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The Music of Bath Abbey

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The Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul is in Bath, Somerset. This was a monastery for Benedictine monks during the seventh century and is now an Anglican Church. There are thousands of regular worshipers, along with the many that travel each year and stay in the Bath hotels of England, to experience the ancient architecture, the incredible stained glass, and to listen to the music. The church seats close to 1,200 and has been used not only as a house of worship, but for lectures and secular ceremonies and events as well. Referred to mainly as Bath Abbey, ceremonies held hear are often times accompanied by music.

The records indicate that the first organ was built in 1934, however there is nothing known of the instrument. Abraham Jordan built the first recorded organ for the church in 1708. The son of Jordon restored and modified this instrument two different times, the first being in 1718, and then again about 20 years later in 1739 when he added almost two octaves of pedals. The organ underwent a few more restorations and repairs over the next few years and was eventually transferred to Saint Mary’s Church where it was completely modified and rebuilt. The Abbey has been through many organs over the years, each one being rebuilt and modified, the modifications generally dealing with the pipe-work and the pedals. Two organs are used in the Abbey currently, one of which was specifically built in 1999, for the church by master artist Kenneth Tickell. The Continuo organ is completely portable, is a four stop instrument, has a dark oak case it is contained in, and has a range of three pitches for tuning.

Along with the organ music, the Abbey is home to a ringing chamber that contains ten bells. This is four more bells than were originally installed in 1700. With the additional bells, the church became the first of the diocese to have the ten bell ring. The bells are hung in the tower indescending order, and currently the city of Bath is well known for change ringing throughout all of the country. The choir of the Abbey is quite famous as well. Many recordings are available, and they have been featured on the BBC as well as performing at the grand opening of the Thermae Bath Spa with the Three Tenors.

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