Hello, I’m Cassian Southwick, the newest member of the Viscount Classical Organs team. I’d like to thank David for asking me to introduce myself to you all. I’ve written from the beginning of my love of organs, all the way to the present day. A young enthusiastic musician It took me a little while longer...  [Read More] The post Meet Cassian Southwick: Another team member with a longstanding passion for organs appeared first on Viscount Organs ..read more

My day started off badly when the phone rang on the way to work. Our service manager Peter was on the other end to tell me his van had broken down. We were due at Christ Church Northampton later that day to complete the installation of an Envoy 350-FV and his van contained the plinth...  [Read More] The post Beautiful and Unusual Organ at Christ Church, Northampton appeared first on Viscount Organs ..read more

The organ world by nature is bound to be served by small companies. This applies equally to the pipe organ sector and the digital side of the industry. Many of these suppliers may only be single worker entities earning a modest living from their specialist knowledge and skills. A few grow to be more significant...  [Read More] The post Planning for the Future at Viscount Organs appeared first on Viscount Organs ..read more

Late in 2023 we were asked to visit Christ Church Cathedral and advise on options for an instrument to replace the Quire pipe organ that was on loan from Martin Renshaw. The main west end Rieger organ, a versatile instrument of great beauty which was commissioned in the 1970s, accompanied the Cathedral Choir which was...  [Read More] The post A temporary instrument for Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford appeared first on Viscount Organs ..read more

It was over two years ago that we agreed terms to supply the brand new Church of South India in Abu Dhabi, with a light oak Envoy 35-F that would play through 10 external speakers and a sub bass. The advice we gave on this setup was based on the construction drawings available for this ‘church in the round’. As you can see from the outside picture it is a very high-quality build as well as significant architectural achievement. Exterior of Church of South India in Abu DhabiChurch construction delays The instrument was shipped out in April 2022 but it was not until the March of 2024 that our co ..read more

It scary to realise that almost 5 years have passed since I was at All Hallows Church in Hargrave concluding this installation just a few months before the pandemic hit. Local organist Nicholas Pollard achieved what is quite a rare feat obtaining permission to install a large 3 manual instrument in a relatively small church. The instrument it replaced was a small single manual 9 stop pipe organ that was so riddled with woodworm the cost of restoration was immense. Despite the condition of the instrument, through the publication of our blog and the power of social media a new home for the pipew ..read more

My first visit to Southwell Minster was a surprise visit for my 50th birthday to play the Screen Organ there. My 40th birthday had seen a visit to Salisbury Cathedral and my 60th went unmarked, which must mean my 70th is coming up next year and must be a very auspicious venue indeed! Time will tell. Southwell Minster hire one of our organs Anyway, back to Southwell, about 18 months ago we had been asked to prepare a proposal for a hire instrument to cover the cleaning and refurbishment of the instrument I had played almost 20 years before. We were booked for January 2024 but as is the nature o ..read more

After the last two years working with Ralph Allwood and the Trinity Laban Choir at the Old Royal Naval Chapel (ORNC) in Greenwich, we once again returned to St Margaret’s Church in North Oxford for a filming session concentrating exclusively on organs. Showcasing the Ensign range of new Physis Plus organs recently launched in the UK market. The team deep in thought We retained a small link with Trinity Laban as our performer for the day was Jonathan Eyre. He is the organist at the ORNC and a somewhat prodigious publisher on YouTube of organ playing on our instrument in the chapel. Showcasing f ..read more

It’s probably about 4 or 5 years since Anna Lapwood came to our attention as a prolific user of social media to present her enjoyment of the organ in lots of guises and locations. Our first meeting with her occurred just before lockdown in 2020 when she purchased in the nick of time her first Viscount home practice instrument. A 2 manual Chorum 40-S. You may well have seen some of the many videos she published on that instrument covering a wide range of topics from instructive to comical. I particularly like the Coffee Cantata edition and one I can no longer find balancing a toilet roll on her ..read more

One of the great joys of working in this business is the variety of people and locations we get to meet and visit. On that score it would be hard to beat St Mary’s Church in Beverley on both measures. Many will associate Beverley with the better known Minster but if you ever find yourself in the area do visit both buildings which are very fine examples of the medieval building skills to be found all over the UK. Beverley Minster retains a fine pipe organ with some original Snetzler ranks while St Mary’s has now, perhaps sadly, lost its huge 4 manual pipe organ. St Mary’s BeverleyA building rep ..read more