Greg Lewin – a man of many talents
Greg Lewin, our Organist and Director of Music, tells the story behind the organ music on the Worship on the Web services.
Some viewers of our ‘Services on the Web’ may have wondered about the organ that plays before and after the service and which accompanies the hymns. Maybe you suspect that I sneak into the church when the Vicar is not looking and do a bit of crafty recording – but no, the music is recorded on a digital electronic organ at home.
The organ in church produces sound by blowing air through pipes; in a digital organ the sound is made by playing recordings of pipes having air blown through them. If everything is set up right it can be very difficult to tell the difference between the two.
The digital bit is done by a very clever computer program – but the organ still needs a console (the piece of furniture with the stops, keyboards and pedals that you play on). New organ consoles can be purchased – but are very expensive. An alternative is to convert an old electric organ, or better still, the console of a redundant pipe organ.
My console came from the pipe organ which used to be in Oldbury Grammar School. It was built in 1954 by Nicholson of Worcester – one of the leading organ builders of the time. The school was demolished in 2015 and the organ put into (very damp) storage. Last year the console parts were offered for sale on Ebay and I was able to purchase them for the princely sum of 99p.
After six months work, just at the beginning of lockdown, the reconstructed console was working well enough to be used in our online services. Now it is completely finished – bar a few ‘trimmings’. If you would like to know more I have made a short video which you will find here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV0zMJuRY7A&t=6s
Greg Lewin