Open Diapason
Stop Diapason
Dulciana
Principal
Flute
Fifteenth
8
8
8
8
4
2
8
8
8
8
4
4
2
Gamba
Gedact
Vox Angelica
Voix Celestes
Gemshorn
Flautina
Oboe Tremulant
Composition Pedals;
2 to Swell, 3 to Great
Trigger swell pedal.
Blower by Taylor of Leicester
Manual Compass
CC to G - 56 notes
Pedal Compass
CCC to F - 30 notes
Bourdon 16
Couplers
Swell to Great
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
Bishop & Starr in 1874 at the age of 17 years, having served an apprenticeship with F.W. Jardine & Co. A year later, he took over the business of Wakefield organ builder, Francis Booth.
By 1885 Alfred Kirkland has a branch in London, and by 1891, another branch in Nottingham, this also serving Halifax. In 1893 he bought the firm of Bryceson Bros. Kirkland's London address from 1897
until 1907 was at Cottenham Road, London N. From 1908, his London address is given as 155A Malboro Road, which was not actually an organ works. From 1912 till about 1917, Alfred Kirkland was trading as Alfred Kirkland & Bryceson Bros., London from that same address.
After that, he seemed to be carrying on business under his own name, in London and Wakefield, until being succeeded by Hill, Norman & Beard, in 1923. Hill, Norman & Beard ceased trading during the summer of 1998.
The organ at St Aloysius', Springburn has historic significance in that it survives in an unaltered condition and retains its original tracker action, not only on the manuals but also on the pedals. Had it been "converted" to pneumatic action, as was the vogue in the 1920's, it would be requiring a major overhaul so as to remain playable today. The stop list is that of a late-Victorian Romantic organ, as can be noted by the provision, on the Swell Organ, of a "string" stop (as in orchestral strings) such as the Gamba and undulating (the effect of a fine vibrato) string-quality stops such as Voix Celeste and Vox Angelica. There's an absence of mutation stops and a mixture as one would find in a baroque or classical instrument. Possessing a bright and robust chorus on the Great Organ, this instrument is ideal for leading hymn-singing and is suitable for 19th and 20th Century Romantic repertoire, such as one would still find today, being played at weddings and funerals. For it to serve the Church well into the 21st Century, it deserves a thorough cleaning and overhaul.
The organ is tuned twice yearly by Organ Builder, Paul Miller. Notes by John Power, December 2007