The Camberwell Organ
The Camberwell Organ is a vital part of life at St Giles’. From church services such as mass on Sundays, evensong, Christmas carol services to weddings and funerals, the Camberwell Organ is integral to the running of the church.
However, it is also used at many concerts and music events, such as silent film screenings and classical music concerts. It is most famous though for the biannual extravaganza that is ORGANOKE!
Organoke began as a way to help raise funds to restore the Camberwell Organ and raise awareness of its importance in the community and more widely as a historic organ. We are currently fundraising to get the £500,000 needed to restore the organ. We have set up a funding group to raise money for the project.To find out more please go to the AllSwell website.
HISTORY OF THE CAMBERWELL ORGAN
Who designed the organ?
Samuel Sebastian Wesley was the grandson of Charles Wesley, the famous hymn writer and co-founder of the Methodist Church.
Born in 1810 Samuel himself is considered one of the most important church musicians of the 19th Century. It is said that his fingers and feet moved so swiftly as he played the organ that people would crowd round him just to watch.
Before Wesley embarked on his career as a cathedral organist and composer, he was appointed organist of St Giles’ on the 8th of January, 1829.
He stayed at Camberwell for nearly four years and by all accounts he was very happy here. When the old medieval church of St Giles’ was destroyed by fire, he returned to design the organ in the new church.
The organ Wesley designed has three manuals (keyboards) and pedals and has forty-two speaking stops. Many of the stops Wesley included are duplicated to achieve different tonal combinations.
These additions don’t necessarily make the organ louder but when used with understanding, the organ can produce amazingly rich and warm sonorities. Built before the Great Exhibition of 1851, the organ is perhaps the sole survivor of a long tradition of English organ building – its lineage can be traced back hundreds of years.
J.C. Bishop & Sons
The organ was built by J.C. Bishop & Sons in 1844, the same year the church was rebuilt.
J.C. Bishop & Sons, still exist and have looked after and kept the organ going since the beginning, and were responsible for the partial restoration in 1961.
Dr Maurice Merrell, the current principal of Bishop & Sons, was responsible for the restoration in 1961 and is still responsible for servicing and looking after the organ today. Now in his 90’s he can often be found scrambling in and around the organ loft tuning pipes and repairing stops.
THE ORGAN
MUSIC AT
ST GILES
JAZZLIVE IN
THE CRYPT
CAMBERWELL COMMUNITY CHOIR
CAMBERWELL CHOIR SCHOOL
BELLRINGING