Impressions of the Organ: American Organ Archives Symposium

Princeton, New Jersey, April 23-27, 2003

Stephen Leist holds degrees in history from Furman University, where he studied organ with W. Lindsay Smith, Jr., and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has served on the faculties of Furman University and Georgetown College, and is currently on the library staff of Transylvania University.

The second symposium to be held at the American Organ
Archives attracted organists, organ builders and organ historians from across
the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany and Australia. Organized
by Stephen L. Pinel, Director of the American Organ Archives, and James L.
Wallmann, the five-day gathering of lectures, papers and panel discussions with
generous time to explore the archives was sponsored jointly by Westminster
Choir College of Rider University and the Organ Historical Society.

Thursday

Those who arrived early to the symposium were rewarded with
extra time to browse the American Organ Archives, the world's largest
repository of organ research materials, or to conduct research on individual
projects. The real opening of the symposium began with a marvelous afternoon
reception in the archive reading room on Thursday, April 24. The reception was
a great opportunity to see old acquaintances and to make new contacts. After
the reception and dinner, participants were transported to Christ Church, New
Brunswick, to hear a recital by Lynn Edwards Butler on the 2001 Richards,
Fowkes & Co. organ of two manuals and 24 ranks. The all-Bach program,
perfectly suited for this organ, was entitled "Hymns for the Seasons"
and featured chorale preludes for the Easter season through Trinity. This
outstanding performance was framed by Bach's Fantasia in c
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Friday morning

Lectures and panel discussions for the symposium were held
at Christ Congregation Church located across the street from the Westminster
campus. The commodious meeting space was ideal, both for location and
acoustics, as no amplification was needed, and speakers did not need to
significantly raise their voices to be heard. Friday morning, April 25, began
with a brief welcome by Allison Alcorn-Oppedahl, Chair of the Governing Board
of the American Organ Archives. The Keynote Address, delivered by Uwe Pape of
Berlin, followed with the topic, "Research on North German Organs and
Organbuilding--History and Current Perspectives." Prof. Dr. Pape, who
manages Pape Verlag and the Organ Databank, gave a detailed presentation on the
beginnings of organ history research in the 1920s and its progress to date,
making thorough mention of a variety of scholars and their work. He also
outlined his own work over the last forty years and his efforts to document
organs in northern Germany and make the information available through his
publications and those of others. The abstract provided in the symposium
handbook is a wealth of information regarding these themes, as well as the
mention of various archives in Germany that serve as necessary finding aids.
One of the continuing problems cited by Prof. Dr. Pape regarding organ research
was the shortage of funds for scholarly work. Much of this has to be done out
of one's own pocket during free time. An additional problem is that fewer
younger scholars in Germany are taking up an interest in the organ. Despite
these trends, the six states of eastern Germany are fertile ground for organ research.

Following the Keynote Address, Stephen L. Pinel presented a
brief report on "Current Developments at the Archives." This report
made mention of the three goals of the American Organ Archives and its
Governing Board, which are acquisitions, processing and maintenance, and
outreach, and what the archive is doing to meet these goals. The archive is
regularly in touch with scholars around the world to acquire publications, and
the use of Internet search engines and the production of a want list have greatly
added to the archive's holdings. Recent acquisitions include Hallens' 1779
treatise Die Kunst des Orgelbaues and
the archives of the Virgil Fox Society (summer 2003). Much of the processing
and maintenance is done by volunteers, but cataloging has been greatly
facilitated by outsourcing to Joni Cassidy of Cassidy Catologing, Inc. Outreach
has been improved with the website and online catalog, the use of Interlibrary
Loan, and frequent reports of activities and news. Stephen Pinel stressed the
importance of protection and stewardship of this collection for future
generations of scholars. 

The final presentation of the morning before breaking for
lunch was a panel discussion on "Current Trends in Organ
Scholarship." Chaired by James Wallmann, the panel featured Prof. Dr. Uwe
Pape, Paul Peeters of the Göteborg Organ Art Center in Göteborg,
Sweden, Rollin Smith, and Andrew Unsworth. This discussion focused on research
activities in the Netherlands, Germany, Scandinavia, France and the United States.
Bibliographies of important monographs and other resources were provided in the
handbook, thereby making the handbook a valuable tool to take away from the
symposium. All agreed that the degree of quality was uneven, due in large part
to funding and the organization of societies for investigating and documenting
organs. The most consistent work is probably being done in the Netherlands,
where organists in general seem to be well-educated about the instrument beyond
the repertoire, and government support for restorations includes reports which
are often published. This has served to maintain an active interest in the
organ in society at large, despite very low church attendance. Andrew Unsworth
pointed out that organ scholarship in the United States is steady, but slow,
with the most significant work being done by Orpha Ochse and Barbara Owen. Paul
Peeters explained the interdisciplinary nature of the GOArt Academy by pointing
out their goal of not separating the organ building, research, and music.
Rollin Smith demonstrated that scholarship in France has been predominantly on
French classicism to offset German influence in Baroque music, but that French
scholars are beginning to show new interest in the 19th century. Societies have
been instrumental in producing local and regional inventories of historic
instruments. Much work on the French organ, however, continues to be done by
scholars from other countries.

Friday afternoon

The afternoon session began with a paper presentation by
John Buschman, Acting Dean of University Libraries, Rider University, on
"The Changing Roles of Libraries and Archives in the New Millennium, Or,
Why Is It So Hard to Get Money These Days?" Likening libraries and
archives to museums and symphony orchestras, Buschman pointed out that these institutions
share a commonality in that they can trace their beginnings and support for
acting in the common good by educating society in individual and democratic
values. In recent years, this has changed as these institutions have become
more market driven to educate individuals for a workforce in an increasingly
technological age. Combined with the new emphasis on technology is a desire for
lower taxes and public spending. The impact on libraries and archives is that
they have had to move away from public funding to other sources of support.
Collection development has been cut with funds being redirected toward
technology. Even proposals for federal funding must emphasize technological
projects. Technological resources have redefined the library as a place of
study. Buschman believes that libraries and archives have inappropriately
followed the marketing model by viewing patrons as customers, with web traffic
becoming justification for more support. Buschman stated that it is essential
for librarians to emphasize public services and service to scholarship, as a
library's effects cannot be quantified, in order to recapture the original
purpose of libraries and reduce suspicion of public motives.

The second session of the afternoon was taken up with the
topic, "Organ Libraries Around the World," featuring Paul Peeters of
GOArt, David Baker of the Royal College of Organists/British Institute of Organ
Studies, and Barbara Owen of the AGO Organ Library at Boston University. Each
panelist explained the particular structure of their institutions and along
with recent activities and needs. Paul Peeters presented a diagram of GOArt's
interdisciplinary approach to research as exemplified by their recent North
German Organ Research Project. He further explained that their current library
needs are primarily books on materials and tools. David Baker's presentation
focused on the RCO/BIOS move to a new home in Birmingham, England, in
partnership with the University of Central England. The new library is tied to
inner-city regeneration by refitting an early 19th-century railroad station and
the "out-of-London" initiative. We were treated to a comprehensive
presentation on collection development policies, accessibility to services and
outreach programs. Barbara Owen explained the origins of the AGO Organ Library
as starting with the gift of a personal library. The collection has since been
expanded by more donations, although its collection has more to do with
organists than organ building. Much of the work is done by volunteers and
work-study students, and the library is currently unable to handle Interlibrary
Loan due to lack of staff. Boston University provides space and Internet
access, which has enabled the library to provide worldwide service. The library
is now occupied with developing an online catalog.

Friday evening

Following the mid-afternoon break, the final panel
discussion of the day was held on the subject of "What Organbuilders Learn
(and Don't Learn) in the Library." Moderated by Jonathan Ambrosino, the
panel featured Jack Bethards (Schoenstein), Bruce Fowkes (Richards, Fowkes
& Co.), Paul Fritts (Paul Fritts & Co.), and Scot L. Huntington (S. L.
Huntington & Co.). The panelists largely agreed that a library does not
teach one how to build an organ, that much still depends on experience.
Documentation helps answer questions about approach and resolve problems with
informed decisions. Printed materials and recordings are a start, but
ultimately, one has to visit the instrument. Printed information can also provide
important technical details. 

We were once again treated in the evening to a fine recital,
this time Joan Lippincott performing on the Joe R. Engle Organ, built by Paul
Fritts & Co. (Op. 20, 2001), in the Miller Chapel at Princeton Theological
Seminary. Another all-Bach program, this recital featured the catechism
chorales of the Clavierübung, Part
III framed by the Prelude and Fugue in E-flat. A stunning program from start to
finish, the Fritts organ was ideally suited to the music and space of the chapel.
Opening remarks were made by Martin Tel, the chapel organist, and Paul Fritts.
At Joan Lippincott's request, Martin Tel finished the evening accompanying a
setting of Vater unser im Himmelreich found in the Presbyterian
hymnal, which was rousingly sung by the assembled audience
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Saturday morning

The final day, Saturday, April 26, began with a paper
presented by Kelvin Hastie, Secretary of the Organ Historical Trust of
Australia, on "Organ Research, Documentation and Conservation in
Australia: An Overview of the Work of the Organ Historical Trust of Australia,
1977-2003." Dr. Hastie began his talk with a brief history of the organ
culture of Australia, explaining the influence of the 19th-century English
organ builders and their influence on the first Australian builders. Most of
the historic organs in Australia represent this period and style and are modest
instruments, with a few rare examples of large organs among the town halls,
most notably the 1890 William Hill organ in the Sydney Town Hall. Very few
organs came from continental Europe. Dr. Hastie further pointed out that the
first stylistic shift away from the English late Romantic organ came after 1945
when the influence of the organ reform movement appeared in Australia,
particularly represented by the work of Robert Sharp. More imports were coming
from Europe as well. The historic preservation movement came to Australia in
the 1960s, and the following decade saw the establishment of local societies
and a national trust. The OHTA was also established at this time and began a
Gazetteer project to raise awareness of historic organs. Today, about 50% of
19th-century organs survive in Australia, and the percentage is higher in rural
areas. The joining of congregations and church closures continue to threaten
the loss of instruments, but the rate has been low due to successful
relocation. Current documentation projects of the OHTA are the acquisition of
the shop records of Hill, Norman & Beard of Australia and Whitehouse
Brothers, in addition to notebooks and letter collections. A database is being
prepared with the goal of making it available on CD-ROM, though there is no
central holding library. The OHTA has established guidelines for conservation
standards and issues, and conservation and documentation projects now receive
government grants, as organs are classified as cultural monuments. Despite
this, Hastie pointed out, the saving of historic organs "still requires
constant energy and vigilance."

Scot Huntington, a member of the OHS publications committee,
made a brief report on "Current Publishing Activities of the OHS." He
announced that the committee was in the process of hiring a Director of
Publications and an oversight committee has been formed. In the meantime, book
proposals have been received. The goal of the publications committee is better
documentation of American organs through an opus series, a monograph series,
and American works on other organ traditions. Publications currently in
preparation are works on Hinners, Lawrence Phelps, Murray Harris, and Susan
Tattershall's work on Spanish organs. A special 50th Anniversary edition of The
Tracker is being planned along with a history of the OHS. An ongoing project is
the Möller opus list, and a reprint of Eugene Thayer's Organist's
Quarterly Review is almost at the printers.

Closing panel

The closing panel of the symposium was moderated by Laurence
Libin, Curator of Musical Instruments at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
The panel was made up of all previous panelists and speakers. Libin began by
observing that there was general agreement that documentation of instruments is
a great concern, but there had not been much discussion about what kinds of
information should be preserved and how. One example he mentioned was the
importance of oral histories. Kelvin Hastie stated that the problem in the
United States in terms of documentation was the absence of a methodology. Jack
Bethards raised the issue of going beyond academic work and doing organ
research simply for the fun of it, that there is a joy by itself in reading
older documents. Barbara Owen asked the question, "What does the
instrument itself tell?" The approach of visiting the instrument and then
following the paper trail in her view is a mutually supportive research
process. Paul Peeters and David Baker stressed the interdisciplinary nature of
organ research and the importance of research networks. Peeters specifically
drew the example of the North German Research Project, in which archival
information was very important to understanding the issues of sandcasting pipe
metal and winding systems. Libin suggested the importance of economic and
social issues, such as the function of guilds in stifling or encouraging
development. Baker also added the need for continuous vigilance to protect
archival assets. Scot Huntington added to this theme his own experience in
working with the Möller records, which represented a great deal of
technological change and invention. Jonathan Ambrosino also agreed with the
need to share information, stating that "not to share is to die." The
discussion was then opened to the floor, with symposium participants given an
opportunity to ask questions and raise additional issues. Among the topics
covered were conservation/preservation issues, professionalizing organ
research, and more effective means of disseminating information.

Archive

After lunch, the American Organ Archive was open for
participants to browse the collection or conduct research. Interest in the
archive was such that it was difficult to find a seat, and Stephen Pinel was
cheerfully busy providing assistance. I had the opportunity to conduct a little
research of my own, locating some photos for a forthcoming article, and then do
some browsing to while away the afternoon. The archive was again open on Sunday
for those who remained. I came away from this conference excited and refreshed,
not to mention with a host of more questions than when I arrived, which is the
kind of activity a quality conference stimulates. We will all be eagerly
awaiting the next symposium offering.

In closing, it should be mentioned that the American Organ
Archive is a wonderful resource for conducting research, not only on American
organs and builders, but traditions in other countries, due to the
comprehensive nature of the collection. It is significant also for music
history research not necessarily restricted to the organ, as many of the great
composers worked with other media besides the organ. Stephen Pinel and James
Wallmann are to be congratulated for brilliantly organizing a successful
symposium. Hearty thanks are also due to the members of the archive Governing
Board, the sponsors, and all those who assisted with the reception and break
time refreshments, especially Mary Jane Kress and James S. Palmer.
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New directions in US organ research

Quiet successfully the Organ Historical Society has added a new feature to its activities. On October 12-14, 2000, some sixty scholars and friends gathered at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, Princeton--where the OHS Archives are housed--for "New Directions in American Organ Research, a Symposium Exploring New Directions of Organ Research in America." The symposium was designed to showcase the handsomely arranged archives, in Westminster's Talbott Library, and archivist Stephen L. Pinel was the justifiably proud host. The symposium was chaired by John  Ogasapian, professor of music history at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, and a former editor of The Tracker. Attendees were treated to talks, discussion, and an organ recital. Hopes were voiced that symposia such as this might become a regular, perhaps annual, OHS offering. This reviewer, with a few qualifications, readily agrees.

The first speaker, at an informal reception in the archives room itself, was Barbara Owen. She recalled that at the very first meeting of the OHS a triple program took shape: the organ visits that soon ripened into the annual conventions, a journal--The Tracker, and an archive. She warmly congratulated archivist Pinel for the skill and zeal--and countless hours of 'overtime"--that have brought the archive to its present stature. It is the largest such archive--anywhere. Its primary focus is, of course, printed materials about the organ. In fact, it has a noteworthy collection of organ scores, but the emphasis does not lie there. (Collecting scores is the emphasis, however, of Talbott Library, on the floor below, and also, importantly, of the Boston Organ Library, housed at Boston University. The holdings of all three collections are in the process of being listed in Internet catalogues.) Talbott Library is also the Princeton repository of organ recordings. (Librarian Nancy Wicklund was on hand to explain the workings of her institution.) Ms. Owen noted that archives such as this, while laboring to amass past documentation, will soon be, and to some extent already are, confronted with large new dimensions of information--data that are in one way or another generated by or stored (only) in computers. Increasingly, for example, organ shops generate no working drawings of the kind that can be folded up and put into an envelope. She is the organ editor of the forthcoming Grove's Dictionary VII, and pointed out that articles in it will have Internet-accessible bibliographical updating. In response Stephen Pinel reminded the audience that an archive is not exactly like an active library; of course, scholars use it as such, but its principal reason for being is to preserve information--in whatever form. Scholars use it as a library, but so do students, and the OHS Archive is located at an institution that teaches a significant number of undergraduate organ majors.

It is worth remarking that this, hopefully, was the first such symposium. As a result, most of the talk took up "that which is to be done," and was less systematic, or theme-dominated, than what might be expected in the future. In his introduction to the prepared papers, Ogasapian suggested that the following of the organ in the US is "self-referential and limited," however perverse this might seem--too much associated, in the public mind, with religion, an ingredient (as sound tracks make plain) in Victorian kitsch. He speculated that sometimes exactitude in performance practice might be self-defeating; audiences might respond better to the performer's act in itself, or to the charm and complexity of the instrument itself.

The first two papers given might best be understood as examples of organ research, or of how further organ research might be carried out. Independent scholar Lynn Edwards drew attention to the new "Bach organ" in the Thomaskirche, Leipzig, and how it attempts to recreate the c. 1700 organ built for Johann Christoph Bach in Eisenach. J.S. Bach almost certainly played this organ, and yet it is probably illusory to continue the search for the "ideal Bach organ." A thorough professional and practical musician, he performed as well as he could on the organ at hand. What we can, however, understand better is the full spectrum of the organs at hand. Recent efforts at investigation and restoration in the erstwhile DDR have shifted our focus somewhat from Schnitger and Silbermann. Organ author Rollin Smith next spoke about organ ephemera--advertising pieces, service programs, posters, newspaper clippings, visiting cards, and the like. He provided samples, a nicely got up folio of all the above, including a fine color reproduction of the eleven-year-old  Verdi conducting from the console! The point of "that which is for only a day" is its immediacy: this is what they were doing, this is what they played. The field is open for our interpretation, but ephemera are hard data (at least of someone's advertising spin, if not Verdi's career); amassing ephemera produces, eventually, insights available in no other way. It tends to be the first thing pitched out when clean-ups occur. So keep a sharp eye out.

The second set of two papers dealt with, to say the least, broad vistas. If they sinned, they sinned by being a bit diffuse. Laurence Libin, curator of musical instruments at the Metropolitan Museum, suggested some quasi-philosophical perspectives on current organ research. Gone for good is the musical Darwinism of earlier efforts to understand the past, the idea that Western music is the leading edge of world music, and that Western music is improving--Wagner, say, being a mighty advance from the medievals. It would be better to consider various kinds of composition and performance practice as not only relevant to the time when they appeared but as permanently valid. Evolution may be considered to be adaptation to randomly changed circumstances. Importantly, changed circumstances include changes (apparently we should not say improvements) in the construction of instruments, so that instrument-making does in the end provide a driving force in the development of new musical styles. But how can, or will, the pipe organ change?

A rather more optimistic approach was taken by British organ historian Stephen Bicknell. The organ may well be contemplated with an emphasis on its abiding being as an artifact--as one would contemplate a famous if multi-faceted painting. No one has established that, somehow, organ pipes mellow with age, but they do stay around for successive, comparative modes of contemplation. Great organs exist as artistic wholes, and while they come about as vehicles for a repertory there is nonetheless much to be learned from viewing them as artifacts in their own right.

The first full day of the symposium ended with a fine organ recital by Westminster faculty member Stefan Engels on the 1935 Aeolian-Skinner in the chapel. He played the Bach Toccata, Adagio and Fugue; two of Vierne's Pièces de fantaisie; Dupré's second symphony; and two Karg-Elert works, his arrangement of Wagner's Meistersinger prelude and the rarely heard Kaleidoscope, an extended 1930 piece that is quite interesting (and may be found in the OHS Archive).

The final meeting of the symposium was devoted to free-ranging discussion. Points raised included, first, the real need for serious scholarship in the US. There have been exemplary books written in recent years in the US (including, I hasten to add, those of Rollin Smith), but it may be that The Tracker should expand or acquire a sister journal to accommodate real monographs. Secondly, a promising topic for a future symposium might be, in broadest terms, "the social history of the organ"--something along the lines of Arthur Loesser's Men, Women and Pianos or Craig Roell's The Piano in America.

The symposium was successful. There was a great deal of friendly, informed conversation among very intelligent well-informed scholars and friends of the organ. But the symposium was also successful in a way that, perhaps, its originators did not intend: the way presentations and conversations tended to gallop off in all directions really did offer a picture of current US organ research. There is a wealth of monographs done or in the making. There is a dearth of received modes of conceptualizing the area of interest as a whole. There is as a result a persistent anxiety as to how to reposition the organ in US culture. We need to distinguish more carefully between US organ history and the history of organs in other places that happens to be written by US citizens; there are many stories here, not just one. We probably need to work up a more purely secular rationale for being interested in the organ--I mean being interested not only in concert-hall organs but also in the secular value and content of any organ. We surely need more information on how the organ was "positioned" in previous space-time settings. So there is much for future symposia to do; it would doubtless be best to take up a single topic on each occasion.

Joseph Fitzer is a freelance organist and independent scholar living in the Chicago area.

Is there really no such thing as bad publicity?

I had my first real job in an organbuilder’s workshop during the summer after my freshman year in college. I’ve often told the story of my first day--I was stationed outside in the parking lot by myself with the façade pipes of an old organ, sawhorses, a garden hose, and a gallon of Zipstrip®. I can imagine the previous week’s production meeting: “save it for the new kid!” It was a tough start, but it quickly got better. I remember that summer as a series of adventures as we worked on projects throughout New England, and I’m still at it.

Along with many other firsts I experienced that summer was my first exposure to media coverage of the pipe organ business. We were working in a church building installing a rebuilt instrument and a reporter from the local newspaper came to do a story that was published under a front-page photo that showed a colleague “voicing” a large organ pipe. I knew that what he had in his hands was a dummy façade pipe (one of those I had stripped)--it was both amazing and amusing to see how serious and erudite an organ builder can look while raising a virtual languid. (Remember “The Emperor’s New Clothes”?)

Five minutes of fame

Since then I have read many such stories in local newspapers. They often get some important technicality wrong, giving us a chance for a knowing snicker, but they have great value in raising public consciousness about the instrument. Many an organbuilder has been made a local celebrity by a photo and story published in a home-town newspaper. Alan Laufman, my predecessor at the Organ Clearing House, was notorious for seeking out the press whenever he went to work in a new town. He wasn’t looking for personal notoriety, he was spreading the word. 

On a wider stage, Craig Whitney, veteran foreign correspondent and assistant managing editor of the New York Times as well as organist and organ-enthusiast, has published a number of excellent and informative articles in the Times in recent memory. In his articles, Mr. Whitney’s compelling writing focuses the interest of the layperson, and his reporting skills produce content profound enough to educate the professional. His contribution to our field is immeasurable. I have had countless conversations with people who respond to hearing what I do for a living by saying, “Pipe organ builder! I didn’t know there were any of you left.” But whenever one of Whitney’s articles is published in the Times, friends and family from around the country call to be sure I know about it, and for the following couple weeks, daily conversations with new acquaintances invariably lead to, “I just read a story in the Times about that.” It’s a special pleasure to be able to respond by saying that I agree it was a good story and he really got it right. For those few days, people seem to be aware of the organ business.

This subject is on my mind these days because of a story broadcast recently on WBUR, “Boston’s NPR News Station.” On January 18, 2005, the First Baptist Church in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts was destroyed by fire. The church’s organ was lost that night, robbing the neighborhood of the distinction of being home to two pre-Civil War three-manual organs built by E. & G. G. Hook. A month or so ago, I was approached by Keith O’Brien, a local freelance writer who was preparing a story for The Boston Globe about the loss of that organ. In the course of his conversations with church officials and members, he had learned about the work of The Organ Clearing House and asked me for an interview during which we discussed the preservation of nineteenth-century instruments, their artistic and historical value, and their relevance to modern music making. 

Working on that story Mr. O’Brien became aware of the Organ Historical Society convention about to begin in southeastern Massachusetts, and began preparing a subsequent story for NPR. He asked me for another interview and I looked forward to hearing what seemed to be a well-conceived story. It was to be broadcast on NPR’s Morning Edition so I knew I’d hear it first thing in the morning on the bedroom radio. There it was, the pleasure of hearing organ music on the radio news. But there was that familiar theme: “I didn’t know there were any of you left.” 

Most organs don’t burn up

On the surface, the story was just fine. It was nice that the Organ Historical Society’s convention was noticed and mentioned so prominently in the press. The center of the story was the “resurrection” of an organ built in 1876 for Trinity Church in Boston by Hilborne Roosevelt, now installed in Our Lady of Guadalupe in New Bedford. The organ had been little used, seriously damaged by water due to leaks in the church’s roof and tower, completely silent for decades, and made playable again by heroic volunteer efforts on the part of OHS members. I’m certain that those listening to the story were compelled by the idea of a group of enthusiasts working hard to preserve a slice of antiquity. But I doubt that a listener would understand that there is any good reason for preserving antique organs. Following several comments that included phrases like “fumbling with the keys . . . “ that did little to impress the listener about the skills of an organbuilder, the clincher for me was when O’Brien said with reference to the Jamaica Plain fire, “most organs don’t burn up--they just fade away.” Yikes! I hope I’m never inside an organ when it fades away.

Who am I, and why am I here?

The story missed the point. Or as I reflected after hearing the story, I should have made a point of making the point: We are not a small sect of aficionados preserving antique organs to satisfy our own interests. Rather, we recognize the beauty and historicity of these instruments for their relevance to modern worship and modern music-making as well as for their antiquity. It’s special to realize that a century-old instrument is durable enough for regular use. But we must be sure to point out that it’s amazing that the instrument keeps its place in our modern society on its artistic merits as well. The pipe organ is not a relic from an earlier age--and neither are we who devote our lives to it.

The website of the Organ Historical Society, <www.organsociety.org&gt;, is worth a visit. It will keep you current with the Society’s activities, and it’s a terrific place to shop for music and books. As I thought about the story on WBUR, I remembered that the Society’s bylaws are published on the website and I took a look to refresh my memory. Here’s the relevant excerpt:

2. PURPOSE. The Society is an international organization for friends of the organ. The purpose of the Society is:

(a) To encourage, promote, and further an active interest in the organ and its builders, particularly those in North America . . .

I think some words are missing--or perhaps a better way to put it, I think some missing words are implied. I doubt that the bylaws’ authors intended that the active interest we are to further should be limited to the “friends of the organ.” I believe that it is our responsibility to our art to broadcast its relevance, its beauty, its majesty whenever and wherever we can. If the organ world is considered arcane, mysterious, or worse irrelevant, how can we assure its future?

The cost of building a new pipe organ has increased dramatically since my introduction to Zipstrip®. When I was first in the organ business a new twelve-stop organ built by a premier builder was installed in my home town for about $36,000. Today, that sum will purchase somewhere between one and two stops. Imagine a hypothetical random survey of modern organists, asking them to write down an “ideal” stoplist. I bet most of them would show more than 50 stops. That hypothetical 50-stop “ideal” organ certainly costs more than a million dollars today. Put enough of those pesky 32s in the stoplist and you will exceed $1.5 million. That’s the equivalent of at least fifty or sixty years of the salary of many of the organists I know.

Any monumental public art work is the product of vision and ambition. It’s easy to underestimate the appropriate scope of the vision. The newly hired organist of a church can play on a tired old instrument for a few weeks and mention casually during coffee hour that the church needs a new organ. That’s an observation, not a vision. The vision--the credible, mature, thrilling vision that involves a new organ necessarily includes an understanding of the capabilities and priorities of the community. Does this mean that a vision has to be realistic? Perhaps a vision is realistic only to the visionary. Everyone else sees it as a fantasy until they are persuaded that it’s possible--until they can share the vision.

Seers have everything!

Cyrus Curtis (1850-1933) was a visionary. He founded the Curtis Publishing Company which brought him fame and fortune principally through the success of The Ladies Home Journal and The Saturday Evening Post. Our culture would still be the richer if Curtis’ contribution was measured only by Norman Rockwell’s nearly half-century (1916-1963) of cover illustrations for The Saturday Evening Post. (Now that’s an important patronage!) Curtis grew up in Portland, Maine where Hermann Kotzschmar, organist of the family’s church, was one of his father’s closest friends, a friendship that was close enough that the son’s full name was Cyrus Hermann Kotzschmar Curtis. The young C.H.K. Curtis was so fascinated and inspired by Kotzschmar’s playing that he taught himself to play the organ well enough to master four-part hymns. As he achieved fantastic financial success, he installed instruments built by the Aeolian Organ Company in his home in Wyncote, Pennsylvania. Aeolian’s Opus 784 was built for Curtis in 1896 and enlarged by five ranks in 1903 as Opus 943. Opus 1374 was installed in the house in 1916, incorporating Opus 943 as the Antiphonal Organ.1 But the lasting proof of Cyrus H.K. Curtis’ devotion to the pipe organ is the grand instrument he gave to the City of Portland, built by the Austin Organ Company, dedicated to his father’s friend, and known to this day as The Kotzschmar Organ. Today the Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ (www.FOKO.org) oversees the maintenance of the instrument and presents a popular series of concerts each year.

Was it Cyrus Curtis’s vision that the organ he named for his father’s friend would still be in prominent public use, a beloved fixture of a small city nearly a century later? (It’s a safe bet that without the municipal organ, we would not remember that Hermann Kotzschmar was the organist of the First Parish Unitarian Church in Portland for 47 years.) Was he challenging people he would never meet--those people who formed The Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ when a fiscal crisis ended the city’s financial support for the organ? How often do we take such grand public fixtures for granted? And let’s take a step back. Was it Cyrus Curtis’s idea to place the organ in City Hall, or did some enterprising bureaucrat approach the wealthy native son?  

Portland is the largest city in Maine with a population of only 64,000 people. The population of the metropolitan area is about 230,000.2 If five percent of American cities that size had hundred-rank municipal organs, there would be a lot more people subscribing to The Diapason. And why not? It’s simply a matter of public relations. Is there a visionary in your town? I know where to find the organs!                        n

Latin-American Conference of Organists and Organ Builders

The fifth annual Conference of the Brazilian Association of Organists and Organ Builders coincided with the third annual Latin-American Conference of Organists and Organ Builders in Porto Alegre, Brazil, from September 6-10, 1995. The amount of activity in the organ world in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay has grown considerably in recent years: the Association now has a membership of approximately 150 from around South America. The conference was extremely well planned and administered, and presented a cosiderable amount of information about instruments, both historical and modern, from around the continent. Excellent recitals and lectures were given, and the entire meeting was marked by a great sense of conviviality. About 25 people attended, many having travelled great distances. Most of the meetings were conducted in Portuguese, but those from Argentina and Uruguay were able to communicate easily in Spanish, since the two languages are very similar. Since several of the organ builders are immigrants from Germany, or are of German heritage, some German was spoken as well.

The President of the Associação Brasileira de Organistas is a very talented woman by the name of Any Raquel Carvalho, who was actually raised in the USA and studied in Georgia, so she is fluent in English and is well acquainted with the activities of the AGO. (Any Carvalho, Avenida Plínio Brasil Milano 2195/201, Porto Alegre, RS 90520, Brazil. 011-55-51-341-4349. E-mail: [email protected]) The Brazilian conference was patterned after an AGO convention. The secretary, and the person who founded the Associação in 1992, is Elisa Freixo, who lives in Mariana, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, where she presides over the fascinating Schnitger organ.  Josinei Godinho, a fine organist from São Paulo, is the treasurer, and Yolanda Serena is the secretary.  (For information: Associação Brasileira de Organistas, Caixa Postal 5, Mariana, MG 35420-000, Brazil.)

The conference was held at the Igreja São José (Church of St. Joseph) in Porto Alegre, which has a 1936 Rieger organ from Germany. António Darci von Frühauf, a native Brazilian, has been the organist there for over 30 years; Renato Koch helps keep the organ running. Recitals during the conference, scheduled each day at noon and 7:30 p.m., were given by Enrique G. Rimoldi, Buenos Aires; Dorotea Kerr, São Paulo; Osvaldo Guzman, blind organist from Buenos Aires; Elisa Freixo, Mariana, Brazil; James Welch, California; and Josinei and Josinéia Godinho, two sisters from São Paulo who gave a 4-hand recital. In addition, a chamber group from Porto Alegre by the name of Stúdio de Música Antiqua gave an excellent concert of medieval music on copies of period instruments.

Because the Igreja São José is also part of a local college, the church nave is equipped with closed-circuit TV monitors. All of the recitals were broadcast over these monitors, affording those in attendance an excellent view and a very informative experience. This was particularly valuable in a country where few have been exposed to pipe organ music. Before my recital at the conference in Porto Alegre (a city of approximately 3 million inhabitants), a local television station came to the organ loft and conducted a live interview with me, probably because I was the token foreigner who could speak Portuguese.

Lectures at the conference included the following: Mysticism in Liturgical Organ Music, Renato Koch, Canoas, Brazil; The Colonial Organ of the Cathedral of Buenos Aires, Enrique Rimoldi, Buenos Aires; Basic Organ Maintenance, Manfred Worlitschek, originally from Germany but now living in Santa Maria, Brazil; The Importance of Counterpoint for the Liturgical Organist, Any Raquel Carvalho, Porto Alegre; Structure and Organization of the Preludes and Fugues of J. S. Bach, Dorotea Kerr, São Paulo; Preparation for the Evangelical Service, Josinéia Godinho, São Paulo; Mexican Organ Music, James Welch, California; Music in the Catholic Church after Vatican II, Júlio Amstalden, Piracicaba, Brazil; The Restoration of the Organ of Maldonado, Uruguay, Sergio Silvestri, Montevideo, Uruguay; Preparation for the Catholic Liturgy, Renato Koch, Canoas, Brazil; The Use of Polyphony and the Organ in Iberian Monasteries in the 13th Century, W. D. Jordan, Australia (read by Any Raquel Carvalho); Lutheran Liturgy, Carlos Dreher, Porto Alegre.

Each evening following the final concert, the entire group had dinner at a different restaurant (including Middle-Eastern, German, and gaúcho churrasco barbecue), starting at the typically late hour of 9:30 or 10 p.m.

One of the fascinating side-trips was to the Centro Educacional La Salle in nearby Canoas, where Irmão Renato Koch, a member of the La Salle Brotherhood, is a professor, as well as a skilled musician, painter, woodworker, and restorer of antique art pieces and musical instruments. There are four noteworthy instruments in the chapel of this Catholic school. The first is an 1865 Merklin organ from Paris, bought originally by Bishop Dom Laranjeiras for the cathedral of Porto Alegre. Although it is dismantled at this time, Koch is in the process of restoring it. This one-manual organ with pedal pulldown has a 56-note keyboard, 25-note pedalboard, and 6 registers: Bourdon 16, Montre 8, Salicional 8, Bourdon 8, Flûte 4, and Trompette 8.

The second organ is the Opus 2 of the Bohn Company of Novo Hamburgo, Brazil, which until recently was the largest and oldest manufacturer of organs and harmoniums in Brazil (the Bohn Company now builds only electronic instruments). This 2-manual tubular-pneumatic organ from 1939 is in fair condition, and is very typical of many other Bohn organs found around Brazil.

The third is a one-manual portativ organ, built in 1977 by Siegfried Schürle of São Bento do Sul in the neighboring state of Santa Catarina, which was colonized by Germans in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Many towns in Santa Catarina still abound in typical German architecture; blond-haired and blue-eyed people are seen everywhere, many still speaking German. This organ of 5 registers (Bourdon 8, Flauta 4, Prestant 2, Larigot 11/3, Regal 8) has the unusual feature of a harmonium-style pedal winding system. I tried the organ, which sounded lovely in the large chapel, but I have to admit that keeping the wind pressure steady while playing was tricky, far more so than playing a reed organ.

The fourth is a small lap organ, built in 1980 by Renato Koch, for the Conjunto da Câmara (Chamber Group) of Porto Alegre, which performs medieval music. The woodworking on this organ is particularly fine.

At the conference round-tables, organists and organ builders had literature available about their work. I enjoyed meeting Sergio Silvestri Budelli from Montevideo, a very enthusiastic organ builder and restorer of organs and pianos. Markus Ziel, a young organ builder from the very Germanic town of Blumenau, Brazil, was born in Germany, but came to Brazil with his family as a child. Ziel also does fine work in hardwoods. Because of the severe tropical climate, organ builders in Brazil have an entirely different set of challenges to work with, not the least of which is termites, and Ziel discussed some of the processes used to treat woods for organ building in Brazil.

One of the biggest projects for the Associação is to catalog the instruments, compositions, and literature concerning the organ in South America, so that researchers can find out what is even available. I am still discovering important sources of information on Brazilian organs, and one of the most important found on this trip is a doctoral dissertation about the historical organs in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Written by Padre Marcello Martiniano Ferreira in 1985 and presented at the Instituto Pontifício de Música Sacra in Rome, it is entitled Arp Schnitger: Dois Órgãos Congêneres de 1701, published in Niterói, state of Rio de Janeiro, in 1991. This lengthy dissertation documents fully the history, specifications, scaling, and use of these landmark instruments.

As part of my lecture on Mexican organ music, I stressed the importance of publishing music and articles about the organ. Many South American compositions exist only in manuscript form or in photocopies which languish around the continent. I displayed a copy of the book Voces del Arte (the immense catalog of organs in Mexico, with beautiful photography) and copies of Mexican organ music recently published, urging the South Americans to find publishers for their works so they could find their ways into libraries around the world, not to mention Internet coverage.

Next year's conference will probably be held in Montevideo and/or Buenos Aires. There is also the possibility of an excursion-type conference, in which those attending will travel together on a comfortable bus through Southern Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina, visiting instruments and hearing concerts. With ground transportation, hotel accommodations, and some meals in a package, this would be an ideal arrangement for those not as familiar with travel in South America.

I also received invitations to perform on two other organ recital series in São Paulo. The first was the Festival Internacional São Bento de Órgão, which alternates at three different churches in São Paulo: Mosteiro São Bento (Monastery of St. Benedict), Nossa Senhora de Fátima, and Nossa Senhora do Carmo. My recital was held at the monastery. (The organ loft at the monastery is accessible only through the cloister, so only men may perform there. Women on this festival perform at the other two locations.) The concerts are open to the public and are very well attended--often there is standing room only. The monastery has a 1954 German Walcker organ (Opus 3219), with 4 manuals, 78 stops, and about 7,000 pipes. It is one of the best-maintained organs in Brazil, cared for by José Carlos Rigatto of São Paulo. Performers on the series this year came from Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the USA--truly an international festival. The organizer of this festival, which is funded in part by the Banco de Boston, is José Luís de Aquino, Rua do Manifesto 1435, São Paulo, SP 04209-001, Brazil. Phone/Fax: 011-55-11-914-8846.

The other series is sponsored by the Associação Paulista de Organistas (the Association of Organists of São Paulo). Concerts this year are taking place in the Cathedral da Sé, the Catedral Evangélica, and Igreja Imaculada Conceição, all in downtown São Paulo. My recital (of Mexican music) was held in the Catedral Evangélica, a large, reverberant Presbyterian church with a 1911 Austin organ of 3 manuals, which came some years ago from a church in North Carolina.  This organ is maintained by Warwick Kerr. For information, contact the Associação Paulista de Organistas at: Rua Carlos Sampaio 133, São Paulo, SP 01333-021, Brazil; Nelly Martins, President, 011-55-11-282-5651, or Dorotea Kerr, 011-55-11-210-5830.

One of the more unusual experiences on this trip was that of being on the same plane from Miami to São Paulo with Ozzy Osbourne, the heavy metal rock singer, on his way to a monster rock festival in São Paulo the same weekend I was to play in São Paulo. I introduced myself at the baggage claim as a fellow musician, and we wished each other well in our respective concerts.

Brazil is an enormous country, larger than the continental US, with endless possibilities for the adventurous traveller. A tip: anyone arriving in Brazil from abroad can, for approximately $440, buy a Brazil Airpass from Varig Airlines, which is good for five flights anywhere in the country. This Airpass has enabled me on occasion to travel from Rio and São Paulo to the Amazon jungle, to Salvador de Bahia, to Iguaçu Falls, to Recife, and to Minas Gerais. Brazilians are exceptionally hospitable, and I have enjoyed every one of my trips to South America. Please feel free to contact me for any information. (James Welch, 409 Central Ave., Menlo Park, CA 94025; Phone/Fax: 415/321-4422.)

When an organ builder creates an instrument for his alma mater, the stage is set for a career achievement and the conception of a work of art. Such was the case when Charles Fisk built his masterpiece at Stanford University. In the same spirit, Paul Fritts created the magnificent opus that was the centerpiece of an International Symposium entitled "The Organ in the New Millennium" at Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington.

This symposium was jointly sponsored by the Westfield Center and Loft Recordings of Seattle, Washington. It attracted organists and organ enthusiasts from all over the world. Scheduled events included four daily concerts, most of which were held at Lagerquist Hall in the new Mary Baker Russell music center at Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington.

"The Organ in the New Millennium" embraced multiple efforts to approach a fairly difficult subject. The participants had at their disposal an organ of the highest excellence, but no crystal ball. However, they proceeded to present their views of the transition between millennia in a series of panel discussions which served as a framework for the symposium.

Brainstorming

As one might suspect, predictions for the future were plentiful and to some extent, easy come, easy go. Despite the more predictable questions and answers, only a few panelists and participants had the courage to say they didn't know what the future might hold, and even fewer had the fortitude to admit that they couldn't be sure what the organs of the 21st century might be like. All seemed to agree that the artistic expression of the organ builder's art was here to stay and that quality far outweighed quantity as a worthy goal. Roberta Gary of the University of Cincinnati exemplified the spirit of the conference when she recalled a "5 star experience" as she discovered the John Brombaugh organ at Ashland Avenue Baptist Church in Toledo, Ohio. Martin Pasi described the first time he experienced the revival in American organ building at the Fairchild Chapel in Oberlin, Ohio. It was plain to see that a well deserved "lifetime achievement award" was in the making for John Brombaugh.

How often the wisdom of elders comes out in storytelling. John Brombaugh related, in somewhat hilarious detail, learning to sing as a child. With characteristic nonchalance, he claimed that he "never quite made it to soloist," because he "couldn't make his voice wiggle." However, he learned that the art of singing is the art of music, that the organ is a musical instrument, first and foremost, and that the organ must sing if it is to be musical. All agreed that "making pipes sing was much more important than making them hum." Hopefully, the reader will note that this was not a dry discussion of "historically informed" musicology, but a spirited outpouring of what the organ meant to these major players and builders of our time, mirth notwithstanding.

Music making

During the four-day course of the event, some seven recitals and fifty-four compositions were played on the three-manual, 54-stop Fritts organ. (See the June issue, pp. 1 and 19 for description and specification.) The presentation of this instrument, along with important organs of John Brombaugh in Tacoma, and Martin Pasi in Lynnwood, Washington, provided proof positive that outstanding organ building is alive and well in Washington State. Quentin Faulkner of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln commented that, "the Pacific Northwest builders are in the process of creating a new organ type that will not merely incorporate, but will fuse the previous organ styles that feed into it, and thus will transcend all of them." He stated that "There is of course an element of risk in such an undertaking, but also an immense amount of excitement and adventure . . . in leading the organ into a new age!"

What will the organ of this new age be like? This concentration of recitals gave the symposium participants a preview of the new directions a historically derived organ might take. In this case, the sum of the concert series seemed to be greater than each part. Far from being worn down, this listener attained new heights of perception with each recital and most fortunately the last concert was as fresh as the first. The scope of musical styles was panoramic. There was an almost symphonic element to the progression of concerts as it continued over this four-day period. David Dahl's opening recital served as an overture to the week's events with an exposition of the organ's considerable capabilities. Professor Dahl's 30-year career at Pacific Lutheran University is obviously capped by the installation of this magnificent organ. His opening recital gave him the opportunity to breathe life into the week's events with a highly varied program that included "A diverse suite" of some 13 composers, spanning time periods from 1583 (Frescobaldi) to the present (Cindy McTee and the late William Albright). It is interesting to note that Dahl has served as advisor for more than 30 pipe organ projects in the last 40 years and on the eve of his retirement was able to bring about the installation this superb instrument in his own university.

Hatsumi Miura, organist of Yokohama Mirato Mirai Hall in Japan, presented a program of 20th-century music which developed the theme of "new directions" and demonstrated the broad capabilities of this organ. She began symbolically enough, with A Prophecy for Organ, by Daniel Pinkham and ended with the cheerful Salamanca of Guy Bovet.

Margaret Irwin-Brandon, organist of the Unitarian Universalist Society in Springfield, Massachusetts, broadened the palette with fantasias and baroque transcriptions that introduced the listener to the lyric qualities of the instrument. She seemed to play the organ like a violin, rather than a Steinway and encouraged the audience to listen with their whole attention. To heighten their awareness of the sound of the organ, she invited listeners to move about the hall at will, throughout the concert program--a fairly brave thing to do, when you consider the sight of somber "ghost walkers," slowly treading from nook to cranny of the room. Her final presentation of Arvo Pärt's Annum per Annum was thwarted by the failure of one of the power supplies in the organ. This necessitated some quick thinking on her part to save the piece. It turned out that the rapid-fire computerized pyrotechnics of the "sequencer" overwhelmed a 5 cent fuse. Such is the irony of high technology when applied to an ancient form.

An organ for all seasons--a new organ type?

After these diverse presentations of organ literature, Peter Sykes, organist of First Congregational Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, gave a bravura performance of the Poulenc Concerto in G Minor and Maurice Duruflé's Requiem. This vocal repertoire brought additional awareness of the musical qualities of the organ. Rather than competing with the orchestra and choir, it seemed to expand tonal sonorities. Of particular note was the effectiveness of the Kellner temperament in providing a foundation for orchestra and choir. The pure chords underlying the choral passages of the Requiem hushed the audience and heightened the sanctity and depth of the music. Throughout this performance the listener was introduced to a kind of feminine nobility that few organs possess. Beyond power, this organ has profundity and lyricism.

Craig Cramer, of Notre Dame University, presented Bach's partitas, trios and chorales and revealed more of the intimate qualities of the organ and the hall. Again, the listener could not ignore the fact that the organ wanted to be played like a violin, rather than a mega-piano. And ever mindful of the possibility of finding the best seat in the house, this lowly scribe positioned himself behind a chair that is permanently reserved for the donor of the hall, Mary Baker Russell. An amazing discovery was a sharp slap echo that could heard there and nowhere else. Could it be that she has the worst seat in the house?

By the sixth recital, one would think that every stop in the organ would have been heard once, twice or even thrice. Nevertheless, William Porter of the New England Conservatory scored a direct hit with his improvisation on O dass ich tausend Zungen hätte (Oh, that I Had a Thousand Tongues). Yes, he played the thousand tongues of the rich reed choruses of the organ which, in this writer's opinion, take their place amongst the best reeds in any organ, anywhere. There simply are not enough superlatives to describe the perfection embraced in these reeds. John Brombaugh once remarked that the best reeds contain both fire and ice--that the blaze of sound has to include some measure of restraint or reserve as well as bravado. Paul Fritts has achieved this quality in his reeds.

The stage was set for the last movement in this symphony of concerts. Martin Rost is organist of the 1659 Stellwagen organ in St. Mary's Church, Stralsund, Germany, which provided  the inspiration for this organ. The Stellwagen and Fritts organs share the same lofty structure and noble authority--the Stalsund casework is enhanced with enormously imposing even magisterial statues, while the Fritts carvings display busty gargoyles, introverted sculptures and a few insects and other artifacts of the Pacific Northwest. Rost proferred a freshly revised concert featuring the music of Scheidemann, Ritter, Köhler, Brahms and Mendelssohn. He hushed the audience with the softest stops on the organ and rendered the Brahms Chorales with magic as well as spirituality. He closed the symposium concerts with the Mendelssohn Sonata in C minor, giving an air of restraint and modesty, like a Mozartean cadence. The crowd went wild with a standing ovation.

An overview

One must make the inevitable comparison with the Westfield Center sponsored "Historical Organ in America" at Tempe, Arizona in 1992. (See reports in The Diapason, June, 1992, pp. 10-12, by Herbert L. Huestis, and July, 1992, pp. 12-13, by Rudolf Zuiderveld.) What were the similarities and differences between these two gatherings? The Arizona conference featured the documented work of a dozen organ builders and opened up the lines of technical communications in an entirely new way. Trade secrets gave way to genuine "help lines" from one organ builder to another. This meeting was collegial and convivial in the same way as the Arizona conference, but lacked the documentation that was presented by the same group of organ builders seven years ago. Despite presentations made by such luminaries as Christopher Kent of the University of Reading, England and Hans Davidsson of the University of Göteborg in Sweden, there seemed to be more opinion than hard data.

However, the sheer number of concerts provided the opportunity for the organ literature to speak for itself as it related to this splendid Paul Fritts organ. An incredible variety of organ music was played during this session. It seemed that the organists who presented recitals took great care with the literature they brought to the organ. Few if any compromises were made, and almost all the music that was played worked well on the organ. (One cannot help but note the exception of César Franck.)

It seemed like a good opportunity to look at just how wide a range of music could be played on an organ that was built on a historical "platform," but was obviously an instrument of tremendous flexibility. In the space of four days, seven recitals were presented with a total of 54 selections drawn from 400 years of organ literature. It is interesting to note that of all the music performed, thirty percent was from the 17th century, another 30 percent from the 18th century, 7 percent from the 19th century and an astounding 26 percent from the 20th century. Two of the seven concerts featured music that was exclusively contemporary. This organ speaks to our own time with the same authority as the age of J.S. Bach. This is no small accomplishment and demands a very broad flexibility in both voicing and tonal development. Another aspect of interest was the unique ability of this organ to accompany choir and orchestra. The tonal palette of the organ was every bit as varied as any orchestral color and the Kellner temperament provided a resonance that is unknown in most orchestra halls.

This symposium provided absolute proof that historically inspired organs can attain tremendous flexibility for the performance of the repertoire. The Fritts organ was not at all restrictive, as an analysis of the recital content will show. It is capable of playing a very big slice of organ literature, very well.

"Off-campus" concerts

Three events occurred off campus, in "must see" venues that provided some of the most inspiring music and worship experiences of the symposium. Mark Brombaugh of the United Church on the Green, New Haven, Connecticut, presented a recital on the milestone organ built by his brother John at Christ Church in Tacoma, Washington. David Dahl has spent his long career at Christ Church along with his post at Pacific Lutheran University. To a very great extent, the sublime achievement of Paul Fritts at PLU can be directly linked to the inspiration provided by John Brombaugh's milestone organ at Christ Church. It is an understatement to say that they are cut of the same cloth. Mark's recital was dedicated to his father Burlin Brombaugh, who was present at the symposium. The central feature of this recital was a commissioned work on his father's favorite Spanish Hymn in honor of his 90th birthday.

A joint recital by Melvin Butler and Roger Sherman, both of St. Mark's Cathedral in Seattle, provided the opportunity to hear Messiaen and Franck, among other composers, in the newly renovated cathedral space. The 1965 Flentrop organ illustrates the long lasting values acclaimed at the symposium. In his opening remarks, Roger Sherman recounted the time that the cathedral vestry was presented with two proposals for a new organ by Dirk Flentrop. The organ builder had suggested a modest organ as an alternative to the lofty instrument that now stands in the cathedral. The dean's reasoning for selecting the magnificent organ that has provided a musical legacy to the city for the last 30 years: they didn't have the money for either one!

A final event was the participation of the symposium group in worship at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lynnwood, Washington. This solid, working class church is the home of a new organ recently built by Martin Pasi of Roy, Washington. Rodney Gehrke, organist of St. Mark's Lutheran Church in San Francisco, presided at the organ for the service and was assisted by a vocal quartet from Pacific Lutheran University. The symposium participants were enthusiastic to be sure and were matched by parishioners note for note and word for word as they fervently sang the hymns and service music. One could not help but observe that "richening up" the music worked so much better than "dumbing it down!" The performance of all this music suggested that the impact of this symposium was not so much its forecast for the future, but the presentation of what was possible in the organ music of the 21st century. The panel discussions were infused with humor as well as platitudes and serious presentations and readings of papers. Perhaps the greatest impact was provided by the "who," as well as the "what," and "why." The closing of the international circle of organ builders was amply demonstrated in the remarks of two European organ builders present, John Mander of London and Kristian Wegscheider of Dresden. It was clear that they felt the Americans, in their revival of the historic organ, had taken knowledge gained from the European masters to new heights and that here at Pacific Lutheran University "a circle of learning" was completed when they took this information back to the continent.

All that aside, the raconteurs carried the day when it came to preparing for the new millennium. The subject of "Cincinnati" had come up in John Brombaugh's remarks, and Roberta Gary quoted that city's most revered citizen, Samuel Clemens, who said that if the end of the world came in his lifetime, he wanted to be in Cincinnati, because everything happened ten years later there. Could it be, that like the celebrated Mark Twain, organ builders will always seek values that last longer than the fashion of the day? If this meeting is any indication, the future of the organ is in good hands in the 21st century.