The Gallery Organ of All Saints, Northampton

All Saints is the principal and civic church of Northampton and was built in the last quarter of the 17th century on the site of an earlier Collegiate Church. An organ by Schwarbrick was built circa 1730 and rebuilt beyond recognition during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

In the early 1980's the decision was taken to commission J W Walker and Sons to build two organs. The modest two manual chancel organ (1981) provides accompaniment for the choir in the performance of the English choral tradition and liturgy. The gallery organ (1983) is a recital instrument designed to play the major repertoire from all periods. However for congregational accompaniment the Great and Pedal divisions are playable from the chancel organ by a secondary electric action as is the Orchestral Trumpet.

Richard Tanner

A former chorister of St Paul's Cathedral, Richard studied the organ with Robert Gower at Radley College and since 1987 with David Sanger at the Royal Academy of Music and Oxford University. As organ scholar of Exeter College, Oxford he was responsible for organising and directing the choir of men and boys.

After Oxford he spent a year as organ scholar of St Albans Cathedral where he worked with Dr Barry Rose. In September 1993 he came to All Saints, Northampton as Director of Music where he has developed the musical tradition - the training of the boys and men, the founding of a girls' choir, planning tours and organising concerts. A particularly rewarding project has been the encouragement of singing in broken-voiced choristers. The choir has visited The Lake District, Wales, Poitiers (France), New York and Newport Rhode Island (USA) and sung in many English Cathedrals under Richard's direction. LAMMAS records have released a compact disc recording of the choirs of All Saints called A Celebration of British Cathedral Music. Whilst in Northampton Richard has been teaching piano as well as being accompanist at Northampton School for Boys and has taught singing and organ at Wellingborough School.

He holds the Fellowship Diploma of the Royal College of Organists and enjoys giving organ recitals, mostly in the UK, but has also performed in Italy (1995) and India (1997). He also performs widely with the soprano Philippa Hyde.

As a record producer for LAMMAS and GRIFFIN record companies Richard has worked with Hereford and Chichester Cathedral choirs, St Albans Cathedral Girls Choir and Westminster Abbey choir.