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Complete description of the selected organ


Source: Reading Public Libraries

Reading, United Kingdom (Berkshire) - Town Hall
Municipal: Reading
Address: Blagrave Street, RG1 1QH, Reading
Website: http://www.readingarts.com/

Description nr.: 2002328.

Built by: firma Henry Willis & Sons (1864)

Year	Builder	Opus	Activity
1864	firma Henry Willis & Sons		new organ
1882	firma Henry Willis & Sons		rebuild
2000	Harrison & Harrison		restoration

• In 1864 the Henry Willis firm built a concert organ for the Town Hall of Reading. Samuel Wesley gave the inauguration concert on October 6, 1864. After the construction of a new Town Hall, the same firm transferred the organ, but a new case was also designed and the disposition was expanded.
  
• On June 2, 1882, the organ was put back into use. The organ case was designed by the architect who also designed the Town Hall, Thomas Lainson. Nothing has been changed on the organ since then, except for a lowering of the pitch in 1947. Harrison & Harrison carried out a restoration in 1999. They restored the original pitch. The organ was inaugurated with a concert by Olivier Latry on March 16, 2000.
  

Technical data

Number of stops per division
- Great Organ	11
- Choir Organ	7
- Swell Organ	10
- Solo Organ	4
- Pedal Organ	5
Total number of stops	37
Key action	Mechanical
Stop action	Mechanical
Windchest(s)	Slider chests
Pitch	a' = 453 Hz
Temperament	Equal temperament

Specification
Great Organ (C-a'''): Double Open Diapason 16' - 1882, Open Diapason I 8', Open Diapason II 8' - 1882, Claribel Flute 8', Principal 4', Flûte Harmonique 4', Twelfth 3', Fifteenth 2', Mixture 3 ranks (17.19.22), Posaune 8', Clarion 4' - 1882.
Choir Organ (C-a'''): Lieblich Gedact 8', Viol d'Amore 8' - 1882, Salicional 8', Flûte Harmonique 4', Piccolo Harmonique 2', Corno di Bassetto 8', Oboe 8'.
Swell Organ (C-a'''): Double Diapason 16', Open Diapason 8', Stopped Diapason 8', Principal 4', Piccolo 2', Sesquialtera 3 ranks (17.19.22), Cornopean 8', Hautboy 8', Vox Humana 8' - 1882, Clarion 4', Tremulant.
Solo Organ (C-a'''): Hohl Flute 8' - 1882, Concert Flute 4' - 1882, Orchestral Oboe 8' - 1882, Tuba 8' - 1882.
Pedal Organ (C-f'): Open Diapason 16', Violone 16' - 1882, Bourdon 16', Principal 8', Ophicleide 16' - 1882.
Couplers: Choir to Great, Swell to Great, Swell Sub-Octave to Great, Solo to Great, Swell to Choir, Great to Pedal, Choir to Pedal, Swell to Pedal, Solo to Pedal, Swell Octave, Swell Sub-Octave.
Accessories: 4 composition pedals to Pedal and Great, 3 composition pedals to Swell, 1 trigger pedal, Reversible pedal Great-Pedal.

Literature

Reading Town Hall organ / A.L. Warman. - In: The Berkshire Organist, No. 12, 1959. The Town Hall Organ, Reading / Thomas E. Reed. - In: The Berkshire Organist, No. 17, 1964. The centenary of the "Father Willis" organ in Reading Town Hall. - In: The Berkshire Organist, No. 18, 1965. Saved at last - the Town Hall organ. - In: The Berkshire Organist, No. 37, 1984. The Town Hall Organ. - In: The Berkshire Organist, No. 40, 1987. Reading Town Hall and Orgen / Leslie Davis. - In: The Berkshire Organist, No. 46, 1993. The Town Hall Organ. - In: The Berkshire Organist, No. 52, 1999. The Town Hall Organ / Philip Bowcock. - In: The Berkshire Organist, No. 53, 2000. The Organ in Reading Town Hall / Philip Bowcock, Peter Marr. - Berkshire Organists' Association, 2000.

Recordings

Catherine Ennis plays the Father Willis Organ in Reading Town Hall / Catherine Ennes. - Priory Records PRCD 6007 (CD). Adrian Partington plays the organ of Reading Town Hall. - Priory PRCD 687 (CD). - (Great European Organs ; 60). Catherine Ennis plays the Father Willis organ in Reading Town Hall / Catherine Ennis. - Woordward MW 924 (LP). - 1981.

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Photo: Gerco Schaap