G&J carillon

[Richard Offen]

--- In bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com, "Richard Offen" <richard at s...> 
wrote:
> 
> --- In bellhistorians at yahoogroups.com, "jim phillips" <jim at p...> 
> wrote:
> > Did anyone listen to yesterday's broadcast of 'The Organist 
> Entertains'? I 
> > listened to a repeat on the BBC website today and was 
particularly 
> > interested in a rendition of The Wedding March recorded in 1930 
at 
> what I 
> > knew as the Odeon Cinema, Marble Arch which had a 32 bell G&J 
> carillon in 
> > the organ. The organist preceded the music by playing a 
brilliant 
> burst on 
> > the carillon which I thought showed what an excellent instrument 
it 
> was.
> 
> It certainly was a fine instrument, as the several recordings of it 
> commercially available demonstrate. The recording you mention Jim 
> is from a digitally enhanced CD of the late Quentin Maclean 
> (available from Sterndale Records, Cat No: STE 1315). The 
> instrument can also be heard on one or two currently available CD 
> transcriptions of the great 1930s organist Sydney Torch.
> 
> The carillon was part of the Odeon's (formerly the Regal, Marble 
> Arch) huge 4 manual, 36 rank, Christie (theatre organ trading name 
> for the organ builders Hill, Norman and Beard) theatre organ. It 
> was cast by G & J and had a bass bell weighing 6-2-3 in C. The 
> bells were played electro-pneumatically from the organ consol.
> 
> After the war I believe the carillon was disconnected because the 
> patrons in the stalls complained that it was too loud! If my 
memory 
> serves me right it was eventually sold and shipped off to somewhere 
> in Belgium.
> 
> Richard

PS. This is a bit more interesting than washers and lock nuts isn't 
it!!!!

R