September 2013
Whyke St George
Members met first at St George Whyke to see and play the new Nicholson Organ. We were welcomed by the organist and the priest who had been at the forefront of the campaign to get the new organ for the parish.
The organ a respectable two manual instrument filled the church with sound and had lovely facing cases on opposing sides of the chancel. Members played a varied programme of music.
The Cathedral - Chichester
Afterwards, a small group of nine attended Choral Evensong at Chichester Cathedral.
Under the direction of Sarah Baldock the choir of twelve boys and six men sang the Evening Canticles to music by Watson in E, and the anthem “O salutaris hostia” (1st Setting) by Sir Edward Elgar. The responses were by Smith of Durham. The organ was played by Tim Ravalde, the Assistant Organist.
Following the service Sarah Baldock came and spoke to us briefly, and left us in the hands of her assistant. He gave us a potted history of the organ, which contains some of the early pipework of George Pike England. Tim Ravalde played excerpts of various pieces to demonstrate the versatility of the instrument. Members were then invited to the console and took full advantage to explore what the organ had to offer.
(JSharples/TFHancock)