Music - Organ & Piano

J W Walker Organ

St Matthew's is home to arguably the finest parish church organ in the country. The fine four manual organ was built in 1895 by the firm J W Walker and Sons and is now of great historical importance.

The organ is one of the church's many artefacts donated by the Phipps family. Various members of the family gave generously, including the original benefactor's widow, Mary, who provided the Organ. Contemporary accounts referred to the instrument as one of the twelve best to be built in the country around that time. Today, the St Matthew's organ is one of only a few Walker instruments of the period to remain in their original form and may be favourably compared with such instruments are those in Bristol Cathedral and St Mary's, Portsea, Portsmouth.

No significant changes were made to the instrument between its completion in 1895 and 1971. At that date the actions and console were replaced, and in 2005/2006 the organ underwent a major restoration project. No other changes were made, which is a cause for great satisfaction as the original structure and pipework survive in their entirety.

Organ Restoration

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Organ Specification

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The Grand Piano

The Yamaha C7 grand piano was acquired in 2018 for use during educational events, concerts, and worship. Yamaha have been crafting pianos since 1887, building a long-established tradition for quality, design and craftsmanship. At 7 feet 6 inches, the piano fills the entire room and is the ideal size for solo, chamber, and choral accompaniment, and even piano concerti. The piano is undoubtably the highest quality instrument in an affordable and flexible concert venue in Northampton. Please be in touch with the Parish Office should you like to inquire about using one of our world-class instruments during your concert or event.

In addition to the individuals who supported the piano fund, we are grateful to the following organisations for their support of the project: Foyle Foundation, The Constance Travis Charitable Trust, The Ekins Trust, The Friends of St Matthew's Music, Northampton Bach Choir and The Williams Church Music Trust.

The Chamber Organ

In October 2022, St Matthew's was fortunate to acquire a fine chamber organ built by Kenneth Tickell Organ Builders Northampton in the 1990s. The instrument has previously had two homes prior to coming to St Matthew's, most recently in the Carmelite Convent in Preston.

As a result of dwindling numbers, a decision had been made to close the convent - a huge building with an enormous garden - the remaining nuns moving to other convents throughout the country. As Director of Music at St Matthew's, I made a visit to the convent to assess the organ and to see if it was something the church should consider investing in.

The organ was sited in the chapel at the convent and was in a semi-permanent position on a platform with an organ stool made to measure. It was apparent however that the instrument could be released from its platform, placed on casters for ease of movement, and played by an organist in a standing position if desired. For our purposes at St Matthew's, this was an important consideration. The organ was found to be well maintained and in good playing order, its four ranks of pipes speaking clearly and producing a lovely tone.

After a very generous lunch at the convent, taken in solidarity in a room set aside for visitors, I decided to offer to play a short recital of pieces for chamber organ for the enjoyment of the nuns, who were clearly and understandably saddened by the fact they were moving out of their home. They were delighted to hear their organ being played in the chapel one last time and became convinced that to let St Matthew's purchase the organ was the right thing to do in the circumstances. Their main concerns were to see it looked after and put to good use.

On returning to Northampton, I advised the vicar and PCC that buying the organ was the correct way forward. Not only would it provide an extra resource for us in our own music making, but it could also be used by visiting choirs and orchestras for continuo work. It also represented fantastic value for money, and was an opportunity not to be missed. The organ was duly purchased and brought to the church and reassembled by Michael Latham who had previously tuned and maintained the instrument. It was heard for the first time in St Matthew's on Advent Sunday 2022.

An unusual design of the original instrument included shutters in the top of the organ to control volume, almost like a swell box, and the pipework placed behind a Perspex screen at the front of the instrument. These shutters are controlled by a sliding lever which the organist manipulates with their right hand. After initial use for accompanying the church choir in singing various forms of music, particularly Tudor repertoire, this method of controlling the volume was found to be impractical in a number of ways, and so P and S Organ Supplies were commissioned to take the instrument back to their works, remove the Perspex front of the instrument, and design a simple pipe shade so that the pipework isn't too exposed. The resulting work allows the sound of the organ to be heard more directly by the choir and makes the organ rather more lovely to look at. Whilst the shutters are still available at the top of the instrument, these are now rarely used. Once the organ was returned to St Matthew's, time was allowed for the pipework to settle in the instrument, before final voicing and tuning was undertaken.

The chamber organ now takes its place as part of the tremendous musical resources available at St Matthew's. It carries upon its case a small plaque bearing testament to the fact that the instrument was purchased thanks to a bequest left to the church by Richard Alcock, and is a tangible asset which reminds us of both his considerable legacy and his undoubted contribution to the parish over many years.

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