Church’s organ replacement fails to impress congregation

A CHURCH has become embroiled in a row over its decision to replace its 107-year-old organ amid claims that traditional music is being replaced with “guitars and drum kits”.

St Paul’s church in St Albans has been given permission to replace the existing organ with a digital version.

Although Roger Kaye QC, the chancellor of the diocese of St Albans, said experts agreed it was “a second-rate instrument of little historic, musical or artistic merit”, members of the congregation disagreed, calling it “sublime” and “magnificent”.

Geraint Jones, organist at St Paul’s until 1989 and former director of music at St Albans Girls School, said: “I gather these days the services tend to favour a workshop band with guitars and drum kits and the pipe organ represents to them a type of worship they want to dissociate themselves from.”

Jonathan Humbert, who learned to play on the instrument, said: “I gave it a damn good thrashing for one hour and it took everything I gave it; Jerusalem, Widor’s 5th Symphony and Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor.”

Writing in his judgment, Mr Kaye said that objectors viewed the change as “an act of vandalism” and believed that the current organ was a “distinct, valuable asset and remains fully functional and playable”.

But he added that the views of the diocesan organ adviser and an independent organ consultant that the organ should be replaced, not repaired, outweighed those of the objectors.

The organ adviser estimated that repairing the church organ could cost as much as £55,000, while replacing it would be £17,850.