Restored Compton Organ Is The Star Of The Show

The inaugural concert to celebrate the re-installation of our Compton organ took place last night in the Main Hall.

The programme included Albinoni’s famous Adagio for organ and strings, a Sammartini organ concerto, Widor’s Toccata and a showcase for the new trumpet stops, C. S. Lang’s ‘Tuba Tune’. Dr Nicholas Scott-Burt ARCO not only played the instrument, but also explained many of the alterations and improvements that had taken place; Dr Scott-Burt is also now teaching some lucky Bablake pupils to play our wonderful new addition! The strings for the concert, directed by Mrs Cathy Scott-Burt (Music), were made up of Bablake’s Senior String Ensemble and the senior string players from our sister school, King Henry VIII, directed by their Director of Instrumental Studies Mr Alistair Kennedy. 

Over the summer, the Music department has been eagerly watching the restoration and reconstruction of the splendid Compton organ. The John Compton organ builders of London specialised in electronic remote console organs, of which our organ is a fine example, and the company is famous for building cinema organs, one of which can still be heard at the Odeon Leicester Square, as well as many church organs, including the four manual instrument in Derby Cathedral.

Our instrument was originally given by Old Wheatleyans and other friends of the school in 1947 as a memorial to the fallen of both World Wars, and the restoration and expansion of the instrument have been made possible through a grant from the estate of the late John Phipps.

Mr Tim Crompton, Director of Music, said: 'It was about one year ago that I received a phone call from Mr John Hill inviting me to a meeting to discuss the possibility of generating a new generation of young organists, which led to the school being the very fortunate recipients of funds from the estate of the late John Phipps, former headmaster of Coventry Preparatory School. It was the express wish of Mr Phipps that his estate should be spent exclusively on the renovation and provision of pipe organs and the furtherance of church choral music, and it has been my pleasure to work with Mr John Hill and Mr Miles Barker-Davis (co-executors of the John Phipps estate) on bringing these wishes to life. We have been delighted to work with Mr Trevor Tipple and his team of organ builders throughout this project who have been very excited about renovating and enhancing our organ so that it is now a versatile instrument suitable for a range of purposes. The instrument is now very suitable for student organists and can be used for examinations and performances. We have six students who have recently commenced lessons on the new instrument and look forward to providing a flow of young organists from Bablake in years to come.'

While the original specification for our Compton had no reed stops, it has been greatly expanded by the addition of a range of trumpet pipes, giving a fuller sound and a far greater range of timbres to the instrument. Other additions include a grilled panel to enable better access for tuning and some complex electronics which have been installed to run the key and piston systems.

Mr Trevor Tipple MBE, a renowned organ builder, led his able team that initially removed the original internal workings and pipework for cleaning and maintenance, then in the summer holiday returned to put back the new improved instrument with its additions. Scaffolding went up in the hall almost as soon as the summer term was over, and Bablake’s DT department was called upon a few times for workshop facilities and a few last-minute adjustments!

The ‘new’ organ has a wonderful tone and is now beautifully voiced. The Bablake community, especially the Music department, would like to extend its very grateful thanks to Trevor and his team for their care and skill, and of course the estate of Mr Phipps for financing the renovation.