The Organ.—In Old St. Paul's the organ was considered to have but two peers, Canterbury and York; and the present instrument is worthy of its predecessor. Grinling Gibbons executed the older part of the case, with its foliage, figures, and imitations of the architecture. Bernard Schmidt, a German, was the builder; and in 1802 "a most industrious Swede and his partner" took it to pieces, cleaned it, and improved the tone of many of the notes. When the choir was opened out, at the suggestion of Dr. Sparrow-Simpson the instrument was enlarged by Mr. Willis, divided between the two sides, and placed above the stalls at the west end, the old carved work being chiefly on the north side. Whether Jeremiah Clark (1695-1707) lived long enough to preside is uncertain; but if not, Richard Brind (1707-1718) was the first to play the present instrument. Neither Sir John Stainer nor Sir George Martin need any mention. The organist is seated on the north side, and communicates by electricity.
The Reredos.—Advantage has been taken of the space between the great eastern piers to bring forward the altar and crown it with a lofty reredos. Would Wren have approved of the breaking of the vista by shutting out the windows of the apse? As he himself designed an unexecuted Baldachino "of rich marble columns writhed" somewhat after the style of his favourite St. Peter's,[107] and as this was not so high, and was to stand against the east wall, the answer to this question is doubtful. The impression left is that for the present altar-piece he would have designed his east front somewhat differently. Be this as it may, upon this magnificent specimen of modern art it is waste of time to lavish praise, and the names of the designers, Messrs. Bodley and Garner, will always be associated with it. The symbolism is expressed in the frieze above the Crucifixion, "Sic Deus dilexit mundum" ("God so loved the world"). The lower part is pierced with doors on either side: and "Via Electionis" ("A chosen vessel") over the north door refers to St. Paul, and "Pasce oves meos" ("Feed my sheep") over the other to St. Peter; and here the crossed swords are the arms of the diocese. The section above has the Entombment in the centre, and the Nativity and Resurrection on either side. A Crucifixion occupies the central position. The framework is of Roman design, with pilasters and a round arch; and remembering Wren's conception, it is interesting that the columns of Brescia marble, supporting the entablature above, are twisted. This is flanked with a colonnade; the figure on the north being the Angel Gabriel, and to the south the Virgin. Above the pediment is a canopy with the Virgin and Child, and St. Peter and St. Paul to the north and south; and above all, and nearly seventy feet from the ground, the Risen Christ completes this most reverent design.
The altar cross is adorned with precious stones and lapis lazuli; and the massive copper candlesticks are imitations of those, four in number, sold during the Protectorate, and now, with the arms of England, in Ghent Cathedral.
The Apse.—Although the side aisles require no particular mention, unless it be of certain relics from Jerusalem in the south aisle, the iron gates leading to the reredos are well worthy of attention. When the choir was opened out, the ironwork was brought here; but there was not sufficient. Recourse was had in vain to modern coal-smelted metal: it split, and proved useless for the finer work. Searching the records, it was discovered that Tijou used only charcoal-smelted iron; and a supply was procured from Norway. Comment is needless. The vaulting comes down to the upper tier of windows. The windows in the lower tier, by Mr. C.E. Kempe, in harmony with the mosaics, have for their general subject the Last Judgment.
Isolated by the great Reredos behind from the rest of the church, the apse now forms a separate chapel, and is called the Jesus Chapel. Why borrow the name from the east end of the crypt below? The Liddon Chapel would be a suitable name. Here, against the south wall is his monument; and the altar-piece, in its marble framework, forms part of his memorial. It is a copy of a painting by Giovanni Battista da Conegliano, otherwise Cima. The original, now in the National Gallery, was painted for the Fraternity of the Battuti at Portogruaro. The subject is the incredulity of St. Thomas.
THE CHOIR, ALTAR AND REREDOS.[ToList]
The Mosaics.—Excepting, perhaps, certain minor alterations which time and experience may suggest, the decoration and adornment of the Choir may now be reckoned as finished. The scheme was begun from the east, and continued westward; but there is no good reason for altering our plan, and we will continue to work from the west eastward. Of the five divisions of the main aisle, the chancel arch may be dismissed; the subject being a continuation of the western bay. There remain, then, the three bays, the reredos arch, and the apse; and we will take these in their order. The spandrels of the arcading treat of the Fall and Redemption; the triforium belt has the same subject as the "inverted saucers" of the vaulting; the clerestory windows on the north, Creation awaiting, or anticipating, or in any sense preparing the way for the Kingdom of Christ,—on the south, those who prepared places of worship; the pendentives, Angels, and inscriptions from the Psalms and Isaiah; the vaulting, the Story of Creation, continued in the triforium belt. Thus it will be seen that the arrangement of the interior, with its three stages, is fully recognised. Underneath the clerestory windows the inscriptions are from the Advent antiphons to the Magnificat; and these selections have most carefully omitted anything savouring of the invocation of saints. Below the angels with their outstretched arms in the pendentives the western sides of the great transverse arches have inscriptions from the Benedicite, and on their eastern from Romans i. 20. All of these texts or inscriptions are in Latin. The glass in the clerestory windows has been put in to give the best effect to the mosaics. A tabular statement will best present a general idea of Sir William Richmond's system taken as a whole.