Highfield Road Organs

The Highfield Road congregation began as a Methodist Church, and for Methodists singing was an essential part of worship. The first church which was opened in 1912 had a large reed organ, and this was transferred to the new building when it opened in 1925. It was placed against the wall behind the choir and pulpit, and must have experienced difficulty in leading the singing. At the end of World War II it was decided to install a pipe organ as a memorial to those from the congregation who had served, and an instrument which had been in a private home was purchased. This was a 2-manual and full-pedal organ with what appeared to be an impressive array of stops, but from the beginning the quality of the instrument was found to be unsatisfactory and in less than 20 years the church sought to replace it.

In the early 1960s the Methodist Church in Clifton Hill was closed, and its 1860s 2-manual and full-pedal Fincham organ was acquired by Highfield Road, rebuilt by Hill, Norman and Beard, altered from tracker to electric action, and opened in 1964 with a recital by Sergio de Pieri, the then organist at St Patrick's Cathedral. This organ, while too small to be a regular recital instrument, is admirably suited for the purpose for which it was originally installed, which is the accompaniment of choral and congregational singing. The specification is as follows:

Great:	Open Diapason	8
	Stopped Diapason	8
	Salicional	8
	Octave	4
	Flute	4
	Super Octave	2

Swell:	Horn Diapason	8
	Flute	8
	Cornopean	8
	Oboe	8
	Gemshorn	4
	Piccolo	2
	Quartane	2
	Sub-Octave
	Super-Octave

Pedal:	Violone	16
	Sub Bass	16
	Flute	8

Couplers:	Swell to Great
	Swell Octave to Great
	Swell Sub-Octave to Great
	Swell to Pedal
	Great to Pedal

From its earliest days the singing at Highfield Road has been led by a choir, and in its heyday from the 1920s to the 1960s the large choir maintained a very high standard. At the present time numbers are much reduced from those heady days, but the current singing group enthusiastically leads the hymns and songs (generally from Together In Song), and also contributes with anthems, sung responses, chants and communion settings. Singers of all ages who love to praise God in song, and who enjoy doing so with the more traditional or classical form of music, would be most welcome to join the friendly group which rehearses each Thursday from 8.00 to 9.30pm. The current organist, Mr Graeme Cross, would love to hear from anyone interested.