The Cathedral Church of St Andrew, Aberdeen

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   THE CATHEDRAL ORGAN

The organ at Saint Andrew's Cathedral is one of the oldest in regular use for Sunday worship in Scotland. The first organ to be used in the present building was made in 1795 by Samuel Green and was moved from the original chapel in the nearby Longacre. It perished as the result of fire on Christmas Day, 1817, when a stove beside the instrument overheated due to blocked flues. Probably more damage was caused by the water used to quench the flames than by the fire itself.

A brand new organ, built by James Bruce Muir, Wood and Co., Edinburgh, was opened on August 30th, 1818. Muir, Wood and Co. were founded in 1796 and advertised themselves as 'Musical Instrument Makers to His Majesty' (George III), their instruments being supplied mainly to theatres, private houses and Episcopalian churches. It was not until 1864 that the Presbyterian Church decided to lift the ban on the use of organs in worship imposed during the Reformation by resolving that 'such innovations should only be put down when they interfered with the peace of the Church and harmony of congregations.'

Little is known of James Bruce except that he was capable of producing excellent organs with the most up to date specifications. He won the esteem of his contemporary, the music writer Sir John GT Dalyell, who speaks of the 'very reputable instruments of considerable dimensions' built by Bruce. It is interesting to note that the Irishman, Samuel Letts, another employee of Muir, Wood and Co., expressed the widely held opinion that the organs in Scotland and Ireland were of  'softer and deeper tone' whilst the English liked 'louder and shriller instruments.'

Bruce's instrument, of which the Great Diapason chorus and a few other ranks remain to this day, lasted without modification on the west gallery until 1871 when it was rebuilt and enlarged to three manuals by Bryceson Brothers of London under the personal supervision of J Bryceson Junior. The total cost including erection and transport amounted to £400. Then, as now, difficulties arose in collecting the money with the result that the following announcement appeared in the Church Magazine: 'The Trustees will not give the order for an organ of three manuals till the sum of £275 is subscribed. It will be a great pity if the specification has to be cut down for want of funds'. It was originally intended just to prepare for one of the stops on the choir and to save £25, but sufficient funds were forthcoming not only for al the Choir stops to be installed but also a Great Trumpet, making a total of 21 stops. The work commenced on 6th November, 1871 and the organ was opened on Advent Sunday, December 3rd by Mr W Carless.

In 1880, the new chancel area was completed and the organ was moved to a purpose built chamber on the north side of the choir where it stands today. This chamber, however, was not entirely satisfactory for the accompaniment of services and so, in 1905, Wadsworth of Manchester (who had a large workshop in Aberdeen) were employed to improve the egress of sound. This was achieved by making openings in the west side of the organ chamber to allow the sound more direct access to the nave.

In 1916/17, at the centenary of the building of the new church m the organ was rebuilt by Hill, Norman and  Beard. New tubular pneumatic action, an RCO pedal board, 45 degree stop-jambs and keys and pistons of ivory were installed. Also, new bellows for the swell were fitted and the specifications modified and enlarged at a total cost of £700.

The rebuilt organ was opened on 28 June, 1917. The Cathedral Trustees were 'highly pleased with the tone and power of the instrument, and we appreciate very highly the excellent and most careful work put into it by the two builders Mr. Wright and Mr. Robson'. The organ had the distinction of being the first organ in Scotland to be broadcast in recital on the wireless. This took place on Sunday, 16th March, 1924 when Mr Bennett was the recitalist.

The organ was restored in 1970 by Rushworth and Dreaper at which time several tonal changes were made. A Great Mixture was added and the Trumpet stop extended downwards to provide a Pedal Trombone. The choir box was removed and the Choir organ modified to provide a bright positive sound speaking into the nave. The Trumpet stop was also moved to the Choir.

In 1978, a Contra Fagotto was added to the Swell organ instead of the Bordun which had been prepared for in 1917. A 4 foot Clarion was also added. This work was again carried out by Rushworth and Dreaper.

In 1984, the year of the bicentenary of the Seabury Consecration, the organ was rebuilt by Hill, Norman and Beard. A new mobile console was provided to enable services to be accompanied from the Suther Chapel behind the decani choir stalls and recitals to be played from a position at the front of the nave. All manual soundboards, draw-stop actions, pedal and off-note chests were converted to control by electric transmission. A new sold state transmission system was incorporated where the information from the console was sent along a singe core cable to the organ pipes. An additional feature is the ability to record a piece of music at the console in a digital memory and then replay the piece through the pipes by remote control.

The organ was dedicated on Sunday 7 October 1984 and the opening recital was given by Roy Massey of Hereford Cathedral on Friday 9th November of that year.

That the organ today sounds impressive in the resonant building is beyond question. This is in no small measure due to the careful additions and tonal modifications that have been carried out during more than 160 years of the instrument's history. There is the beauty of individual stops - the Swell Diapason, the Choir flutes, the Great Contra Geigen - and yet despite its small specification it sounds, as Gordon Reynolds wrote in Gramophone Magazine, like the wrath of God when suitably coupled and its unleashing reserved. The instrument has a thoroughbred aura. Its specification can be viewed here, while clicking here presents a recording sampled from Nun Danket Alle Gott by Sigfrid Karg-Elert, played on the cathedral organ by Dr Andrew Morrisson.