Introduction

Rediscovering the Sound of the Sixteenth-Century Organ

A dairy door in a 17th-century house in Wetheringsett, Suffolk, and a piece of decaying timber found behind old pews and lumber in the churchyard shed at Wingfield, Suffolk, have transformed our knowledge and understanding of the pre-Reformation English organ.

The door and the timber proved to be the remains of two soundboards (or windchests) from English organs made before the Reformation. Using additional evidence from early organs in Southern France and Spain, from surviving music and the archives, it has been possible to build up a reliable scheme for these two organs - and to build them anew.

"Of great importance to Britain's musical heritage."

"One of the most exciting organ projects ever. Unique."

"...a major advance in our knowledge of the history of music and its performance in this country. Of major importance to scholars and musicians all over the world."