Cover feature: Crystal Cathedral

*Moniker assigned to Fred Swann in the printed program for the AGO 2008 Distinguished Performer Award.

Frederick Swann is one of the most well-known organists of the 20th and early 21st centuries. In this conversation, which is really a mini-biography, he reveals much behind-the-scenes information about his numerous high-profile positions, his relationship with the Murtagh/McFarlane Artist Management, and his early musical experiences, along with observations about the organ and church music today. He is an extremely humble man who has met his many challenges and professional opportunities with modesty and dignity. 

Swann’s honors and achievements in recent years include: 2002, International Performer of the Year by the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists; 2004, inaugural recital on the organ in the Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles; 2008, AGO Endowment Fund Distinguished Performer Award; 2009, Paul Creston Award by St. Malachy’s Chapel, New York City. In November 2014, he will be honored by the East Texas Pipe Organ Festival.

He has performed inaugural recitals on symphony-hall organs at Orchestra Hall (Chicago), Davies Hall (San Francisco), and Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall (Costa Mesa).

Frederick Swann is currently the consultant for the Ruffatti organ restoration project at the renamed Christ Cathedral, formerly the Crystal Cathedral, where he was director of music and organist (1982–1998). Christ Cathedral is scheduled to reopen in 2016. (See The Diapason, June 2014, pp. 26–28.)

This interview was conducted on May 8, 2014, in Saginaw, Michigan, as Swann was preparing for his May 9 inaugural recital on Scott Smith and Company Opus 3, a project renovating Skinner Organ Company Opus 751. Thanks go to Kenneth Wuepper of Saginaw, Michigan, the recording technician for the interview; the First Congregational Church, Saginaw, Michigan; and to Fred Swann himself for allowing us to interview him, for his assistance with editing, and for providing the photos that accompany this piece.

Steven Egler: Please tell us about your early years and your family. 

Frederick Swann: I am the son of a minister, and there were six children—three boys and three girls. I was number five, and there was a big space between me and the four older ones. 

From the very beginning, I was fascinated by the piano, and I would frequently bang on it at age 3 or 4. My parents were not particularly happy about that, so they locked the piano. Of course, any three-year-old can figure out how to get into a piano if he really wants to, and I did! 

When I was five, they decided that I could have piano lessons from May Carper, the organist of a church near my father’s church in Winchester, Virginia. One day I arrived early for a lesson and couldn’t find her. But I heard the organ going, and finally I found her at the organ console. I was hypnotized watching things popping in and out, lights were flashing, her hands and feet were flying, and I thought, “Oh my! That looks like fun. I’ve got to do that!” 

I asked her if I could play, but my legs were so short they wouldn’t reach the pedals. I kept after her, so she bribed me: if I had a good piano lesson, she would let me “bang” on the organ for five minutes before I went home. Then when my legs got longer—when I was about eight—she started showing me things about the organ and that you had to play it differently—not like a piano. They were really not organ lessons, because I just was continuing on the piano, but she still told me a lot about the organ. It was very good that she did because the organist in my father’s church, Braddock Street Methodist Church, suddenly died, and I became the organist of the church—there was no one else to play. It must have been simply awful, but that’s how I got started at age ten, and I’ve just kept on. I was a lucky kid since I didn’t have to decide what I was going to do when I grew up: I just started playing and kept doing it. 

Can you recall what those early church services were like and being thrust onto the bench?

Mostly I just played the hymns. The choir director, Madeline Riley, was somewhat of an organist herself, but the console was not located where she could play and direct. I would play the hymns, and she would show me how to play simple accompaniments.

I would practice during the week, and then my Saturday routine was that I always went to the horse opera theater—cowboy Western—for ten cents. On my way home, I’d go by the church and make sure that I had everything ready for the next morning.

I don’t remember too much about the services, except that it was an old Möller organ and setting the pistons made a lot of noise. I would love to “play with” setting the pistons, and the choir director would always come around to slap my hands because they could hear the noise out in the church. 

My biggest excitement came one Easter morning. There were certain stops that I was not allowed to use, and one was a great big Open Diapason in the Great. The church, however, was full and they were really singing, so she came by and pulled out the Open Diapason. I was just thrilled to death! I thought, “This is heaven,” since I had not been allowed to make that much noise before. 

That went on for a couple years, and then we moved down valley to Staunton in 1943. There I started studying with the organist of Trinity Episcopal Church, Dr. Carl Broman, singing in the choir, and getting a lot of very good musical education at the same time. He was a very fine musician.

You mentioned moving as a PK (preacher’s kid). Was that frequent as a child?

Not so much. I left home to go to school when I wasn’t quite 16, and we had only lived in three places. I was born in Lewisburg, West Virginia, but only lived there six weeks. We then moved to Clifton Forge, Virginia, where my father, Theodore M. Swann, pastored the Methodist church. Six years later, we moved to Winchester and the Braddock Street Methodist Church for six years (1937–1943). Then we moved down the Shenandoah Valley to Staunton, where my father became a district superintendent and later a bishop. We didn’t have a home church as such because he was always traveling to other churches. This is the main reason I was allowed to attend Trinity Episcopal Church in Staunton where I was confirmed at age 13. I just loved it—the liturgy and the great music.

What attracted you to Northwestern University?

To tell you the truth, my childhood was not the happiest, and at that point in my life, the farthest place away that I had heard of was Chicago. With my Methodist background and it being a Methodist school, I won a scholarship and went there.

You studied with Thomas Matthews (1915–1999) who is known particularly for his choral anthems. How was he as a teacher? 

He was a fine teacher, and a very quiet but very fun man. He was inspiring as a teacher and was willing to let me try anything. He gave me very good ideas.

Most of my lessons were at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Evanston, on the fantastic E.M. Skinner organ. By my senior year, I’d started to do a lot of accompanying. Matthews was also the director of the Chicago Bach Choir that, for some reason, met in Evanston at St. Luke’s Church.

In 1952, we did the second United States performance of the Duruflé Requiem. The first had been performed slightly earlier at Calvary Church in New York City. At last count, I’ve played that marvelous work 91 times during my career. I played it many years later at Riverside Church with Duruflé himself conducting. 

Tom [Matthews] was a great improviser, so I learned a lot about improvisation and colorful use of the organ, both in organ literature and in adapting piano/orchestral scores to the organ.

I also studied with John Christensen, who was the organist at the First Methodist Church in Evanston, and was his assistant organist during my four years in college. During my senior year, I also became organist and choir director at First Baptist Church upon the retirement of William Harrison Barnes (1892–1980). Dr. Barnes was the author of The Contemporary American Organ (1930) and well known as an organ consultant.

You said that the Barnes family “adopted” you?

When I arrived on the scene at Northwestern University, they heard me play and thought that I was advanced for my age. They also had recently lost a son, and for some reason, I reminded them of him and they decided to take me into the family. They were also responsible for my introduction to Virgil Fox (1912–1980) and took me on my first trip to New York City. On Sunday, they took me to the choir loft of St. Patrick’s Cathedral to meet the organist, their close friend Charles Courboin (1884–1973). During the sermon at the Mass, Dr. Courboin said to me, “Why don’t you play the postlude?” Of course, I had never played in a room like that or on an organ of that size, but I knew the Langlais Te Deum from memory, so I managed to get through it with the crescendo pedal and a general piston or two. Later, I became very good friends with Dr. Courboin, and, in fact, I studied the complete organ works of Franck with him. This was a great privilege, for he was widely regarded as an expert on the works of Franck. He was a very fun-loving and wonderful man. He and his wife were both so good to me, and he never charged me a penny for all of those lessons!

You attended Union Theological Seminary. With whom did you study?

My primary teacher was Hugh Porter (1897–1960), who was the director of the School of Sacred Music at the seminary. The best thing, however, particularly at that time, was just being in New York. Those days were often referred to as the “glory days” because of the great names in church music who were at the other churches in town. On Sunday afternoons, you could hear Evensong at St. Thomas or St. Bartholomew’s. Plus, there were many choral programs and other concerts all of the time, so you learned as much being exposed to music itself in New York as you did with actual classroom or lesson study. 

What advice do you have for young people these days who see themselves being organists as their primary calling, attend university, and expect to be prepared for the big, wide world?

I usually remind my students that they really have to love playing the organ and really have to love what they are doing. 

As far as becoming a concert organist, one has to realize that the field is very full. There are dozens and dozens of organists under management, many of whom play very few recitals because there are so many organists available. 

If you think that you want to be a church organist, if this is something you feel you just have to do, go ahead and do it. But realize that there are not that many full-time church jobs where you are going to be able to make a living. So, learn the organ, play it as well as you can, find a church to play in, but be aware that you may also need other sources of income, maybe teaching or perhaps even something in the business world.

One of my current university students at Redlands is also studying to become a dentist, and he is one of the most talented students I’ve ever had. I believe that he could have a career in the concert field and in church work, but he’s preparing to have some other source of income. 

It’s not that there aren’t jobs available: they’re just not jobs at which you can make a living.

I’d like to discuss the sizes of the various organs you have played. One source cites First Congregational Church, Christ Cathedral (formerly Crystal Cathedral), and Riverside Church respectively as the third, fifth, and fifteenth largest organs in the world. You have presided over each one of these instruments. 

Theoretically, the First Congregational Church in Los Angeles, where I was for three years after I retired from the Crystal Cathedral, contains the world’s largest church organ. There’s very little difference in the size of First Congregational and the organ at the Cathedral of St. Stephen in Passau, Germany, but interestingly, in a book that I picked up the last time I played there, it lists the largest organs in the world; they even put First Congregational’s organ before theirs! 

Actually, the Wanamaker organ (now Macy’s) in Philadelphia is the world’s largest operating organ. (The Atlantic City, New Jersey, Boardwalk Hall—formerly the Atlantic City Convention Center—organ is bigger, but most of it doesn’t play at this point.) 

Many people are obsessed with size, yet size is not everything. I have played many small and modest-sized instruments that were extremely beautiful and satisfying.

Please tell us about New York and the various pre-Riverside positions that you held. 

When I was in school at Union, I had a fieldwork position, the West Center Church in Bronxville, New York, but at that time I had already agreed to substitute for Virgil Fox whenever he was away, which was quite a bit.

My job in Bronxville was with the understanding that I had to be at Riverside when necessary. I was the official substitute organist (at Riverside) for a couple of years. When I graduated, Clarence Dickinson (1873–1969), whom I knew very well, had a heart attack—he was the organist and choirmaster at the Brick Church—and they asked me if I would fill in for him for nearly two years. At the same time, I became Harold Friedell’s (1905–1958) assistant at St. Bartholomew’s Church. I’d play in the morning at the Brick Church at 92nd Street and run down Park Avenue to play 4 o’clock Evensong at St. Bartholomew’s. There was a church in between called Park Avenue Christian Church, and they performed their oratorios at 2 o’clock on Sunday afternoon. Sometimes I would stop there and accompany an oratorio between playing services at Brick Church and St. Bart’s. 

Some Sundays, I also played Riverside! I would finish at St. Bart’s, jump off the bench (Harold [Friedell] would finish the service), run downstairs and out the door where there was a car waiting to whisk me to Riverside. Somebody else would have played the opening hymn, and I’d jump on the bench and play the oratorio. It was crazy and I don’t how I did it, except that when you’re young, you do all kinds of foolish things and don’t think anything about it.

Of course, I assume that you knew the organs and had rehearsed with the choirs.

Yes, plus the enormous amount of preparation for all the other music involved. 

And those were with just organ accompaniments and no orchestra?

Yes. Fortunately, the organs were all big, beautiful instruments with every color in the world, and it was a wonderful experience. After a while, I played almost every oratorio in the standard repertory. At Riverside we even did the United States premieres of a couple of works—Stabat Mater (1925–1926) of Szymanowsky (1882–1937) and the Hodie (1954) of Vaughan Williams (1872–1958). It was a wonderful experience, both to learn the music and also to learn how to adapt the scores quickly to the organ.

Were you ever overwhelmed playing those large instruments?

No, but there were many challenges and satisfaction in being able to find solutions. 

I can remember Maurice and Marie-Madeleine Chevalier-Duruflé, who were very good friends, when they played their first recital in America at the Riverside Church. They had come for the 1964 AGO national convention in Philadelphia the week before, but Maurice had hurt his back and couldn’t perform, so Marie-Madeleine played the recital. 

I’m telling you this because I’m thinking about big organs and how they affect people. When the Duruflés entered the Riverside chancel and saw the console, Maurice put his hand on his head and said, “Oh, mon Dieu!” Marie-Madeleine said, “Ooooooo,” rubbing her hands. She just couldn’t wait to get at it. I don’t think that I ever said “Ooooo” and rubbed my hands, but I was always so thrilled by the color possibilities of an organ such as the Riverside organ.

When I first played at Riverside in 1952, the organ was not the Aeolian-Skinner. It was the original 1931 Hook & Hastings controlled by the Aeolian-Skinner console that had been recently installed. When they began putting in the new organ in 1953, they had to keep the organ going every Sunday for services, oratorios, and everything else. I can remember one time when there were two Greats—the old Great was on one side of the chancel, and the new Great was on the other. I had to flip a switch depending on which Great I was using. It was a real headache and I didn’t get that much time at the organ, but here again when you’re young, you think, “Oh well. I’ll work it out.” It was a challenge.

You mention color and large instruments. I’ve heard you play many times, both in person and on recordings, and I can say that you are an organ symphonist in how you approach your music-making. Obviously, all of these instruments that you have experienced have been an incredible influence upon you.

Absolutely. On any instrument, I explore every stop in the organ, and of course, with a large organ, it is important to find orchestral colors for the oratorio accompaniments. I always feel that if there’s a stop there, it’s supposed be used and you can usually find a way to do it. 

Please tell us about your time at Riverside Church in New York City. 

In the fall of 1952, I started substituting for Virgil Fox, and in 1957 the staff at the church changed quite a bit. Virgil’s career began to blossom, and thus, he was there very rarely, so they decided they would hire an organist. I was hired as organist, not as assistant organist, at the church. From then until his association with the church dissolved completely in 1965, he very rarely played—probably a handful of times a year, but his name was kept because he was famous. 

I was actually in the Army when I was appointed organist. I was not going to be released for another six months, so Richard Peek, who was studying in New York at the time, filled in for me as organist for the next several months. Then in January 1958, I started playing full-time.

Did you ever work directly with Virgil Fox? 

Maybe a few times, but very rarely. He was a real character in addition, of course, to being an incredible musician and technician. Amazing! 

So William H. Barnes introduced you to Virgil Fox. Was he responsible for getting you in the door at Riverside? 

Absolutely. Virgil was born in Illinois and got his career start in Illinois—that’s where he met the Barneses. As a result, I knew Virgil before that first trip to New York. 

Please tell us about the choir program at Riverside, which was well known and directed by Richard Weagley (1909–1989). 

He was a great musician and wonderful to work with. He retired in 1967, when the program had been reduced from an oratorio every Sunday to just eight or nine a season. There was less work, so they asked me if I would be director of music and organist, which meant that I was the primary organist but was responsible mainly for the choir. Then I was given an assistant organist, and I had some great ones: Marilyn Keiser, John Walker, and Robert MacDonald, to name a few. They were wonderful people, and we’ve remained lifelong friends. I had the whole show, basically, until I left January 1, 1983, to move to California.

One of the first recordings I heard of you was with the marvelous soprano Louise Natale (1918–1992). 

Louise was a fabulous soprano. She had sung with Robert Shaw and was one of his main soloists for many years, and we were so fortunate to have her at Riverside. I encouraged her to sing [Jaromir] Weinberger’s (1896–1967) cantata, The Way to Emmaus (1940), and she did it magnificently with that organ to accompany her. 

We started doing it on Easter afternoon, and we did it for 25 consecutive Easters! After all of the loud music and the “Alleluias” all morning and then to come at 5 o’clock with the sun streaming across the Hudson through the beautiful windows and to end the Easter Day quietly was a very moving experience for a lot of people, and eventually the church was filled. 

Did you position the console so that you were able to conduct the choir from the console? 

The console was not movable and worked just fine as far as services were concerned, but for the oratorios I would have to go out front and conduct while one of my assistants played. I think the only time I played and had somebody else conduct was when we performed Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius. The accompaniment was so complicated and so wonderful that I wanted to hear it using all of that organ. So we engaged as conductor Dr. Harvey Smith from Arizona (now deceased). Of course, I had trained the choir before he arrived.

Could you explain why there was overlapping time before you left Riverside and when you began your position at the Crystal Cathedral? 

When the Crystal Cathedral had just been built and the organ installed, there were many festivities to open the organ. Pierre Cochereau came to play with orchestra, and a week later I played the first solo recital on the organ. Additionally, they asked me, as long I was there, to play the Sunday morning service. I played the morning service, and afterwards, Dr. and Mrs. Schuller wanted to meet with me. They asked me if I would become the organist of the church. I told them that they had a very fine organist, Richard Unfried, who was a friend of mine, and that the job did not exist. I said that I knew they were without a director of music and asked them if they’d like to discuss that. They said, “No,” that they only wanted me to play the organ. I indicated that I was not interested, since they already had a fine organist. 

So I went home to New York, and four days later, there at my office door at Riverside Church stood Robert Schuller. He said, “I just want you to know that Arvella and I have come light years since our discussion last Sunday, and we’d like to offer you the position of director of music and organist. Would you please fly out to meet with us next Monday to make arrangements.” He then turned around and left! 

I flew out to California with no intention whatsoever of moving, but I had already fallen under the magic spell of that fantastic cathedral and the organ, and as is sometimes said, “They made me an offer that I couldn’t refuse.” 

The arrangement that we finally made was that I would spend one week a month in California—working with the choir, etc.—and the other three weeks a month in New York. That’s what I did the first six months and then moved full-time to California in January 1983. 

I played the last service at Riverside at midnight, December 31, 1982, and then January 2, 1983, I flew to Toronto to play a recital in Roy Thomson Hall, and then flew immediately to California to meet the moving van, set up housekeeping, and get started with the new position. 

People would always ask me if I missed New York, and I’d tell them that I didn’t have time to miss New York! The music program was very large (at the Crystal Cathedral) with several hundred people in the program. I had to learn the organ and get the choir going, so I didn’t have time to think—to miss New York.

What was it like working with Robert Schuller (b. 1926)? 

It was wonderful. What you see on television with him is what you get. Both he and Mrs. Schuller, Arvella de Haan (1929–2014), treated me beautifully all the years that I was there, and we became very good friends. 

Dr. Schuller wasn’t around that much since he was always out speaking and raising money. Mrs. Schuller was in charge of worship and the music.

It took us a while to learn which buttons to push with each other, but we eventually became very good friends. She was an organist herself and told me I could do Palestrina and Hubert Parry’s I was glad anytime that I wanted, but I would have to do “the other things that we do,” too. But they wanted me specifically to bring that type of music—the “big Eastern church music.” They wanted me to provide music they felt would be commensurate with the new cathedral building, a great organ, and a fine choir. Thus, I was able to stretch them in doing a lot of that music, but they also stretched me into various other forms of music. 

There was an enormous variety of music. We could have a country-Western singer, a Metropolitan Opera star, an English cathedral anthem, and a Bach prelude and fugue, all of these and more in one service, but the best thing was that whatever we did was done with the best taste, and to the best of everyone’s ability.

Johnnie Carl, a fantastic musician, was in charge of the instrumental program and contemporary music. It was a learning experience for all of us, and I thoroughly enjoyed my 16-plus years there. The people made it: the choir especially. 

And you just happened to be on television every week, too!

Yes, eventually I got over being nervous about cameras peering over my shoulder, and occasionally I’d look up and see a cameraman standing on top of the organ console getting ready to shoot something! It was all very enjoyable, and many stories can be told about that!

That’s almost a book.

Oh, easily! One of those stories is about Alicia the tiger that was born at the cathedral. Her mother was one of the 60 animals used in the “Glory of Easter” production. I knew her mother, and her mother’s trainer. After Alicia was about a week old I went to the animal compound and played with her mother a bit, and the trainer gradually moved Alicia closer. Her mother didn’t object, so I picked up Alicia (she weighed only 35 pounds) and scratched her stomach and played with her every day for two weeks after that. Tigers (tame ones, anyway) are somewhat like elephants—they can bond with you, remember you, and when you see them after being away for months they’ll come right over and nuzzle you like a kitten—with the trainer nearby, of course.

It used to scare my staff to death when she’d come to my office and come right over and want to play. She was from an animal training facility that provided animals for movies, and had a reputation for being the most-tame “cat” in the business. She’s retired now. Organists all over the world were fascinated, and wherever I traveled—Jean Guillou’s apartment in Paris, or one in Berlin—there was one of the photos framed.

After the Crystal Cathedral, you went to the First Congregational Church, Los Angeles, for three years (1998–2001).

Right. When the Crystal Cathedral organ went in, their nose went out of joint at First Congregational Church because, up to that point, they had the largest organ in the area, so they set about to make it bigger and better than the Crystal Cathedral organ. About the time that the organ was finished, their organist Lloyd Holtzgraf retired, and they said, “Okay, we’ve got the bigger organ. Now we want the big organist from the other place.”

As Rev. Schuller had done earlier, the Congregationalists made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. At the heart of it was simply the fact that I was really worn out from all that I’d had to do at the Crystal Cathedral. I was playing the organ less and less and doing administrative work and conducting more. So I thought it would be rewarding to play the organ for awhile. I went to First Congregational Church with the understanding that I would only stay three years and retire on my 70th birthday, which I did right to the day in 2001.

That was a wonderful time there, too. Thomas Somerville, a great Bach scholar, was the director of music, and we did wonderful music. The congregation just loved that organ and would remain motionless and utterly quiet during preludes and postludes. It was a great place to make music—a smart move, and I’m so glad that I did it.

And since 2001, you have been organ artist in residence at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Palm Desert, California. 

When it came time to retire, I decided not to move back east—I’d already shoveled enough snow! I had many friends in Palm Springs and had visited there a lot and decided to retire there. I’d even purchased a home three years earlier and was able to rent it out until I needed it.

When I moved to Palm Springs, John Wright had come from Memphis to St. Margaret’s Church as organist and choirmaster. I had opened a new organ in his church in San Antonio, Texas, years before. He invited me to practice at St. Margaret’s whenever I wanted, as long as I played a recital during the year. I said, “Okay.” I was still out on the road finishing up several recitals that I had on the books. This went on for a couple years, and he said, “Why don’t you play for church once in a while.” I said, “Oh no. I’ve done that and I’m tired.” But he kept after me and I finally agreed. In recent years, I have been playing at least two Sundays a month and sometimes more often than that, plus all of the festival services. John is then able to concentrate on conducting the choir—a very good choir—and the organ is a large four-manual Quimby. Friends who visit are always amazed to find, out in the middle of the desert, a big choir, big church, big organ. I think they thought that we beat on bamboo! But, it’s been very enjoyable, and it is a wonderful congregation. I can walk in and play and walk out, and I don’t have to attend staff meetings. After a lifetime of doing that, I’m happy just to be able to play the organ.

That takes us to another leg of your journey: your performing career and association with the Murtagh and now Karen McFarlane artist management. As far back as I can I remember, I can see your smiling face on the back page of magazines (The Diapason and The American Organist). When did you start with the management?

Soon after I went to Riverside—I can’t remember the exact date. I was with the management for over 40 years.

Lilian Murtagh was the assistant to Bernard LaBerge, the famous manager of organists and other musicians in this country. After LaBerge’s death in 1952, she continued as head of the organ division (under what had become Colbert-LaBerge). She then purchased the organ division in 1962 and continued until her death in 1976 when Karen McFarlane became president. Murtagh was a dear, dear lady and so very good as a manager. 

It was great to get to know all of the famous organists who were with the management: it was a wonderful relationship. 

Lilian had gotten to know my secretary at Riverside, Karen McFarlane, and after Lilian became ill and realized that she didn’t have long to live, she asked Karen to consider taking over the management. Thus Karen McFarlane became the manager from 1976–2000.

So you and Karen McFarlane go way back.

We go way, way back! She had done some playing for me and was my secretary at Riverside. Then she became my concert manager. She’s like a sister and is a very dear friend.

When I retired I intended to finish recitals that I already had on the books, but I really didn’t intend to play anymore, so I asked them to please take my picture off the back page. I’ve curtailed my performing to maybe two or three concerts a year, mainly because the travel is becoming more difficult.

Do you have any more recordings in the works? 

No, I did my last one in 2010 (Gothic Records) on the magnificent Casavant organ, Opus 1230, in the Memorial Chapel at the University of Redlands. Recording is very nerve-wracking at my age. I can still play adequately as long as a microphone has not been turned on. When that happens, I become the Florence Foster Jenkins of the organ!

Going back to the LP days, I think that there’s a total of about 30 recordings. A lot are from Mirrosonic, Vista, Decca, and, of course, Gothic. It’s not an enormous number—many people record a lot more—and some of those are organ and some are with choir.

Some things I’ve recorded more than once, and I don’t really apologize for that. Marie-Claire Alain was once asked why she recorded three sets of the complete Bach works; she answered, “Because my ideas change or I learn.” It’s the same with all of us, and I would hate to think that we were not constantly changing.

Please tell us about your varied teaching experiences, the positions you’ve held, and your students. 

I’ve had a whole bunch. The first formal teaching that I did was at the Guilmant Organ School (1899–ca. 1970) in New York. It was established in the early 20th century by William Carl, who was the organist at First Presbyterian Church, New York City. He had been a student of Guilmant. I came to it late, actually just the last three years of its life, and I had about eight to ten students. Then I began teaching organ and accompanying the choir at Teachers College, Columbia University. I also did some private teaching at Union Seminary where I was also the fieldwork supervisor; I would go out to students’ churches, take notes, and make suggestions. 

In 1973, I became head of the organ department at the Manhattan School of Music. At that time, it was housed in the old Juilliard School buildings across the street from the Riverside Church, which was very convenient. I held that position for eight years during the 1970s until I left New York for California. 

When I first went to California, there was absolutely no time for teaching. But after I finally “retired,” playing almost no recitals and just playing at St. Margaret’s, in 2007 I became the university organist and artist teacher of organ for the University of Redlands, just an hour west toward Los Angeles. 

The Casavant organ there, originally installed in 1927, was completely restored in 2002 at the same time that the building was being retrofitted for earthquakes. It’s a marvelous organ, totally enclosed—even the three 32-foot stops. It’s a thrilling sound, even with the orchestra and choir and soloists. Just a short while ago, we were able to fill up all of the blank knobs on the console and add another 20 ranks.

I have very good students there. 

What about the composer in you?

Oh, I’m not a composer! 

You wrote a wonderful Trumpet Tune.

I don’t know how wonderful it is, but people seem to enjoy it. One man has even made a handbell arrangement of it that is published. There are a few other organ pieces, too.

The other compositions are mainly anthems, and they were all written when I was at the Crystal Cathedral, because I couldn’t find what I wanted to fit with the service of the day or they were not the right length. They all had to be written in major keys, had to be loud, and had to end with the sopranos on high C, so there isn’t a great deal of variety. But the publishers wanted them: because I was the organist at the Crystal Cathedral, and they thought they would sell! I don’t know if they ever did or not—a few of them did, I guess—but I make no claims to being a composer, whatsoever. 

There are several hymn arrangements and preludes that are also published. In particular, Toccata on “O God, Our Help, In Ages Past” is fun to watch— it made good television. It has lots of work jumping manuals, which idea I got from Petr Eben’s Moto Ostinato. I played it for him once and he burst out laughing. I said, “Well, it was your idea!”

Please reflect upon your time as President of the American Guild of Organists (2002–2008), which is when I first got to know you. 

I was amazed that I got elected, and I’m sure the only reason was because of television and concerts. A lot of people don’t know most of the people who are ever nominated for office, so they usually vote for the ones who are best known. I enjoyed it very much. We had a wonderful group of people on the National Council—you were there—everybody worked well together and with the administration of the Guild. It was a very happy time and I feel that we accomplished a lot of things. In addition to the POEs (Pipe Organ Encounters), there were many highlights of my years there. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to serve the Guild in that way.

What do you see as the function, the purpose, and even the future of the AGO?

I think that the Guild is very much alive. It is still very influential—it’s the largest and oldest organization (founded in 1896) of its kind for musicians and for instruments in this country. 

The only other musical organization that is older is the Royal College of Organists in London, which in 2014 is celebrating its 150th anniversary. They used to wield an enormous amount of power, and even had a big office building. The organ and organist had been well thought of in halls and cathedrals, but a recent article in the New York Times said that they have fallen on bad times and there are not as many jobs. They are now focusing on reinventing themselves by reaching out more to the general public. I don’t how they will do it, but they are determined. 

Generally speaking, I believe that the Guild is on firmer ground now than it’s ever been. I’m very optimistic about the future of the AGO and about the organ in general. There are many naysayers who think that the organ is dying and that there are too few people interested in becoming organists. This is simply not true.

Some of the major organ builders no longer exist, but there still are organs being built—some of them very large and expensive—as well as smaller organs. Along with all of the recordings that exist, I feel very optimistic about future of the organ, and I don’t believe it’s going to die anytime soon.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I don’t have a lot of free time, although I try to walk one to two miles daily—I am not in shape to do any great physical activity, but I do enjoy walking. I live in a two-story condominium, just so I can have the exercise of going up and down steps many times a day. I like reading, going out to eat, and I love being with friends.

There are many retired organists where I live in Palm Springs, many of whom I have known for years. It’s fun having a very nice social life, too. 

Very little grass grows under your feet. 

No. I learned several years ago—and I practice it religiously—that when you get into your ninth decade, you do not want to sit and stare at the wall. The day may come when I have to do that, but until it does, I’ll keep as physically and mentally active as I possibly can. I do crossword puzzles and everything I can to stay active. 

Do you practice everyday? 

I’m embarrassed to say that I do not. I should, but I practiced a lot in recent weeks to prepare for the recital here. 

Here is where humility must be brushed aside for the sake of honesty. You have everything on your résumé: you are without a doubt the most well-known and most visible organist of our day . . . 

. . . fading fast, as there are some real barn-burners coming along nowadays who are really going to go right to the top and who are creating a lot of stir in the organ world. I’m thankful for them because we need to keep the organ world alive . . . 

What do you see being your important contribution(s) to our profession? 

Regardless of what some people might think, I’m really modest and somewhat shy. I have been given wonderful opportunities in my career, such as having been blessed to serve in church positions most organists can only dream about. I’ve played close to 3,000 recitals in various places around the world, including a lot of daily recitals in churches, as well as being on television for over 16 years.

With the combination of things like that and teaching, I feel that I’ve helped to contribute to keeping the organ alive. I don’t believe that I’ve done any one thing in particular that I could cite as being outstanding. Rather, I’m grateful to have been given so many opportunities. I’ve tried to make the most of those opportunities for the advancement of the organ and its music. I’m more embarrassed than pleased when people compliment me.

At this point in your life and career what occurs to you as the most pleasurable reward resulting from your more than 70-year career?

That’s easy! In addition to being grateful for all the music making I’ve been fortunate to do, it’s the satisfaction of knowing that I’ve been able to bring joy and encouragement to others. One thing that has surprised me in recent years, and keeps happening more and more, is hearing from colleagues in the profession that my service playing or a recital or teaching, often on a very specific occasion, was a life-changing event for them in their career path. I am so very grateful for these expressions! More important, it makes me aware that all of us should take time to consider the influence we may unconsciously be having on others. 

Good advice for all. Thank you, Fred. You are the gem of our ocean! 

Designing an organ presents many challenges, many of which are related to making the instrument fit tonally and visually into the building which will be its home.

Fratelli Ruffatti, Padua, Italy

Buckfast Abbey, 

Devon, United Kingdom

The sound

Designing an organ presents many challenges, many of which are related to making the instrument fit tonally and visually into the building which will be its home. The challenges connected with our recent installation at Buckfast Abbey, Devon, England, were, in many ways, out of the ordinary. We were asked to design two instruments of considerable size, tonally interconnected, for a building of moderate size and very kind acoustics that amplify sound in a dreamlike fashion. While it was not difficult to design an instrument to play a variety of literature, much attention was required to scaling the sound to the building without sacrificing the proper characterization of the many different stops.

The tonal palette was based on an initial draft by Matthew Martin, international recitalist, former organist at the London Oratory and now Fellow and Director of Music and College Lecturer at Keble College, Oxford. Further adjustments were coordinated between Philip Arkwright, Organist and Master of the Music at Buckfast Abbey, and Fratelli Ruffatti.

The main instrument, of four manuals and pedal, is located on two sides behind the choir stalls and partially on the triforium level (the upper arcaded gallery) above. Specifically, Great, Positivo (in the Italian style, hence the name), Swell, and Pedal are housed inside solid oak cases at nave level, while the Solo division is placed at triforium level, along with a whole series of “special effects” playable from the Positivo, some of which belong to the early Italian tradition.

The second instrument, comprising two manual divisions with full pedal, is located in the west gallery and partially in the triforium level areas that are closest to the west gallery. Two nearly identical four-manual consoles have been provided, one in each location. The difference between the two is that the Quire console is equipped with an electric lift that adjusts the height of the keydesk and stop jambs by more than four inches (10 centimeters). This feature, along with the two height-adjustable benches (one for concert use, and one for teaching purposes), makes it very easy for any organist to find comfortable playing space. 

As G. Donald Harrison, the Englishman who became tonal director of Aeolian Skinner, once stated, “To me, all art is international; one can draw from the best of all countries. I have used the technique at my disposal to produce instruments which I consider suitable for expressing the best in organ literature.” This instrument indeed embraces this philosophy. The requirements for the seven initial worldwide organbuilders that were asked to submit specifications included the need for the instrument to support a wide repertoire of accompanied music, as well as to successfully perform a wide range of organ literature. Such requirements were not taken lightly and, drawing from decades of experience and from different traditions, as Harrison advocated, Ruffatti introduced several tonal features that are new or rare to find in England, with the aim of sparking interest for improvisation and creative registration for the international repertoire. 

It is along these lines that the Gallery Organ was designed. It draws from the French Romantic tradition of Cavaillé-Coll. Dedicated studies were conducted on several organs in Paris and other locations in order to ensure as close a proximity as possible to the Cavaillé-Coll style, by carefully copying pipe measurements and voicing methods, without pretentious claims of authenticity. The instrument is designed as a two-manual, but it can also be used as a large cohesive division, part of which is under expression, that can be played against, or in tandem with, the main Quire Organ. 

Along the same line of thought, the Italian Positivo was introduced in the Quire. With the tonal consistency of an early Italian instrument and the trademark low-pressure voicing, it provides all tonal resources needed to faithfully perform classical Italian literature from the Renaissance up to the early Romantic period, an ingredient that is indeed rare to find in an instrument in England. It is also ideal for playing in alternatim with the monastic choir. This is not just a nice “toy” to have, but serves convincingly as a Positiv division, in dialogue with the Great for access to a broader classical repertoire.

Another note of interest concerns the Solo division, which includes stops that have been drawn from the Skinner tradition, as well as other orchestral stops of Ruffatti design.

One of the aspects characteristic of Fratelli Ruffatti is that we manufacture almost everything in house, including flue and reed pipes. This is the best guarantee for quality control. At the same time, it provides the opportunity to carefully select all the ingredients that are necessary in the mind of the tonal designer. The difference is in the details. Being able to pass any requirements that experience dictates on to the pipe shop enables the voicers to exactly tailor the sound to the room, resulting in that perfect blend for which Ruffatti is famous.  

Versatility is only partially the product of having a variety of stops on hand; what really makes the difference is the ability of each stop to combine successfully with all others to produce countless tonal combinations. Open-toe voicing for principals and flutes is the key, as it favors blending of sounds, as well as promptness and precision of speech, an aspect that is of paramount importance, especially when there is no close proximity of the player to the pipes (as there would be with a mechanical action instrument). An old misconception still flies around, deriving from the early neo-Baroque times of the Orgelbewegung, or Organ Reform Movement of the mid-twentieth century, where the open-toe voicing technique was sometimes used to produce excessively harsh sounds. Open-toe voicing is instead quite versatile, ideal for the effective voicing of a rank of pipes in a variety of styles, regardless of the chosen wind pressures. 

Materials for the construction of pipes include the ultra-shiny alloy of ninety-five percent tin, used for the pipes in the façade as well as for a high number of larger internal pipes. Its structural strength and incredible resonance properties make it ideal for pipes of larger size. Other internal pipes are made with a tin percentage ranging from 75 to 30 percent.

Many pipes are made of wood, including the resonators of the two majestic 32′ reeds, the Bombarde, and the Fagott. Only the finest African Sipo mahogany has been used, varnished inside and out to enhance resonance. The Pontifical Trumpet, which projects horizontally from the front of the Gallery Organ, has highly polished solid brass resonators.

This organ was featured in the press for the first time in the March 2018 issue of the British magazine Organists’ Review with an article by Philip Arkwright, Organist and Master of the Music at Buckfast Abbey. It was inaugurated on April 20, 2018, with a splendid concert performed by Martin Baker, Organist and Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral, which I had the good fortune to witness. The improvisation that closed the performance was stunning: a perfect demonstration of creativity and a kaleidoscopic use of musical color.

The opening organ series also includes concerts by Vincent Dubois, titular organist of Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris; David Briggs, Artist-in-Residence at St. John the Divine, New York City; Matthew Martin, Director of Music at Keble College, Oxford; Richard Lester, international recitalist; and in-house organists Richard Lea and Matthew Searles.

—Francesco Ruffatti

Architecture and technical features

The east and west organs at Buckfast Abbey are aesthetically quite different. The east organ (Quire) is intended to be discreet, as the client’s desire was that the front of the building should not have the imposing presence of an intricate organ design. For this reason we chose a very simple layout for the façade, with pipes recessed into three arches that crown the stalls on both sides of the Quire. The pipes are hardly visible from the center of the building, but clearly show the brightness of the tin they are built from when they are seen from the side.

The central pipe of each bay, with its diamond-shaped embossing, reflects the light in all directions, providing a touch of richness within the simplicity of the design scheme.

The west organ (Gallery) gave us the opportunity to offer a more sophisticated architectural solution. The full visibility of the splendid stained glass windows being paramount, we built two symmetrical oak organ cases against the side walls of the gallery, with tunnels to grant access to the balcony from the doors in the back corners. The aim was for a design of lightness and richness at the same time—not an easy task, as the two qualities are normally in conflict.

To achieve this goal, we chose a case design where the façade pipes are not topped by a ceiling. Instead, there is an alternation between bays having pipes with unobstructed tops and pipes with carved elements defining the top line. The richness is provided by the carving, which is also used to separate façade pipes within the same bay. In the general scheme, it gives visual continuity to the various bays. These elements have been hand-carved from European oak by a gifted artist, from a Ruffatti design inspired by the intricate and elaborate carved wood of the Abbey’s choir stalls. Even the panels of the lower part of the case are enriched by carvings in the Gothic style. 

The sunlight coming through the stained glass windows is reflected by the shiny surface of the tin pipes, adding a touch of color to the façade, an effect that is remarkably spectacular.

The signature Ruffatti horizontal trumpets, with their flared brass bells, extend from the lower part of the cases, projecting their shining beauty into the Abbey’s central bay.

The most frequent comment we have received on the design is that the organ looks like it has always been there. I believe that this is the biggest compliment that can be paid to the designer, because it proves that the organ belongs to the building, without imposing its presence. The initial aim has been reached: a light yet elegant result.

On the strictly technical side, African Sipo mahogany is widely used for functional parts, such as all of the windchests. The main units are of the slider type, which are controlled by solenoids of the latest generation, featuring self-adjusting power for the initial stiffness of the slider movement and reduced power at the end of the travel, for maximum silence.

The twin consoles feature identical controls and can be played simultaneously, as they often are. The control system is operated by the organist from a touch-screen panel, and it offers a large number of functions. The huge memory provides separate password-protected storage folders for many organists, where stop combinations, personal crescendo, and tutti settings can be stored. The system also features, among many other useful tools, a transposer, a record/playback function, and on-board diagnostics, a useful tool for maintenance.

The height adjustment of the keydesk of the Quire console is controlled by a push button, operating a heavy-duty electric motor. Adjusting the level of the keydesk allows maximum comfort for the player, regardless of that person’s physical height and build.

The organ is distributed over several locations and, true to Ruffatti philosophy, uses several different wind pressures to optimize the tonal result of the various stops. As a result, nine separate blowers, twenty traditional reservoirs, and nine schwimmers have been used to provide adequate and stable wind at the many different pressures, ranging from 40 to 185 mm.

—Piero Ruffatti

Builder’s website: www.ruffatti.com/en/

Church’s website: www.buckfast.org.uk/

QUIRE ORGAN

Location: Quire and Triforium 

POSITIVO (unenclosed–Manual I)

8′ Principale 61 pipes

8′ Bordone 61 pipes

8′ Voce Umana (tenor G) 42 pipes

4′ Ottava 61 pipes

4′ Flauto Veneziano 61 pipes

2′ Decimaquinta 61 pipes

11⁄3′ Decimanona 61 pipes

22⁄3′ Sesquialtera II 122 pipes

2⁄3′ Ripieno III 183 pipes

8′ Cromorno 61 pipes

8′ Pontifical Trumpet Solo

8′ Abbatial Trumpet Solo

Glockenspiel (tenor C) 30 bells

Tremulant

Nightingale 5 pipes

Cymbelstern 12 bells

Drum 3 pipes

6′ Bagpipe F 1 pipe

4′ Bagpipe C 1 pipe

22⁄3′ Bagpipe G 1 pipe

GREAT (unenclosed–Manual II)

16′ Bourdon 61 pipes

8′ Principal 61 pipes

8′ Bourdon 61 pipes

8′ Spitzflöte 61 pipes

4′ Octave 61 pipes

4′ Blockflöte 61 pipes

22⁄3′ Quint 61 pipes

2′ Superoctave 61 pipes

11⁄3′ Mixture IV 244 pipes

1⁄2′ Terz Zimbel III 183 pipes

8′ Trumpet 61 pipes

4′ Clarion 61 pipes

8′ Pontifical Trumpet Solo

8′ Abbatial Trumpet Solo

Sub Octave

Unison Off 

SWELL (enclosed–Manual III)

8′ Flûte à Cheminée 61 pipes

8′ Gemshorn 61 pipes

8′ Viole de Gambe 61 pipes

8′ Voix Céleste (tenor C) 49 pipes

4′ Prestant 61 pipes

4′ Flûte Creuse 61 pipes

22⁄3′ Nazard 61 pipes

2′ Octavin 61 pipes

13⁄5′ Tierce 61 pipes

2′ Plein Jeu IV 244 pipes

16′ Basson 61 pipes

8′ Trompette Harmonique 61 pipes

8′ Hautbois (ext 16′) 12 pipes

4′ Clairon Harmonique (ext 8′) 12 pipes

Tremulant

Sub Octave

Unison Off

Super Octave

SOLO (enclosed–Manual IV)

16′ Lieblich Bourdon 61 pipes

8′ Orchestral Flute 61 pipes

8′ Doppelflöte 61 pipes

8′ Salicional 61 pipes

8′ Unda Maris (tenor C) 49 pipes

8′ Flûte Douce 61 pipes

8′ Flûte Céleste (tenor C) 49 pipes

4′ Flauto d’Amore 61 pipes

22⁄3′ Harmonic Nazard 61 pipes

2′ Harmonic Piccolo 61 pipes

13⁄5′ Harmonic Tierce 61 pipes

8′ Bassett Horn 61 pipes

8′ Vox Humana 61 pipes

8′ Pontifical Trumpet* 61 pipes

8′ Abbatial Trumpet** 61 pipes

Tremulant

Sub Octave

Unison Off

Super Octave

* mounted horizontally from the front of the Gallery Organ cases, divided at both sides. Not affected by couplers

**located in the Triforium, unenclosed. Not affected by couplers

PEDAL

32′ Contra Bourdon digital

16′ Contrabass 32 pipes

16′ Subbass 32 pipes

16′ Bourdon Great

16′ Lieblich Bourdon Solo

102⁄3′ Quintflöte 32 pipes

8′ Octave 32 pipes

8′ Flûte Ouverte 32 pipes

51⁄3′ Nazard (ext 102⁄3′) 12 pipes

4′ Superoctave 32 pipes

2′ Flûte 32 pipes

22⁄3′ Mixture IV 128 pipes

32′ Fagott 32 pipes

16′ Bombarde 32 pipes

16′ Basson Swell

8′ Trompette (ext 16′) 12 pipes

4′ Schalmei 32 pipes

GALLERY ORGAN

Location: West Gallery

GRAND-ORGUE
(unenclosed–floating) 

16′ Bourdon 61 pipes

8′ Montre 61 pipes

8′ Flûte Harmonique 61 pipes

8′ Bourdon 61 pipes

4′ Prestant 61 pipes

4′ Flûte Octaviante 61 pipes

22⁄3′ Cornet III (tenor G) 126 pipes

2′ Doublette 61 pipes

2′ Plein Jeu III–V 264 pipes

8′ Clarinette 61 pipes

8′ Pontifical Trumpet Solo

8′ Abbatial Trumpet Solo

Tremblant

Sub Octave

Unison Off

EXPRESSIF (enclosed–floating)

8′ Violoncelle 61 pipes

8′ Violoncelle Céleste (TC) 49 pipes

8′ Cor de Chamois 61 pipes

8′ Cor de Chamois Céleste (TC) 49 pipes

4′ Prestant 61 pipes

8′ Trompette 61 pipes

4′ Clairon 61 pipes

Tremblant

Sub Octave

Unison Off

Super Octave

PÉDALE

16′ Soubasse 32 pipes

16′ Bourdon Grand-Orgue

8′ Basse 32 pipes

8′ Bourdon (ext 16′) 12 pipes

4′ Flûte (ext 16′) 12 pipes

32′ Bombarde* 32 pipes

16′ Bombarde (ext 32′)* 12 pipes

8′ Trompette (ext 32′)* 12 pipes

* located in the Gallery Organ Triforium

Positivo special effects located in the Quire Organ Triforium

Solo located in the Quire Organ Triforium

Four-manual movable Quire console, with electric height-adjustment for keyboards and stop knobs

Four-manual movable Gallery console

The consoles can be used simultaneously to perform repertoire for two organs

CONSOLE CONTROLS

Identical for both consoles

COUPLERS (tilting tablets)

Solo to Swell 16-8-4

Expressif on Manual III

Solo to Great 16-8-4

Swell to Great 16-8-4

Positivo to Great 8

Grand-Orgue on Manual II

Gallery* on Manual I

Solo to Positivo 16-8-4

Great to Positivo 16-8-4

Swell to Positivo 16-8-4

Solo to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 8

Great to Pedal 8

Positivo to Pedal 8

Grand-Orgue to Pedal 8-4

Expressif to Pedal 8-4

* Grand-Orgue and Expressif combined

Reeds Off (for entire organ)

Mixtures Off (for entire organ)

Gallery* on Manual I on key cheek

Grand-Orgue on Manual II on key cheek

Expressif on Manual III on key cheek

*including both Gallery Organ manual divisions

Quire Organ Tutti

Full Organ Tutti

Pédale Off on key cheek

Sustain for Solo, Swell, Great, Positivo

Great and Pedal combinations coupled

Grand-Orgue and Pédale combinations coupled

All Swells to Swell

Quire Organ On – on key cheek

Gallery Organ On – on key cheek

Record and Playback

COMBINATION ACTION:

Twelve general pistons for Quire and Gallery organs

Eight Quire Organ divisional pistons

Six Gallery Organ divisional pistons

Set, General Cancel

Previous (-), Next (+) in several locations

Thousands of memory levels for the “common memory area”

Thousands of private memory folders accessible by password or magnetic sensor

Touch-screen control panel featuring multiple functions, including:

• Transposer

• Five “insert combinations” possible between each general piston for all available folders

• Option of automatic re-numbering of combinations after inserts have been introduced 

• In addition to conventional piston storage, both the common area and the individual folders offer:

Storage of piston sequences in “piece”-labelled folders

Storage of several “piece”-labelled folders to form “concert”-labelled folders

Swell, Expressif, Solo expression pedals

Crescendo Pedal: standard and multiple personalized settings 

MIDI In, Out, Through

SUMMARY OF PIPE MATERIALS:

95% tin alloy for all façade and most larger pipes inside

Bagpipes in the Positivo with walnut resonators, blocks and shallots in the traditional style

All other wooden pipes, including 32′ reed resonators, made of African Sipo mahogany

Principal choruses 75% tin alloy 

Flutes: 8′ octaves 95% tin alloy, rest 30% tin alloy (spotted)

Reeds, Strings: 8′ octaves 95% tin alloy, rest 52% tin alloy (spotted)

SUMMARY OF WIND PRESSURES:

QUIRE ORGAN

Positivo 40 mm for Principal chorus, 50 mm for flutes and reed

Great 80 mm for all stops, 95 mm for offsets only

Swell 90 mm for all stops, 100 mm for offsets only

Solo 160 mm for all stops except Pontifical and Abbatial trumpets, 185 mm

Pedal 100 mm and 80 mm upperwork

GALLERY ORGAN

Grand Orgue 90 mm

Expressif 100 mm

Pédale 120 mm

STATISTICS

81 real stops

100 ranks of pipes

5,542 pipes and 42 bells

Key for the cover illustration
1. Original factory building, 158 Woodland Street. Occupied from 1899–1937.
2. Opus 2, Sweetest Heart of Mary Church, Detroit, 2 manuals, 20 stops. Still in regular service.
3. Opus 500, Panama-Pacific Exhibition, San Francisco, 4 manuals, 121 stops. Damaged in a 1989 earthquake, it remains in storage awaiting completion of restoration and installation.
4. Opus 2536, Trinity College Chapel, Hartford, 3 manuals, 62 stops.
5. Opus 2719, Our Lady of Czestochowa, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 4 manuals, 65 stops.
6. Opus 453, The Organ Pavilion, Balboa Park, San Diego, 4 manuals, 62 stops.
7. Opus 323, City Hall Auditorium, Portland, Maine, 5 manuals, 124 stops.
8. Opus 2768, St. Mary’s College, Moraga, California, 4 manuals, 68 stops.
9. Opus 2782, Fountain Street Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 4 manuals, 139 stops.
10. The “new” factory building (1937), as expanded several times.
Center: The Austin Universal Airchest logo, including the crest with the motto: Scientia Artem Adjuvat. The motto and crest are said to have been the design of former Austin employee Robert Hope-Jones.
Background: The background is a blueprint, Opus 2786, Assumption Church, Westport, Connecticut.

The first Austin milestone:

1893—the first instrument

The Austin story begins like so many tales of European emigration. It was in the year 1889 that young John T. Austin sailed for the shores of the new world with a man he met who was visiting England (the Austin family native soil) and was returning to California. The Austin family was considerably well off: Jonathan Austin (the father) was a “gentleman farmer,” whose hobby was tinkering with organs and organbuilding. During the voyage, all of John’s money was liberated from his person before arriving in New York, presumably the result of the kindness of his traveling companion!

Penniless, he used his extraordinary wits to find his way to Michigan, and was immediately hired by the Farrand & Votey firm in Detroit. In a few years’ time, he had become plant superintendent, and in his free time he developed a concept for a new type of windchest. After building and servicing bar and slider (tracker organ) windchests, and certainly seeing many of the new electro-pneumatic actions coming on the scene, he was convinced that there must be a better way. The folks at Farrand & Votey were not interested, so in 1893 he built and sold a new organ that he built at the Clough & Warren (reed organ) plant.

His concept was innovative, because you could simply walk right into the windchest (he called it an airbox) and service the complete mechanism. Inside the airbox of many of these early instruments were also the motor for the bellows and the electric (direct current) generator. He started selling these new instruments with alacrity. It is an often-held belief that Austin organs have tracker-like lifespan, and this is evidenced by the fact that several of these early instruments, Opus 2 from 1894 for example, continue to play well year after year.

A discussion of the Austin mechanism would easily consume an entire volume, but in digest form, the organ utilizes one manual motor (primary note action) for each note, or key, in a division, and one stop action motor for each stop on a main windchest. The valves under each pipe are not leather pouches, such as one might find in a Skinner, Möller, or other electro-pneumatic instrument, but in an Austin, they are simply mechanical valves connected by wooden trackers (yes, trackers!) to the manual motor for each particular note. This mechanism is reliable and inherently self-adjusting. Springs and felt guides allow wild changes in humidity and temperature with no degradation in performance. The whole concept is, in a word, brilliant!

In 1899, perhaps the apex of the American Industrial Revolution, John T. Austin was just 30 years old when he moved into the facility on Woodland Street in Hartford, Connecticut. Legend has it that that the crew (including JTA) was installing the organ at the Fourth Congregational Church (Opus 22, now the Liberty Christian Center) when the factory in Detroit burned to the ground. Actually, John T. Austin was in Woodstock, Ontario, supervising the construction of the first and only Austin organ constructed by the Karn-Warren Company. The date of the fire was February 2, 1899 (the feast of Candlemas!). On March 31 of that year, the Austin Organ Company was incorporated in the state of Maine. The company actually signed a contract for a new organ on March 1 of that year and rented factory space in Boston—just down the street from the first, soon-to-be Skinner organ factory. The following August, the board of directors authorized the acquisition of the Hartford facility.

The business moved along quickly. It would be safe to say that most instruments of this period were of moderate size; literally dozens of three and four-manual instruments were delivered between 1900 and 1915. This was the point in Austin’s history when some rather significant and interesting instruments were installed. For example: Opus 323, The Kotzschmar Memorial Organ (www.foko.org) was built for the City Hall in Portland, Maine. It was one of the first municipal organs installed in the country. The organ has been played and maintained with loving care. A handsome, new five-manual drawknob console was built for the organ by the Austin firm in 2000.

This organ was followed a few years later by Opus 453, the Spreckels Organ in Balboa Park, San Diego, on New Year’s Eve, 1914. The largest and most renowned outdoor organ, it was the gift of businessmen John D. Spreckels and his brother Adolph B. Spreckels. The organ continues to be heard in regular concerts and events. Dr. Carol Williams retains the position as Municipal Organist, performing regularly to hundreds (www.sosorgan.com). This organ was originally built for the Panama-California Exposition, before being re-gifted to the city.

Meanwhile, up the coast in San Francisco, the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco would open just two months later and run concurrently with the San Diego event. Austin was chosen from a list of about 31 builders to construct the organ for this exposition, and was given a stiff timeline: six months! It was completed the very morning that the exposition opened. When the exposition was concluded, the organ was moved to the Civic Auditorium. The city’s new municipal organist, Edwin Lemare, specified scores of tonal and mechanical changes that he required the Austin Company to complete upon re-installation. Of primary concern was the fact that the organ was being moved from a space that seated 3,000 to an auditorium with a capacity of over 10,000. The organ had many years of fame, but fell to near-obscurity in the late 1950s. In 1963, the Austin firm built a stunning black lacquer drawknob console. It saw a bit more use, but the horrific 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake rendered the organ silent. The organ sustained some damage due to falling debris. Funds were eventually allocated to repair and re-install the organ. The organ was returned to Hartford, and much work had been completed, but a few months into the project, a directive from the city ordered the organ to be returned to San Francisco. It remains in storage beneath the city, much like that final scene of Indiana Jones’s Raiders of the Lost Ark!

Opus 558 would be the company’s first five-manual instrument, built for the Medinah Temple (Masonic Lodge) in Chicago. This organ also had a sister stopkey console of four manuals. During this period, the company production averaged over 60 new pipe organs a year! The next major instrument would be for the Eastman Theater (for the Eastman School of Music); Opus 1010 was a unique theatre organ—the largest ever—of 229 stops! It was, sadly, removed in the 1970s. There were additional notable instruments during this time: the University of Colorado received a four-manual, 119-stop instrument in 1922. The Cincinnati Music Hall awarded a contract for Opus 1109, an 87-stop instrument that utilized much of the existing Hook & Hastings pipework. Opus 1416, a four-manual instrument of 200 stops, was built for the Sesquicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The final large concert hall organ of this period, Opus 1627, four manuals and 102 stops, was built for Hartford’s own Horace Bushnell Memorial Hall in 1929.

By the mid-1920s, Austin Organ Company was producing over 80 new pipe organs annually. This trend continued until the crash of 1929 and ensuing depression era. The company soldiered on, a bit weakened because of the lack of new business, tremendous overhead (the factory was expanded over three times from its original footprint), and company financing of new instruments to churches, from which payments only dribbled in. In July 1935, The Diapason published the announcement that the Austin Organ Company would close its doors. Non-specific Austin assets and raw materials were sold, and remaining contracts were completed (the final A.O.C. contract was number 1885). A few folks remained to complete warranty work and move the Austin tools and machines into storage. At this time, young Frederic Basil Austin and long-time employee Harold Dubrule kept the fires burning by completing some small rebuilds and service jobs. It was this association that inspired John T. Austin’s nephew to consider purchasing the company, a process that was completed in 1937.

The second Austin milestone: 1937—reorganization and move into a new facility

The “new” Austin Organs, Incorporated opened its doors in February of 1937. The transition from the old management to the new Austin was as seamless as could be expected. They were able to return most employees to their workstations, however, in a scaled-down facility located directly behind the behemoth structure that had been home to the company for the previous 36 years. For the first few years, the company leased the property from G. F. Heublein & Bro. Distributors—liquor distributors for much of the East Coast, famous for their pre-mixed “Club Cocktails.” A wooden guard mounted to an ancient band saw that is still in service in the Austin mill is actually a trespassing warning sign from the pre-1937 Heublein days. Within a few years, the property was purchased by the Austin corporation, and over the next three decades the buildings were expanded several times.

The original factory was rather foursquare—four stories, small footprint. Then a separate wood frame structure was built that served as an erecting room, then a fire, then the mill and new brick erecting room, additions to the main building that became pneumatic departments, more voicing rooms, console and cabinet shop, etc. The design department and metal pipe shop grew along the railroad tracks, requiring the private rail siding to be moved. In the late 1960s, the final addition was the large shipping/receiving and casting room. This expansion required a somewhat more adventurous move: purchase of land from the N.Y./N.H. & Hartford Railroad. Somehow, it was pulled off; the centerline of the main rail appears to have been moved slightly north, and the siding was completely eliminated. The sprawl of the factory now reached nearly 50,000 square feet. Sometimes it was not enough, but it is as efficient as any multi-story manufacturing space can be.

A charming, vintage Otis elevator allows safe and uncomplicated material transport between floors. Systems throughout the factory are up to date, and have been carefully maintained by conscientious staff and the foresight of F. B. Austin’s son, Donald. Assuming the role of president in 1973, Don was a formidable figure in the organ industry. He was a very private person, well respected by his colleagues and employees. Aside from his devotion to the company and care of the physical plant, he maintained the Austin tradition of assiduous design trends.

The well-regarded voicer, David Broome, who retired as tonal director at Austin in 1998, describes the “Austin sound” as never one of extremes. Austin has, as he expresses it, not traditionally been a leader in any new tonal movement in organbuilding. That being said, the company has always built a well-balanced chorus. Even instruments from the 1930s, when so many of our hallowed builders (now gone) built the most tubby-sounding diapason choruses, one can hear the gentle articulation and effects of moderately scaled Austin pipework. We can argue about the sound of the vintage Austin trumpets and oboes, etc., but we never find reeds like them—they not only remain in tune, but have good, steady tonal color as well. The construction of reed pipes was just one of the more than four dozen patents that the Austin Company was granted through the years.

The company motto—Scientia Artem Adjuvat—was not just a clever marketing concept for the Austin family; it was a way of life. Many of the machines in the factory that are used for Austin were made right here. So, we have the machines that repair the machines, right here in the factory! The now famous seven-headed monster that is used to build pedal and stop action blocks was originally built in the front building, and moved here in 1937. It has been improved several times, most recently this year when we added new bushings and guides to allow the belts to travel and run their saws and drills efficiently. (Rafael Ramos, who has been mill foreman since the 1980s, states that it now runs faster and smoother than ever before.)

In 1999, Don Austin retired from active participation in the daily operation of the company. He appointed his daughter Kimberlee as president. He continued as CEO until his death in the fall of 2004. In early 2005, Kimberlee Austin resigned her position with the company.

On an otherwise pleasant Monday in March of 2005, I received a phone call from Trinity College Organist John Rose. He told me that as of that afternoon, the Austin Company would be closing its doors. I was shocked. It felt as though my slightly peculiar but lovable old uncle had passed away. (We were at that time competitors, of course.) We wondered how in the world this could happen. Austin was always so . . . solid. The truth of the matter was that, in fact, the company did not “close”, but just temporarily ceased manufacturing new organs. There was no bankruptcy, no liquidation of tooling or assets. Don Austin’s wife, Marilyn, retained the services of business consultants; the result of their consultation was basically a public offering in the form of a letter sent to nearly every organbuilder or supplier in the country, while Marilyn and a few employees kept the phones answered and made small parts for existing instruments.

The third Austin milestone:
2007—a new direction

In the late 1960s, Richard Taylor, a former Aeolian-Skinner employee and New England Conservatory graduate, arrived at Austin Organs to assume the position of the soon-to-retire Les Barrows, who had been purchasing manager for 59 years. After a couple of years working in the plant and in the service department, the day finally arrived when he would occupy a small desk in the corner of the factory offices on the second floor. At the rather generous rate of $2.00 an hour, he was fairly pleased with his position. In the early 1970s, there was a brief drop in organ sales, and Don Austin decided to cut back in every department. He decided that there was no need for a purchasing manager. So, Mr. Taylor moved on to other industries, among them, purchasing manager–military operations for Colt Firearms. By the late 1980s, he had returned to organbuilding, as superintendent at the former Berkshire Organ Company in Western Massachusetts.

As for me, I have studied engineering in Springfield, Massachusetts, music at Westminster Choir College, and Emergency Medicine at Northeastern University. I had attended two seminaries, and for a short time was a novice in a small Franciscan religious order. Leaving all that behind, I applied science to music, and was working with Berkshire Organs in its final years, where I discovered the absolute wonder of the technology that transmits music from the organist, through the console, windchests and eventually evokes sound from the pipework.

Following the demise of Berkshire Organs in 1989, we formed American Classic Organ Company. While remaining a modest-sized operation, we completed several new instruments and built a respectable service business. We located the workshops in sleepy Chester, Connecticut in 2000.

We came into the Austin picture during the summer of 2005. Through a series of events, we received a letter proposing financial investment or purchase. After several weeks of soul-searching and discussions, we were able to come to an agreement. In January 2006, we purchased the assets and liabilities of the company. Almost immediately a dozen employees returned to their benches, sales representatives arrived back at the door, and the company has begun to rebuild. Several new people have since been added to the roster of Austin employees. The new management aims to build team spirit, stay nimble, and remain rational in the face of terror!

Among the projects completed this year have been dozens of action orders for existing Austin organs (often delivered ahead of schedule). We designed, built and delivered a mahogany four-manual drawknob console in 62 days. It was constructed on the traditional Austin steel-frame system. We completed a major project on an instrument in Lansing, Michigan, which required a new console, utilizing the existing (stripped and refinished) casework, re-actioning, and some tonal additions. A new instrument, Opus 2790, will be installed this coming Easter. This contract was negotiated within a few weeks of restructuring. Several interesting projects are pending for 2007. The metal pipe shop has completed new pipework for the new organ on the floor right now (Opus 2790) and other Austin projects. We have also recently completed extensive repairs and historic renovation on several sets of vintage Aeolian-Skinner pipework at the Mormon Tabernacle. We continue to cast our own pipe metal, and manufacture both flue and reed pipes.

The company is celebrating the milestones of 114 years since the first Austin organ was built, and 70 years since reorganization and move into the current factory. We are on solid footing and in good shape to complete projects large and small, with confident vision of significant growth and expansion.
In quiet moments around the factory, you can hear the faint, yet distinct footsteps of John, Basil, F.B., and Don Austin, as their spirits permeate every process and instrument. The memories of so many gifted and wonderful people who have literally spent their lives here continue to affect our days. They are all a constant reminder of our commitment and challenge to continue Austin’s heritage in American organbuilding. We are humbled to bring new life into this venerable institution, and the many calls and notes we receive encourage us to move forward to celebrate whatever might be the “next milestone.”

—Michael Brian Fazio

Fratelli Ruffatti, Padua, Italy

St. Mel’s Cathedral, 

Longford, Ireland

From the organ consultant

The present organ is the fourth to be built for the cathedral. The first instrument was built by the highly respected Victorian firm of Bevington & Sons of London in 1857. This organ served the cathedral for 56 years, being replaced in 1913 by a new instrument made by the German firm of Stahlhuth of Aachen, on the advice of the Reverend Professor Heinrich Bewerunge of St. Patrick’s College, Maynooth, Ireland’s national seminary for the training of priests for the Roman Catholic Church since 1795. Some 14 years earlier Bewerunge had commisioned the same firm to build an instrument for the new College Chapel on the Maynooth campus. This was an innovative instrument for its time and one that clearly impressed and satisfied Bewerunge; hence his recommendation that the same firm from his native country should be commissioned to build the new organ for Longford’s St. Mel’s Cathedral. It was a substantial three-manual and pedal organ, but its positioning in the cathedral was problematic, having to be “shoe-horned” onto the small, high west gallery of the building, tight up against the barrel of the ceiling, leaving only cramped accommodation for what must have been a small choir. It was housed in grilled timber enclosures without visible pipes, and employed the latest pneumatic-action technology that had so impressed Bewerunge in the Maynooth instrument.

By the 1970s it had clearly served its time and had become unreliable in function, and its location, long a problem in terms of participative liturgy, had now become anachronistic in the context of the cathedral’s major reordering according to the liturgical norms of Vatican II. It was, therefore, decided to replace the Stahlhuth installation with a new organ, which, however, was to retain the best of the pipes of the original instrument. This was commissioned from Kenneth Jones & Associates of Bray, County Wicklow. It was to be a two-manual and pedal organ with mechanical action. While the pipes and soundboards of the new instrument remained in the original high gallery, they were sited more advantageously and with less obstruction to tonal egress. A new, generously proportioned gallery was built at a lower level to provide comfortable accommodation for both choir and organist. This organ served the cathedral well until the disastrous fire of Christmas 2009, which saw its complete destruction.

The contract was put out to international tender, with three eminent organ building firms making it to the short list. The contract was ultimately awarded to Fratelli Ruffatti of Padua, Italy, a firm with a long history of organ building in various styles on both sides of the Atlantic. In a sense, the commissioning of this instrument from the Italian firm saw history repeating itself, as Fratelli Ruffatti has also recently completed the major restoration and renovation of the Maynooth College Chapel organ, just as Stahlhuth had similarly worked in Maynooth before coming to Longford over a century ago. 

In seeking to provide a new organ for the restored cathedral, the primary aims were to secure an instrument that would at least be of the same high quality as the Jones organ, while providing a richer palette of tonal colors that would make the instrument more suited to a wider range of repertoire, and enhance its accompanimental capacity for choir and congregation. The new Fratelli Ruffatti organ is sited in a case of striking design—placed to the right of the altar, apparently suspended between columns as it follows and echoes the cathedral’s architectural elegance of line. It is thus a visual and musical enhancement of the “new” St. Mel’s, positioned in a manner that clearly gives witness to its key role in providing music for the liturgy, suited to its functions in accompanying choirs, cantors, and congregation, while its sonic design gives the range of color and dynamics necessary to perform with fidelity the centuries-old solo repertoire of the “king of instruments.”

The present organ is the largest in the cathedral’s 160-year history. The instrument now numbers 39 stops, and its enclosed Choir division enhances the accompanimental capacity of the organ, while also enabling it to cope with both romantic and contemporary repertoire with a degree of authenticity and color that the previous organs lacked.

The tonal ethos of the instrument is eclectic, with a bias towards the romantic and symphonic style of organ design. For example, 14 of the stops are at 8′ or 16′ pitch, thus providing solid tonal foundations of varying intensity and flexibility, while seven reed stops provide both variety of color and grandeur as required. The expressive Choir division with its American-style Celeste stop is a bold statement of the instrument’s expressive romantic intent.

Ruffatti opted to manufacture the divisional soundboards and other internal components using Sipo mahogany from Central Africa, as it was felt that this variety of wood would guarantee maximum stability in varying climatic conditions.

New pipes have been cast in the Ruffatti workshop in Padua, some using an alloy of 95% tin to ensure optimal tonal and structural properties, not only for the crafting of the display pipes, but also for all internal pipes of large dimensions. Other pipes have been manufactured utilizing selected alloys to achieve the best tonal properties for each individual stop.

The playing action of the instrument is electric, yet with an application of traditional procedures that look to the future. The three-manual playing console is on a moveable platform with hardwood parquet floor, providing flexibility for both varying liturgical demands and concert usage. In addition, the console accessories include a generous provision of both general and divisional combination pistons, a sequencer system, and record/playback connections to MIDI. Organists can also store a very large number of stop combinations within personalized password-protected memory folders, to facilitate ease of performances.

The organ was installed in the final months of 2014, with tonal completion taking place in April 2015. The dedication and inauguration took place on Sunday, May 24, 2015.

—Gerard Gillen

Titular Organist, Dublin Pro-Cathedral

Professor and Head of Music, Maynooth University, 1985–2007

The architecture
of the Longford organ

The organ in St. Mel’s Cathedral was originally located in the rear balcony. It was decided that a new position in the rebuilt cathedral, in the front of the building, would better suit the liturgical needs of the worship space. In its new location, the organ is elevated from floor level, under three arches in the right side transept. With this configuration the choir sits at the end of the right side nave, in front of the organ. Here, the organ’s presence is significant without being prominent.

It was required that the two columns in the right side transept be free of any load, and that they remain visible. A steel structure with two long beams was built behind the columns, spanning 34 feet and supported by the side pilasters. Since most of the organ’s weight hangs from these main beams, an additional steel structure was built about ten feet above the bottom structure to help support the load. This complicated steel structure further limited the available space and presented a problem for winding and access. Nevertheless, the most important goals to make an installation successful were achieved: ideal location of pipes and access for maintenance needs.

We were asked to design and build the organ case, including the cover of the steel frame. Although the cathedral had to be rebuilt exactly the way it had been before the fire, the general restoration philosophy called for any artwork, all furniture, and the organ to be contemporary in design. Although we have created many organs of traditional design, we at Ruffatti are particularly pleased when we can use creativity and innovation in a design, creating instruments with personality that can be remembered as unique.

We chose a symmetrical concept in the central bay and an asymmetrical concept in the side bays that put a visual emphasis on the central bay. The design is a combination of straight vertical lines and curved horizontal lines, which are traditionally seldom used. The curved lines work well with the arches over the organ, which are a prominent architectural feature recurring throughout the building.

The two enclosed divisions are located in the side bays. They are very effective, incorporating the unique Ruffatti hyperdynamic expression system. The Great and part of the Pedal are in the central bay. To save space inside the case, and to limit its depth, we decided to install the large wood pipes on the back of the organ case, effectively creating a front façade and a rear façade, which turned out to be very successful both aesthetically and tonally.

—Piero Ruffatti

The tonal design
of the Longford organ

Expression is the key to this approach. In using this word, we do not mean merely introducing enclosed organ divisions as a form of control over the volume of sound. Making the organ an expressive instrument means, primarily, creating the conditions by which every single voice, or stop, can be successfully combined with all others. If this condition is met, the number of possible tonal combinations becomes huge even in a relatively small instrument, thus creating the conditions to “express” music more freely and creatively. This is being achieved, in Ruffatti instruments, by the careful dimensioning and voicing of every single stop.

The creation of different volume levels also contributes, of course, to making the organ an “expressive” instrument. In the Longford Cathedral organ, two of the three manual divisions, the Choir and the Swell, are each located inside an expression box. While this feature does not represent anything new, there is something in this instrument that makes it unique. Research conducted by Ruffatti has produced an innovative system for dramatically increasing the dynamic range of the expression enclosures. Far beyond the simple possibility of providing a wider differentiation between “the softest” and “the loudest,” this feature is the key to a wider degree of freedom both for the tonal designer and the performer. A practical example of this concept can be found in the Choir division of this instrument, where a Gemshorn stands alone (possibly with a bit of help from a Holzgedeckt) as the foundation for the secondary Principal chorus of the organ. The possibility of reducing volume to a dramatic degree with the box closed allowed the tonal designer to “scale” and voice the Gemshorn almost to the tonal character and volume of a Principal, big enough to act as the natural foundation of a Positiv division, knowing that, with the box closed, such a stop could also be used, in conjunction with the Gems-horn Celeste, as an elegant, quiet Flute Celeste-like stop.

The same dynamics apply to all stops under expression, in particular the flutes, strings, and reeds, which have been voiced to function both as assertive solo stops and in contexts requiring moderate volume levels.

—Francesco Ruffatti

John-Paul Buzard Pipe Organ Builders, Champaign, Illinois

Opus 42, St. Bridget Catholic Church, Richmond, Virginia

From the builder

The new organ at St. Bridget Catholic Church in Richmond, Virginia, is the 42nd new organ to come from the workshop of John-Paul Buzard Pipe Organ Builders in Champaign, Illinois. It was completed on October 1, 2013, and inaugurated by Ken Cowan in concert on November 15.

The organ’s visual design was guided by the parish’s desire to reclaim a large stained glass window, which the former organ completely blocked. Pastor Monsignor William Carr, who began his clerical career at St. Bridget as the assistant pastor in the 1970s, remembered the beauty of the occluded window and began discussions with John-Paul Buzard in 2005 about the possibilities. The deteriorating mechanical condition and musical limitations of the previous instrument hastened the desire to proceed. The Great Recession delayed the start of the project until the parish raised all the funds to purchase the organ, as their bishop required. 

The gallery’s floor space is quite limited and the window is large. But, the church’s acoustical volume and musical needs required an instrument of a larger tonal size than that which would have been possible with a traditional design. This required some outside-the-box creative thinking, and resulted in our recommendation that the Great division be suspended over the gallery rail, and that the enclosed divisions be thought of as more a divided Swell than independent Swell and Choir divisions. Area organist Grant Hellmers was invited to consult, and enthusiastically agreed that the design met both musical and architectural requirements. The Great’s profile is kept low in order to keep this portion of the organ below the field of glass. The former heavy wood railing was replaced with a more transparent wrought-iron rail. The two enclosed divisions are located in matching cases on either side of the window. The cases’ designs utilize shapes and details found elsewhere in the Tudor-revival building. The result is that the organ cherishes the window, and the gallery and organ are architecturally integrated into the entire worship space rather than being set apart.

Executive Vice-President and Chief Engineer Charles Eames created an instrument whose physical essence truly flows from the building, therein creating room for a larger instrument than the space would have otherwise held. With the new organ in place, the gallery has an additional 100 square feet of usable floor space for the choir and other musicians, which it did not have previously.

This is indeed a three-manual organ. The three-division design evolved from the original two-manual divided Swell concept. The introduction of the 8′ Claribel Flute into what became a somewhat untraditional Choir division allowed the instrument to take on its three-manual identity. The organ exhibits a far greater variety of tone colors and pitch ranges than is typical of many instruments of its size. And it has the uncanny ability to take on the appropriate tonal characteristics of various historical and national styles to fit the character of the musical composition. All of history informs and directs us in the evolution of our singular “Classically Symphonic” tonal style.

The engineering, mechanical systems, and pipe-making all support the artistic end result. The main manual windchests are all electrically operated slider and pallet chests. The chests for the unit stops have expansion chambers built into the very thick toe-boards, to replicate the winding characteristics of the slider chests. All of the pipes are made of high tin content pipe metal, even in the bass, rather than zinc. The large pipes play promptly without having to use beards. The result is fullness and warmth without any hardness or inelegance of tone quality, all the way to the bottom of the compass.

The church’s acoustics change drastically when the room is filled with people, and the church is nearly full every time the organ is used. Tonal Director Brian Davis ably met the challenges that this condition presents by scaling and voicing the instrument for optimal performance when the room is full. The result is that the organ is never too loud, but it fills the room with sound even when played softly. An entire congregation can be supported in its singing with a single 8′ Diapason; the strings are voluptuous and shimmering; the haunting Flute Cœlestis provides an air of mystery; the Choir reeds provide some of the most beautiful cantabile colors imaginable; the smooth and stately Tuba soars above full organ. Nearly every stop can be used with any other to create a new musical color.

Superior tonal design, sensitive voicing, and painstaking tonal finishing result in the exquisite blend and balance of the individual stops and their choruses, relating to both themselves and to the room. And, as Ken Cowan demonstrated to the delight of his audience, there are many ways that this instrument can render seamless dynamic changes. As is the case with all Buzard organs, symphonic color and romantic warmth never sacrifice sprightly clarity and transparency of tone for rendering polyphonic music. 

The church’s growing music program is under the direction of Allen Bean. The children’s program, which Bean instituted and includes both boy and girl choirs, has performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and Alice Tully Hall in New York City.

Thanks to the staff of Buzard Pipe Organ Builders whose professionalism shines forth in all the work we undertake!

John-Paul Buzard, Artistic Director

Brian K. Davis, Tonal Director

Charles Eames, Vice President and Chief Engineer

Keith Williams, Director, Service Department

Shane Rhoades, Foreman, Production Department and Cabinetmaker

David Brown, Foreman, Service Department

Christopher Goodnight, Master Cabinetmaker

John Jordan, Service Technician

Michael Meyer, Cabinetmaker

Dennis Northway, Chicago area representative and Service Technician

Jay Salmon, Office Manager

Stuart Weber, Senior Service Technician

John Wiegand, Service Technician

Ray Wiggs, Console and Windchest specialist

Jonathan Young, Tonal Department Associate

—John-Paul Buzard

As a first-time voicer on any project, let alone one of this size, the installation of the St. Bridget’s organ was an eye-opening experience for me. The tonal design of the instrument was set before I was brought onto the Buzard team, but I had the opportunity to voice several stops under the tutelage of Tonal Director Brian Davis. Because of the acoustical characteristics of the room, the organ had to have plenty of treble ascendancy while still maintaining warm foundations and good blend. Thus, the higher pitches “sang out” a bit in the voicing room, but the effect in the church is a lively sound, not at all top-heavy but not dark or muffled.

The organ proved an overwhelming success—clear choruses and the proximity of the Great case to the seating area mean contrapuntal music can be rendered quite effectively; the variety of reed colors available lend themselves to solo work as well as forming a striking Swell reed chorus; two contrasting strings in separate boxes add variety to the foundations; and the presence of two cornets, one in the Great, enables the organ to reproduce French Classical music particularly well. However, it is equally adept at handling more modern literature and orchestral transcriptions, as was demonstrated by Ken Cowan at the inaugural recital. 

Throughout the process of voicing and tonal finishing, I was struck by how each installed stop expanded the ability of the organ as a vehicle for improvisation and interpretation of literature. The body of music this instrument will render is indeed large, and with that in mind I went back to Richmond at the beginning of November to record enough music to demonstrate some of its capabilities, including pieces by Guilmant, Langlais, de Grigny, and several major Bach works. All came off admirably, a testament to the versatility of the instrument and the integration of colors not usually found on American organs, such as the large Pedal 4′ open flute.

The St. Bridget’s organ represents a tremendous outlay of time, energy, and planning in pursuit of an instrument that will handle repertoire of any period with a clear but rich sound, and one which I hope the congregation will treasure for years to come.

—Jonathan Young, Tonal Associate

Buzard Pipe Organ Builders

From the director of music

St. Bridget Parish, a Roman Catholic parish of about 7,000 registered members, is among the largest in the Catholic Diocese of Richmond. Established in 1949, with the building completed and consecrated in 1950, the parish has thrived since its inception. 

The church building is Tudor style with Gothic elements. Seating only 500, the church provides five regular Masses every weekend to accommodate parishioners. Four Masses are led by organ and cantor, with assistance from choral ensembles. The Sunday evening Mass is led by piano, guitars, and a contemporary choir.

I became Music Minister at St. Bridget in October 2005. The primary accompanying instruments at that time were a transplanted E. M. Skinner organ, which was ¼-step flat and in need of restoration, and a mid-1920s Steinway M, also in poor condition. The Parish Adult Choir of about 20 singers sang for one Mass on Sunday morning, and the other Masses were led by volunteer cantors.

Since then, the music ministry has grown. The Parish Adult Choir has grown to 35 voices, and choirs for children (absent from the music ministry for more than 30 years) include a Boy Choir of 11 singers, and a Girl Choir of nearly 30 choristers. The Boy and Girl Choirs, using the RSCM Voice for Life Program, have established themselves as important and valued ensembles, and distinguished themselves in performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and Alice Tully Hall in New York City.

As the parish’s music ministry has grown, so has the need for an organ that could accompany an ever increasingly diverse music ministry, in a church whose acoustics change dramatically depending on the number of worshippers in the church.

The installation of our new instrument evolved out of conversation between Monsignor Carr and me in August 2005. The 1920s E. M. Skinner organ that so nobly served this parish since the 1970s, brought here from the now deconsecrated Monumental Church in downtown Richmond, was in need of restoration. Conversation quickly turned to action. Within a few months we had explored restoring and enlarging the Skinner organ, with additions that would give it the flexibility required for our growing program. We also received from John-Paul Buzard a proposal for a new instrument, one that would be tonally designed for our acoustical space, give us the flexibility we need to support choirs, cantors, and congregation, and uncover a great west window that is an architectural feature of the church.

The original design proposed by Mr. Buzard underwent several modifications over the following months. The stoplist was refined, as the organ became slightly smaller in scope than we originally envisioned, yet considerably more flexible. Mechanical components were also addressed in this process (another nod to flexibility), including independent swell shades on two sides of each enclosed division. The design process of this instrument was a delight for me as parish musician. The parish is forever grateful for the work of our Organ Project Consultant, Grant Hellmers, whose wisdom and experience helped define the parish’s needs in an instrument, and brought clarity to the process as St. Bridget personnel and I worked with the Buzard shop in the design phase.

Once the design was finalized, the Buzard shop began to plan the physical design of the instrument, and, under the direction of Tonal Director Brian Davis, began to envision the tonal color of each and every stop in the instrument. Mr. Davis’s ability to take the numbers that represented the (ever-changing) acoustical properties of the church, and to determine scale and timbre of each of more than 2,000 pipes in 38 ranks, producing more than 48 stops, proved to be remarkable. Charles Eames also worked magic, engineering the organ that John-Paul and Brian envisioned to fit into a relatively small space.

Several weeks of voicing accomplished by John-Paul Buzard, Brian Davis, and Jonathan Young brought St. Bridget Parish’s organ to completion. The instrument’s design, its pipes, its mechanicals, the construction of the instrument’s beautiful casework, its installation, its voicing, the work of St. Bridget Church’s own organ project committee, building committee, and staff, altogether required more than 20,000 hours of labor. I believe that even when it was labor bought and paid for, it was a labor of love, and that the Buzard shop always acted with a sense of vocation.

St. Bridget parishioners gave freely of their time to make sure the church was ready to receive the instrument. John McCulla coordinated our efforts with the Buzard shop. Richard Lewis designed the mechanical and electrical components the church provided. Terrence Kerner arranged for the addition of HVAC for the organ gallery. Patrick Ross and the St. Bridget maintenance staff were always on hand to help subcontractors and the Buzard crew with whatever they needed. These parishioners have remained involved even after the organ’s completion to assure the project is truly complete and in keeping with the church’s beautiful architecture.

Several enabling gifts allowed this project to move forward. In all, some 265 parishioners, a relatively small number of our many parishioners, made this instrument a gift to the parish. Additionally, still more parishioners have contributed to the Friends of Music Fund at St. Bridget, to enable an inaugural concert series, so that we can make it a gift to the Richmond community.

Because this platform is here for me to do so, I want to express my special gratitude to our Pastor, Monsignor Carr, who began this conversation more than eight years ago. He envisioned a pipe organ for St. Bridget Parish. He let the donors to the project know of our need. He guided Parish Council, Parish Finance Council, and all who made decisions about the organ throughout the process. And, if there is anyone who delights more in this instrument than I do, it is Monsignor Carr.

—Allen Bean

Minister of Music, St. Bridget Parish

Ronald Cameron Bishop obtained a job with the New York M. P. Möller crew in the fall of 1955, after observing the Möller installation crew at his family’s church that summer. He worked with the New York crew through the fall of 1957, when he joined the organ maintenance staff at Radio City Music Hall. At that time he also formed his own pipe organ service firm. He married Emma Stiffler, who had been a Rockette at the Music Hall, on September 3, 1960, and they have two sons. In 1973, John A. Schantz invited Ron to become a district representative for the Schantz Organ Company, where he remained for over 32 years. The Music Hall in-house maintenance staff was eliminated in the late 1960s. In late 1975, Raymond F. Bohr, Music Hall head organist, and John Henry Jackson, vice president and senior producer at the theater, invited Ronald Bishop to return and begin the much-needed restoration of the Grand Organ. He now serves in two emeritus positions and assists his wife in the operation of her dance studio, in addition with his organ consultation services.

At the time that I joined the Möller New York City maintenance staff in 1955, the Rev. Dr. Hugh Giles concert series at Central Presbyterian Church (Park Avenue at 64th Street) was a major factor in the city’s music scene. Its centerpiece was the superb four-manual instrument (M. P. Möller opus 8000), which had been given to the church as memorial to Reginald Lindsey Sweet by his widow. Dr. Giles had worked with Möller’s tonal designer Ernest White to achieve this remarkable installation. My immediate superiors, Arthur Brady and Larry Horn, had headed the installation crew when the instrument was delivered and often spoke of what was involved during the placement process.
The main body of Central’s organ installation is placed in a large chamber to the right of the chancel and at gallery level. It speaks through a Möller-created grille to the chancel and quite exquisite casework that faces the south gallery. The Antiphonal divisions are located in the tower to the northwest. The acoustic of the sanctuary is ideal for organ, choral work, and even the spoken word.
Mr. Brady and I were assigned to the concert schedule at Central, which consisted of tuning, moving the console to chancel center (done in the early morning the second scheduled day and quite a project), and later on standby for the performance, and then returning the console to service position the following morning. I had the very special pleasure of covering these events, as only one service person was required. A small pew section in the west gallery was selected for my use so that I could get to both the antiphonal and main organ chambers with ease in the event of cipher problems (which did not happen during my tenure, but I surely did have a wonderful musical experience).

Flor Peeters
Our first artist during the 1955 season was Flor Peeters. The console moving session also included our remaining for the organist’s rehearsal period (at least until 5:00 pm; we started work at 8:00 am in those days). Obviously the preparation time went on through the evening hours.
Mr. Brady had gone out to lunch with a friend, and I settled down in Dr. Giles’ study to consume what I had brought from home. Almost one half hour passed by, and then I heard a voice calling from the sanctuary. It was Flor Peeters. In his cadenced English he said, “Ronald you vil play zee organ for me, pleeze.” Now, on a good day my skills of improvisation might just get by—maybe (just ask John Weaver). Here was this eighteen-year-old being asked by a world class artist to “play zee organ pleeze.” I advised the gentleman of what he might expect, and he indicated that I was to play through his piston settings as he called them out from various locations in the church. The writer is certain that this great man soon realized why I had entered the organ maintenance field (Mother did pay—or my godmother did pay for six years of piano, but it never did “take”).
The first composition on his program was Peeters’ own Aria. My appreciation of this work remains to this day. In preparation for our wedding in 1960, I asked my Emma Elizabeth to play it for her pleasure, and we both felt it should be the first composition to be played in the service prelude. Needless to say, Flor Peeters’ recital was played to a full house that autumn evening and was very well received.

André Marchal
The next guest on Dr. Giles’ schedule was the blind organist André Marchal. Brady and I got everything ready, and I was amazed after just about a half hour with his associate as a guide, Marchal was quite familiar with the four-manual console and most every stop and coupler location. He asked us just how the capture combination system functioned and grasped what this equipment was all about in a matter of minutes, including all piston and reversible locations.
This gifted artist played an impeccable program at his evening performance—again to a packed church. I remember being so impressed with his gift for registration and keyboard ability. A number of encores were indeed in order that night, as they had been for Flor Peeters.

Fernando Germani
The schedule continued with the very wonderful and quite charming Fernando Germani. It was a joy to be in his company. (Later I had the pleasure of hearing Germani play the complete works of Bach in a series at St. Thomas Church.) Mr. Germani’s rehearsal went on without incident. He was at one with this superb Möller creation and enjoyed himself very much during his preparation time.
During the evening’s program that joy continued with a wonderful performance of Dupré’s Variations sur en Noël. At its conclusion, a well-deserved ovation took place, which Germani turned to acknowledge, pushing the general cancel in the process, not realizing that the Sforzando did not cancel on this particular combination action system.
The next selection was one of my very favorites, Vierne’s Clair de Lune, and you guessed it: Germani prepared his registration not giving any notice to that RED indicator light on the nameboard. I was trying to send mental signals from my seat in the gallery, but he placed his hand on the manuals with a full organ result. Of course, this most gracious man stopped at once, turning on the bench and saying to the audience, “Excusa.”
With the full-organ control reversed, a most delicate and beautiful performance of this work followed. Although many consoles featured the automatic Sforzando cancel at that point in time, many Möllers did not. When Mr. Brady and I returned to set the console back in service position, I was provided with a bottle of red nail polish and told to coat the Sforzando toe piston with it.

Jean Langlais
If I recall correctly, Jean Langlais next visited with opus 8000. This was my first introduction to this wonderful artist and his amazing musical works. A few years later, his then student (later wife) Marie Louise stayed with Emmie and me twice at our home in Maplewood, New Jersey, during her concert tours of the United States. Along with our two sons we enjoyed these visits with this lovely lady. Her recital at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark was a truly grand event.
After their marriage, Prof. Langlais was engaged to play a recital for Lester Berenbroick during his ministry of music in the Presbyterian Church at Madison, New Jersey. At Lester’s request, I assisted my foreman in the organ’s tuning. Langlais was involved in a press conference at the rear of the sanctuary. Hearing us in the chancel, he finished his comments and came to the console. He wanted to be sure to convey his thanks to Emmie and me for taking such good care of his Marie during her past visits to this country. We ended up chatting for about a half hour. As he left, I was tuning the top octave of the 8′ Clarinet, just arriving at top C. The good professor shouted from the aisle “do not bother with that *@&+ note—I do not use it in MY music.”

Hugh Giles
At this point, I believe some thoughts on Dr. Giles might be appropriate. To my knowledge, he was the first ordained Presbyterian clergyman to be appointed as full-time minister of music. He was also called as the associate pastor of Central Church at that time. Hugh had a remarkable and engaging personality, and in addition to his superb musical talent was a gifted preacher as well.
In addition to the concert series (which was second to none in talent and presentation), Dr. Giles directed a music ministry, which included professional singers. He was also responsible for the organ’s care and had a wonderful working relationship with the Möller technical staff. All of us on the New York/metro crew enjoyed working with and for Hugh at Central.
The inspired creation of opus 8000 was a joint effort between Ernest White and Hugh Giles. It was the Möller showpiece in New York City for a number of years and was a major feature of that decade’s AGO national convention. To Messrs. White and Giles’ credit, the scaling of this instrument was perfect for that beautiful sanctuary on Park Avenue. The edifice was first built as the Park Avenue Baptist Church, but was deemed not large enough for the preaching gifts of Harry Emerson Fosdick. The gracious Riverside Church was constructed to fill this need, and the original building became Central Presbyterian.

Ernest White
Just a word about Ernest White. During one of my first weeks working for Möller, I was sent to work with Mr. White at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin. The company maintained the beautiful Aeolian-Skinner in the church, the choir room Möller, and the Aeolian-Skinner in the organist’s study. I tuned for Ernest (he held keys) and sometimes he went into the instruments to make adjustments himself. During lunch I would sit in the organ loft or choir room while he played Franck. What an experience. This gentleman taught me a great deal about the art of organ building. His associate, Edward Linzel, also became a good friend. I still have the recordings made by these two men at St. Mary’s.

West Point
Theodore Gyler Speers was the senior pastor of Central Church and gave his full gracious support to his associate and the ministry of music. Dr. Speers later moved on to that glorious chapel above the plain at West Point, New York. The Möller New York/metro crew had been involved with the installation of the superb console at the Military Academy along with earlier portions of this grand instrument. In fact, Arthur Brady installed the original Möller organ and did extensive tonal regulation work for Frederick Mayer in the cadet chapel.
In 1929 Mr. Brady had continued his association with Mr. Mayer when he was called upon to install a smaller version of the West Point design (49 ranks) for the Church of the Holy Communion at South Orange, New Jersey. Here
M. P. Möller built another gem, which was given to the parish by the Vanston family. During my time working with Dr. Giles, he suggested that I visit West Point, and I then had the opportunity to meet Jack Davis, the chapel organist and choirmaster. What a wonderful visit that was, and in recent years I had the pleasure to work with Dr. Davis in the design and installation of the Schantz organ at the Reformed Church in Poughkeepsie, New York, where he continues his work in a truly dedicated and loving manner as has always been this fine gentleman’s custom.

Jeanne Demessieux
A major happening in the concert series that year (and believe me, all the performances were quite special) was the appearance of Jeanne Demessieux. Her performance was to include the Ad Nos along with many other audience favorites. I recall that the New York press had done a fine job of pre-recital coverage.
Knowing of my interest in the instrument and the artists who played it, Dr. Giles had arranged for a private meeting for Ms. Demessieux and myself in his study between her preparation time and the performance. We had a lovely visit, with Hugh the ever-proper host. This lady did indeed play the organ in those high-high-heels (and never missed a note). She was just a lovely person and this showed in her music. What a night—encore and after encore followed (I cannot recall how many), with a mystical silence as the audience filed out.

Möller New York City/metro crew
While all these wonderful happenings did so much for the New York City concert season, I must not lose sight of the many projects the M. P. Möller metro service crew was attending to. Aside from the contracted maintenance of some 600-plus Möller instruments, the eight of us were quite often called upon to assist the Hagerstown road crew installation folks.
The metro crew was a group of characters unto itself, headed by our senior members. Larry Horn spoke with the right side of his mouth lowered for a very dramatic accent (and related visual effect). Larry’s partner at the directorial level was one Rudy Lung (that is right, LUNG), who spoke with the left side of his mouth lowered (also a most interesting effect when those two stood side by side on the job site). Larry and Rudy were almost always teamed together, with the resulting comedy (for lack of anything else to call it) vocal plus visual effects. I should note here that this “team” had a favorite word that contained four letters and began with the letter “F.” It was always an experience to go into a church with them and hold one’s breath during any initial discussions with the assembled clergy and members on hand. It was amazing how they “cleaned up their act” until out of earshot (at least we all hoped so).
Then there was one George Siska, a very kindly Hungarian gentleman who stated constantly that he was in reality a “Woycer” and did not belong on a regular pipe organ maintenance crew. Many times I was paired with George (when Mr. Brady was on a releathering job or whatever) as it seemed that our boss (one John Byer) thought that I was patient and understanding and would put up with Mr. Siska’s constant complaining about not being assigned to the appropriate tasks befitting his talents.
There were indeed very bright lights in this group, including of course Mr. Brady, who was a mechanical wonder person and tuner, with a special ability for tonal regulation. Ernest Lucas is one of the best people ever to be in the pipe organ field, along with his brother Harold, who left our merry band to work with Aeolian-Skinner in Chicago. George Eisell had joined our group from Aeolian-Skinner and was expert in just about anything. George had recently installed the five-manual console with its some seventeen remote combination machines for Virgil Fox at the Riverside Church. George told me of his wonderful experience in working with Virgil, as did all who had the special opportunity of working for and with this great man. I know full well that Dr. Fox was well respected by all of us in the industry and that feeling was returned tenfold.
For many years M. P. Möller kept offices in a suite at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, which included a pipe organ that was later moved to a church in Harlem. In addition, the Grand Ballroom contained a very large twin-consoled four-manual installation. (One console was of the English drawknob type and the other a theatre-style unit—both with plug-in connectors.)
As time passed, the Möller office relocated to Yonkers, New York. The Grand Ballroom instrument was placed in storage and, after a factory rebuild plus new console, sold to the State University of New Jersey for their Montclair campus. They had built a quite lovely auditorium with chambers at stage right and left, all ready for the organ’s installation. The new four-manual console was placed in the orchestra pit at stage right.
Our entire group was assigned to assist that factory installation crew for this project. This led to a very interesting situation with Larry Horn (mouth listing to the right) having so-called equal “bossing” responsibility with “Wild” Bill Slaughterback (loud mouth—period) of the Hagerstown group.
The university campus is set on a hillside in northern New Jersey, with a haunting view of New York City to the east. As we began our installation process, major construction was in progress all over the area. The Möller trucks arrived so our gang could unload, with everything placed in and around the large scene dock entrance for the stage complex. We got everything placed for proper installation sequence, including the large two-stage wooden-cased organ blower (original to the instrument).
Within the hour it was discovered that this large wind machine belonged two floors down. I should mention that the building sat on the gentle slope of the hillside. This is when the fun started. “Wild” Bill and Larry decided to appropriate a front end loader that was just sitting there at idle in the parking lot.
The gentlemen both decided they knew how to operate this unit, but before all hell broke loose they were “observed” by the rightful operator. Then money matters for the use of the machine ensued. This involved much loud talking (Larry trying to outdo Wild Bill to NO avail)—thank goodness for the coffee truck (where the rest of us fled) that was on site. At last the money matters were settled, and the sight of our fearless leaders riding in the bucket of the loader was a vision to behold. They got the loader up to the scene dock, and we started to shove the blower toward it (Möller did not provide dollies in those days). At last the machine fell into the bucket and began its trip to the lower-level blower room with Bill and Larry yelling at each other—I never did figure out about what—for the duration of the trip, brief as it was.
Once the auditorium installation was completed and the tonal regulation done, the university arranged to have Virgil Fox dedicate the instrument. It was always a pleasure for us to work with and for Dr. Fox, a true professional and a really nice person. Mr. Brady and I were to be on call should the organ require any last-minute attention. Well, Dr. Fox got into one of his beautiful full registrations and we soon discovered that nobody had thought to rebuild the curtain valve in the blower static air reservoir. Obviously the organ just stopped in its tracks. We soon got the problem repaired, and one beautiful recital played to another full house was the end result. I am certain that Virgil had played the organ more than once in its original location and he enjoyed very much making “friends” with it once again.

Further adventures
Looking back, I think that all this fun and games stuff began with the New York/metro crew itself when we did one of our first solo installations in a very conservative college up in South Lancaster, Massachusetts. It was a small three-manual in a chapel/auditorium-type setup, with chambers to the left and right of the platform area. Larry was in charge, with Rudy and his ever-available comments and “assistance.” Larry had placed the organ installation drawings on a table in the middle of the room, laid out for all to see and work from at his direction. We started hauling parts up ladders to the chambers as ordered and soon found out that nothing, I mean nothing, fit. Larry insisted he was giving the right directions and ordered baseboards and other materials that he thought in the way, removed from the organ loft locations. Eighteen-year-old me suggested that HE look at the drawings again and was TOLD IN NO FEW WORDS TO MIND MY OWN BUSINESS AND THAT I WAS JUST A HELPER (plus a few other choice words). This all went on until it was time to go to lunch; there was a wonderful diner down the road and we all wanted to get there FAST. By this time, organ parts were all over the place, jammed into the chamber and what not. Progress was non-existent.
I made certain I was the last one out of the room to head for that diner. I had hours ago figured out that Larry had laid out the prints wrong, and he was trying to have us place the Swell organ in the Great/Choir chamber and vice versa. Mr. Bullhead would not think any other way. (Bright me reset the prints as I went out the door.)
When we all returned from lunch, Larry said, “oh, here is the problem”: THEY had laid the drawings wrong and he had figured out THEIR mistake. Once we had switched everything around (no easy job) all was now right with the world. What brain power and an ego this man had. Please remember I was just a helper. In the end the organ turned out to be a very fine little three-manual, and the client was well pleased.
Again in retrospect, maybe this is why the boss always sent Mr. Brady and me to assist Dr. Giles with the concert series needs. (Larry and Rudy had worked the crew on Opus 8000 and done an excellent installation, but Hugh did say to us one day that he recalled them as an “interesting” pair to say the very least.)
Returning to the university campus in New Jersey, the blower was, at last, put in place and we all got to work on the actual chamber(s) installation process. After some back and forth, it was decided that the factory crew would attend to the stage left chamber and we New York/metro boys could take care of the stage right location. Please remember after all the fun up in New England and the give and take on this New Jersey project and despite all the carrying on discussed above, the Möller company always did excellent work, and I very much enjoyed my time and learning experience with this fine firm.
Our combined crew soon completed the transplant of the Waldorf instrument, and Larry stayed on to assist John Schiegh, Möller’s head tonal finisher, as they spent several weeks going through the organ pipe by pipe.

John Schiegh and John Schantz
The two tonal finishers I worked with were both named John—the aforementioned Mr. Schiegh and for thirty-two-plus years beginning in 1973, John A. Schantz. Although our friend from Möller did not know how to play the instrument too well, he had a knack for getting a wonderful balance of tone. On the other hand, John Schantz was and is a superb organist and knew only too well how he could obtain exquisite musical results from the organs he designed and voiced.
Over the years, John A. Schantz has been a valued mentor, teaching me many valued lessons about the instrument we both admire so much. I can recall during a backstage visit at Radio City Music Hall in 1958, both Dr. William Barnes and Dr. Charles Courboin telling me of the great Schantz organ at the Cathedral (now Basilica) of the Sacred Heart in Newark, New Jersey, and John’s wonderful work there. Little did I know that about a decade or so later Mr. Schantz would ask me to represent his firm.

Life after Möller
I left M. P. Möller (and sadly Mr. Brady) to attend college in the fall of 1957. Later that year, I was hired as associate organ technician for Radio City Music Hall, upon the recommendation of another Möller employee who was working the night shift there. I still hold an Emeritus title at the theater to this day. Soon after joining the Music Hall staff, I met a beautiful young lady named Emma Stiffler, who was then a Rockette. We were married in September of 1960 and through God’s blessing share a love that grows deeper as each day goes by.
About eight years after our marriage, I met up with opus 8000 once again when Richard Westenburg asked me to take charge of the instrument as it continued to play an important role in his Musica Sacra series and the ministry of music at Central Church. The late William Whitehead and the recently retired John Weaver shared the continuo work with Dick conducting the chorus, and in the course of the season Dr. Weaver played a stunning performance of the Poulenc organ concerto under Richard’s baton to a well-deserved standing ovation. Opus 8000 really did its thing that evening. Around 1978, I again had the honor of hearing this work on the Schantz organ at Abyssinian Baptist Church, with the late Leon Thompson conducting members of the New York Philharmonic, of which he was an associate conductor—once again a standing ovation from a full congregation, 2,300 in this beautiful setting. I had assisted John A. Schantz in the design, installation, and tonal finishing of this five-manual instrument, which contained some pipework from the previous installation there that preceded opus 8000 by a few years. Frederick Swann had served the congregation as consultant, and the organ’s opening performance included the full New York Philharmonic, Zubin Mehta conducting, with the late Leonard Raver at the console and Leontyne Price a vocal soloist. New York City concertgoers did indeed enjoy the wonderful concert seasons.
Emmie and I became patrons of Dr. Westenburg’s program at Central, which kept us in contact with our four-manual Möller friend for several more years. That series was music-making of the highest order and later moved to Avery Fisher Hall. In addition, Dick went on to become music director of the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church.

Dan Locklair
In the summer of 1976, Emmie, our sons, and I took a summer home on Hart Lake (Pennsylvania), in the mountains just below Binghamton, New York. Dan Locklair had contracted with Schantz (with me as project director) to do extensive tonal work and additions to the fine Link organ at First Presbyterian Church, Binghamton. My staff and I had a wonderful time working with and for Dan, and we have been dear friends ever since. Later on, Dr. Locklair composed an anthem in our honor entitled A Christmas Carol. Dan and his lovely wife Paula are doing wonderful things in the Winston-Salem, North Carolina area. John A. Schantz joined me in doing the tonal finishing of the Binghamton organ. One of the major donors came to me and said it is just perfect and thank you and Mr. Schantz.

New York City installations
In thinking about New York City’s two major concert halls, one does wonder about the lack of organs in both of them. When I first started at the Music Hall, my boss, Louis Ferrara, took me up to Carnegie Hall to see the Kilgen installation there. He would be asked to tune it from time to time, and our friend Claire Coci was organist of the Philharmonic, which resided there back then. I later serviced the instrument in Claire’s home until her unfortunate passing. The late and quite wonderful George William Volkel also played the Kilgen for the Bell Telephone Hour, which was broadcast in its radio days from the hall. George even played a half-hour recital for the audience prior to the program going on the air “live.” Although buried, that instrument could make itself known but was later removed for whatever reason.
At the time Avery Fisher (then Philharmonic) Hall was completed, Louis, Ray Bohr (Music Hall organist) and I were invited by the Aeolian-Skinner foreman to visit the organ installation, which had just been rough tuned. The stage crew brought that very beautiful ebony console to the stage on its elevator. Ray and Lou went out into the house and asked me to PLAY. Now we already know of my playing skills (?!), but that organ and its gorgeous sound made even me sound decent. In my opinion, it was just a sin to remove that instrument. At the time of the Abyssinian Baptist Church installation and through Dr. Leon Thompson’s kindness, Zubin Mehta asked me to come to the hall and see what could be done relative to a possible new Schantz installation. During my visit, I was told by the stage manager that if the sliding steel door (à la the Kennedy Center Aeolian-Skinner installation in Washington, DC) had been installed, the original organ would still be there. The powers that be would not, however, spend the money for that installation. The organ chamber was still there, walled over, and used for storage. The “acoustical” person granted such a limited space for any replacement organ that the project was just impossible to consider. Believe me, John Schantz and I spent a great deal of time discussing the matter to no avail.
Despite this lacking, the area churches really provided some great concert venues, thinking of Dr. Giles and opus 8000 and our wonderful friends at the Abyssinian Baptist Church, who have continued to invite the New York Philharmonic to appear with their-five manual instrument.
Even the Grand Organ at Radio City Music Hall has taken its concert turn under the batons of Carmine Coppola and James Levine, with Frederick Swann and Anthony Newman as guest organ soloists. Even back in the presentation days, the great Raymond Paige conducted the Music Hall Symphony Orchestra in the Bach Festival Overture, with Richard Leibert at the console. The superb arrangement for this presentation was made by Rayburn Wright. This format was further developed with the Richard Rodgers Overture, again with Mr. Leibert as featured artist. Ray Bohr played all the regular organ intermissions on the opposite console. In later years, Robert MacDonald not only played the opening for Liberace’s show, but also joined the orchestra for the second act overture to the music of J. S. Bach. Needless to say, Robert and the organ were well received by all concerned.
A few years before his death, Virgil Fox called me to discuss a magazine article we were preparing on the Music Hall Grand Organ, its various uses and upkeep. After about ten minutes’ discussion of the article’s material, we spent another hour going over the planning of an organ program Dr. Fox and I were working on for a proposed New York appearance at Radio City Music Hall. He wanted to do the first portion of his program on the stage right console, then move to his Allen touring organ, which would be placed stage center, making full use of the elevators and turntable equipment. The light show would have been included and at one point he would move to the stage left console for another portion of the program. The finale section and any encores (Perpetual Motion for certain) would be played on the touring organ, and we got to wondering if the cabling on it would allow Dr. Fox to move down stage out onto the stage-level orchestra pit elevator so that his pedal work could be spotlighted to the greatest advantage. It is indeed unfortunate that this wonderful man never got to perform this program. I am certain that he would have sold out the vast theater, and many standing ovations would have taken place that evening.
It is obvious that the instrument we all care about has been featured in concert venues by many talented people. Broadway history alone tells me that Firmin Swinnen did a pedal solo four times a day at the Rivoli Theater with his footwork spotlighted from on high as he played The Flight of the Bumble Bee.
It was the happenings that I have known and surely my discussion with Dr. Fox that led me and my son Richard to include plug-in connectors and traveling cable materials when we rebuilt both Music Hall consoles. They can now remain in their normal alcove settings or be placed anywhere on the stage, turntable, or orchestra pit. Dr. Fox would have loved the possibilities. When Mr. Swann, Mr. Coppola and the American Symphony concluded their program, with the orchestra at stage level bathed in the appropriate light and the organist and console spotlighted in white, there was of course a standing ovation and the magic had happened once again.
With the many recent concert hall organs now installed and being planned, I know that magic will happen again. In a way, Dr. Giles helped it all get started again after World War II. The music ministry at Abyssinian has helped to continue the adventure along with the late Richard Westenburg’s ongoing contributions. Let us all continue to enjoy, support, and celebrate such ventures.