History
Church Organ:
Music has obviously played an important role in
worship in St.
Nicholas Church throughout its history. There is evidence that a choir
under the leadership of Miss Andrew (the first Organist) was in
existence from the earliest days, and we may assume that, prior to the
completion of the organ, congregational praise was led from a harmonium.
It must have been the hope of Peter Macgregor Chalmers, architect of the
building, that at some point an organ would be installed, space having
been created for it between the Chancel and the (old) Vestry. That dream
came nearer fruition when, on 3rd October 1909, the Minister was in a
position to announce that Mr. Angus of Ladykirk wished to present the
congregation of St. Nicholas with a pipe organ and that it was “being
built by a well-known firm in England”.
In fact this firm of Norman and Beard - later to become Hill, Norman and
Beard - built many organs in Scotland and beyond and only ceased to
exist in 1997.
The organ was designed with considerable care, awareness of the
requirements of the building and attention to detail. It was installed
during the last weeks of 1909 and dedicated on 6th February 1910.
The mechanism of the instrument is housed in the organ chamber which is
accessed from the corridor, and the console is - obviously - situated on
the north side of the Chancel within a stone arch which displays twenty
seven pipes. It consists of two manuals (keyboards) and pedals and has
twenty stops. It is interesting to note that until 1958, when an
electric blower was installed, the mechanism had been driven by water
power.
The organ which you hear today is basically the same instrument as it
was in 1909, its fine qualities having been conserved by regular care
and maintenance. It was completely overhauled - at a cost of £45 - in
1926 and some further renovation work was carried out in 1950. Another
major overhaul was undertaken in the late 1980s much of the pipework was
dismantled, cleaned and re-assembled with renewed leather. The organ is
tuned by a professional organ tuner two or three times each year.
The first organist, Miss Andrew resigned in 1913 and Mr. James Spalding
was appointed. He fulfilled the duties (with a break for War Service)
until February 1950, when Miss Jeannie R.L. Murphy took over. Her tenure
continued for over forty years until December 1990, when the present
incumbent, Miss Isobel McIlwraith arrived.
It is to be hoped that, with the tender loving care it deserves, this
fine instrument will continue to serve the people of St. Nicholas for
many year to come.
The specification of the 2 Manual and Pedal pipe organ remains unchanged, although the original water power
was replaced in the 1950s by the installation of electro-pneumatic
action.
| Technical Specification | |||
| Manual compass CC to c` 61 notes. | |||
| Pedal compass CCC to F 30 notes. | |||
| Swell Organ | Enclosed | Great Organ | |
| Lieblich Bourdon | 16’ | Large Open Diapason | 8’ |
| Open Diapason | 8’ | Small Open Diapason | 8’ |
| Lieblich Gedackt | 8' | Dulciana | 8’ |
| Voix Celeste | 8’ | Hohlflote | 8’ |
| Echo Gamba | 8’ | Principal | 4’ |
| Gemshorn | 4’ | Harmonic Flute | 4’ |
| Mixture (3 ranks) | Fifteenth | 2’ | |
| Oboe | 8’ | Clarinet | 8’ |
| Cornopean | 8’ | Swell to Great | |
| Swell octave | Swell octave to Great | ||
| Swell sub-octave | Swell sub-octave to Great | ||
| Tremulant | |||
| Pedal Organ | |||
| Open Diapason | 16’ | ||
| Bourdon | 16’ | ||
| Bass Flute | 8’ | ||
| Swell to Pedal | |||
| Great to Pedal | |||
| Six mechanically pre-set combination pedals. | |||