organist capable of matching its complexity.[15] He was never confident of the committee throughout its deliberations.[16]

Negotiations with Hall and Son, were conducted by Alexander Rea, who, as leader of a group of organists, drew up the specifications. Auguste Wiegand, Sydney's first Town Organist, would later blame them for certain shortcomings in its design, but was contradicted by Hill, who praised the "Corporation of Sydney, ... they left all details in our hands."[17] Rea supervised erection of the instrument and tested the mechanism before the famous organist W. T. Best 'opened' the organ in August 1890.[18] When Best returned to England, Rea gave a number of recitals at the Town Hall, and supervised access to the huge instrument until the appointment of Wiegand as City Organist.

20th-century

In 1973, Sydney Council began a major restoration program to address the mechanical problems it had begun to experience. Managing the program was R H Pogson Pty Ltd, whose employees worked for almost 10 years to restore the organ to its original form.[1]

Sydney Town Hall today also holds free organ recitals which are held throughout the year.

Specification

The grand organ can be played from 5 manuals and features 127 stops. The specification is as follows:[19]

GREATSWELL (enclosed)CHOIR (enclosed)SOLO (enclosed)ECHOPEDAL
Contra Bourdon32Double Open Diapason16Contra Dulciana16Bourdon16Lieblich Gedackt8Double Open Diapason Metal32
Double Open Diapason16Bourdon16Open Diapason8Open Diapason8Viol d'Amour8Double Open Diapason Wood32
Bourdon16Open Diapason8Hohl Flöte8Violin Diapason8Unda Maris II8Contra Bourdon32
Open Diapason I8Hohl Flöte8Lieblich Gedackt8Doppel Flöte8Viol d'Amour4Open Diapason Metal16
Open Diapason II8Viola da Gamba8Flauto Traverso8Flauto Traverso8Flageolet2Open Diapason Wood16
Open Diapason III8Salicional8Gamba8Stopped Diapason8Glockenspiel4 RksBourdon16
Open Diapason IV8Dulciana8Dulciana8Viola8Echo Dul. Cornet4 RksViolone16
Harmonic Flute8Vox Angelica8Octave4Octave4Basset Horn8Gamba16
Viola8Octave4Violino4Harmonic Flute4Dulciana16
Spitz Flöte8Rohr Flöte4Celestina4Flauto Traverso4Quint12
Gamba8Harmonic Flute4Lieblich Flöte4Harmonic Piccolo2Octave8
Hohl Flöte8Gemshorn4Twelfth3Contra Fagotto16Prestant8
Rohr Flöte8Twelfth3Fifteenth2Harmonic Trumpet8Bass Flute8
Quint6Fifteenth2Dulcet2Corno di Bassetto8Violoncello8
Principal4Piccolo1Dulciana Mixture3 RksOrchestral Oboe8Twelfth6
Octave4Mixture4 RksBassoon16Cor Anglais8Fifteenth4
Gemshorn4Furniture5 RksOboe8Octave Oboe4Mixture4 Rks
Harmonic Flute4Trombone16Clarinet8Contra Tuba16Mixture3 Rks
Twelfth3Bassoon16Vox Humana8Tuba8Mixture2 Rks
Fifteenth2Trumpet8Octave Oboe4Tuba Clarion4Contra Trombone64
Mixture3 RksCornopean8Carillon Bells2Contra Posaune32
Cymbel4 RksHorn8Posaune16
Sharp Mixture4 RksOboe8Trombone16
Furniture5 RksClarion4Bassoon16
Contra Posaune16Trumpet8
Posaune8Clarion4
Trumpet8
Clarion4
  • Rehearsing on the Organ
  • The Sydney Town Hall Centennial Hall interior

Notes
  1. M. L. Layton, formerly of Forster and Andrews[8] was in partnership with A. K. Layton as Layton Brothers.[9] They later took over C. J. Jackson's business.[10]
  2. Morley was later organist at St John's Church, Darlinghurst. His brother Felix was a distinguished organist in England.[12]

References
  1. City of Sydney Homepage , The Grand Organ, 29 December 2007.
  2. Betteridge, Margaret (2008). Sydney Town Hall: the building and its collection. Sydney: Council of the City of Sydney. p. 85. ISBN 9780975119648.
  3. "Organ for the Town Hall". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 14, 562. New South Wales, Australia. 27 November 1884. p. 6. Retrieved 9 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. "Decorations of the Pitt Street Church". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 12, 795. New South Wales, Australia. 5 April 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 8 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. "A New Church Organ". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). No. 4082. New South Wales, Australia. 27 July 1892. p. 3. Retrieved 8 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. "Obituary Mr C. J. Jackson". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 25, 707. New South Wales, Australia. 27 May 1920. p. 10. Retrieved 7 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "Opening of New Organ". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). No. 2776. New South Wales, Australia. 11 June 1888. p. 3. Retrieved 7 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "Grand New Organ". The Protestant Standard. Vol. XV, no. 2. New South Wales, Australia. 21 April 1883. p. 5. Retrieved 8 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. "Advertising". The Sydney Daily Telegraph. No. 1174. New South Wales, Australia. 11 April 1883. p. 4. Retrieved 8 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. "Advertising". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 15, 424. New South Wales, Australia. 1 September 1887. p. 1. Retrieved 8 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. "Organ Recital". Evening News (Sydney). No. 5261. New South Wales, Australia. 15 March 1884. p. 7. Retrieved 8 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. "A Musician's Tour". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 23, 025. New South Wales, Australia. 30 October 1911. p. 11. Retrieved 8 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. "St Andrew's Cathedral". Sydney Mail. Vol. IX, no. 440. New South Wales, Australia. 5 December 1868. p. 10. Retrieved 16 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. "The Centennial Hall Organ". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 14, 986. New South Wales, Australia. 6 April 1886. p. 5. Retrieved 6 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. "Sydney Municipal Council". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 14, 635. New South Wales, Australia. 20 February 1885. p. 4. Retrieved 8 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  16. "The Town Hall Organ". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 15, 986. New South Wales, Australia. 18 June 1889. p. 5. Retrieved 8 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. Robert Ampt (1997). "City Organists of Sydney". Organ Historical Trust of Australia. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  18. "A Musical Authority for 48 Years". The Sunday Times (Sydney). No. 1209. New South Wales, Australia. 21 March 1909. p. 6. Retrieved 6 June 2024 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. "Sydneytownhall".


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