WESTMINSTER ABBEY'S £20,000 ORGAN

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21978, 30 December 1936, Page 10

WESTMINSTER ABBEY'S £20,000 ORGAN

♦ EXCLUSION OF SMOKE AND FOG LONDON, December 5. Not a grain of London smoke or fog will enter the bellows or pipes of the new £20.000 Westminster Abbey organ. Science has conquered what has hitherto been one of the greatest enemies of organ preservation and the cause of early deterioration. The new organ is being fitted with the latest blowing apparatus. The wind, before it passes into the organ, will be not only purified, but "remoistened" by a special and intricate apparatus. The blowing cf the organ is done by fans and an electric motor. These are in a crynt or cellar under the grass plot in the cloisters. Thus the noise of the motors will not be heard in the Abbey. Before the air goes into the blowing fans it is filtered, all impurities being removed. The beating of the blades of the fans knocks out the moisture in the air. and the humidifying nlant puts it back again. The air will be heated thermostatically. It will reach the reouired temperature, and no higher. Dr. Peasgord. assistant organist at the Abbey, said: "It is extraordinary what filt>j one finds in the bellows and pipes of organs, especially in London, and this quickly helps deterioration. \ "It is particularly necessary that the moisture extracted from the air should be replaced. Without it the leather in the bellows is affected and the wood tends to warp. "There is no danger of a complete breakdown in the blowing apparatus, for there will be two electric generators to drive the fans. One can be started instantly if the other fails." The best of the pipe work from the old organ, including any of historic interest, is being retained, carefully restored and revoiced.