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Cathedral Organ

The Cathedral Organ

The Cathedral Organ was built by George Fincham & Sons, Melbourne in 1962-64. It incorporates a substantial part of the instrument built in the West gallery of the Cathedral in the late 1870s by Robert Mackenzie and completed in 1880 by George Fincham. Refurbished with additions by Australian Pipe Organs, Melbourne in 1996-97, it is used for occasional recitals and recordings, as well as serving the regular liturgical needs of the Cathedral.

Specification of the Cathedral Organ

The specification of the organ comprises 81 speaking stops spread over four manuals and pedals. Some of the stops can be dated to 1880 or 1896, when the instrument was enlarged. Several new stops were added in 1997 at the time of the centenary of the Cathedral.

Description of the Opening of the Cathedral Organ (1880)

The organ stood originally in a gallery over the West door of the Cathedral, where it was opened with special services on Sunday 14 March 1880. A detailed description of the occasion appeared in The Australasian Sketcher (27 March 1880), which includes the only surviving illustration of the organ from that time.
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Recordings of the Cathedral Organ

Recordings of the Cathedral organ have been made from the 1960s onwards, both for radio broadcast and for commercial release. Some of the commercially released recordings are still available.

During the 1960s the organ was featured in ABC broadcasts on the program "Organists of Australia". It was also recorded over many years in concerts for the Melbourne International Festival of Organ and Harpsichord (MIFOH), in 1994 for the series covering the complete organ works of Widor, and in 1997 for organ recitals in the centenary year of the Cathedral. None of these was recorded for commercial release.