Chetham’s School of Music

Organist’s Guide

Organ by Henry Groves & Son, Nottingham · Control system by Renatus Ltd · Ref. 2352

The Console

The organ has two manuals, Great and Swell, of 56 notes (C–g‴), and a 32-note pedalboard (C–g′). The drawstops are moved by solenoids, so the pistons move them just as you would by hand.

Great

  • Open Diapason 8
  • Stopped Diapason 8
  • Octave 4
  • Chimney Flute 4
  • Fifteenth 2
  • Furniture II
  • Swell to Great

Swell

  • Spitz Flute 8
  • Principal 4
  • Nazard 2⅔
  • Block Flute 2
  • Tierce 1⅗
  • Mixture
  • Trumpet 8
  • Tremulant
  • Sub Octave

Pedal

  • Bourdon 16
  • Principal 8
  • Gedeckt 8
  • Fifteenth 4
  • Mixture II
  • Bass Trumpet 16
  • Great to Pedal
  • Swell to Pedal

Two further drawstops change how the pistons work: Generals on Swell Toes and Great & Pedal Pistons Uncoupled (see Piston Control Stops).

Pistons

Great 1–6
Under the Great. Great stops. Each also brings on the Pedal piston with the same number, unless Great & Pedal Pistons Uncoupled is drawn.
Swell 1–6
Under the Swell. Swell stops, Tremulant and Sub Octave.
Pedal 1–6
Toe pistons. Pedal stops.
Swell Toe Pistons 1–6
The same as Swell 1–6, or Generals 1–6 when Generals on Swell Toes is drawn.
Generals 1–6
Under the Swell. All stops, the Swell to Great, Swell to Pedal and Great to Pedal couplers, and the Swell Sub Octave.
General Cancel
Under the Great. Puts every stop and coupler in, except the two piston control stops.
+ and − (Stepper)
+ moves to the next general piston and brings on its stops. After General 6 it moves on to General 1 of the next memory level. − steps back the same way. + is under the Great and the Swell, − is under the Swell, and both are also toe pistons.
Reversibles
Swell to Great and Great to Pedal under the Great; Swell to Pedal under the Swell. Each press reverses the coupler.
Set
Under the Great. Hold it down to set a piston.
Page + and Page −
Turn the page on a paired tablet. Under the Great, and beside the stops on the right-hand jamb.

Piston Control Stops

Great & Pedal Pistons Uncoupled
Normally each Great piston also brings on the Pedal piston with the same number, so every Great combination can have a matching Pedal combination. Draw this stop to separate them: the Great pistons then change only the Great stops, and the Pedal toe pistons work on their own.
Generals on Swell Toes
The six Swell toe pistons work as Generals 1–6 instead of Swell 1–6, so you can change the whole registration with your feet. Put the stop in to return them to Swell pistons.
Note: These two stops are settings for the player. They are not stored on the general pistons, and General Cancel does not put them in. Set them by hand at the start of a session.

Memory Levels and the Display

The pistons have 99 memory levels for the generals and, separately, 99 for the divisional pistons (Great, Swell and Pedal). Each player can use their own levels, so settings are not lost when someone else plays.

The combination panel has a knob on each side of the display: GENERALS on the left and DIVISIONALS on the right. Turn a knob to choose a level. The pistons immediately use the settings stored at that level.

Left Display, First Two Digits
General memory level (01–99)
Left Display, Third Digit
The last general piston used (marked LAST GENERAL)
Right Display
Divisional memory level (01–99)

Small lights above the display show what is happening: LOCKED above each knob, COPY above each display, and USB, which lights when a USB memory stick is in use.

Tip: Make a note of which levels are yours. A level that is locked cannot be overwritten (see Locking and Copying Memories).

Setting Pistons

  1. Choose your general and divisional levels with the two knobs.
  2. Draw the stops (and couplers, for a general) you want.
  3. Hold Set and press the piston. Release Set.
  4. Press General Cancel, then the piston, to check it.

A setting is kept until it is set again, including when the organ is switched off.

Locking and Copying Memories

Locking

Locking stops the pistons being changed by accident.

  1. Hold Set and press the GENERALS knob (it is also a button). The LOCKED light above it comes on.
  2. Do the same again to unlock.

The divisional pistons lock the same way, using the DIVISIONALS knob and its LOCKED light.

Copying a Memory Level

You can copy all the general pistons at one level to another level, for example to start a new level from an existing one.

  1. Turn the GENERALS knob to the level you want to copy from.
  2. Hold the GENERALS knob button down and press General Cancel. The COPY light above the left display comes on.
  3. Turn the GENERALS knob to the level you want to copy to.
  4. Press Set. The pistons are copied and the light goes out.

Divisional levels copy the same way, using the DIVISIONALS knob and the COPY light above the right display. If you don’t press Set within 30 seconds, the copy is cancelled.

Caution: Copying overwrites all the pistons at the destination level.

Other Controls

Transposer

The transposer switch moves all the keyboards up or down by up to four semitones. Return it to the centre (0) when you have finished.

Swell Pedal and Tremulant

The swell pedal opens the shutters in 16 steps. The tremulant runs only while a Swell stop is drawn and you are playing on the Swell (or through a Swell coupler), so it stops when you stop playing.

Page Turner

Page + and Page − turn pages on a tablet paired with the organ’s Bluetooth page turner, in any music app that responds to a page-turner pedal. To pair a new tablet, follow the page turner’s instructions: hold its power button down to enter pairing mode, then choose it in the tablet’s Bluetooth settings. AirTurn’s app can be downloaded from AirTurn.

Music Lamp

The music lamp switch turns the desk light on and off.

The Performance Recorder

The recorder records what is played — notes, stops and registration changes — and plays it back on the organ. It is a web page on the organ’s own wireless network, used from a phone, tablet or laptop. The organ must be switched on for the network to be available.

Connecting

  1. Scan the Join the WiFi code on the card at the console, or join the network OrganConsole using the password shown on the card.
  2. Scan the Open the Recorder code, or go to http://consolecontrol in your web browser. Bookmark it for next time.

Your device may say the network has no internet — choose to stay connected. You won’t have internet access while you are on the organ’s network.

The Recorder Screen
The Recorder Screen

The Log In button is for the organbuilder. You don’t need to log in to use the recorder.

Making a Recording

  1. Press General Cancel so that all stops are off. Your registration changes are then recorded too.
  2. Tap Record, type a name for the piece and tap OK. A number is added in front of the name to keep recordings in order.
  3. Draw your stops and start playing. Recording starts automatically and the timer shows the time recorded.
  4. When you have finished, press General Cancel, then tap Stop. The piece appears in the list.
Recording
Recording

Playing Back

  1. Press General Cancel.
  2. Tap the piece in the list to highlight it, then tap Play.
  3. Use Pause and Resume as needed. Stop ends playback.
Playing Back
Playing Back

Deleting and Renaming

Tap a piece, then tap Delete and confirm with OK. Deleted recordings cannot be recovered. Rename changes a piece’s name.

Playlists

A playlist plays several pieces in a set order, for example for a service.

  1. Tap the first piece and tap Add to playlist. Add the others the same way.
  2. Put them in order with Move up and Move down. Delete track removes a piece from the playlist only.
  3. Tap Save and give the playlist a name. To use it later, tap its name in the list and tap Open playlist.
  4. Tap Play track to play the current piece. When it finishes the next is selected, ready for the next Play track.
Note: There is currently no USB socket on the console, so recordings are kept in the organ’s internal memory and the Use external memory box has no effect.

If the Recorder Won’t Open

Make sure the organ is switched on, your device is joined to OrganConsole and you are within about 20 metres of the console. Use http://, not https://.

Quick Reference

Choose a memory level
Turn the GENERALS or DIVISIONALS knob
Set a piston
Hold Set, press the piston
Cancel all stops
General Cancel
Step through the generals
+ for the next, − for the previous
Lock or unlock generals
Hold Set, press the GENERALS knob (LOCKED light)
Lock or unlock divisionals
Hold Set, press the DIVISIONALS knob (LOCKED light)
Copy a general level
Hold the GENERALS knob, press General Cancel, choose the level, press Set
Copy a divisional level
Hold the DIVISIONALS knob, press General Cancel, choose the level, press Set
Separate Great and Pedal pistons
Draw Great & Pedal Pistons Uncoupled
Generals on the Swell toe pistons
Draw Generals on Swell Toes
Record
General Cancel, Record, name, play; General Cancel, Stop
Play back
General Cancel, select the piece, Play

Renatus Ltd, Bideford, Devon · Document ref. 2352 · November 2026