St. John's Territet

This organ has had so many changes to its mechanism since its 'birth' in 1877 that a rebuild is required using the best of the pipework. There are very few examples of British organs in Switzerland, so the local experts are keen to preserve what they have, even if it would likely be scrapped and replaced in the UK. The organ makes a fine sound in the reasonable acoustic of its neo-Gothic church, decorated in the style of Bodley/Pugin.

After 10 years of research and discussion with Organ builders in both Switzerland and the UK a builder was chosen in 2007, but as yet, because of lack of funds, no contract has been signed.

The latest news (2021)

After 5 years of fund raising the Swiss Federal Organ Expert then decided that the UK Organ Builder's offer did not retain enough of the Bishop and Goll mechanism. Various options were considered including asking other builders to restore the existing mechanism. However, I reminded the church that over the last 20 years I have been restoring the mechanism and it is now operating as it was originally designed to when the humidity in the church allows it to. All worn leather has been replaced, tubes cleaned, leaks traced and sealed, etc.

This means that if the building is going to be heated for 6 months of the year the organ will continue being unreliable. The wood used in 1907 is not able to withstand long periods when the humidity is well below 40%. The console is particularly sensitive to humidity changes and cannot be enclosed in order to attempt to maintain a local environment that might make the organ reliable.

The restoration committee have been asked by the Church council to look at the original requests made by organists, organ builders and organ advisors, particularly as simply restoring as is, would not address the very limited access for tuning and maintenance, the poor egress of sound from the Swell organ, the unergonomic console, humidity related problems and total lack of playing aids.

The council and restoration committee agree that the appearance of the organ facades should remain the same. Organ historians would like to see the Goll pneumatic console preserved along with the Bishop slider chest that was not destroyed by Goll. However, organists and organ builders would prefer to have a new console of international concert standard. I would like to see a duplex action that permits both consoles to operate the organ, but without compromising the performance of the new console.