Compton Organs

Playlist created by Christopher Lawton | 156 videos | view description | See more playlists »

Me playing various Compton organs around the UK - church, cinema, crematorium both pipe and electronics

Me playing the organ at St George's Roman Catholic Cathedral in Southwark, London.St George's Cathedral originally contained an instrument built by Bishop (rebuilt by Henry Willis) but like many places, suffered severe damage during the blitz on London during World War Two and so the present instrument was built by the famous John Compton Organ Company Ltd in 1958.The organ is built in true Compton format using the extension principal with 19 ranks of pipes installed in 2 enclosed chambers located east of the south transept. However, the patent 32ft polyphonic bass is unenclosed as is a fantastic Tuba! The drawstop console is located behind a screen at the very front of the cathedral below the east window. Each swell box has 2 sets of shutters directing the sound into either the chancel and nave but there are also drawstops to allow these to be controlled seperately. It is said that when originally installed, tonal finishing had to be done during the night due to the noise of trains running nearby! The organ received an overhaul in 2000 and apart from a few tonal changes, remains very much original and is a superb example of a large instrument built by Compton in the post war years.For my first video im playing the hymn 'Hail the day that sees him rise' to the tune 'Ascension'. There is no mistaking the unenclosed Tuba can be heard doing the 'Alleluia' at the end of each line!Many thanks to the Cathedral staff for allowing me access to this magnificent Compton organ.NOTE: this is purely my interest in order to make sure that these fine organs are archived forever and I do not make any monetary profit by this video being on youtube.For more information on the John Compton Organ Company Ltd and to see me play other Compton organs, please click on the following link for my site dedicated to the John Compton Organ Company Ltd:http://comptonorgans.yolasite.com/

My second video of me playing the Compton organ at St George's Roman Catholic Cathedral in Southwark, London.In contrast to my first video, im playing the old folk tune 'Greensleeves' which is ideal for demonstrating some of the softer tone colours on this fine instrument including the Dulciana, Harmonic Flute and Hautboy.Many thanks to the Cathedral staff for allowing me access to this wonderful Compton organ.NOTE: this is purely my interest in order to make sure that these fine organs are archived forever and I do not make any monetary profit by this video being on dailymotion.For more information on the John Compton Organ Company Ltd and to see me play other Compton organs, please click on the following link for my site dedicated to the John Compton Organ Company Ltd:http://comptonorgans.yolasite.com/

My final video of me playing the superb Compton organ installed at St George's Roman Catholic Cathedral in Southwark, London.Im playing the hymn 'Jesus, the word bestow' and the reason I chose this was because of the name of the tune 'St George'.Many thanks to the Cathedral staff for allowing me access to this brilliant Compton organ.NOTE: this is purely my interest in order to make sure that these fine organs are archived forever and I do not make any monetary profit by this video being on dailymotion.For more information on the John Compton Organ Company Ltd and to see me play other Compton organs, please click on the following link for my site dedicated to the John Compton Organ Company Ltd:http://comptonorgans.yolasite.com/

Another of me playing the 2 manual 4 rank Compton pipe organ at the Welsh Congregational Chapel in Southwark, London.Im playing the communion hymn "Come, risen Lord" to the tune "Borough". I chose this tune as that is the name of the nearest tube station to here!Due to some maintenance work taking place at the church, there was some unavoidable background noise in this video.Many thanks to Mr and Mrs Jones for allowing me access to this fine instrument.NOTE: this is purely my interest in order to make sure that these fine organs are archived forever and I do not make any monetary profit by this video being on dailymotion.For more information on the John Compton Organ Company Ltd and to see me play other Compton organs, please click on the following link for my site dedicated to the John Compton Organ Company Ltd:http://comptonorgans.yolasite.com/

Me playing the organ at St Luke's Church in Chelsea, London.The present organ was built in 1932 by the John Compton Organ Company Ltd and incorporates pipework from a previous instrument built by Henry Jones & Sons. The organ still features the distinctive Compton console with the patent luminous stop control system. The organ also has the Compton patent 32ft polyphonic bass and like most Compton instruments, the organ is built using the extension principal and all pipework totally enclosed. At a later date a 2 manual console (known as the 'East console') was installed in the choir area. For this first video im playing the hymn 'All people that on earth do dwell' to the tune 'Old 100th' which shows off the sheer power of this instrument!Many thanks to the officials at St Luke's for allowing me access to this wonderful example of an instrument built by the John Compton Organ Company Ltd.NOTE: this is purely my interest in order to make sure that these fine organs are archived forever and I do not make any monetary profit by this video being on dailymotion.For more information on the John Compton Organ Company Ltd and to see me play other Compton organs, please click on the following link for my site dedicated to the John Compton Organ Company Ltd:http://comptonorgans.yolasite.com/

Another of me playing the magnificent Compton organ at St Luke's Church in Chelsea, London. I am playing the beautiful 'O Lord, hear my prayer' to demonstrate the delicate string and flute stops on this instrument. Many thanks to the church officials at St Luke's for allowing me access to this wonderful example of an instrument by the John Compton Organ Company Ltd. NOTE: this is purely my interest in order to make sure that these fine organs are archived forever and I do not make any monetary profit by this video being on dailymotion.For more information on the John Compton Organ Company Ltd and to see me play other Compton organs, please click on the following link for my site dedicated to the John Compton Organ Company Ltd:http://comptonorgans.yolasite.com/

Me playing the organ at St Mary Magdalene Church in the Paddington district of London. The organ was built in 1933 by the John Compton Organ Company Ltd and includes pipework from a previous instrument by Walker. It is a wonderful example of a Compton organ in original condition and includes the patent luminous stop control console. The pipework, built on the extension principal, is enclosed in 2 chambers (one above the other) on the south side of the chancel behind a dummy pipe facade with the exception of the 32ft patent Polyphonic Bass. For this first video I am playing the hymn 'Crown him with many crowns' to the tune 'Diademata' which shows off the sheer power of this instrument enhanced by brilliant acoustics. Many thanks to the church officials for allowing me access to this magnificent Compton organ. NOTE: this is purely my interest in order to make sure that these fine organs are archived forever and I do not make any monetary profit by this video being on dailymotion. For more information on the John Compton Organ Company Ltd and to see me play other Compton organs, please click on the following link for my site dedicated to the John Compton Organ Company Ltd: http://comptonorgans.yolasite.com/ REQUEST: I am always on the lookout for Compton organs to play - particularly electrones - so if you know of any churches which still have these then please do let me know. I will happily give a donation or pay any applicable room hire charge.

Another of me playing the magnificent Compton organ at St Mary Magdalene Church in Paddington, London. Being in London, I wanted to play a hymn tune associated with the city but also something that would sound ideal on a powerful instrument so came up with 'Christ is made the sure foundation' to the tune 'Westminster Abbey'. The organ is certainly not backwards in coming forwards when it comes to power which can be felt as well as heard and at a couple of points during this video, the results of the pedal basses actually caused my camera to loose focus! Many thanks to the church officials for allowing me access to this magnificent Compton organ. NOTE: this is purely my interest in order to make sure that these fine organs are archived forever and I do not make any monetary profit by this video being on dailymotion. For more information on the John Compton Organ Company Ltd and to see me play other Compton organs, please click on the following link for my site dedicated to the John Compton Organ Company Ltd: http://comptonorgans.yolasite.com/ REQUEST: I am always on the lookout for Compton organs to play - particularly electrones - so if you know of any churches which still have these then please do let me know. I will happily give a donation or pay any applicable room hire charge.

Another of me playing the magnificent 3 manual Compton organ at St Mary Magdalene Church in Paddington, London. For this final video I am playing the majestic 'Onward, Christian soldiers' to the tune 'St Gertrude' which makes use of the organs 3 main reed stops - Posaune, Fagotto and Tromba. Many thanks to the church officials for allowing me access to this wonderful Compton organ. NOTE: this is purely my interest in order to make sure that these fine organs are archived forever and I do not make any monetary profit by this video being on dailymotion. For more information on the John Compton Organ Company Ltd and to see me play other Compton organs, please click on the following link for my site dedicated to the John Compton Organ Company Ltd: http://comptonorgans.yolasite.com/ REQUEST: I am always on the lookout for Compton organs to play - particularly electrones - so if you know of any churches which still have these then please do let me know. I will happily give a donation or pay any applicable room hire charge.

Another of me playing the magnificent Compton organ installed at Jewin Chapel in London - a 5 minute walk from Barbican underground station and also very close to a huge event taking place this same day called 'Summer in the city' which sees literally 1000s of youtubers attending. Ironically, I had brought advanced train tickets with a view to going along but then realising that this wasnt for me and the tickets being non-refundable, I arranged to do what I enjoy doing most - playing Compton organs and here was my first visit of the day. As a result I decided to call this my 'summer in the city organ crawl'.Im playing the hymn "I hear thy welcome voice" to the tune "Gwahoddiad" which makes use of the various different tone colours available starting off with the Trumpet in the first verse and then the Flutes and Strings in the next verses and also the tremulant. Due to the extreme recent weather changes, the Trumpet was out of tune so please excuse that.Many thanks to the church officials for allowing me to play another example of a Compton organ and of course a big thank you to my subscribers and followers - your support and encouragement means a lot.NOTE: this is purely my interest in order to make sure that these fine organs are archived forever and I do not make any monetary profit by this video being on dailymotion.For more information on the John Compton Organ Company Ltd and to see me play other Compton organs, please click on the following link for my site dedicated to the John Compton Organ Company Ltd:http://comptonorgans.yolasite.com/

My final video of me playing the magnificent 3 manual Compton organ installed at Jewin Chapel, London - a 5 minute walk from Barbican tube station and also very close to a huge event taking place on this same day called 'Summer in the city' which sees literally 1000s of people on youtube attending. Ironically, I had brought advanced train tickets with a view to going along but then realising that this wasnt for me and the tickets being non-refundable, I arranged to do what I enjoy doing most - playing Compton organs and here was my first visit of the day. As a result I decided to call this my 'summer in the city organ crawl'.Keeping with the Welsh theme, im playing the hymn "Love divine, all loves excelling" to the tune "Blaenwern" which makes use of the full organ registrations. Due to the extreme changes in weather recently, the Trumpet stop was out of tune so please excuse that.Many thanks to the church officials for allowing me to play another example of a Compton organ and of course a big thank you to my subscribers and followers - your support and encouragement means a lot.NOTE: this is purely my interest in order to make sure that these fine organs are archived forever and I do not make any monetary profit by this video being on dailymotion.For more information on the John Compton Organ Company Ltd and to see me play other Compton organs, please click on the following link for my site dedicated to the John Compton Organ Company Ltd:http://comptonorgans.yolasite.com/

Me playing the organ at St Gabriel's Church in North Acton, London. The organ was installed at the church by the John Compton Organ Company Ltd sometime during the late 1960s to replace an earlier instrument and is the 357 model. It had previously used by Compton as a demonstration instrument. The organ has a working rotofon speaker situated high up in the church on the right hand side of the nave. For this first video I am playing the communion hymn 'This is my body, broken for you' which makes use of some wonderful classic Compton electrone tone colours enhanced by excellent acoustics. Many thanks to Father Timothy L 'Estrange for allowing me access to this fine instrument and for making me so welcome. NOTE: this is purely my interest in order to make sure that these fine organs are archived forever and I do not make any monetary profit by this video being on dailymotion. For more information on the John Compton Organ Company Ltd and to see me play other Compton organs, please click on the following link for my site dedicated to the John Compton Organ Company Ltd: http://comptonorgans.yolasite.com/ REQUEST: I am always on the lookout for Compton organs to play - particularly electrones - so if you know of any churches which still have these then please do let me know. I will happily give a donation or pay any applicable room hire charge.

Me playing the Compton electronic organ at Church of the Ascension on the Hanger Hill Estate in Ealing, West London.Hanger Hill is one of those 1930s "garden suburbs" and contains much interesting architecture. John Compton himself lived on this estate.The organ here dates back to 1947 and is one of the few remaining "347" models and was the flagship of the Compton electrone range. The organ works on the electrostatic principal and uses 12 rotating generators contained in an external cabinet which is located in a room just behind the console. Two large loudspeakers are situated each side of the communion area. The specification reads:PEDALAcoustic Bass 32'Contra Bass 16'Violone 16'Bourdon 16'Dulciana 16'Octave 8'Flute 8'Trombone 16'Great to PedalSwell to PedalGREATContra Geigen 16'Diapason 8'Gemshorn 8'Hohl Flute 8'Stopped Diapason 8'Dolce 8'Octave 4'Wald Flute 4'Twelfth & Fifteenth IICor Anglais 8'Clarinet 8'Tromba 8'Swell to GreatSWELLContra Salicional 16'Principal 8'Viol de Gamba 8'Salicional 8'Flauto Pleno 8'Lieblich Gedeckt 8'Salicet 4'Lieblich Flute 4'Flageolet 2'Mixture IIIContra Fagotto 16'Cornopean 8'Hautbois 8'Clarion 4'ACCESSORIES4 thumb pistons to Great and Pedal4 thumb pistons to Swell1 balanced expression pedal - Great and Pedal1 balanced expression pedal - SwellTremulant - entire organDouble touch canceller to each departmentHere I am playing "To God be the glory" which demonstrates the main sounds of this fascinating machine including the 8ft Tromba in the chorus.These organs are fast becoming extinct with many churches replacing them with digital instruments etc. Modern technology is indeed appealing with its realistic sampled sounds but history is being lost as a result. Opportunities should be taken to see that these unique instruments are preserved for future generations to experience how technology worked in the pre digital era.Many thanks to Reverend Simon Reed for allowing me access to the church to play what is now an extremely rare instrument.One thing to note - I am certainly no wizard of an organist but hope this video is able to give an illustration of what a Compton 347 electrone sounds like.NOTE: this is purely my interest in order to make sure that these fine organs are archived forever and I do not make any monetary profit by this video being on dailymotion.For more information on the John Compton Organ Company Ltd and to see me play other Compton organs, please click on the following link for my site dedicated to the John Compton Organ Company Ltd:http://comptonorgans.yolasite.com/

Another of me playing the Compton electrone 347 model installed at Church of the Ascension, Hanger Hill Estate, Ealing in West London.This time im demonstrating some of the quieter sounds with the hymn "Father who in Jesus found us" to the tune "Quem Pastores Laudavere". The first verse features the effective Clarinet stop.These organs are fast becoming extinct with many churches replacing them with digital instruments etc. Modern technology is indeed appealing with its realistic sampled sounds but history is being lost as a result. Opportunities should be taken to see that these unique instruments are preserved for future generations to experience how technology worked in the pre digital era.Many thanks to Reverend Simon Reed for allowing me access to this interesting instrument.One thing to note - I am certainly no wizard of an organist but hope this video is able to give an illustration of what a Compton 347 electrone sounds like.NOTE: this is purely my interest in order to make sure that these fine organs are archived forever and I do not make any monetary profit by this video being on dailymotion.For more information on the John Compton Organ Company Ltd and to see me play other Compton organs, please click on the following link for my site dedicated to the John Compton Organ Company Ltd:http://comptonorgans.yolasite.com/

Me playing the organ at St Francis of Assisi Church in Isleworth in the west of London.St Francis of Assisi Church was opened in 1935 in response to the growing housing estates which sprung up in the area at this time. The organ was built by the John Compton Organ Company Ltd and opened with a recital by Dr George Thalben Ball and was originally intended as a temporary instrument. However, almost 80 years later, it is - happily for me being a Compton fan - still here! The organ is an excellent example of a pre war 'Miniatura' model and has 2 ranks of pipes - Diapason and Rohr Gedeckt. Despite the limited specification, the organ is enhanced by wonderful acoustics and is situated on the rear gallery. The specification reads:PEDALBourdon 16'Flute 8'Great to PedalSwell to PedalGREATBourdon 16'Open Diapason 8'Rohr Gedeckt 8'Principal 4'Fifteenth 2'SWELLOpen Diapason 8'Rohr Gedeckt 8'Flute 4'Piccolo 2'ACCESSORIESVentil switchesVoltmeterFor this first video im playing the hymn 'For the healing of the nations' to the tune 'Grafton'.Many thanks to the vicar and wardens for allowing me access to this wonderful unspoilt example of a Compton 'Miniatura' model organ.NOTE: this is purely my interest in order to make sure that these fine organs are archived forever and I do not make any monetary profit by this video being on dailymotion.For more information on the John Compton Organ Company Ltd and to see me play other Compton organs, please click on the following link for my site dedicated to the John Compton Organ Company Ltd:http://comptonorgans.yolasite.com/