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The inauguration of the Symphony Organ on 19 October 2001 marked the long-awaited completion of Symphony Hall – 10 years after its opening and following a two-year fundraising appeal.
It was always intended that the Hall should have a magnificent organ, of sufficient size and tonal versatility to perform the entire repertory of this ancient instrument. The history of the pipe organ goes back to the Ancient Greeks, and its music encompasses vastly different styles from the 15th century to the present day. A concert-hall organ must also blend with orchestra and chorus. Some of the most thrilling moments in the orchestral repertory achieve their effects with organ, whether through sheer power and magnificence or through the spine-tingling effect of the organ’s deepest bass notes underpinning quieter passages, as, for example, in Holst’s The Planets, the Saint-Saëns ‘Organ’ Symphony, the Requiems by Fauré and Duruflé, and Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius.
In 1989, at the onset of the Hall’s construction, a brief for the instrument was drawn up under the supervision of Thomas Trotter, City Organist. On the strength of their imaginative stoplist and striking case design (which harmoniously integrates the instrument into the overall architecture of the auditorium), the contract was eventually awarded to Klais Orgelbau of Bonn, Germany. They are a long-established and internationally famous family firm, builders of some of the best instruments in concert halls and cathedrals worldwide. At that time there were only sufficient funds available for the case façade, which was installed in time for the opening of the Hall in 1991.
In 1999 Symphony Hall launched a public appeal for the funds needed to build and install the remainder of the instrument. Over 5,000 people played their part by sponsoring one of the instrument’s 6,000 pipes, and they have certificates naming their individual pipes at home on their walls! Their generosity – and that of many other individuals, charitable trusts, companies and groups – enabled the necessary £1.3m to be successfully raised over the following two years.
1999 also marked the beginning of work on manufacturing and building the organ in Bonn. Every part of the instrument was manufactured by hand in the Klais workshops, using the superb craftsmanship and the accumulated expertise of several generations.
Symphony Hall’s busy diary didn’t permit closure for the length of time required to install the whole instrument. Accordingly, installation was divided across closure periods in the summers of 2000 and 2001. On 25 July 2000, over 1,000 people gathered on the canal banks behind the International Convention Centre to watch the arrival of the organ’s largest 32ft pipe by narrowboat, on the last leg of its journey from Germany. During the remainder of that summer, the organ’s other biggest pipes were installed in a huge specially built wooden framework behind the case.
The final stop list had undergone several changes since the original specification of 1989. The most interesting of these was the decision to place certain ranks of pipes inside Symphony Hall’s reverberation chamber (a huge empty space behind Symphony Hall) on either side of the main case, behind the lowest tier of pneumatically operated doors. These divisions of the organ have arresting tone qualities (both very loud and very soft, for atmospheric echo effects). Their off-stage location and the reverberation chamber’s rich echo combine to make a thrilling impact on the listener and add a spatial element to the organ’s sound.
As well as the main console (the keyboards, pedalboard and stop controls at which the player sits), the Symphony Organ has a second, mobile console, electrically connected into the mechanical action of the main instrument. In most venues, the organ console is tucked invisibly away in a loft, or behind the choir stalls in churches. But the Symphony Organ’s second console is easily accessible to young and old for educational purposes. It also provides a clear view of the organist during concerts, which has proved particularly popular for some of Thomas Trotter’s more spectacular pedal performances!
In March 2001 the finished organ was provisionally assembled in the workshop in Bonn, before being dismantled and packed into boxes for shipping. On 12 June Symphony Hall celebrated its 10th birthday with a gala concert, which heralded the closure of the Hall the next day and the arrival of the organ for installation. The instrument was installed during the following two months. Then, during late August, September and October, the delicate and highly skilled task of ‘voicing’ took place: every single pipe was tuned and its tone adjusted to sound as good as possible – both alone, in combination with other pipes of the same sort, and in chorus with the rest of the organ.
Thanks to the expertise of the Klais team, all the work was completed exactly on schedule. The Symphony Organ was inaugurated in a weekend of events in October 2001, featuring Thomas Trotter and the CBSO, conducted by Sakari Oramo. Over 6,000 people gave the new instrument an amazing reception, and a hugely positive response from public, players and press alike has followed.
Perhaps some of the greatest potential for the organ is in education. Adults and children find this wonderous machine fascinating, and it is used to explore a host of ideas, musical and otherwise. The Klais team were asked to design and build an interactive demonstration model (which was generously donated by The Patrick Trust) to explain the organ’s mechanism. The production of sound in pipes naturally leads to the study of wind instruments and acoustics, whilst the craft of the organ builder and the organ’s mechanism are fertile territory for design and technology. It provides one young organist with the opportunity of a lifetime, through the Whitlock Organ Scholarship at Birmingham Conservatoire. The scholar plays an important role in demonstrating the instrument in education workshops and tours, as well as having the opportunity to practise regularly on the instrument.
The Symphony Organ has been placed firmly at the heart of Symphony Hall’s work. It is a permanent artistic and educational resource for Birmingham, which has instilled a tremendous feeling of pride and ownership across the city. Philipp Klais and his craftsmen have created a unique instrument for a unique venue, which will give pleasure to many thousands of people, young and old, for generations to come.
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