Brisbane City Hall

Henry Willis & Sons 1892, 1930 rebuilt Brown & Arkley 1991 (5/80 electric)

		Photo: Trevor Bunning (Aug. 1966)

From the 1989 OHTA Conference handbook written by Dr Geoffrey Cox:

This large sandstone-faced steel and concrete building was designed by architects Hall & Prentice and built in 1920-30. The imposing main facade fronting the square displays a portico with tympanum relief by Daphne Mayo. [1]

The City organ was built in 1891-92 by Henry Willis and Sons, London, for the Brisbane Exhibition Building (subsequently the Queensland Art Gallery and Museum) in Bowen Park. [2] Ordered in June 1891, [3] it was of similar size to, and almost contemporary with, the Willis organ (1891) at Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire, UK, which survives today in original condition. At that time, the firm was headed by its founder, 'Father' Henry Willis (1821-1901). Writing some years later in the firm's journal The Rotunda, Willis's grandson, Henry Willis III described the original organ as follows:

On 7th June, 1891, my grandfather was commissioned to build an organ for the Concert Room of the Brisbane Exhibition Buildings, to an agreed specification given below.

The completed organ was on view in the old "Rotunda" in Camden Town, and many eminent musicians, including Sir John Stainer, Dr. Turpin, Mr. H. L. Balfour, Dr. Davan Wetton, played upon it and expressed the greatest delight with the instrument. Dr. Wetton, who was the assistant organist at Westminster Abbey, stated "It is an instrument full of quality, the repetition is wonderful, and the general mechanism perfection, the old gentleman being very pleased with the work he has turned out". (the "old gentleman" was, of course, Father Willis.)

There is no doubt that my grandfather was exceedingly proud of the organ, and his only regret, voiced in letters to his friends, was that it was going to "the other side of the world," and that he would not be able to hear and play it in position. The specification was a typical "Willis" one of the period, the only unusual feature being the metal Contra Violone 32-ft on the Pedal Organ, the pipes being used in the front,

Specification of Grand Concert Organ the the Exhibition Hall, Bowen Park, Brisbane, Queensland.

The instrument consisted of four complete manuals from CC to A, 58 notes and two and a half octaves of concave and radiating pedals from CCC to F, 30 notes.

PEDALE 8 stops 1. Contra Violone 2. Violone 3. Open Diapason 4. Octave 5. Bourdon 6. Flute Bass 7. Ophicleide 8. Posaune CHOIR 7 Stops 9. Dulciana 10. Lieblich Gedackt 11. Claribel Flute 12. Viola-da-Gamba 13. Flute d'Amour 14. Piccolo Harmonique 15. Corno-di-Bassetto GREAT ORGAN 11 stops 16. Double Diapason 17. Open Diapason 18. Open Diapason 19. Claribel Flute 20. Flute-Harmonique 21. Principal 22. Twelfth 23. Fifteenth 24. Sesquialtera 25. Trumpet8 26. Clarion [space for trombone 16] SWELL ORGAN 14 stops 27. Lieblich Bourdon 28. Lleblich Gedackt 29. Lieblich Flute 30. Geigen Principal 31. Gemshorn 32. Flageolet 33. Salicional 34. Vox Angelica 35. Mixture 36. Double Trumpet 37. Cornopean 38. Hautboy 39. Vox-Humana & Tremulant 40. Clarion SOLO ORGAN 5 stops 41. Flute Harmonique 42. Concert Flute 43. Clarinet 44. Orchestral Oboe 45. Tuba COUPLERS 46. Swell Sub Octave 47. Swell Super Octave 48. Swell to Great Unison 49. Solo to Great 50. Choir to Great 51. Solo to Pedal 52. Swell to Pedal 53. Great to Pedal 54. Choir to Pedal 55. Tremulant 56. Pistons to composition pedals*

32 16 16 8 16 16 16 8 8 8 8 8 4 2 8 16 8 8 8 4 4 3 2 3 ranks 8 4 16 8 4 8 4 2 8 3 ranks 16 8 8 8 8 8 4 8 8 8

metal (derived from No.1 with 12 pipes added) wood (derived from No.3 with 12 pipes added) std. wood std. wood metal metal metal std. wood & metal (closed bass) wood metal metal metal metal metal metal metal (closed bass) wood metal std. wood & metal wood & metal wood & metal metal metal metal metal (undulating to TC.: bass derived from No.33) metal metal metal metal metal metal metal metal metal metal metal (on itself) pneumatic (on itself) pneumatic pneumatic pneumatic pneumatic mechanical mechanical mechanical mechanical

ACCESSORIES
4 pneumatic combination pistons to Great Organ
4 pneumatic combination pistons to Swell Organ
Double-acting pneumatic pistons for the Great to Pedal, and the Swell to Great coupler, placed in the Great Organ slip
4 composition pedals to Great and Pedal Organs
4 composition pedals to Swell Organ
2 composition pedals to Pedal Organ

WIND PRESSURES
Great: Flue work 3-1/2ins, Reeds 7 ins.
Swell: Flue work, Mox Humana & Hautboy 3-1/2 ins, Chorus Reeds 7 ins.
Choir: Throughout 3-1/2 ins.
Solo: Light pressure 3-1/2 ins, Tuba 15 ins.
Pedal: Flue work 31h ins, Reeds 10 ins.

Sir John Stainer crescendo pedals.

PITCH: Old Concert Pitch, C.540.

* 56. This stop enables the player to change Pedal and Great Organs ad libitum by the composition pedals - the Pedal can therefore be, by these means, severed from the Great Organ.

It is interesting to note that in 1892 this organ was considered to be the "last word" as regards perfection of mechanism. The action was tubular-pneumatic upon the Vincent Willis Patent 15182, A.D. 1889. The console was detached, an unusual feature in those days...

The instrument was sent out via the Torres Strait route and arrived in Brisbane in September, 1892. Through the courtesy of the Collector of Customs it was admitted free of duty. The erection of the organ was carried out by one of the firm's representatives with local assistance.

The first use of the organ was on a Saturday afternoon in December, 1892, when the National Association arranged a private recital for its members. A few days later the first public recital was given, followed by a series of recitals by well-known organists, which attracted enormous audiences. The organ was originally blown by "Willis" blowing cylinders driven by a gas engine ... [4]

- Spec. recorded by Percy Brier at Exhibition Building; see also The Brisbane Courier (19 December 1892), pp. 5-6.

Photographs of the organ as it appeared in the Exhibition Building show the casework largely as it still exists, but with the present large flats on either side extending backwards down the two sides of the organ. The show pi es were originally diapered, and the Choir Organ spoke through an open grille beneath the impost. [5]

Photo of original Willis organ taken from a photocopy found in the
Old Musuem Building, Fortitude Valley (Rodney Ford)

At the opening recital on the instrument on 20 December 1892, the programme was divided between four Brisbane organists: Mr W G. Willmore, Mrs Willmore (Madame Mallalieu), Mr S. G. Benson and Mr Seymour Dicker. [6] Originally the property of the Queensland National Association, the organ was purchased in January 1900 by the Brisbane City Council, [7] remaining in the Exhibition Building until it was removed in 1927 for rebuilding, enlarging and installation in the new Brisbane City Hall. Consultation between Henry Willis III and the City Organist, Mr George Sampson resulted in a scheme to enlarge and modernise the organ.

The official re-opening of the organ took place at a recital given on 8 April 1930, the day on which the City Hall itself was opened, although the organ had been completed by 6 July 1929, when it was demonstrated to the aldermen. On this occasion, the Mayor, AJderman W A. Jolly, addressed the invited audience, and Mr Sampson replied, concluding as follows:

I cannot say in words how grateful I am to the present and former City Council for giving me a free hand from the beginning, and I like to think that their confidence in me has not been misplaced. You have in some respects the finest organ in the world. I trust you will cherish it and keep it from the hands of incompetent performers. "Father" Willis, who built the original organ, was as supreme an artist in organ construction as the Amatis of Cremona were in violin making, and the present firm from my experience are carrying on

his work in a superb manner. I see my old friend, Mr. J. Whitehouse. Mr Whitehouse is my best testimonial. For thirty years he has attended almost without a break, my recitals. ... I should like here publicly to congratulate him and his staff upon the work they have done in this matter. I do not think they have received half the credit which is their due. The whole of the work of rebuilding has been done by them in their Brisbane factory. To them was entrusted the important work of making the huge wooden pipes of 32 feet on the pedal organ. The tuning, regulating and voicing (in other words the musical part of the contract) is in their hands, and it could not have been in better ones, so confident am I of their ability.[8]

The significant part played by the Whitehouse firm in the 1927-29 rebuild is recorded in the records of the firm, [9] and also in the personal recollections of at least one Whitehouse employee of the time. Mr Darrel McMullen, an employee of Whitehouse Bros between 1927 and 1941 recalls that the vast majority of the work of the rebuild was entrusted to the local firm, and that only one Willis employee, a Mr Thomas Colmer, visited Brisbane. Colmer reportedly stayed in Brisbane for around 12 months, and did not wait for the opening. AlI of the labour involved in the rebuild was supplied by Whitehouse Bros, who also made new wooden pipes. The Vox Humana stop had to be sent to England to be revoiced, but the rest of the organ remained in Brisbane. The new Orchestral division, and the new console and underactions, however, were supplied complete from Willis in England. [10]

A full description by Henry Willis III of the enlarged and rebuilt organ appeared in the Willis journal The Rotunda, including the following specification:

GREAT Double Open Diapason Open Diapason No 1 Open Diapason No 2 Open Diapason No 3 Claribel Flute Principal Flute-harmonique Twelfth Fifteenth Sesquialtera Contra Tromba Tromba Clarion SWELL Lieblich Bordun Geigen Diapason Lieblich Gedackt Salicional Vox Angelica Lieblich Flute Gemshom Flageolet Mixture Hautboy Vox Humana Double Trumpet Trumpet Clarion CHOIR Rohr Gedackt Mola-da-Gamba Lieblich Gedackt Dulciana Flute d'Amour Harmonic Piccolo Corno-di-Bassetto SOLO Flute-harmonique Concert Flute Double Clarinet Orchestral Oboe * Diapason Stentor * Tuba * Cathedral Chimes * ORCHESTRAL Violon Violoncello 'Cello Celestes Orchestral Flute Tibia Clausa Sylvestrina Viola Flute Ouverte Nazard Piccolo Tierce Cor Anglais Clarinet French Horn Orchestral Trumpet PEDAL Double Open Bass Contra Violone Open Bass Contra Bass Open Diapason Violone Bourdon Viole Echo Bass Octave Principal Violoncello Flute Fifteenth Mixture Cor Anglais Contra Ophicleide Ophicleide Clarion Octave Clarion

16 8 8 8 8 4 4 2-2/3 2 III 16 8 4 16 8 8 8 8 4 4 2 III 8 8 16 8 4 16 8 8 8 4 2 8 8 4 16 8 8 8 16 8 8 8 8 8 4 4 2-2/3 2 1-3/5 16 8 8 16 32 32 16 16 16 16 16 16 16 8 8 8 8 4 III 16 32 16 8 4

[Tenor C] [A] [B] [A] [C] [D] [B] [from Orch] [from Choir] [A] [D] [C] [D] [from Orch] [E] [E] [E] [E]

COUPLERS
Swell to Great Octave
Swell to Great Sub Octave
Swell to Great
Choir to Great
Orchestral to Great
Solo to Great
Swell Octave
Swell Sub Octave
Swell Unison Off
Orchestral to Swell
Choir Octave
Choir Sub Octave
Choir Unison Off
Swell to Choir
Solo to Choir
Orchestral to Choir
Solo Octave
Solo Sub Octave
Solo Unison Off
Orchestral Octave
Orchestral Sub Octave
Orchestral Unison Off
Solo to Orchestral
Solo to Pedal
Solo to Pedal 4-ft
Orchestral to Pedal
Orchestral to Pedal 4-ft
Swell to Pedal
Swell to Pedal 4-ft
Great to Pedal
Choir to Pedal
Choir to Pedal 4-ft

Swell tremolo
Choir tremolo
Solo tremolo
Orchestral tremolo
7 pistons to Great Organ
7 pistons to Swell Organ
7 pistons to Orchestral Organ
5 pistons to Choir Organ
5 pistons to Solo Organ
7 pistons to Pedal Organ
4 general pistons
compass: 61/30
balanced crescendo pedal
balanced Swell Pedals to Swell, Solo, Orchestral and Choir
electro-pneumatic action [optional trigger swell lever]

WIND PRESSURES
Great Light Pressure 3-1/2 ins; Heavy Pressure 7 ins
Swell Light Pressure 3-1/2 ins; Heavy Pressure 7 ins
Choir Throughout 5 ins
Solo Light Pressure 7 ins; Diapason Stentor 15 ins; Tuba 20 ins.
Orchestral Light Pressure 7 ins; French Horn and Orchestral Trumpet 20 ins. Light Pressure 31h ins;
Pedal Open Diapason, Principal, Fifteenth and Mixture 6 ins; Contra Bass and 'Cello 10 ins; Reeds 15 ins.

PITCH: French Diapason Normal, i.e. C. 517 at a temperature of 59 deg. Fahrenheit 013

* unenclosed

It will be noted from the above that the pitch of the organ was lowered from Old Concert Pitch (C.540) to French Diapason Normal (C. 517) at the time of the 1927-29 rebuild, and internal evidence suggests that this was achieved by the addition of a new bottom pipe to each rank, and also by the addition of slides. Less than a decade later in August 1938, it was found necessary to raise the pitch of the instrument (in considerable hastel) to C. 522 [=A.440], in order to facilitate its use with the orchestra.

The pitch of the City Hall organ is to be raised from 517 to 522 by a simple inexpensive method. It is learned on the authority of Whitehouse Bros. whose firm is undertaking the necessary alterations, that the pitch is being altered because Dr. Malcolm Sargent declined to use any other organ but the pipe organ for his performance of Elijah, which is to be given in the City Hall late this month. Dr. Sargent insisted on using the pipe organ. It was therefore necessary to have the pitch of the City Hall organ raised to conform with the orchestral instruments. [12]

Another undated clipping of the same time gives more detail:

Mr J. H. Whitehouse, managing director of B. B. Whitehouse and Co., said last night that now that the cause of the difference was known it would not be a difficult task to "sharpen" the organ.

It would entail shortening, or coning out, the sound pipes in most cases, and opening or closing the slots of the bigger pipes seen in the front of the organ. It would take a few days of fine tuning to complete the task.

In both 1927-29 and 1938, therefore, the pitch of the organ was significantly altered, and the effect that these successive changes have had on the scaling and tone of the instrument still deserves serious assessment. Apart from the above, the only other notable alteration to the organ between 1929 and 1988 appears to have been the shifting of the console to its present position in 1933. [13] It had been located originally nearer to the audience, at the edge of the stage. [14]

The increasingly dilapidated condition of the organ was giving rise to concern from at least the early 1970s. [15] A certain degree of controversy obviously surrounded the early negotiations for its restoration, and at least one published scheme was apparently abandoned. [16] The contract for the restoration of the organ was eventually awarded to Messrs Brown and Arkley Pty Ltd of Sydney, and work commenced in February 1988, including the following:

• Relocation of the previously scattered Solo Organ on a new platform, with a new slider soundboard for the Tuba section allowing for the addition of Contra Tuba 16 and Tuba Clarion 4.
• Relocation of the Choir Organ onto the main building frame, very close to its 1891 position,
• Supplying a new piston capture system, including memory capacity and a settable Tutti.
• Addition of Great Furniture IV, Choir Sesquialtera II (in place of the former Rohr Gedackt 16); and Pedal Mixture IV [17]

The official launch of the renovated century-old organ took the form of a concert on 3 December 1991 in the regular "Music at Midday" series, when the City Organist, Mr Robert Boughen was joined by selected Brisbane musicians in presenting a concert that marked the return of this important public facility to the musical life of the city.

The current specification (from Simon Pierce's website) is:

Brisbane City Hall Organ Specification
Compass of Manuals CC-C, 61 notes Compass of pedals CCC-F, 30 notes
PEDAL ORGAN Double Open Bass Contra Violone Open Bass Contra Bass Open Diapason Violone Bourdon Viole Octave Principal Violon Cello Flute Fifteenth Mixture 10-12-15 Mixture 15-1-9-22-26 Contra Ophicleide Ophicleide Cor Anglais Clarion Octave Clarion Solo to Pedal Choir to Pedal Choir to Pedal 4' Swell to Pedal Swell to Pedal 4' Great to Pedal Great to Pedal 4' Orchestral to Pedal Orchestral to Pedal 4' GREAT ORGAN Double Open Diapason Open Diapason No 1 Open Diapason No 2 Open Diapason No 3 Claribel Flute Principal Flute Harmonic Twelfth Fifteenth Sesquialtera 17-19-22 Furniture 19-22-26-29 Contra Tromba Tromba Clarion Solo to Great Choir to Great Swell to Great Sub Swell to Great Octave Orchestral to Great SWELL ORGAN Lieblich Bourdon Geigen Diapason Lieblich Gedackt Salicional Vox Angelica Gemshorn Lieblich Flute Flageolet Mixture 17-19-22 Hautboy	32 32 16 16 16 16 16 16 8 8 8 8 4 III IV 32 16 16 8 4 16 8 8 8 8 4 4 2-2/3 2 III IV 16 8 4 16 8 8 8 8 4 4 2 III 8		SWELL ORGAN (cont.) Vox Humana Double Trumpet Trumpet Clarion Tremolo Swell Sub Octave Swell Unison Off CHOIR ORGAN Viola da Gamba Lieblich Gedackt Dulciana Flute d'Amour Harmonic Piccolo Sesquialtera 12-17 Corno di Bassetto Choir Sub Octave Choir Octave Choir Unison Off Solo to Choir SOLO ORGAN (Enclosed) Flute Harmonique Concert Flute Double Clarinet Orchestral Oboe Tremolo SOLO ORGAN (Unenclosed) Diapason Stentor 8' Cathedral Chimes Tuba Tuba Tuba Clarion ORCHESTRAL ORGAN Violon Violoncello Cello Celestes Orchestral Flute Tibia Clausa Sylvestrina Viola Flute Ouverte Nazard Piccolo Tierce Cor Anglais Clarinet French Horn Orchestral Trumpet Tremolo Orchestral Sub Octave Orchestral Octave Orchestral Unison Off Solo to Orchestral	8 16 8 4 8 8 8 4 2 II 8 8 4 16 8 8 16 8 4 16 8 8 8 8 4 4 4 2-2/3 2 1-3/5 16 8 8 8
ACCESSORIES -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 Thumb Pistons to Solo Organ 7 Thumb Pistons to Orchestral Organ 7 Thumb Pistons to Swell Organ 7 Thumb Pistons to Great Organ 5 Thumb Pistons to Choir Organ 7 Toe Pistons to Pedal Organ 7 Toe Pistons to Swell Organ (duplicating) 1 Reversible Thumb Piston Solo to Choir 1 Reversible Thumb Piston Solo to Orchestral 1 Reversible Thumb Piston Solo to Great 1 Reversible Thumb Piston Choir to Great 1 Reversible Thumb Piston Choir to Pedal 1 Reversible Thumb Piston Swell to Choir 1 Reversible Thumb Piston Swell to Great 1 Reversible Thumb Piston Swell to Pedal 1 Reversible Thumb Piston Great to Pedal (duplicating) 1 Reversible Thumb Piston Orchestral to Swell			1 Reversible Thumb Piston Orchestral to Great 1 Reversible Thumb Piston Orchestral to Choir 1 Reversible Thumb Piston Orchestral to Pedal 1 Reversible Thumb Piston Full Organ (programmable) 1 General Cancel thumb piston 1 Thumb Piston for "Set" 1 Thumb Piston for "Neutral Set" Great and Pedal Combinations coupled 1 General Crescendo Pedal Swell Expression Pedal Choir Expression Pedal Solo Expression Pedal Orchestral Expression Pedal 1 lever pedal (kick-down) Swell Pedal selection switches 40 memory channels for Piston Capture system Memory Channel No.1 set by organbuilders only

[1] The Heritage of Australia: The Illustrated Register of the National Estate (South Melbourne: Macmillan, 1981), 4/14.
[2] A detailed early history of the organ, written before 1974, is available in: Frederic Rogers, 'City Hall Organ'. Rpt. in OHTA News, 14, No 2 (April 1990), 8-14, 19-24; 14, No 3 (July 1990), 24-37, and 15, No 1 (January 1991), 30-32. See also: Frederic Rogers, 'Birth of a White Elephant: but it became one of Australia's Notable Organs'. The Sunday Mail Magazine (28 January 1968), pp. 1, 6, 11; and an anonymous article of c.1930 reprinted in Organ Society of Queensland Newsletter, 17, No I (August 1989), 32-35.
[3] The Telegraph (Brisbane, 18 June 1891).
[4] Willis, Henry [III]. 'Brisbane City Hall: A Notable Enlargement of a Notable Organ'.The Rotunda, 2, No 1 (September 1927), 1-7; see also: The Brisbane Courier (19 December 1892), pp. 5-6.
[5] Photographs of the organ at the Exhibition Building: in Geoffrey Cox, Gazeffeerof Queensland Pipe Organs (Melbourne: Society of Organists, 1976); and in Organ Society of Queensland Newsletter, 16, No 6 (June 1989), 15.
[6] Evening Observer (Brisbane, 21 December 1892), The Brisbane Courier (20 December 1892), p. 2 and (21 December 1892), p. 5; F Rogers, 'City Hall Organ: Overture and Act 1', OHTA News, 14, No. 2 (April 1990), 8-24; E. R. Salisbury; 'Some Reflections on the Life of the Brisbane City Hall Organ'. Organ Society of Queensland Newsletter, 16, No 6 (June 1989), 13.
[7] F J. Brewer and R. Dunn, Sixty-six Years of Municipal Government (Brisbane: Standard Press, 1925), pp. 125-27.
[8] The Telegraph (Brisbane, 8 July 1929), p. 16.
[9] Whitehouse Bros Ledger (1922-40), pp. 259-60.
[10] Pers. comm., Mr Darrel McMullen to OHTA conference, 30 September 1989.
[11] Willis, op. cit., pp. 3-7.
[12] The Telegraph (Brisbane, 12 August 1938), p. 7. Other undated newspaper clippings of the time also survive.
[13) Whitehouse Bros Ledger (1922-40), p. 533; Photograph showing console in new position in Organ Society of Queensland Aiewsletter, 16, No 6 (June 1989), 6.
[14] Photograph showing console in former position in Cox, Gazetteer, op. cit.
[15] The Sunday Mail (Brisbane, 24 March 1974), p. 24 and (9 June 1974); The Courier Mail (2 January 1976), p. 2.
[16] The Courier Mail (Brisbane, 11 October 1984); OH7A t4ews, 9, No 2 (April 1985), 16-17; The Courier Mail (Brisbane, 30 April 1987), 17.
[17] Ian Brown, 'The Brisbane City Hall Organ'. Organ Society of Queensland Alewsletter, 16, No 6 (June 1989), 5-11 & 19, No 1 (August 1991), 10-23; see also Organ Society of Queensland Newsletter, 17, No 4 (February 1990), 17; subsequent correspondence in The Organ Voice, 24, No 1 (March 1998), 28-29.

Photos: Trevor Bunning (Oct. 2007)

Photo above: JRM (Oct. 2007)

Photo of roof: Simon Colvin (May 2008)