Thomas Hardy’s second novel – Under the Greenwood Tree (1872) – is a masterpiece of rural comedy with a tragedy at its heart: the usurpation of the centuries-old tradition of church music, represented by the loss of the west-gallery musicians and singers from the Mellstock Quire in favour of the ‘new-fangled’ organ. Now, though, it is the turn of organs to be cast aside, as pipe organs are increasingly being expelled from churches and chapels to be replaced by cheaper and less temperamental keyboards or digital organs.
The newly formed charity Pipe up for Pipe Organs (PuPO) deplores what its manifesto describes as ‘a wave of destruction that is sending an estimated four pipe organs to landfill every week’. Even if they are not physically destroyed, many organs are now silent, slowly deteriorating from lack of use and regular maintenance.
The UK is unusual in the sheer number and quality of its organs. They were once present in virtually every parish and are important features of non-conformist chapels, not to mention cinemas and concert halls. They represent a heritage of technical innovation and craftsmanship held in high esteem throughout the world. Thanks to the work of PuPO, new homes are being found for redundant British organs in other parts of Europe – in France, for example, where so many organs were lost during the wars and revolutions that have ravaged the nation over the last 250 years, or in the former Soviet bloc, where once-neglected churches are now undergoing a revival.
Heritage on the River Thames