Inauguration:

The inaugural concert was given on 16^th November 1998 by Dr. John Kitchen, Senior Lecturer in Music at the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Organist, The City of Edinburgh Organist and Director of Music at Old Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church Edinburgh.

Recordings:

The instrument has been recorded several times, most recently by the Edinburgh Society of Organists for their ‘Organs of Edinburgh’ CD/book.

http://edinburghorganists.org

Pipes

Great Organ = 616 pipes = 8 stops

Positiv (Swell) = 505 pipes = 8 stops

Pedal = 120 pipes = 4 stops

Total = 1241 pipes

Pitch = A440 cone tuned at equal temperament.

Inscriptions:

On the case:    

Lauda Dominum      (Praise the Lord)

Deus magnus Dominus (God the Lord is great)

Lauda Deum      (Praise God)

Materials:

Mahogany case

Oak console, bench and pedals

Yellow pine trackers

Cedarwood and leather pallets

Padouk wood reed heads

Pipes of Tin, Copper or Mahogany

Brass and aluminium metal work

Naturals of mammoth tusk ivory

Sharps of ebony

Draw stops of mammoth and ebony

Gold leaf inscription lettering

Swell shutters constructed of two mahogany panels with a lead sheet core.

Director of Music

Richard Neville-Towle still remembers the tingling excitement when as a young boy he first heard a Cathedral choir and organ. This has led to a lifetime’s love of music and a great interest in the whole process of presentation and performance. After science A levels at Bradfield College, he graduated in music from Durham University and the Guildhall School of Music, interspersed with brief spells as organ scholar at Ely Cathedral and the Royal School of Church Music.

From a first job as a Studio Manager with the BBC, his career has taken him through property development with Trafalgar House to teaching music at Fettes. Now settled in Edinburgh with a beautiful wife and two challenging children, Richard divides his time between performance, as Director of Music at Canongate Kirk, Ludus Baroque Chamber Orchestra and Choir and the Really Terrible Orchestra, and event organising for Prompt Events, providing the A-Z of entertainment for some o f Scotland’s most prestigious companies.

Twice a year some of the UK’s finest baroque musicians and young vocal soloists come together in Canongate Kirk to give sell-out performances of the great works of Bach and Handel. In 2010, in its 14^th year, Ludus Baroque made its first commercial recording with Delphian to great critical acclaim. As a result of this success, Alexander’s Feast will be followed in 2011 by recordings of Handel’s Song for St Cecilia’s Day and, in 2012 The Triumph of Time & Truth. Bach’s B Minor Mass and Christmas Oratorio, cornerstones of the Canongate year, will be recorded in 2012 and 2013.

Organ Scholar / Deputy Organist

Edward Dewhirst became our Organ Scholar in November 2007 and since then has played for many services, weddings and also when the Queen was present in July 2009. He finished his Bachelor of Music Degree (Honours) at the University of Edinburgh last year and began a Masters in Musical Instrument Research last September. He is a pianist, organist and harpsichordist with his main focus being the study of musical instruments and period performance.

Edward has studied music from an early age in his home town of Harrogate in North Yorkshire and started his church music career by deputising at several churches in Harrogate in particular his home church of Bar Methodist Church (now Bilton Area Methodist Church).

In Edinburgh he is currently preparing for the Associateship Examination of the Royal College of Organists, tutored by Brigitte Harris (organist at St. Andrew’s and St. George’s Church, Edinburgh). In the final year of his Bachelor of Music Degree he studied composition, orchestration and researched Italian harpsichord construction for his dissertation which won him the Niecks Memorial Prize. Edward is continuing his research of harpsichords in his Masters. He is also learning to tune harpsichords and would like to pursue a career associated with keyboard instrument maintenance, conservation or building along with period instrument performance. In the Edinburgh Fringe 2010 Edward performed an organ recital at St Andrew’s and St George’s Church receiving great reviews.