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St Bees |
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Father Willis Organ History |
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In 1892 a committee was formed to replace the existing organ which stood above the porch at the west door of the Priory. However, progress was slow, and it was not until the arrival of the Rev J. A. Alexander in 1896 that momentum increased. Fund raising started in earnest, and invitations to tender against a specification were issued to the leading organ builders of the day. From the replies the committee whittled prospective builders down to two: T.C. Lewis and Henry Willis. St. Bees could have had a satisfactory though undistinguished instrument, but for two members of the committee who were both knowledgeable and enlightened on the subject of organ building and tonal design.
Henry Willis Francis J. Livesey was organist and choirmaster at the priory from 1887 to his death in 1934. An accomplished player and keen student of tonal design, he had previously been assistant to G.R. Sinclair (the "GRS" of Elgar's Enigma Variations) who was organist at Hereford cathedral. Livesey was a great admirer of the organs of Henry Willis, and had been strongly influenced by the playing of W.T. Best, whose famous recitals on the magnificent "Willis" in St. George's Hall, Liverpool, were a major feature of the musical life of the day.
The project evidently caught his fancy, and although approaching his 80th year, Willis decided to supervise personally the construction and final tuning. This was probably due to his delight at being given the vast space of the south transept to build in, and his satisfaction with the ingenuity and good taste of the tonal specification. Certainly he seems to have made this organ his "swan song". He included the stopped diapason that he had originally built for his first cathedral organ - Gloucester in 1847- and also the 16ft pedal open bass formerly in the Lincoln cathedral organ of 1826 by W. Allen. The organ was opened with a recital on Tuesday May 16th 1899, given by Dr T.H. Collinson of St. Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh, at which Willis himself was present. Willis stayed on until the following Saturday to hear Livesey give a recital, and departed satisfied with both his instrument and the playing of its custodian. Willis died in February 1901, but the St. Bees organ remains as a fitting memorial to a half century of brilliant work.
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George Dixon was born in St. Bees in 1870, and at an early age he became interested in organ playing. When Livesey came to St. Bees, Dixon became a close friend and was fired with Livesey's enthusiasm for the work of Willis. Dixon assisted Livesey in the design of the St. Bees instrument, and later, in 1904, he designed the large organ in St. Nicholas church, Whitehaven (now destroyed). In 1909 he produced the much acclaimed design for the instrument in St. James', Whitehaven, and subsequently advised on many large organ projects. These included the organ rebuilds at Carlisle and Norwich cathedrals, at Trinity, St. John's and King's colleges, Cambridge, and the Royal Albert Hall, and he came to be acknowledged as one of the leading authorities on British organ design in the first half of this century. 
Livesey and Dixon both considered the work of Willis superior to Lewis'; especially in the reeds, where Willis used a higher wind pressure. They were so determined to have a "Willis" that they offered to pay personally for the addition of a third manual if the contract was given to Willis and the detailed tonal specification was entrusted to Livesey. The committee agreed to this, and Willis travelled up from London to view the priory and discuss details of construction. 