The Launch of the Restoration the Bevington
Organ
St Canice's Cathedral, Kilkenny Lyrath Estate Hotel,
took place on Monday 26th June 2006 with
the Very Revd Norman Lynas,
Professor Gerard Gillen
and Malcolm Proud.
SPEECHES GIVEN:
The Very Revd Norman Lynas, Dean of Ossory
Ladies and Gentlemen, distinguished guests, good evening and welcome.
We are here this evening to mark the official launch of the St Canice's cathedral
organ appeal fund. The organ made by Bevington is a unique instrument - only
two in Ireland - being the 'Rolls Royce' of its day. Purchased in 1853 for
the sum of £800 STG, by the dean and chapter, it became only
the fourth organ installed in the cathedral in its 800 year history - the
first appearing in the late 16th century.
It underwent some modification in 1904/5, when the decision was made to place
the organ in the lady chapel on the north side of the quire. Bevington, who carried
out the work, did so under protest, the work costing as much as the orginal purchase.
This is a different age with a different outlook musically, liturgically and
socially.
With your help we can restore to the cathedral that which this organ was intended
to be - the king of instruments - full in its praise of Almighty God, yet delighting
the ear of those who enjoy the musical variety in concert, that such an instrument
would have. So whether in liturgy or concert, Kilkenny will have an outstanding
musical resource worthy of its proud tradition and character as a city of culture
to rank with any in Europe.
Such an aim cannot be achieved without your practical support. The brochure
makes it clear how you can help. Marked are the categories of practical help
that you can give and you can do so more than once! i.e. you can support as
many pipes as you wish [nb refer to brochure]. The more pipes you support the
quicker we can achieve our aim of reaching our target of €650,000!
This is an historic moment of opportunity, which, when complete, will leave for
posterity, the recorded care and witness of this generation.
In conjunction with the restoration of the organ, and to further develop the
muscial tradition of the cathedral, it is our aim to provide an organ scholarship
from September 2007. I am pleased to announce that initial funding for this scholarship
has been secured.
Let it be said of us, in the words of Elizabeth Barrett-Browning writing on
the Greek God Pan, who was in love with the nymph Syrinx. She was turned into
a bed of reeds from which Pan made a flute. On hearing Pan play the reed she
penned these words, "The sun on the hill forgot to die, and the lillies revived, and
the dragonfly came back to dream on the river".
Professor Gerard Gillen, artistic advisor to the cathedral, Professor of Music,
NUI Maynooth.
It is my pleasure to be associated with this significant project as artistic
advisor to the cathedral.
The organ was originally built in 1853 by the highly respected London firm
of Bevington for the Great Dublin Exhibition of 1853 after which it moved to
St Canice's. It is therefore an instrument embodying over 150
years of history and craftsmanship which the present restoration and rebuilding
process fully respects. And so the context in which this present project has
been conceived has been one that takes the greatest cognisance of the integrity
of the 1853 instrument while devising a sympathetic enlargement of the organ
to allow for the performance of a fuller range of both liturgical and organ
repertoire music than was contemplated in the original usage of the instrument.
It is a project, therefore, that carefully balances respect for the historic
legacy while taking account of the growth in importance over the last 25 years
or so of St Canice's as a centre of major importance for the nation's
cultural and artistic life.
The positioning of an organ is all-important to its function. The present location
of the organ has been problematic both in terms of its physical location in
this very beautiful medieval cathedral and in terms of egress of sound. It
is proposed, therefore, to resite the organ one bay westward, turned 90 degrees,
with the case front facing westward into the nave of the cathedral. This will
greatly enhance the disbursement of sound and at the same time restore something
of the original spatial unity to the choir area of the building.
After a due process of tendering the work has been entrusted to the Co Kildare-based
firm of Trevor Crowe & Associates. Trevor has degrees in both engineering
and music and is himself an accomplished organist. He has carried out work
of the highest distinction on the organs of St Bartholomew's,
Ballsbridge, Dublin and the Franciscan Church, Merchants Quay
(also in Dublin), and is currently engaged in major work of rebuilding of the
instrument of Galway Cathedral. Other important work has been carried out on
the organs of St Peter's,
Eaton Square, London and in Glenstal Abbey.
The instrument here at St Canice's will, on completion of the
work next year, have 48 speaking stops, and as such will be the largest organ
in the South East. It promises to be a glorious addition to the musical resources
of this historic cathedral and the city of Kilkenny. And we have every confidence
that Trevor Crowe and his colleagues will give us an instrument of which not
only Kilkenny and St Canice's, but indeed the whole country, will
be justly proud.
Organ building of this scale is not cheap, involving as it does superior skills
of so many different varieties: musical, architectural, engineering, joinery,
pipe-making and pipe-voicing, not to mention decorative and electrical skills
allied to the centuries-old craft of mechanical action-making. The cost of
the instrument has been broken down to a cost per pipe which means that contributions
that make a difference are within the range of the average punter, so to speak.
I hope, therefore, that this adventure of such civic and national importance
will get the support it deserves, and that at the end of the day, we will all
be able to say, that this was a project that the people of Kilkenny and the
South East have taken to their hearts, and that they have literally put their
money where their mouths are!
Malcolm Proud, organist and director of music and lecturer in music at Waterford
Institute of Technology
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, music lovers:
I was appointed organist and choirmaster at St Canice's cathedral
in 1985, European Music Year and the 300th anniversary of the birth of
three great composers Bach, Handel and Scarlatti. Prior to that, because
of my friendship with the two previous organists, David Lee my organ teacher
in Dublin and the late David Fitzgerald, my immediate predecessor as organist
at St. Canice's, I frequently visited the cathedral close
and on occasions played at services in the Cathedral. During that time various
efforts were made to restore or replace the organ - in particular during the
1970s when David Lee brought the organ project very close to
reality. Alas
the funding was not forthcoming so the plans were shelved until now more
than thirtty years later.
The bequest of the late Ms Andersons, - Mary, a member of the cathedral choir
for most of her adult life, and her sister Pat has provided the inspiration
to make the organ restoration a reality.
I would like to thank you all for coming along to this exciting launch today appropriately
in the former home of Captain Tupper a man who had a a great
interest in the history of St Canice's cathedral and who was very proud of
its significance for both Kilkenny's and Ireland's
heritage.
A cathedral of the historical and architectural importance of St. Canice's
deserves an organ of the highest musical standards, comparable to the organs
found in the great medieval cathedrals of the rest of Europe. We have a duty
to keep the rich musical tradition of the Christian church alive for future
generations. As the organ plays such a vital part in this tradition the restoration
of St Canice's organ will ensure that our Christian musical heritage
will remain alive and vital and provide greater support for the choir giving
them a more rewarding musical experience. In this context I would like to thank
the members of the choir who have shown so much commitment to singing in the
cathedral over the years. As well as fulfilling its role of accompanying the
singing at services the restored organ will enable St Canice's
to present recitals by international organists and provide the opportunity
for the annual Kilkenny Arts Festival to broaden its programming possibilities
to include performances of organ concertos.
I am particulary delighted that the contract has gone to the excellent Irish
organ builder Trevor Crowe and that Professor Gerard Gillen will act as consultant;
Professor Gillen's knowledge and expertise will prove invaluable
to the success of this project. I would also like to acknowledge the support
and hard work of my fellow organ committee members - Dean Norman Lynas,
Fergal Brady, Ivan Hughes and the cathedral administrator, Mark Bowyer.
Music and the arts have contributed hugely to Kilkenny's claim
to be a˜City of Culture. I hope that all
of you will contribute generously to this worthy (but very expensive) initiative
so that the frozen music which is the architecture of St Canice's
cathedral can once again have a voice. Thank you.
For further information please contact:
056 776 4971
cathedral@ossory.anglican.org
