The Gnessins'
cathedral organ began as a dream in late 1992 after we met Alexander
Fiseisky in St Petersburg and talked about the analogue electronic
organ in Bedale Parish Church (North Yorkshire) that we had completely
revoiced and re-regulated to make into a splendid modern cathedral
organ. It became our great privilege to be the principal designer
of the specification, tonal structure and detail, regulation and
console of this important instrument.
The specification,
sound, presence, effect, and enormous flexibility of the Bedale
organ resulted in it being the model for this first English cathedral
organ in Russia, which is not quite as large.
A listing
of stops, couplers, and accessories shows how comprehensive the
organ is. Very careful design of the voicing of all stops, their
size, regulation, and the balance of subdivisions and departments,
has led to an organ that has a multitude of thrills from the quietest
to the most majestic.
(Michael
Cole)

The inaugural
concert on 25 OCT 95 was an outstanding
success, beyond all expectation. Musicians, academics,
diplomats, politicans were delighted and entranced.
Alexander
Fiseisky has written a brief history of the
English Organ Tradition in Russia.
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