A brief description of the Compton electrone organ and includes me playing the hymn "Christ be our light" on the Compton electrone organ model 363 at Portobello Methodist Church in Willenhall, West Midlands.
The organ is located in an alcove at the front of the church on the right facing and the "rotofon" speaker is housed in a chamber behind an ornamental grille directly above the console.
Me at the organ at Short Heath Methodist Church in Willenhall, West Midlands. The organ is a 2 manual (keyboard) instrument that was originally built by Nicholson & Lord of Walsall for Walsall Street Methodist Church, Willenhall. It was removed from there when that church closed in 1964 and reinstalled here. Im playing the wartime ballad "That lovely weekend" as originally sung by one of my favourite all time singers - Dame Vera Lynn!
Another of the churches I used to help out at in the evenings in the Bloxwich and Willenhall circuit was Lane Head Methodist Church in Willenhall, West Midlands. The organ here was originally built by Henry Hewins for a Methodist Church in Halesowen. It came here in the 1980s where it replaced an electronic! Im in classical mode here playing Handels "Art thou troubled" from Rodelinda giving an opportunity to demonstrate some of the smooth sounds on the organ.
Me at the 2 manual Nicholson and Lord organ at Reedswood Methodist Church in Walsall, West Midlands. Im giving this little instrument the theatre organ treatment with "Peanut vendor". Reedswood was one of the churches in the former Bloxwich and Willenhall Circuit that I used to play at in the evenings when I was organist at Allens Rough Methodist Church, Willenhall.
St John's Methodist Church in Bloxwich, West Midlands was the result of Wesley, Pinfold and New Street Methodist Churches merging in the mid 1960s. The organ was built and installed here by Nelson & Co of Durham. The bulk of the pipework is from the old Pinfold Methodist Church instrument and a couple of the pedal stops from the Wesley church. The pipework is on a plinth at the rear of the church and the console at the front left of the communion area. Parts of the console is from a Compton theatre organ and was originally stopkeys in horseshoe layout. In 1975 the organ was overhauled by Henry Groves of Nottingham. In 2003, it was rebuilt by John Lloyd of Bilston and some tonal alterations were made including the addition of a powerful "Tuba en Chamade" stop on the choir division. The console was also rebuilt and drawstops fitted in place of the stopkeys. In this video I am playing Handels "March from Scipio" which gives the general idea of what the organ sounds like.
Walt Disney on the church pipe organ!!! Me playing "Whistle while you work" from "Snow white and the seven dwarfs" on the 2 manual Hawkins pipe organ at Essington Wood Methodist Church near Bloxwich, West Midlands.
