Blog Archives

The Leamington Consort

10/11/2012

Using Holy Trinity Church for rehearsal

The Leamington Consort visited Holy Trinity Church, Leamington Spa today in order to rehearse for the next concert at All Saints'. This will take place on Saturday 1st December and full details can be found on the Leamington Consort website.

Members of Holy Trinity and visitors to the church were delighted with the opportunity to hear some of the music being rehearsed to a very high standard.

Don't be confused: the concert will take place at All Saints'.

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Contributing to Remembrance

9/11/2012

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We're always pleased to be able to serve the town, and civic occasions are of particular significance.

For many years, the choir and members of the congregation have taken part in the annual ceremony of remembrance at the town centre war memorial on Remembrance Sunday. Our main morning service takes place an hour earlier than normal and is slightly shortened; afterwards we process up to Euston Place to participate in the service led by the Mayor's Chaplain for the time being.

This year we have prepared 'They shall grow not old' by Douglas Guest, and 'There is an old belief' by CHH Parry. The photo shows the choir rehearsing.

There is also an annual service of remembrance held on the nearest Friday afternoon by the Friends of Leamington Station on one of the platforms, gathered around the Roll of Honour. Fr Christopher led the service again this year, assisted by the Rev Rafiq Thapar, Railway Chaplain.

And of course, we hold our own Act of Remembrance in the Memorial Chapel during the 9.30am Sunday service.

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Pulling out all the stops to restore All Saints' organ

7/11/2012

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Simon Tayton and Simon Lawford present their proposal to restore the organ's solo division.

The solo division currently lies un-used in its own shuttered case - these pipes last sounded in 1982.

Tuba pipes lying un-used in the organ loft - it is hoped that these might be restored to a playable state in the near future

The Friends of All Saints' Music (FASM) tonight hosted a meeting at which Simon Lawford and Simon Tayton proposed an exciting project to restore part of the All Saints' organ, which would increase its capacity by a further 20%. Former and current organists from All Saints' and the local area were invited to share their views on the project.

Simply by connecting up an old and forgotten "solo division", the organ would become even more effective when accompanying the choir as well as improving the traditional English sound which would have filled the church before changes made in 1982. Other easily-restored stops include pipework for the Vox Humana and Tuba.

The All Saints' organ is already a grand instrument (read more about the organ specification), but recent investigations have revealed that only modest investment could improve it to a standard which would rival some cathedral organs. Indeed, the proposed changes would go a long way to restoring the sound to that of its original specification in 1925.

In 1982, urgent refurbishment of the organ was needed when the old pneumatic action began to fail. A modern electrical action was installed alongside several changes to the pipes, according to the prevailing fashions of the day. Unfortunately several of these changes are now considered to be detrimental and the current plan is to reverse some of them. Such restoration work would usually cost tens of thousands of pounds. Fortunately, the pipework was left inside the organ loft and simply requires re-connecting to allow the pipes to sound once again.

You can read more about the history of All Saints' organ in the organ pages.

The next step will be to discuss these proposals at the church's next PCC meeting and obtain an independent report on the current state of the organ. We then need to begin fundraising for this exciting project, which should benefit audiences and congregations at All Saints' for many years to come.

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MacMillan Coffee Morning

6/11/2012

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We are pleased to announce that a coffee morning held at All Saints' cafe today raised more than £300 for MacMillan cancer care.

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Bring & Sing for All Saints

4/11/2012

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We're very excited to see so many people at our Bring & Sing event to celebrate All Saints' tide. The performance of Bach's Magnificat and Handel's Zadok the Priest will take place at 6.30pm tonight. Tickets are available on the door.

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Choir excitement about Bring & Sing

2/11/2012

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All Saints' Choir have just finished practising in preparation for the Bring & Sing this Sunday (4th November). We will be welcoming singers from across the county to rehearse and perform Bach's Magnificat and Handel's Zadok the Priest to celebrate our patronal festival. If you'd like to sing with us please come along at 3.30pm on Sunday, it would be great to see you! Further details can be found here.

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Shiny new boiler!

2/11/2012

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We'll soon be warm again, thanks to the new South boiler. It had to be brought in in sections and constructed in situ, but it's almost ready now.

Next week the final cabling will be installed, along with the section connecting the boiler outlet with the existing flue pipe.

So one more Sunday relying on just the North boiler and the overhead heaters, and then we'll be all set up for the winter.

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