Every parlor and church here in America had a reed organ and it was the official sound of 19th century America. I have rebuilt several and they come back to life beautifully. Estey built reed organs right up to the late 1950s.
@@bobbyhendley3084 Hi. I’ve rebuilt the reed organs at my home in Florida, US. I don’t do it commercially. Materials are still available for recovering the exhausters and refacing the pallet valves, etc. Not cheap but worth it!
@@cattnipp Hi. I don’t have any information listed in any of my literature for that brand. A lot of times an organ will be built and sold under a store or catalog brand name. You can generally judge the quality of a reed organ by the type of wood and finish on the case. Also, the number of banks of reeds are in the organ. There were some poorly made reed organs that should be avoided. Beatty comes to mind.
Ben presents himself as a Christian first and then a musician- ever so delicately. His is a lament for things long gone and some which, may experience a revival. Music is another form of praise and Ben goes straight to the heart of worship- music. He is almost theological in his expositions of the finer nuances of music & hymns. Ben and Billy have been brought up well, which is surprising since we don’t see that kind of upbringing in the generation of today. God bless his parents for bringing both Ben and Billy into this world.
naw, Ben loves the pipe organ. Full stop. Like he said in his Video "Thine Be the Glory/ Introduction to the Pipe Organ " Of all the musical instruments, surely the the voice is the most emotional, but the most heavenly must be the pipe organ. What other musical instrument was created purely for the purpose for praising God? Yet simultaneously can overpower an orchestra? Only an Organ can" The powerfulness of the instrument, the emotional experience of the music whether humble church hymn or majestic fugues and toccata its a whole body experience as the operator of such a powerful machine that intrigues him. And the challenge of going from village to village in all weather and conditions to play the best organ music that that particular organ could produce with all its imperfections. You pick the music for the organ you have in front of you.
I like the way you delicately, but directly, appeal to viewers to make a donation to support your work and channel. Nothing in-your-face or strident, but politely reminding us all that it does cost money to do what you do. I’ve contributed a couple of times recently, and I hope all viewers - especially YOU, reading this now! - will donate too.
imagine if everyone who was blessed after watching one of Ben's videos on a Sunday afternoon would make an offering. I don't always do that, but I too have made a donation after watching and listening to Ben express his love of music, and how organs of various types throughout history have been the "instrument" of choice in worship. These old vintage organs are the grandparents of all things MIDI as we know it.
This is a great presentation video. This organ would be a great candidate for restoration, and let me tell you, as a Reed Organ restorer, a well restored reed organ is an entirely new animal when the work is completed. Easy to pump (with no pumping noises) and with new bellows cloth, felt, leather, etc. , it retains all of the needed dynamics that can be easily controlled by the organist. Reed organs do need tuning over long periods of time as once in while the metal in the reeds changes a little and must be dealt with, but after a good tuning they will stay in tune for a very long time. I am a member of the Reed Organ Society (in the United States) and I just looked in my membership directory and found that twelve people are listed as members there in the United Kingdom. If you ever have need to contact a Society member, I can provide names and addresses for you. You do a splendid presentation with all the organs you show and it is a joy to watch and enjoy. Thank You for sharing your wonderful talents with the rest of us.
I come from the pipe organ world… having worked and played on them most of my life. I just took my first reed organ restoration project at the request of a colleague who had one that was not functioning. It is a small, portable Mason & Hamlin Style 110 with a single set of 49 reeds. After working on this “Baby”, I have a brand new appreciation and love of these instruments. I now keep looking for others that I could get for free or very cheap and restore them. There are the books of Franck that he wrote for Harmonium or Pipe Organ - The Practical Organist - reprinted by Dover, or available online IMSPL. Please keep up the great work!
They say that a bad workman blames his tools , which of course is why you always extract the very best from them , whatever their status or condition .
A bad workman in practice and my experience uses cheap tool's and spends his hard earned on alcohol. That results in excuses. The only people who never ever use that expression are craftsmen. Because the simple truth is that without good tools they cannot produce good work. Those who fail to invest wisely in their chosen trade fall by the wayside. Always.
My Sunday is complete... Listening to you play "How Great Thou Art" brought tears to my eyes. It was my late mother's favorite hymn. Thank you Ben for bringing back those wonderful memories.
Organs are like people: no two are genuinely identical, even twins. It is wonderful that you appreciate the imperfections that create sound. Thank you for sharing these imperfections.
I play a pipe organ every week in our local parish church, but once a month I play a reed organ for a communion service in our tiny 12th century church in Binsted, West Sussex, this I feel is a great privilege and joy. It is a strangely, emotional instrument to play, and when the knee swells are used, the congregation is surprised by the volume that can be produced. It can be exhausting, as I found a few years ago when i played it for the 9 Lessons and Carols service one Christmas. Thank you for promoting the life of organs which do not deserve to be forgotten or destroyed. Your music making and understanding of the importance of hymns is an inspiration - thank you.
Ben, My Grandmother had a "pump organ" that's what my Mom called it. I never heard my Grandma play it, but my older Brothers and Sisters did. Grandma was a classically trained pianist, she studied in Boston MA as a young woman, before she married Grandpa. I'm told she played it very well, Catholic hymns etc. She left it to one of my older sisters, and it got moved to our house. That sucker was HEAVY. The insides were iron, except the musical parts. It had a tall, carved canopy-like thing with a mirror on it. When Mom sold the house after Dad died nobody wanted it. We certainly couldn't sell it. Someone finally took it for free, I fear for scrap. But it sounded beautiful (according to my older sibs) when Grandma played it
I listen to Gregorian chant a great deal and it was interesting to hear it played on an organ. It sounded more abstract and it was rather moving to hear the organ “sigh” as it was played.
I love reed organ s My father played church organs .To give an historic framework to this, my father was born in 1895. My grandfather built and installed pipe organs into churches and chapels. When I was young, my father had a wonderful reed organ, complete with the decorative wood and velvet,which stood on top of the organ,. I'm unable to find the name of that part. The Internet seems to think that the only reed/harmoniums are the Indian ones. How times change. We moved house when I was 7, the new house wasn't big enough to accommodate it, he gave it to my half sister. I always missed it. In the early 1980s, someone in our village had a reed organ going for free. I took a look, some fool had stripped the original dark brown varnish off it and coated it in clear polyurethane varnish, the vandal. A few of us carried it to our house (200 yards away,) and up three flights of stairs, to my studio. It needed a fair bit of work internally. We borrowed a pamphlet on the instrument. I took it apart and counted the bits, there were over 10000 parts. I said that if we couldn't fix it, we had a lot of firewood. We did put it back together. One or two reeds in the reed pan were not working. I overcame that, by the use of coupling stops. The thin wood of the reed pan was dried out. It would need a specialist to repair it, I couldn't find one. That was a long time ago. I still play it and am very proud of it. Later, I was told that it originally came form Manchester on the M62, to or village, in West Yorkshire, strapped to the roof of a mini! I played one in a pub in North Yorkshire. It was in perfect condition and a big instrument. When I pumped us it up and played the first few notes, the volume to so loud, compared to mine, that I jumped backwards. It was a lovely thing. The landlady said she'd bought in in an auction, When its turn came, everyone laughed. She felt sorry for it, so she bought it. paying £10 for this huge machine and £20 for the piano stool. It's sad that so many were destroyed. Pianos and pianolas suffered the same fate. My father one of those, I liked playing it. and still have the maintenance book for it .That was some years ago. I had a friend who was asked to get rid of an upright piano. He hired a trailer, then he and a friend took it to the tip, bounce down a 20 foot drop. A couple of years later, the old lady who asked him to get rid of it, told him that it was a very good Steinberg upright piano. SIGH You do have to wonder about some people.
I would never dump mine. It is was made by Bell of Guelph in Canada and I love it. It is quite high spec with only a few muted stops. It has two separate 16’ ranks in the left hand which is so handy. Also a gorgeous Aeolian 2’ The foundation ranks - Melodia etc - are beautiful as there are resonant tube boxes within the case to improve their sound.
@MrMarcvus They’re lovely practice instruments aren’t they. You can perfect a good legato technique with them, and learn how to make dynamic colours with a small selection of stops. They also remain in tune remarkably well, much better than pipe organs in fact.
Ben, thank you for sharing. I love seeing the village churches. I am a third-generation American, and I've always wanted to visit England, the land of my ancestors. They are from Lincoln. I am a retired pastor and foreign missionary, and I love your music and the education I am getting from you. God bless you!
I regret not buying one from an antique centre in 2002. I wanted it to annoy my awful next door neighbour by playing lugubrious hymns on Sunday evenings.
Ben - Thank you so much for your efforts in showing us these marvelous old churches and organs. My wife used to be the organist for our Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Cloverdale, California. One Sunday the power failed in the middle of the service. She went back to the rear of the church and just started using the Estey reed organ that we had back there. Since we had one ourselves, she just sat down and started. Some of the parishioners really enjoyed it. I also noticed the expression you can get while you played it.
I've never been a great believer in re-incarnation, but I'm beginning to wonder whether somewhere between roughly 1066 and 1900 you have made several appearances on Planet Earth in the form of vicar, organist and /or monk, Ben. I'd swear these buildings recognize you when you walk in and the organs thank you for making them feel relevant again. You got such beautiful sounds out of that organ -- especially the Beethoven. Do you recall the (actually very funny) scene in Under the Greenwood Tree, in which the introduction of the organ in the local church is being discussed by the gallery musicians who are soon to be unemployed? Forgive me for quoting a bit of it here: " I’ve been thinking we must be almost the last left in the county of the old string players? Barrel-organs, and the things next door to ’em that you blow wi’ your foot, have come in terribly of late years.” I rarely laugh out loud when I'm reading, but the instrument that "you blow wi' your foot" was just too much. Thanks again, Fra Ben, for another wonderful film.
I recently started playing the organ at one of my churches, I must say it's one of the funnest things I have done and you were a big inspiration for this ben so I'd like to thank you!
Great playing! I grew up with a reed organ in our kitchen. I learned to play it and did well enough to eventually play at church. Last year I played at the church I grew up in and realized that it was 50 years ago that I started playing at churches. I am retired now, but I still do some filling in.
Dear Ben-Thank you for another beautiful program. My soul feels enriched and the music has felt like a tonic. Somehow I feel closer to the Lord through your beautiful choice of songs today! Thank you!-Nancy F.
To second Bernard, Ben, you must join the International Reed Organ Society (ROS) & attend our next gathering at the Estey Organ museum Sept. 26-30 in Brattleboro, Vt. We have several mbrs. in the UK & I know one plans to come. The one you played here certainly sounded better than The one I tried to restore for a rural church anniversary , which also exhausted me pumping it. My Packard reed Organ will not exhaust you! Our planners for this event have a fantastic program from Thurs. night to Monday. I am going to refer our monthly newletter ed. to this video.
I burst out laughing with your comment on the reed organ being exhausting. There was a Farand & Votey American organ where I used to live. If you wanted a good volume, this meant using the couplers and the Sub Bass, but you had to pedal like fury to provide enough puff! Incidentally, my favourite in that organ was Leoni!
Another wonderful episode, Ben! I agree 100% that visiting these village churches is a treasure not to be missed when visiting your fair country. Whenever I am in the UK travelling the countryside the essential stops are these beautiful and holy places. Thank you for bringing them to us in the medium as well!
I own 2 Reed organs, a European Harmonium (positive pressure) and a small single manual pipe organ rescued from a church. So much pleasure enjoyed from it. . Keep up the good job.
Good video Ben. I bought an old reed organ for £5 from Cornwall a couple of years ago. I spent a little time making a few repairs and it sounds great. It lives in my old cottage with an old spinet and an old piano, all repaired and tuned and sounding great.
When I was little my Mum used to get asked about 4 times a year to go and play for services on a foot pumped organ. It used to tire her right out - she was really a self-taught pianist. I used to call it the pandharmonium :-)
I’m an accordionist by training. I am now playing my 3rd reed organ. It is an Estey philharmonic from 1906. Fully restored, it sounds beautiful. 6 1/2 sets of reeds.
For some reason I never received a notification for this one even though I'm definitely subscribed. But then my version of RUclips seems to be reinventing itself yet again. Which it does about every 4 months. I didn't ask to be a beta testing person, but somehow I ended up on some sort of "list." Please go to sleep, AI.
Treasure, no doubt! What a beautiful way to end Sunday listening to these sounds that transport us to eternity. Really, what you can get out of these old, worn-out instruments is very precious and beautiful. Thank you very much, with prayers and gratitude from Brazil.
If you think it is exhausting to play, try recovering the feeders and bellows,etc. They really were not made to repair, but to trash and purchase a new one! Not made together with screws and gaskets, but nails and glue! Entry made some of the best! Even multi manual, and full straight 30 note pedaboard! Tracker action, some with pipe facades! Play on old Estey, now get a nice small pipe organ! But keep it too!
When I went to University, I studied with a fairly famous teacher who produced several fairly fameous students. Our practice instruments were two manual and pedal Estey reed organs. I’ll never forget trying to play Messian’s Dieu parmi Nous on a reed organ.
I attended a performance of this at Bath Cathedral. Sitting not very far from the organ, it was revelatory. You weren't so much listening as feeling the music, it was overwhelming. Did I enjoy it? That's kind of the wrong question, it was beyond enjoyment or dislike. I hope you have had a chance to play this on a big organ in a big cathedral, makes all that practice worthwhile I would think.
Like mankind imperfections are part of life so the other imperfections fit us well as a believer in Jesus Christ I realised mine and handed them to him but I know they are still part of my life thank you again Ben
@@SalisburyOrganist Just a question: since this video has a previously done video about the preservation of organs and their public performance, would it be possible to set up a charity? I'm certain there are a lot more organs to be preserved in England, and perhaps other places in Europe, than almost anywhere else in the world.
Ben, I love your podcasts. I love old pipe organs and churches. I have played a reed organ at my grandparents. Sadly it was sold but I was really remembering back to those pleasant afternoons at their house playing old hymns on the reed organ. Bless you for work!
I love reed organs. My grandmother had an old Storey and Clark that must be more than 100 years old. I hope we can get in playing again. It’s in beautiful condition, but stops, reeds, and bellows all need to be replaced, and probably a lot more. Thanks for this video.
I like the deep, solemn resonance of reed organs, especially in such magnificent historic settings. The acoustics in Gothic churches are unmatched, and underscore how these architectural masterpieces were designed to lift your soul toward heaven. I think the organ in All Saints Church is a treasure and needs not a requiem but a new owner who appreciates its history and will preserve it as a cultural heritage resource. Hearing you play How Great Thou Art was uplifting! Thank you for showcasing such an interesting variety of pipe organs and architectural treasures!
What a 'pot-pourri' this week, Ben! Reed organ versus your church's fab Hill pipe organ - Beethoven 'Funeral March' versus an evangelical hymn - monk's plainsong versus a repetitive fund-raising chorale - stunning Norman archways and freshly-scythed Spring grass - and what a difference a year makes! Not for me to judge - but please take your hat off when you enter a church?
Very good to hear the reed organs…they bring back fond memories of the instruments my grandmother had at home and one I played as a child at Sunday School in my rural chapel in North Wales. Incidentally, I thought the Miller organ had a more attractive tone than the Estey!
I love those old reed organs. For about 20 years I played one in a chapel on a small island in Maine (USA). I'm not as good an organist as you are (I love all your finger substitutions) but the Mainers seemed to like it.
I have an Aeolian Grand reed organ that was given to me for free.. Saving it from being repurposed into a wine bar... I had it restored and now functions like new. These old instruments have a wonderful rich room filling tone and are absolutely worth saving... Thank you for your videos, music and attention you give to these old instruments!!..
The heavy breathing and moaning while playing the plain chant. The organ is definitely a treasure. Beautiful church and grounds. How great thou are... my savior God to thee..., one of my favorites. Powerful hymn.
I think you're doing an excelent job in sharing the beauty of the churches, their history and put in in a beatiful frame of the music and the instrument that's available. Worth a donation I would say and so I did myself as well. And important to keep the worship going. not only with what's developped now, but to build upon rich past times treasures.
I really adore reed organs. I have rebuilt two of them. They are extremely simple to work on. They almost always respond well to minor work. An old tooth brush to clean the reeds, new felt for the pivots, new leather for the bellows. Suddenly the mechanical noise is halved and the tuning is much better. I think many people think there is something wrong with them because they were often tuned to A435. One of the churches I serve has a reed organ in the basement and they use an electric piano in the sanctuary. They are so proud of their new acquisition that I can’t figure out a way to get them to bring the old one back. Since, I am an intern (student pastor) I will not be there long enough to make a stand but I do hope that by the end of my tenure there it will be restored to its place of supporting hymn singing. Thank you for doing what you do. I really enjoy your passion for organs, church buildings, and poetry. At this moment of time world seems to value productivity and constant movement over contemplation and peace. We have to keep the tools available for future generations when the pendulum swings back the other way. Peace and blessings.
Uh, Beethovens 7th hits different on this instrument. Wonderful. I am an organ student for two years and I searched for something, to play at my small flat. Sadly, an organ is way too expensive and way to big. Yeah, I can go to the cathedral here in my city, and play on the 46 stop pipe organ. But especially in the winter time, you start to freeze to death after an hour. And I tend to practice more than one hour per day, even if I am not a professional musician or intend to become one. (Filmmaking is time-consuming enough) Yet my organ teacher found a very good and well preserved reed organ, or harmonium how it's called here in Germany. And I find it's sound quite interesting. So in January it will be the replacement of my old and broken Yamaha electronic organ from the 80s, that I found for cheap two years ago and suffered it's inevitable death through cable decay a while ago. I can't wait to hear new music coming out of an old but still gold instrument, to torment my flat mates. 😂😅
We have one in our parlor, and my cousin is giving us my Grandmother Smith's reed organ that sat in her front bedroom from 1952 until 1967 when she passed away, Aunt Helen had it until she moved to a smaller house. Cousin Carol has it now, but will be down sizing soon, so my wife and I will accept it and when we move on, we'll give it away to another family member. Singing Christmas carols while gathered round a reed organ is an absolutely wonderful memory to be cherished. Aunt Helen could really make that Estey rock!! Keep up the good work, Ben! We appreciate your videos!!!
I taught myself to pick out hymn tunes on a 'pump organ' that had been bought by my great-grandmother and still worked fairly well except for one stop. No one else in the family of my childhood ever played it, but what a beautiful piece of furnature it was.
I'm with you, Ben. I found quite a big one in a church in Norfolk last year, and played it. I think it may have been at St. Michael's, Booton. I had a student with me, and he pumped, so I didn't need to pedal. Needed some TLC, but glorious reeds!
I actually have one built in Brattelboro, Vermont and shipped to a shop in Birmingham, England who sold it to a local. The family had it and passed it down thru many generations before it got sold in an estate sale. Some antiques dealer grabbed it up and shipped it to the States. Some very distantly related couple bought it and had it for 40+ years before deciding to give it away or burn it. So I snatched it up. The bellows need reworked, but everything else is there, including the original reed tuner tool for resetting them if they get dislodged. Inside the casework, I even found a handwritten letter from a woman in the early 1920’s! I do not currently have a shop in which to undertake the releathering of the bellows, but hope to within the next year or two.
Another great Sunday Episode. Beethoven on a Pump - who would have thought! Actually worked! Just curious...you play Organ at all these beautiful old English Churches...but being a Pianist here would love to here you on Piano some day. Cheers from Canada!
There are still a few village churches without electricity and these lovely instruments are invaluable. I love playing them. Opening the swell box whilst maintaining a steady air pressure is an art of concentration on its own. Thank you, Ben.
Beethoven and plainsong on a reed organ! This is MUSIC, live and living and a treasure! If this was with an audience, would they notice the inconsistencies over their own coughs or shuffling feet?
I have an Estey Organ myself… a slightly newer one, and a model with an additional octave, which I’m told by an American reed organ expert, is a nice thing to have. Thank you so Ben as always for your musical passion and inspiration! Hope to meet you someday in rural England!
Reed organs have a certain charm but then all instruments & music is subject to mood/ current feelings if it’s the right time & place for the individual then it’s extremely uplifting & poignant! Well done for highlighting all these things Ben
Thanks for the respectful way you have taken in sharing this instrument with organ lovers. As a restorer, researcher, performer, and collector of reed organs I I have found what you've done to be quite excellent. I am also a professional organist and love large pipe organs and even small laptop reed organs. In my collection I probably have close to 75 instruments, with about 30 of them in playing condition. Thank you for the effort you make making these regular programs about small beautiful Anglican churches.
The reed organ sounded much better than I expected, personally I liked all the sounds, it was like the organ 'breathing'. It made me think of the difference betwen listening to vinyl and CDs. A chapel near me has recently been sold, I worry that everything including the organ will be ripped out and the lot turned into flats.
i look forward to your programme each week. I never had the opportunity to-learn to play the organ although it's one of my favourite instruments.I have sung in many church choirs which gives me great joy and hope to continue to sing for many years as long as my voice holds out. Thank you for playing in so many beautiful places and so beautifully.
Singers have a unique challenge, don't they? (Not a professional here, of course) They walk around with their "instrument" on the inside of their bodies, for starters. And then things like weather, time of day, fatigue, age, hormones, mood, hydration... can all affect their ability to produce sound. Makes you envy triangle players.
I had an Etsy which I got when I was 15, and only said goodbye to it last year after 35 years and seven house moves. The stop names and font were the same as the one here, but the keyboard only went up and down as far as F. All the notes worked, and so did the Vox Humana. Unfortunately the strap from one of the pedals to the bellows kept breaking. It had a compartment behind the music stand where you could keep/hide things, and the sound was just like the first organ in this video, except that my keyboard skills are terrible. I haven’t missed it much, but this video reminded of how it had been a part of my life for such a long time (we got the piano movers to take it with the old piano when they delivered a new piano). It’s a sound I will never forget.
Definitely a treasure 💎 I love watching your broadcasts and am proud to sponsor your work via Patreon . I also love visiting ancient churches and listening to organ music. In many ways you are administering CPR to these old organs, which obviously want to live and continue to give us pleasure. Your knowledge, dedication and musical skills are outstanding. RUclips at its very best.
Every parlor and church here in America had a reed organ and it was the official sound of 19th century America. I have rebuilt several and they come back to life beautifully. Estey built reed organs right up to the late 1950s.
Where’s your shop located?
@@bobbyhendley3084 Hi. I’ve rebuilt the reed organs at my home in Florida, US. I don’t do it commercially. Materials are still available for recovering the exhausters and refacing the pallet valves, etc. Not cheap but worth it!
I have a J. G. Earhuff. Do you know if that was a quality brand worth me taking the time to restore?
@@cattnipp Hi. I don’t have any information listed in any of my literature for that brand. A lot of times an organ will be built and sold under a store or catalog brand name. You can generally judge the quality of a reed organ by the type of wood and finish on the case. Also, the number of banks of reeds are in the organ. There were some poorly made reed organs that should be avoided. Beatty comes to mind.
@@Modeltnick OK thank you very much. This is great info!
Ben presents himself as a Christian first and then a musician- ever so delicately. His is a lament for things long gone and some which, may experience a revival. Music is another form of praise and Ben goes straight to the heart of worship- music. He is almost theological in his expositions of the finer nuances of music & hymns.
Ben and Billy have been brought up well, which is surprising since we don’t see that kind of upbringing in the generation of today.
God bless his parents for bringing both Ben and Billy into this world.
Well I’m sure my parents would love to hear that . Maybe they’ve read it already!
I'd say they're a very nice family all round. Ben seems to have a way of making one feel important even when one isn't 😊
Well said. I betcha anything that Ben is the oldest offspring unit.
I second this!
naw, Ben loves the pipe organ. Full stop. Like he said in his Video "Thine Be the Glory/ Introduction to the Pipe Organ " Of all the musical instruments, surely the the voice is the most emotional, but the most heavenly must be the pipe organ. What other musical instrument was created purely for the purpose for praising God? Yet simultaneously can overpower an orchestra? Only an Organ can" The powerfulness of the instrument, the emotional experience of the music whether humble church hymn or majestic fugues and toccata its a whole body experience as the operator of such a powerful machine that intrigues him. And the challenge of going from village to village in all weather and conditions to play the best organ music that that particular organ could produce with all its imperfections. You pick the music for the organ you have in front of you.
I like the way you delicately, but directly, appeal to viewers to make a donation to support your work and channel. Nothing in-your-face or strident, but politely reminding us all that it does cost money to do what you do. I’ve contributed a couple of times recently, and I hope all viewers - especially YOU, reading this now! - will donate too.
imagine if everyone who was blessed after watching one of Ben's videos on a Sunday afternoon would make an offering. I don't always do that, but I too have made a donation after watching and listening to Ben express his love of music, and how organs of various types throughout history have been the "instrument" of choice in worship. These old vintage organs are the grandparents of all things MIDI as we know it.
That’s very kind, thank you for your support 😊
@@SalisburyOrganist thank you Ben!
This is a great presentation video. This organ would be a great candidate for restoration, and let me tell you, as a Reed Organ restorer, a well restored reed organ is an entirely new animal when the work is completed. Easy to pump (with no pumping noises) and with new bellows cloth, felt, leather, etc. , it retains all of the needed dynamics that can be easily controlled by the organist. Reed organs do need tuning over long periods of time as once in while the metal in the reeds changes a little and must be dealt with, but after a good tuning they will stay in tune for a very long time. I am a member of the Reed Organ Society (in the United States) and I just looked in my membership directory and found that twelve people are listed as members there in the United Kingdom. If you ever have need to contact a Society member, I can provide names and addresses for you. You do a splendid presentation with all the organs you show and it is a joy to watch and enjoy. Thank You for sharing your wonderful talents with the rest of us.
🇬🇧🤗🇺🇸
If you know someone in the Tyler or Dallas area, please send me their contact info.
I come from the pipe organ world… having worked and played on them most of my life. I just took my first reed organ restoration project at the request of a colleague who had one that was not functioning. It is a small, portable Mason & Hamlin Style 110 with a single set of 49 reeds. After working on this “Baby”, I have a brand new appreciation and love of these instruments. I now keep looking for others that I could get for free or very cheap and restore them. There are the books of Franck that he wrote for Harmonium or Pipe Organ - The Practical Organist - reprinted by Dover, or available online IMSPL.
Please keep up the great work!
I own two reed organs which would have gone to waste had I not got them. After restoration, they are still my favourite instruments I own.
Ben's programmes have become my Sundays' highlights and the verdict today is (another) treasure in more ways than one. Thank you 😊
Agreed! Sunday afternoons I watch for the latest Ben treasures on RUclips! ❤🎉
It is the same with me. I look forward to quiet enlightenment and calm peace every Sunday. Blessings to you Ben and gratitude.
Indeed! A fter playing services, I relax with a nice cup of coffee and Ben's wonderful videos.
They say that a bad workman blames his tools , which of course is why you always extract the very best from them , whatever their status or condition .
That’s so kind. Thank you ☺️
A bad workman in practice and my experience uses cheap tool's and spends his hard earned on alcohol. That results in excuses.
The only people who never ever use that expression are craftsmen. Because the simple truth is that without good tools they cannot produce good work.
Those who fail to invest wisely in their chosen trade fall by the wayside. Always.
My Sunday is complete... Listening to you play "How Great Thou Art" brought tears to my eyes. It was my late mother's favorite hymn. Thank you Ben for bringing back those wonderful memories.
Thanks for the plainsong/Gregorian chant and Ave Verum Corpus, Ben! You play with such reverence and emotion.
Organs are like people: no two are genuinely identical, even twins. It is wonderful that you appreciate the imperfections that create sound. Thank you for sharing these imperfections.
The old Marden organ sounds like it's breathing, albeit labored. It sounds almost human. Thanks, Ben! Love your channel!
As the owner/inheritor of an 1881 Estey in far worse shape (musically) I'd say this is very worth saving/restoring.
Mine is approximately the same age
Anyone who can make an ancient blower sound like that - truly a labor of love.
🎶 🎹 🫕
Thank you :)
"the only service it needs is a requiem." I shall save that one,
What treasure you have created. Sight,sound, all wonderful.
It amazes me the number of people who commit on their knowledge of organs.
Everyone enjoys your playing, you have the hands of an angel.
The combination of organ, church and your music made it such a memorable occasion.
A talented organist, worthy cause, great instructor! Thanks for your effort showing us!
I play a pipe organ every week in our local parish church, but once a month I play a reed organ for a communion service in our tiny 12th century church in Binsted, West Sussex, this I feel is a great privilege and joy. It is a strangely, emotional instrument to play, and when the knee swells are used, the congregation is surprised by the volume that can be produced. It can be exhausting, as I found a few years ago when i played it for the 9 Lessons and Carols service one Christmas. Thank you for promoting the life of organs which do not deserve to be forgotten or destroyed. Your music making and understanding of the importance of hymns is an inspiration - thank you.
That organ is definitely a treasure! Not perfect, but has a beauty all its own.
Beautiful ❤I love that hymn! Thanks be to God! 🙏🏾
The plainchant was very soothing.
Ben,
My Grandmother had a "pump organ" that's what my Mom called it. I never heard my Grandma play it, but my older Brothers and Sisters did. Grandma was a classically trained pianist, she studied in Boston MA as a young woman, before she married Grandpa. I'm told she played it very well, Catholic hymns etc. She left it to one of my older sisters, and it got moved to our house. That sucker was HEAVY. The insides were iron, except the musical parts. It had a tall, carved canopy-like thing with a mirror on it. When Mom sold the house after Dad died nobody wanted it. We certainly couldn't sell it. Someone finally took it for free, I fear for scrap. But it sounded beautiful (according to my older sibs) when Grandma played it
I listen to Gregorian chant a great deal and it was interesting to hear it played on an organ. It sounded more abstract and it was rather moving to hear the organ “sigh” as it was played.
I love reed organ s My father played church organs .To give an historic framework to this, my father was born in 1895. My grandfather built and installed pipe organs into churches and chapels. When I was young, my father had a wonderful reed organ, complete with the decorative wood and velvet,which stood on top of the organ,. I'm unable to find the name of that part. The Internet seems to think that the only reed/harmoniums are the Indian ones. How times change. We moved house when I was 7, the new house wasn't big enough to accommodate it, he gave it to my half sister. I always missed it.
In the early 1980s, someone in our village had a reed organ going for free. I took a look, some fool had stripped the original dark brown varnish off it and coated it in clear polyurethane varnish, the vandal. A few of us carried it to our house (200 yards away,) and up three flights of stairs, to my studio. It needed a fair bit of work internally. We borrowed a pamphlet on the instrument. I took it apart and counted the bits, there were over 10000 parts. I said that if we couldn't fix it, we had a lot of firewood. We did put it back together. One or two reeds in the reed pan were not working. I overcame that, by the use of coupling stops. The thin wood of the reed pan was dried out. It would need a specialist to repair it, I couldn't find one. That was a long time ago. I still play it and am very proud of it. Later, I was told that it originally came form Manchester on the M62, to or village, in West Yorkshire, strapped to the roof of a mini!
I played one in a pub in North Yorkshire. It was in perfect condition and a big instrument. When I pumped us it up and played the first few notes, the volume to so loud, compared to mine, that I jumped backwards. It was a lovely thing. The landlady said she'd bought in in an auction, When its turn came, everyone laughed. She felt sorry for it, so she bought it. paying £10 for this huge machine and £20 for the piano stool. It's sad that so many were destroyed. Pianos and pianolas suffered the same fate. My father one of those, I liked playing it. and still have the maintenance book for it .That was some years ago. I had a friend who was asked to get rid of an upright piano. He hired a trailer, then he and a friend took it to the tip, bounce down a 20 foot drop. A couple of years later, the old lady who asked him to get rid of it, told him that it was a very good Steinberg upright piano. SIGH You do have to wonder about some people.
I would never dump mine. It is was made by Bell of Guelph in Canada and I love it. It is quite high spec with only a few muted stops. It has two separate 16’ ranks in the left hand which is so handy. Also a gorgeous Aeolian 2’
The foundation ranks - Melodia etc - are beautiful as there are resonant tube boxes within the case to improve their sound.
My parents have a Bell from the 1880s still works beautifully! I used it as a practice instrument when I was learning to play the pipe organ.
@MrMarcvus
They’re lovely practice instruments aren’t they. You can perfect a good legato technique with them, and learn how to make dynamic colours with a small selection of stops.
They also remain in tune remarkably well, much better than pipe organs in fact.
@@Knappa22I love my Bell organ. it has 17 stops, and 272 reeds, with the harp aeolian stop you mentioned. Probably my favorite instrument ever.
Ben, thank you for sharing. I love seeing the village churches. I am a third-generation American, and I've always wanted to visit England, the land of my ancestors. They are from Lincoln. I am a retired pastor and foreign missionary, and I love your music and the education I am getting from you. God bless you!
The Great Lord speaks to us through your most talented presentations. Thanks and cheers to you and Billy.
Your videos are wonderful. Both historically and musically educational. What an incredible gift you give us each week!
Thanks
Thank you!
I regret not buying one from an antique centre in 2002. I wanted it to annoy my awful next door neighbour by playing lugubrious hymns on Sunday evenings.
I don't know whether that'd be the right reason in line with the spirit of the beautiful hymns
That's a hoot!
Ben - Thank you so much for your efforts in showing us these marvelous old churches and organs. My wife used to be the organist for our Good Shepherd Episcopal Church in Cloverdale, California. One Sunday the power failed in the middle of the service. She went back to the rear of the church and just started using the Estey reed organ that we had back there. Since we had one ourselves, she just sat down and started. Some of the parishioners really enjoyed it. I also noticed the expression you can get while you played it.
A restored reed organ can sound great. You can create a lot of nuance just by pedaling faster and using the knee swells.
I've never been a great believer in re-incarnation, but I'm beginning to wonder whether somewhere between roughly 1066 and 1900 you have made several appearances on Planet Earth in the form of vicar, organist and /or monk, Ben. I'd swear these buildings recognize you when you walk in and the organs thank you for making them feel relevant again. You got such beautiful sounds out of that organ -- especially the Beethoven. Do you recall the (actually very funny) scene in Under the Greenwood Tree, in which the introduction of the organ in the local church is being discussed by the gallery musicians who are soon to be unemployed? Forgive me for quoting a bit of it here: " I’ve been thinking we must be almost the last left in the county of the old string players? Barrel-organs, and the things next door to ’em that you blow wi’ your foot, have come in terribly of late years.”
I rarely laugh out loud when I'm reading, but the instrument that "you blow wi' your foot" was just too much. Thanks again, Fra Ben, for another wonderful film.
Love reading this, thanks for writing! Super helpful when I plan videos
@@SalisburyOrganist Many thanks in return.
Absolutely treasure! There’s nothing like the sound of a read organ.👍🏼♥️
I recently started playing the organ at one of my churches, I must say it's one of the funnest things I have done and you were a big inspiration for this ben so I'd like to thank you!
No problem- glad to hear it!!
Great playing! I grew up with a reed organ in our kitchen. I learned to play it and did well enough to eventually play at church. Last year I played at the church I grew up in and realized that it was 50 years ago that I started playing at churches. I am retired now, but I still do some filling in.
Dear Ben-Thank you for another beautiful program. My soul feels enriched and the music has felt like a tonic. Somehow I feel closer to the Lord through your beautiful choice of songs today! Thank you!-Nancy F.
Delighted, thank you :)
What a beautiful sound! Love it!! Thank you for sharing. This ole Texas gal is learning alot about organs and the wonderful ole churches of England.❤
God speed through Texas.
It must have a Vox Jubilant stop - that was the Estey Celeste stop, and they were quite proud of it. This organ performs very well.
Ben you are great musician & a Christian. God bless you❤
Thanks!
These reed organs have a very etherial sound played very sensitively. Bravo.
I played a Cornish reed organ in a small Presbyterian church for several years and I appreciate this video.
My home church, Mukilteo Presbyterian in WA state had a pump organ in use until the end of the 1960s. Ben takes me back.
To second Bernard, Ben, you must join the International Reed Organ Society (ROS) & attend our next gathering at the Estey Organ museum Sept. 26-30 in Brattleboro, Vt. We have several mbrs. in the UK & I know one plans to come. The one you played here certainly sounded better than
The one I tried to restore for a rural church anniversary , which also exhausted me pumping it. My Packard reed Organ will not exhaust you! Our planners for this event have a fantastic program from Thurs. night to Monday. I am going to refer our monthly newletter ed. to this video.
I burst out laughing with your comment on the reed organ being exhausting. There was a Farand & Votey American organ where I used to live. If you wanted a good volume, this meant using the couplers and the Sub Bass, but you had to pedal like fury to provide enough puff! Incidentally, my favourite in that organ was Leoni!
Another wonderful episode, Ben! I agree 100% that visiting these village churches is a treasure not to be missed when visiting your fair country. Whenever I am in the UK travelling the countryside the essential stops are these beautiful and holy places. Thank you for bringing them to us in the medium as well!
You’re welcome!
I own 2 Reed organs, a European Harmonium (positive pressure) and a small single manual pipe organ rescued from a church. So much pleasure enjoyed from it. . Keep up the good job.
Good video Ben. I bought an old reed organ for £5 from Cornwall a couple of years ago. I spent a little time making a few repairs and it sounds great. It lives in my old cottage with an old spinet and an old piano, all repaired and tuned and sounding great.
When I was little my Mum used to get asked about 4 times a year to go and play for services on a foot pumped organ. It used to tire her right out - she was really a self-taught pianist. I used to call it the pandharmonium :-)
I have a 2 manuel, pedal Estey reed organ. Not yet set up, but, it IS a gem….TREASURE!!!!
Excellent video I love the mix of music and history.
I love the mix of music, history too. I’d also add ‘scenery’ into the mix. I love the scenic views.
It’s a winning combination.
How Great Thou Art! Amen! Thank you for your videos!
I’m an accordionist by training. I am now playing my 3rd reed organ. It is an Estey philharmonic from 1906. Fully restored, it sounds beautiful. 6 1/2 sets of reeds.
What timing...I was just scanning RUclips for you video.
Have you subscribed?
For some reason I never received a notification for this one even though I'm definitely subscribed. But then my version of RUclips seems to be reinventing itself yet again. Which it does about every 4 months. I didn't ask to be a beta testing person, but somehow I ended up on some sort of "list." Please go to sleep, AI.
@@kesmarn Amen! Go away, AI!
I live in Vermont and I pastored a Methodist church that had a two manual Estey reed organ. You make the old Estey sound very good!
Treasure, no doubt!
What a beautiful way to end Sunday listening to these sounds that transport us to eternity.
Really, what you can get out of these old, worn-out instruments is very precious and beautiful. Thank you very much, with prayers and gratitude from Brazil.
They are treasures. Love that you did a video on this. One of the most overlooked musical treasures. They are magnificent works of craftsmanship.
If you think it is exhausting to play, try recovering the feeders and bellows,etc.
They really were not made to repair, but to trash and purchase a new one!
Not made together with screws and gaskets, but nails and glue!
Entry made some of the best!
Even multi manual, and full straight 30 note pedaboard! Tracker action, some with pipe facades!
Play on old Estey, now get a nice small pipe organ!
But keep it too!
When I went to University, I studied with a fairly famous teacher who produced several fairly fameous students. Our practice instruments were two manual and pedal Estey reed organs. I’ll never forget trying to play Messian’s Dieu parmi Nous on a reed organ.
I attended a performance of this at Bath Cathedral.
Sitting not very far from the organ, it was revelatory.
You weren't so much listening as feeling the music, it was overwhelming.
Did I enjoy it? That's kind of the wrong question, it was beyond enjoyment or dislike.
I hope you have had a chance to play this on a big organ in a big cathedral, makes all that practice worthwhile I would think.
I’m so envious of you, that you are following your passion with early music…more power to you! Don’t ever give up…I wish I had followed your path..
Like mankind imperfections are part of life so the other imperfections fit us well as a believer in Jesus Christ I realised mine and handed them to him but I know they are still part of my life thank you again Ben
It's not just the organ history, but also the church history that is so captivating and entertaining.
Thank you!
Glad to hear it :)
@@SalisburyOrganist Just a question: since this video has a previously done video about the preservation of organs and their public performance, would it be possible to set up a charity? I'm certain there are a lot more organs to be preserved in England, and perhaps other places in Europe, than almost anywhere else in the world.
Ben, I love your podcasts. I love old pipe organs and churches. I have played a reed organ at my grandparents. Sadly it was sold but I was really remembering back to those pleasant afternoons at their house playing old hymns on the reed organ. Bless you for work!
I love reed organs. My grandmother had an old Storey and Clark that must be more than 100 years old. I hope we can get in playing again. It’s in beautiful condition, but stops, reeds, and bellows all need to be replaced, and probably a lot more. Thanks for this video.
I like the deep, solemn resonance of reed organs, especially in such magnificent historic settings. The acoustics in Gothic churches are unmatched, and underscore how these architectural masterpieces were designed to lift your soul toward heaven.
I think the organ in All Saints Church is a treasure and needs not a requiem but a new owner who appreciates its history and will preserve it as a cultural heritage resource.
Hearing you play How Great Thou Art was uplifting! Thank you for showcasing such an interesting variety of pipe organs and architectural treasures!
The little reed organ responded so well to your touch; obviously it was grateful to be played by such an appreciating and caring master! 😇
Marvellous, Ben, marvellous. 😊
Great again...with or without the beard. Verses 3 of How Great Thou Art is my favorite. So beautifully playef.
We had a pump organ when I was a child and we loved it when Dad would play it. Full-on excersizing!
What a 'pot-pourri' this week, Ben! Reed organ versus your church's fab Hill pipe organ - Beethoven 'Funeral March' versus an evangelical hymn - monk's plainsong versus a repetitive fund-raising chorale - stunning Norman archways and freshly-scythed Spring grass - and what a difference a year makes! Not for me to judge - but please take your hat off when you enter a church?
Very good to hear the reed organs…they bring back fond memories of the instruments my grandmother had at home and one I played as a child at Sunday School in my rural chapel in North Wales.
Incidentally, I thought the Miller organ had a more attractive tone than the Estey!
I love those old reed organs. For about 20 years I played one in a chapel on a small island in Maine (USA). I'm not as good an organist as you are (I love all your finger substitutions) but the Mainers seemed to like it.
I have an Aeolian Grand reed organ that was given to me for free.. Saving it from being repurposed into a wine bar... I had it restored and now functions like new. These old instruments have a wonderful rich room filling tone and are absolutely worth saving... Thank you for your videos, music and attention you give to these old instruments!!..
This is sound of heaven. Love the organ. Absolute treasure. God bless you Bro Ben.
The heavy breathing and moaning while playing the plain chant. The organ is definitely a treasure. Beautiful church and grounds. How great thou are... my savior God to thee..., one of my favorites. Powerful hymn.
I think you're doing an excelent job in sharing the beauty of the churches, their history and put in in a beatiful frame of the music and the instrument that's available. Worth a donation I would say and so I did myself as well. And important to keep the worship going. not only with what's developped now, but to build upon rich past times treasures.
Thank you so much!
I really adore reed organs. I have rebuilt two of them. They are extremely simple to work on. They almost always respond well to minor work. An old tooth brush to clean the reeds, new felt for the pivots, new leather for the bellows. Suddenly the mechanical noise is halved and the tuning is much better. I think many people think there is something wrong with them because they were often tuned to A435.
One of the churches I serve has a reed organ in the basement and they use an electric piano in the sanctuary. They are so proud of their new acquisition that I can’t figure out a way to get them to bring the old one back. Since, I am an intern (student pastor) I will not be there long enough to make a stand but I do hope that by the end of my tenure there it will be restored to its place of supporting hymn singing.
Thank you for doing what you do. I really enjoy your passion for organs, church buildings, and poetry. At this moment of time world seems to value productivity and constant movement over contemplation and peace. We have to keep the tools available for future generations when the pendulum swings back the other way.
Peace and blessings.
Rather nice reed organ. I own also two quite good reed organs and I play often the better and bigger one, mainly hymns. ♥️🇬🇧
Uh, Beethovens 7th hits different on this instrument. Wonderful. I am an organ student for two years and I searched for something, to play at my small flat. Sadly, an organ is way too expensive and way to big. Yeah, I can go to the cathedral here in my city, and play on the 46 stop pipe organ. But especially in the winter time, you start to freeze to death after an hour. And I tend to practice more than one hour per day, even if I am not a professional musician or intend to become one. (Filmmaking is time-consuming enough)
Yet my organ teacher found a very good and well preserved reed organ, or harmonium how it's called here in Germany. And I find it's sound quite interesting. So in January it will be the replacement of my old and broken Yamaha electronic organ from the 80s, that I found for cheap two years ago and suffered it's inevitable death through cable decay a while ago. I can't wait to hear new music coming out of an old but still gold instrument, to torment my flat mates. 😂😅
We have one in our parlor, and my cousin is giving us my Grandmother Smith's reed organ that sat in her front bedroom from 1952 until 1967 when she passed away, Aunt Helen had it until she moved to a smaller house. Cousin Carol has it now, but will be down sizing soon, so my wife and I will accept it and when we move on, we'll give it away to another family member. Singing Christmas carols while gathered round a reed organ is an absolutely wonderful memory to be cherished. Aunt Helen could really make that Estey rock!! Keep up the good work, Ben! We appreciate your videos!!!
I taught myself to pick out hymn tunes on a 'pump organ' that had been bought by my great-grandmother and still worked fairly well except for one stop. No one else in the family of my childhood ever played it, but what a beautiful piece of furnature it was.
I had no idea about organs standing in for orchestras, fascinating Ben!
I'm with you, Ben. I found quite a big one in a church in Norfolk last year, and played it. I think it may have been at St. Michael's, Booton. I had a student with me, and he pumped, so I didn't need to pedal. Needed some TLC, but glorious reeds!
I actually have one built in Brattelboro, Vermont and shipped to a shop in Birmingham, England who sold it to a local. The family had it and passed it down thru many generations before it got sold in an estate sale. Some antiques dealer grabbed it up and shipped it to the States.
Some very distantly related couple bought it and had it for 40+ years before deciding to give it away or burn it. So I snatched it up.
The bellows need reworked, but everything else is there, including the original reed tuner tool for resetting them if they get dislodged. Inside the casework, I even found a handwritten letter from a woman in the early 1920’s! I do not currently have a shop in which to undertake the releathering of the bellows, but hope to within the next year or two.
Another great Sunday Episode. Beethoven on a Pump - who would have thought! Actually worked! Just curious...you play Organ at all these beautiful old English Churches...but being a Pianist here would love to here you on Piano some day. Cheers from Canada!
Got 7 of them in various conditions. Great instruments.
And of course use no power and produce no carbon.
There are still a few village churches without electricity and these lovely instruments are invaluable. I love playing them. Opening the swell box whilst maintaining a steady air pressure is an art of concentration on its own. Thank you, Ben.
Beethoven and plainsong on a reed organ! This is MUSIC, live and living and a treasure! If this was with an audience, would they notice the inconsistencies over their own coughs or shuffling feet?
I have an Estey Organ myself… a slightly newer one, and a model with an additional octave, which I’m told by an American reed organ expert, is a nice thing to have.
Thank you so Ben as always for your musical passion and inspiration!
Hope to meet you someday in rural England!
Reed organs have a certain charm but then all instruments & music is subject to mood/ current feelings if it’s the right time & place for the individual then it’s extremely uplifting & poignant! Well done for highlighting all these things Ben
Thanks for the respectful way you have taken in sharing this instrument with organ lovers. As a restorer, researcher, performer, and collector of reed organs I I have found what you've done to be quite excellent. I am also a professional organist and love large pipe organs and even small laptop reed organs. In my collection I probably have close to 75 instruments, with about 30 of them in playing condition. Thank you for the effort you make making these regular programs about small beautiful Anglican churches.
A perfect way to spend a gorgeous half hour in sunny southern Minnesota..
Wonderful! Thank you for "How Great Thou Art."
The reed organ sounded much better than I expected, personally I liked all the sounds, it was like the organ 'breathing'. It made me think of the difference betwen listening to vinyl and CDs. A chapel near me has recently been sold, I worry that everything including the organ will be ripped out and the lot turned into flats.
Keep the beard!!! It looks great! Love your channel.
i look forward to your programme each week. I never had the opportunity to-learn to play the organ although it's one of my favourite instruments.I have sung in many church choirs which gives me great joy and hope to continue to sing for many years as long as my voice holds out. Thank you for playing in so many beautiful places and so beautifully.
Singers have a unique challenge, don't they? (Not a professional here, of course) They walk around with their "instrument" on the inside of their bodies, for starters. And then things like weather, time of day, fatigue, age, hormones, mood, hydration... can all affect their ability to produce sound. Makes you envy triangle players.
I had an Etsy which I got when I was 15, and only said goodbye to it last year after 35 years and seven house moves. The stop names and font were the same as the one here, but the keyboard only went up and down as far as F. All the notes worked, and so did the Vox Humana. Unfortunately the strap from one of the pedals to the bellows kept breaking. It had a compartment behind the music stand where you could keep/hide things, and the sound was just like the first organ in this video, except that my keyboard skills are terrible.
I haven’t missed it much, but this video reminded of how it had been a part of my life for such a long time (we got the piano movers to take it with the old piano when they delivered a new piano). It’s a sound I will never forget.
Definitely a treasure 💎
I love watching your broadcasts and am proud to sponsor your work via Patreon . I also love visiting ancient churches and listening to organ music.
In many ways you are administering CPR to these old organs, which obviously want to live and continue to give us pleasure.
Your knowledge, dedication and musical skills are outstanding.
RUclips at its very best.
There is no other word to describe these sounds, and your playing, than simply "beautiful." ❤
My pleasure