Brecon Cathedral
Brecon Cathedral was founded as a Benedictine Priory in 1093,
before becoming the parish church of Brecon in 1537. It remained as
the parish church until 1923, when following the disestablishmen
t
of the Church in Wales, it became the Cathedral for the newly
created Diocese of Swansea and Brecon. Brecon, lying at the
geographical centre of the diocese, is the mother church for an area
covering 340,887 hectares and spanning over 100 miles from north to
south.
Perched upon a hill, overlooking the River Honddu, little remains of the original Norman structure, except for the font and parts of the nave. The Cathedral contains an ancient stone cresset, the only one in Wales- with 30 carved holes, that would have once held oil for the Cathedral's lamps. The Cathedral also houses the Regimental Chapel for the South Wales Borderers and contains flags from the Zulu wars.
The collection of buildings that make up the walled Cathedral Close are considered by many to be one of the finest collections of buildings in Wales- with buildings being used for Cathedral offices, housing for clergy, a visitor centre, restaurant and shop. The Cathedral is certainly a popular tourist attraction, popular with casual tourists, photographers and worshippers.
Having a commitment to Cathedral music, Brecon Cathedral has a strong team led by Mark Duthie as Director of Music and Organist, and Meirion Wynn Jones as Assistant Organist. In 2003 the Brecon Cathedral Choir Endowment Appeal was launched, with the aim of raising the sum of one million pounds in order to secure the future of music at the Cathedral.
The organ was built in 1886 by William Hill & Son, and was rebuilt by the same firm in 1931, when it was moved to the current organ chamber. The console was moved in 1962 and the positive organ was placed in the space where the console used to be during a rebuild in 1973 by Percy Daniel & Co Ltd. The organ was rebuilt in 1995, again by Percy Daniel & Co, completing the 1973 scheme of work, and included the addition of the impressive Fanfare Trumpet.
In 2006, Phoenix Organs, installed 6 new digital stops:
- 32' Sub Bourdon
- 32' Open Wood
- 16' Open Wood
- 16' Violone
- 32' Contra Fagotto
- 4' Flute
| Click on any of the
images to enlarge them. The following images are all provided with kind permission by Jan Lane. |
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| Great | Swell | Positive | Pedal |
| 16' Bourdon | 8' Open Diapason | 8' Stopped Diapason | 32' Sub Bourdon |
| 8' Open Diapason | 8' Rohr Flute | 4' Gemshorn | 32' Open Wood |
| 8' Lieblich Gedacht | 8' Salicional | 4' Flute | 16' Open Wood |
| 4' Principal | 8' Voix Celeste | 2 2/3 Nazard | 16' Open Diapason |
| 4' Lieblich Flote | 4' Principal | 2' Fifteenth | 16' Bourdon |
| 2 2/3' Twelth | 4' Flute | 1 1/3 Larigot | 8' Principal |
| 2' Fifteenth | 2' Fifteenth | Cymbel (29.33.36) | 8' Bass Flute |
| 1 3/5' Tierce | Mixture (15.19.22) | Tremulant | 4' Fifteenth |
| Mixture (19.22) | 16' Contra Oboe | 4' Octave Flute | |
| Sharp Mixture (26.29) | 8' Trumpet | Solo | Mixture (19.22) |
| 16' Double Trumpet | 8' Oboe | 8' Clarinet | 32' Contra Fagotto |
| 8' Trumpet | 4' Clarion | 8' Fanfare Trumpet | 16' Trombone |
| 4' Clarion | Tremulant | 8' Dean's Clarion | 8' Trumpet |
| 4' Clarion | |||
| Accessories | |||
| 6 thumb pistons each to Great and Swell | Reversible toe pistons for Sw-Gt, Gt-Pd | Wind Pressure (inches) | |
| 5 thumb pistons to Positive | General cancel thumb piston | Great: - | |
| 8 general thumb pistons | Gt & Pd combinations coupled | Swell: - | |
| 6 toe pistons to Pedal | Positive: 3.7 | ||
| 6' toe pistons to Swell | Solo: - | ||
| Reversible thumbs for Sw-Gt, Gt-Ped, Pedal Trombone | Pedal: - | ||
| Fanfare Trumpet: 8 | |||
| Great Reed: 3.7 | |||
Further Information |
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