We are honoured to have as our President Lichfield Cathedral Organist and Assistant Director of Music, Martyn Rawles. We are fortunate to also have Lichfield Cathedral's Director of Music Ben Lamb and his wife Cathy Lamb, Director of Music Outreach at Lichfield Cathedral School, as Honorary Members of our Association, Assistant Organist at Lichfield Cathedral Nigel Argust as a member, and Honorary Assistant Organist Liam Condon as a student member. We are grateful for the encouragement and support we receive from Lichfield Cathedral's Music Department, and in return we are always happy to assist in any way we can with publicising the concerts/organ recitals performed by both Lichfield Cathedral's own organists and guest recitalists on the historic Hill organ, photos of which grace our home page.
The dates and performers for the 'Music for Reflection 2022' lunchtime concert series at Lichfield Cathedral are as shown below. Recitals are at 11.30am. Admission is free with a retiring collection.
See also Lichfield Cathedral's website at www.lichfield-cathedral.org
The dates and performers for the Autumn Evening Organ Recitals Series at Lichfield Cathedral are as shown below. The recitals commence at 7.30 - 8.15pm, accompanied by video console screening, and admission is £10 payable preferably by card on the door.
See also Lichfield Cathedral's website at www.lichfield-cathedral.org
The organ presently in Lichfield Cathedral dates from 1861, the year that Gilbert Scott completed the refurbishment of the Quire. The organ was first placed in St Stephen's Chapel, situated on the east side of the North Transept. It is reported to have been a noteworthy instrument, not least because it sported the earliest full pedal specification of stops along continental lines in England.
In 1884 William Hill and Sons were contracted to rebuild the Organ. In fact, they replaced the majority of stops on the manual divisions, retaining much of Holdich's Pedal Organ. Towards the turn of the century its position in the chapel was felt to be increasingly undesirable. The console was placed in the North Quire Aisle which did not allow greatrapport between the organist and the choir, and the sound of the organ had insufficient egress into the body of the Cathedral. In 1907 a new chamber was built outside the Cathedral above the North Quire Aisle, the glass was removed from the windows and the organ resited aloft in the position is occupies today. The organ was enlarged, and a new console provided in 1908.
Rebuilding took place again in 1974 by Hill, Norman, and Beard. Minor alterations were made to the Solo, Swell, Great and Pedal departments, and the Choir organ was completely remodelled. The most recent rebuild in 2000 by Harrison and Harrison saw the addition of the Nave organ, and a return of the Choir organ to a specification closer to the 1908 organ.
The 1908 organ had 63 speaking stops, and 3,774 pipes, this was augmented in the 1974 rebuild to 66 speaking stops and 4,064 pipes. The latest work on the organ gives the 2000 organ 82 speaking stops, and a noteworthy 5,038 pipes.
Before the 1908 rebuild, there are records of three earlier organs: Samuel Green's organ of 1789; George Holdich's of 1861; and William Hill and Son's organ of 1884.
The organ is tuned to a sharp pitch, C=540 hertz.
Photos of the organ and console grace the home page of our website, and a full specification of the organ can be found at: www.cathedralchoir.org.uk/organ_2000.php
This year's Lichfield Festival will be held from 7-17th July 2022, comprising an eclectic programme of events, a number of which are staged in Lichfield Cathedral, and includes two events featuring LDOA members:
On Thursday 7th July 2022, at 2.30pm, not in the cathedral but at Wade Street Church, LDOA honorary member and former Festival Artistic Director (1990-2001) Paul Spicer is in conversation with current Festival Director Damian Thantrey, looking back over 40 years of Lichfield Festival History
On Monday 11th July 2022 at 11am at Lichfield Cathedral, our honorary members Cathy and Ben Lamb will be giving a special organ duet recital, featuring a selection of organ solos and duets, including works by J S Bach, Mozart and Samuel Wesley.
For details and tickets, see: www.lichfieldfestival.org
