A MALDON church is now graced with a beautiful organ that it is hoped will provide music for centuries to come.

And the fabulous structure installed at St Mary's Church bears a magical musical star – called a Zimbelstern – in memory of former Maldon Festival manager Kieran Sampson, who died suddenly in February, 2019, aged just 38.

The Zimbelstern is the only one of its kind in Essex and probably in the East of England. It was sponsored by Kieran's partner, Colin Baldy, the musical director at the church in Church Street and the mastermind behind the new organ project.

Here Colin tells the story behind the 12-year project.

St Mary's Organ Project

St Mary's has been without a fully-functioning organ since at least 1984, when the previous pipe organ was condemned by the then Diocesan Organ Advisor as being "worthless." This was a sad end for an organ that, when it was first built in the early 1850s, would have been a rather special instrument. It was built by eithe Holditch or Bevington (they shared a workshop at the time) and sat on a gallery, which had been installed at the west end of the church in the 1840s.

This little organ, which had just one manual (keyboard) and pedals, would have sounded splendid from its lofty position halfway up the back wall of the church. Sadly, the Victorians

decided to do away with the gallery when they added the south aisle and "restored" the church in 1886.

The organ was moved to a chamber to the south side of the chancel which had the effect of putting it into a cupboard. They soon realised that it could no longer be heard and, in 1904, Spurgeon Rutt was commissioned to do something about it. He

added a second manual using a totally different action (transmission), which is a little like trying to mix oil with water.

Needless to say, it didn't work for long and had basically packed up by the 1950s. In adding this extra manual and in trying to make the existing pipes louder, he damaged the original organ to such an extent that it could not be restored: hence the

decision of the Diocesan Organ Advisor some 30 years later. All that remains of the original instrument are the false pipes (actually wooden dummies) that can still be seen in the chancel.

Music at the church until now

A variety of temporary electronic organs have kept the music going at St Mary's over the years but something permanent needed to be done to ensure that the church was able to maintain the high quality of its music.

Four organ builders were invited to submit designs and quotations for a new organ in 2008; three British and one German. The parish, in consultation with independent consultants, chose the submission by Hey Orgelbau as representing both the best design and the best value for money. It has taken the intervening twelve-and-a-half years to put the financing in place and to get the necessary permissions to install the new organ.

About the fabulous new organ

In fact, the new organ, which arrived in St Mary's in September, is actually a second-hand instrument from a church in Pirmasens, Germany. For a variety of reasons the original plans had to be altered.

However, this organ is only thirty years old and, to all

intents and purposes, brand new. It became available as a result of its original home being declared redundant. The organ was originally built by the firm of Klais; one of the most

famous organ builders in the world. It will become only the seventh by them in this country. Others include the organs in Bath Abbey, St John's Smith Square and Birmingham Symphony

Hall. The organ was dismantled, altered and moved to St Mary's by Hey Orgelbau. It is hoped that it will be fully completed sometime in November.

The organ sits on a new gallery, designed by Freeland Rees Roberts Architects of Cambridge, who have an enviable reputation for working sensitively with listed buildings. It has been

built by Punch Construction of Tollesbury, with steelwork by Maldon Marine. It is ironic to think that the project has simply moved the organ back to its original home on the west

wall. Acoustically and visually it is absolutely the best place for the instrument. This beautiful organ is a wonderful addition to St Mary's and should continue to grace the church for several centuries to come.

It is still possible for people to sponsor stops or pipes on the organ, in memory of a person or an event, or just because it's a nice thing to do! Full details can be found on St Mary's website here.