Concert for unique organ
19 February 2007
The unique sound of the largest Welte Philharmonic Pipe Organ in the UK and Europe will be showcased at a special recital at Canterbury Christ Church University’s Salomons Campus in Tunbridge Wells on Thursday 22nd March 2007.
The Organ Curator of the Royal Festival Hall, William McVicker, will perform a series of works, including ‘The Dam Busters March’ and ‘By the Sleepy Lagoon’ by Eric Coates, on the organ, which stands 17 feet high and 28 feet wide. During the concert, Mr McVicker will also talk about the blind organist, Alfred Hollins, who recorded rolls for Welte and give the audience the opportunity to view the organ’s roll-playing mechanism and ask questions.
The organ, built in 1914 by Welte & Sohne of Freiburg, is the only one of its kind in the world. It was painstakingly restored and brought back to its former glory, after a £316,425 cash injection from the Heritage Lottery Fund. It was played for the first time in more than 60 years by professional organist and BBC Radio 2 presenter, Nigel Ogden, at its premiere on 21st September 2006.
General Manager of Canterbury Christ Church University’s Salomons Campus, Matthew Salomonson, said: “We are delighted that this unique and exciting instrument is being used in a music event open to the public. This is the third
in a series of concerts that we plan to hold featuring the Welte Organ. These concerts give people the opportunity to hear history come alive again.”
The concert starts at 7.30pm and tickets are £15 per person. A pre-concert carvery meal is also available from 6pm in the dining room at Salomons at an additional £15 per person for two courses. For more information or to book please contact 01892 515152. The Salomons Campus is situated on Broomhill Road, Southborough, Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
Notes to Editor
William McVicker
Currently Organ Curator of the Royal Festival Hall in London, William McVicker has since 1988 been Director of Music at St Barnabas’ Church, Dulwich and is also Visiting Professor of Organology at London’s Royal Academy of Music.
Background of the Welte Organ
Sir David Lionel Salomons was born in 1851 and became a great inventor of the late Victorian era. He was first interested in watch-making and metal work. He then went on to invent electro-magnets, domestic appliances powered by electricity, an electric organ and a mechanical piano.
The family home at Broomhill near Tunbridge Wells was developed by Sir David into a mechanic’s paradise with the construction of a workshop laboratory and the Science Theatre.
The Welte Organ was bought in 1914 by Sir David Lionel Salomons, a great inventor of the late Victorian era and former owner of the Salomons estate, which is now owned by Canterbury Christ Church University. The Welte organ can be played by hand and also independently with ‘music rolls.’ More than 250 of these music rolls have survived and have been carefully preserved and catalogued by the University.
Writing in 1923, two years before his death, Sir David described the organ as follows: “This is a remarkable instrument containing many thousands of valves and pipes, and it took many years to manufacture to bring it to its present perfection. Only one manufacturer can produce such an organ, and the makers say that the complication is such that a similar one can never be attempted.”
The Salomons Family
Sir David Salomons (1797-1873) was elected as an MP in 1851, he was at first not allowed to take his seat because he could not swear the Christian oath. He lobbied Parliament to include people of different religions, but it was not until seven years later that the law changed and other faiths were given equal rights. Salomons was elected in 1859 and served as MP for Greenwich until his death in 1873.
Sir David Lionel Salomons (1851-1925) inherited the estate from his uncle, who had no children. He was a scientist, inventor and motorcar pioneer.
His son, Sir David Reginald Salomons (1885-1915) became one of the many casualties of the First World War. In October 1915, the third Kent Field Company sailed for the Eastern Mediterranean and the battlefields of Gallipoli. Tragically the troop ship they were in, HMS Hythe, collided with another in Mudros Bay and 154 men were drowned. Amongst them was David Reginald Salomons, who had given up his life jacket to another soldier. His medals are display in the museum.
The last surviving child of Sir David Lionel Salomons, Vera Salomons, gave the estate to Kent County Council in 1936 for use as a public institution. It is now part of Canterbury Christ Church University and is called ‘Salomons’ in memory of the three remarkable David Salomons who lived there.
Contacts
Claire Robinson, Media Relations Officer,
Canterbury Christ Church University,
01227 782391, cr54@canterbury.ac.uk
David Cutts, External Relations Assistant,
Canterbury Christ Church University,
01227 782826, d.cutts@canterbury.ac.uk
Contact Details:
Claire Robinson
01227 782391
Email the Press Office
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