Graeme D Rushworth: A Supplement to Historic Organs of New South Wales, the Instruments, their Makers and Players, 1791-1940
Organ Historical Trust of Australia
ISBN 0-9588448-1-X
AUD $30 (+ p&p)

While this is a supplement to Graeme Rushworth’s 1988 work, it can stand alone and provides fascinating reading, not least to people in the northern hemisphere, for so many of the instruments and makers logged in the book are from the UK. This is especially evident in the appendix of information on 120 British organ builders and their families, as included in the 1881 British census. This makes very valuable reading, and is a useful research tool for anyone working in the field. The early history of organs in NSW is also of considerable interest, as is the review of NSW, interstate and overseas builders more generally. There are intriguing descriptions of the Bates’ organ at St John’s Camden, with the operating instructions for its ‘dumb organist’ barrel attachment and other specific events, such as the sale of Flight and Robson’s stock in 1832. More specific to the state are the biographies of important NSW organists – though these are not without broader interest – and the biographies of famous overseas organists and their visits to Australia – including Marcel Dupré. There are other descriptions of events, instruments and builders in the ‘miscellaneous’ section that make this a very good read for all interested in organ building internationally, albeit with a strong Empire and Commonwealth flavour. The book is reasonably well produced, though there are times when the illustrations could have been of a higher quality (though this may be the difficulty of reproducing the originals well).

DB