On Saturday, July 18, 14:00 CEST (Central European Summer Time), Flentrop Orgelbouw of Zaandam, the Netherlands, will host an open house via YouTube livestream, featuring the new organ for the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, Birmingham, UK, presently in the workshop. Informative videos, supplemented with music recordings, take one step by step through the making of the organ. One can also ask questions in the chat; the Flentrop team will answer these live and give direct demonstrations.
The Birmingham organ is designed to play Central European Baroque music. Space in the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire is very limited, hence Flentrop made a compact two-manual organ inspired by the work of Arp Schnitger. The organ has a “twin windchest:” the larger registers are in the front of the organ, the smaller ones and the reeds in the rear. Considering the available space, the organ is compact, yet accessible for tuning and maintenance.
In the livestream, the Flentrop team will tell about the sound concept and the making of the conservatory organ. Informative films give a look behind the scenes in the workshop: the making of the console, the traditional work on the pipes, and the work of the voicer. There are also various music recordings that demonstrate the sound possibilities of the organ. In the chat, one can ask live questions to learn everything about the construction of an organ and to see places where one normally cannot go. Make a registration proposal, take a look in the case where the pipework is located, discover the roller boards, take a look at the wind supply, or hear the difference between wind from the motor and treadle wind. The live stream and films are produced by filmmaker Casper Steketee.
Click here for access to the Flentrop YouTube channel.
For information, visit the Flentrop website.
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