The Great Organ of the Cathedral of Monaco

 

Pascal Quoirin, St. Didier, France

Church of the Ascension, 

New York, New York

The Manton Memorial Organ at the Church of the Ascension, New York City, is the first French-built organ ever to be installed in New York City. The 95-stop, 111-rank instrument has been designed to play as large a part of the repertory as possible. The core of the instrument is a classical (baroque) organ of Grand-Orgue, Positif, Récit-Écho, and Pédale, played by a three-manual mechanical action console. A second console—this one with four manuals and electric action—controls that classical core as well as many other stops intended for symphonic and modern repertory.

The instrument is situated in the front of the church on two sides of the chancel, flanking the famed 1888 mural “The Ascension” by John LaFarge. Four organ façades—two on each side—include elaborate wood carvings of peacocks, inspired by the peacocks in the marble reredos, also from the 1880s. The beautiful carvings were the work of Babou Vauquois, wife of Pascal Quoirin.

Unknown to most Americans, Pascal Quoirin has spent his career restoring and building organs throughout the world. Major restorations include many of the great historic instruments of France, such as the Dom Bédos masterpiece at Sainte-Croix in Bordeaux and the Cavaillé-Coll organ in Saint-Cloud, France. Quoirin’s new organs include his recent instrument in the gothic Cathedral of Evreux, France, and instruments in other European countries, Japan, and Mexico. The Church of the Ascension’s instrument is his first organ in the United States.

The new organ is made possible by a grant from the Manton Foundation to honor the memory of Sir Edwin and Lady Manton, who were active members of the Church of the Ascension for over 50 years. The Mantons were avid lovers of music, particularly the music of Olivier Messiaen and other French composers.

The Church of the Ascension is the oldest church building on New York City’s Fifth Avenue and has been known for its music program for more than 100 years. The church is the home of the Voices of Ascension Chorus and Orchestra. 

Elaborate inaugural events took place in May and June and included a dedicatory Mass, three major organ recitals, two choral concerts, and the debut of the Ascension Organ Academy. Each concert had capacity crowds, and throughout the inaugural events the exceptional quality and range of the instrument were on full display. When the Quoirin team was presented to the audience they received a five-minute standing ovation.

This year the organ series begins on November 15 with Messiaen’s Meditations on the Mystery of the Holy Trinity played by Jon Gillock, followed later in the season with recitals by Louis Robilliard, Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini, and a Vierne Marathon with Christopher Houlihan. The Ascension Organ Academy will take place in June. For information, visit www.voicesofascension.org. 

—Dennis Keene

Organist and Choirmaster

 

The organ of the Church of the Ascension in New York: 

The musical goal

The goal of this organ was defined, little by little, during the course of conversations with Dennis Keene, titular organist of the new instrument and choirmaster of the Church of the Ascension in New York, and Jon Gillock, organist of international renown and, most recently, author of a book providing an analysis of Olivier Messiaen’s organ works.

From the beginning, the design of this instrument was not to correspond to a precise stylistic period (neo-classic, neo-symphonic, neo-baroque, etc.), but rather it had to lead, in terms of organbuilding, to a reflection on the best manner possible to perform a large body of music.

This reflection was nourished by several visits to carefully listen to a number of instruments (St.-Rémy de Provence, the Cathedral of Évreux) and in particular to that of the Église de la Sainte-Trinité in Paris, representing the musical universe of Olivier Messiaen—Jon Gillock having suggested that we listen in detail to multiple combinations of sounds invented by Olivier Messiaen on this organ. Adhesion to this musical goal was immediate and natural for us because it is a process that is naturally inscribed in the history and evolution of the organ in general.

In effect, we observe that stylistic mutations are made most often by a progressive adaptation to an original model. That model transforms and evolves in step with the various styles of musical writing appropriate to each epoch: polyphonic, classical, romantic, symphonic, etc. It sometimes even happens that this evolution anticipates the imagination of musicians. That is the case with the instruments of Cavaillé-Coll in which his ideas preceded the compositions, among others, of César Franck.

The organ, therefore, is in perpetual evolution, and the history of the organ of Notre-Dame in Paris is a significant example: a Blockwerk from the Middle Ages was still present in the organ at the beginning of the 17th century; it was transformed by Cavaillé-Coll in the 19th century and, in its present state, it was completed and adapted to the modern techniques of today. All the marks of its evolution are still present, and the history of the French organ is inscribed there.

Organbuilding, furthermore, is continually subject to foreign influences, such as those of North Germany, Spain, Italy, etc. These also modify traditional practices and in each instance the organ adapts to new musical sensibilities. The experience acquired by organbuilders at the time of major historic restorations is, and still remains, absolutely necessary to understand and master the ensemble of the different aesthetics of organ design. This knowledge also permits a much more realistic approach in the design of a new organ voluntarily conceived in opposition to actual historic solutions.

Thus, we have explained the directions from which naturally ensued the general conception of the project: the organ was conceived first of all to be an appropriate instrument for interpreting modern repertoire of the 20th century and that of contemporary music. But, it is principally the music of Olivier Messiaen that was the dominating force in the conception of the whole.

The organ for Messiaen’s music, and particularly that of the Église de la Sainte-Trinité in Paris where he was titular organist for many years, is an instrument of Cavaillé-Coll modified to include several classical ingredients. It is principally this type of organ that inspired the composers of the epoch “Neo-Classic,” a term considered suspect today because of the numerous and unfortunate transformations made between the mid-1920s and 1968, sometimes in an irreversible manner, to masterpieces of the French patrimony of historic organs.

This concept of the organ, as badly realized as it was, nevertheless inspired many musicians (including Messiaen), and, in my opinion, it is unthinkable to ignore it. The purpose of this type of instrument, called “neo-classic,” was to allow one to interpret a large part of the Classical repertoire. But, that type of instrument is accepted with difficulty today by many organists and European organbuilders, because we think that it is really possible to propose more logical solutions thanks to knowledge acquired during the course of restorations of an historic character, whether it be instruments of the renaissance, classical, romantic, or symphonic periods.

And, it is this accumulated historic knowledge that has guided the conception of the organ at the Church of the Ascension. We find here, therefore, classical entities like the plenum, the jeux de tierces completely developed, the grand-choeur of reeds on their own chests, and a classic disposition of the divisions: Grand-Orgue, Positif, Récit-Écho, Grand-Récit Expressif, “large” and “small” Pédale.

A large part of the “classic” foundation of the organ is found in the case placed to the left of the choir: the Grand-Orgue, Positif, Récit/Écho, and an important part of the Pédale. These divisions are played with a suspended, mechanical action from the console located en fenêtre [attached console].

An identical case, facing the first, houses the Grand-Récit Expressif and the remaining pedal stops. The entire organ, which joins the two cases, to the left and right of the choir, with their respective façades facing the side aisles, is played from an electric console of four keyboards, a mobile console that can be placed in the center of the choir for concerts. It is at this console that one interprets most easily the contemporary repertoire or that of the 20th century, which, in general, was not written for direct mechanical action.

The cases were designed to integrate as harmoniously as possible with the architecture of the site. They are constructed of ash and walnut woods. The sculptured decorations are freely inspired by the Art Nouveau style, an echo of the Tiffany stained-glass windows of the church. The key motifs represent imaginary birds, recalling the birdsongs so dear to Olivier Messiaen.

 

Disposition and details of the instrument

The organ is divided into two groups situated in the choir of the church, on each side of the high altar. Two 16′ façades are therefore facing each other. These two entities also have an opening into the side aisles to the right and left of the choir to which we have applied two cases, one of which is composed of two superimposed 8′ façades.

The organ on the left comprises the major part of the instrumental structure: on the main level the Grand-Orgue, the Positif above, the Récit/Écho behind the Positif. The big foundation stops of the Pédale are on the bottom (Bourdons 32′ and 16′, Contrebasse 16′, Flûte 8′, Jeux de tierce 32′, Bombarde 32′, etc.). The whole rises in tiers to almost 43 feet.

The organ on the right is chiefly inhabited by the Grand-Récit Expressif of 21 stops; its main façade is formed by the pipes of pedal stops (Principal 16′, Violoncelle 8′). Between this façade and the expressive box of the Récit are placed the Bassons 16′ and 8′, the Plein Jeu, the Prestant 4′, and the Quinzième 2′ of the Pédale. The façade facing the side aisle is made up of the bass pipes of the Second 8′ of the Grand-Orgue. The rest of this stop, as is all of Second 4′, is found behind this façade.

The windchests of the Grand-Orgue number four: two large chests for 16′ stops and two others for the three reed stops: Bombarde, Trompette, Clairon. The 2ème Trompette (en-chamade) is the first stop on the foundation chest behind the façade. The configuration is the same for the Positif situated above the Grand-Orgue; the four chests have the same dimensions. 

The mechanical action of the keyboards permanently pulls two sets of pallets, one for the foundation stops with pallets longer than one foot, the other, shorter, for the reed stops. To facilitate the opening, the first two octaves of each chest are equipped with a special assist. The touch is supple and responsive for each keyboard. There are two possibilities for coupling the manuals among themselves, either electrical or mechanical.

The pipes are entirely cone tuned in the classic manner. Yet, certain stops have a tuning scroll: the Gambes and Voix céleste, the Aéolines, the Second 4′ and, of course, the Second 8′ of the Grand-Orgue. These two stops, the size of which was given by Cavaillé-Coll, are very strong, especially in the top, and are voiced with open toes. When one plays the registration of all the 8′ stops coupled together, the Second 8′ adds an effect of fullness, powerful, strongly crescendoing upwards. Thus, the sound of the organ is centered for the listener located in the nave.

The plenum in two planes, Grand-Orgue and Positif, is founded on the fundamental of the 16′, in the French manner, Grande Fourniture with its resultants of 102⁄3′, Fourniture, and Cymbale.

The Plein Jeu of the Grand-Récit Expressif is not a part of the plenum. It is rather to be used with the reeds, which the symphonic character favors. On the other hand, the Sur Cymbale on this keyboard is of the “neo-classic” type, narrow scale and high-pitched, voiced with low mouths and toes relatively closed. The use of such a stop figures in certain very special registrations of Olivier Messiaen. It is also the typical color of the neo-classical epoch that considered the effect of the Plein-jeux as an intense and penetrating light, whose goal was to illuminate the foundations of the organ. On the other hand, the classic conception interprets the Plein Jeu, the plenum, as the result of a synthesis of harmonics: one homogenous sonority with its vowel sound perfectly defined.

The reed stops differentiate themselves in three different ways.

The first: classic, copying the “Dom-Bédos” reeds of the Église Sainte-Croix in Bordeaux, for the reeds of the Grand-Orgue, Positif, and the Trompette, Hautbois, and Voix humaine of the Récit-Echo, with their distinctive reeds made of brass in the form of a “U”, 2/3 open.

The second: the Clarinette 8′ and the Basson 8′ of the Récit-Echo, the Basson 16′ of the Positif, with their “tear-drop” reeds, according to the measurements of Cavaillé-Coll, and the Bassons 16′ and 8′ of the Pédale, with their rectangular “tear-drop”, tin-plated reeds.

The third: the harmonic reeds of the Grand-Récit Expressif, with their reeds more closed, of the “Bertounèche” type (Bertounèche was a French craftsman who made the shallots of Cavaillé-Coll’s reeds; this little enterprise existed, remaining in productivity, until 1976).

The acoustic of the church, where the reverberation time is about three seconds, can appear very short, yet it has the advantage of eliciting no deformation to the sound. The bass has a flawless definition and does not invade the space, and the higher pitches sound without any aggressiveness. There are no curved surfaces in the interior architecture that could introduce disturbing reverberation.

—Pascal Quoirin

http://www.atelier-quoirin.com/

 

Photo credit: Tom Ligamari

The sights and sounds of Italy offer more inspiration than any score or treatise—they provide clues about the spirit of the music, where words and musical notation fall miserably short

Christina Hutten

What if I told you that there is surviving Italian organ music as splendid as Giovanni Gabrieli’s In Ecclesiis and as ethereal as Gregorio Allegri’s Miserere? A few months ago, I would not have believed it either. In fact, I was under the impression that compared to Italy’s glorious tradition of ensemble music, its organ music was of lesser importance, and its historical organs were pretty but small. On paper, every instrument looked the same—a single manual, one octave of pull-down pedals, and a stoplist consisting of a principal chorus (the Ripieno), a flute or two, and perhaps a Voce Umana.¹ Three months of studying organ in Italy with Francesco Cera radically changed my mind. I went intending to obtain a more complete picture of early organ music, having already spent time in France, Holland, and Germany. I left in love with a magnificent collection of keyboard music.  

My change of heart began not with the music but with the art and architecture of Italy. The entire country is like a giant open-air museum. Visitors can enter and experience the very places where Gabrieli, Frescobaldi, and so many others made music. That they were inspired by their surroundings is impossible to contest. These places are by definition inspiring. They were designed by the world’s greatest architects and filled with art by the greatest sculptors and painters from anonymous Roman masters to Pinturicchio, Raffaello, Michelangelo, Bernini, Tintoretto, and many others. Elaborate organ cases are among the most striking architectural features of many Italian churches and palace chapels. I began to realize that such glorious spaces where the organ had so much visual importance simply must have resounded with impressive organ playing. 

The instruments themselves also provided indisputable proof. They were far from boring. Though their stoplists were similar, their tonal character varied widely from region to region in a way that perfectly complemented the art and architecture of the area. What of the music that survived for these instruments? At first glance, it seemed simple to me, appeared not to require pedals, and certainly seemed an inappropriate choice for performance on modern instruments. Fortunately, all of this was only an illusion created by a style of musical notation that left many crucial interpretive decisions to the discretion of the performer, who would have been familiar with the contemporary musical style and performance practices. I learned why an understanding and appreciation of historical art, architecture, and instruments and a knowledge of the surviving repertoire and treatises are so crucial for today’s performer.  

Early Italian keyboard music is most successful when its interpretation is informed by historical sources and inspired by the conviction that it is the aural representation of Italy’s breathtaking visual splendor. Italy’s art, architecture, and music can be organized into regional schools based in four of Italy’s most historically important cities: Venice and Florence in the north, Rome in central Italy, and Naples in the south. Allow me to share some of the highlights of my journey to discover their art, historical organs, and keyboard music. 

 

Venetian Splendor 

Today, the city of Venice continues to exist mainly because of the tourists. Many of the locals have moved to the mainland. Nevertheless, the city’s colorful vibrancy and the remnants of its former grandeur are very evident. The reds, oranges, and yellows of the houses and shops, the green of the canals, the aquamarine of the lagoon, and the glistening white of the church façades are a feast for the eyes. Appropriately, Venice’s painters—Titian, Tintoretto and others—are famed for their use of color and the way that light seems to shine from within their paintings. Of the city’s 114 churches, the Basilica Cattedrale di San Marco is the most famous (Figure 1). One of the finest examples of Byzantine architecture, its exterior is covered with inlaid marble and carvings, while its interior glows with gilded mosaics. Besides its breathtaking opulence, the sheer size of the cathedral is impressive. Remarkably, at the time of Claudio Merulo (1533–1604), Andrea Gabrieli (1533–1585), and the rest of the illustrious line of musicians who worked here, San Marco was not a cathedral, but the private chapel of the Doge of Venice, and Venice was one of the richest and most important cities in the world! My impression of Venetian organ music changed completely when I examined it through the lens of Venice’s vibrant color palette and astounding splendor.

 

Organs of Northern Italy

The organs of northern Italy are characterized by their cantabile tone. Some also have much more colorful stoplists than organs in other parts of Italy. In 2006, Giorgio Carli completed the restoration of the 1565 Graziadio Antegnati organ of the Basilica di Santa Barbara, the private chapel of the duke of Mantua.  The organ’s case is beautiful. Its richly painted doors contrast with the white walls of the chapel. This instrument was built under the direction of organist and composer Girolamo Cavazzoni (1520–1577). Its 16′ plenum is glowing rather than brilliant, perfect for Cavazzoni’s music, which is closely related to choral polyphony. As was the norm in Italy until the 18th century, the organ is tuned in mean-tone temperament, but the keyboard has split keys (Figure 2), allowing the player to choose between D# and Eb and between G# and Ab, thus enabling one to play in many more tonalities and to better imitate the pure intonation that a vocal ensemble is able to achieve. The keyboard and pedalboard both have particularly long compasses, the keyboard from C to F5 and the pedalboard from C to A2. The music of Marc’Antonio Cavazzoni (1485–1550), Girolamo’s father, demands such a compass. This long key compass also permits the organist to play in different octaves, using the 16′ Principale at 8′ pitch, for example. The winding of this organ is a special treat. Rather than supplying an electric blower, Giorgio Carli installed an automatic bellow lifter to pump the bellows. This allows the player to experience the wonderful flexibility of playing on pumped wind without the trouble of hiring a person to pump the bellows.  

Near Mantua, in the Chiesa di San Tommaso Cantuariense in Verona, stands a well-preserved 18th-century organ built by Giuseppe Bonatti in 1716. It is a two-manual instrument with an unusually colorful stoplist and a lavish complement of special effects. The main manual controls the Grand Organo—the usual Ripieno plus a Cornetto (in two parts: 4′-22⁄3′ and 2′-13⁄5′), Trombe reali, and two flutes. An exquisitely crafted Regale with rare original parchment resonators mounted on a separate windchest like a Brustwerk is also playable from the main manual. The second manual controls the Organo Piccolo, a tiny 4′ echo division situated behind the player. Other special effects include a chorus of bird stops (Figure 3) and a Tamburo (a stop played by the lowest pedal note that imitates a drum using a cluster of bass pipes). The pedals are permanently coupled to the main manual, but this organ also includes an independent pedal reed and Contrabassi—octave of 16′ wooden pipes. The tone of the organ is sweet and elegant, thanks in part to its comparatively low wind pressure, a common feature of Italian organs. The wind pressure of this Bonatti organ is set at 53–55 mm. By contrast, the wind pressure of the comparably sized 1704 Schnitger organ in Eenum, the Netherlands, is set at 62.5 mm. The tonal variety and elegance of the Bonatti organ make it perfect for 18th-century music, including the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who, incidentally, played this instrument while on tour in Italy.   

 

Music of the Venetian and Emilian Schools

The keyboard music of northern Italy reached its peak during the Renaissance. Its focal point was the Basilica di San Marco in Venice. The splendid polychoral tradition of the basilica profoundly influenced the organ music of the Venetian school. Composers of the Venetian school were responsible for some of the most important developments in keyboard composition of both the Renaissance and the Baroque. Marc’Antonio Cavazzoni’s collection, Recerchari, mottetti, canzoni–Libro primo, printed in Venice in 1523, is one of the most important examples of early 16th-century organ music. Cavazzoni was born in Bologna, where he probably received his musical training at the Basilica di San Petronio, and likely knew the famous 1475 Lorenzo da Prato organ there. Later he moved to Venice and was an assistant to Adriano Willaert at San Marco. Cavazzoni’s recerchari are particularly significant, because they are among the earliest free compositions for the organ. These recerchari are majestic pieces written in an improvisatory style. Like later toccatas, they investigate idiomatic keyboard figuration rather than counterpoint. While his father, Marc’Antonio, was a pioneer in developing idiomatic keyboard figuration, Girolamo Cavazzoni, organist at Santa Barbara in Mantua, was a master of imitating vocal polyphony at the keyboard. An understanding of the text of the chants, motets, and chansons on which many of his works are based is absolutely crucial for a successful interpretation.  

Claudio Merulo and Andrea Gabrieli worked together as organists at San Marco. Merulo was renowned and influential during his lifetime. Girolamo Diruta dedicated Il Transilvano, one of the most important treatises on Italian organ music, to him. Merulo’s toccatas were the first to alternate virtuosic and imitative sections, a technique that Frescobaldi and the North German organ school would use later. Also, foreshadowing the Baroque, they often use ornamental figures as motives. Merulo’s music is full of unique written-out trills and diminutions. Studying it is an excellent way to learn how to add ornaments to repertoire of the 16th and early 17th centuries. In comparison, Gabrieli’s music may seem rather subdued, but, in fact, it only lacks the profusion of notated trills. Presumably, Gabrieli would have added these in performance. His Ricercari ariosi are particularly beautiful adaptations of the polychoral style.  

Eighteenth-century Bolognese composer Giovanni Battista Martini (1706–1784) was highly esteemed during his lifetime, and attracted students from around the world. Leopold Mozart even asked his advice concerning the talents of his son. Nevertheless, his surviving compositions do not seem to justify his reputation. They are pleasant but simple pieces in galant style. Consider them in context, however, and the picture changes. The majority of these pieces survive in manuscripts written in Martini’s own hand. They are predominantly written in two-voice structure, but occasional figured bass symbols suggest that they were really sketches, and that the organist was expected to fill out the texture by adding chords. Some of Martini’s Sonate per l’Elevazione survive in both simple and elaborately ornamented forms, exemplifying how he might have actually performed them.² Playing Martini’s music as written is a little like stripping a Baroque church down to bare plaster walls. Far from being easy and uninspiring, these pieces are charming examples of Italian Rococo organ style and exciting vehicles for creativity.

 

Rome’s Legacy

Rome is sometimes called “the Eternal City.” It displays its long rich history in an abundance of art and architecture (Figure 4). Romans are proud of their heritage. In the past, Rome’s great noble families collected antiquities, displaying them in their palaces. The Farnese collection, now on exhibit in the Naples National Archeological Museum, is particularly impressive evidence that admiration of antiquity dates back at least to the beginning of the 16th century. Many of its more than 300 marble sculptures were unearthed in archeological excavations specifically conducted on behalf of Pope Paul III and other members of the Farnese family. These same noble families and the Roman Catholic Church employed contemporary artists as well, who left masterpieces from every historical era. The poignant perfection of High Renaissance works like Michelangelo’s Pietà in St. Peter’s Basilica, the dramatic lighting and gestures of Baroque treasures like Caravaggio’s Crucifixion of Peter in the Chiesa di Santa Maria del Popolo or Bernini’s Ecstasy of St. Theresa in the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Vittoria, and the busy ornamentation of Rococo creations like the organ case of the Werle organ in the Basilica di Sant’Eustachio are all on display. In the churches, clouds of angels surround visitors, while the palaces seek to amaze them with marvels of architecture like Bernini’s and Borromini’s staircases, which compete for attention in the Barberini palace. For me, Rome’s deep appreciation of its long tradition of artistic excellence is the key to understanding the music written there.   

 

Organs of Central Italy

Only a few of Rome’s Renaissance and Baroque organs survive. As in many large wealthy European cities, pipe organs were replaced as fashions changed. Nevertheless, the smaller towns and villages in central Italy are home to a wealth of unique historical organs. It is far beyond the scope of this article to describe them all—the city of Rieti, where I spent much of my Italian sojourn, alone is home to 14 historical organs in varying states of playability. Let me begin by describing one of the oldest organs in Italy. It was built in 1509 by Paolo di Pietro Paolo da Montefalco, and is located in the Chiesa di San Francesco in Trevi, Umbria (Figure 5). This instrument is priceless for many reasons including its antiquity, its proximity to the birthplace of Girolamo Diruta, the way that it documents the history of organbuilding, and certainly also its beauty. Organbuilder Andrea Pinchi told me how thrilled he was to be given the opportunity to restore this instrument in 2005, having been convinced since he was a teenager that the case in the Chiesa di San Francesco held something very special. When it was first built, the organ consisted of a five-rank Ripieno and a Flauto in ottava.³ In the 17th century, a Flauto in duodecima was added, and in the 18th century the important Umbrian organbuilder Fedeli restored the instrument and added a Voce Umana and Cornetta. Because they reflect the historical development of the organ, these stops were all preserved in the restoration. The sound of this organ is bright and brilliant. The small Ripieno easily fills the sizable Gothic church. Like the Antegnati organ in Mantua, this was an instrument designed to imitate vocal music. Its extremely sensitive key action allows the player to create subtle text-like inflections by varying attacks and releases.

The organs that Frescobaldi played at St. Peter’s have long disappeared, but a splendid 17th-century Roman organ does survive to transport Frescobaldi’s sound world to the present day. The 1612 Giovanni Guglielmi organ in the Chiesa di Santa Maria in Vallicella (Figure 6) was restored by Ruffatti in the year 2000, but it continues to lack the international attention that it deserves. It is a large instrument based on 16′ pitch. The grandeur of the Ripieno is enhanced by many doubled ranks and by a trumpet. I was surprised to learn that a trumpet stop was a common feature of large Roman organs. The 1597 Luca Blasi organ of the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, for example, also includes a trumpet. Perhaps the most eye-opening aspect of the Guglielmi organ is its narrow pipe scaling. The organ’s sound is bright, almost nasal, but crystal clear. It is simply impossible to cover up passagework even with the densest chordal accompaniment. The spectacular case of this instrument is also noteworthy. It is, as it were, created using ornamentation, including two giant sculptures of angels, and the entire case is sumptuously overlaid with gold.⁴ The matching case in the other transept of the church now contains an 1895 Morettini organ, which also merits a visit.

 

Music of the Roman School

Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583–1643) grew up in Ferrara, home of the great d’Este family. While Frescobaldi was young, many notable composers—including Claudio Monteverdi, Orlando di Lasso, Claudio Merulo, and Carlo Gesualdo—visited court. As a child prodigy studying with court organist Luzzasco Luzzaschi, Frescobaldi absorbed these diverse influences. In his early twenties, he decided to seek his fortune in Rome, and proceeded to write and publish some of the most important music of the 17th century and to pass on his skill to talented students from all over Europe.  

Frescobaldi’s music is like the city of Rome. It glories in tradition while being unafraid of innovation. Walking in the footsteps of Lasso and Palestrina, Frescobaldi composes masterful counterpoint, but juxtaposes it with flamboyant baroque figuration, skillfully incorporating affect figures. In his performance instructions that preface Il primo libro di capricci of 1624,⁵ he explains that in his music the metrical relationships that were so important in Renaissance music are now governed by the mood of the music. His sacred music, including the three Masses of Fiori musicali and the two extended elevation toccatas from his Secondo libro di toccate, is deeply spiritual. Frescobaldi masterfully communicates the meaning of the Mass liturgy into his settings. His elevation toccatas take the listener on a journey through contemplation, sympathy, and ecstasy. Though at first glance Fiori musicali seems like just another book of short pieces, when these pieces are considered together they form imposing Mass settings, and it becomes clear that this collection shares the monumentality of other early Roman Baroque sacred art like the baldacchino that Bernini designed for St. Peter’s Basilica (Figure 7).

Similarly, Bernardo Pasquini’s (1637–1710) music demonstrates both his admiration for the past as well as contemporary tastes. His output is extensive and varied, ranging from works like the Fantasia la mi fa fa and the Capriccio in G, which recall Frescobaldi’s contrapuntal works, to figured bass sonatas and versets, to variations, toccatas, and suites in a style similar to that of his friend and colleague Arcangelo Corelli, and foreshadowing the keyboard writing of his most famous pupil, Domenico Scarlatti.  

Michelangelo Rossi’s (1601–1656) music shows the other face of the Roman Baroque—the face that seeks to shock and amaze, especially by breaking the rules. During his lifetime, Rossi was best known as a virtuoso violinist. He also composed at least two operas and spent most of his life working as a court rather than a church musician. His ten keyboard toccatas are formally similar to Frescobaldi’s toccatas, but are full of startling effects and chromaticism that borders on the grotesque. In them, extreme virtuosity makes up for contrapuntal simplicity.  

 

Neapolitan Daring

Drama and audacity are a key part of Neapolitan art. For twenty-five centuries, Naples has brazenly lain in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. It is a city of daring and a city of extremes. Emerging from the strange semi-darkness of the old city’s narrow streets, for example, one finds oneself confronted by the glittering brilliance of the bay. Neapolitan art and architecture express this too. Naples is famous for its seemingly quaint hand-crafted nativity scenes. Take a closer look, and you will find them full of drama enacted by humorous and grotesque characters. Behind a most forbidding fortress-like block façade, soars the opulent Baroque interior of the Chiesa del Gesù Nuovo, with its profusion of colorful frescoes, inlaid marbles, and priceless treasures. Similarly, the famous sculptures of the Cappella Sansevero, including Giuseppe Sanmartino’s The Veiled Christ, combine absolute technical perfection with gestures and facial expressions so full of pathos that they do not just invite an emotional response from their viewer, they force one. 

 

Organs of Southern Italy

My most memorable experience with southern Italian organs occurred during a trip to the town of Teggiano in the region of Campania. The south of Italy is full of secluded towns and villages and many undiscovered artistic treasures. Teggiano is home to several historical instruments, but the two most interesting were built around the turn of the 17th century—one in 1595 (Figure 8) and one in 1619 (Figure 9), only four years after the publication of Giovanni Maria Trabaci’s Secondo Libro de Ricercate et altri varij Capricci. Neapolitan-style instruments from this time period are extremely rare. Neither instrument is playable at this time.⁶ The restoration of the 1595 instrument is nearly complete, but has been suspended because of a lack of funding. The 1619 instrument, though magnificent, is still a ruin. Nevertheless, they still reveal much about Neapolitan organ music from the late Renaissance time. The pipe scaling used in these instruments is extremely narrow and would produce a sound as brilliant and arresting as the glaring Neapolitan sun. In addition, both instruments have very narrow cases that would act only as soundboards, and would not mix or soften the sound at all (Figure 10). 

The Neapolitan area was also home to talented 18th-century organbuilders, including Silverio Carelli. In 1784, Carelli built a beautiful instrument as a gift for the cathedral of his hometown of Vallo della Lucania. Its tone is sweet and full; several ranks including the Principale 8′ are doubled. Its keyboard and pedalboard are both fully chromatic, also in the lowest octave. The case is magnificent (Figure 11). Carelli spared no expense in building this instrument. He even included bagpipes, which could be used to play pastorali at Christmas time—so fitting in an area famous for its hand-crafted pastoral scenes.         

 

Music of the Neapolitan School

Like the Venetian school of keyboard music, the Neapolitan school flourished during the late Renaissance. Its leader was the Franco-Flemish composer Giovanni de Macque (1550–1614). He worked for the Gesualdo household and later as maestro di cappella for the Spanish viceroy. Giovanni Maria Trabaci (1575–1647) and Ascanio Mayone (1565–1627) served under De Macque as organists of the royal chapel. Their music is radical. De Macque’s in particular is full of daring harmonies and forbidden intervals. How it must have appalled proponents of strict Renaissance counterpoint! But then, it was written in Naples, not in Rome. As was the Neapolitan tradition, the music of De Macque, Trabaci, and Mayone is suitable for performance on keyboard instruments as well as on harp. It stands to reason that the composers assumed that the performer would make adjustments idiomatic to the instruments on which they chose to perform, adding a pedal part on the organ, arpeggiating chords on the harpsichord, and so on. Unlike Frescobaldi, none of the Neapolitan composers wrote prefaces including detailed performance practice instructions, but Trabaci does include an important word of warning in the preface to his Libro primo (1603).⁷ He writes that his music is carefully composed, but that study is necessary to discern the spirit of the music. Should the performer neglect to do this study, it will be their own fault if they did not succeed in realizing his intentions. Of course, it is impossible to know today exactly what Trabaci meant by this statement, but one thing is sure: in order to perform this Neapolitan music convincingly, it is crucial to study, determine the affect that the composer sought to convey, and then to do everything possible to communicate it as intensely as possible.

 

Conclusions

In conclusion, allow me to offer a few practical suggestions regarding interpreting the notation of early Italian organ music. Musical notation developed over the centuries to include more and more performance information. At first, however, it was simply a memory aid in a musical tradition that was transmitted orally. Early Italian notation of keyboard music gives no information about dynamics or registration, and little information about tempo or the use of pedal. Some composers, like Merulo, for example, notate trills and other ornaments, while others notate only the minimum of ornaments, and still others like Martini provide only a skeleton of their composition. Both the typesetting of modern editions as well as the moveable type in use in the 16th and early 17th centuries make this music appear rigid. Further, the time signatures and note values common at this time tend to be much larger than we are accustomed to today. Quarter notes in the music, for example, are often the same speed as what we would notate as eighth or even sixteenth notes today. As a result, this music can appear simple and boring at first glance. Performed with a good dose of imagination—and, as Trabaci reminds us, sufficient study—however, this music is completely captivating, and its exuberance is sure to attract music connoisseurs and first-time concertgoers alike.  

Diruta’s Il Transilvano (1593), Antegnati’s L’arte organica (1608), and Adriano Banchieri’s L’organo suonarino (1605), along with a good ear, are the best guides for choosing registration. In Renaissance music, a slow tactus permeates the music, and the relationships among meters help to establish a tempo. In Baroque music, the tempo is more flexible and governed by the affect of the music, as Frescobaldi discusses in the prefaces to his Libro primo di capricci and his two Libri di toccate. Historical Italian organs are the best source of information regarding pedaling. With the exception of some 18th-century organs, Italian organs have pull-down pedals with no independent stops, but they are very effective for reinforcing a cadence, harmonic sequences, or a cantus firmus. As Frescobaldi demonstrates in his two toccate sopra i pedali, the pedals can also be used to sustain pedal points. Most composers did not notate these pedal points, though their toccatas often feature extended passages decorating a single harmony. Adding a pedal point in these passages makes the organ sound much fuller and more impressive. Studying written-out ornaments and examples of diminutions in treatises like Silvestro Ganassi’s Opera intitulata Fontegara (1535) will help a performer to develop a repertory of ornaments. Playing from facsimiles of music that were published using beautiful copper engraving, like the toccatas of Frescobaldi and Rossi, allows one to avoid the uninspiring straightness of modern notation. As Frescobaldi counsels in the preface to his Fiori musicali, contrapuntal music should be studied in its original open score format. This is guaranteed to deliver much more coherent counterpoint.⁸   

Now is the perfect time to restore early Italian organ music from its relative neglect. Much music that was unavailable outside Italy has recently been released in excellent modern or facsimile editions, formerly unplayable instruments are being restored, research has uncovered helpful performance practice information, and new recordings of ancient instruments are allowing people around the world to experience their beauty for the first time.⁹ But, in my opinion, the sights and sounds of Italy offer more inspiration than any score or treatise. They provide clues about the spirit of the music, where words and musical notation fall miserably short.

 

 

The author thanks Francesco Cera for his assistance in preparing this article.  

 

 

John Bishop

John Bishop is executive director of the Organ Clearing House.

 

Of the people, by the people, for the people . . . 

 

. . . that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

These words from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address are in tribute to those killed during the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg of the American Civil War. In the eulogy he delivered after Lincoln’s assassination, Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner said, “The world noticed at once what he said, and will never cease to remember it. The battle itself was less important than the speech.” Sumner’s other claim to fame is as namesake of the Sumner Tunnel that connects downtown Boston to Logan Airport by passing under Boston Harbor.

Perhaps it’s rare for words like these to appear in the pages of a trade journal, and in today’s volatile political climate I know very well that I tread on dangerous ground. The relationship between politics and religion is strong and prevalent, though the United States Constitution specifically calls for the two to be separate. The differences in worship styles between Northeastern Anglicans and Southeastern Evangelicals are as vast as the wide range of styles found in the world of the pipe organ.

Like it or not, the pipe organ has been associated primarily with the church for some five hundred years. It’s hard to imagine what the pipe organ would be today were it not for the influence of the church. From the late Renaissance to the modern day, most of the music written for the organ comes from the church, and by extension, most of the organ music we might consider secular couldn’t have happened had the church not provided us with the parade of instruments that is our history. One might argue that the organ symphonies of Vierne or Widor are not ecclesiastical music, but without the Cavaillé-Coll organs in the grand churches of St. Sulpice and Notre Dame in Paris, I doubt those two masters would have gotten it together to write that music.

Some twenty years ago my friend and colleague, the widely respected organ historian Barbara Owen, commented, “We have to get the organ out of the church.” I was dumbfounded—I guess because I found I was too dumb to understand what she meant. How could the organ possibly survive without the church? It was the comment of another friend and colleague, Steven Dieck, President of C.B. Fisk, Inc., that enlightened me a little. To paraphrase Steve’s comment, large portions of modern society might never have the chance to hear a pipe organ—those people who would never be caught dead in church, or more to the point, those who would only be caught dead in church! After all, some people never go into a church unless they’re in a coffin.

The organs we find in concert halls, university auditoriums, and increasingly rarely, in municipal auditoriums are available to the general public without risk of exposure to the perceived perils of organized worship, and it’s the municipal organ that is of the people, by the people, and for the people.

The first American municipal organ appeared in 1864 when E. & G. G. Hook built a four-manual organ with 64 stops for Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts. That organ was restored by the Noack Organ Company in 1982 and is still very much in use. Records show that Roosevelt built an organ with 129 stops for the Chicago Auditorium in 1889, the year that Benjamin Harrison was inaugurated as America’s twenty-third president, and three years after the dedication of the Statue of Liberty. I don’t know how many organs that large had been built before 1889—but it sure must have stood out as one of the great cultural icons of its day. And with what I know about the organs built by Hilborne Roosevelt, it must have been a knockout.

In 1882, Thomas Edison proved the practicality of the commercial and residential use of electricity by installing electric lighting in the home of J. P. Morgan at the corner of Madison Avenue and 36th Street in New York. When the Roosevelt organ was built, the development of electrical applications was still in its infancy—the organ had tracker action. That’s a huge organ. The stoplist shows that there were indicators for low, medium, and high wind pressures—imagine the army of people needed to pump that organ.

In 1921 E. M. Skinner built a five-manual instrument with 150 stops for the new 13,000-seat Municipal Auditorium in Cleveland. Those were the days before radio and recordings, and it was expensive to hear the few great symphony orchestras across the country, so the municipal organ was the only way for many to hear live performances of great music. Accounts of the introduction of that organ give us a glimpse into the popularity of the public pipe organ. Following the dedication of the organ, Harold MacDowell, the Cleveland City Architect wrote: 

 

Despite the oppressive heat, the crowd which had been collecting since noon soon exceeded the capacity of the mammoth hall and long before the time set for the inaugural recital all seats were filled and more than 5000 men, women, and children were crowding the corridors of the colossal structure. The police which were out in large numbers were at first able to hold the crowd into a semblance of order, but soon gave up in despair as the eager mob swept all before it.¹

 

That means there were at least 18,000 people in attendance. A riot before an organ recital? Wow!

It wasn’t only big cities that had municipal organs. Melrose, Massachusetts is about seven miles north of Boston. Today there are around 29,000 residents. In 1919 when the Austin Organ Company installed the 78-stop organ in Soldiers and Sailors Hall, just over 18,000 people lived in Melrose. As we learned in Cleveland, that’s just enough to make an audience.

If you’re interested in reading more about this heritage, visit the website www.municipalorgans.net, where you’ll find a chronological list of American Municipal Pipe Organs. You can click your way further in to find stoplists and histories of most of the instruments. Thanks to the creators of that website for making so much information available. I’m sure that was a labor of love!

Two cities in the United States still have important secular organs with seated municipal organists: San Diego, California and Portland, Maine. San Diego is home to the Spreckels Organ, housed in the Spreckels Organ Pavilion at Balboa Park. It’s one of the world’s largest outdoor organs, and though it must compete with the flight paths of San Diego International Airport, it remains a popular attraction. Municipal Organist Carol Williams and visiting artists offer weekly concerts. Like so many other cities, San Diego has been struggling to manage a deficit budget, and after much well-reported arguing, the City Council voted in 2011 to renew Williams’ contract for ten years, continuing the city’s sizable contribution to her salary. You can read an article about the city’s decision in the San Diego Union Times at https://www.utsandiego.com/news/2011/aug/02/civic-organist-contract-renewed/?ap. The article cites that the city has a $40,000,000 deficit—but they approved funding of $286,000 for a ten-year contract for Williams. Compare that to Alex Rodriguez (aka A-Rod) of the New York Yankees who was paid $33,000,000 in 2009. That’s more than $203,000 per game, which is close to ten years for Carol Williams. According to www.baseball-reference.com, A-Rod’s aggregate salary as a baseball player is $296,416,252. That’s enough money for a thousand municipal organists for ten years. Play ball!

As the weather in Portland, Maine is nothing like that of San Diego, Portland’s Kotzschmar Organ is indoors, located in Merrill Auditorium of City Hall. Housed in an elegant case at the rear of the stage, and sporting a five-manual drawknob console, this grand instrument is the pride of its city. And while San Diego has just over 3,000,000 residents, the entire State of Maine has about 1,300,000 people, 64,000 of whom live in Portland, the largest city in the state. To put the scale of the state in closer perspective, the capital city of Augusta has 18,500 residents! 

 

The institution that was Curtis

Cyrus H. K. Curtis grew up in Portland, Maine. His father Cyrus Libby Curtis was an interior decorator and amateur musician who met the struggling immigrant musician Hermann Kotzschmar in Boston, and offered to help him establish himself in Portland. Kotzschmar became conductor and pianist for the Union Street Theatre Orchestra, in which Curtis played the trombone, and organist and choirmaster of the First Parish Church (Unitarian) where Curtis sang in the choir. Can you detect a pattern? As Kotzschmar was gaining traction in Portland, he lived with the Curtis family, and Cyrus Libby Curtis gave his son the name of his favorite musician, hence the initials H.K.

In the ensuing years, Kotzschmar founded choral societies and orchestras, performed as conductor, organist, and pianist in countless concerts, and taught a generation of the city’s musicians.

Meanwhile, Cyrus H. K. Curtis really made something of himself. He founded the Curtis Publishing Company in 1891 and subsequently launched the Saturday Evening Post and the Ladies’ Home Journal. Later he founded Curtis-Martin Newspapers, Inc., whose properties included the Philadelphia Inquirer and the New York Evening Post. Cyrus
H. K. Curtis made a lot of money, and he carried the musical influence of Hermann Kotzschmar all his life. He purchased three pipe organs for his home in Wyncote, Pennsylvania (Aeolian, Opus 784, 943, and 1374); he donated a 160-stop Austin organ to the University of Pennsylvania where it still stands, recently renovated, in Irvine Auditorium. He gave huge amounts of money to the Philadelphia Orchestra, and his daughter Mary Louise Curtis Bok founded the Curtis Institute of Music, named in honor of her father. Hers was a particularly classy honor as the Curtis Institute was founded nine years before her father’s death!

§

At about 2:00 in the morning on January 24, 1908, a fire started in the city electrician’s office in Portland’s City Hall, ironically caused by an electrical short-circuit in the Gamewell Fire Alarm System that was housed in the office (pesky new-fangled contraptions). Because the alarm system was the first thing to go, the fire quickly went out of control and City Hall was destroyed. Coincidentally, Hermann Kotzschmar died on April 15, 1908. After plenty of discussion, the remains of the building were razed and the cornerstone for the new City Hall was laid on October 6, 1909, and on January 10, 1911, former Mayor Adam Leighton announced that Portland native Cyrus Curtis was donating a pipe organ to be installed in Merrill Auditorium of the new City Hall in memory of Portland’s most prominent musician.

The new City Hall was dedicated on August 22, 1912. Municipal Organist Will C. Macfarlane was at the organ. The program included Macfarlane’s performance of Boëllmann’s Suite Gothique, a report from the city building committee (Adam Leighton, chairman), presentation of keys to the building by Owen Brainard of the architecture firm Carrere and Hastings (designers of the New York Public Library and the House and Senate Office Buildings in Washington, D.C.), presentation of the organ by Cyrus Curtis, unveiling of the Hermann Kotzschmar bust by his widow Mary, and acceptance of the whole shebang by Mayor Oakley Curtis (no relation). Macfarlane also played his own compositions Evening Bells and Cradle Song, and a transcription of Kotzschmar’s Te Deum in F. Judge Joseph Symonds gave an oration, and representing the Catholic Bishop of Portland, Rev. Martin A. Clary gave the prayer and benediction. Must have been a lovely afternoon.²

§

In January of 2007, the FOKO board asked the organ committee to investigate the possibility of some additions and major repairs to the organ. Specialists were called in to assess the questions and replied that the general condition of the organ was poor enough to make the work feasible. FOKO responded by inviting a group of widely respected experts to participate in a public symposium in August 2007 to discuss the organ in detail and develop recommendations for the future of the instrument. The participants were Joe Dzeda, Nick Thompson-Allen, Jonathan Ambrosino, Walt Strony, Curt Mangel, Peter Conte, and Tom Murray. Craig Whitney of the New York Times served as scribe and followed the event with a written report. As chair of the organ committee, I was moderator of the event. After years of study, the Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ and the City of Portland announced plans for the renovation of the organ. In September 2011, Portland’s City Council approved a grant of $1.25 million for the project. Just before the Council meeting, Mayor Nicolas Mavodone, City Manager Mark Rees, and two members of the City Council joined me on the stage of Merrill Auditorium for a tour of the organ. The mayor marveled at the thousands of pipes, took a slew of photos with his cell phone, and commented that he had stood on the stage dozens of times presiding over civic events without having any idea what was behind the organ case. He repeated those comments for the City Council and the members approved the funding unanimously. Watching both elected and appointed city officials discuss and approve the motion to care for that organ at such a meaningful level was a great experience for an organbuilder.   

FOKO is raising the balance to fund not only the organ’s renovation but to endow the positions of Municipal Organist and Organ Curator, and to extend the organization’s ambitious and effective education programs, bringing Maine’s schoolchildren together with the King of Instruments.

The renovation of the organ will be accomplished by Foley-Baker, Inc., of Tolland, Connecticut. Having completed similar projects on the organs of the First Church of Christ, Scientist in Boston (The Mother Church), Symphony Hall in Boston, and the Aeolian organ in the Chapel of Duke University, Mike Foley and the staff of FBI bring vast experience to this project.

To commemorate the centennial, FOKO will present a Centennial Festival of concerts and masterclasses starting on Friday, August 17, 2012, and culminating with a grand Kotzschmar Centennial Concert on the actual anniversary, Wednesday, August 22. Participating artists and presenters include Tom Trenney, Walt Strony, Mike Foley, Dave Wickerham, Frederick Hohman, Michael Barone, Thomas Heywood, Peter Conte, John Weaver, Felix Hell, John Bishop, and Ray Cornils.  

The festival will be housed at Portland’s Holiday Inn By the Bay. Details will be announced soon. Like a hawk, you should watch the website of the Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ, www.foko.org. Summer in Maine is as good as it gets, the Kotzschmar Organ is a grand instrument, soon to be prepared for its second century. And you’ll never have a better chance to gather with such a list of luminaries in such an intimate city. Hope to see you there.

 

Pasi Organ Builders, Inc., Roy, Washington, Opus 19 Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral, Houston, Texas

 

Pasi Organ Builders, Inc., Roy, Washington, Opus 19

Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral, 

Houston, Texas

 

From the organbuilder

The instrument is placed in the rear gallery on either side of the 40-foot-high Resurrection Window. This massive window necessitated a divided layout for the organ’s five divisions of pipes, and several unique design solutions were used to compensate for the lack of a traditional central organ case. During the organ’s design, construction, and voicing, this instrument developed a unique character of its own—thanks in large part to the building’s wonderfully reverberant acoustics.

The visual design of the instrument combines architectural features found in this building with elements from historic European organs. The organ is entirely encased in white oak woodwork, with decorative carvings above the façade pipes. Both the carvings and the façade pipe mouths are gilded with 23-carat gold leaf. The wooden case serves a vital tonal function by blending and focusing the sound of the 5,499 organ pipes, while also protecting them from dust.

The console’s four manual keyboards are covered with cow bone and ebony, and the pedal keyboard is made of maple and rosewood. The 111 stop knobs, controlling the organ’s five divisions of pipes, are on either side of the keyboards. The stop knobs and toe pistons are made of pau ferro. Other species of wood found in the organ include tulip poplar, redwood, sugar pine, basswood, walnut, hornbeam, and Douglas fir.

The organ is laid out vertically in order to take advantage of the given space. The pipes of the Great division are placed on windchests above the impost on the east side of the window. The Swell division is placed above the Great, hidden behind the façade pipes and gilded carvings. The Positive division is located above the Swell, almost hugging the building’s 72-foot-high ceiling. The Grand Choir and Pedal divisions are located on the west side of the window, with the Spanish Trumpets (Trompeta) speaking from the very top above the Pedal division. They are placed horizontally, just behind the façade, in order to sound in the most assertive manner possible.

Two electric blowers supply wind to the organ via six bellows measuring approximately 4 feet by 8 feet. The bellows and blowers are located behind and inside the organ’s two cases. This wind system imparts a gentle flexibility to the organ’s sound, allowing the pipes to sound more like a choir of human voices rather than an inexpressive machine.

The organ’s tonal scheme draws most of its inspiration from the great North German and French organs of the 17th and 18th centuries. Its resources are further leavened with many stops inspired by 19th- and 20th-century models. This enhances its flexibility in playing choral accompaniments and interpreting the monumental solo organ literature of the 19th and 20th centuries. The organ is tuned in “Mark Brombaugh Mild,” an unequal temperament that favors the keys nearest to C major while still remaining harmonious in the most distant keys.

With the exception of the free-reed Clarinette 8′ stop, all of the metal pipes were made in the Pasi shop—from the casting and rolling of the metal through to the completed pipes. They are made of various alloys of tin and lead, with trace impurities of copper, bismuth, and antimony to help stiffen the metal. To enhance the intensity of the lead pipes’ sound, the metal is hammered following casting in order to tighten its molecular structure. The three 32′ stops, as well as the large pipes of several other stops, are made of tulip poplar wood.

The three traditional manual divisions—Great, Positive, and Swell—are placed above the console on the east side of the window, and have normal suspended mechanical key action and mechanical couplers. The Grand Choir and Pedal divisions on the west side of the window are modeled after the
Résonance division in the famous 1775 Jean-Esprit Isnard organ at St. Maximin, Provence. Most of the Grand Choir pipes are shared between the two divisions, but have independent stop knobs and actions for each division. 

This divided layout of the organ, combined with the comprehensive tonal scheme necessitated by the cathedral’s vast interior space, posed a special challenge in the design of the key action. Running a horizontal mechanical key action from the console to the west case 30 feet away would have been impractical. Our solution was to use the electric proportional key action developed by NovelOrg of Longueuil (Montreal), Quebec. 

The NovelOrg proportional key action is an all-electric action with sophisticated electronic control that allows the valves in the windchests to follow exactly the motion of the key. Applying this action to the remote Grand Choir and Pedal divisions makes it possible to retain the sensitive control of pipe speech found in a traditional mechanical key action. In addition to the regular mechanical couplers, the Great, Positive, and Swell keyboards are coupled to the Grand Choir through the NovelOrg proportional action. The stop action is electric, and the solid-state combination action allows up to 20 organists to each have 55 levels of memory, providing for the storage and recall of thousands of stop combinations.

The staff of Pasi Organ Builders, Inc., constructed, installed, and voiced the organ over a period of three years. The Pasi staff and other artisans who contributed to this project are as follows:

Markus Morscher: design, casework, windchests, wood pipes, bellows, pipe racking, and installation

Michael Spieler: casework, windchests, wood pipes, bellows, console key action, pipe racking, and installation

Rochus van Rumpt: metal flue pipes (including fabrication of the largest façade pipes on-site), reed pipes, installation, and voicing

Mark Brombaugh: design, installation, and voicing

Arpad Magyar: metal flue and reed pipes

Maurine Pasi: pipe shade carving and gilding

Jennifer Von Holstein: carving design and administration

Robert Wech: design

Raphi Giangiulio: metal flue and reed pipes, design

Gyöngyi Czimbor: assistant in the Pasi wood and pipe shops

Douglas Brewer: installation

Bruce Shull: voicing

Dominik Maetzler: combination action wiring

Martin Pasi: design, flue and reed pipes, installation, voicing, and administration.

—Martin Pasi

 

From the consultant

What a joy it has been to work with the clergy and musicians of the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, with the architects and building contractor, and especially with Martin Pasi and his entire team. I remember very well the first meeting of the organ selection committee in 2006, when Cardinal DiNardo spelled out his vision for the project. The task of the committee, under the leadership of Crista Miller, was to find the right company to build an organ that would accompany, complement, and even augment the most perfect musical instrument—the human voice. In addition, the committee needed to be certain that the organ would function first and foremost for the Catholic liturgy. I remember how enthusiastic the cardinal was about the idea of installing a tracker-action organ that would draw from the great traditions of the past while also offering something special for our time. 

The overall concept of the organ is unique, but also firmly rooted in tradition. The left side (when looking at the large Resurrection Window) is played from the upper three manuals with traditional mechanical key action. This side has an especially large and expressive Swell division, useful for choral accompanying and organ music of the 19th and 20th centuries. The principal choruses of the Great and Positive are Germanic, while the many individual stops and small combinations make possible the performance of a wide range of organ music from the Renaissance and Baroque periods, including French classical repertoire. The right side of the instrument, played from the bottom manual and pedals, uses the electric proportional key action. The right side of the instrument contains the largest pipes, including three 32′ stops. This side also includes a massive principal chorus (with a large progressive mixture), impressive reed choruses, and full foundations appropriate for the French symphonic organ repertoire and festive congregational accompaniments.

I shall mention here only a few of the individual stops. The undulating Suavial (Voce umana) on the Positive is of great historical significance, although it is infrequently heard on this continent today. The two brilliant battle Trompetas on the Grand Choir are drawn from the Spanish and Latin American traditions. And the free-reed Clarinette, also on the Grand Choir, produces a very rare and exotic sound. From the quietest stops to the massive principal and reed choruses, the instrument produces a marvelous effect in the clear but reverberant acoustics of the co-cathedral. The residents of Houston owe Martin and all his associates at Pasi Organ Builders a debt of gratitude for this wonderful addition to the growing list of impressive new organs in our city.

—Robert Bates

Professor of Organ

Moores School of Music

University of Houston

 

From the director of music

When I came to the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in October 2004, one of my first duties was to provide music for the groundbreaking ceremony for the new 1800-seat church, to be completed in April 2008. There was discussion of moving the church’s small Pilcher organ into the new church, but I knew from my graduate assistantship under Hans Davidsson’s Eastman Rochester Organ Initiative that there are many bright stars in contemporary American organbuilding. Martin Pasi gave an intriguing presentatation on a new dual-temperament organ in the Omaha Cathedral at the first annual EROI Festival in Rochester. I had arranged for a demonstration on pipe making to the Eastman organ studio and vividly remember Martin as being incapable of allowing even a throwaway demo pipe to sound anything less than beautiful.

In January 2006, I was happy to lead an archdiocesan organ committee charged with procuring a new world-class instrument for the Co-Cathedral. We began by reviewing the fine organs in sister cathedrals in larger cities—New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago—and U.S. cathedrals where great pipe organs have emerged, and with them, a tradition of fine sacred music.

Our situation was somewhat challenging, in that the Resurrection Window, planned long before the instrument, is placed in the middle of the organ. This could have eliminated the possibility of a mechanical-action instrument. Enter the extraordinary Martin Pasi and his firm, Pasi Organ Builders, Inc. To accommodate the window, they implemented a dual-action system, mechanical and electro-mechanical. This success speaks for itself, in a thrill for both the player and numerous audience members. 

The firm’s nineteenth instrument is their largest to date and their first four-manual organ. It contains such luxuries as a free-reed Clarinette and a set of horizontal trumpets in a tribute to the Hispanic heritage of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. This organ accompanies the liturgy in a modern way, inspired by historic traditions of 17th-century north and south Germany, Italy, Spain, and 17th- to 19th-century France. Moreover, this versatile instrument, eclectic without compromise, has proven to blend beautifully with orchestral instruments and to render well choral accompaniments of the English tradition.   

Many people deserve thanks. Hearty congratulations to Martin Pasi and his  associates at Pasi Organ Builders. His Eminence Daniel Cardinal DiNardo, Archbishop Joseph A. Fiorenza, and Auxiliary Bishop Vincent M. Rizzotto were all key, as well as Fayez Sarofim and the Brown Foundation and their gift to Houston. Zeigler Cooper Architects and Linbeck Construction were invaluable. As consultant, Robert Bates contributed at all phases, continuing with the ongoing lunchtime recital series, and national conferences. Pastor and rector, The Very Reverend Lawrence W. Jozwiak has been immensely helpful, as was the organ dedication committee chaired by John Burchfield, and the many who contributed program funds.  

—Crista Miller 

Chair, Organ Selection Committee

Director of Music and Organist

 

Letter from Daniel Cardinal DiNardo in the dedication program booklet

From my days as a child, hearing the great von Beckerath organ at St. Paul Cathedral in Pittsburgh, to hearing today the opus XIX organ hand-crafted by Martin Pasi and Associates for the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, I have recognized and appreciated the importance of a good pipe organ to serve the liturgical music needs of the Church. But, this is not merely a personal observation. The Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy attests: 

 

In the Latin Church the pipe organ is to be held in high esteem, for it is the traditional musical instrument that adds a wonderful splendor to the Church’s ceremonies and powerfully lifts up the spirit to God and higher things. (Sacrosanctum concilium, 120) 

 

In 2006 our organ committee was reviewing and approving plans for the new pipe organ in Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral. At that time, I specifically requested that the organ be capable of serving three essential purposes: 1) Accompany the people’s singing at the Mass and rites of the church; 2) Provide choral accompaniment; and 3) Play traditional and classical organ repertoire. These purposes are recapitulated by the Bishops of the United States in their recent instruction on sacred music highlighting the use of the organ: 

 

Among all other instruments which are suitable for divine worship, the organ is “accorded pride of place” because of its capacity to sustain the singing of a large gathered assembly, due to both its size and its ability to give “resonance to the fullness of human sentiments, from joy to sadness, from praise to lamentation . . .” In addition to its ability to lead and sustain congregational singing, the sound of the pipe organ is most suited for solo playing of sacred music in the Liturgy at appropriate moments. Pipe organs also play an important evangelical role in the Church’s outreach to the wider community in sacred concerts, music series, and other musical and cultural programs. For all of these reasons, the place of the organ should be taken into account from the outset in the planning process for the building or renovation of churches. (Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship, 87–88).

For all of these reasons, the opus XIX pipe organ was commissioned. And, now, we celebrate its completion and inaugurate it on its profound mission. It is my sincere hope and prayer that this pipe organ will, indeed, lift all of our minds to God and higher things: through sustained congregational singing; through the accompaniment of our choirs; and through the concerts, which invite members of our wider community into the Church to experience the immensity and magnificence of God through the mysterious and powerful musical sentiments expressed by this organ. 

I want to sincerely thank Rev. Lawrence W. Jozwiak, the rector of the co-cathedral, the organ committee, and all who have made this magnificent instrument a reality. And I thank all of you for your continued prayers and blessings upon the Church in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.

—Daniel Cardinal DiNardo

Archbishop of Galveston-Houston

 

Pasi Organ Builders, Opus 19

Four manuals, 76 stops

GREAT II

16′ Principal

8′ Praestant

8′ Spitzfloete

8′ Harmonic Flute

8′ Gamba

6′ Quinte

4′ Octave

4′ Nachthorn

3′ Quinte

2′ Octave

13⁄5′ Terz

8′ Cornet V (c1)

2′ Mixture V

22⁄3′ Rauschpfeife IV

16′ Trumpet

8′ Trumpet

8′ Trompette

4′ Clairon

POSITIVE III

16′ Quintadena

8′ Praestant

8′ Gedeckt

8′ Salicional

8′ Suavial (g)

4′ Octave

4′ Rohrfloete

3′ Nazard

3′ Sesquialtera II

2′ Octave

2′ Gemshorn

13⁄5′ Tierce

11⁄3′ Larigot

1′ Scharff IV

16′ Dulzian

8′ Cromorne

8′ Trumpet

8′ Trechterregal

SWELL IV

16′ Bourdon

8′ Praestant

8′ Viola

8′ Celeste

8′ Rohrfloete

4′ Octave

4′ Harm. Flute

4′ Violetta

31⁄5′ Gross Tierce

22⁄3′ Nazard

2′ Octave

2′ Octavin

13⁄5′ Tierce

1′ Flageolet

2′ Mixture V 

16′ Bassoon

8′ Trompette

8′ Oboe

4′ Clairon

8′ Voix Humaine

GRAND CHOIR I

32′ Principal

16′ Praestant

16′ Violone

16′ Bourdon

8′ Octave

8′ Flute

4′ Octave

3′ Plein Jeu Harmonique III–V+

16′ Posaune 

16′ Bombarde 

8′ Trompette 

8′ Trumpet 

8′ Clarinette 

4′ Schalmay 

8′ Trompeta

4–16′ Trompeta

+Grand Choir only

PEDAL

32′ Principal 

16′ Praestant

16′ Violone

16′ Bourdon

8′ Octave

8′ Flute

4′ Octave

4′ Mixtur VI*

32′ Bombarde* 

32′ Trombone* 

16′ Posaune 

16′ Bombarde 

8′ Trompette 

8′ Trumpet 

8′ Clarinette 

4′ Schalmay 

2′ Cornet*

8′ Trompeta

* Pedal only

Zimbelstern (seven rotating bells)

Separate tremulants for the Great and Positive divisions, one normal and one Voix Humaine tremulant for the Swell division.

Normal mechanical-action unison couplers.

Optional electric-assist couplers to the Great, Positive, and Pedal.

Electric-assist couplers to the Grand Choir, and for all Octave Graves.

Electric stop action; 18 general and 38 divisional pistons on 2,750 levels of memory.

Wind system: twin blowers producing pressures ranging between 80 and 120 mm.

Three double-rise bellows for the Swell, Grand Choir and Pedal divisions. Two Baroque wedge bellows for the Great and Positive divisions.

Jonathan B. Hall

Jonathan B. Hall is music director of Central Presbyterian Church in Montclair, New Jersey. His first book, Calvin Hampton: A Musician Without Borders, is available from Wayne Leupold Editions. He is past dean of the Brooklyn AGO Chapter.

 

While a junior or senior in high school, I found a newish LP in the local public library: Fugues, Fantasia and Variations—Nineteenth-Century American Concert Organ Music (New World Records, NW280). Dated 1976, it was no doubt intended as part of the vast tribute to the Bicentennial that many of us remember. Richard Morris was the organist, and he played the 1876 Hook & Hastings instrument in St. Joseph’s Old Cathedral, Buffalo, New York.

Dubbed the Centennial Organ because it had stood in the eastern end of the huge Main Building of the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, the four-manual instrument has been in Buffalo since 1877. It underwent change when it was electrified in 1925, but is substantially in conformity with its original design. Most recently, in 2001, it was restored by Andover and rededicated by Thomas Murray.

The Hook was the perfect organ for the repertoire, and the performance brought out the character of the instrument convincingly. But I was instantly captivated by the first piece. Taking up the whole of Side A was the Grand Sonata in E-flat, opus 22, by Dudley Buck. I was already a devotee of Bach, and to my ears the opening strains of the Buck were improbably sweet, heavy with a Victorian lyricism, very like a forbidden fruit. I was hooked.

Since then, I have treasured my own copy of this LP, and often re-read Barbara Owen’s comprehensive accompanying essay, which expanded the record jacket from single to double format. But my appreciation of the Grand Sonata has matured from a slightly guilty Victorian pleasure to serious musical appreciation. The work, in fact, bears hallmarks of advanced compositional techniques, and, indeed, points a way forward in American musical composition.

 

Cyclical structure

In 1982, Jerome Butera (editor of this journal) successfully defended a thesis at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago for his DMA degree. This thesis was devoted, in large part, to the Grand Sonata. He gives a clear, detailed account of the piece, situating it in nineteenth-century European practice. The thesis remains the most complete account of the work written to date.

But I am not aware of any study that points out the cyclical nature of this sonata. That is to say, each of its four movements begins with some reference to a particular shared musical idea. It is a simple idea, to be sure; but its presence adds luster to the first major organ sonata composed in America. It links the Buck piece, on a technical level, to the symphonies of Vierne, albeit on a more modest scale. At the same time, it places it on a more elevated architectonic plane than the early Widor symphonies.

The piece’s stated key is E-flat major. Buck begins with a rising E-flat major scale (Example 1). Then he colors the scale with the lowered chromatic neighbors of scale degrees 3, 5, and 6 (Example 2).

These color-tones are commonplace in Romantic music, simply ornamenting the third of the tonic and subdominant harmonies, and hinting at the V/V. With these extra notes, we can form these typical gestures of Victorian parlor music, both of which are common in the Grand Sonata (Example 3).

Nor does this scale, of itself, form a motif that is exactly repeated through the piece. However, as we shall see, its presence is subtly pervasive. The rising chromatic scale is basic to every movement of the Grand Sonata and contributes to the listener’s conviction that the piece hangs together, and thence to the work’s enduring popularity.

First movement

The motif is heard at the very outset of the work, in the first movement, marked allegro con brio. Here, one must respectfully disagree with the liner notes in the Morris album: the movement is neither especially a “virtuoso” one nor, most definitely, “in free form.” It is a textbook example of sonata-allegro form, and (in my opinion) at the high end of moderately difficult¹ (Example 4).

Note that the scalar material is in the tenor. This motif is echoed throughout the movement (Examples 5 and 6). Meanwhile, as mentioned, the movement hews closely to classical sonata-allegro form. The opening theme modulates to the dominant key of B-flat, whereupon we hear a second theme in a contrasting, lyrical style. (Here, we do not hear the cyclical material.) Energetic closing material rounds out the exposition. The development bandies the subsidiary ideas around in more or less remote keys, eventually leading us to the expected retransition and recapitulation in the tonic key. Note, as we end, the reappearance of motivic pitches in the pedal (Example 7).

 

Second movement

The second movement, an andante espressivo in the subdominant key of A-flat, prominently features the cyclical scalar material in both hands (Example 8). Cast in a spacious ABA song form, this movement not only calls to mind one of Beethoven’s “hymnic adagios,” but also the songs of Stephen Foster (who died in 1864) as well. It also reminds us of what made Buck so popular in his day. 

 

The secret of his success lies in his feeling for the voice, for he is a vocal writer par excellence. This is a gift. One may study the range of the voice and try to master its capacities, but without the intuitive sensitiveness to that which is vocal, the results are but poor; the music may be good but it does not fit the voice. This intuition is his in the highest degree, and his songs are rich, varied, picturesque, and stirring . . . [H]e does this so simply that we are unconscious of the mechanism, but feel the beauty and fitness of the whole.²

I agree in particular with the last sentence; to this day, we are likely to be “unconscious of the mechanism”! But we are not likely to miss Buck’s rich lyricism; and the theme of this movement is the very quintessence of nineteenth-century American song, at least of a certain popular variety.

 

Third movement

The third movement of the Grand Sonata, marked vivace non troppo, is a well-known scherzo and trio, which is reprinted (minus its trio) in the second volume of A Century of American Organ Music, edited by Barbara Owen. It is in the relative-minor key of C minor; the trio is in the parallel key of C major. Here, the cyclical theme is visible in the rising scale with sharp fourth (Example 9), and elsewhere.

 

Last movement

The final movement, aptly described as a “rollicking fugue” in the Morris liner notes, begins with a strong evocation of the cyclical theme. I have always very much enjoyed these measures, but never understood why Buck chose to begin the way he did. I suggest that the notion of the cyclical theme solves this problem neatly (Example 10).

And of course, the “rollicking” fugue subject repeats the very same pitches of that long-ago tenor line in the first movement (Example 11). This theme is an elaboration of the patriotic song “Hail Columbia” (Example 12). 

And we do not end this wonderful fugue—and sonata—without a final farewell to the motif in the last measures (Example 13). Note that this grand Victorian coda uses both of the little musical gestures shown at Example 2.

As mentioned earlier, this basic cyclical motive is not especially exciting. A rising major scale, wherein 3, 5, and 6 are colored by their lower neighbors, is not an innovation by any means; certainly it is not as historically important as the Tristan chord! But I think the evidence in the musical text is convincing. Dudley Buck consciously built his Grand Sonata with reference to that motif.

 

European influences

In retrospect, it is hardly a surprise. Buck went to Europe in 1858; he studied in Leipzig, Dresden, and Paris; his teachers included Beethoven’s protégé Ignaz Moscheles, as well as the then-current Thomaskantor, Ernst Richter, and others. This kind of motivic composition was hardly new at that time; there had been Beethoven, for a start, with his Pathétique sonata and Fifth Symphony; there had been Berlioz, Liszt, Reubke. (Speaking of Tristan, Wagner completed that opera in 1859, having laid aside his work on the Ring cycle in 1857.) Buck returned to the States in 1862, and accepted a job in Hartford. He composed the Grand Sonata in 1865. So, although he would not have been in Europe for the premieres of the Ring operas, there is no doubt that motivic composition was au courant and made an impression.

In his doctoral thesis, Butera points to the Grand Sonata as combining formal procedures of German Romanticism with “sentimental Victorian” parlor music.³ These turn out to be two sides of the same coin: the “parlor” idea of a chromatically inflected scale pervasively influences the entire work in a decidedly Germanic fashion.

It is thus most worthwhile to point out the modest, but effective, use Buck made of this principle. He would continue to do so: in 1880, he composed Scenes from Longfellow’s “Golden Legend”: A Symphonic Cantata, where the Leitmotiv system is very much in evidence.⁴

In 1877, Dwight’s Journal of Music published a favorable review of Buck’s Second Sonata, opus 77, premiered by Clarence Eddy in Chicago in November 1877. It praised the work in part by drawing favorable parallels to the Grand Sonata, which the reviewer found “ . . . somewhat too American in tone, uneven, and almost crude in places.” He also questions whether the classical sonata form is necessary, especially in light of Beethoven’s opus 111 and the six Mendelssohn organ sonatas.⁵ I do not question the youthful ebullience of the piece, its extroversion, cheeriness, and, in places, obvious lightness. However, such evaluations as “too American . . . uneven, and almost crude” should not daunt us. Further study of this composer—this cosmopolitan, lyrically gifted, all-American classic—is very much in order.

 

Conclusion: looking forward

Whatever its faults, Buck’s Grand Sonata has staying power. Very popular in its day, it has enjoyed high visibility wherever there is interest in Victorian or 19th-century American organ music—this, despite the frequent reaction that the piece is “too American,” mere “parlor music,” or, in a word, corny.

But what do we have, at the end of the day? Do we have a monument to a departed esthetic—a period piece—a curious and lovely heirloom? Do we have something like an amiable and slightly eccentric uncle? I think not—definitely not. The Grand Sonata is altogether more important than that. I am indebted to an old friend and colleague for expressing this insight so clearly. Joshua Banks Mailman, who recently completed a Ph.D. in music theory at Eastman, listened to me play the opening bars of the piece over the phone during a wide-ranging conversation. His reaction was swift. “My gosh,” he said. “Did Scott Joplin ever hear that piece?”⁶

Ragtime. Of course! It is so far to the foreground that it has gone unmentioned. The spirited, syncopated, mildly chromatic opening fits the style admirably. It is important to remember that ragtime and jazz both have roots, in part, in the idioms of 19th-century parlor music and popular song—idioms also very much in evidence in the Grand Sonata. And, as for the chromatically inflected scale on which the piece is based, the blues scale is easily extracted from it.

Granted, there are features of ragtime, blues, and jazz that are not present: what Joplin calls the “weird and intoxicating effect”⁷ is absent, among many other things. The piece is an ancestor, nothing more; it represents one of the streams of influence of these later styles. It seems to me that we organists have tended to overlook this.

Butera’s thesis accurately points out many salient features of this work, including both “conservative” and “progressive” elements. Among the former, he points out the use of sonata-allegro form; the four-movement plan of fast-slow-scherzo-fast; the employment of ternary forms; and a learned fugue to conclude. On the progressive side, he notes (inter alia) chromaticism in harmony and melody; tertian key relationships; dramatic exploitation of virtuosity (à la Reubke or Liszt); freedom of fugal treatment (ditto); and so on.⁸

To this good list we can add the choice of a style that would prove the ancestor of some of America’s most distinctive music; music that—like the war that ended in the year the Grand Sonata was composed—would fight to unite the “varied carols” of America’s singing. The result was to be a convincing, and world-transforming, musical idiom. This is surely quite a feather in the cap of a twenty-six-year-old composer. I say we should let him be as American as he likes. 

 

Dennis E. Northway

Dr. Dennis Northway is Parish Musician at Grace Episcopal Church, Oak Park, Illinois, a former Dean of the Chicago AGO chapter, Artistic Director of the Handel Week Festival in Oak Park, Illinois, an employee of John-Paul Buzard Organbuilders, recently Councilor for Research and Publications of the Organ Historical Society, and Chair of the 2012 OHS National Convention. He is the co-author, with Stephen Schnurr, of Pipe Organs of Chicago and Pipe Organs of Chicago—Volume Two, author of To Touch the Garment’s Hem: meditations before a choir rehearsal, and editor of The ChicAGO Centenary Anthology.

As part of the Organ Historical   Society’s 57th national convention in metropolitan Chicago (to take place July 8–13, 2012), we will visit the corner of Milwaukee and Addison streets in Chicago. Located there is Carl Schurz High School, a Prairie-style building from 1909 given Chicago Landmark status. It boasts a 1,800-seat auditorium with a three-second reverberation time and a spectacular four-manual pipe organ. We hope you will join us in Chicago to hear this instrument! This is the story of that remarkable pipe organ as told in correspondence.

The story of Carl Schurz High School, and its four-manual 1935 Whitelegg-designed M. P. Möller pipe organ, Opus 6373, is well documented in the more than 250-page factory file now housed in the American Organ Archives of the Organ Historical Society. This is a landmark instrument—it is intact, and in need of restoration. The saga of the instrument, and the final negotiations and installation presented in correspondence, is an important and interesting case study of a ground-breaking pipe organ. The instrument was once appreciated and has recently been largely neglected. It has not been heard in concert in nearly 30 years. Fortunately, neglect and disuse have preserved a large instrument that represents a revolution in pipe-organ building in America.  

We begin with a Western Union telegram dated September 1, 1935 from organ consultant Calvin Brown to Richard O. Whitelegg (1871–1944), Tonal Director of Möller, which states:

 

SUGGEST YOU COME HERE EARLY NEXT WEEK STOP FOUR MANUAL DEAL WHICH BELIEVE CAN TURN YOUR WAY ANSWER BY WESTERN UNION¹

Whitelegg came to America and worked with the Welte firm that later became the Welte-Tripp organ company. Calvin Brown’s interest in Whitelegg’s work may stem from the latter’s work as the tonal supervisor for a four-manual instrument on the near South Side of the city in St. Augustine Roman Catholic Church.² This large instrument in a generous acoustic would have made a profound impression on the listener. 

The Schurz instrument, with its vanguard specification for the time, is also highly noteworthy with regard to the speed of its implementation and completion. The specification is dated October 29, 1935 and was accepted in contract form dated November 4, 1935 in Hagerstown, Maryland. The Swell and Great divisions, played from the four-manual console, were heard in public recital on December 19, 1935—six weeks and three days later!  

The remarkable specification below includes an identical version of the three Great mixtures: the III Mixture, the III–V Cornet, and the amazing IV Harmonics, detailed by John Gladden Barr (b. 1938) in his 1977 dissertation, “A Tonal History of Pipe Organs Built by M. P. Möller, Incorporated.” This “experimental” chorus had been built by Whitelegg and placed in the west wall of the Möller erecting room in 1934.³

The compositions, listed in the dissertation, are given below:

 

Mixture III

15th 15th 15th 

19th 12th 12th 

22nd 19th 8th 

#1–23 24–40 41–61

C–A# B–D# E–C

Unison: 44 scale at 8′ CC, 1/4 mouth

Quint: 2 notes smaller, 1/5 mouth

 

Cornet III–V

1st

8th 8th

12th 12th 12th

15th 15th 15th

17th 17th 17th

#1–12 13–24 25–61

C–B C–B C–C

Unison: 42 scale at 8′ CC, 2/7 mouth

Quint: 2 notes smaller, 1/4 mouth

Tierce: 4 notes smaller, 1/4 mouth

 

Harmonics IV 

17th 17th 10th 

flat 21st flat 14th 8th 

19th 19th 12th 

22nd 15th 15th 

1–39 40–51 52–61

C–D D#–D D#–C

Unison: 48 scale at 8′ CC, 2/9 mouth

Quint: 2 notes smaller, 1/5 mouth

Tierce: 4 notes smaller, 1/5 mouth

21st flatted [Septième]: 8 notes smaller, 1/5 mouth

 

Carl Schurz High School, Chicago, Illinois; 1935 M. P. Mљller, Opus 6373

GREAT (Manual II, 5″ wind)

16′ Double Diapason (metal, sc 35, 73)

8′ First Diapason (metal, sc 43, 61)

8′ Second Diapason (ext 16′ Dble Diap)

8′ Harmonic Flute (metal, sc 50, 61)

4′ Octave (metal, sc 56, 61)

22⁄3′ Twelfth (metal, sc 65, 61)

2′ Fifteenth (metal, sc 70, 61)

III–V Cornet (metal, 269 pipes)

III Mixture (metal, 183)

IV Harmonics (metal, 244)

Chimes (from Choir)

Great 16′

Great Unison Off

Great 4′

SWELL (Manual III, enclosed,
7″ wind pressure)

16′ Salicional (metal, sc 46, 97 pipes)

8′ Geigen Principal (metal, sc 46, 73)

8′ Rohr Floete (wood and metal, 73)

8′ Salicional (ext, 16′ Salicional)

8′ Voix Celeste (TC, metal, sc 59, 61)

4′ Geigen (ext, 8′ Geigen Principal)

4′ Chimney Flute (ext, 8′ Rohr Floete)

4′ Salicet (ext, 16′ Salicional)

2′ Flautino (metal, sc 73, 61)

V Plein Jeu (metal, 305 pipes)

16′ Contra Fagotto (metal, 97)

8′ Trumpet (metal, 73 pipes)

8′ Fagotto (ext, 16′ Contra Fagotto)

8′ Vox Humana (in second enclosure,

metal, 61)

4′ Clarion (ext, 16′ Contra Fagotto)

Tremolo

Swell 16′

Swell Unison Off

Swell 4′

CHOIR (Manual I, enclosed,
5″ wind pressure)

16′ Spitz Floete (metal, sc 40, 85 pipes)

8′ Diapason (metal, sc 47, 73)

8′ Spitz Floete (ext, 16′ Spitz Floete)

8′ Spitz Floete Celeste (TC, sc 52, 61)

4′ Principal (metal, sc 62, 73)

22⁄3′ Twelfth (capped metal, sc 72, 61)

2′ Fifteenth (metal, sc 76, 61)

8′ Clarinet (metal, 73 pipes)

8′ Vox Humana (from Swell)

Tremolo

Chimes (25 tubes)

Choir 16′

Choir Unison Off

Choir 4′

SOLO (Manual IV, enclosed,
8″ wind pressure)

8′ Stentor Diapason (metal, 73 pipes)

8′ Major Flute (wood and metal, 73)

8′ Gross Gamba (metal, sc 56, 73)

8′ Gross Gamba Celeste (metal, sc 56, 73)

8′ Tuba Mirabilis (metal, 73)

Tremolo

Solo 16′

Solo Unison Off

Solo 4′

PEDAL

32′ Resultant (from Diap and Spitz Fl)

16′ Diapason (5″ w.p., wood, 44 pipes)

16′ Second Diapason (Gt 16′ Dble Diap)

16′ Contra Bass (5″ w.p., stopped wood, 44)

16′ Spitz Floete (from Choir)

16′ Salicional (from Swell)

8′ Octave (ext, 16′ Diapason)

8′ Flute (ext, 16′ Contra Bass)

8′ Spitz Floete (from Choir)

16′ Trombone (8″ w.p., in Solo enclo- sure, metal, 56 pipes)

16′ Fagotto (from Swell)

8′ Trombone (ext, 16′ Trombone)

4′ Trombone (ext, 16′ Trombone)

Chimes (from Choir)

INTER-DIVISIONAL COUPLERS

Great to Pedal 8, 4

Swell to Pedal 8, 4

Choir to Pedal 8

Solo to Pedal 8, 4

Swell to Great 16, 8, 4

Choir to Great 16, 8, 4

Solo to Great 8, 4

Swell to Choir 16, 8, 4

Solo to Choir 8, 4

Choir to Swell 16, 8, 4

Solo to Swell 8, 4

Great to Solo 16, 8, 4

Choir to Solo

Swell to Solo

 

ACCESSORIES

12 General pistons (1–12 thumb, 1–6 toe)

8 Great and Pedal pistons and Cancel (thumb)

8 Swell and Pedal pistons and Cancel (thumb)

6 Choir and Pedal pistons and Cancel (thumb)

6 Solo and Pedal pistons and Cancel (thumb)

6 Pedal pistons and Cancel (affecting couplers, thumb and toe)

General Cancel (thumb)

Combination setter (thumb, with indicator light)

Pedal to Great pistons on/off (thumb)

Pedal to Swell pistons on/off (thumb)

Pedal to Choir pistons on/off (thumb)

Pedal to Solo pistons on/off (thumb)

Great to Pedal reversible (toe)

Test button and light (for current)

Chimes damper (toe reversible)

Harp damper [sic] (toe reversible)

All Swells to Swell reversible (toe, with indicator light)

Swell expression shoe (with indicator dial)

Choir expression shoe (with indicator dial)

Solo expression shoe (with indicator dial)

Crescendo shoe (with indicator dial)

Sforzando reversible (thumb and toe, with indicator light)

What follows is a virtual flurry of correspondence addressing various façade decisions, descriptions of changes in specification, commentary on blower placement, wiring, etc. We shall see that many letters crossed in the mail on the same day! Because of the close time frame and the extant fairly complete correspondence on this groundbreaking instrument, let us explore the documentation for insights into Opus 6373 and its manufacture.

On stationery from the Board of Education, City of Chicago, Carl Schurz High School, 3601 Milwaukee Avenue dated November 22 to the Möller Organ Company, we read:

Gentlemen–

Enclosed please find the print of organ console which is o.k. Please note notation on reverse side of the blue print—console is to be movable and we are planning to place it on the stage, with three junction boards—one in center, and one on each side. Please tell Mr. Whitelegg I have changed my mind about “Horn” for “Solo Organ”—and wish Stentorphone in its place as originally specified.

Sincerely,

LeRoy Wetzel

The dummy façade pipes in the display were intended from the outset, as noted in a letter from M. P. Möller, Jr. to LeRoy Wetzel (Schurz High School’s choir director) on November 25:

Mr. Whitelegg has passed into the factory instructions that the display pipes are to be of natural zinc finish. Your comments on this will be brought to his attention.

November 26 finds Whitelegg writing to LeRoy Wetzel at the high school:

 

In reply to your letter of the 22nd, referring to the movable console, we note you suggest having three junction boards, and while this can be done, it is really very impractical. This method would lead to all sorts of trouble—short circuits, etc., besides considerable additional expense. You should arrange to have the cables come up either at the left or right hand side of the stage, preferably right in the corner, with long enough cable to reach to the center of the stage.  

In regards to the console being movable, this being an all electric action, there will only be cable attachments and it will be possible to move the console wherever you desire; but really as regards having those union boards, that just isn’t done, as in all cases tried previously it ended up in having to make a permanent job of just the one set of cables.

We are planning to ship the first part of the organ by freight Saturday, comprising the platform, pedal pipes, pedal chests, etc., and we are having men from the factory reach there to take care of the installation. I expect to be in Chicago in about ten days time. The organ in the Church of St. John of God Roman Catholic will be ready for ok, and possibly you will be able to give the time to run over and try the instrument as soon as it is tuned up.

Regarding the location of the blower, I am still of the opinion that it is more advisable to place it in the fresh air inlet; there is always a 12 degree rise of temperature from the air entering the blower until the time it gets into the organ and considering that underneath the stage that temperature is running as high as seventy and eighty, would bring the temperature of the wind up to ninety degrees, which is somewhat high and could be harmful in the way of drying out woodwork, etc. However, this matter can be left for decision until the men arrive for the installation.

 This was to be a special organ in many ways. In a factory order from Whitelegg dated November 27, 1935, we read:

 

The type of organ bench required is the pattern made after the one sent to Hugh McAmis Studios, New York, only made of oak in finish to match the console. As this console will be out on the stage for many public occasions it is necessary to have this special organ bench in preference to the standard style.

 

November 27, Whitelegg writes to Calvin Brown, 4539 North Richmond Street:

 

Dear Cal: I have just received your letter referring to the location of the blower for the Carl Schurz High School. Mr. Wetzel has written mentioning that there was some opposition regarding the location of the blower. Frankly, there is everything in its favor as regards the location of the blower in the fresh air inlet. There is always at least a twelve degree rise in temperature from the air intake to the outlet, which just for a few exceptional occasions, the temperature will normally delivered from the blower be around about 70 degrees. On the other hand, if the blower is located immediately under the stage, the temperature there is any where from 70 to 80, and figuring the rise of temperature as it passes through the blower, will be considerably warmer or a higher degree of temperature than would be good for the woodwork. However, you can settle this matter when the installation commences, but my preference would be where I suggested.  

Regarding the location of console, we have heard from Mr. Wetzel and they are thinking of having the console on the stage with three union boards for attaching console, either on each side or the center. This, while it can be done, is right out of the question in every case where this
[s]ort of console attachment has been tried, and the result has been failure. Here are almost certain difficulties as regards short circuits or bad contacts and always ends up in a permanent connection being made. My suggestion is that if the console is to be on the stage, considering the orchestra pit as first requested, it would be better to decide on which side the console would be permanently located and then have cables long enough to extend to the center of the stage.

I expect to be in Chicago again within the next ten days or so, no doubt will be seeing something of you then.

 

Calvin Brown was the recipient of a letter from Whitelegg dated December 3 discussing the console, blower placement, belted generators, commission, and concludes:

 

We are making every effort to have this organ playing for the 19th, that would be the Swell and Great divisions, hence the reason for going ahead with all parts and the necessity to eventually send a large staff to Chicago to get the work done. Well, I expect to be in Chicago next week, probably this week-end and will give you a ring in case there should be anything required in regard to the Carl Schurz School for discussion.

The same day, from Möller sales manager E. O. Shulenberger⁴ (who was “on the road” in Chicago) to M. P. “Ted” Möller, Jr., we read: 

 

I spent all forenoon with Mr. Brown and the Schurz High School. First, because Brown asked me to go out, and secondly, because Buterbaugh⁵ who arrived here yesterday with Kenneth ’phoned and said he thought they would have Union trouble. I am quite sure that we will have some trouble before we are through. Every employee around the School, including half dozen or more engineers, electricians, janitors, and some others, amounting to about a total of fifty-five in all, are Union men, and the Chief Engineer, while courteous regarding certain things, says that the electrical union even interfered when he fixed one of the electric clocks. It was a sad mistake, I think, that we built the platform there. Maybe the steel workers won’t find it out, but there is every reason to believe they will. That and the electrical work is the most serious. I talked to the Chief Engineer, the Principal of the School, Mr. Wetzel, and some others, and they said they will do what they can, and I told Buterbaugh and Kenneth to work and not talk.

In a letter written while he was in the Möller Chicago office in the McCormick Building, 332 South Michigan,
E. O. Shulenberger writes to M. P. (Ted) Möller, Jr., on December 4, 1935: 

 

Dear Ted:

I have your letter of December 2d. The boys worked last night until ten o’clock, and got part of the steel-work of the platform up, and so far without any interference. I understood that Brown’s commission was to be figured on the basis of contract price, less motor wiring, starter and platform, which as I remember was $13,650.00, or whichever was my original estimate, plus a Clarinet. That is what Mr. Whitelegg told me at the time. I will try to find out, if possible, about the grille, but I am not sure that I can make the contact today, and if I don’t leave the city later today, I will the first thing in the morning. I understood, however, that the sawed out grille as approved by the architect was what was wanted, and the architect, Iam [sic] informed, is final regarding all of those matters.  

I wrote you about the junction yesterday, and have suggested that the wiring be done to a junction board, placed on an apron of the stage, and the wiring from there permanent, since there will be no air. I think Mr. Brown will work that out, and he has the confidence of Mr. Wetzel, and would be the best medium to take it up.

I advise strongly against Kenneth attempting the motor wiring, and have told Buterbaugh toget [sic] an estimate from an electrical contractor out there, and send the estimate to Hagerstown. All the employees there are union men, and are watching what is going on. So far they have not interfered with the steel-work, but the Chief Engineer, who is in charge of the entire building and equipment, is a union man, and told me if the Delegate came in and found our men doing electrical wiring, he would start real trouble. The Chief Engineer said he don’t care, but that they are checked up very frequently, and what we might save by Kenneth doing it, might be more than lost by trouble that would be caused, and furthermore, difficulty with the inspectors could be expected.

Whether the generator is direct-connected or belt-driven probably won’t be an issue, but as we have all decided that the place for that blower is in the engine-room, there is plenty of room for a direct-connected generator. It would be impossible to put the blower and air duct where Mr. Whitelegg suggested and keep the organ in tune, as the temperature in there yesterday was below thirty, with a terrific draft, and no-one here wants to put it there. The engine-room is not hot, never above seventy, generally considerably below, and has all kinds of space. 

 

On December 10, 1935 Richard Whitelegg writes to LeRoy Wetzel:

 

The last of the Carl Schurz High School organ will be leaving the factory next Saturday, and this is almost certain unless some unforeseen difficulty arises, that the organ—at least the Swell and Great divisions—will be available for the 19th. I had expected to be in Chicago by this time, but there have been several matters which have detained me and again I must go up to New York, but I am still hoping to be in Chicago within the next three or four days.

It is indeed a considerable effort to get that organ completed in the short time: I gave it preference and hence the reason why the organ will be available as promised. I do not think that there is any other part of the world that an organ of that size could be handled on such short notice: however, nothing has been spared to make it one of the finest organs that ever left the factory.

On the tonal side of the instrument, you are going to find a very much more aggressive organ tonally than the one in your church: we have all the Great work unenclosed and the Mixtures—flu [sic] work a very sweet agressive⁶ tone, likewise with the reeds. However, I am sure after you have used the instrument a little while it will appeal to you much better than the late, Heavy Phonon Diapason type of organ.

Mr. John Buterbaugh will, I expect, have arrived in Chicago by this time. He has installed many of the larger Möller organs and in my opinion is one of the most capable organ builders we have at the present time. Mr. Buterbaugh will be in complete charge of the installation, and you will find him very tactful, diplomatic, and ready to co-operate in every way. In any case, I expect to be around myself for two or three days prior to the 19th, so will be seeing you.

 

M. P. Möller, Jr. writes December 14, 1935 to R. O. Whitelegg, in care of the Chicago office⁷:

 

In reference to your telephone call from New York this morning, I was very surprised that you were still in New York as I thought the New York work was to simply be the conference with DeTar on Wednesday and that you would be in Chicago on Thursday. I haven’t had a report as to what progress they are making, but as the organ must be playing by the 19th, or just what the schedule is. I really had not been worrying about it, as I presumed you were there and were taking care of all details.  

The third load is going today, containing the Choir and Solo organs and I presume practically everything except some parts of the case.

 

Whitelegg responds, in a report to
M. P. Möller dated December 16, 1935:

 

The plans there are to have the Great and Swell divisions playing on the 19th, which is all I promised at the time of signing the contract. 

I plan to give three or four days to the St. John of God organ, and also set up the tonal values of whatever is playing at the High School, and then return to the factory, possibly the end of this week.  

Yours truly, 

R. O. Whitelegg

 

P.S. Since the above was dictated, I’ve been over to Carl Schurz School. The work is progressing satisfactorily, Mr. Wetzel stated that he is ordering the balance of the contract tomorrow, and he is also asking for the list of suggestions on the other prepared for pipes, which I am sending to him from this office.⁸

 

Whitelegg writes then to M. P. Möller on December 20, 1935:

 

Dear Sir: Regarding Carl Schurz High School, the organ was available for use last night as planned, and is truly remarkable. In Mr. Wetzel’s own words, he expected a fine organ, but it has exceeded anything that he hoped to have.

E. O. Shulenberger writes to Calvin Brown, 4539 North Richmond Street on December 23, 1935:

 

I understand that the boys got the organ playing at the time wanted and can not do any more now until after the Holiday Season. I hope everything has come through satisfactory [sic] to every one.

We find a memo from the Hagerstown Möller factory to the offices in Chicago dated December 31, 1935:

 

The last load of the Carl Schurz High School organ will arrive at the High School on Monday morning, January 6.

Richard O. Whitelegg writes to J. B. Buterbaugh on January 17, 1936: 

 

Please let me have a report as to the progress of the Carl Schurz High School, in order that I can plan my future movements. I will be busy in the factory until the 25th, and plan to spend a few days at the completion of the organ you are installing.

Because it was a strict union house, and because of the heavy use of the auditorium during the day, we find sent to the attention of Mr. Whitelegg from Buterbaugh the following: “I am starting to do regulation this evening as we must work nights from now on.”

The prepared-for stops, the Vox Humana, Chimes, and Trombone 16′ & 8′ were called for by Calvin Brown on January 22, 1936 for the sum of $1,330.00.

The Vox Humana stopknob was ordered from H. W. Cramer by M. P. Möller, Jr., January 31, 1936.

The weekly installation report to the factory dated February 1, 1936 and signed by John Buterbaugh states: “Chimes installed. Organ tone regulated except Solo,” with a listed probable completion date of organ as February 12.

The following week’s installation report, dated February 8, 1936 states:

 

Solo and Choir finished, some regulation and final tuning of Great and Swell.  Probable completion date of organ is February 13th and dedication planned in about a month. Signed John Buterbaugh.

C. W. Nowell⁹ provides a report of All Electric Consoles (no pneumatics in consoles) built by Möller; a copy of this is in the file and is reproduced here. It may be surprising to some that Möller produced these in this period. Note the exceptional number of magnets in the Schurz console and the unique report configuration of that entry. (See chart.)

John Buterbaugh, who oversaw the installation of the instrument, writes from the Hotel Milshire on February 18, 1936:

 

The organ in the High School is entirely finished and is an exceptionally fine job according to all who have heard it. I have gone over it with M. Wetzel and he says it is beyond his expectations.

Calvin Brown writes to E. O. Shulenberger on February 28, 1936 and states: 

 

I am very much pleased with the job and your boys did an excellent job and I hope to have some more for your firm shortly.

 

G. N. Snyder, writing from the Chicago office of M. P. Möller to Richard O. Whitelegg March 13, 1936 reports: 

 

Mr. Buterbaugh and I drove out to the Schurz High School yesterday, and had the pleasure of meeting with Mr. LeRoy Wetzel. This is a case where the folks are most over-joyed with the organ and all those who had anything to do with its installation, etc. I have heard no man speak more highly of anything than he. He incidentally mentioned that Dr. Barnes had visited him a day previous, and that Dr. Barnes was most enthusiastic about the organ, making the statement that it sounded like a fifty thousand ($50,000.00) dollar organ.

 

Warfield Webb¹⁰ writes to Möller on April 20, 1936 and says: 

 

Understand you recently installed a large and expensive organ in the Carl Schurz High School, Chicago. As a writer for many, many kinds of publications, wonder if anything in the nature of a story about this organ has appeared in a music or school publication. . . Understand this organ is one out of the ordinary found in a school. Perhaps you may be able to give me some interesting data.

 

E. O. Shulenberger, Secretary and Sales Manager, responds on May 1, 1936:

 

The organ there is very much out of the ordinary as found in schools and has attracted an unusual amount of attention, so it should make a very good story. I am sure that Mr. Leroy Wetzel, head of the music department of that school, would be glad to assist you in getting any or all information, and Dr. William H. Barnes, the organ architect, South Wabash Avenue, has also made a lot of study on it. He has written an article to be published in the American Organist on the particular organ, but as this publication has not yet come out, I have not seen the copy.

 

Whitelegg writes to “Mike” Buterbaugh August 13, 1936:

 

I hope to be able to see and hear this organ after visiting Kalamazoo when that organ is completed.

 

L. B. (“Mike”) Buterbaugh, writing from the Chicago office, Suite 1742 McCormick Building, 322 South Michigan on October 12, 1936, reports, “The organ itself is in very fine shape.”

There is a great deal more in the file; however, this array of documents gives us a glimpse of what it took to get a large instrument in quickly. This also hints to the truth that all large instruments take a great deal of negotiation, in all aspects of construction and design, to fabricate and install. Opus 6373 is a monumental organ and completely intact. You are cordially invited to hear it live at the Chicago national convention of the Organ Historical Society this summer!

 

Listen to Dennis Northway play the Schurz Victory March on Möller Opus 6373 at: www.TheDiapason.com.