Beechworth Town Hall, Victoria, Australia
Almost a week ago, I wrote about my little family outing to the historic town of Beechworth. You may remember that I came across a poster that was advertising an organ concert in a shopfront window. Well, I followed through on my promise and I did end up making an appearance. I also took a few short pieces to play, after the concert, for "open console". I was afraid I was going to be late, but I arrived just in time. It was also good to see that the had a sign outside advertising "FREE Organ Concert" to entice tourists walking around the area. The vibe was quite casual, so anyone poking their head through the door were cordially invited in by the town hall staff.
Before I took a seat, I took a quick snap of the organ. There were no printed programmes—which was a shame. Now I cannot recall all the pieces that were performed on Sunday. The papers at the front left of the stage were actually historical notes on the organ and a collection plate for donations.
From what I remember, the selection of pieces played on the organ were "popular, well known classics". This included many from the Baby-Boomer generation and even included the theme songs from Titanic and Babe. The audience were invited to sing Rule Britannia, God Save The Queen and to be politically correct—the Australian National Anthem. The songs were led by a lovely strong tenor which you will see pictured to the right of the organist.
At the end of the concert, I made myself known to the organisers et al. and kindly asked if they could take my photo seated at the console. So here is a photo of me :) I played three short pieces during open console whilst everyone else was getting afternoon tea. This also gave me the opportunity to take some close-ups of the organ and shots without people in them.
The manual compass is 4 1/2 octaves (finishes at a 'G'), 6 stops (all except the Stopt Diapason start from Tenor 'C') and the pedal compass is 29 notes (very interesting as it's commonly either 30/32 notes). There are no independent pedal stops—they are permanently coupled to the manual. Full specifications are available at the OHTA website.
The hall is a marvellous piece of architecture and has been meticulously maintained and not modernised. It has a generous acoustic and a microphone was not needed to amplify the singer. I enjoyed the afternoon entertainment and it was a fitting end to my week off from work. The icing on the cake was that I was invited to play the organ anytime (my name is now in the authorised users book!) and I would be offered a recital sometime in the future.
