The Gnessin's cathedral organ began as a dream in late 1992 after we met Alexander Fiseisky in St Petersburg and talked about the analogue electronic organ in Bedale Parish Church  (North Yorkshire) that we had completely revoiced and re-regulated to make into a splendid modern cathedral organ.  It became our great privilege to be the principal designer of the specification, tonal structure and detail, regulation and console of this important instrument.

  The specification, sound, presence, effect, and enormous flexibility of the Bedale organ resulted in it being the model for this first English cathedral organ in Russia, which is not quite as large.

    A listing of stops, couplers, and accessories shows how comprehensive the organ is.  Very careful design of the voicing of  all stops, their size, regulation, and the balance of subdivisions and departments, has led to an organ that has a multitude of thrills from the quietest to the most majestic.

    Every family has been made into a distinctive chorus, and this has resulted in seven reed families.  The Swell has a strong smaller reed chorus capable of real `full swell', whilst the larger chorus will add very strongly to full Great and Choir flue chorus coupled.  The Great reeds are voiced to be transparent and yet of real power which thrills when opened under enclosure, as do the Pedal reeds.  The ability to switch these large reeds into enclosure means that they can produce astounding crescendos.  The Tuba is certainly `Mirabilissima', able to speak above all the rest of the organ; the Fanfare Trumpet is almost as large, and can combine well with the Great Reeds transferred to Choir.  The Solo Cor Anglais can be used to produce an enclosed soft 32ft reed.

  The Choir has a very distinctive small Positif chorus, to which the Choir with mutations makes as strong a contribution.
  The Great has two choruses to mixture, the smaller of which is more than balanced by the Choir-Positif, so that the latter's addition can produce a very effective crescendo.
  The Swell flue chorus is a second Great, and the Pleinjeu transforms the full Great chorus when it is opened up.
  The Pedal is carefully voiced and regulated to provide the gentlest accompaniment as well as a rich and awesome sound and presence.

  The standard English drawstop console is quite different from that of concert organs in Russia, as is the very comprehensive provision of controls.  This console was intended to give Russian organ students experience of  the very best of  the English console's great ease and power of control.

The organ was built by Makin Organs using Johannus sample technology.  Limitations of this particular technolgy prevented  a full set of couplers being provided within the available budget.