Duke's Hall of the
Royal Academy of Music, London
The former principal-director of the Royal Academy, Sir David Lumsden, was the advisor for the building of this organ. He explanes why this organ was build:"The organstudents of the Academy can use the Rieger organ in the Marylebone church for baroque- and modernmusic. But there was no organ for playing works in the French romantic style, as developed by Cavaillé-Coll. This type of organ was a great point of inspiration for a complete tradition in organplaying and composing from Franck and Widor to Messiaen. In 1989 the Academy signed a contract with Van den Heuvel to build an organ in the style of Cavaillé-Coll. In my point of view Van den Heuvel is the leading specialist in the Cavaillé-Coll style aswell in modern symphonic organbuilding. Unless the organ is not a large one, the voicing is very characteristic in the French romantic style: warm and powerfull. The stops sound like one unity, therefor the organ can also used to play together with a orcherstra."
The organ has two manual divisions of 61 notes and a Pedal of 32 notes. The Grand-Orgue has 12 stops, the Récit Expressif 8 stops and the Pédale 4 stops.
The key- and stopaction are mechanical. No Barker levers are used. The console is separated from the case and facing the hall. The case is a copy of the middle part of the case of the former Trocadéro organ of Cavaillé-Coll.
Instruments | Duke's Hall of the RAM, London