It's a great surprise that your third road trip takes you to a harmonium, and one from the world-famous American manufacturer. The selection of music is wonderful. And your skill, the small repair, also allows the “Vox Humana” to be reactivated.
As a reed organ restorer from the U.S.A., I wish I could get my hands on this organ and restore it to new again. This was a very enjoyable presentation. Thanks for sharing this with us.
This was a wonderful post to watch this evening. I was not able to attend a funeral,of a friend of 50 years who took his own life. Modern technology enabled me to watch the service this afternoon and then to find this calming, beautiful and meditative gem in a country church at sundown. Many thanks.
Gosh that must have been hard ... I m 54 and can understand your friend's decision. But even reading about someone's experience of the aftermath convinces me to keep clinging on🙂
Sorry to hear of your loss. Sadly the UK the most common cause of death amongst men under the age of 50 is now suicide. Much more should be done to support individuals experiencing major stresses in their life, to help reduce these figures.
I recently found your channel, and have been watching past episodes. I find it very interesting that each organ has its own voice, it’s own personality, and each church it’s own acoustics. They all sound completely individual. It’s wonderful!
WOW, that was such an interesting video for 2 reasons. I live in High Barnet and our Parish Church was remodlled by William Butterfield in 1872 - 75. It is in the same style, with the flint and stone squares. Secondly, I had a Mason and Hamlin Reed Organ. I bought it from a Piano Shop in Woolwich. I got it home and decided to rebuild it from the ground up. It took me a couple of months, taking out every screw, and cleaning every single part of it. The Vox Humana was missing, but I managed to find one from a scrap Reed Organ in Truro, and managed to fit it to the Mason and Hamlin. It sounded brilliant. I was then offered an ESTY Reed Organ, which had been regularly 'serviced', so I gave the Mason and Hamlin to a dear friend of mine, who still has it to this day. Such beautiful instruments. I actually also have 2 'Travelling' Reed Organs which fold down for transport. No stops on these, just 2 foot pedals and a knee swell. These are still to be renovated by me. One of them is a Mason and Hamlin, and the other does not bear a name, but is an exact copy, so may also be a Mason and Hamlin. Thanks for the inspiration of this video - I will now have to think about sorting these other 2 Organs out, over the winter months. Great videos Ben - thanks for sharing and for stiring me into action ! Take care 🙂
Thank you for the presentation. The humble harmonium has been much maligned as a poor cousin to the pipe organ. The harmonium was taken very seriously in the 19th century by a number of great French composers who wrote for it : Vierne and Dubois, just to name two. Incidentally the French and American harmoniums work differently in that the reeds of the French are blown whereas the latter are ‘sucked’ like a vacuum. Btw the left knee lever basically adds stops progressively and the right one opens the reed chamber like a swell box. It was wonderful that you reconnected the Vox Humana to get it working again. I am enjoying your videos all the way from Australia.
Your presence is amazing. You exude comfort, warmth and strength of conviction and dedication. Thanks so much for sharing. As well, I really love the scenery. There is such an amazing amount of beauty of all kinds in the UK. Thanks again.
Such a charming series. And such a gift to make moving music on instruments that lesser talents would find unrewarding. I can’t help feeling the nostalgia of Larkins’ Chuchgoing.
The only time I had a go on a harmonium I was amazed at the effort required to pump the bellows. How nice to hear quiet playing, too many organists get carried away with the power of the instrument.
A wonderful explanation of how a harmonium works and in such a beautiful country church. The music was lovely in this calm and peaceful setting despite the busy road! Another great road trip. Thank you Ben.
Thank you Ben! Our small village church also has a good old Mason and Hamlin harmonium (aka pump-reed organ) and it plays well, but most of the stops aren't working. You have now inspired me to get it refurbished. I play it with the original foot-powered bellows, and it is indeed super-expressive, like an accordion or human voice. Meanwhile I am greatly enjoying all of your organ tour videos. - Cheers, - Matt in Mendocino, on the Northern California Coast
One of my favorite authors is from your country: Thomas Hardy. He speaks of a harmonium in "Under the Greenwood Tree". But the movie highlights the harmonium better than the book! It's fun, check it out!
Thank you Ben for your sensitive and generous appreciation of the reed organs and harmoniums which were the trusty ;"workhorses" of many a rural parish church and chapel of ease for generations of faithful organists and dedicated choirs
I have enjoyed my 2 manual and pedal reed organ. There is something about them that brings a different taste to music. Having a blower hooked to them is nice. But the emotions that you can put into the music when you are pumping while you play is a whole new experience
I purchased a Canadian made Sherlock Manning harmonium many years ago that has 21 stops. It was in mint condition appearance-wise but an inept music prof at the U of Manitoba had done a hatchet job ‘overhauling’ it. I had my work cut out for me in doing a proper repair job. The Grey Nuns had purchased it and soon found it was “undignified” for the sisters to pump it aggressively enough to utilize its potential. It went into storage where it sat for decades until a buddy who rehearsed the nuns’ choir spotted it when the storeroom door was left open. It was gifted to him as reward for his years of service to the Order when he expressed interest. My buddy went overseas to study harpsichord performance and sold it to me! I went to work reversing the mess and it graces my dining room next to my harpsichord to this day. It’s a prized possession but I’m getting on in years so sadly must find a new home for it.
My Grandmother had a reed organ that was made here in my home state of Vermont. The "full organ" knee stops were a feature that it had, along with a two octave chime feature. The organ is still in the family and is often played.
Mason & Hamlin is one of only two remaining piano makers in the US (the other being Steinway, of course). You can still find plenty of their reed organs around the US.
Superb tour and demonstration of the Mason and Hamlin Reed Organ. The photography of the church and locale is excelkent% please do more rural church tours.
I remember well the day i bought a CD of Rossini's Stabat Mater. It's maybe not considered to be a great work but i fell in love immediately with that work laced in simplicity, and it was through that recording that i was introduced to the harmonium. Thank you for this video.
You've absolutely convinced me that I want to learn the organ! Unfortunately my church's organist is already teaching someone (who he was fairly reluctant to say yes to, so he'd never say yes to a second student). Nonetheless, I'm desperate to learn it!
Lovely vlog. Beautiful ancient church. Superb organ, which you bring to life with your musical skills and enthusiasm. I love visiting rural churches and listening to organ music even though I am an athiest 🛐🔔🎹🎶
I used to play a two manual harmonium once a month. It's been replaced by an electronic organ now. I love the historical information you provide on the churches where you play. I know Netherhampton, but have never been in the church there. Thank you.
This was fascinating...I have never heard of knee flaps before. Not only do I get to enjoy two of my favorite things watching these videos (British country churches and organ music) but I am actually learning more about them. Thank you Ben!
I love this series! when I saw this one about "Harmoniums" I expected to meet up with the Indian harmonium. Christian missionaries working in India carried smallish organs that one could almost play as you walked with it. A small keyboard, a bellows pumped with your left hand suited adapability to Indian music, being melodic rather than harmonic. I suppose putting it on a table and having an assistant work the bellows would have allowed two hands on the keys. It is still very prevalent in India. For a long time All india Radio forbade its use on air, since it was technically NOT an Indian instrument, but I think it has relented the boycott in recent years. In music classes we used a "sruti box" which operated with a bellows, played the two notes that remain the same across all the many Ragas, and keep the musicians in pitch. Now it is generally electronic, and one can use a cellphone! One could find a harmonium in most middle class homes, the smallest temples, where it accompanied informal religious singing and could be adapted with a shifting of the keys section, to various pitches, or "sruti's"
Wonderful. Around Norfolk there are a number of churches, some deconsecrated, with harmoniums in that are playable. Not all are in the best condition however sitting in those Saxon surroundings and playing appropriate music is a wonderful experience
As someone who also loves old machines that do beautiful things, I got a little emotional when you made the vox humana flap spin again. I wonder when the last time was that the church walls got to echo that sound! Thanks for your beautiful videos and performances. The Christmas hymns will play in our home this season for sure.
This is called a "pump organ" where I live. The ones I have seen do not use electric air supply, but foot-pumped bellows. You can get some really expressive sounds by letting the air supply run almost out and then pumping in short jerky pumps to get major vibrato, or pump very slow and steady for a soft and gentle sound. When you want to go back to full volume, just pump faster.
I have been a church vocalist for years and I sort of knew how the organ worked , but I am so grateful for this series as I have learned more. So appreciative. Thank you so much!
I grew up with a victorian harmonium enthroned in the family living room. How we used to love playing it. Sadly eventually fell victim to woodworm & no-one to fix it. Probably bought by my maternal grandfather.
I stumbled across a harmonium at Calne today. In all the times that I had been there over the past 4 or so years, I have never known it was there tucked away in one of the pew stalls! Sadly though, it didn't seem to be in too good condition. I find them completely fascinating how they work and I just love the timbre and reedy noise that they make!
The first reed organ (suction system) I ever heard was at our neighbours' house in Quemerford, and they introduced me to another one in a tiny tin chapel somewhere behind Rawlings and Phillips … I've become a convert to the French pressure system since, but there's room for both when they're played properly ;-}
I'm from the US, a HUGE fan of pipe organs and a new subscriber AND fan of you channel! Love seeing the countryside and the stories of the churches. Please keep them coming and know that your work is appreciated and enjoyed Ben! Erick
I haven't played a reed organ in decades. Of late I have been enjoying the YT channel of a Canadian fellow who restores and plays them. Their capacity for expression is mind blowing.
Have recently been following your pipe organ videos, and just stumbled upon this one. Such sublime music you chose for this harmonium.. And the vidiography top notch. Such a peaceful worship dpace for sure 🙏 Appreciate all your beautiful music!!
My maternal grandfather imported a Harmonium of the Bell Organ Co of Guelph Canada. That was sometime around the end of the 19th Century. I was told it arrived on a sailing ship - it could have, I have no proof. My cousin who could play, and used to serenade grandmas favourite Hymns during grandmas last days around 1959. I don't know why, but upon Grandma's death the Harmonium bypassed my cousin, instead arriving with us - none of us could play. It passed down from my mother to my sister and eventually to me. They said, I could do what I like with it - dismantle it, use the timber, remove the music and insert an aquarium were suggestions. I had no heart to do that, and yet being dragged around my unsettled life, the Harmonium was suffering. My sister had used it as a shelf for pot-plants, thus injuring the fantastic french polish terribly - water stains. Eventually my heart was really troubled when I could only store it in a seaside shed. I had to do something. I searched back through the extended family, finding the cousin - and apparently she loved the Harmonium. She was now a lady of some means who lived hundreds of miles distant. I offered her the Harmonium gratis, she sent a truck and the organ was gone. I was sad, I miss it, but it needed to live. People are odd, I got blamed for the condition of the organ, but for me, it would have been destroyed long ago. I was not thanked at all. As a domestic harmonium, it lacked the vertical pipes, and the electric air pump. It had "mouse-proof" pedals patented in ?1887?. It also still had the very decorative over-mantle, with mirror and music storage. I wonder what became of it? But looking at the Harmonium of your video, our had all those stops - working, the swells, everything worked including the vox humana - and yes the vox Humana did flutter more rapidly than yours. I hope it still lives, and I regret I never learned. However one night a Catholic priest visited and played our Harmonium - He could play expertly, and that remains the only memory I have of it being payed as it was made to play - fabulous.
Unfortunately, the harmonium has electrical wind and the vibrato-flap runs to slow. The bester way to control the dynamic is to pump with the bellows with both feet. I didn't know, this about Colin Mason. Thanks!!! We should aus more harmoniums/pumporgans/reedorgans in our congreations and our homes. The sounds, which can made with it, are fantastic. Especially with the french harmonium. Real symphonic sounds. A wonderful video! Thanks a lot!
This is very interesting. I've owned two Mason and Hamlin reed organs over the years, one was a two manual and pedal instrument that I had as a teenager and fitted an old electric pipe organ blower, but connected the pipework to the 'suck' side of the blower as this instrument sucked the air through the reeds rather than blowing it. This was quite a fun thing to play although the pedal action was very noisy. The other one I had was rather more similar in specification to the one played here, although it didn't have the 'pipes' on the top. This was worked by two pedals that operated feeders that in turn evacuated a reservoir for the air. This one also sucked the air through the reeds. I remember the manual compass was F-F rather than C-C and the stops split at F above middle C. There were two eight foot stops that actually used the same set of reeds, one was soft and the other was loud, and the effect was achieved by how far the flap controlling the air flow to the reeds opened. there was also a four foot set of reeds and the Viola Dolce stop worked in the same way to make a softer sound. The Vox Humana was a similar kind of thing to the one seen here, pulling the stop knob uncovered a hole in the turbine that operated the flap wheel. this did go a lot faster than the one seen here. I also remember that the tuning was almost a semitone higher than A=440. I don't know why this was but you may have a better idea. Thanks very much for showing this to us Ben - it brought back memories.
I have a friend who has one of these. I can't play it very well. I could listen to you play that one for ages. It is a beautiful, humble, unpretentious sound. Here's hoping the parish keeps their instrument well-maintained for years to come.
The American reed organ was found in practically every home and church here in the US. This organ is a reed organ. Harmoniums are very difficult in that they operate on pressure rather than vacuum.
In addition to seeing and hearing classic instruments demonstrated by Ben, each of his videos is like an adventure and a peek into British culture. I've only seen a few of his videos thus far, but each of them begins in his car, which he drives to some mostly-abandoned worship hall, then he continues the exploration on foot. We don't know what will happen and it seems like he doesn't, either. Then he introduces us to a fascinating musical instrument, like the harmonium in this video. The British culture part of the video is one that amazes me. In America, there aren't structures as old as some of those Ben shows, but there were, they wouldn't be open for public access. I'm surprised that these places are simply open in Britain.
Don't know what make or model he had in mind, but Tchaikovsky included a part in his Manfred Symphony right near the end. It's nearly always played on an organ instead, but the organ obviously has a different tone.
That M&H just needs some maintenance. In the US we wouldn’t call it a harmonium, because harmoniums are pressure instruments. American reed organs are actually suction instruments, which is why they sound a bit nasal compared to European harmoniums. The knee swells certainly add a lot of expression, but unelectrified foot pump organs are astonishingly expressive because you can control the wind pressure (which is negative pressure) by how fast you pump. But being suction instruments, the reeds collect dust and lint as well as pollution. The front set of reeds is usually the worst. In a church they can even get loaded up with soot from incense and candles. A periodic cleaning will keep them sounding bright and relatively in tune. Chances are there’s a reed pulling tool in there somewhere if it hasn’t been lost.
This is a great video thank you. I hesitate to put a link here but my partner and I were involved with harmonuims and other reed organs for many years before retiring to France. Our archive website may be of interest. It is at harmonium plus a co plus a uk! Thanks again.
Hi Ben, wonderful! Where did you get the arrangements of the orchestral works (Dvorak, etc.)? Maybe, I have the option to by a Mason & Hamlin reedorgan. Greetings from the southern Germany, Stephan
I have an Esty reed organ to rebuild. Such nice little instruments. Are the pump pedals still usable? I've seen instruments that have had blowers installed. Some still with pumping mechanism intact. I've releathered bellows and resevoirs for pipe organs, mechanisms preserved, able to both hand pump or electric blower.
@@thomashogan4908 An unexpected and quirky treasure with moments of radiant beauty which I was introduced to by my very cultured French master when it was put on as a collab between my school, the Norfolk Symphony Orchestra and possibly some pro singers, but being 35 years ago the details elude - other than one particular memory of the staff member in question having the good sense to put me on tymps, a part dare I say I played with some gusto and flair😄
hi Ben, i have played a hamlin organ, with dummy wooden pipes on above, but it is manually pumped... i guess this one is fitted with a blower, is it so?? never expected this to be found in an english village church..always thought it was something more popular in the americas..there are few surviving in india...i have also played a farrand votey organ... cheers from india
I have never seen a harmonium fitted with a blower. I thought that the point of them was that you pumped it via pedals and expression can be controlled by how you pump
Compared to pipe organs that definitely is the main advantage of harmoniums/reed organs. It especially enables astonishing decrescendi - even more though when you additionally use both knee levers.
Ben, what might be suitable wedding processional and recessional music for harmonium in a small 100 capacity church? Will the instrument be suitable for such an occasion or might it be better to play along side another instrument such as a trumpet?
THe Human Voice stop ... was supposed to go slowly. It is not a "vibrato" but more like a "choral celeste" sound. As to "electrifying the harmonium (as you call it), it needs the same setup as a pipe organ, air intake to reservoir to a regulator and it works just fine. Too many attempted failures were all about just trying to supply air straight to the playing parts. Didn't work.
There were so many small harmonium builders in the last century. Sadly, most of the surviving ones were attached to vacuum cleaner motors which ruined the gentleness of the instrument.
Thank you for playing the opening of Dvorak's 'New World' symphony, he also wrote his Bagatelles which included the harmonium (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-IRQD61Na0kg.html).
Hi Ben - LOVE your vids! A little correction (I'm an old garden variety organist: grew up with "the family harmonium"): the rotating flap of the harmonium's "Tremulant" does NOT have the purpose to "blow back air" at the reeds. With every rotation, a leather cover over a tiny hole in the air circuit is lifted up to let air escape, thus changing the pressure of air flow through the reeds. The "huge flap" is so huge because this will restrict the "number of rotations per minute" of the pressure drop. Here's my little (not famous at all) RU-vid channel, with my best greetings & love - Jack. ru-vid.com/show-UCvlCdLGtgV4KnlqhS3OgQ9Qvideos
I really hate that well meaning electricians keep mounting really ugly motor starting controls on the case work of organs. I really think these should go on a nearby wall or in the rear of the case.
