Concerts at Hammerwood Park, Musical resources, recording venues, pipe organs, organ builders, sound recording location and sound track film recording studio

Photo: Thomas Pinnegar 2008

Concerts at Hammerwood

HAMMERWOOD PARK 2011

East Grinstead, Sussex, RH19 3QE - TEL 01342 850594

Each month, often on a weekday evening or Saturday afternoon we organise a concert in the Library which usually starts at 7.45pm or Saturday afternoons at 4pm. The range includes piano recitals, string duets and quartets, organ recitals, choral works and, normally once each summer a full orchestra in the Staircase Hall.

Sometimes there are additional concerts during public opening, starting at 4pm and on those days, the tour is usually curtailed at 3.20pm.

2012 CONCERTS - more to be added

Saturday 30th June - 4pm -
JAVIER GARCIA ARANDA violin and JANINE FORRESTER piano
Javier and Janine are two musicians heading for the tops at the beginning of their musical career. With a solid list of prestigious concerts in glamorous places under their belt, both are graduates of the Royal College of Music. Javier is currently working for his Master's Degree in Performance with Professor Ani Schnarch and Janine has graduated from the Purcell School to the Royal College now venturing into film music in projects heading towards success in the BAFTA awards. Their programme for this concert is a luscious list of brilliant works including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) Rondo in C major K. 373 Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Sonata for violin and piano in A major op.100
Saturday 16th July - 4pm -
The Stadler Ensemble celebrating the bi-centenary of Mozart's favourite clarinettist
Marc B. Naylor - Basset Clarinet
Sylvia Seaton & Natsuko Katagiri - Violins
Philippa Kent - Viola
David Lee - ‘Cello

Programme

W.A. Mozart: Quintet in A Major K.V. 581 for Basset Clarinet & String Quartet "Stadler"
F.J. Haydn: String Quartet in D Major, Op.64, No.5 "The Lark"
W.A. Mozart: Quintet Movement in Bb Major K.V. 516c
W.A. Mozart: Quintet Movement in A Major K.V. 581a
Saturday 29th September 4pm - SACHIKO KAWAMIURA piano.
I was privy to overhearing her working with her tutor. She was about go to Switzerland to enter a competition and came over from the Moscow Conservatoire for pre-competition polish. With her tutor she was looking at the Beethoven Appassionata . . . she started playing it very normally and one would think it a good performance. Her tutor, who has a very rare and exquisite perception, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiX5Xjtb7-E, then suggested to her that Beethoven was not composing for the purpose of being difficult for pianists and that she did not have to labour his work . . . instead letting it flow orchestrally . . . The genius started for me in a section of the left hand that repeatedly goes in a motif up and down and he told her that this was a landscape . . . and of course thinking of this it's reminiscent of the Schubert Trout Quintet. He suggested to her that that was the cellos, and then in another passage the violins were coming out and that violins would phrase it in a certain way . . . and then there was a repeated two notes, minor third apart in the treble, and in the context of a landscape this was a horn or cuckoo, perhaps an Alpen Horn echoing across the valley. With that spirit to the phrasing, I got the Alp Horn out and played the two notes . . . and her encompassing this on the piano the whole thing came to life transformed.
By September with further work in this vein her performance will be completely amazing . . .

We look forward to seeing you.

Please do try to let us know that you're coming (it saves my grey hairs to know that we have an audience in the week before) by telephoning 01342 850594

Donations - Ł12 members - Ł15 non members - Children NOTHING - Adults bringing children HALF PRICE

Saturday 18th December - 4pm - John Clark Maxwell - Organ - a programme of sparkling organ favourites - Bach D Minor, Brahms, Reger Passagaclia and other brilliant pieces. John is a brilliant young organist from Eton College and this concert will sparkle. -->

PLEASE CAN YOU TELEPHONE 01342 850594 IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO COME.

Donations to support these concerts are particularly appreciated. If you would like to sponsor a concert please get in touch. Musicians need support!

Concerts at Hammerwood are very unique for three reasons:

We have performers enthusiastic about performing to audiences enthusiastic to hear music rather than merely to be seen dressed up. Often performers want to try something out or prepare for a special event elsewhere so sometimes we arrange concerts at short notice . . . so please keep an eye open on this page or ask to be put on our mailing list.
Our instruments are chosen for their musicality rather than their brand-name. Pianos designed to transport their notes to the 2000th member of the audience at the back of the concert hall have no place in chamber recitals. We maintain a harpsichord so that Bach can be performed on it rather than the piano - Bach hated the piano - an musicians are welcome to come to practice and try things out. There is also a delightful foot blown chamber organ which will be used this year and a very interesting 5 manual concert organ capable of covering repertoire from mediaeval to modern and in the English cathedral, North European, French romantic, Italian and French Baroque traditions. It provides an opportunity for the organist to be seen without the need for video and an acoustic comparable to the console position at St George's Windsor, enabling the audience to enjoy the detail of the music
For the past 120 - 160 years or so, our enjoyment of keyboard music has been forced into the equivalent of watching black and white television, switching off the colour. This has resulted from an absolute standard of piano tuning so that all keys have become Mr Average. Each of the notes have been equally spaced. But this is neither musical nor interesting: music relies on both melody and harmony, harmony resulting from the physical harmonics of sound, which "equal temperament" ignores and abuses, fitting notes in so that they sound near but not relating to the harmonic scale. In the systems of tuning we use at Hammerwood, commonly in use by all composers up to at least the death of Chopin in 1849 and beyond, different keys accord with the harmonic scale to differing degrees providing interesting tone colours and resonances.

This is not ivory tower stuff - the classical music world has stuffily lagged behind what modern guitarists have discovered and are going back to . . .

Be updated if you would like . . .

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The organ is dead. The organ is only heard in Church. The Organ is boring.

No it's not. It's alive. It's fun and it is played at Hammerwood Park!

Organs at Hammerwood

There are two pipe organs at Hammerwood which are played regularly and all organists are welcome to play during public opening! In the Elgin Room there is a house organ which was made by Hunter in the 1890s and subsequently given to the Royal School of Church Music which we purchased and rebuilt here in 1994. Although small (9ft cube with 11 ranks of pipes) it will play anything - from Handel to Widor. The tremulant transforms it into quite a cinema style if one wants it.

The other pipe organ is in the library and is a chamber organ in 18th century style made by Sprague in 1854. It has four ranks of pipes, is without a pedal board and is tuned to an unequal temperament most suitable for the works of John Stanley and many other 18th century composers.

There is also a 1937 Hammond E electric organ (one of the very first) in the Elgin Room which plays through two ex-Compton speakers but this pales and sounds dull and disappointing next to the pipe organ. It formerly served the Founder's Chapel of Charterhouse School.

We are most grateful to both Matthew Copley of Organ Design, Surbiton and Paul Rayner Brown of Wood Brown Organ Builders, Burgess Hill, for their generous assistance with the pipe organs.

- Next Concert - Booking tickets - Get the latest concert details - 2008 Concerts - 2007 Concerts - 2007 House News - 2006 - Unequal Temperament - Hear the temperament effect - MP3 recordings of concerts - DO SOMETHING PLEASE! - Hammerwood Organs - Organ specifications - Organisms - Links -

Makin organ at Hammerwood Park from Londonderry Cathedral

Makin organ at Hammerwood Park from Londonderry Cathedral

Former specification of 1993 Makin organ at Hammerwood Park, formerly at LondonDerry Cathedral

GREAT

SWELL

CHOIR

PEDAL

Contra Salicional 16
Open Diap 8
Stopped Diap 8
Wald Flute 4
Principal 4
Twelfth 2 2/3
Fifteenth 2
Fourniture IV
Posaune 8

Voix Celeste 8
Geigen Diap 8
Echo Gamba 8
Lieblich Gedekt 8
Stopped Flute 4
Principal 4
Fifteenth 2
Mixture V
Oboe 8
Clarion 4
Trumpet 8
Contra Fagotto 16

Gedekt 8
Dulciana 8
Hohl Flute 8
Chimney Flute 4
Nazard 2 2/3
Block Flute 2
Larigot 1 1/3
Tierce
Clarinet 8
Tuba 8

Bourdon 16
Violone 16
Open Wood 16
Bass Flute 8
Octave 8
Choral Bass 4
Trumpet 8
Trombone 16

Notes:

Great: Fourniture IV is very bright and arguably should be drawn only on top of the Posaune

Swell: Mixture V goes brilliantly alone with the Geigen Diapason for Bach

Pedal: Trumpet and Trombone combined is as good as an Ophicliede

Sound: the instrument was 12 channel and speaks through 10 internal 60 watt amplifiers with the addition of a 100 watt per channel unit for some stops on the Pedal organ and the Tuba on the Choir. As currently installed and now considerably enlarged, internal reverberation is ignored and a further output feeds controlled multi-channel reverberation. This controlled acoustic arrangement provides optimum listenability together with an excellent dry sound source when required, for instance, for film sound track recordings.

Specification of enlarged 5 manual organ at Hammerwood Park, formerly at LondonDerry Cathedral

GREAT

SWELL

CHOIR

SOLO

ECHO / POSITIF

PEDAL

Contra Salicional 16
Open Diap 8
Stopped Diap 8
Wald Flute 4
Principal 4
Twelfth 2 2/3
Fifteenth 2
Fourniture IV
Posaune 8

For use as French Grand-Orgue
Small Open Diapason 8
Flauto Mirabilis 8 (tuned flat for use with Vox Humana)
Concert Flute 4
Quint Flute 2 2/3
Piccolo 2
Vox Humana 8

For use mainly for French Baroque
Gemshorn 8
Gemshorn Celeste 8
Flűte ŕ cheminée 4
Koppelflöte 4
Plein Jeu IV-V
Bombarde 16
Harmonic Trumpet 8
Corno di Bassetto 8 (Cromorne)
Festival Trumpet 8
Clairon 4
Montre 8
Holzgedackt 8
Flűte Harmonique 8
Flűte Octaviante 4
Octave 2
Cymbale III
Moucherel Reeds 16, 8

Voix Celeste 8
Geigen Diap 8
Echo Gamba 8
Lieblich Gedekt 8
Stopped Flute 4
Principal 4
Fifteenth 2
Mixture V
Oboe 8
Clarion 4
Trumpet 8
Contra Fagotto 16

(From Echo II)
Holzflote 8'
Gamba 8'
Vox Celeste 8'
Flute 4'
Waldflote 2'
Quinte 1 1/3'
Sesqualter II
Vox Humana 8'

For use as French Recit
Bourdon 16
Principal 8
Flűte ŕ cheminée 8
Unda Maris 8
Octave 4
Spitzflöte 4
Nasard 2 2/3
Superoctave 2

Gedekt 8
Dulciana 8
Hohl Flute 8
Chimney Flute 4
Nazard 2 2/3
Block Flute 2
Larigot 1 1/3
Tierce 1 3/5 (Configurable as Grand Tierce for French Baroque)
Clarinet 8
Tuba 8

For use as French Grand-Choeur
Cello 8
Cello Celeste 8
Cornet des Bombardes IV
Cornopean 16
Clarinet 8
Salizional 8
Quintadena 8
Cor Anglais 8
Tuba Mirabilis 8
Clarion 4
Gedackt 8
Gamba 8
Nachthorn 4
Cymbale III
Cornet III
Oboe 8

Contregambe 16
Diapason 8
*Bourdon 8
Quintadena 8
*Flűte harmonique 8
(Tuned as Unda Maris with Bourdon for use with the 4ft Flute and Corno di Basetto as an Italian Vox Humana)
*Flűte octaviante 4
*Terz 1 3/5
Larigot 1 1/3'
Septime 1 1/7
Scharff III
Bombarde 16
Trompette 8
*Corno di bassetto 8 (Cromorne)
*Clairon 4
Tuba Mirabilis 8
Tubular Bells (2 octaves)
(*Assignable to bottom manual as Positif for French Baroque)

Echo I
Principal 8'
Rohrflote 8'
Octave 4'
Quinte2 2/3'
Octave 2'
Mixture IV
Trumpet 8'
Coupler to floating Echo II

Bourdon 16
Violone 16
Open Wood 16
Bass Flute 8
Octave 8
Choral Bass 4
Trumpet 8
Trombone 16

Additions
Soubasse 32
Contre Basson 32
Contrebombarde 32
Contre Violone 32
Violone 16
Contre Gambe 16
Ophicleide 16
Bombarde 16
Subbass 16'
Bombarde 16'
Gedekt 8'
Octave 4'
Trumpet 8'

Notes:

Sound: the instrument is now in excess of 30 channels in addition to reverberation channels.

Not many organs in England are capable of this . . . :

Specification of 1893 Hunter organ at Hammerwood Park, formerly at Addington Palace, RSCM

orginally made for a house in Dorking and subsequently given to C F Waters at Ewell Congregational Church

GREAT

SWELL

PEDAL

Open Diapason 8
Stopped Diapason 8
Dulciana 8
Principal 4
Harmonic Flute 2

Open Diapason 8
Lieblich Gedakt 8
Voix Celeste 8
Salicional 8
Principal 4
Oboe 8

Bourdon 16

Notes:

Great:

Harmonic Flute was at 4ft pitch and altered to 2ft. Blends well and adds soft brilliance.
Dulciana and Harmonic Flute (Piccolo) excellent for Baroque

Swell:

Oboe works as Trumpet when untamed by open swell. Unfortunately with the temperature extremes of the Elgin Room it is normally out of tune and has to be tuned on the day of a recital.

We have just been given a pianola. It's a basic one and it needs some repair to pneumatic motors but the piano is good and great fun . . .

Click here for organs at Finchcocks

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Sound Recording at Hammerwood

The house is also used for sound recording projects and provides a good selection of acoustics and instruments.

- Next Concert - Booking tickets - Get the latest concert details - 2008 Concerts - 2007 Concerts - 2007 House News - 2006 - Unequal Temperament - Hear the temperament effect - MP3 recordings of concerts - DO SOMETHING PLEASE! - Hammerwood Organs - Organ specifications - Organisms - Links -