The Organ Historical Society Fiftieth Anniversary Convention (part 1)

Frank Rippl is a graduate of Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Miriam Clapp Duncan and Wolfgang Rübsam. He is co-founder of the Appleton Boychoir, coordinator of the Lunchtime Organ Recital Series in the Appleton, Wisconsin area, and has been organist/choirmaster at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Appleton since 1971.

I arrived in Cleveland on July 5th with a mixture of emotions. I was glad to revisit a city I enjoyed many years ago when I took a summer course in Orff Schulwerk at Case Western Reserve University, but I was in a bit of a funk after my flight that was supposed to leave the day before was canceled. United’s friendly skies were shut down by a computer glitch. But I finally found myself in this beautiful city with its elegant buildings on Lake Erie. I give extra snaps to any city that has light rail service from its airport to the center of downtown. At the Marriott, I had a corner room with lots of windows and a great view of the famous Terminal Tower. I felt better. I was reminded of the quote our brochure had printed from an ad published by Cleveland organbuilder Walter Holtkamp, Sr. (1894–1962): “A town of good organs, a profitable place to visit.” After I registered, I looked over the 284-page convention Atlas, which contained extraordinary amounts of information on the organs, venues, and towns we were to visit. It began with a fascinating monograph by Stephen Pinel entitled “The Early Organ Culture of Cleveland,” loads of colorful pictures, and ads (including a reprinted one from long ago that featured Jesse Crawford promoting “Barbasol”).

Pre-convention concert
After greeting lots of old OHS friends, I boarded a bus for Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and a pre-convention event. The cathedral grew out of Cleveland’s oldest congregation, Trinity Church, founded in 1816. They built Cleveland’s first church in 1829. The present Indiana limestone building, designed by Cleveland architect Charles F. Schweinfurth in the English perpendicular Gothic design, was completed in 1907, and contains several bits of historic beauty: a 1457 cross beam from Southwark Cathedral, London, some windows from the 14th and 15th centuries as well as some by Tiffany, plus Oberammergau carvings. If that weren’t enough, they have two organs by Dirk Flentrop: a 2-manual, 13-stop organ from 1976 in the choir, and the 1977 3-manual, 39-stop instrument in a small gallery above the rear entrance. Horst Buchholz, cathedral organist, greeted us, as did Michael Barone, who would serve as an unofficial host throughout the week. He introduced convention chairperson Joseph McCabe, half of his former self. His weight loss was the envy of all of us. We then sang “O Beautiful for Spacious Skies,” it being July 5.

Both organs were used—Dr. Buchholz played the smaller choir organ and Alison Luedecke the larger organ at the other end of the building. Most of the concert was played by Dr. Luedecke, who began with a spirited reading of Bruhns’s well-known Praeludium in E minor—a great demonstration piece. Then came Pachelbel’s Variations on “Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele,” featuring one of the organ’s lovely cornets, and the clear 4′ flutes. Next was the Bach/Vivaldi Concerto in A Minor, listed in the program as Prelude and Fugue in A Minor—J. S. Bach. This cheery music was just right for an opening concert of the convention and was well suited to the instrument at hand. She next played Irish Jig for the Feet by Mary Beth Bennett, a charmer of a piece—airy and graceful. Buchholz and Luedecke then added some pieces by Melchior Franck and Hermann Schein, using both organs to show off stops we had not heard—kromhoorns and the like. Luedecke ended with the Doppel Fugue über ‘Heil dir im Siegeskranz’ (God Save the King) by John Knowles Paine. She played it well—untangling both fugue subjects with ease.

Opening concert
The official opening concert was that evening at the Cleveland Masonic and Performance Arts Center, with a recital by Peter Richard Conte on the 4-manual, 41-rank Austin organ, Opus 823, from 1919. The building is an enormous weathered brick structure, and the large auditorium has steep stadium seating. Its former elegance is somewhat faded, but the acoustics are good and the room is still used for recordings by the Cleveland Orchestra. To the left of the stage is a 4-manual Wurlitzer console awaiting its pipes; work is ongoing. The Austin console is in a somewhat cramped nest above and to the right of the stage; the pipes are in a chamber above the console. A large movie screen center stage projected a close-up of Conte’s hands. Technical difficulties with the camera or the projector provided more distraction than necessary, but it was still good fun to see those famous hands at work. This recital was both the closing concert of the ATOS convention and the opening concert of the OHS convention—it was a treat to share a common bond. There were a surprisingly large number of people present who belonged to neither organization.
The concert was vintage Conte. He began with his own transcription of Bernstein’s Overture to Candide, then an assured and strong reading of Guilmant’s Marche Religieuse, op. 15, no 2, and two transcriptions from Widor’s Bach’s Memento: Pastorale, in which we heard the beautiful Clarinet and Oboe stops, and Mattheus-Final. Conte then played his own transcription of Fritz Kreisler’s Variations on a Theme of Arcangelo Corelli. His right hand bounced effortlessly between Swell and Choir without missing a beat—when you are used to the six-manual Wanamaker console, a four-manual instrument must be mere child’s play.
Robert Elmore’s Fantasy on Nursery Tunes followed, a charming piece, great for introducing the organ to children—if they still know the old nursery tunes! Conte brought the program to a close with the Final by Franck. Throughout the evening he spoke to his large audience with humor and grace. It was a brilliant and virtuoso performance.

Monday, 6 July 2009
After a pleasant drive out in the green countryside on a sunny, cloudless morning, we arrived at St. Martin of Tours Roman Catholic Church in Valley City, Ohio, to hear Andrew Scanlon demonstrate the tonally intact 1881 Odenbrett & Abler organ, built in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The 2-manual, 19-stop organ stands in the rear balcony of the church, which dates from 1861, and is now used as a chapel for a larger structure next door, built in 2002. A handsome organ, with polished tin façade and butternut case, it is believed to be the last extant instrument by this builder. Paul Marchesano announced that this organ will receive an OHS Historic Citation.
Andrew Scanlon, recently appointed to East Carolina University and to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Greenville, South Carolina, opened with Marche Romaine by Gounod. He played it with fine breadth, giving a good demonstration of the warm chorus sounds of each manual. Next were two pieces by Langlais: Prière from 24 Preludes, in which we heard a clear and lovely Oboe; and Elévation, from Suite médiévale, which features the tune Adoro te devote. Everyone loved this organ!
Mendelssohn’s Prelude in C Minor followed. It was registered boldly, creating a good contrast to the Langlais. Scanlon played it with great vigor using this fine organ’s resources nicely. He then played Folk Tune, from Percy Whitlock’s Five Short Pieces. I loved the solo Open Diapason 8′ with its warm, room-filling sound in the tenor register.
The hymn was “Christ the Lord is risen again” (Orientis partibus); the French Medieval tune was most appropriate for this church. Next was Everett Titcomb’s Regina Coeli, in which we heard a goodly variety of this fine organ’s stops. Scanlon closed with Bach’s Fugue in E-flat, BWV 552 (St. Anne). Every line was clearly delineated in this great piece on an organ with no mixtures. We heard refined voicing and first-rate playing!
We then proceeded to Berea and St. Adalbert’s Roman Catholic Church, the oldest Polish church in Ohio, and its 1904 organ by Cleveland organbuilder Votteler-Hettche (2 manuals, 9 stops). The performers were Dennis Northway and his student and former Biggs Fellow Adam Gruber. The parish priest reported that the organ cost $6,000, and was just restored for $25,000! Attractive white and gold altars with statues stood beneath a half dome in the apse, which featured a painting of the ascending Christ. Pink marble lined the sanctuary.
Northway began with Pachelbel’s Ciacona in D Minor, making each voice of this lovely organ shine in the 16 variations; the flutes were especially nice. Sixteen-year-old Adam Gruber gave us some Rheinberger: Three Trios, op. 49. During the hymn, “Come, Labor On,” Ora Labora, teacher and student shared the bench, playing with four hands—this added “upperwork” to the sound. Northway inserted a piece not in the program, In a Quiet Mood, a gentle reflection by Arkansas composer Florence Price. Gruber ended with the Toccata in D Minor by Gordon Balch Nevin.

We then went to the grand old Masonic Temple in Lakewood for a hearty lunch in its basement. We worked off our lunch by climbing several flights of stairs to the grand old lodge room, where we heard a concert by OHS favorite William Aylesworth, playing the 2-manual, 13-stop Votteler-Holtkamp-Sparling organ, Opus 1287, from 1916; it stands in a balcony opposite the stage in this elegant room, which is decorated in an Egyptian motif all around.
Aylesworth began, appropriately enough, with Masonic March by Theo Bonheur (Charles A. Rawlings, 1857–ca. 1930), which bounced along in good fashion. Next were Frederick Archer’s (1838–1901) Prelude, which demonstrated the lovely strings, and Motivo, a quiet little piece, followed by Summer Fancies, op. 38, no. 2, by Rossetter G. Cole (1866–1952).
Next was Choral Hymn by William Spark (1823–1897), in which the warm-throated Great Diapason alternated with the Swell Vox Humana. Guilmant’s Mélodie, op. 46, no. 4, followed. The last piece was Under the Double Eagle by Josef Franz Wagner (1856–1908). Bill got us all clapping in unison to the irresistible pulse of this music. This was another fine demonstration of a historic organ by a player with a keen insight into instruments from this period, and who always chooses literature appropriate to the instrument and the culture of its time.
I daresay that the next venue was a big reason many of us came to this particular convention: the opportunity to hear the famous 1957 4-manual, 44-stop Beckerath organ in Cleveland’s Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in an all-Bach recital by Joan Lippincott. When we pulled up to the church, it seemed somehow strange that such a fine and famous organ could be standing in a church that had clearly fallen on hard times. The 1874 structure was in a rather ordinary neighborhood. Its interior was in sad shape, with peeling paint and water stains, but up in the balcony, sure enough, was the Beckerath—its case painted in various shades of blue with gold trim. The church’s warm and positive young minister has brought the parish back from the brink of closing. The organ is being restored, and has brought in many new members, who come from other parts of the city to hear it played and to enjoy his fine preaching. The significance of this organ cannot be overstated. Our Atlas had this to say about it and other European tracker organs imported in the late 1950s: “ . . . these instruments provided fuel for the first chapter of America’s own tracker revival, for player and builder alike.”
We began with the hymn Nun Danket, and sang a verse in German and then repeated the first verse in English, singing in parts. Two selections from the Leipzig Chorales followed. In Nun Danket alle Gott, BWV 657, Lippincott used the powerful Cornet from the Rückpositiv. In Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele, BWV 654, she used that Great 8′ Principal to accompany the Cornet on the Kronpositiv. Next came the Prelude and Fugue in C Major (9/8), BWV 547. Pure exultant joy permeated every note. The phenomenal fugue has four voices on the manuals, saving the pedal for the end, when it presents the subject in augmentation. The full organ sound is magnificent: grand and yet transparent.
Lippincott then played the E-flat Trio Sonata, BWV 525. The third movement was taken perhaps a bit too fast, and got a little shaky, but she brought it along nicely. She ended with a first-rate performance of the Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor, BWV 582. Lippincott clearly has great affection for each piece and for this wonderful organ.
Late in the afternoon, we returned downtown to our hotel for a lecture given by John Ferguson on “The Life of Walter Holtkamp, Sr.” It was a fascinating walk through the career of this pivotal figure in American organ building. Professor Ferguson pointed out Mr. Holtkamp’s desire to learn from but not copy the old masters. His organs were on low wind pressure, and he used slider chests, but they were not encased; the pipes were displayed. Those visual designs were stunning to mid-20th-century Americans, and he would build the first mid-20th-century American trackers. Holtkamp was a strong-willed man, but was a colleague to his fellow organ builders, and went on to form APOBA in 1941.
After another superb dinner at the Marriott (the chef was amazing!), I walked the few blocks to St. John the Evangelist Catholic Cathedral for the evening concert by Ken Cowan, playing the Votteler-Holtkamp-Sparling organ from 1948. There are actually two organs: one in the gallery, and one in the chancel, with two duplicate 3-manual stopkey consoles, each controlling both organs. The gallery organ has its Great division mounted on the railing in a kind of case with pipework unenclosed. The Swell and Choir divisions are enclosed in chambers on either side of the rear window, with the Pedal spread out between the manual divisions. The chancel organ is behind a gorgeous, hand-carved wooden screen that stands behind the altar. With a generous amount of reverberation, beautiful and even voicing, this is a very nice organ. Cowan was joined by trumpeter Jack Sutte of the Cleveland Orchestra. (On a personal note, I would learn that evening that Mr. Sutte’s father, the late John Sutte, was a classmate of mine at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. Meeting this brilliant young trumpeter was very moving for me.) The fading evening sun faintly lit the stained glass windows from Munich as we eagerly awaited the concert.
Cowan opened with Mendelssohn’s Overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, transcribed by Samuel P. Warren. The sounds were marvelous in the splendid acoustics of the cathedral. Cowan is a master colorist, registering his pieces with uncommon sensitivity. Elegant use of the Swell and Choir shades are Cowan trademarks. His second piece, Stimmen der Nacht, op. 142, no. 1, by Sigfrid Karg-Elert, demonstrated the beautiful strings and the Vox Humana. A warm and wonderful piece, it grew to a full sound, then pulled back to a bubbling flute on the Choir and the Vox Humana—beautiful sounds.
After a brief crash of the solid-state combination system, they managed to repair it and were able to move on to what I found to be the most interesting piece of the evening, Okna Fenster: Windows, after Marc Chagall, a four-movement work by Petr Eben for organ and trumpet. I. Blue Window dashed all over the place leaving splashes of color in every corner of the cathedral. II. Green Window was more serene, with muted trumpet and Messiaen-like sounds. The serenity gave way to darker images and louder organ tone with a growling 16′ pedal reed. A more playful section followed, and we returned to sounds heard at the beginning. III. Red Window began ff in the organ. The Swell closed a bit as the trumpet joined. The music was reminiscent of “Night on Bald Mountain.” Things calmed down a bit, but that darker imagery was never far away, and it returned. IV. Gold Window began with the theme (a Russian Orthodox chant many of us knew from the Episcopal Hymnal 1982 in a setting of “The Beatitudes”) played on the foundation stops. There was dialogue material between trumpet and organ, ending with a toccata-like section. Fantastic music!
After intermission, Cowan began the second half with Reger’s Introduction and Passacaglia in F Minor, op. 63. It rolled through the gothic arches of this splendid building. He played it masterfully, using the expression pedals to create wonders of shading. For the first time that evening, we heard the full magnificence of this organ. He next played Elegy by George Thalben-Ball. They inserted a piece by Tomassi entitled Holy Week at Cusco. Sutte joined Cowan, alternating between piccolo trumpet and regular trumpet, which was muted at times. We then sang that glorious hymn “I Vow to Thee My Country,” whose tune comes from Holst’s The Planets—Jupiter. It made every Anglophile’s spine tingle!
Ken Cowan closed the program with Variations on ‘The Star Spangled Banner’ by Dudley Buck. It was played at the request of convention chairperson Joseph McCabe, and was just the right dessert following the dense music that preceded it. We all sang along on the last variation. Cowan played with total abandon and clarity—he makes everything he plays sound so easy. Thus ended the first full day.

Tuesday, 7 July 2009
Our first stop on Monday took us to Cleveland’s Pilgrim Congregational Church UCC, a massive Richardsonian Romanesque structure, to hear their 3-manual, 36-stop Farrand & Votey organ, Opus 719, from 1894. The organ was rebuilt several times; in 1992 it was restored by the Holtkamp Organ Company. (Our Atlas told us that Walter Holtkamp, Sr. attended this church as a boy.) It stands proudly right up front in this Akron-plan building. The pipes are handsomely stenciled, and the case is crowned with a wooden statue of an angel blowing a trumpet.

The concert was given by Stephen Schnurr, his student Micah Raebel, whom we heard at the 2007 convention in Indiana, and young tenor Nathan Leath. We began with the hymn “All hail the pow’r of Jesus’ Name” (Coronation), using both piano (Raebel) and organ (Schnurr). They then launched into a surprisingly effective piano-organ arrangement of Franck’s Prelude, Fugue and Variation, op. 18. Next, Schnurr played a lovely Berceuse (1911) by James H. Rogers (1857–1940). We heard many attractive sounds of this beautiful organ, especially the strings, flutes, and the Concert Flute. The next piece was also by Rogers, Theme and Variations, ‘Second Suite’ (1915), which showed off the fine Doppel Floete and Oboe.
Two more pieces by Rogers followed: Two Offertory Songs: 1. Today if ye will hear his voice, and 2. Out of the Depths. Leath sang and Raebel accompanied him on the organ. Both young men did very well with this literature, which was well-suited to this grand old building and organ. Micah Raebel then ended the concert with a dashing performance of the splendid Toccata (from Dix Pièces) by Eugène Gigout. I give Steven Schnurr and Dennis Northway much credit for sharing the spotlight of a national convention recital with their students.

Our second stop of the day took us to a sad yet proud place: the beautiful St. Procop’s (short for Procopius) Catholic Church in Cleveland, founded as a Czech parish in the late 19th century. I admired the beautiful marble altars and statuary, the windows, and wall decoration. I found myself seated next to a very old man, well into his late 80s. I asked him if he was a member of this church, and he said that he was, but added, “it’s a dirty shame, though. The bishop is going to close it on October 30. He is closing 50 churches in the diocese.” His voice was bitter and sad. He told me that he and his wife were married there many years ago. A nun who was in charge of the parish proudly touted the fact that she had brought the parish into the black—all bills were paid; but it was still closing on October 30. We presented her with an album of photographs our superb OHS photographers had taken of this beautiful church. She was deeply touched.
The organ was in the rear balcony: a 2-manual, 22-stop, 1913 instrument by Votteler-Hettche, originally tubular-pneumatic, now changed to electric action. The organ had not been heard in many years, but was made playable for this concert by several OHS volunteers. Many members of the parish had joined us, eager to hear the organ once again.
The recitalist was Randy Bourne, who began with Wagner’s Friedensmarsch from Rienzi. With the first sound emanating from the organ, the dear old man next to me jumped slightly; he then leaned forward. After a moment, I noted a tear fall from his eyes to the floor. It broke my heart. Such is the power a pipe organ and its history in the building in which it stands has over our hearts and emotions. The piece was a grand gesture to this gracious old building and the people who worshiped there.
Beethoven’s Minuet in G major, WoO 10, no. 6, was next, smartly played on a variety of 8-foot stops. A cipher, unfortunately, began on the Swell, and many hands attempted to repair it. Soon enough, it was just fine again, and we went on to the third piece, Mélodie in E-flat Major (Souvenir d’un lieu cher, op. 42, no. 3) by Tchaikovsky. (The Wagner, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky pieces were all played by Edwin Arthur Kraft at the dedication of this organ.) We all admired the sweet tones of an instrument whose fate is unknown after the church closes. We then sang the hymn “Sing praise to God, our highest good” (Mit Freuden Zart). It was very moving for all the St. Procop’s parishioners to hear the fine OHS singing. I suspect that there were few dry eyes all around. It was like being at a funeral.
Bourne ended with Mendelssohn’s Sonata in C Minor, op. 65, no. 2. It was well played and a good chance to hear the power of this fine organ. With heavy hearts, we left this sad and beautiful church wishing there was something we could do to help their circumstances.
Our buses took us to Holy Angels R.C. Church in Sandusky for a hymn sing accompanied by some of our members on the 9-stop, 2-manual Carl Barckhoff organ (1885) that had stood silently in the corner of the balcony for decades. The church got it working for us. It was a great moment! Let’s hope it continues to be used. Sandusky is an attractive town on the shore of Lake Erie, with countless churches. At one intersection, I saw three churches!

After lunch, we went to Sandusky’s First Congregational UCC to hear Christopher Marks demonstrate the fine 1875 Johnson & Son organ, Opus 462, 2 manuals, 26 ranks—an organ with a wild history of countless moves, finally finding its way to its present location in 1982 in a restoration with additions and replacement of two missing ranks by my friend James C. Taylor, of Kaukauna, Wisconsin. It stands in an alcove to the right of the altar area in an Akron-style Richardsonian Romanesque building with a beautiful stained glass window in the ceiling. Marks began with Spring Greeting (1896) by Nathan Hale Allen (1948–1925), a charming celebration of spring. Next was Night: A Meditation (1907) by Arthur Foote—lovely, evocative music, which he played with great sensitivity, using the organ’s sweet, soft sounds very well. After the hymn “Now, on land and sea descending” (Vesper Hymn), came a chorale prelude on that same tune by Samuel B. Whitney (1842–1914)—another charmer of a piece, followed by Horatio Parker’s Scherzino, op. 66, no. 3 (1910). Marks closed with a muscular reading of Dudley Buck’s Allegro vivace non troppo from Second Sonata, op. 77 (1877). This was a fine and entertaining program with Christopher Marks’s usual brilliant playing.
Our buses took us to Toledo and the elegant Toledo Museum of Art. We were to have heard a demonstration by Robert Barney of the 1785 Johannes Strumphler 1-manual cabinet organ. Alas, it was not to be, as we had gotten behind schedule. So we made our way into the large 1750-seat auditorium known as “The Peristyle” to hear the 4-manual Skinner organ from 1926 in a recital by Stephen Tharp. First, however, we were granted a fascinating lecture by Joseph Dzeda and Nicholas Thompson-Allen, two of America’s organ restoration experts. Dzeda told us that the organ had been dead—it took two years to restore it. It features an automatic player mechanism, and they told of a recently discovered collection of organ rolls. We heard one that was 80 years old by a Mr. Snow, a New York City organist, playing Saint-Saëns’ My Heart at Thy Sweet Voice. The effect was pure magic. It should be pointed out that the ushers and security staff had agreed to stay late so that we could hear Tharp’s recital on their treasured organ, a recital that was now two hours late—the only scheduling glitch of the week. We were all very grateful.
Stephen Tharp, looking quite snappy in his black and tan Captain Kirk-like attire, came out to the console, located center stage. He began with Mendelssohn’s Overture to St. Paul, which opened with the intoning of “Wachet auf” on the Tuba Mirabilis. This W. T. Best transcription makes one think that the piece was written for the organ, it’s that idiomatic. Tharp played it brilliantly.
Next came the Adagio from Widor’s Symphony VIII. Its mysterious and melancholic sonorities worked wonderfully on this organ’s strings and foundations. Tharp then played Elgar’s Larghetto, Serenade for Strings, op. 20, in a transcription by C. H. Trevor. Quiet strings accompanied a soft solo stop. He used the tremolo to great effect, turning it on and off as a singer would use vibrato, and used the shades very well, too. The last piece was the Fantasy and Fugue on ‘How Brightly Shines The Morning Star’, op. 40, no. 1, by Max Reger. It was marvelously played. Tharp managed to untangle all of Reger’s intense and driving lines and bring them into focus. On the way, we got to hear more of the very beautiful solo stops that Skinner left as his legacy. By the time he got to that amazing fugue, we were in awe once again of E. M. Skinner’s genius and the orchestral style of organ building. And we were, most assuredly, in awe of Stephen Tharp.
We then bused to Toledo’s great Cathedral of Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, easily the largest church building we would enter during the convention—it is absolutely spectacular. We were fed dinner in the cathedral parish hall, but many of us could not resist a peek into the massive church before we ate. It is truly one of America’s great cathedrals, with marble, elegantly carved wood, glorious frescoes, huge soaring stained glass windows, and a ceiling that towers over the grand baldacchino and altar. The Skinner organ, installed in 1931, has 4 manuals, 59 stops, and 75 ranks. The console is on the floor of the sanctuary, and the pipes are in a chamber above and to the left of the altar.
Stephen Schnurr presented the cathedral with an OHS Historic Organ Citation for its magnificent 1931 Skinner organ. Our Atlas told us that it is tonally and technologically intact, “with not only the pipework but all original console and relay mechanism intact.” Todd Wilson was our performer. He grew up in Toledo, and this instrument was a great source of inspiration to him. He began with Dupré’s Cortège et Litanie, op. 19, no. 2, as transcribed by Lynnwood Farnam, which made for a great program opener—a moving and powerful introduction to this organ.
Next came three English miniatures. The first was John Stanley’s Voluntary in F, which he played on the diapasons, then on the flutes as a quiet echo. A chirpy cornet-like sound danced about. The acoustic favored the music pleasantly. The next “miniature” was C. S. Lang’s wonderful Tuba Tune in D, one of my favorite Easter preludes. The huge scale of the solo reed was thrilling. The third English miniature was the beautiful Londonderry Air, as transcribed by Edwin H. Lemare. Wilson called forth gorgeous lush sounds from the organ and played it with great sensitivity. Near the end we heard the warm Vox Humana, the 32′ flue, and the celestes. He reduced the organ to a whisper and gave us one last pluck from the 32′. It was truly lovely.
Wilson ended the first half with Franck’s Choral No 1. in E—a marvelous choice for this organ and this room. The organ has all the right stops, and he used them in just the right way. His tempo was consistent throughout, which held everything together.
The second half began with Gerre Hancock’s Variations on ‘Ora Labora’. The tune was written by T. T. Noble upon the occasion of the founding of St. Thomas’ Choir School in New York. We then sang the hymn “Come, labor on.” The Hancock variations were quite good, showing lots of variety. Soprano Nancy Canfield joined Wilson in Les Angélus, op. 57, three songs by Louis Vierne evoking the three hours of prayer in a day: Au Matin, a gentle rocking piece; A Midi, noon, a bit heartier and more robust; and Au Soir, a quiet piece introduced by the ringing of a handbell three times. It ended very softly.
Wilson then performed Prelude on “Iam sol recedit” (1924) by Bruce Simonds (1895–1989), demonstrating the classic Skinner soft solo reeds on this extraordinary organ. He concluded with the well-known jaunty Allegro vivace from Widor’s Symphonie V, played masterfully. The organ fills this great marble and stone space with tones high and low, laughing reeds, and rumbling basses. Wilson plays with fantastic but controlled drive. The ending at fff was astonishing. Reluctantly, we left this great cathedral and boarded our buses for the drive back to Cleveland.

Wednesday, 8 July 2009
We began the day with a lecture at the hotel by Sebastian M. Glück on “The Grand Romantic Organs of Jewish Synagogues,” a fascinating lecture on a little-known subject. I’ve long admired Glück’s fine writing, and his lecture did not disappoint. We saw many historical photographs of temple organs, and learned how they went in and out of fashion.
Our first stop of the day was at Plymouth Church UCC in Shaker Heights, a prosperous and leafy suburb of Cleveland. The church itself has a 3-manual Holtkamp, but we were to hear the organ in their chapel: an 1844 George Stevens organ that has bounced all over the country from Boston to the west coast and back east to Plymouth Church. Many things have changed on the organ in its various moves, but it remains a nice instrument with two manuals, 27 stops, and 22 ranks. It was first heard by the OHS convention in San Francisco in 1988. The organ stands in a rear balcony. It has an ivory-colored case, with robin’s egg blue façade pipes and gold pipe shades.
We were pleased to have Bruce Stevens demonstrate this organ for us. He began what was to be another of his stellar OHS recitals with Pachelbel’s Partita on ‘Was Gott tut das ist wohlgetan’, a great choice for an organ demonstration. We sat in chairs already turned round facing the organ in the rear gallery. The room is in a New England meetinghouse style, with clear glass windows that brought in abundant morning sunshine. The wood floor and rounded ceiling gave much resonance to the room as we sang the hymn “What e’er my God ordains is right” (Was Gott tut).
Stevens then played O Clemens! O pia! from Five Invocations by Henri Dallier (1849–1934), in which we heard the Swell Dulciana with tremulant accompanying a Great flute playing in the tenor register. He ended with the ever-popular Dubois Toccata from Twelve Pieces, in which we heard the Great Trumpet used as a chorus reed. Stevens played very well, giving us much to enjoy. His usual refinement, shaping of phrase, and delicacy of articulation were all on display. This very old organ is robust yet gentle, and it was a great start to the day!

Next was another fine Votteler-Holtkamp-Sparling organ, Opus 1602, from 1938, in St. James Anglican-Catholic Church. The rector greeted us in cassock and surplice, carrying his beretta. The church is a small gem, with many pretty things. The organ is in the back on the main floor, with a sort of fence dividing its place from the nave. The organ is really the work of Walter Holtkamp, and was a great chance for him to work out his own ideas on organ building. The Positiv division is mounted on the wall, unenclosed. The organ has 3 manuals, 20 stops, and 25 ranks.
The program, played by John Ferguson, was to be a hymn-sing with chorale preludes. It was abbreviated, however, causing some confusion. He opened with Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in C, BWV 545, which was nicely played. Next was Herbert Howells’ Psalm Prelude, Set I, No. 2. It worked well, but seemed to want a celeste. Then came three settings of Es ist ein Ros’, by Praetorius, Dennis Lovinfosse, and Brahms, after which we sang the hymn “Earth and all stars.” Ferguson’s clever introduction and verses assigned to voice types, plus a rather cheeky verse for the organ on verse four that included references to “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” made for much fun. I was happy to surrender that verse to the organ because I can’t sing about “loud boiling test tubes” with a straight face. The hymn “Now thank we all our God” ended the program. He improvised a fitting postlude on Nun danket.
After lunch at the hotel, we had the annual meeting, and then walked across the large civic mall to the Cleveland Public Auditorium, a vast structure. Built in the Italian Renaissance-style and spanning two city blocks, it was completed in 1922. We found ourselves on a great stage somewhat awed by the place, curtains drawn on both sides of us. All 500 OHSers were completely silent as we stood there looking up into the wings, on one side, at the massive E. M. Skinner organ with its 5-manual console. The pipes were on the second story of the wings, and, we were told, went back some 45 feet. We had all seen the photos of what was to come next once the curtains would part, and the anticipation was building. Finally the curtains on our left opened revealing a large, 2,700-seat theatre—red and gold done up in Spanish motifs. And then the curtains on our right parted, and we saw the vast interior of the convention hall, which seats 15,500. At 300′ long, 215′ wide and 80′ high, with no supporting columns, it is quite a sight. And there we stood on this stage made to serve both venues, beneath this enormous Skinner organ. The location, in the wings, was not great for the projection of the organ’s sound, but the architects would not have it any other way. So, we were told, the organ did its best work in radio broadcasts. It has now fallen into disuse and only a few sounds could be heard that day.
Convention chair Joe McCabe gave a good talk on the building and the organ. Young Jonathan Ortloff played the parts of the organ that worked and then crawled around in the chamber making some of the large pipes speak. He was like a monkey swinging fearlessly from tree to tree. It was left to our imaginations to wonder at the instrument’s potential. In fact, the fate of the organ and its building is uncertain—what a pity. It is truly a stupendous place. You can view a video of the organ at <www.organsociety.org/2009/welcome.html&gt;.
Our next visit was to the great Shrine Church of St. Stanislaus in Cleveland. It is a large building, beautifully decorated in 19th-century style, with statues and elegant carvings everywhere. It was built to serve the Polish immigrants who flocked to the city at the end of the 1800s. The good-sized 2-manual, 39-stop, 33-rank William Schuelke organ was built in Milwaukee ca. 1909; it got rather beat up in a tornado that toppled the church’s enormous 232-foot steeples. The organ was rebuilt by Votteler-Holtkamp-Sparling as Opus 1579 in 1933. Work was done in 1988 that left the organ unplayable. James P. Leek Organ Company of Oberlin, Ohio releathered it, and installed solid-state switching. It stands today in the rear gallery.
Our recitalist was Rhonda Sider Edgington, making her fourth OHS convention appearance. She began with two of Schumann’s Four Sketches for Pedal Piano, op. 58, numbers 1 and 4, which gave a good hearing of the foundation stops. Next came two selections from Karg-Elert’s Choral Improvisations, op. 65: Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir and O daß ich tausend Zungen hätte, which showed off several of the beautiful solo stops on this fine organ and the generous acoustic of the church. I especially liked the Doppel Flute—but then I always like Doppel Flutes! Cantilène (1900) by David Fleuret (1869–1915) followed—very nice music, which floated blithely through the church, gently moving along without a care in the world. Next came Mendelssohn’s Fugue in E Minor, played with snap and polish.

The evening recital was at Cleveland’s First United Methodist Church, which was founded in 1839. The present 1300-seat building, of Indiana limestone, was completed in March 1905. The exterior is English Gothic, with a huge lantern tower over the crossing. The interior, however, is a delightful surprise. It appears Byzantine in color and design, with elaborate stenciling. The vast space under the lantern tower floats over the altar area behind which the organ rises. The Geo. H. Ryder organ, built for an earlier church, was brought to the new location by the Votteler-Hettche Organ Co. of Cleveland. W. B. McAllister Co. of Cleveland created the truly remarkable golden organ screen, which wraps around the back of the chancel, measuring 40′ by 60′. The pipe flats are separated by four life-sized reproductions of Fra Angelico’s angels from his Linaiuoli Triptych. The present organ uses that case. It is a Casavant, built in 1943, with numerous subsequent additions; a 4-manual console from 1998 by the Kegg Pipe Organ Company features terraced jambs and is movable.
Our recitalist for the evening was Nathan Laube, who, we learned from Michael Barone, was celebrating his 21st birthday that night; we sang “Happy Birthday” to him! He had just graduated from Curtis. He began his recital with a joyous and almost giddy performance of his own transcription of the Overture to Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss, Jr. His sense of color, touch, contrast, tempo, and dynamics is of the highest order. Next, he played Karg-Elert’s Symphonischer Choral: ‘Jesu, meine Freude’, op. 87, no. 2. In the first movement, Introduzione (Inferno), the full-length 32′ Contra Bombarde was most effective. The second movement, Canzone, had a beautiful solo from the Oboe; the strings are especially lovely. The final movement, Fuga con choral, woke the instrument from its peaceful slumber. The first half ended with the singing of the hymn Jesu, meine Freude.
The second half began with movement four (Variations on ‘Puer Nobis’) from Widor’s Symphonie Gothique, op. 70. We heard a blizzard of notes in the manuals, with the full pedal thundering forth the mighty tune. Laube ended with the 94th Psalm by Reubke. Now it should be said that this entire recital was played from memory. He had some difficulty with the combination action and had to stop to reset some things, but he managed to get back on track completely unruffled. For an encore, he played Andante sostenuto from Widor’s Symphonie Gothique, op. 70.

Thursday, 9 July 2009
The day began with a panel discussion and virtual organ crawl through the Cleveland Public Auditorium organ, built by Ernest M. Skinner. Our panelists and presenters were Joseph Dzeda and Nicholas Thompson-Allen. It was a fascinating talk, with photos showing the building in its various uses over the years, as well as the virtual organ tour. They touched on preservation of the organ, concern for its relocation, and, as the Atlas said, “practical issues surrounding instruments in public venues.”
Our first recital of the morning took place at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, built in 1917, in Elyria. A stone church on a leafy corner with a well-proportioned steeple, it has a 3-manual, 32-stop Skinner organ, Opus 398 (1923), in a chamber to the right of the altar. Anne Wilson began with the hymn “Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee” (Ode to Joy). Her introduction used elements from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony—nicely done. Then, a Sortie by Lefébure-Wély (1817–1869), written at a time when French organ music for the church resembled that of the music hall or even a circus. This was no exception—great fun with plenty of reeds and foundations making splendid oom-pahs. Next was Brahms’s setting of Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele, using the 4′ flute. Wilson then played The Musical Snuffbox by Anatol Liadov (1885–1914), which demonstrated the Celesta (Harp). Next Vierne’s Impromptu, from Pièces de Fantaisie, op. 54, no. 2, which she tossed off with great ease—I liked her use of the Clarabella and the fine Vox Humana. Wilson continued with Lemare’s Irish Air from County Derry, which featured the strings and harp. She ended with a cracking good performance of Rossini’s Overture to William Tell. Great fun, and a fine demonstration recital.
The next stop in Elyria was kitty-corner from St. Andrew’s: St. Mary Catholic Church, an 1886 red brick building with a charming Victorian Gothic portico. Stepping inside, however, revealed a church stripped of all decoration; it was as if it had been sacked. But it still had its 1865 William A. Johnson organ, rebuilt and enlarged by Philipp Wirsching ca. 1900, and later by Homer Blanchard. In 1987 James Leek gave the organ a new Trumpet, replacing one that had disappeared. Originally one manual and pedal, the organ now has two manuals, pedal, and 12 stops.
Yun Kyong Kim, making her second OHS appearance, began with Prélude (from Trois Pièces, op. 29, no. 1) by Gabriel Pierné. The hymn came from The Hymnal 1940 (Episcopal): “I heard the voice of Jesus say” (Vox dilecti)—a fine choice for this place and organ; I liked the Great Trumpet. Next, she played a partita on Ach wie nichtig, ach wie flüchtig by Georg Böhm that gave a fine survey of the stops. The last variation used the Principal chorus and the Trumpet to good effect. Her next piece was Dudley Buck’s Home, Sweet Home, op. 30 (1868), dedicated to “his friend W. H. Johnson,” the original builder of this organ—great choice! One of the things I admire so much about OHS recitals is the pleasure we take in music of this sort played straightforwardly—no winking. The dignity of the instruments and composers is preserved, and we are transported back in time, to another aesthetic—like hearing Bach on a Silbermann. Yun Kyong Kim ended her program with Etude in D Minor from Four Concert Etudes, op. 51, no. 4 (1904) by George Elbridge Whiting. This was a brilliant performance, with wonderful and varied colors from this 12-stop organ.
After a box lunch, buses took us to Wellington to hear the 1916 2-manual, 13-stop J. W. Steere organ, Opus 417, in the First Congregational Church UCC—OHS charter member Randall Wagner’s home church. The organ sits in a niche to the right of the altar in this octagonal Gothic structure. The interior is crowned with a lantern tower at the peak—a Tiffany-like dome. The manuals and stop action are mechanical, while the pedal is tubular-pneumatic.
Recitalist Grant Edwards began with John Stanley’s Voluntary in G Major, op. 7, no. 9, which worked quite well on this organ. I liked the Oboe, the only reed on the organ, which functioned well as a solo voice and a chorus reed. We heard it as a solo in the next piece, Denis Bédard’s Récit (Suite du premier ton). The slow movement from Mendelssohn’s Third Sonata was next. John and James Leek had restored the hand-pumping mechanism in 1983, and the present organist at the church hand-pumped the organ for this piece. Edwards played a Fughetta on “Austria,” after which we sang that tune to the hymn “God whose giving knows no ending,” then, Brahms’s Schmücke dich, O liebe Seele on a very beautiful flute. Arthur Foote’s Canzonetta, op. 71, no. 4 was next—a captivating piece. The last work was Noël Goemanne’s Partita on “Simple Gifts”—fine playing, and an all-around good demonstration of a beautiful organ.
This beautiful, sunny afternoon, we went to the attractive city of Oberlin, its downtown festooned with large hanging baskets of flowers—right to a church on the green at Oberlin College: the First Church in Oberlin UCC, established in 1834. The red brick building would look right at home in New England. The interior is like a New England meetinghouse, with horseshoe balcony and clear glass rectangular windows. The choir area and organ rise above the altar and pulpit. The organ reposes today in a neo-classical case retained from an Estey organ built for the church in 1908. A Skinner organ from Second Congregational Church replaced the Estey when the two churches merged in the 1920s. The Gober organ company from Elora, Ontario, and now of Oberlin, built the present organ, retaining the white Estey case and seven ranks from the Skinner. It is a large 2-manual and pedal organ of 40 stops and 47 ranks, mechanical key action and electric stop action, with solid-state combination action. Halbert Gober is curator of organs (and there are a lot of them!) at Oberlin College.
The performer was Jack Mitchener, appointed in 2008 as associate professor of organ at Oberlin. Dr. Mitchener opened with Frank Bridge’s marvelous Three Pieces, the Adagio of which has become quite a favorite. We admired the solo flutes and the Clarinet. The fascinating fugue subject is soft at first, but builds to a rolling boil complete with 32′ Contrabourdon; he brought it down gently at the end. The third movement, Allegro con spirito, was indeed fast and spirited, and the playing was well paced and articulated. The organ has a few rough edges, but the overall sound is rich in tone and powerful. Since it is right on campus, it is used regularly as a teaching and practice instrument. Saint-Saëns’ Fantaisie in D-flat Major, op. 101 came next, and was played very well. Spring Song by Harry Rowe Shelley (1858–1947) was an engaging romp—a bonbon. The hymn was “All my hope on God is founded,” with its awe-inspiring tune Michael by Herbert Howells. Mitchener’s final work was Mendelssohn’s Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, op 65. His playing possesses great power and solidity. This was a very impressive performance in every way.
The convention group was divided in half, with some taking a self-guided tour of the Julas Organ Center, featuring Oberlin’s 14 practice organs by builders including Holtkamp, Noack, and Flentrop, then attending another fine recital by Dr. Mitchener in the beautiful Fairchild Chapel designed by New York architect Cass Gilbert (Woolworth Building, George Washington Bridge) and completed in 1931. Seating just 200, it was a perfect place to hear the beautiful 2-manual and pedal organ by John Brombaugh (Opus 25), from 1981, one of the earliest examples of a modern instrument tuned in quarter-comma meantone. This gothic chapel also contains a small 1957 Flentrop (one manual with pedal pulldowns). Mitchener played a varied program—Bach: Komm, Gott, Schöpfer, heiliger Geist, BWV 667; Andrea Antico: Chi non crede; Giovanni Paolo Cima: Canzon quarta, La Pace; William Byrd: The Carmans Whistle; and Buxtehude: Praeludium in C Major, BuxWV 137. All of this sounded marvelous on this unique instrument—a revelation.
After dinner under a white tent in a park, we headed to Oberlin’s Finney Chapel, a sort of Spanish Romanesque structure, for the evening recital by Diane Meredith Belcher on the C. B. Fisk organ, Opus 116, from 2001. The 3-manual organ has 57 registers, built in the French Romantic style, taking its inspiration from the instruments of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. The Pedal has three 32′ stops. The tone is robust and colorful. It sits in a dark walnut-colored case on a balcony above the back of the stage.
Belcher began with Three Preludes and Fugues, op. 37 by Mendelssohn. In the C-minor, she attacked the music with a confident stride. I found the room to be resonant, but not reverberant—a pity. All that money spent on this classy organ, and the room is relatively dead. The G-major began with what I assumed to be the Flûte harmonique, which sang out into the room with a rich, noble sound. The fugue grew out of 8′ 4′ 2′ principal sounds, which sparkled well and were nicely colored with the addition of a reed. The D-minor used mixtures for the first time. We also heard 16′ manual tone and the 32′ Bourdon in the Pedal. Quieter sounds on the Récit grew to a ff as the piece wound itself around. Her performance was fantastic. The full power of the pedal came out in the fugue.
Next came another visit to Lefébure-Wély land, with his Élévation ou communion en la mineur, followed by Pifferari (a piffaro is a type of Italian bagpipe). Belcher used the Fisk organ’s Effet d’Orage stop, which creates the sound of thunder by sounding about seven pedal keys at once, as a drone went on the left hand while the right hand had dialogue between trumpets and flutes. Quite a piece! Then, Guilmant’s Prière en fa majeur, op. 16, no. 2, which was a nice airing of the Vox Humana. The first half ended with Gigout’s Pièce jubilaire, which begins quietly and builds to full organ. The full organ was thrilling. After the intermission, Michael Barone, a graduate of Oberlin, read a list of his classmates there in the late 1960s. It read like a who’s who of renowned American organists, teachers, and, of course, one very famous radio personality!
The second half of the program comprised a single work: Maurice Duruflé’s Suite, op. 5. The expression “hair-raising” cannot be overused here. The Prelude was full of thunder in the bass, with the flash of manual reeds and mixtures. The Sicilienne featured a solo on the Récit’s Basson-hautbois, followed by the beautiful strings accompanying the Flûte Harmonique—things of loveliness. The Toccata was played with an incredible fury. Pure joy and elation radiated forth from Belcher and this fantastic instrument.

Friday, 10 July 2009
Our first concert of the day was at Temple Tifereth Israel, a most impressive landmark on University Circle. The architecture was described in our atlas as “Romanesque and Byzantine.” Dedicated in 1924, it features a vast dome rising 85 feet over the sanctuary, which seats 1,227 on the main floor and another 659 in the mezzanine. The original organ was a Kimball with four manuals and a horseshoe console. The console was rebuilt by Ruhland Organs of Cleveland in 1967, and is now a Holtkamp-style 3-manual with stop keys. They retained much of the Kimball pipework, including diaphones and tibias. The organ is in the front of the building in chambers to the left and right of the choir gallery.
Justin Hartz played a wonderful recital of period pieces on this unusual instrument. He began with A Song of the Sea by English composer H. Alexander Matthews (1879–1973), which featured the Diaphone. Next was Caressing Butterfly by Richard Barthélemy (1869–1937) in a transcription by Firmin Swinnen. This was a tour of the grand old organ’s solo stops—there were many enchanting Kimball sounds.
Then we heard three pieces in theatre organ style: Forgotten Melody by Gus Kahn and Jesse Crawford, arranged by Rosa Rio who just turned 107; Hartz’s transcription of The Whistler and His Dog by Arthur Pryor; and Trees by Otto Rasbach, based on the poem by Joyce Kilmer. The hymn was “May He who kept us” by James H. Rogers. Hartz ended his concert with a good reading of Franck’s Pièce héroïque.

We then drove to the tony and very beautiful neighborhood of Cleveland Heights for a recital at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, a large English Gothic structure of Indiana limestone. The 1951 building was designed by J. Beyers Hays of Walker & Weeks, Cleveland. Our Atlas states that the same firm also designed the Public Auditorium in 1922 and Severance Hall in 1930. Karel Paukert is the organist at St. Paul’s and presides over three pipe organs, the most famous being the large organ by Walter Holtkamp built in 1952. It rises behind the altar screen, and has three manuals and pedal, with 44 stops. John Ferguson wrote in the atlas: “St. Paul’s Episcopal organ can be taken as a good example of the mature style of Walter Holtkamp. It was his favorite instrument. Many consider it to be his masterpiece.” But we’ll come to this organ later.
David Schrader began his program on the smallest of the three organs in this church: a one-manual portative organ from 2002 by Czech builder Vladimir Slajch. It stood in the side aisle to our right. Its bright red case with blue and gold trim really made a statement in this mostly white room. Schrader stood as he played some pieces from Frescobaldi’s Fiori Musicali (1635). In the Bergamasca, the gentle flute, Copula, filled the large room easily. He then made his way to the rear balcony, where a second organ awaited him: a 2-manual and pedal, 21-stop Hradetzky from 1986. The pipes are mounted on the railing, and the console is behind the case. The organ is in 17th-century Northern Italian style. It can be hand pumped, and has all manner of toys: drums, bells and whistles. The Toccata per l’Elevazione used the organ’s Voce umana. That was followed by the Ricercar cromatico dopo il credo. Then the fun began with the toy counter as he moved from Frescobaldi to Claude-Benigne Balbastre’s Variations on the Marseillaise and Ça Ira—it was a hoot from start to finish.
Schrader then moved to the Holtkamp behind the altar. The hymn we sang was not well chosen for our group or for the instrument: “God of our fathers, whose almighty hand” (National Hymn). We sing with great gusto, and with this hymn you need powerful solo reeds for the fanfares. The fanfares were written in our music, but he chose not to play them. So that was confusing right from the start. He also played it in a lower key, C major, I think. Then, between the third and fourth verses he played an extended interlude that seemed to wander through the circle of fifths for so long, as he modulated upward, that we were left uncertain as to when we should enter for the last verse. When he played a quasi-fanfare, half of us began to sing, and half waited for two measures. It was quite a rubble. The last piece was Trois Danses by Jehan Alain. I love this work and had been looking forward to it. The organ seemed well suited for it, but Schrader seemed to lose his way. The music lacked an inner pulse, which holds the musical line together.
We then went to the huge Church of the Covenant, another grand English Gothic building made of Indiana limestone. It features a large tower over the crossing containing a 47-bell carillon of Dutch bells. The first thing we did was gather in the church to sing the hymn “All Creatures of Our God and King” (Lasst uns erfreuen), with Jonathan Moyer playing the 5-manual Aeolian-Skinner rebuild of a Skinner organ. The pipes of this organ are placed all over the room, so the effect is rather overwhelming. He played it well and gave us a good demonstration of the instrument. We then ate a box lunch on the beautiful grounds as we listened to carillonneur John Gouwens, who played with fine shading and color music from many periods including an improvisation on a submitted theme.

We then walked over to the beautiful Cleveland Museum of Art. Unfortunately, the large Holtkamp organ was in storage due to renovations in the auditorium. But we did get to hear the Holtkamp Art Deco Portativ from 1935 in a recital by organist Gregory Crowell and soprano Kathryn Stieler. The organ’s case, designed by architect Richard Rychtarik, looks like something that stepped out of a 1930s Fred Astaire movie. The organ marked a return to tracker action in American organ building—a thing that would not be seen again until the 1960s. The recital was held in a reverberant gallery. Dr. Crowell began with Partite sopra La Romanesca by Michelangelo Rossi (1601–1656). Ms. Stieler began with Amarilli, mia bella by Caccini. Her even tone was rich and pure, filling the gallery with sound. Giovanni Legrenzi’s Che fiero costume was next, sung with great fire and freedom. Crowell’s accompaniment was superb.
Then we heard two movements from OHS member David Dahl’s An Italian Suite. Dahl’s writing is quite fine, and Crowell played this music very well, beginning with Pavana and ending with Gagliarda. Ms. Stieler returned for two more songs: the gracious Intorno all’idol mio by Antonio Cesti, followed by the well-known and joyous Già il sole dal Gange by Alessandro Scarlatti. It was an elegant program beautifully performed by two gifted musicians.
We returned to the Marriott to have dinner and get ready for the evening concert, the closing event of what had been a truly great convention. A record 530 registrants took part, even in the difficult economy we were having. The convention sold itself, with stunning photos on display at last summer’s convention in Seattle, in a gorgeous calendar we all received before Christmas, and, of course in the brilliant convention issue of The Tracker magazine, with more photos and tantalizing prose.
And now we found ourselves entering the grand and famous home of the Cleveland Orchestra: Severance Hall in the beautiful University Circle neighborhood. The classical exterior of the 1931 building includes organ pipes in the pediment above the main entry. The interior is pure Art Deco splendor. The big 4-manual Skinner organ from 1931, Opus 816, with 86 stops and 94 ranks, was originally in chambers 41 feet above the stage, speaking downward. Eventually it fell into disuse, and was walled up, thus preserving it. The hall was renovated in 2000, and the organ was moved to new chambers at the back of the stage. Jack M. Bethards was the consultant, and the Schantz organ company renovated the instrument, giving it modern solenoid drawknobs and a multi-level combination action. A façade of 43 non-speaking pipes graces the organ’s front. The console, painted a deep blue, with ivory and walnut colored Art Deco trim, was front and center on the stage.
The recitalist was Thomas Murray, university organist and professor of music at Yale University. He opened with Toccata in F Major, BWV 540, by J. S. Bach, slowly allowing the organ’s sound to grow and blossom. His flawless sense of rhythmic pulse and immaculate technique propelled every phrase. He made the most of those marvelous deceptive cadences. The powerful 32′ reeds came on at the end, leaving us breathless. We had all fallen in love with this organ, and the concert could have ended right there. But we were grateful that there would be more.
Next came Hindemith’s Sonata I (1937), written six years after this organ’s debut. Murray made the most out of this organ’s many fine solo voices. His approach was more orchestral, more dynamic than the usual. The Sehr langsam, for example, began with a plaintive cry from the Choir organ’s Contra Fagotto 16′ played one octave higher. Some of the softer foundation stops were heard, then the Orchestral Oboe—beautiful
E. M. Skinner sounds. Phantasie, frei featured good contrasting sounds. It ends, of course, with Ruhig bewegt, softly reminding us of the first movement. Murray’s pace and choice of color were perfect. The ppp ending on the Choir strings was deeply moving.
Regina Pacis from Guy Weitz’s (1883–1970) Symphony I on Gregorian Themes (1932), a good period piece for this organ, contained the Gregorian Ave Maria. I loved the soft 16′ pedal stops, Dulciana and Gamba, speaking with precision and presence. It grew to a loud dynamic. Instead of a sacred hymn, we sang a hymn to music: Schubert’s An die Musik, a practice they have at Yale graduations. It was a fine touch. For a brief moment we were all Yalies!
After intermission, Murray played Mouvement by Jean Berveiller (1904–1976). Only a few minutes in length, it packs a lot of music with a truly riotous pedal part. He concluded with Calvin Hampton’s transcription of Franck’s Symphony in D Minor. It sounded wonderful in this room, which has just enough reverberation to make the detached chords ring. Murray’s legendary console technique and registration skill were on full display. One also had the sense that this instrument clearly inspired him. The strings and soft reeds are to die for. The Oboe, English Horn, French Horn, and so forth are the stuff of genius. Thank God we still have this instrument’s voices intact as Skinner left them. This symphony, written for orchestra, makes a great organ piece; the transcription was excellent. Thomas Murray played it magnificently. His playing on this glorious and historic masterpiece of an organ—brought back from near extinction—is what the Organ Historical Society is all about. We were all deeply moved by that realization.
My hat is off to the planners of this convention. It ran like a clock. Endlessly fascinating instruments and venues kept us constantly entertained. The hotel was terrific, as was the food. The performers outdid themselves. The Atlas is a great document: kudos to Rollin Smith, Jonathan Ambrosino, Stephen Pinel, Stephen Schnurr, Scot Huntington, and Joseph McCabe for an outstanding job. The photography of William Van Pelt, Victor Hoyt, and Len Levasseur will provide inspiration for years to come. Next summer is Pittsburgh (information: <www.organsociety.org&gt;). I can’t wait! 

Photo credit: William T. Van Pelt, III

Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia, July 13–18, 2008

Frank Rippl is a graduate of Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Miriam Clapp Duncan and Wolfgang Rübsam. He is co-founder of the Appleton Boychoir, coordinator of the Lunchtime Organ Recital Series in the Appleton, Wisconsin area, and has been organist/choirmaster at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Appleton since 1971.

On the day before I was to leave for the Organ Historical Society’s 53rd National Convention, I was eating a sandwich and reading the paper. I never read my horoscope, but for some reason I happened to glance at mine (Cancer) and was startled to read: “You’re being taken to beautiful places where there is great attention to detail and where you are enveloped in someone else’s grand vision. Sit back and enjoy the unfolding spectacle.” That got my attention. I had been to Seattle many times before and knew many of the instruments we were to hear, but OHS conventions always put a different spin on things and shine a spotlight on the instruments themselves. I couldn’t wait to experience “someone else’s grand vision” of those instruments and the buildings in which they stand, and, of course, the many outstanding players and builders in the Pacific Northwest. It is, as our handbook stated: “A Young Yet Vibrant History.” Each registrant had received the OHS Seattle 2008 Organ Atlas in the mail before we left on our respective journeys to the West Coast: 174 lavishly illustrated and painstakingly researched pages on the venues and instruments we would visit. The team that put this colorful document together is to be congratulated. So, thus armed, we were ready and eager to get started.

Sunday, July 13
We began with some pre-convention activities on Sunday night. The weather was perfect: a clear sky and temperatures in the low 70s as our buses climbed through the Capitol Hill neighborhood to St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral overlooking Puget Sound. St. Mark’s was to have been a grand Gothic structure, but the stock market crash of the late 1920s brought those dreams to a halt. They were left with what is now lovingly called “The Holy Box.” But it is still grand in its own way and with great acoustics.
Once inside, convention chair David Dahl welcomed us, calling it “a gathering of the family.” There were 310 of us greeting old friends and meeting new ones from all over the world with a common interest: love of the organ.

We came this night, of course, to hear the landmark 4-m 1965 Flentrop organ, with its spectacular and breathtaking 32′ copper façade, in a concert by Thomas Joyce, the assistant organist at St. Mark’s, followed by Compline. Joyce played Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky (1870–1937) as transcribed by Keith Johns. He managed to make this very romantic score work quite well on this beautiful mid-20th century organ with all its neo-baroque accents. My favorite was “Bydlo,” the ever-nearing ox cart thundering past us with its great weight, and then disappearing over the hill; the snarling reeds were very effective. The humor in “The Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks” was most engaging. The organ sparkled as tiny beaks struggled to break through their encasing shells. The majesty of “The Great Gate of Kiev” brought the piece to an end. The sweeping acoustics of this great church and the underpinning of the mighty and blazing reeds and the 32′ stops lifted us from from our pews. It was a brilliant performance.
There was a 40-minute intermission of sorts between concert and Compline. Halfway through this interval, David Dahl invited us to enter into a spirit of silence prior to the beautiful and famous Compline service, sung each Sunday evening since 1955 at St. Mark’s by a volunteer choir of about fifteen men. It usually attracts anywhere from 500–1000 young people who stretch out on the floor or the pews, some bringing bedrolls. They absorb the simple beauty of the chants and the readings. It is broadcast live over KING-FM radio, and can be heard worldwide via the Internet.
We became silent as the hundreds of young people joined us. The sun set, the lights dimmed, candles were lit. There were no “praise” bands, no guitars, no drums. The choir entered wearing black cassocks and long white surplices. They stood in the back of the church in a corner. They were led by Peter Hallock, Canon Precentor Emeritus, who founded the choir and is composer of much of the music they sing. The chanting was elegant and refined but never precious. The tuning in the homophonic sections was perfect. The beautiful anthem was Canon Hallock’s If We Could Shut the Gate, scored for male voices, violin, and organ. It was a tranquil and quietly spiritual end to the first day.

Monday, July 14
Our hotel was the Holiday Inn at the airport, standing in a cluster of airport hotels, including one called “The Clarion Hotel.” My room had a great view of Mount Rainier rising majestically over the “Clarion.” We had a great rate of $82.00 per night, which included a lavish breakfast. Trouble was, we always had an 8:00 a.m. departure. So, if we wished to dine in what was a rather small dining area, we had to be down there by 6:00!

Monday morning took us into downtown Seattle to Benaroya Concert Hall to hear Carole Terry demonstrate the large 3-m concert hall organ by C. B. Fisk. The simple façade of this organ includes some of the open wood pipes of the 32′ Prestant. I’m not normally a big fan of wooden façade pipes, but these blended well with the browns and tans of the Benaroya complex; also in the 32′ department: Untersatz 32′, Tuba Profunda 32′, and Grosse Quinte 102⁄3′. The room is notorious for its poor bass response and generally dry acoustic, so all that 32′ tone proved to be necessary to fill out the bottom of the range.
David Dahl introduced Ms. Terry as “Seattle’s First Lady of the Organ.” She began her program with Dahl’s fine Fanfare Introduction: The National Anthem, which we then sang. She continued with three chorale preludes by Bach, putting various solo voices on display: the reeds, the cornet, and the flutes. Next was William Bolcom’s Sweet Hour of Prayer, in which we heard the Fisk’s strings and foundation stops. Then three pieces from François Couperin’s Messe pour les Convents: Plein Jeu, Premier Couplet du Gloria; Duo sur les Tierces, Troisième Couplet; and Chromorne sur la Taille, Cinquième Couplet, which showed that this versatile organ can speak French quite well. Sowerby’s beautiful Air with Variations showed off the Swell strings, the Solo Clarinet, and later the Flauto Mirabilis. These were full-throated and wonderful pipes! Carole Terry’s last piece was the opening Allegro Vivace from Widor’s Symphonie No. 5. This heavily land-mined piece caused her to stumble slightly a few times, but she managed to bring it off. Her melodic lines were nicely delineated. She chose her literature and registrations well. None of us could come away from this recital complaining that we didn’t hear a fine demonstration of this important instrument—part of a new generation of American concert hall organs.

We then crossed Lake Washington on the Pontoon Bridge and climbed quite high above Puget Sound through well-manicured properties to Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Edmonds, Washington, to hear the church’s 1887 Geo. Kilgen & Son organ, the only surviving 3-m Kilgen tracker. Christopher Marks, assistant professor of organ at the University of Nebraska, was our soloist. Holy Rosary is a modern church built in the round, with the organ standing to the right of the altar. The organ came from the First Baptist Church in Los Angeles, and was relocated to Holy Rosary in 1980 via the Organ Clearing House.
Marks opened with a toccata from Première Suite pour Grand-Orgue (1900) by Felix Borowski (1872–1956, a son of Polish immigrants), which began on the Swell with shades closed, and built to a fortissimo. Another piece by Borowski followed: Allegretto-Allegro leggiero from his Third Sonata (1924), which demonstrated some of the soft sounds of this lovely organ. Two andantes by American-trained organist George F. Bristow (1829–1898) from his Six Pieces for the Organ (1883) were followed by a hymn by Thomas Hastings: “Hail to the Brightness of Zion’s Glad Morning” to the tune Wesley by Lowell Mason. He closed with four selections from Seth Bingham’s Seven Preludes or Postludes on Lowell Mason Hymns (1945), which sounded just dandy on this organ. He played Nos. 1, 2, 4, & 5; the first was based on the hymn we had just sung. I especially liked #4: “Watchman, Tell Us of the Night.” He used the reeds to great effect. I recommend these pieces! Marks, a fine player, gave us a great OHS recital with well-chosen literature to demonstrate the many lovely sounds of this organ.
Our fleet of buses took us to the attractive Trinity Lutheran Church in Lynnwood, Washington, where we were served a tasty box lunch. At 1:00, the tireless convention chairman David Dahl gave a fascinating address: “Tracker Organbuilding in the Pacific Northwest.” He traced the arrival of American tracker organs from the East Coast in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the mid-20th century, European tracker organs were brought in. The famous Flentrop at St. Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle is a good example. There were others, too: St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Medina has a Metzler from 1971. But late in the 20th century, the Pacific Northwest began to get its own voice from builders such as John Brombaugh, Paul Fritts, and Martin Pasi.

We would hear many fine instruments by these gentlemen and others. In fact, one of them stood to Dahl’s right: Martin Pasi’s beautiful Opus 4 from 1995. This 2-m, 30-stop, mechanical action organ is in a freestanding black walnut case, with eight Italianate arches serving to frame the façade pipes. It was demonstrated by Julia Brown, who was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and received her graduate-level training in organ at Northwestern University studying with Wolfgang Rübsam. She opened with a jolly Noël by Jean-Francois Dandrieu, then two fantasias by Louis Couperin. A charming chorale prelude by Scheidemann was then played on the clear 4′ flutes. Next was a beautiful chorale prelude on Wie schön leuchet der Morgenstern by Niels Gade (1817–1890), leading into the hymn by the same name, which she and the organ led with great ease and grace. Another Noël followed, this one by José Jesus Estrada (1817–1890): Noel en estilo frances del siglo XVIII, which demonstrated more of this wonderful organ’s stops including the Zimbelstern. Brown closed her recital with Buxtehude’s Praeludium in F, BuxWV, in which we heard the fine influence of Professor Rübsam. This was another outstanding recital.
Our buses took us back on the road for a visit to Blessed Sacrament Church in Seattle. The huge building, with gorgeous gardens and a school across the street, loomed large in the neighborhood. The organ stood in the left transept. It came from St. Dominic’s Roman Catholic Church in San Francisco, and was installed in Blessed Sacrament in 2005. The organ began life as an instrument by Henry Erben for a church in Nyack, New York, and was rebuilt by Francis J. N. Tallman (1860–1950), who essentially made it a new instrument. It was rebuilt again in 1914 by Michael A. Clark, and then moved to San Francisco. St. Dominic’s decided after remodeling that the organ no longer met their needs, so it ended up at Blessed Sacrament.
We had arrived early, so Scott Huntington gave us an impromptu introduction to the history of this fascinating instrument as only he can. That, plus the first-rate account of this organ written in the convention atlas by Stephen Pinel, provided us with unusually thorough preparation for the concert.
Our performer was OHS favorite George Bozeman. He began his demonstration of this 2-m, 15-stop organ with
C. P. E. Bach’s Sonate in G Minor, Wq 70/6, perfectly suited to this fine organ. The hymn was “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” (tune Beecher). He then played his own transcription of Four Sketches, op. 15, by Amy Beach (1867–1944), quite intoxicating and evocative: “In Autumn,” “Phantoms,” “Dreaming,” and “Fire-flies.” George, if you haven’t published these pieces, please do! The music and your performance were both great!

Our next stop was a happy return to St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral back on Capitol Hill. We had time to peruse the fine cathedral shop, where we were given a 10% discount. We also had a cocktail party with delicious snacks on the cathedral grounds, followed by a fine Bastille Day French meal in Bloedel Hall. We took turns entering the beautiful Thomsen Chapel, the only part of the cathedral that was finished in Gothic style (one can only imagine what the whole building would have looked like had it been finished), which now contains a jewel of an organ by Paul Fritts & Co., Opus 22, 2003. This 2-m and pedal, 18-stop organ sits in the west balcony and fills the room with its beauty. Thomas Joyce, assistant organist at the cathedral, played brief demonstrations for us. He is a charming young man with a great future.
But the major event of the evening was in the cathedral itself: a brilliant concert by J. Melvin Butler (who, I’m told, is also a superb violist!), canon organist and choirmaster of St. Mark’s. He opened with a dazzling performance of Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in G Minor, BWV 535. Mel Butler’s talented fingers and toes and the marvelous clarity of the Flentrop organ made the music sing. Two selections from Bach’s Leipzig Chorales followed: Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 661, in which we heard the solo line on a small cornet with a gentle tremolo; and O Lamm Gottes unschuldig, BWV 656. In the middle section, the upperwork glimmered like light glancing off faceted gemstones. The majestic finale (with the cantus firmus in the pedal) was pure muscularity. The first half of the program ended with Buxtehude’s chorale fantasia on Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g’mein, BuxWV 210. It was first-rate playing by one of Seattle’s best organists on an organ that never fails to thrill.
The second half began with Fanfare for Organ by Richard Proulx, which ran a good circuit through the many trumpet stops, vertical and horizontal. It was followed by In Quiet Joy from a composer new to me: Mark Winges, b. 1951. Lovely flutes and deep-water pedal 16′ stops supported the occasional soft solo reed, then turned to quiet strings briefly, and went on as before. The strings returned supporting a solo flute. It is an exquisite piece. The hymn “When in our music God is glorified,” sung to the tune Kaytlyn by Joseph Downing (1982), was followed by Canon Butler’s Fantasy on “Kaytlyn,” a fine piece with moments of quiet and introspection, ending gently with two rings from a chime.
Butler rounded off his program with two pieces by the great 20th-century American organist and composer Leo Sowerby: Arioso and Toccata. Arioso, with its plaintive call from a quiet reed stop, gave us a sense of serenity tinged with longing. It is a masterpiece, and Butler brought out each poignant nuance. By way of contrast, Sowerby’s fiery Toccata drew the evening and first full day to a rousing and blazing close. Butler’s fleet fingers sent the notes flitting from pillar to pillar in this great “Holy Box.” We cheered!

Tuesday, June 15
Tuesday morning found us high atop our hotel in a circular ballroom with a splendid vista of Mt. Rainier. We had come to hear a loving tribute by Mark Brombaugh to his brother John, a seminal figure in American organ building. The lecture was entitled “Singing Pipes: The Artistic Legacy of Organbuilder John Brombaugh.” Mark explained how John’s early training with Fritz Noack, Charles Fisk and Rudolph von Beckerath influenced him. He then proceeded to trace John Brombaugh’s own ideas of voicing: the vocale style of sound—making pipes sing in a beautiful vocal manner. He went through each of John’s instruments, giving well-thought-out descriptions of each. I was especially interested in his Opus 33, which stands four blocks from my house, on the campus of Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. It was also fascinating to hear the list of men who had worked with John over the years and who have now gone on to be fine organ builders in their own right. The list reads like a who’s who of American organ building, and includes Fritts, Taylor & Boody, Pasi, Richards & Fowkes. Not bad! It was a most entertaining and informative summing up of a great career.

Our first concert of the day was at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Auburn, Washington, by Carol Foster on the church’s E. & G. G. Hook & Hastings organ, Opus 591 from 1871. Its caramel-colored pipes and honey-like case gleamed in the modern, light-filled room. The program began with the presentation of the OHS Historic Organ Citation for the 2-m, 12-stop instrument—the 368th such citation the society has given to instruments of historic interest. The organ’s first home was in Philadelphia, then in Camden, New Jersey. St. Matthew’s acquired it from the Organ Clearing House.
Carol Foster, a woman with a long and distinguished career, is currently parish musician at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church on Whidbey Island, Washington. Her first piece this day was a charming Andante & Gavotte from a sonata by Thomas Arne. That was followed by Craig Phillips’s (b. 1960) Prelude on “Divinum mysterium.” The room-filling sound of even the flute stops on this little organ let us know that this was indeed a Hook organ.
Next up was the early American tune “Restoration” from Sacred Sounds by George Shearing (b. 1919), in which Foster gave us a good hearing of the foundation stops. That was followed by Song of Happiness (1914), by Roland Diggle: a sweet, sentimental piece that brought many a smile. Then came Theodore Dubois’ Cantilène religieuse. Foster joked about the tremolo, which was a force unto itself. She used the Oboe (the organ’s only reed), but it sounded like there was a flute with the oboe. She ended with an energetic and jolly performance of Jacques Lemmens’s Fanfare. The hymn “Come, We That Love the Lord” (tune Vineyard Haven) closed this fine recital.
We drove to Olympia, paying a brief visit to handsome government buildings, then went downtown to eat lunch in the lobby of the Washington Center for the Performing Arts. After lunch, Andy Crow performed for us on the theater’s mighty Wurlitzer. He has several silent film scores to his credit. We were treated to his accompaniment to the Laurel and Hardy silent film “Double Whoopee,” which was hysterical. His expert accompaniment kept pace with craziness on the screen. He used the organ’s resources very well, and also played a number of classic American songs. It was a fun midday break.
Our next stop was Spanaway Lutheran Church in Spanaway, Washington, and its attractive 1905 Jesse Woodberry & Co. Opus 225 organ. Built in Boston, it was acquired by the Organ Clearing House. Its walnut case and white façade pipes with gold mouths make for a striking appearance, and its two manuals and 18 ranks work very well in this appealing space, standing as it does to the right of the altar. Much of the restoration work was lovingly done by members of the congregation under the leadership of organbuilder Stephen Cook. Carpeting was pulled up and a hardwood floor was installed.
We began with the presentation of the Historic Organ Citation by Stephen Schnurr. The recital was played by Kevin Birch from Bangor, Maine, where he teaches organ and harpsichord at the University of Maine’s School of the Performing Arts. He began with Arthur Foote’s Festival March, op. 29, no. 1 (1893), which demonstrated the foundation stops nicely—a good solid forte. An additional Foote piece followed: Allegretto, op. 29, no. 2 (1893), which walked us through this fine organ’s softer sounds. The Great Flute d’Amour 4′, played one octave lower, was particularly effective. The Swell shades created an incredible pp. The hymn was “Abide with Me” (Eventide). In a masterful bit of accompanying, he never dominated, he led.
The closing piece was Dudley Buck’s Variations on “The Last Rose of Summer.” Among other fine things, we got to hear the gentle Swell strings. I also liked the Swell Violin Diapason in its rich tenor range. I was struck thus far this week by the number of recitals that ended pianissimo. This was one of them. The magic swell shades on this organ really did their job!

We then went to the Chapel of Trinity Lutheran Church in Tacoma (Parkland). A brass trumpet bedecked with blue ribbons was suspended from a wrought iron stand outside the church’s door to greet us. We came to hear the Geo. Kilgen & Son organ from 1890. Now in its fifth home (!), this well-traveled 2-m and 12-stop organ seems quite happy in its present surroundings. Even though its façade pipes are new, it was given a well-deserved OHS Historic Organ Citation. Our recitalists were husband and wife Tim and Cheryl Drewes. This would be a recital of duet and solo literature, and they jumped right in with Horatio Parker’s Quick March (for two organists). It was played with plenty of brio! Next was Humoresque for organ and piano by Widor—that was new to me. If you are in the market for a good piano/organ duet, I can recommend this one.
Tim Drewes then played Sortie (from L’Organiste Moderne) by Louis James Alfred Lefébure-Wély, which sounded like theatre music—spirited with plenty of contrast. Ah, how different early 19th-century Parisian church music was from what it would become! He then led us in the hymn “All my hope on God is founded” to the tune Michael, written by Herbert Howells and dedicated to his young son Michael, who died of polio. I never fail to be moved by this hymn and tune.
Cheryl then played Rooster Rag by Muriel Pollock (1895–1971), a humorous little piece that would make a good encore. Hopping back on the bench, Tim Drewes played a cheerful Bergamasca by Samuel Scheidt, showing this organ’s versatility. Cheryl Drewes then ended this engaging concert with a fine reading of Mendelssohn’s Sonata in D Major (op. 65, no. 5).
Sometimes you can tell a great deal about an organ builder just by visiting his or her shop. The Paul Fritts & Co. organ shop in Tacoma (Parkland) is a thing of great beauty. The wooden building is stained with an almost amber color. The large main door rises twelve feet or so to a curved arch with faceted wooden insets. We were served wine and snacks and got to look at upcoming projects and parts of an early 19th-century case they are restoring. It was all very inspirational.
We then drove a few blocks to the campus of Pacific Lutheran University. Huge old growth Douglas fir trees towered over rich green lawns and beautiful landscaping. We were served a delicious dinner in the University Center: roast pork with lingonberry sauce! God bless those Swedish Lutherans! We then walked through the beautiful campus to Lagerquist Concert Hall. The building’s entrance windows were decorated in glass flower blossoms by the world-renowned Tacoma artist Dale Chihuly. Upon entering the hall, our eyes beheld the jaw-droppingly gorgeous Paul Fritts organ, Opus 18 from 1998, surely one of the most beautiful organs in North America. The high tin content of the façade pipes and the 250 square feet of basswood pipeshades and fanciful figures all done by Jude Fritts, Paul Fritts’s sister, made for a visual feast. The tall, honey-colored case is made of old-growth Douglas fir logs, which came from local forests including Mount Rainier National Park. The hall itself has adjustable acoustics from one to over four seconds of reverberation.
The recitalist was Paul Tegels, university organist at PLU, who opened his recital with a Toccata in G by Scheidemann. He gave it a grand sweeping sound that seemed to invite us into the world of this instrument. Next we heard two selections from the Netherlands of 1599: from the Susanne van Soldt Manuscript, Branle Champagne and Almande Brun Smeedelyn. Then it was on to four versions of the tune Von Gott will ich nicht lassen, the first a four-part harmonization by J. S. Bach, then three fantasies on Une Jeune Fillette by Eustache du Caurroy (1549–1609), which showed some of the reed stops; the next version of the chorale came from Johann Ludwig Krebs’s Clavierübung, showing us the beautiful flute stops; and the last was a Fantaisie sopra “Une Jeune Fillette” by Bert Matter (b. 1936), which had a variety of sounds rhythmic and pulsating. By the end it receded to quiet flutes, which restated the chorale. Tegels closed the first half of his program with the Praeludium in D Minor (originally E minor) by Nicolaus Bruhns. The small arpeggiated figures on the Positive were delicious. When he brought on the 32′s at the end we were transported. Thrilling playing!
After intermission, we sang the hymn “Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones” (Lasst uns erfreuen) with a fine introduction composed by David Dahl. Tegels then treated us to Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541. The boastful, chest-thumping music bounced along with a sense of self satisfaction, the wind system giving us a lovely crescendo on the final chord. Next was a Suite, op. 34, no. 1, by Widor for organ and flute, in which Tegels was joined by flutist Jennifer Rhyne. It was very pretty music that seemed highly agreeable and accessible, although the Scherzo has challenges.
For his final work, Tegels chose Alexandre Guilmant’s Sonata I in D Minor. He invested a great deal of vitality into the Introduction and Allegro, followed by just the right amount of letting up before the da capo. I am so glad that in the last 25 years or so we are hearing Guilmant’s music once again. The wonderful Pastorale, which I like to use during communion or as a prelude, was very nicely played. There are so many fine 8′ sounds on this organ. The Vox Humana buzzed along nicely with the 32′ humming below. Tegels made the Finale burst forth like fireworks, timing it just right to catch us off guard. From start to finish, it was a virtuoso performance by builder, player and architect. We had ended a long day, but our spirits were quite high!

Wednesday July 16
For the most part, this would be “Episcopal Day.” Our first stop on this bright and sunny morning was Seattle’s St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, in the Space Needle area, nestled among several inviting Asian restaurants. The churchyard featured a labyrinth and imaginative landscaping. The organ we were about to hear is quite a remarkable instrument. It hangs by cables from the trusses of this A-frame structure—even the balcony is suspended. Marie-Claire Alain called it “a flying organ.” On paper, the organ, built by Gebr. Späth (Opus 753, 1963, 2-m, 15 stops), seems rather sparse. The only 8′ on the Great is a Koppelfloete. So we were curious to hear how it would do. Walter E. Krueger, from Portland, Oregon, was our performer. He opened with Buxtehude’s Praeludium in D Minor, Bux WV 140, which he played with great flourish. It was immediately clear that this little organ was not afraid to speak up for itself. Next were two of Bach’s Schübler Chorales. Wachet auf used the Great flutes 8′ and 2′, with the Swell Trumpet 8′. The pedal seemed to be Subbass 16′ and the Choralbass 4′. It worked well. Kommst du nun showed off the twinkle in the eye of this neo-baroque organ. Krueger followed that with a gentle reading of Krebs’s Herzlich lieb’ hab ich dich, o Herr, with the ornamented chorale melody on the Swell Cornet with a sweet tremolo. The hymn was “At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing,” which was sung in alternatim with Pachelbel’s Partita on “Alle Menschen.” It gave us a fine tour of this instrument. Full organ, complete with zimbelstern, was surprisingly hearty. It was a good demonstration recital.
On a very high bridge, we crossed the ship canal that connects Lake Washington with Puget Sound and entered the University District in bright sunshine. We parked in front of our next venue, University Christian Church, a fine structure in English Gothic style. The interior is dark, with a horseshoe balcony. Great swaths of peach and white fabric were hung from the side balconies to the rear balcony to help relieve the darkness. The windows were attractive, and the ceiling was painted in rosettes of deep blue, pale blue, light green and a rich red. This would be our first electro-pneumatic organ: a large Casavant Frères, Ltée., Opus 1302, from 1929, 4-m, 60 stops. It was dedicated by Marcel Dupré on October 29, 1929, and stands in the front of the church, with the pipes in two chambers on either side of the chancel.
Peter Guy, organist and master of the choristers at Christ Church Cathedral, Newcastle, Australia, was our performer. He also serves as director of chapel music at St. Andrew’s College within the University of Sydney. He has concertized all over the world, and had just turned 27 when we heard him—a charming young man with a quick and ready smile. He opened his program with J. S. Bach’s Now Thank We All Our God as arranged by Virgil Fox, which featured the foundation stops and reeds. This is an intact organ—unchanged; it possesses a warm but somewhat brooding sound. Next up was from Bach’s Orgelbüchlein: Christ ist erstanden, BWV 627, which had plenty of energy. Then came a piece by Graham Koehne (b. 1956), “The Morning Star” from his suite To his servant Bach, God grants a final glimpse, which uses the chorale tune “How brightly shines the morning star.” It was written in a Mendelssohnian style, and Guy played it with great sensitivity. I’d like to hear more music by this composer.
Edouard Batiste (1820–1876) provided the next piece, Andante in G “Pilgrim’s Song of Hope”—a character piece of its era, to feature many of the softer sounds of this instrument. Then came a favorite of mine, Rorate Caeli by Jeanne Demessieux, played with great sensitivity. Peter Guy then played Samuel Sebastian Wesley’s Andante in E-flat, which came off quite well on this organ, which is in need of a thorough restoration. The hymn was another favorite of mine, “O Thou Who Camest from Above,” to the tune Hereford by S. S. Wesley. Our tenors had a grand time! He closed with Louis Vierne’s Hymne au soleil, played with lots of grandeur. If I had anything critical to say about this fine recital, it would be that we seemed to hear too much of the same tone quality: rarely a solo reed, for example. I suspect that the condition of the instrument had much to do with that.

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Seattle was next, with a recital on its fine 2-m, 47-rank Bond organ, Opus 23 from 1994. Leslie Martin, organist and director of music at the church, was the performer. The church is an A-frame structure, and the organ stands behind the altar. Its mainly copper façade pipes are surrounded by a wall of panels that have lace-like carvings through which we could glimpse a chapel behind the organ. The church also owns a portative organ by John Brombaugh. It has carved figures on three sides of people playing instruments. Brombaugh himself explained many of the details. It came from a group of six instruments built in 1979 in his Eugene, Oregon shop.
Martin began his program with Toccata Quinta by Frescobaldi, followed by Ricercar Quinto Giovanni, by Paolo Cima (1570–1612). Next, Pange Lingua by Nicolas de Grigny: Plein Jeu en taille à 4, Fugue à 5, in which we heard the powerful Great Cornet V and the Swell Trompette, and finally, Récit du Chant de l’Hymne précédent, giving a good airing of the fine Swell Cornet in the tenor register with tremblant.
Next was Brahms’s O Gott, du frommer Gott, demonstrating the versatility of this organ’s foundation stops. He then played Messiaen’s Apparition de l’Eglise éternelle. I visited Messiaen’s church in Paris, Eglise de la Sainte-Trinité, one year ago. Even though I did not hear the organ, this music was in my head, and I wondered at all the glorious improvisations he must have created in that colorful space. Leslie Martin’s tempo and approach were faster and more robust than I would prefer, but in a room lacking reverberation like this one, it may have been a wise choice. He closed with the Adagio from Widor’s Symphony No. 2 in D Major, op. 13, no. 2. We heard the strings and the Great Harmonic Flute to which was added the Great Montre 8′. It was a good, rich sound! The hymn was “O Day of Peace That Dimly Shines” to Parry’s distinguished tune, Jerusalem. I like a more majestic pace for this tune, but it was good to hear it sung by the great voices of the OHS!
We were served a nice box lunch in the parish hall. On the way to the buses many of us were taking pictures of the beautiful flower gardens around the church and in the neighborhood—blue hydrangeas and giant roses of all colors!

We then crossed the attractive Lake Washington again and climbed up the steep bluff to St. John’s Episcopal Church in Kirkland to hear Derek Nickels, director of music at the Church of the Holy Comforter (Episcopal) in Kenilworth, Illinois. I recalled hearing him at the 2006 convention and was eager to hear him again. He did not disappoint—secure, solid rhythm and sensitive musicianship again were the order of the day. The organ was a 2-m, 17-stop Cole & Woodberry, Opus 225, built in Boston in 1892. The OHS Seattle 2008 Organ Atlas has two articles about this fascinating instrument. Tom Foster tells of its original home in Highland Congregational Church, Westford Street, Lowell, Massachusetts. When the church closed, the organ was put in storage, and St. John’s acquired it in 1974. Glenn White of Olympic Organ Builders, Seattle, installed it in St. John’s, and later on Richard Bond Organ Builders did major work on the action. Stephen Pinel also wrote a fascinating essay for the Atlas on William B. Goodwin, who designed the organ. The façade has three large false wood pipes followed by a row of some 27 pipes in a wide flat. Its appearance is unique! Scott Hamilton described some of the other unique features of this instrument—it really was designed to play transcriptions.
Nickels did just that. He made great use of the organ throughout the program, playing expressively in pieces like Meyerbeer’s “Coronation March” (Le Prophète) in an arrangement by Bryan Hesford, which showed contrasting sounds, and he built up to a wonderful ff. Next was John Knowles Paine’s Andante con Variazioni, op. 17. He began on a single string stop that filled the room nicely. The first variation used what sounded like the Doppelflute 8′ on the Swell—a full, rich sound; 8′ and 4′ flutes were up next. He arched the phrases nicely. The strings repeated the opening theme.
Next were two pieces by Schumann: Sketch in D-flat Major and Canon in B Minor, in which he made the most of the resources of this organ. The jolliness of the D-flat gave way to the jingle bell effect of the B-Minor. He brought his fine program to an end with Mendelssohn’s Fugue in E Minor, giving it a spirited performance. Organ and organist were well matched. He managed the wild ride that is the pedal part of this piece with great élan. His clean playing gave life to the music. A superb performance!

I was keen to get to our next church because I always enjoy Bruce Stevens’s concerts, but also because the church, St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Medina, has a 2-m and pedal, 22-stop Metzler Söhne organ, built in Dietekon, Switzerland in 1971. This would be my first Metzler, and I’m told it is the only Metzler in the United States. I have many recordings of Metzler organs, usually played by Stevens’s teacher, Anton Heiller, so I am familiar with their outstanding quality. The church is a cruciform pattern with transepts, and the altar stands at the crossing beneath a lantern tower. The organ and choir are behind the altar.
Bruce Stevens, a well-known and distinguished figure at OHS conventions, serves as organist at Second Presbyterian Church in downtown Richmond, Virginia. He is also adjunct instructor in organ at the University of Richmond, and leads OHS organ tours of Europe. I truly admire and respect his playing. He began with J. S. Bach’s Canonic Variations on “Vom Himmel hoch, da komm’ ich her,” BWV 769. After three variations, we sang the hymn “From Heaven Above to Earth I Come” (Vom Himmel hoch). The organ led us very well. Stevens then played the final two variations, delineating the parts of the canons with clarity and grace.
There followed yet another canonic piece: Schumann’s Piece in Canonic Form, op. 56, no. 5; again we had a clear idea of where the music was going. He ended with Schumann’s Fugue on the Name of B-A-C-H, op. 60, no. 6. Stevens used this wonderful organ very well, letting us hear its fine colors and refined voicing. The glorious ff finale was spine-tingling!
Our next event was a dinner cruise aboard the elegant “Spirit of Seattle.” The relaxing evening took us on a cruise of the beautiful waters of Puget Sound. The food was bountiful, the conversation was friendly and stimulating, and the scenery was magnificent. The huge skyscrapers of downtown Seattle and the graceful Space Needle slowly began to shrink as the natural landscape took center stage. A full moon appeared as mist clung to the shores of islands and peninsulas, while the Cascade Mountains rose behind. Dominating all was Mount Rainier, gazing down like an Old Testament prophet. We began the cruise in the bright sunshine of the late afternoon, returning to shore at dusk just as the lights of the downtown buildings and the Space Needle were beginning to twinkle magically. It was a perfect evening.

Thursday, July 17
Thursday began at Calvary Lutheran Church in Federal Way, Washington, with a recital by Sharon Porter Shull, minister of music at Agnus Dei Lutheran Church in Gig Harbor, Washington, on the church’s Kenneth Coulter organ, Opus 6, built in Eugene, Oregon. Its two manuals, pedal, and 19 stops stand in the rear balcony. Roger Meers’s essay in the Atlas points out that the church’s low ceiling necessitated a Rückpositive. As the church’s music program expanded, the balcony was enlarged, bringing it forward on each side of the Rückpositive.
Shull opened with the Allegro from Vivaldi’s Concerto del Sigr. Meck (sic) as arranged by Johann Gottfried Walther—a most engaging piece, which she played in a most entertaining way. The organ has very sweet tones that were evident in the next piece, Partita on “Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten” by Georg Böhm, which would be the hymn we would sing at the end of the program. We moved forward to the end of the 19th century for Brahms’s O Welt, ich muss dich lassen, and then heard Bach’s Herr Gott, nun schleuss den Himmel auf, BWV 617. The ornamented chorale tune was played on the organ’s Schalmei 8′, but it did not seem to be alone. She then played a gentle little Trio in C by Krebs, followed by Bach’s Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier, BWV 751, for which she used the Rückpositive Cornet with tremolo. We heard the Trumpet on Bach’s Der Tag, der ist so freudenreich, BWV 605, and she closed with Fuga in C (“The Fanfare”) attributed to Bach. Shull gave it a wonderful sense of momentum and joy—fine playing all around!
Our last stop of the morning was Kilworth Chapel at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, with its elegant Paul Fritts & Co. organ, Opus 8, from 1989. We had gotten ahead of schedule, however, so they gave us a brief tour of downtown Tacoma’s invitingly attractive area. Dale Chihuly’s glass workshop is there, as well as three grand old theaters that have been mercifully spared the indignities of the wrecking ball.
We soon arrived at the University of Puget Sound’s campus and its New England-style chapel. The Fritts organ stands on the stage. Its case is white with accents of gold leaf and panels of pale green. Elaborate gold pipe shades stand guard above and below the dark façade pipes, heavy with lead. The organ is essentially North German, but the Swell Oboe 8′ is a copy of a Cavaillé-Coll stop. It was the first Fritts organ to have a Swell division, and Paul Fritts is a graduate of this school.
Our recitalist was Paul Thornock, an alumnus currently serving as director of music at St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Columbus, Ohio, where he presides over a large and magnificently red 2006 Fritts organ. His personality and his playing can best be described as ebullient. Thornock opened with Buxtehude’s Praeludium in E Minor, BuxWV 142. This organ has power and a rich tone, and his playing possessed the power and richness to match it. Next, in a partita by Walther on Jesu, meine Freude, we heard a good variety of the tonal features of this fine 2-m, 34-stop organ. The Great Rohrflöte was very pleasing. The Swell 8′ Principal with tremulant accompaniment by that Great Rohrflöte was a truly beautiful effect. Next, the Cantabile from Louis Vierne’s Symphonie No. 2 demonstrated this organ’s romantic possibilities, including its Cavaillé-Coll-style Oboe.
More romantic literature followed: the brilliant Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, op. 59, nos. 5 and 6 by Max Reger. Thornock’s keen sense of proportion and architecture was evident, and he has a huge technique. The hymn was “Lo, He Comes with Clouds Descending” (Helmsley). This was another outstanding recital at this outstanding convention. And we weren’t done yet! For lunch, we were treated to a midsummer cookout on the grounds of the campus beneath the Douglas fir trees that towered over an incredibly lush green lawn.
Our first recital of the afternoon was given by Rodney Gehrke, director of music and liturgy at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, San Francisco, and at the city’s Temple Emanu-El. He also teaches undergraduate organ at the University of California, Berkeley. He had the good fortune to be assigned the organ by John Brombaugh & Associates, Opus 22, 1979 (2-m, 23 stops) in the modern and strikingly beautiful Christ Church, Episcopal, Tacoma. David Dahl has been organist there for 38 years and told us that while the style is affectionately called “Brutalism” because it is all concrete and heavy wood, the acoustics are great and people can hear each other pray and sing. The organ resounds nicely, too!
The sun had just come out after a cloudy morning, so it was appropriate that we sang as our hymn “Now that the Daylight fills the skies” (Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend). Living as I do just four blocks from John Brombaugh’s Opus 33 (49 ranks) in the chapel at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, I heard many familiar sounds in Gehrke’s first selection, Magnificat on the Third Tone by Lebègue. Brombaugh’s vocale voicing of the principals and flutes, and the rich and full-throated reeds were his trademarks on display. The recently added Erzähler 8′ and Celeste 8′ made for a wondrous sound in Langlais’ “Chant de Paix” from Neuf Pièces. Written at the end of WWII, we can only wonder at the relief the French felt in those days. This music takes us there, and Messrs. Gehrke, Langlais and Brombaugh transported us to that eternal song of peace with their gifts of skill, art, and grace.
The Harfenregal 8′ on the Great (a stop also on the LU organ and a favorite of mine) began Hugo Distler’s Variations on “Frisch auf, gut Gsell, laß rummer gahn” from 30 Spielstücke. It was well played and demonstrated many more of the beautiful sounds of this landmark instrument. Gehrke’s
final selection was Bach’s Partita on “Sei gegrüsset, Jesu Gütig.” The chorale, played on the Great 8′ Principal, was a thing of beauty. Each variation revealed more of this truly great organ. The final variation, with full organ, was powerful, intense, and moving.

Our next stop was the First Presbyterian Church, Tacoma, for a recital by Lorenz Maycher. Whenever I see that Maycher is playing for the OHS, I know I’m in for a treat, especially when he is seated at a big romantic organ like this large Reuter, Opus 138 from 1925 (4-m, six divisions, 80 stops, 55 ranks, 121 registers). He led off with the hymn “Over the Chaos” to a tune by Russell Jackson (b. 1962). Next was a piece by Richard Purvis, “Supplication” from Four Poems in Tone. It was inclusive of all manner of supplication from quiet to intense. Then a work by Jaromir Weinberger (1896–1994), The Way to Emmaus (A Solo Cantata for High Voice with Organ) for which he was joined by gifted soprano Anneliese von Goerken, who sang marvelously. Maycher made great use of the instrument’s many gorgeous solo stops. If you have such an organ and a good soprano, you might find this a useful piece.
I was glad to see that Maycher was playing Sowerby. He is a Sowerby expert, as anyone will tell you after listening to his recordings. Today’s offering, ending the program, was Sowerby’s Prelude on “Non Nobis, Domine,” which was played with great expression and strength.
The evening event began with a blissful late afternoon non-scheduled free hour in downtown Seattle, followed by a delicious meal in Hildebrandt Hall of Plymouth Congregational Church. We then made our way upstairs to the oval-shaped church with its white/ivory walls and small stained glass windows to attend Choral Evensong as sung by the Choir of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Seattle, Gary James, choirmaster. Thomas Foster was the conductor, and Craig Phillips was the organist. The Rev. Ralph Carskadden, from St. Mark’s Cathedral, was the officiant. It was a beautiful service. The choir did very well, the music was well chosen and conducted with grace. Craig Phillips played very well on the church’s 3-m Schlicker, with 53 stops and 63 ranks. All the pipes are behind a screen that stands in back of the altar. Phillips wrote quite a bit of the music performed at this service, including a very nice Prelude from Triptych for Organ, and Serenade for Horn and Organ, for which he was ably joined by Maxwell Burdick. Psalm 150 was sung to an Anglican chant by Charles Fisk (Menlo Park)—a nice touch! Phillips also supplied the anthem, Teach Me, My God and King, that I liked quite a lot, and the postlude, Toccata on “Hyfrydol,” which is a terrific piece.

Friday, July 18
The last day of the convention—some really fine events were coming our way, and we were eager to plunge right in. We began at the large St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church in Seattle, which has a fantastic organ by Fritts-Richards, Opus 4 from 1985. With 2-m, 33 stops in a fabulous acoustic, and a drop-dead gorgeous case in the rear gallery featuring a Rückpositive, it is a thing to behold. The case is of painted poplar. The carved and gilded pipe shades were made by David Dahl’s late father. This very German organ was built by two young men still in their twenties who had never been to Europe.
Our recitalist was Dana Robinson, who is on the faculty of the School of Music at the University of Illinois. Those of us fortunate enough to have been at the OHS convention in 2006 heard him give the closing recital on the amazing 19th-century organ in the Troy Savings Bank Auditorium, and will not soon forget his brilliant concert that warm night. So we looked forward to hearing him again—this time on a bright cool morning and on another amazing organ. Robinson began his program with Modus ludendi pro organo pleno by Samuel Scheidt. He used the full plenum, which has a surprisingly powerful sound. Next up were two verses of Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt by Heinrich Scheidemann. The first featured the warm Principal and a quiet reed. The second utilized a 4′ flute, beautifully and expressively played. He then went back for more Scheidemann: Es ist das Heil uns kommen her (two verses)—well played and using more of the instrument.
Up next was Buxtehude’s setting of Nun bitten wir den heiligen Geist, BuxWV 209. I believe we heard the Rückpositiv Sesquialtera II playing the ornamented chorale tune against the Great Violdigamba 8′ (sic)—gorgeous, clear sounds. That was also the hymn, which followed immediately. It was quite an experience to sing this hymn with this very North German organ in the resonant space of St. Alphonsus Church. Then came Buxtehude’s Ciacona in E Minor, BuxWV 160. Robinson began with the 8′ Principal and built from there. Organ, organist, literature and room were superb. Finally, we came to Buxtehude’s great setting of Te Deum Laudamus, BuxWV 218. I especially enjoyed the Great Trommet 8′. This organ has big-scaled pedal reeds, which he used well, including a full-length 32′ Posaunen. We were given a most thoughtful demonstration of this instrument by one of America’s finest players.
After a windy ride through the city, we found ourselves in the beautiful “First Hill” neighborhood overlooking downtown Seattle. We arrived at First Baptist Church and its newly acquired 3-m, 35-rank Aeolian-Skinner from 1953, which came from First Methodist Church in Tacoma, and was meticulously restored by Bond Organ Builders. Stephen Schnurr presented the OHS Historic Organ Citation. The organ is in two chambers on either side of the altar and baptistry.
Our recitalist was Douglas Cleveland, who opened his program with Handel’s Concerto in B-flat Major, a piece played on this organ 50 years ago by David Craighead. The middle section featured what I believe was the English Horn, a lovely stop. Next was Virgil Fox’s famous arrangement of Bach’s Come Sweet Death. Cleveland played it with great tenderness and expressivity. The hymn, “O for a Thousand Tongues” to the tune Azmon, was followed by a charming Scherzetto by Joseph Jongen and the lovely Woodland Flute Call by Fannie Dillon (1881–1897), which I believe was soloed on the Great 4′ Flute Harmonique.
Cleveland closed his program with the brilliant and dashing Four Concert Etudes by David Briggs (b. 1964). Following an introduction, it charged into the toccata-like “Octaves.” The next movement, “Chordes Alternées,” featured the Choir flutes alternating chords in various octaves with a melody in the pedal. Then a “Sarabande,” featuring the lush Aeolian-Skinner strings. The final movement entitled “Tierces” uses many of the motives of the earlier movements: octaves, alternating chords, etc. Cleveland gave a first-rate performance.
We then enjoyed a tasty box lunch in the labyrinthian but cozy basement of the First Baptist Church. After lunch, we returned to the sanctuary for the OHS annual meeting. Orpha Ochse was feted for all her work on behalf of the organ and the OHS. Joseph McCabe, chairman of the 2009 convention in Cleveland, gave us a tantalizing peek at all the good things it promises.
Following the meeting, we had a choice of spending some free time at the Seattle Center, which includes the Space Needle, or attending a recital by Gregory Crowell at German United Church of Christ in Seattle. Since I had been to the Seattle Center before, I chose the recital. True to form, we were early by about a half hour. The little church, in a quiet neighborhood and with a small congregation, has a rare treasure in these parts: a 1917 Hinners organ, Opus 2324. It was built in 1917 for St. Jakobi Lutheran Church in Allison, Iowa, and, after a few moves, it wound up in the safe hands of the Organ Clearing House. Legendary OHSer Randall Jay McCarty, organist of this church, installed the organ in 1976, replacing an electronic substitute. It has one divided keyboard and pedal and is a sweet charmer. Since we were so early, our distinguished recitalist Gregory Crowell, a favorite OHS performer (this would be his sixth convention appearance), agreed to begin 30 minutes early.
It was amazing how much he managed to get out of this six-rank instrument. He began with Huit Fugues pour le Clavecin ou l’Orgue by Johann Philipp Kirnberger: Preludium I & Fuga [1], which worked quite well. The organ was hand pumped. Then, using the electric blower, Crowell played Contrapunctus I from Kunst der Fuga, BWV 1080, by Bach—something I never thought I’d hear on a 1917 Hinners. But the organ held its own, and Crowell played it very well. Next came music by Max Drischner (1891–1971): Choralvorspiele für Dorforganisten; “Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern” was played on the pleasing little 4′ flute; “Die Sonn’ hat sich mit ihrem Glanz gewendet” used the strings; and “In dir ist Freude” employed the full sound. These are very nice and accessible pieces.
Next was the hymn In dir ist Freude, which we sang in German. Again the organ was hand pumped. The next piece was a bonbon: Träumerei, op. 15, no. 7 by Robert Schumann, in an arrangement by Clarence Eddy. Then came a Pastorale by Bossi, which seemed to use every register on the organ—an amazing array of sound and color. Next up was a Capriccio by one A. Pedro Zuazo (fl. 1890) that he played in a cheerfully agreeable manner. Crowell closed his program with Church Sonata I, III. Allegro, by James Woodman (b. 1957). I never cease to enjoy hearing music by composers of our time on old instruments. These instruments are never out of date. This one played music from a wide spectrum and handled all of it with ease. Good organ building is timeless.
We then returned to the hotel for our elegant buffet dinner in the twelfth floor ballroom. Then it was off to St. James Roman Catholic Cathedral, which is perched dramatically on First Hill overlooking the southern end of downtown Seattle, with its mixture of industrial loading cranes for the ships of Puget Sound, office towers, and huge sports venues. We were at St. James for the closing event of the convention: a recital by the cathedral’s organist, Joseph Adam. This magnificent Romanesque church has been remodeled/restored so that the altar stands at the crossing. There is a large oculus above the altar, which, in photographs I’ve seen, sends a dramatic shaft of light into the building from the sun above—like the hand of God reaching in. At the west end, in a beautiful case, stands the historic musical treasure we had come to hear: the great Hutchings-Votey organ of 1906. It had escaped unharmed when the great dome of the cathedral collapsed under the weight of a massive snowstorm in 1916. In 1926 a Casavant sanctuary organ was installed in the east apse. While it had only 21 stops, it had a 4-m console that connected the two organs. The 4-m Hutchings-Votey organ has 48 stops. In 2000, the Casavant was replaced by a new organ by Rosales Organ Builders, retaining five ranks from the Casavant. It totals 48 ranks on four manuals. The Rosales pedal includes a Bombarde 64′, which is unlabeled. Only the BBBB sounds, but it is most impressive. The Rosales case wraps around the wall of the apse in a series of Romanesque arches. Like the Casavant, its console can play both organs.
An ancestor of the cathedral’s first organist, Franklin Sawyer Palmer, was introduced to the audience. The director of music, Clint Kraus, spoke of the last visit by the OHS to the cathedral in 1982, when an historic citation was presented. Kraus said that that presentation was the impetus to restore the Hutchings-Votey organ.
Joseph Adam opened his program on the Hutchings-Votey organ playing Bach’s Chaconne in D Minor as transcribed by Wilhelm Middelschulte. We were all transfixed by the amazing flutes on this magnificent organ. Then came the foundation stops, which were followed by the trumpets. The kaleidoscope of tones being flung into the vast reverberant space was quite wonderful. It calmed down to a pp with rapid repeated notes on the flutes. A big crescendo briefly included the 32′ reeds, followed by a lessening of tone as we heard more and more of this instrument.
The oculus let in the last light of day as we awaited the next selections, three well-known and loved pieces by Louis Vierne: Naïades, op. 55, no. 4; Claire de lune, op. 53, no. 5; and Carillon de Westminster, op. 54, no. 6. In Naïades, his fingers flew over the keys, flutes and strings seeming to race up and down the Romanesque arches of the cathedral. Claire de lune was all tranquility—our thoughts could wander slowly as they do in moonlight. This was heartfelt organ playing. Who could not love the organ hearing such a beautiful solo flute singing to us—lost in beauty, awe and wonder. He played the Carillon de Westminster brilliantly: controlling and holding the reins together until just the right moment when he allowed the music to explode. I’ve never heard it played better.
We then sang the hymn: “Of the Father’s Love Begotten” (Divinum Mysterium), followed by a piece commissioned for this convention, Divinum Mysterium: Solemn Meditation by Timothy Tikker (b. 1958). It is a lovely work, very quiet at first, almost brooding, the music leading into a surrender to faith. It soon brightened, the manuals reflecting the stepwise melody in fast notes while the pedal sounded out the theme in long notes. All the while a crescendo grew. It is a fine piece and a good addition to the repertoire.
After intermission, Adam appeared at the east end of the cathedral, and played the Rosales organ. He began with another piece by Timothy Tikker, Variations sur un vieux Noël. The Rosales organ makes sounds that complement rather than compete with the room’s elder statesman in the west end gallery. We heard bell sounds against strings, reeds creating open fifths, tierces sounding against trumpets. A fugue broke out that was quite lively and grew to full organ. I really liked this piece, and I like this organ. We then sang “Come Down, O Love Divine” (Down Ampney) to his marvelous accompaniment.
Joseph Adam closed this fantastic recital (the cathedral, by the way, was packed—we OHSers only occupied the transepts!) with Maurice Duruflé’s Suite, op. 5. The Prelude used both organs, creating a sonic spectacle that is possible in only a handful of buildings. The Sicilienne featured a solo reed that filled the church. Sweet strings and a bubbling flute lightly danced for us. Adam is an alert and wise musician—able to address composers’ thoughts and bring them to us in an astonishing array of color. Clearly, he knows and understands these remarkable organs completely.
The great and fiendishly difficult Toccata brought the Suite and convention to a dramatic conclusion. Adam’s performance was as magnificent as the organs he was playing. We were all swept away by his powerful strength and energy. The air above and around us was charged with his utter mastery of this music. With the huge 32′ stops giving us ground, it was at times almost gloriously terrifying—a fantastic experience! There was an encore: Dupre’s Prelude in G Minor, a somewhat palate-cleansing feeling to calm and give rest to our spirits. I did not want to leave this building. It was a transforming recital, one none of us will forget anytime soon.

Closing thoughts
This was an unusual OHS convention. While we heard plenty of old instruments, they were transplants from the east or elsewhere. We were witness to a new, more youthful voice on the national and international stage, the emerging influence of the modern organ world in the Pacific Northwest. Two names came up again and again: John Brombaugh and David Dahl. These two gentlemen have led this movement and deserve our admiration. Martin Pasi, Paul Fritts, Richards & Fowlkes, Taylor & Boody, and others got their start here.
I had a great time at this well-organized convention, seeing old friends, making new ones, eating good food, and getting to know the organ world in this part of the country. Much more will come from this school of organ building. Let us enjoy watching it unfold. The Organ Historical Society will be observing it all with great curiosity, and interest. See you next summer in Cleveland, July 5–10! Oh, and my horoscope was dead on!

Frank Rippl holds a BMus degree from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, where he was a student of Miriam Clapp Duncan and Wolfgang Rübsam, and an MA degree from the University of Denver. He has been organist/choirmaster at All Saints Episcopal Church in Appleton since 1971, is co-founder of the Appleton Boychoir, and coordinator of the Lunchtime Organ Recital Series.

Pittsburgh is a very attractive American city, situated between the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, which meet to form the Ohio River at the tip of a Manhattan-like triangle of land that is the downtown. Home to 151 high-rise buildings, two inclined railways, and a staggering 446 bridges, it is more than ketchup and paint, and I recommend a visit. You will fall in love with the city, its museums, vistas, churches, and the organs!

Monday evening, June 21, 2010
The convention began with an evening concert preceded by a wandering bus ride o’er the hills of Pittsburgh through the campus of Carnegie Mellon and the magnificent architecture of the University of Pittsburgh. Soon we arrived at Calvary Episcopal Church, a huge building designed in 1904 by Boston architect Ralph Adams Cram. One of the great Gothic Revival churches in America, its 208-foot-long interior seats 1,000 people. The present organ, a huge 4-manual Lawrence Phelps Casavant, Opus 2729, dates from 1963, with modifications and enlargements in 1991, 2004, and 2010.

The recitalist was Peter Guy from Australia, who began with the hymn How shall I sing that majesty to the tune Coe Fen, which I hope will make its way into hymnals soon. The concert began with Duruflé’s Prelude, Adagio, and Chorale Variations on “Veni Creator.” Flutes bubbled about the church as soft solo reeds soloed beneath. The Adagio was announced with a somber Trumpet, then that gorgeous string passage. The variations were played with grace, tenderness, and power. The console was moved into the crossing, and those of us sitting in the transept could not help but notice that, good Aussie boy that he is, Guy played in his stocking feet!
Bach’s Fantasia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 537, came next. The organ’s principals were warm and expansive as he used the swell shades to good effect, although the registrations did get a little muddy. Guy then played a piece by Australian composer Keith Noake (1915–1968): Introduction, Pastorale, and Fugue on Leoni—a good demonstration of some solo stops. In the Pastorale we heard the clarinet against the Swell strings. The Fugue was announced with, I believe, the powerful Trompette Royale on the Great. A majestic ending brought the piece to a close.
A charming Cantilène by Salomé was next, with a solo on the oboe and a sort of oom-pah accompaniment on a Choir flute and soft pedal. Guy closed with Gothic Toccata, by another Australian composer, Graeme Koehne (b. 1956). Its C-minor tonality had loads of fire and color—a virtuoso performance! A standing ovation demanded an encore: Angelic Whispers by W. R. Knox, from the 1930s.

Tuesday, June 22
The day began in pouring rain as we made our way to Bellevue, Pennsylvania, and the Roman Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the Beautiful River. The Romanesque church features a splendid fresco of Mary ascending into heaven surrounded by saints, apostles, and angels. The acoustics were wonderful for the 1964 3-manual Casavant of about 41 ranks.

The recitalist was Ann Labounsky, who began with Langlais’ famous Hymne d’actions de grâce “Te Deum”. It was marvelously played with great expansiveness. We then sang the hymn Holy God, we praise Thy name (Grosser Gott)— all seven verses. The Pittsburgh area was in the midst of a heat wave, and the humidity and heat made for some colorful tuning issues in the many non-air-conditioned churches we would enter during the convention. This one was no exception. The reeds complained, but Ms. Labounsky soldiered on, took charge, set a good tempo and led us well.
She ended with Six More Pieces for Organ, op. 133, by Pennsylvania composer Joseph Willcox Jenkins (b. 1928). We would hear his fine music several times during the week. I. Sonatina showed the principal choruses. II. Arioso used the strings and a soft solo reed. III. Ludus Angelorum used an Alleluia chant from the Roman Missal. The clear and focused registrations at mf level were well chosen. IV. Ochone used the Great 8′ Principal as a solo over soft foundation stops. A plaintive bagpipe-like cry was heard, then the solo principal returned with an answering phrase by a solo reed. V. Dona Nobis Pacem began with the flutes. Soon we heard the Cornet on the Choir. This organ is very much of its time, but the voicing is very refined. VI. Toccata (“This Service Ends, Let Yours Begin”) brought the piece to an end. Very enjoyable music, beautifully played, and on a fine mid-20th-century organ!
The second stop of the day was at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Perrysville for a recital by the church’s own organist, Charlotte Roederer. The organ is a 2-manual, 7-rank, tubular-pneumatic Estey, Opus 1558 (1917). An unusual feature is the Swell 8′ Oboe, which is reedless. Roederer began with Variations on Tallis’s Canon by Franklin D. Ashdown (b. 1942), which provided a good demonstration of the tiny instrument’s resources. Each of the three Great stops (all are at 8′ pitch) has twelve Haskell basses. The tone of this fine little organ, rich and full, was more than able to accompany a church full of OHSers. Those old boys building organs at the turn of the 20th century knew what they were doing.
Then came a beautiful little Prelude, op. 19, no. 1, by John Knowles Paine, which Roederer played with careful attention to phrasing and elasticity. Dudley Buck’s Concert Variations on “The Star-Spangled Banner,” op. 23, followed, beginning on the gentle Swell Salicional. The hymn was Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (Lobe den Herren). We sang the first verse in German, as we were in the home of this German congregation. Roederer led us skillfully.
We then went to Hartwood Acres County Park, site of a large Cotswold-style limestone mansion, which houses a 2-manual Aeolian player organ, Opus 1091 (1909), now under restoration. There was a fun circus-like self-playing instrument on the grounds that entertained us during our meal.

The first stop of the afternoon for my group was Nativity Lutheran Church, Allison Park, to hear James Heustis Cook demonstrate the church’s M. P. Möller Opus 10656-T (1970). That “T” stands for tracker! This organ proved to be a surprise favorite of the convention! With 2 manuals and pedal and 18 ranks, it was beautifully voiced, a joint venture between Möller and G. F. Steinmeyer & Co. of Germany. Page 143 of this convention’s Atlas tells of a political brouhaha that raged around a pastor of this church who barricaded himself within its walls, a labor dispute, and some of the organ’s pipes. It is quite the story.
We heard a marvelous concert on this wonderful little organ. The chairs had been turned around so that we faced the organ. Cook began with Bach’s Fantasia in C, BWV 570, played expressively on a nicely voiced 8′ Principal. Next was a setting of Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott, by Johann Nikolaus Hanff (1615–1711), which featured a solo on the Trumpet stop. We then returned to Bach for Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g’mein, BWV 734, very well played with a fine, clear flute on the Great, and the Swell 4′ Krummhorn coupled to the pedal.
J. G. Walther’s Lobe den Herren, den mächtigen König der Ehren used the organ’s very fine principal chorus. We then sang the hymn to that tune. It was appropriately played and the organ was more than adequate to the task of accompanying a church full of OHSers. The “Let the Amen” was hair-raising!
There followed Two Pieces for a Musical Clock by Franz Joseph Haydn: Marche and Presto. The “cute” factor was very much in play—I liked the 4′ Koppel Flute. Next was a favorite of mine: Hermann Schroeder’s setting of Schönster Herr Jesu; Cook played it with tenderness and grace. In the Scherzo from Vierne’s Second Symphony, Cook’s nimble fingers flew over the keys. Music for a Sunday Morning by Allen Orton Gibbs (1910–1996) followed, beginning with energetic mf sounds for Prelude (Psalm 122:1); Offertory (Prayer) had contrasting A and B sections; Postlude (Psalm 117) was a rollicking dance-like piece.
Cook closed with two movements from Dan Locklair’s Rubrics: “. . . and thanksgivings may follow” used the 7-bell Zimbelstern, mounted in front of the 8′ Principal façade pipes; it seemed to dance along with the jazzy rhythms of this wonderful music. “The Peace may be exchanged” brought this outstanding recital to a gentle end.

We were then divided into two groups. Somehow there was a scheduling snafu (these things happen), and my group arrived at St. Benedict the Moor Roman Catholic Church in Pittsburgh an hour early, so we enjoyed some down time. We admired the many beautiful African touches that adorned the grand old building. The organ in the balcony was a 2-manual Derrick & Felgemaker, Opus 95 from 1872; I counted 22 stops. Moved to St. Benedict’s in 1958, by 1990 it fell into disuse. The Harmony Society, directed by John Cawkins, restored the instrument. It is used only occasionally. OHS’s Steven Schnurr presented the congregation with an OHS Citation of Merit.
Kevin Birch began with Flötenkonzert, op. 55, by Johann C.H. Rinck. I. Allegro Maestoso: the Great Principal chorus played in dialogue with a very pleasant-sounding Swell Stopped Diapason. II. Adagio used the lovely Melodia. III. Rondo (Allegretto) alternated between full Great and Swell 8′ and 4′ flutes. Full organ with reeds brought this attractive music to a close. Next was Liszt: Consolation in D-flat, which used more of the foundation stops—then came Ave Maris Stella. The gentle and sweet little Keraulophon had to compete with the church’s fans; the fans won. (It was quite warm and humid.) The hymn Hail, Holy Queen enthroned above (Salve Regina Coelitum) is a sentimental favorite of mine, taking me back to my ‘younger and more vulnerable years’. A Beethoven Scherzo followed. It sounded like a glockenspiel—utterly charming.
In the Intermezzo from Rheinberger’s Sonata IV, op. 98, the lovely melody sang out on the Swell’s Bassoon/Oboe. This is a fantastic organ, and yet the choir sits at the opposite end of the church in front of the old altar surrounded by a piano, an electronic instrument, and a drum set.
Birch closed his program with Fantasie-Sonate No. 2 by Samuel de Lange Sr. (1811–1884). I. Maestoso used full plenum with reeds in music reminiscent of Guilmant. II. Andante provided another visit with the beautiful flutes of this organ. III. Allegro con fuoco brought back big forte sound alternating with a smaller sound on the Swell, and a fugue. A superb demonstration recital on a superb organ!
A delicious dinner was served on board a riverboat, The Gateway Clipper, as we cruised up and down the wonderful rivers, enjoying the skyline, the lights, and the magnificent sunset. Those of us with cameras had a great time!

Wednesday, June 23
Calvary United Methodist Church in Pittsburgh was our first stop. The 3-manual, 32-stop Farrand & Votey, Opus 734 (1895), was given an OHS Citation of Merit. The church is very beautiful with huge Louis Comfort Tiffany windows. James Hammann’s recital featured music by Horatio Parker. Parker’s Sonata in E-flat Minor, op. 65, was an excellent demonstration piece with its changes in tone color and dynamics. The Doppel Flute and Swell Cornopean were prominently featured in the first movement. The second movement, Andante, was a dialogue with the flutes, Clarinet, and Vox Humana. Hammann is no stranger to instruments like this, and he used its resources very well. The Allegretto began with a humorous conversation between the flutes and the clarinet. I could see many smiles around the room. The Doppel Flute dominated the chat. The sonata closed with a fugue, which built to full organ as it proceeded at a modest pace. The Charles Wesley hymn Forth in Thy Name, O Lord with the tune Pixham by Horatio Parker (from The Hymnal 1940) closed the program. It was well led, and sung with enthusiasm. Pity it did not reappear in the 1982 Hymnal.
Our bus caravan drove northwest of Pittsburgh through forested hills and valleys to the city of Beaver, and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, a mid-1950s building in the style of a New England meeting house. The one-manual and pedal eight-stop Felgemaker organ, Opus 665 (1898), has survived a series of moves and fires that causes one to salute its durability. Dana Hull and John Cawkins supervised its revitalization. Today it stands in the rear gallery. Richard Konzen presented an eclectic program of music from Gabrieli to Distler. He began with a lively Praeludium in C by Johann Christoph Kellner, in which flutes were soon joined by the Open Diapason 8′ and the Fifteenth. Gabrieli’s Ricercar arioso IV featured the Open Diapason in fine style, with well-articulated and elegant playing. Next came Dreissig Spielstücke für die Kleinorgel by Hugo Distler:
1. Schnelle was announced with 8′ and 2′. In 2. Schnelle, the warm Melodia took over. 3. Gehende began on the Dulciana; he then added the 4′ flute for a bit before returning to the beautiful Dulciana.
4. Flincke was a jolly little canonic thing on flutes 8′ and 4′ with the Fifteenth.
Next came that great hymn, All my hope on God is founded, with its tune Michael by Herbert Howells. Konzen followed with a great favorite by Pietro Yon: Humoresque ‘L’Organo Primitivo’. He closed with Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 539, which worked quite well on this organ—Felgemakers are amazing instruments. This was a very well-played program.

The afternoon began at First Presbyterian Church in New Brighton, with a recital by Andrew Scanlon on the church’s fine 2-manual, 17-register Hook & Hastings Opus 2548 from 1928, which stands at the front of the church. Scanlon began with three of Six Pieces by Joseph Willcox Jenkins (b. 1928). Deo Gracias showed the usual Hook powerful presence—the forte sound was arresting. Arioso used the organ’s soft sounds—the oboe and strings, etc. were lovely. Rondeau alternated between the 8′ and 2′ flutes and other quiet effects.
Next was Bach’s Fantasia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 537. Scanlon played it in the style of the 1920s, with shades and such. He used simple, clear registrations—each musical line was carefully delineated. The marvelous fugue moved at a good clip, with only a small use of the shades—good Bach playing. He then played a piece new to me: Fideles from Four Extemporizations by Percy Whitlock—very calm and soothing music. I loved the strings on this organ. There was a small chime at the end.
The hymn was God moves in a mysterious way (London New). The organ was a trifle too heavy in places, but otherwise it was well done. Scanlon closed with Langlais’ Three Characteristic Pieces. Pastorale-Prelude featured the Oboe and some of the organ’s softest sounds. Interlude used the fine Swell Dolce Cornet III. Bells featured many of the stronger sounds, building to a grand “peak” of sorts. A fine demonstration of a great organ!
We then went to St. John’s United Evangelical Protestant Church in Zelienople to hear organist Gregory Crowell and cellist Pablo Mahave-Veglia, with the church’s sweet little Joseph Harvey organ from 1838. Harvey was a Pittsburgh organbuilder. This one-manual (no pedal) organ has four stops and stands in the rear gallery. Crowell began with Voluntary (Adagio) by Charles Zeuner, played on what sounded like the Stopped Diapason, followed by Festival Voluntary from Cutler & Johnson’s American Church Voluntaries (1856). From Sanahin by Hovhaness, he played VII. Apparition in the Sky (Bird-like) on the 4′ Principal.
Some Mendelssohn followed: Andante religioso from Sonata in B-flat, op. 65, no. 4; Adagio non troppo from Lied ohne Worte, op. 30. The hymn was I would be true (Aspiration); the tune was new to me. We were instructed to sing the last verse pp so that we might hear the cello obbligato, which used material from Mendelssohn’s Song without Words. It was lovely. A Fugue in D Minor (1778) by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach followed, and the concert ended with a fine reading of Vivaldi’s Sonata VI for Cello and Continuo in B-flat Major, RV 46.
The next recital was one I had looked forward to for a long time. Paul Matthew Weber played the 1969 Flentrop organ (2 manuals, 22 stops) at Center Presbyterian Church in Slippery Rock. I was his first organ teacher, and was proud to see him become a Biggs Fellow to the New Haven convention. He would go on to study at Lawrence University and then at Yale, where he earned his DMA. I shall try to be impartial in this review. Actually, that will not be a problem, as his recital was brilliant. The heat that afternoon was oppressive and the organ fought back, but none of us minded. Weber began with the Offertoire sur les grands jeux from François Couperin’s Parish Mass. The reeds were as unhappy with the heat and humidity as we were, but we paid no attention to their complaining—Paul’s wonderful sense of the French Baroque style carried the day.
Next was Sweelinck’s variations on Mein junges Leben hat ein End. Weber began with the Hoofdwerk Prestant 8′, then the Brostwerk 4′ Koppelfluit, then flutes 8′ and 4′, and led us on a fine tour of this very good organ. His playing was clear and controlled, with imaginative choices of color. Brahms’s Herzlich tut mich erfreuen, op. 122, no. 4, featured a dialogue between the Hoofdwerk principals 8′ and 4′, and the Brostwerk flutes 8′ and 4′. We then sang Weber’s setting of that hymn, which he led with great strength. He closed with Buxtehude’s Toccata in G Minor, BuxWV 163, played with a wonderful sense of drive and energy. Immaculate technique and musical line propelled this rousing music to an ebullient conclusion. Well done!
The evening concert took place at Grove City College’s Harbison Chapel on its 4-manual Kimball organ, Opus 7102 from 1931, which stands in chambers on either side of the chancel. The organ had fallen into disrepair, but has been beautifully restored by the Thompson-Allen Company. The console was updated by Nelson Barden & Associates; with solid-state switching and combinations, it is now more practical for teaching. With the air hot and humid, the doors and windows were left open, which allowed fireflies to enter the chapel, adding an enchanting touch to the evening.
It is always a joy to hear Thomas Murray, a regular at OHS conventions. He began with Rhapsody on a Breton Theme, op. 7, by Saint-Saëns. Murray is a master of the orchestral style. His flawless use of expression shades and tone color is the stuff of legend. This piece was a delight. He then played one-time Yale faculty member Paul Hindemith’s Sonata II. Clean registration with contrasting statements highlighted this performance. I loved the growl of the lowest notes of the Swell 16′ Bassoon. Widor’s Symphonie II followed. Murray opened the first movement (Praeludium Circulare) with the huge First Open Diapason 8′ forcing its way into the long room. Other 8′ opens followed. Pastorale playfully danced before us on the beautiful Oboe, which provided whimsy and bliss. He moved the Andante right along—mostly mf, he built it quite smoothly to a good ff and back. Quieter sounds finished the piece, with the French Horn playing the theme. The Finale showed plenty of dash in the hands and feet—it was a splendid performance!
After the intermission, Michael Barone presented Prof. Murray with the OHS Distinguished Service Award for 2010, a richly deserved honor. We leapt to our feet to applaud this great musician!
The second half offered transcriptions by Edwin H. Lemare: Im Garten from Rustic Wedding Symphony, op. 26, by Karl Goldmark (1830–1915). The strings, Vox Humana, and French Horn were heard doing what they do best. Murray did what he does best: bring the most out of this music and organs of this type, making the music sparkle and glow. The next transcription was Scherzo, op. 70, no. 3, by Heinrich Hofmann (1842–1902), a delightful confection; at the end, we even heard the harp.
We then heard a 2008 work by Dan Locklair: Glory and Peace—A Suite of Seven Reflections, commissioned by the Association of Anglican Musicians. Murray gave the premiere performance at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. The movements are inspired by the great George Herbert hymn King of Glory, King of Peace. I. King of Glory, King of Peace (Prelude) used the Tuba Mirabilis in a steadily moving section rising to a ff then backing down to strings and a 32′. II. “. . . seven whole days . . .” (Pavane) used foundation stops. III. “. . . I will praise Thee . . .” (Galliard) is a dance with harp and a faint trace of “America”. IV. “. . . I will love Thee . . .” (Aria) used the Swell Trumpet singing with warmth over some flutes. V. “. . . with my utmost heart . . .” (Scherzo) had playful flute sounds occasionally interrupted by a single chime, which he employed with wit and grace; the harp got the last word. VI. “. . . I will sing Thee . . .” (Trio) was more charm and fun. VII. “. . . e’en eternity’s too short to extol Thee” (Finale) had big full sounds—a joyous romp! A great piece, a great organ, and a great organist! And to add to the magic of the evening, fireflies gracefully led the way back to our buses.

Thursday, June 24
After a lovely climb through more of Pittsburgh’s beautiful neighborhoods, we arrived at the spectacular Gothic Revival Episcopal Church of St. Andrew, Pittsburgh’s second oldest Episcopal church, formed in 1837. Their present building dates from 1906 and features a chancel window, “Christ Blessing Little Children,” by Tiffany Studios. The organ is a 4-manual Skinner, Opus 202 (1913). Beginning in 1992, organist/choirmaster Peter Luley began rebuilding and expanding the organ in the Skinner style. We had two performers that morning: Donald Wilkins and Charles Huddleston Heaton.

Donald Wilkins performed music by Pittsburgh composers. First was a sturdy Postludium Circulaire by Henry Gaul (1881–1945), followed by Western Pennsylvania Suite (1958) by Ruel Lahmer (b. 1912). I. Dunlap’s Creek moved along gently on softer foundation stops. II. Fading Flowers was quiet. We heard the melancholy nature of Skinner’s solo stops, including Oboe and French Horn. III. Bellevernon was somehow reminiscent of Aaron Copland, and built itself to IV. The Spacious Firmament, which brought this nice piece to an end.
Gloria Te Deum by Nancy Galbraith (b. 1951) is in the style of a French toccata. Next was Joseph Willcox Jenkins’ Cantique Joyeux from Trois Cadeaux, op. 206 (2005), which featured the brilliant Fanfare Trumpet above the west doors. It calmed itself down to a pp and then made its way back.
We then switched organists. Charles Huddleston Heaton began with Dupré’s Prelude and Fugue in G Minor, op. 7, no. 3; he played it very well, but I could have done without the fanfare trumpets at the end of the fugue. Prelude on Christmas Carol by Morgan Simmons (b. 1929) followed. It is a gorgeous setting of that wonderful carol tune by Walford Davies sung to O Little Town of Bethlehem—worth getting! Fanfare-Improvisation on Azmon came next and led into the hymn O for a thousand tongues to sing.
The next stop was St. James Roman Catholic Church in Wilkinsburg, which greeted us with a peal of its bells—something we used to do all the time at OHS conventions, but have for some reason or another abandoned. Bring it back, please! Will Headlee performed on the church’s large Möller organ, Opus 9628 (1962), in a program entitled “Homage to Ernest White (1901–1980).” The music came from White’s collection Graveyard Gems (St. Mary’s Press, 1954). The organ is interesting for, among other things, its Swell division divided on either side of the altar. Headlee began with Allegro pomposo by Thomas Roseingrave, which marched along nicely. Adagio by Josef Hector Fiocco featured a mini-Cornet sound that was clear and light. Thomas Arne’s Flute Solo showed off the fine Positiv Koppel Flute 4′.
Then came two pieces by Pachelbel: Prelude in D Minor and Ciacona in D Minor. One was aware of the top-heavy sounds of this era of organbuilding. Headlee gave his usual fine performance, with loads of freedom and clearly articulated fast runs. Next, the Gigout Scherzo in E Major from Dix pièces. It put me in mind of an old all-French Biggs LP I owned back in college, which was recorded at St. George’s Episcopal Church in NYC on a Möller of similar vintage.
We then heard Clérambault’s Basse et dessus de trompette from Livre d’orgue on the Great Trompet. After a bit, he added the Harmonics III, giving the Trompet a different character. Brahms’s O Welt, ich muß dich lassen, op. post. 122, no. 3, used the pretty strings, followed by Messiaen’s Dieu parmi nous. The piece worked surprisingly well on this organ. But, oh, those high-pitched mixtures! The hymn Lift high the cross (Crucifer) ended this fine program.

The next recital of the morning was at St. Therese of Lisieux Roman Catholic Church in Munhall, with Stephen Schnurr, who gives an astonishing amount of his time and talent to the OHS. The organ was a 1960 2-manual, 33-rank Casavant designed by Lawrence Phelps. The main part of the organ is in the front of the church in a chamber to the right of the altar. There is a floating nave division at the far end of the long nave, to help support congregational singing. Dr. Schnurr opened with Bruhns’s Präludium in G Major. He played it very well, gradually unveiling the resources of the organ. The only reed stop in the sanctuary divisions is an 8′ Krumhorn on the Swell. The trumpets are in the Bombarde division back in the nave. Next was a setting of Nun freu’ dich, liebe Christen mein’, S. 21, by R. E. Bach, who flourished in the 1740s. It sounded a great deal like JSB’s setting, which elicited a chuckle or two from us.
Next, A Gigue for the Tuba Stop (2004) by Donald Stuart Wright (b. 1940), a pleasant piece, played amicably. The hymn was Lord, you give the great commission (Abbot’s Leigh). This rather gentle neo-baroque organ didn’t stand a chance trying to accompany the OHS in spite of Schnurr’s best efforts. Then, a lovely setting by Edwin H. Lemare of My Old Kentucky Home (Stephen Foster). Unfortunately our bus drivers took it upon themselves to start their engines and move about the parking lot, ruining Stephen’s charming performance and the recording of same. This problem would continue throughout this convention, and was a source of annoyance for all of us. Schnurr closed with Petr Eben’s Moto ostinato from Musica Dominicalis (1958), which worked quite well on this style of organ.
We had lunch and the annual meeting at the Pleasant Hills Community Presbyterian Church, followed by a recital on the church’s fine Holtkamp organ (1970, 2 manuals and 23 stops). The organ stands in the front of the church behind the altar. James M. Stark, co-chair of this convention, was chairman of the committee that produced this organ. Our recitalist was George Bozeman, who has played multiple times for the OHS and who always manages to insert a bit of whimsy along with solid choices of literature. He began with a piece perfectly suited to this quintessential Chick Holtkamp organ: Hindemith’s Sonata I (1937). This organ is a warm-sounding neo-baroque instrument, and Bozeman used it wisely. I especially enjoyed movement II, Sehr langsam, in which the Cromorne sang its sad song from the swell box—a beautiful tone, used very expressively. The full plenum thrilled but did not dominate. This was an excellent organ for this music.
Next came a bit of humor: Bozeman’s own transcription of A Day in Venice, op. 25, by Ethelbert Nevin (1862–1901). It began with: Alba (Dawn), which led into Gondolieri (Gondoliers), with its 12/8 rhythm taking us down some pretty canal. Canzone Amorosa (Venetian Love Song) used the 8′ Principal in the tenor range, with strings and flutes accompanying. Buona Notte (Good Night) brought it to a close with dark, thick chords giving way to lighter strings and plucks on the Great 8′ Gedackt. Who knew a 1970 Holtkamp organ could be a romantic instrument? George Bozeman did! Well done!
The hymn was A stable lamp is lighted (Andujar). Bozeman closed this well-prepared and carefully thought-out program with Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in E Major, BWV 877, from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book Two. In the prelude, he demonstrated each of the delicious sounding 8′ and 4′ flutes of this organ. For the fugue he used reeds and foundations—solid, well-defined.
After dinner at the Sheraton Station Square Hotel, we went to the evening event at one of Pittsburgh’s most opulent churches, East Liberty Presbyterian Church, for a recital by Paul Jacobs. This is no ordinary Presbyterian church. It is a huge, vast building in Gothic style built in 1930 to plans by Boston architect Ralph Adams Cram, who was given an unlimited sum of money to spend by the donors, B.B. Mellon and his wife, Jennie King Mellon. Our Atlas quoted architectural historian Walter C. Kidney: “Though building with Presbyterian money . . . [Cram] so designed the chancel that on half an hour’s notice [it] could be set up for a Catholic or Anglican High Mass.” Indeed, carvings and statues were on display all over the building. And the 4-manual, 140-rank organ—the largest we heard at the convention—was to die for. Originally an Aeolian-Skinner, in 2004 Goulding & Wood was awarded the contract to rebuild the organ and reverse changes made in the 1970s. In addition, the acoustics were improved.
Paul Jacobs began with Mendelssohn’s Sonata in F Minor, op. 65, no. 1. The Allegro moderato e serioso was grand and spacious. The peaceful Adagio was restful and quiet. The Andante–Recitativo showed the soft solo and chorus reeds. Jacobs added more and more reeds. His pacing was perfect as the sounds grew grander from this massive organ with seemingly limitless resources. It was, by turns, thrilling and terrifying.
We then sang the hymn The church’s one foundation (Aurelia). The organ seemed a little loud from where I sat. Next, a piece not in the program: Prelude in F Minor by Nadia Boulanger, which showed the strings and foundation stops. He gradually added upperwork before bringing it down to 8′ flutes. Jacobs then moved into Franck’s Finale in B-flat, op. 21. He took the beginning at a dazzlingly fast tempo. I don’t approve of his registrations in Franck, but he sells the music. Who am I to tell Paul Jacobs how to play the organ? I confess that I did like the Flauto Mirabilis used as a solo stop.
During the intermission many of us stepped up to the console to have a closer look. It stood in the center of the chancel. The pipes were high up in chambers on both sides. We were amused to find a drawknob labeled “Console Fan”. When drawn, cool air blows onto the player. Not a bad idea!
After intermission, Jacobs acknowledged the presence of all three of his organ teachers: George Rau, John Weaver, and Thomas Murray. He also introduced his 92-year-old grandmother, and urged all of us to encourage our friends and relatives to attend arts events.
We then heard this remarkable young musician play Liszt’s Fantasy and Fugue on “Ad nos, ad salutarem undam.” Jacobs used the huge variety of tone color at his disposal. It was a grand tour that was at times poignant and at times exhilarating. Young and old, we were all agog over this man’s talent and profound musicianship. We leapt to our feet and cheered. He had given his all to this great music, this great organ, and to all of us. For an encore he played a Bach Fugue in C Minor.
Apart from Jacobs’ playing, what impressed me most was his willingness to meet with all the young people who were present and who clamored to sit on the bench and have their pictures taken with him, this glittering star of the organ world. The Biggs Fellows were thrilled at the gracious generosity of his spirit. He seemed not to have any other concern in the world but to spend time with them—a lesson for all of us!

Friday, June 25
Friday morning began with a drive to the Verona United Methodist Church for a recital by Carol Britt on the church’s 2-manual, 12-rank Wirsching organ (1915). The organ sits in a balcony directly above the altar: the console faces some Tiffany-style windows, with the pipes on either side. A lovely “Coronation” tapestry hangs down to the altar.

We began by singing When morning gilds the skies (Laudes Domini). Britt opened her program with Four Compositions (3. At Twilight, and 4. The Swan) by Charles Albert Stebbins (1874–1958): movement 3 featured the sweet little Oboe; in the fourth movement, the gentle Salicional moved gracefully. Next came Variations on “Les Beaux Mots” by John David Peterson (b. 1946), which had a bit of a French Baroque tambourin style. Then we heard Lemare’s transcription and paraphrase of Stephen Foster’s Massa’s in the Cold, Cold Ground, with the organ’s only reed, the Swell Oboe 8′, playing in the tenor register. The piece ended on the Swell Stopped Diapason with the occasional chime. Britt closed with Mendelssohn’s Sonata III. Such wonderful music, beautifully played, and a very good demonstration of the organ.
All Saints Roman Catholic Church in Etna was our next destination. This Lombard Romanesque (basilica style) church was built in 1915 to plans by John Theodore Comes of Pittsburgh. Six towering granite columns line each of the side aisles. The organ came from the Organ Clearing House, acquired by the church’s organist and OHS member J. R. Daniels (also a co-chair of this convention): an 1895 Hook & Hastings, Opus 1687, of 2 manuals and approximately 23 ranks. Patrick Murphy restored the instrument, completing it in December 1995. It stands in the rear gallery, and the acoustics favored the organ quite well.
Russell Weismann began with Mendelssohn’s Prelude and Fugue in C Minor, op. 37, no. 1, which he played very well, with just the right blend of clarity, drive, and grace. Next was Folk Tune (no. 2 from Five Short Pieces), by Percy Whitlock. The Salicional accompanied flutes on the Great, then the Oboe in the tenor range. The sounds were warm and filled the room. The hymn, Father, Lord of all creation, was sung to the tune Geneva, and included an imaginative reharmonization. Weismann closed with Dudley Buck’s Concert Variations on the Star Spangled Banner. We had the surprise of a Zimbelstern in about the third variation. I’ve never heard anyone else do that. It worked very well. He played with expression and artistry!
We then split into three groups. My group went to First Unitarian Church in Pittsburgh to hear its Wirsching organ built in Salem, Ohio in 1904: 2 manuals and about 21 ranks. The organ was donated by Andrew Carnegie, and Clarence Eddy played the dedication recital. The building is quite handsome, with splendid beams. The organ is at the front, situated in a gallery with an arched recess. Recitalist Mark W. Frazier began with the hymn Sing praise to God who reigns above (Mit Freuden Zart). We were only a third of our usual size, but Frazier played as though the entire convention was singing in this smallish church—needless to say, he drowned us out. The first piece was the Passacaglia, no. 11 from Rheinberger’s Zwölf Charackterstücke, op. 156 (1888). He carried it along quite well.
Next up were Two Chorale Preludes by Roland Leich (1911–1995). Mein Herz, gedenk’, was Jesus thut used a charming 4′ flute. The program listed three movements including a pastorale; the reeds were used well. Die ganze Welt brought it to a close. Frazier then played Légende (2010), which was written especially for this concert by Luke Mayernik (b. 1981). It was full of dark mysterious colors on the Oboe and foundation stops. The middle section called for a Cornet-like sound. The final part took us back to the beginning, and ended on the strings—a good demonstration piece.
We then heard Frazier’s own composition, The Whimsical Frustretude (1995), a happy bit of music with a tongue-in-cheek setting including bits of “Woody Woodpecker”—I liked it a lot! The last piece was Toccata on “Litaniae Sanctorum” (2009) by Robert Farrell (b. 1945)—an exciting work nicely played. Frazier provided well-written and much appreciated program notes, as there was a lot of new music on this fine concert.
There was a symposium on “An Organ in 18th-century Western Pennsylvania: Joseph Downer’s ca. 1788 Chamber Organ”—an organ that only exists in pieces. A distinguished panel of organ historians discussed this instrument. Slides were shown of what remains of the organ, along with what these experts could piece together of the instrument’s history.

My group then went to Pittsburgh’s Temple Rodef Shalom, a large building dating from 1907. The W. W. Kimball Company built the 54-rank, 4-manual organ. Sadly, the instrument is in poor condition and awaits proper restoration. Recitalist Donald Fellows, organist at St. Paul Roman Catholic Cathedral, told us that many of the stops were unusable or had several silent notes. He put on a fine concert nonetheless. The organ stands in a front balcony, which rises above the Bima and the Aron Kodesh. Two menorahs are mounted near the railing, and there are ornamental en-chamade pipes all across the façade. Inside the case is a stop called, appropriately, Tuba Shophar, not playable just now.
Fellows began with Grand Chorus from Twelve Pieces by Theodore Dubois, in which we heard what there was of the Tutti. Next was Balletto del Granduca by Sweelinck, with five of its variations; all were played with great skill and style. I liked the soft flutes and Swell reeds. Then, music by Ernst Bloch: V. Un poco animato from Six Preludes, which presented more of the softer stops. Then A Partita on Laudate Dominum by Richard Proulx—nice individual sounds like the Swell 4′ flute and a beautiful Oboe. We then sang the hymn Sing praise to the Lord (Laudate Dominum), which sounded grand beneath the dome of this great worship space.
The final banquet took place in the palatial spaces of the Carnegie Music Hall, an extraordinary building in Italianate style. The Grand Foyer, added in 1907, was set up for our banquet: a gilded hall with a 50-foot ceiling lined by green marble columns from five countries. We, however, entered the Music Hall first: a lovely jewel-box of a space with red seating for 1,950 people and two balconies. On stage was the huge console of the 126-rank organ. Originally a Farrand & Votey (1895), the organ was rebuilt by
E. M. Skinner in 1917. Aeolian-Skinner did further rebuilding in 1933 and in 1950, adding percussions.
James Stark, in his fine lecture complete with PowerPoint illustrations, told us that the organ had been silent for 20 years. You can imagine our surprise when J. R. Daniels sat down at the console—he played a Fanfare by Michael McCabe that led us into the singing of Eternal Father Strong to Save (Melita). Emotions ran strong throughout that beautiful and historic room. It was one of those “only at OHS” moments. The older folk headed for the beautiful banquet area while the young folk had a field day with this huge and very grand instrument. They soon joined us, happy and smiling at their good fortune! We can only hope that this historic and noble instrument can be blessed with the thorough restoration it so richly deserves. The banquet was fantastic. We felt like royalty!
And then came what was for many of us one of those unforgettable OHS recitals: Wolfgang Rübsam in recital on the huge 4-manual Beckerath organ with its 32′ facade (1962) at St. Paul Cathedral. Our fine Atlas told us that it is “the first mechanical-action organ to be installed in a North American cathedral in the 20th century.” We have the late cathedral organist, Paul Koch, to thank for acquiring this fine organ. It inspired countless organs in the years that followed. It has been restored quite elegantly by Taylor & Boody, who began work on it in 2008. An OHS Historic Citation of Merit was presented by Stephen Schnurr.
Herr Rübsam’s concert was a dandy. He opened with two movements from Vierne’s Symphony No. II in E Minor, op. 20. The Allegro sent volleys of sound through the majestic arches of this great and reverberant building. Rübsam’s famed strength and sense of rhythm plumbed the depths of this fantastic music. As always, he was in complete control of music, instrument, and building. The Chorale movement began on the glorious 16′ foundation stops. It picked up speed and energy, giving us bigger reed sound, contrasting sections of loud and soft, building to a huge ending—it was thrilling.
Next came Franck’s Fantasie in A. It was marvelous hearing him turn this very German organ, with its faint neo-Baroque accents, into a French instrument, which says a great deal about Prof. Rübsam and about Rudolf von Beckerath. With the fine restoration by Taylor & Boody, the organ sounds better than ever.
Then came some Rheinberger (for my money, nobody plays this composer better than Wolf Rübsam): Sonata No. 5 in F-sharp Minor, op. 111. I. Grave-Allegro moderato: the music rumbled through this great cathedral; one was nearly overcome by its sheer force. II. Adagio non troppo used one of the gorgeous principals for a solo in its tenor range. III. Finale (Allegro maestoso) began with a shockingly big sound. He made it roll and roar—utterly fantastic. Can you tell that I enjoyed this recital? His performance served the music first, not himself. It ended in a blaze of glory.
Then Rübsam did something he does as well as anyone on the planet: improvise. This was entitled Polyphonic Improvisation on Rendez à Dieu. There were five pieces, each in the style of a different composer. They were utterly convincing. You would have sworn that he had discovered a never-before-heard chorale prelude from the Clavier-Übung, or that Clérambault had written a third suite. It was a tour de force of the highest magnitude. 1. Chorale was played on the warm 8′ Principal, a beautiful harmonization. 2. Bicinium followed, the evening’s first use of the Cornets in the manner of a French Baroque “Duo” with 16′ in the left hand. 3. Cantus Firmus Soprano had the melody on a strong RH Cornet while the LH accompanied on an 8′ Principal, with Pedal 16′ and 8′ in the manner of a Bach chorale prelude. It was magnificent! 4. Aria: Cantus Firmus Alto was a quiet little thing on what were, I believe, flutes 8′ and 4′. 5. Organo Pleno, c.f. Tenor, and what an organo pleno it was. Then we sang the hymn New hymns of celebration (Rendez à Dieu). Rübsam never used the same harmonization twice in playing this tune. Brilliant! His leadership was extraordinary.
Next, Bach’s Pièce d’Orgue, BWV 572. I’m especially fond of the Gravement section, as it was played at our wedding when my wife came down the aisle. Rübsam made this great music lift us to higher realms as it moved through the great spaces of the building. The Lentement was like a huge peal of bells.
Rübsam closed this extraordinary recital with two movements from Widor’s Symphonie III in E Minor. The Adagio was a welcome relief from the much louder music that preceded it. The 32′ purred under strings and a solo flute, for a lovely effect. Finale pierced the quiet spell cast by the Adagio and he was off—incredible and brilliant playing. I was reminded of notes I took after hearing him play at the Dallas AGO convention in 1994 on the Fisk organ at SMU. His playing transported us to a place where we could see into another realm greater than our own, but being ordinary mortals, we had to turn back and wait our time. It was an awe-inspiring evening!

Saturday, June 26
This was an extra day for the convention, so the group was smaller, but we had a full and interesting time. We began in the charming town of West Newton (est. in 1731) at the First United Methodist Church to hear its 1905 Austin organ (tubular pneumatic), with 2 manuals and 11 ranks. Three young men played: Joseph Tuttle, Dimitri Sampas, and Adam Gruber. Sadly, the room’s acoustic is quite dead, but the organ held its own and has many beautiful sounds. Gruber went first with a Rheinberger trio, but the organ decided to add a bit of its own in the form of a cipher on what sounded like a 16′ Gedackt in the pedal. In spite of that, he played with good attention to the independent lines. He then played a Passacaglia by his teacher, Dennis Northway (who does a superb job shepherding the young Biggs Fellows at these conventions). The piece has many humorous elements: twitters and trills. Sampas played an Offertory by Boëllmann, and the Mendelssohn Prelude and Fugue in G. The Boëllmann was played on the 8′ Open Diapason—a big, bold sound—alternating with the Swell Geigen 8′. He moved the Mendelssohn along nicely, and kept the many strands of the fugue in order. Tuttle proved to be quite a skilled improviser. He used a hymn composed by a founder of this church. We heard more of this organ’s sounds—the strings and flutes were attractive. The improvisation was well conceived and well played!
Our next destination was back in Pittsburgh: Holy Rosary Roman Catholic/St. Charles Lwanga Parish, occupying a very handsome Ralph Adams Cram Gothic building from 1930. The first organ was a 2-manual, 48-register 1901 Hook & Hastings from their previous church. Presently, there is a 1956 3-manual Casavant, Opus 2311, located in a front side gallery. The church finds itself nowadays in an African-American neighborhood, so there are beautiful African sacred art objects decorating the building. Recitalist Jonathan Ryan began with a spirited performance of Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in D Major, BWV 532 at breakneck speed—he took off like a rocket! The prelude ended mp. The fugue continued at the same tempo, but with full plenum. The organ is very typical of Casavants of this period: a warm, clear tone. The closing section brought things to ff and full pedal. Sadly, there was a cipher.
Next was a charming French noël: Où s’en vont ces gais bergers? by Claude Balbastre. The organ was well suited to this literature. I wish he hadn’t used the shades on the softer parts, as they rendered them nearly inaudible because fans were running (but were finally turned off; churches need to be instructed on using fans during organ conventions). I wish more performers would use these marvelous noëls; they are great demonstration pieces. His playing was excellent. Next, in Pastorale and Toccata (1991) by David Conte, the generous acoustic of this tall stone space enhanced the Great Hohlflöte 8′ with the Swell strings in a pensive section. A livelier section followed, with a return to the flutes. Ryan played it with great movement and feeling. The Toccata started with somewhat dissonant chords. He controlled all the elements very well.
The hymn was My song is love unknown to the tune by John Ireland, Love Unknown. Then came something completely different: George Shearing’s I Love Thee, Lord. He closed with The World Awaiting the Savior from Dupré’s Passion Symphony, op. 23. Alas, the cipher returned; a pity, as it ruined the recording of an otherwise fine performance.
We then went to Trinity Lutheran Church, on the north side of Pittsburgh, whose present building dates from 1960. The organ stands in the back of the smallish church: a charming Jardine from 1863 that had quite a history of moves here and there; 2 manuals and an 18-note pedalboard, and 11 stops. The case was honey colored, and the façade pipes were painted a deep maroon. Christopher J. Howerter began with Opening Voluntary by James Cox Beckel (1811–1880), which featured a broad, warm sound. For Trumpet Air, by James Bremner (d. 1780), the blower was turned off and the organ was pumped by hand. The blower came back on for The Sufferings of the Queen of France, op. 23 by Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760–1812). This was programmatic music “expressing the feelings of the unfortunate Marie Antoinette, during her imprisonment, trial . . .” Scherzo, from Grand Sonata in E-flat by Dudley Buck, was nicely played and showed the organ well. The hymn followed: Rejoice, the Lord Is King! (Jubilate). He ended with Postlude in C by Walter H. Lewis (fl. 1890s). This was a real period piece, sounding like something a community band would play on a Sunday afternoon concert in a park. It sounded great on this organ, bringing out all its personality. We then had a hymn sing of some early Western Pennsylvania hymns.
After dinner, the final concert of the convention was held at Eastminster Presbyterian Church. The organ was a 4-manual, 1955 Aeolian-Skinner, Opus 1266 with six divisions, situated at the front of the church. The Steinway Model D was courtesy of Trombino Piano Gallerie. Performers were Neal Stahurski, organ, and Yeeha Chiu, piano. Stahurski began the evening with an arrangement of Simple Gifts by Charles Callahan that was grand and spacious and would please most any congregation. Chiu then played two pieces by Chopin: Polonaise in C-sharp Minor, op. 26, no. 1, and Waltz in C-sharp Minor, op. 64, no. 2. She is a fine player and showed good attention to musical detail and line.
Stahurski returned to play a Gerald Near arrangement of the Largo from Bach’s Concerto for Two Violins in D Minor, which featured piano and organ. I especially liked the beautiful Oboe stop, which sounded delightful alongside a solo flute in this very familiar music. We then heard the organ alone in a three-movement Suite by Jehan Alain. I. Introduction et Variations used flutes and soft foundation stops in dialogue; the variations explored other sounds in the organ. II. Scherzo began on a flute stretching into the octatonic-scale harmonies Alain loved so much. Then the quicker notes took over and he leapt about on the Swell reeds, and played with great flourish! III. Chorale began with widely spaced chords. Stahurski controlled it all very well, leading to a full sound, then backing away. A crashing big chord brought to a close.
A piano piece followed that was not listed, and I did not catch the name. Then Duo Concertant for piano and organ by Naji Hakim; they played the second movement, Andante. It is very clever, bouncy music that used the piano and organ sonorities quite well. The organ registrations were snappy and charming. Both piano and organ sounded surprisingly well in the heavily cushioned and carpeted room. We then heard piano and organ in an arrangement by David Schwoebel of It is well with my soul. If your church sings this hymn, they will enjoy this grand setting. Pure Technicolor! We then sang Eternal Father, Strong to Save. Stahurski played it very well; his last verse was ablaze with light and color.
The concert ended with Dupré’s Variations on two themes for piano and organ, op. 35, which used a host of colors from the instruments. Challenging music for both artists: the organ sounding like an orchestra in both a leading and subordinate role, the piano, likewise. This was a brilliant end to the concert and to the convention.

Overall, it was a good convention. The hotel, food, transportation, venues, instruments, and artists were first rate. The 186-page Atlas was filled with fascinating essays, information, and fine photography; the program booklet was well laid out—I liked the performers’ bios and photographs at the back of the book, saving more space for specifications and programs; and the hymnlets were large and easy to read. My hat is off to the fine committee who put the convention together and made it run smoothly.
For future conventions, I would suggest that there be consistency in the listing of something as simple as number of stops and ranks. That is not always apparent. Also, OHS convention speakers should wait until everyone is seated before making announcements, use a microphone, and talk slowly, especially in reverberant rooms. Buses should not move about during concerts when church windows are open, thus ruining recordings and performances. Finally, I’d like us to go back to the practice of ringing the churches’ bells before the concerts start. It is another introduction to a musical and often historical sound the building can make.
I look forward to this summer when the OHS will be in Washington, D.C. It should be another fine event! OHS conventions are always a great bargain, with world-class instruments and performers, outstanding scholarship, and great food. Everything is done for you. See you in D.C.! ■

Photos by Len Levasseur

Frank Rippl is a graduate of Lawrence University Conservatory of Music where he studied with Miriam Clapp Duncan and Wolfgang Rübsam. He is co-founder of The Appleton Boychoir, coordinator of the Lunchtime Organ Recital Series in the Appleton, Wisconsin area, and has been organist/choirmaster at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Appleton for 35 years.

Friday, June 30

The final day of the convention dawned with bright and abundant sunshine—a welcome sight after all the rain. The first event was a lecture by organ scholar James Wallmann entitled “The OHS at Fifty! So What?”. He noted the Society’s accomplishments, citing especially the Archives and their growing international significance in the world of organ research, as well as the influence the OHS has had on the organ world in general. He said that organs will continue to be built and continue to change. The OHS will continue to observe and then preserve and transmit information about these instruments, and honor the best and most significant examples.
Our first recital took place at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Watervliet, New York, on a large 3-manual 1890 Geo. Jardine & Son organ, much of which, we were told, actually dates from the Civil War era. It has a huge, room-filling sound—like a warm embrace from a loving grandmother. The recitalist was Randy Bourne, who began with Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in E minor, BWV 533 (“The Cathedral”). The opening sound was quite arresting, and we knew we were hearing an uncommonly fine instrument. It rendered Bach’s music nicely on a fine, clear, and bright plenum. Next was Edward MacDowell’s Woodland Sketches, which demonstrated a great variety of this organ’s wonderful sounds. Bourne played very well with charm, sweetness, and a well-placed dash of nostalgia.
The large gothic church, with its 100-foot ceiling, soaring columns beneath a wraparound triforium gallery, and 56 windows, has suitably grand acoustics in which the full, bright-sounding reeds could especially flourish. It is a 1/6 scale replica of the church of our Lady of Lourdes in Lourdes, France. Bourne next offered Pachelbel’s Ciacona in F minor, a great organ demonstration piece. The hymn was “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen,” and he closed with Myron Roberts’ Improvisation on the same tune, a series of variations that showed off more sounds of this amazing organ: everything from a lovely Vox Humana to a thundering pedal! It was glorious, and our spirits were ebullient!
But then, from the balcony, we were given sobering and terrible news from Scot Huntington, whose organbuilding firm had sponsored this recital and prepared the organ, that St. Patrick’s is very close to being closed and the magnificent building demolished. His voice choking up, he asked us to look carefully at the church, as it may be the last time we see it. O tempora, O mores.
With suddenly heavy hearts and shaking heads we returned to the buses for a ride to Saratoga’s Spa State Park where we were served a “Summer Grill” picnic, balm indeed for our troubled minds. We then crossed the Hudson River to Schaghticoke, New York, and the 2-manual 1865 Giles Beach organ in The United Presbyterian Church. The organ was demonstrated by Christopher Marks, assistant professor at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. He opened with the charming Humoresque “L’organo primitivo” by Pietro A. Yon, which highlighted the Stopped Diapason. Next was Dudley Buck’s Variations on a Scotch Air, op. 51, in which I took great pleasure in the Clarionette and the Oboe! We then sang the hymn “God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending” to the tune Beach Spring. Marks closed with the world premier performance of Variations on Beach Spring by composer Alfred V. Fedak, written especially for this convention and this organ. Sebastian Glück and Glück Orgelbau commissioned the work for the Society. It is a fine composition that is by turns playful, quiet, restful and festive (published by Selah Publishing Co. #160-641).
A short bus ride back across the Hudson took us to Timothy Smith’s demonstration of the 3-manual E. M. Skinner organ, Opus 770, in the United Methodist Church, Mechanicville, New York. He began with Sea Sketch (“To T. Tertius Noble”) by Frank Howard Warner, a beautiful piece summoning the depth and mystery of the sea. Next was Fantasy of Moods by Charles Edgar Ford, which showcased among other things the Echo division’s Vox Humana. The strings of this organ are gorgeous (God bless Ernest Skinner!), and Smith used them well. He ended with two movements of Seth Bingham’s Baroques (“to E. Power Biggs”): Rhythmic Trumpet and Voluntary—delightful music proffering the tremendous wealth of tone in this fine organ that stands at the front of the church in a chamber behind a screen. The Echo division is at the rear of the church recessed into the wall. All in all, a very well-produced demonstration-recital of an organ one might not expect to hear in such a small town.
The final evening’s festivities began with a sumptuous banquet of shrimp and chateaubriand in the great Hall of Springs in Saratoga: a magnificent space with a vaulted 38-foot ceiling, 16 marble columns, and huge Belgian and Czechoslovakian crystal chandeliers. Many people wore formal evening attire. It was not your usual OHS banquet, but fiftieth anniversaries only come once, so why not?! After dinner, we boarded the buses for a ride down to Troy for the main event of the convention: the reopening or “resurrection” of the 3-manual, 42-stop, 1882 J. H. & C. S. Odell organ in the Music Hall, which occupies the upper five floors of the 1875 Troy Savings Bank building—a magnificent structure built in the Italian Renaissance style. The hall has outstanding acoustics: George Szell said “ . . . it is the finest auditorium in the United States;” Harold Schonberg referred to it as “one of the acoustical marvels of the world.” The organ is in need of a thorough restoration, but was made playable by a large crew of volunteer workers who came from all over America, spending months cleaning and repairing it for this convention. The organ had not been playable in nearly half a century. Along with the 1864 Hook organ in Mechanics Hall in Worcester, Massachusetts, it stands as the only major 19th-century concert hall with an original period organ. But unlike the Worcester organ, the Troy organ, except for a new blower, is intact and unchanged. The bank acquired the organ in 1889. It had been in a New York City mansion whose owner declared bankruptcy. A wonderful Italianate case was designed for it, and a few stops were added. The keydesk is situated on the left side of the case, which stands proudly on a raised platform at the back of the stage.
The concert featured Dana Robinson, who teaches organ at the University of Illinois, along with the Franciscan Chamber Orchestra conducted by Ronald L. Feldman. Temperature and humidity were high. Windows were open (no air conditioning), so there was some breeze. The conductor told us that the organ was tuned at a much higher pitch than the orchestra could reach. So we had more than a bit of a celeste or schwebung effect going on all night. I was told that because of the heat the organ’s pitch was probably between A-456 and A-460 during the concert! The orchestra could not dare go above A-445. However, once we were forewarned, we could just settle back and enjoy the instrument for what it is—a very beautiful organ! Decisions will need to be made about whether or not to repitch. That will be a tough call, because, in terms of blend, it really sounds terrific with an orchestra, but the tuning problems are not to be taken lightly.
Robinson and the orchestra opened with a lovely quiet piece by Charles Édouard Lefèbvre, Meditation, op. 68, a beautiful, first-rate work I had never heard before. It was a sweet introduction to the hall and to the gorgeous soft sounds of the organ. We were all left somewhat lightheaded and limp by the purity of the acoustic, the beauty of the organ and the fine playing by all concerned. Many of us had tears in our eyes knowing how much that moment must have meant to all the people in the hall who had donated months of love and labor to finally make this sublime music possible. It was one of those unforgettable, only-at-OHS moments.
Robinson then played Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 543, a piece played by Samuel P. Warren at the organ’s inaugural program of November 5, 1890. It worked quite well on the Odell as Robinson gradually unveiled the instrument’s grace and power, adding more and more organ as he went—thrilling us at each step along the way. We next heard Sigfried Karg-Elert’s transcription of Wagner’s Pilgrims’ Chorus/, followed by Scherzo (from the Serenade), op. 35, no. 3 by Salomon Jadassohn, another piece from the 1890 inaugural concert. This was fun because it used the Odell’s cheery Solo Bells, described in the 2006 Organ Atlas as “flat glockenspiel bars struck by hard felt piano-style hammers through an escapement action.” We then enjoyed more of the soft sounds of the organ with the next two pieces: Rêverie du Soir (from Suite Algérienne, op. 60) by Saint-Saëns in a transcription by Guilmant, and Adoration, op. 44, by Guilmant—more lovely, gracious sounds awaiting a complete restoration. We have so much to learn from this amazing organ. The first half ended with another inaugural recital piece:Marche Pontificale from Widor’s Symphonie I, op. 13, no. 1, a terrific opportunity to hear the justifiably famous reeds of this organ—a rich, full-throated bunch.
The second half of the program featured Sinfonia Sacra, op. 81, by Widor for organ and orchestra—one of his five orchestral symphonies, three of which call for organ with orchestra. This is a mature and meticulously crafted work that uses the chorale Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland as its main theme. Highly contrapuntal, with deeply felt spirituality, it was a perfect choice for the evening. The orchestra was splendid, and Feldman led all concerned with command and grace. I was quite taken with the oboist, whose lovely tone in that remarkable acoustic seemed to be right in front of me in my balcony seat. The strings remained on stage the entire evening, not daring to step into another temperature lest they lose what tuning they had so carefully prepared. By this point in the evening the organ’s reeds were showing the effect of the heat, but we all understood and did not mind. Dana Robinson is a very fine organist. His playing brought out the best in the organ, and blended very well with the orchestra, whose players were great sports to put up with the heat and tuning issues. This organ is a singular musical treasure. Much thought and much money will be required to bring it back fully with a complete restoration. Hats off to all the men and women whose dedicated work allowed us the privilege of hearing what it can be. Hats off, also, to the officials at Troy Savings Bank, who recognize and support this effort.
Finally, hats off to the Organ Historical Society, which created a convention worthy of its golden anniversary, worthy of the magnificent venues and instruments it showcased, and worthy of the outstanding performers and technicians who brought them to life for us. The relaxed and gracious air they maintained for the entire week made us feel truly welcomed, and that we had indeed come home.

Frank Rippl is a graduate of Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Miriam Clapp Duncan and Wolfgang Rübsam. He is co-founder of The Appleton Boychoir, coordinator of the Lunchtime Organ Recital Series in the Appleton, Wisconsin area, and has been organist/choirmaster at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Appleton since 1971.

When an organist thinks of Indiana, many things come to mind: the long history of fine organ teaching at Indiana University; the famous Fort Wayne Competition; the large Schlicker/Dobson organ in the Chapel at Valparaiso University; the three modern tracker organs in Christ Church Episcopal Cathedral in Indianapolis; plus two new organs at Goshen College (Taylor & Boody) and at Notre Dame University (Fritts); and the list goes on.
So it was with that abundance of riches in mind that the Organ Historical Society gathered at the Sheraton Hotel in Indianapolis for its 52nd annual convention to seek out the historical roots of such a strong heritage and affection for the pipe organ. It was a “Hoosier Holiday” on the banks of the Wabash with a wealth of music, organs, beautiful venues, corn and soybean fields, and gracious hospitality!

This year’s pre-convention event was a festive concert at Broadway United Methodist Church in Indianapolis with the Broadway Festival Chorus and Orchestra led by Jack L. Fox, minister of music at the church, and organist Christopher Schroeder, who presided over the 2001 Reynolds Associates Inc. organ. The evening began with Mr. Schroeder’s fine arrangement of the hymn O God Beyond All Praising, sung to the tune thaxted by Gustav Holst (from: The Planets—“Jupiter”). The church is a very attractive English Gothic building completed in 1927 with a high ceiling and resonant acoustics. The combined forces performed Rheinberger’s Mass in C Major, op. 169, and Widor’s Symphonie pour orgue et orchestre, op. 42. The choir and orchestra were adequate to the task and Fox led with sure command. The music is lovely, and it was a real treat to hear it live. Mr. Schroeder played the many fast passages of the Widor with great confidence.

Thursday, July 12
The actual start of the convention was Thursday July 12 with an ambitious program by Marko Petricic, who teaches organ at the University of Indianapolis. The venue was the elegant Second Presbyterian Church, founded in 1838 in Indianapolis. The present building, completed in 1959 in French Gothic style complete with an intricate flèche, has very fine windows including, above the altar, a Tiffany window brought from their previous building showing the Ascension of Christ. The organ is a large 4-manual, 80-rank Aeolian-Skinner from 1968, renovated in 2002 by the Schantz Organ Company.
Petricic began with the second movement of Messiaen’s L’Ascension, “Alléluias sereins.” The effect was pure magic as we all silently enjoyed the serene beauty of the gorgeous Tiffany window rising in front of us into the bright clear sunshine during Petricic’s beautiful playing. An OHS tradition is to sing a hymn or song at each concert facing the organ. So we rose, turned round and were bathed in the pastel light of the high clerestory windows as we sang Lobe den Herren to Petricic’s masterful accompaniment.
Then Soliloquy by David Conte gave us a good tour of this fine organ, while a video projection of the performer provided a helpful visual image. Petricic is a brilliant player with a great sense of color. He next played Petr Eben’s “Moto ostinato” from Nedělní hudba, and then ended his recital with the Prélude et fugue sur le nom d’Alain, op. 7, by Maurice Duruflé. It was electrifying. I hope we can have him do a full evening recital some year!

Our next concert was on the famous 1987 Holtkamp tracker organ (3m, 44rks) at Sweeney Chapel of the Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. We were to have heard Marilyn Keiser, of Indiana University and the consultant for this instrument. She, sadly, had been in an automobile accident ten days earlier, and while not seriously injured, was unable to play. Edie Johnson, organist at the chapel, filled in with an interesting and well-played program. The visually stunning chapel, designed by Edward Barnes, was completed in 1987. It is essentially a concrete cube with five seconds of reverberation when empty, and 2.8 seconds when full. The organ rises along the wall to the right of the altar.
Johnson opened with Bach’s Fantasy and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 537. She gently unfolded the Fantasy on the beautiful Principal stops, and used the fine plenum on the Fugue. We next heard the organ’s Cornet in Buxtehude’s chorale prelude on Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott. Then came the second movement of Pamela Decker’s Río abajo Río (1999), “Diferencias,” showing us the strings and what I think was the Krumhorn. This is gorgeous music that I highly recommend.
The hymn was the rousing Torah Song, introduced on the fine Trumpet stop. Ms. Johnson closed her program with a superb performance of Mendelssohn’s Sonata in F Minor. The audience gave loud and sustained applause to this talented performer! Following a tasty boxed lunch from Wolfgang Puck, we had the opportunity to tour the Indiana Museum of Art and its extensive collection.

OHS favorite MaryAnn Crugher Balduf gave the first recital of the afternoon, playing the 1905 Felgemaker organ (2m, 16rks) at Bethel A. M. E. Church in Indianapolis. Steven Schnurr, chair of the Historic Organ Citations Committee, presented the church with an OHS citation in recognition of the historic merit of their organ. The altar table stands at the center of a long wall of this rectangular-shaped room, and the organ is in a balcony above the altar. MaryAnn began with “Allegro Agitato” from Fifteen Inventions, op. 1, by Joseph Callaerts (1838–1901), and followed with Offertoire by Theodore Dubois. She was then joined by her daughter, Sara Balduf Adams, soprano, in five beautiful early art songs by Alban Berg. We heard several combinations of the softer sounds of the organ as MaryAnn demonstrated her strong accompaniment skills. Sara has a lovely voice, and it was a treat to hear something besides just the organ at one of our recitals. Next up was Arietta by Horatio Parker. I love Felgemaker flutes: their sweet, round, ringing quality is unique. Next, in Frederick Newell Shackley’s Prelude in F, the variety of registrations gave us a good aural tour of the organ. MaryAnn ended with a charming March by John S. Camp, which she played in memory of a recently departed friend who was to have played a duet with her on this recital.
Stepping outside we had the chance to admire Indianapolis’s beautiful Venetian-style canal that flows past this church and through downtown. It must be seen to be truly appreciated—gondolas and all! We next paid a visit to the shop of organbuilders Goulding & Wood, who gave us an opportunity to view a large Aeolian-Skinner they were in the process of rebuilding for East Liberty Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh—a fascinating operation.
The afternoon’s last concert was at Old Centrum, formerly the Central Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church, a grand old 1892 auditorium plan building. It ceased being a church in 2000, and is called today The Old Centrum. Sixteen nonprofit organizations are housed there or offer services there. The organ stands front and center behind the altar table. This had been the home church of Senator Richard Lugar. Thaddeus B. Reynolds, Indiana organbuilder, did restoration work on this historic 1892 instrument and discovered that it was built by 19th-century Indiana organbuilder Thomas Prentice Sanborn & Son. There being no proper identification on the organ case, Reynolds ceremoniously attached a Sanborn nameplate to the organ case before the concert began. Sanborn had studied with the Hook brothers. This organ shows that influence with its bold, powerful and rich tone.
Our recitalist, Charles Manning, began with Louis Couperin’s Chaconne in G Minor demonstrating the organ’s full plenum. By way of contrast, he followed with Brahms’s Schmücke dich on a perfectly lovely flute that sang out with uncommon sweetness. He followed with the always-welcome Berceuse of Louis Vierne, a haunting evocative work. We then took a leap into the late 20th century with a piece by Arvo Pärt, Trivium for Organ: II (1988). I always love to hear new music on an old instrument. Quality organ building is a timeless art. I’ve become a big fan of Pärt’s music and was so glad to hear this piece. The old organ held its own against the mighty blast of OHS hymn singing with the hymn Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven (Lauda Anima). Manning ended his concert with Intrada in E-flat Major by Grayston Ives, b. 1948. He played very well for us, and gave us an interesting and varied program!

The afternoon ended with the only lecture of the convention, Michael D. Friesen on 19th-century Indiana organbuilders William Horatio Clarke and Thomas P. Sanborn, held at Roberts Park United Methodist Church. This was a perfect example of Friesen’s detailed research complete with photographs of the two men’s boyhood homes, early shops, and the ways in which they connected with the organ building world in the Midwest of the late 19th century. In addition to Michael’s fine commentary, we had the added pleasure of gazing upon a glorious black walnut organ case built by W. H. Clarke topped by two carved angels blowing on horns. The instrument was rebuilt by E. M. Skinner and then by Reuter, but the Clarke case remains.

The big evening event was a concert by Carol Williams, civic organist and artistic director of the Spreckels Organ Society, Balboa Park, San Diego—the first female ever to hold that position or any other similar position in the country. It was held at North United Methodist Church, Indianapolis, on the church’s large 4m Kimball organ from 1931, enlarged and rebuilt by E. H. Holloway Corp., Reynolds Associates, and Goulding & Wood. There are many beautiful and ravishing sounds on this big organ, most of which is at the front of the church in chambers on opposing sides of the altar area, and Dr. Williams made good use of them. I’m sure most of us showed up that night expecting to be entertained, and we certainly were. She presented a varied program that included Louis Marchand, Purcell, and a very romantic interpretation of Bach’s Fantasia in c, Lefébure-Wély, Rachmaninoff (!), and Mozart Changes by Zsolt Gárdonyi, with sections that sounded like Hammond organ jazz. She also played her own arrangement of Roller Coaster. The hymn was Amazing Grace, which she played from an arrangement by George Shearing. The final selection was her arrangement of Sabre Dance by Aram Khachaturian. Williams has good rapport with the audience and I’m sure her audiences at Balboa Park are very entertained as we were. However, her playing that night had a number of rhythmic instabilities that lessened the impact of what she had hoped to present. The organ has a thrilling set of horizontal fanfare trumpets in the rear gallery, and she fell prey to the temptation of using them too often. Another case of less is more.

Friday, July 13
This very lucky Friday the 13th saw us take our longest bus ride of the convention—two hours through the beautiful countryside of Indiana to our first stop: the sweet little town of Lagro, and St. Patrick’s Church, dedicated in 1873. Today it exists as an oratory, or place of prayer, as it lost its status as a parish in 1997. Mass is celebrated once a month by a priest from a nearby town.
The organ is a beauty, believed to be an Erben from 1845. The 1m, 5-stop organ with pull-down pedal was in two other Indiana churches before it arrived at St. Patrick’s between 1884–1888. It was restored by Hal Gober of Elora, Ontario, Canada, in 2004. It was one of my favorite organs at the convention!
Our recitalist was Gregory Crowell, director of publications for the OHS, and university organist of Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, who played a sprightly program for us on this tiny organ. One could easily discern his pedigree: Heiller students Yuko Hayashi, Bernard and Mireille Lagacé, and Harald Vogel. His playing was clear, clean and very musical. He opened with Handel’s Overture to Ottone. We then heard the lovely 8′ Principal play a Voluntarie from My Ladye Neville’s Booke, by William Byrd. A charming 4′ flute was used for Krebs’s Praeludium: Jesu, meine Freude. Other small pieces followed, giving us a fine tour. We sang the hymn Hail Glorious St. Patrick to the tune Hemy.
Three little Mozart pieces followed including Adagio for Glass Harmonica, K. 356, which again featured the extraordinary flutes on this organ. Crowell closed with C. P. E. Bach’s Organ Sonata in F Major, Wq 70, 3. I loved this organ. The pride the people who worship at St. Patrick’s have in their organ and lovely church was evident at every turn. We then had the treat of a tasty hog roast at the nearby Methodist church.
Our buses then took us to Peru, Indiana (hometown of Cole Porter!) and the wedding cake-like Catholic Church of St. Charles Borromeo (1863) and its commanding 183-foot steeple, for an outstanding recital by the young and very talented Karen Schneider Kirner, assistant organist for the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame. The organ is an 1893 Louis H. Van Dinter with 2m and 19rks, and was given an OHS Historic Merit plaque before the program began.
Kirner began with the stately Processional by César Franck, and then played Praeambulum Festivum, op. 64, by Sigfrid Karg-Elert, another fine demonstration. Next up was Liszt’s arrangement of Arcadelt’s Ave Maria, which took me back to my youth. It was followed by Bach’s French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816, which worked quite well on this organ as a demonstration. Kirner is a very fine player. Her sure and nimble fingers carried us along in the final Gigue such that one wanted to dance! Her final selection on this historic instrument was the Passacaglia from Rheinberger’s Sonata 8 in E Minor, op. 132, which she played with effortless expertise!

On we went to Logansport, Indiana, to hear the 1883 Barckhoff organ at St. James Lutheran Church. The church was dedicated in 1868, but was largely destroyed by fire in 1883. It was rebuilt that same year along with the new Barckhoff organ. Various things were done to it over the years as the result of water damage. John-Paul Buzard Pipe Organ Builders restored it to its original condition as much as possible, adding an 8′ Great Trumpet, which had been prepared for but never added. Buzard copied a Barckhoff Trumpet from an organ in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The 2m, 23-stop organ stands in the rear gallery.
Following a mayoral proclamation by the mayor of Logansport, and a peal of the three tower bells, we heard a fine recital by organist John Gouwens, organist and carillonneur of the Culver Academies. He began with Allegretto grazioso by Frank Bridge, demonstrating a range of sounds from mf to pp—lovely quality to those sounds! He next played Pachelbel’s Chaconne in D Minor starting on the Dulciana and building from there. He continued with Three Chorale Improvisations by Karg-Elert—nice pieces. I especially enjoyed hearing the very beautiful 8′ Oboe & Bassoon with tremolo. The hymn was “A mighty fortress”—the last verse was sung a cappella, which was fun for us! There followed the only improvisation of the convention—on Ein’ feste Burg. We finally got to hear the new Buzard Trumpet, but only coupled to the Pedal. The improvisation started with strong sounds, and then drifted nicely into quietness at the end. I had hoped to hear more of the Trumpet, but Gouwens may have wished only to show the Barckhoff bits.
The final recital of the afternoon was in Frankfort at the First Presbyterian Church (est. 1831). Mary Gifford, director of music at St. Mary Catholic Church in Des Plaines, Illinois, performed for us on the 1959 E. H. Holloway Corporation rebuild of a 1901 Lancashire-Marshall opus 131: 3m, 36rks. It now has electric key and stop action. She played several character studies from the early 20th century beginning with “Sunrise” from A Pastoral Suite (1913) by Clifford Demarest, which built up a healthy crescendo. Then Bells in the Distance by Camil Van Hulse, which featured the chimes. (If you have chimes on your organ, this is not a bad piece.) Next came The Tragedy of a Tin Soldier by Gordon Balch Nevin, which induced many a smile with its melodramatic four movements. I love these old gems. When she finished, she stepped away from the console drying her “tears” with a white hanky. Following that was a chorale prelude on What a Friend We Have in Jesus by Van Denman Thompson, which featured the lovely Doppel Flute in an obbligato section and the Clarinet in the tenor at the end. Nice sounds all around! The hymn that followed was, of course, “What a friend.” Gifford had the tenors sing the soprano part and the sopranos sing the tenor line in their own range. It was a nice touch and just the thing to keep us on our toes at the end of a long day.
Gifford closed her very entertaining concert with two movements from Edward Shippen Barnes’s Symphony No. 2: III. Intermezzo, and V. Final. The Final used several devices Vierne used in the famous Final to his First Symphony. It was a real rouser, and she played it straight, giving it integrity.

Following dinner at our hotel, we bused to the relatively nearby St. Luke’s United Methodist Church for our grand evening recital by Thomas Murray, university organist and professor of music at Yale University. He of course is widely known as a concert organist and recording artist specializing in the Romantic repertoire and his own astonishing orchestral transcriptions. St. Luke’s is a huge new church with a narthex bigger than most of the churches we would visit at this convention. The choir room alone seats 130 people. The organ is a large 4m, 80rk Goulding & Wood from 1999.
Murray began with his own transcription of a piano work by Mendelssohn: Prelude and Fugue in E Minor (no opus no., 1841). We all marveled at Murray’s seamless transitions between keyboards and effective use of the expression pedals. The work has a fascinating fugue subject that begins with a descending major 7th. Next we heard Summer Sketches, op. 73, by Edwin H. Lemare: “Dawn,” “The Bee,” “The Cuckoo,” “Twilight,” and “Evening”—charming pieces. Murray used all the resources of this large organ to lift these pieces off the page. I especially enjoyed the bee buzzing away on the Vox Humana! The Great, Swell, Choir and Pedal divisions are spread out horizontally across the front of the church, while the Antiphonal is on the side wall to the left of the congregation. High overhead, and I do mean high (!), is the very powerful Trompette en Chamade, which is available on all manuals. The surround sound was magic with birds and bees twittering and buzzing away all over the place.
Murray then played one of Seth Bingham’s most famous pieces, Roulade. It does indeed roll over the place, and this was a masterful performance. Between numbers, he spoke to the audience in a direct, humorous, and engaging manner. He crowned the first half with Liszt’s Prelude and Fugue on B-A-C-H, with all of his spectacular skill of orchestration, pacing, musical architecture, color and nuance in full play! The organ was ablaze with drama! The hymn preceding the intermission was, I blush to admit, new to me: Ken Naylor’s marvelous setting (Coe Fen) of John Mason’s hymn How shall I sing that majesty. Murray accompanied it in grand Anglican style. After intermission we returned to our seats to hear him play an astonishing piece by Jean Berveiller (1904–1976), Mouvement, which has a virtuoso pedal part punctuated by syncopated rhythms in the hands. After working up all that steam, it then ends rather gently.
Murray closed his recital with the Suite, op. 5, by Maurice Duruflé. The very fine Goulding & Wood organ was a good match for his program and style of playing. The Prelude was replete with dark foreboding sounds, while the Sicilienne was all flowing liquid grace that poured out of this fine and colorful pipe organ. The formidable Toccata was played with pure fire and splendid energy. Thomas Murray’s approach to the organ is like that of a composer or conductor leading an orchestra. Melodic lines come in and out and are given uncommon shadings and nuance. Whenever I hear him play, I am reminded that he gets to preside over the huge, magnificent E. M. Skinner organ in Woolsey Hall at Yale. I wonder to what degree that instrument informs his playing when he is on the road. What does his inner ear hear? His playing takes us on journeys filled with wonder and astonishment!

Saturday, July 14
Another bright sunny morning took us to Acton, Indiana, not far from Indianapolis, to Acton United Methodist Church and Robert Schilling’s demonstration of a relocated 1895 Hook & Hastings organ, 2m, 11rks, Opus 1671. It came from Fletcher United Methodist Church in Indianapolis after that church closed. The Acton church is a simple modern structure along the highway. This organ has its original stenciling and looked right at home in its new surroundings. The church had banners and pulpit hangings that matched the colors of the pipes. The organ has a bold, room-filling sound that Schilling used very well. Its commanding presence at the front of the church allows it to speak clearly into the nave.
Schilling had played the rededication recital on this organ after it was moved to Acton, so he was quite familiar with it. He opened with Brahms’s Mein Jesu, der du mich, op. 122, no. 1. It was very well played and allowed us to hear many shadings of color. The hymn was by Charles Wesley: And Can It Be That I Should Gain (Sagina). His next piece was S. S. Wesley’s An Air Composed for Holsworthy Church Bells, which demonstrated the lovely Stopped Diapason with tremolo. He then played Theme, Arabesques [7 variations] and Fughetta by Van Denman Thompson, giving us a fine sampling of what can be done with eleven good ranks! The program closed with Postludium in C by Helmut Walcha, a former teacher of Mr. Schilling’s.

Our bright green buses took us to Rushville and Trinity Presbyterian Church located in a very attractive neighborhood of 19th-century brick Italianate houses. Yun Kyong Kim demonstrated another great Felgemaker organ: Opus 908, 2m, 10rks. The church is a charming old Akron-plan building with large, colorful windows. This sweet, mint-condition Felgemaker still has its original leathers. Kim began her recital with the organ’s gentle sounds playing Vierne’s “Méditation” from Trois improvisations pour grand orgue (1929), which she played very well with great sensitivity. The hymn was We Thank you, Lord of Heaven (Shining Day). It was followed by Sarabanda con Partite, BWV 990, parts 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, and 12, by J. S. Bach. I especially enjoyed her use of the 4′ Harmonic Flute. Yun Kyong Kim performs with great élan.
She followed that with a piece I’d not heard in years and was sure I’d never hear again: Indiana composer Joseph Clokey’s “Jagged Peaks in the Starlight” from Mountain Sketches. But times have changed and what was once corny, darn it, sounded rather pretty! Perhaps it was the Felgemaker’s warm Dulciana that got to me! This led us to Horatio Parker’s Festival Prelude, op. 66, no. 1. The Diapasons had their day to shine surrounding a middle section on the flute stops. But she saved a fun surprise for last. Indiana native Wendell Willkie ran his 1940 election campaign for president from Rushville, Indiana. So, led by the organ, we sang his campaign song: “We Want Willkie.” It was loads of fun and a real period piece.
After a fine fried chicken luncheon, we continued on down the road to East Germantown and Zion Lutheran Church, where longtime OHSer Karl Moyer demonstrated an 1898 M. P. Möller tracker, Opus 188, 2m, 16rks. It stands in the front of the church on the right side. He opened with a Beethoven Scherzo (no opus no.), using the Doppel Flute with echoes on the swell Stopped Diapason—nice sounds; I’m a real sucker for Doppel Flutes! Then came a chorale prelude by Parry on the tune Martyrdom, for which he managed the buildup of sounds nicely!
The hymn was Valet will ich dir geben (“All Glory Laud and Honor”). We sang the first two verses in German (When in Germantown . . . ). There followed three chorale preludes on that tune by Drischner, Guilmant, and Reger. The Aeoline stop on the Swell was especially nice—barely a whisper it seemed. The Manz Chorale Improvisation on “Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern” used the 4′ Harmonic Flute in the hands with the Great 15th coupled to the Pedal, producing a very agreeable sound. His final selection was Bach’s well known Fugue in G (“a la Gigue”). In spite of a few dead notes, he was able to give us a fine, controlled and cheerful performance of this tricky work.
David Kevin Lamb performed for us at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Indiana. We completely filled this smallish church, which has a Tiffany style window that I liked. The organ is a 1966 Holloway, Opus 12, 3m, 31rks, E-P action. Ernest White was working with Holloway, and this organ bears his imprint at the time (heavy on the top, light on the bottom).
Dr. Lamb began with Guilmant’s Marche Réligieuse in F, op. 15, no. 2. The bright mixtures were a bit of an aural shock after a day of more restrained sounds. He moved next to four pieces by Denis Bédard. First was Andantino (1993), parts of which reminded me of Vierne’s Berceuse. It is a surprisingly tonal work that Lamb played quite nicely. Next were Variations on Sine Nomine (1998), which, among other things, featured a lovely Gemshorn Celeste. The next Bédard pieces were “Ode” (2001) and “Grand Jeu” from Suite du premier ton (1993), all in a neo-romantic style that worked quite well on this organ, which is spread horizontally, wall to wall across the rear balcony. It is quite a loud sound. The hymn was O Praise Ye the Lord (Laudate Dominum) in an arrangement by Michael Burkhardt.
Lamb closed with an old favorite of mine, Dubois’ Grand choeur in B-flat. He seemed to use full organ a bit more than necessary. Organists would do well, sometimes, to parcel out those fff sounds more conservatively. Otherwise they lose their effectiveness.
A short stroll down the street in Richmond took us to Reid Memorial United Presbyterian Church. As we made the two and a half block trek, we were treated to Reid’s tower chimes playing a series of hymn tunes. And that was just the start of the treasures to be found here. The building is a very attractive Gothic structure made of Indiana limestone. We entered a large stone porch with two mighty gothic arches and a mosaic tile floor. The interior was filled with light from 62 Tiffany windows. The somewhat fan-vaulted white ceiling gave a wonderful lightness to the space, which was dominated by the gorgeous Hook organ standing in two matching, solid mahogany cases on either side of the altar area, “plus,” in the immortal words of Madame Arnfeldt, “a tiny Titian” (!) that hangs in the back of this remarkable church. The 1906 Hook organ comprises three manuals and 66 stops. It was rebuilt by the Henry Pilcher company in 1937, and in 1958 the Wicks company did further work. Most of what remains is Hook, however. It has my favorite stop name of the convention, however, that would appear to have been added by Wicks to the pedal: “Voce de Tomba” a 32′ resultant (“Voice of the Tomb”).
Bruce Stevens, a longtime favorite of OHS conventions, was our recitalist. He began with a brief chorale prelude by Max Reger, Ach bleib mit deiner Gnade, op. 135a, no. 1, which was also the hymn that followed, after which we heard another setting, this one by Karg-Elert, which featured the celestes and the beautiful Clarinet stop, now named Krumhorn. Stevens always plays with the musical line carefully in mind, fingers and toes. The composer, the music and the instrument all shine through him, and not the other way around. I highly recommend his recording on the large Hook organ in St. Mary’s Church, New Haven, Connecticut! He thanked the women of the church who carefully dusted and polished all the tall gorgeous and elaborate casework—no small feat!
The next selection was Buxtehude’s: (“Jig”), BuxWV 174, in which the strong pulse was tossed to and fro with ease and style. Then came a perfectly splendid performance of Bach’s great Prelude and Fugue in B Minor, BWV 544, in which his Anton Heiller pedigree showed through with every note! Then we visited with the flutes of this organ in Mozart’s Adagio and Allegro in F Minor, K. 594, in which he displayed a marvelous poetic delicacy. His final selection was the great Sonata 7 in F Minor, op. 127, by Josef Rheinberger. It was a first-rate performance with broad and spacious sounds.
After a delicious and bountiful dinner at Guy Welliver’s Smorgasbord in Hagerstown, Indiana, we returned to Indianapolis for a most entertaining event: a theatre organ concert! It was held in the Warren Center for the Performing Arts, which is part of Warren Central High School. The organ came from the huge 3200-seat Indiana Theatre; it has 3m, 17rks on 19″ of wind pressure, and a 15-horsepower blower! I feel a real affinity for Barton organs as they were made in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, just 15 miles from where I live.
Our soloist on this fine instrument was young Mark Herman, who at age 19 is well known in ATOS circles. He gave us a wonderful evening of music from “The Great American Song Book”: Gershwin, Cole Porter, and the like. He plays with an infectious, enthusiastic style and has a fine understanding of jazz harmonies. I especially liked his version of Cole Porter’s My Heart Belongs to Daddy. It was saucy and sassy—full of humor punctuated by the kettledrums and the huge English Post Horn. He also played pieces he wrote that displayed that same playfulness, charm and humor.
Herman possess a great color sense—using all the resources of this very elegant instrument mounted in chambers on either side of the auditorium, the console rose out of the pit on the orchestra lift. Lighting effects were used with colorful projections on the chambers. His “If I Loved You” from Carousel was drop-dead gorgeous: lush colors and harmonies that belied his youth. Throughout the evening, he was witty and engaging in his remarks. He ended with a riotous performance of Roller Coaster. We were happy folk as we filed out to our buses.

Sunday, July 15
We were given a blessed free morning. Many people chose to worship at some the churches we’d visited. I slept in and enjoyed my pleasant room, with newspaper and coffee, and Sunday talk shows: an indulgence I can never enjoy back home—church musician that I am. A fine luncheon was served at the hotel, followed by the annual meeting of the OHS.
At 2:10 pm we boarded our buses and went to the rather spectacular 1929 R.C. church of St. Joan of Arc, a grand Italianate building made of Indiana limestone. It is striking for its 140-foot campanile and a 90-feet wide portico with five huge arches. The monumental interior has a flat ceiling. The side aisles are separated from the nave by 22 single-piece stone Corinthian columns that support the clerestory windows. Six marble columns support the baldacchino over the altar. Mosaics abound, especially St. Joan of Arc in the baldacchino, and St. Mary and St. Joseph above their respective side altars.
The organ, a 1929 Kilgen, Opus 4367, 3m, 33 stops, sits in a balcony to the left side of the altar, and speaks through a carved wooden screen. It enjoys a sumptuous acoustic! Basic repairs were made over the years and the Great Tuba was changed to a Trumpet, but otherwise it is as it was in 1929.
Rosalind Mohnsen, director of music and organist at Immaculate Conception Church in Malden/Medford, Massachusetts, and another OHS favorite, played a very fine concert. Organ, acoustics, player, and program all fit together perfectly. She began with the great “Choral varié” from Duruflé’s Prélude, adagio et choral varié sur le thème du “Veni creator,” op. 4, which swept over us like a warm blanket. Her own arrangement of Saint-Saëns’ “O Salutaris” from his Messe, op. 4, was next, with the huge Doppel Flute gurgling away beneath the melody on the Vox Humana, Stopped Diapason and Flute with tremolo. It was a wonderful effect. It was followed by the “Prelude” from Charpentier’s Te Deum and her own arrangement of Verdi’s “Marcia funebre” from his opera Giovanna d’Arco (Joan of Arc), a nod to this parish and its glorious building. The piece is quite good and very idiomatic for the organ.
The hymn she chose was also appropriate for the setting, The Maid of France, with Visioned Eyes (Noël Provençal), which came out of the old St. Gregory Hymnal. Nice touch, Rosalind! There followed a Krebs Trio, which nicely featured the Choir Corno di Bassetto. Next came a quiet bit of whimsy: Indiana composer Joseph Clokey’s “The Wind in the Chimney” from Fireside Fancies, op. 29, a charming display of the soft sides of this organ. She closed her exceptional recital with “Canticle of the Sun” by Richard Purvis from his Saint Francis Suite. The warm and powerful sounds of this fine organ were a joy to listen to on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
The only other musical event of the day was a glorious one: Choral Evensong sung by the Christ Church Cathedral (Episcopal) Choir of Men and Boys. Many of us would have liked to have heard them in their home setting, but the cathedral was having renovation work done. Therefore we did not get to hear any of the fine organs they have there. However, all was not lost because they relocated the event to the Church of St. John the Evangelist a few blocks away. St. John’s is the oldest Roman Catholic parish in Indianapolis (founded in 1837), and their building boasts very fine acoustics. The organ is a hybrid of sorts. It started out as a 1894 J. G. Pfeffer & Son with a Gothic case standing 26 feet high in the rear gallery. (Anyone who had the good fortune to be at the Iowa convention back in the 1980s will remember those wonderful Pfeffer organs we heard.) In 1923 a hailstorm damaged the organ and rose window. The Wicks company rebuilt the old organ in 1935 retaining many of the old Pfeffer pipes and adding four new ranks. Goulding & Wood rebuilt the Wicks organ as its opus 14 in 1989, retaining eight old ranks and the case. It now has 2m, 36rks of pipes plus nine digital ranks.
Choirmaster Frederick Burgomaster led the men and boys with all that marvelously understated yet dynamic style of the English Cathedral choir. All was in exquisite taste and control. The literature was first-rate: Stanford, Near, Josquin Desprez, Gibbons, Stainer, Bruckner, Sowerby, Grayston Ives, and Jonathan Dove. The Preces and Responses were by Philip Moore. The Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis were by Herbert Howells (St. John’s Service).
The choir was very well prepared and sang with clarity, conviction, and all the appropriate drama and color. Organist David Sinden provided masterful accompaniment for the choir—shading all the crevices, plumbing the depths, and exalting the peaks. The hymn singing in that exceptional space was among our best. My only complaint was that at times the organ and the men slightly overpowered the boys. But, it being summer, I expect that the boys may not have been able to gather their full number. Kudos to those young men who gave of their summer time in order that we might have such an inspiring, spiritual, and musically uplifting experience. Mr. Sinden sent us out with his postlude: Kyrie, Gott, heiliger Geist, BWV 671 by J. S. Bach. It was an afternoon of indescribable beauty and stimulation for all the senses!
We then enjoyed a free evening in downtown Indianapolis. Many of us ganged up to find some of the many fine eating establishments in that most attractive city, and had a grand time talking of what we had just heard!

Monday, July 16
Monday morning our buses took us to the First Presbyterian Church, Franklin, Indiana, where we attended a hymn-sing. The Akron-style building has large side windows through which the morning light poured in. They helped enhance the title of the service: “Christ, the Light of the World: Yesterday, Today, and Forever.” It was led by organist Robert Hobby, director of music at Trinity English Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Rev. Robert A. Schilling, AAGO, a distinguished clergyman and organist who performed at this convention in Acton, Indiana. The nicely designed service featured reflections, hymns and organ voluntaries all focusing on God’s light. The reflections were well chosen, and the hymns were all beloved tunes and texts. Mr. Hobby played with a fine energetic style but was often louder than necessary—I believe it was Tom Murray who, at his own recital, referred to that kind of hymn playing as being in “attack mode.” We OHSers love to sing hymns and are pretty loud. When WE are drowned out, then the organ is too loud. The organ is a 1912 Steere, 3m 38rks, rebuilt in 1988 by Goulding & Wood. Rev. Schilling delivered the non-scriptural readings, tracing the concept of light as it is manifested throughout the church year. Hobby played several of his own compositions, which I thought were very effective. His improvisation teacher was the legendary Paul Manz.
We then drove down to Columbus, Indiana, a city renowned for its stunning collection of buildings designed by some of the finest architects of the 20th century. Our concert was at the First (Tabernacle) Christian Church, Disciples of Christ, to hear Daniel Jay McKinley, who had been organist at this church from 1978–1998, but who now is organist/choirmaster of Christ Church, Hamilton and Wenham, Hamilton, Massachusetts. The building was designed by Eliel Saarinen, and ground was broken in 1940. The tapestry that hangs to the right of the altar that Saarinen designed was woven by his wife, Loja. It is thought to be the largest tapestry with a religious theme woven in the United States. Lighting fixtures and some of the liturgical furnishings were designed by Charles Eames and Eliel’s son, Eero Saarinen. One could easily discern how this building, essentially a long rectangular box, has influenced mid 20th-century church architecture all across America.
The organ was built by Aeolian-Skinner (4m, 80rks) as their opus 993. It would be the last, large A/S completed before WWII shut down organ building in America. There were problems and some criticism of the instrument as being too shrill, so it was softened a bit, but by 1969 it had deteriorated and was in need of an updated electrical system. To the rescue in 1980 came Goulding & Wood, who had done some tonal improvements on the instrument in the 1970s. It sounds quite grand today, and is admired throughout Indiana—a blending of the best of English, German and American organ building.
A projected image allowed us to watch Mr. McKinley play, as he was not visible to us. The organ is in the front of the church with the pipes in a chamber to the left of the altar. The acoustics are excellent. He opened with Wagner’s Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, a marvelous and entertaining exploration of this large and colorful instrument. It was brilliantly played, inspiring awe! Following was a series of 16th-century dances by Tielman Susato and Pierre Phalèse. The first showed us the fine chorus reeds, while the second used the various 8′ principals ending with the chimes (!). Flutes, salicional, harp, soft reeds, even strings were used. Not correct stylistically, but fun to hear. Fine sounds all around.
Bach’s great Fantasy and Fugue in G Minor, BWV 542, came next. I felt that the louder portions of the fantasy seemed a bit hurried, but he made it work. The fugue was well played with lots of dash and energy. The hymn, O God who brought the light to birth, by Timothy Dudley-Smith (b. 1926), was commissioned for this church in memory of an infant daughter of choir members (husband and wife), and was sung to Sussex Carol. It was quite touching.
McKinley closed his program with Franck’s Grande pièce symphonique, op. 17. He made the most out of this church’s generous acoustics. In the fifth section (Andante) he used all the string stops to great effect. It was a first-rate performance of this difficult-to-hold-together piece. The church’s elegant simplicity is almost startling. It should be a place of pilgrimage for anyone interested in church architecture and in fine organs.
After lunch our caravan of buses took us west to the outskirts of Bloomington and a large A-frame church, St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, to hear the very talented Christopher Young, assistant professor of music at Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington. He performed on the church’s 1883 Thomas Sanborn organ, 2m, 14rks, which came from the Lockerbie Central United Methodist Church of Indianapolis. St. Mark’s is its fourth home. Interestingly enough, it is owned by the UI School of Music and placed in St. Mark’s with the agreement that it is to be shared by the church and the university students and faculty. The Convention Atlas states that the organ “is believed to be the only virtually tonally and mechanically intact example of this builder.” It is a beauty, sitting all shiny and buffed to the right side of the altar and pulpit.
This concert was unique in its use of visual media. As we entered, a PowerPoint presentation was giving information and photos about the organ’s restoration and installation. When the concert began the presentation went further, showing us pictures of each composer and the registration being used—changing as the performer changed them. It was a really helpful and riveting feature!
Dr. Young played very well, opening with S. S. Wesley’s “Choral Song” from Three Pieces for a Chamber Organ. It was followed with a Horatio Parker Scherzo, and then two Hoosier composers: Ned Rorem’s There Is a Spirit That Delights to Do No Evil . . . and William Albright’s charming “The Flues Blues” from The King of Instruments. The Albright piece was played with clever winks, nudges and wit. The hymn by William Albrecht, Father, We Thank Thee (Albrecht), was very effectively played, with loads of sonority. Next up was Vierne’s virtuosic “Impromptu” from Pièces de fantaisie, 3rd suite, op. 55, which he tossed off with great ease, grace and élan. The Oboe blended very well as a chorus reed. He closed his stimulating concert with Dudley Buck’s Variations for Organ on Foster’s Melody “Old Folks at Home.” The Oboe with tremolo was sweet and sentimental, accompanied by the Dulciana, which had a warm presence. The third variation featured some brilliant pedal solos. Hearty congratulations to Michael Rathke, organbuilder of Greens Fork, Indiana, for his superb job in restoring this fine instrument.

We then headed east to Indianapolis and Sacred Heart Church for a recital by Tom Nichols, music director at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Indianapolis (where we attended Choral Evensong the night before). The 19th-century gothic church is a feast for the eyes, with a nave and two side aisles.There are five beautifully carved altars across the front, a communion rail and a pulpit complete with winding staircase, and elaborate canopy. Imagine our surprise when we read our atlas carefully and learned that the interior had been destroyed by fire on April 27, 2001, and had been completely restored to its former appearance! Amazing dedication of numerous artisans, and a wisely chosen diocesan insurance policy, plus a great deal of love and dedication of the parishioners made it possible. The organ was built in 1899 by Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s William Schuelke, Opus 146. It was also worked on by Pilcher and Wicks. The fire destroyed all but seven ranks, and caused partial destruction of a few others. Wicks has rebuilt the instrument salvaging what they could. The sound in that resonant acoustic is very good.
Nichols began with the hymn The King of Love My Shepherd Is (St. Columba), which soared and rang through this gorgeous church with its wall-to-wall terrazzo floor. He then played two movements from Dupré’s Fifteen Pieces for Organ Founded on Antiphons, op. 18, nos. 5 and 7. That was followed by the G-major Prelude from “Bach’s” Eight Little Preludes and Fugues. Eight little gems!
Next came a great demo of the flutes in Dan Locklair’s beautiful “Silence may be kept” from Rubrics, which he played with great sensitivity. Then came an old favorite of mine, Cantilène by Gabriel Pierné. The Cornopean and Doppel Flute were quite wonderful, as were the lush strings. Emma Lou Diemer’s setting of the Battle Hymn of the Republic gave us another chance to enjoy the strings and Doppel Flute. Nichols performed his own set of variations on the tune Slane (Make Us True Servants) that was quite a good piece. His final selection was by Matthew Dickerson, a lively, dance-like setting of Lasst uns erfreuen that showed the organ well. As we left we enjoyed looking again at the twin 165-foot steeples of this venerable building.
But the day was not done. More wonders awaited us at one of Indianapolis’s most magnificent buildings: the Scottish Rite Cathedral, an immense Gothic structure built with Indiana limestone and looking, for all the world, like Riverside Church in New York City. It is believed to be the largest building in the world dedicated to Freemasonry. We stepped out of the buses into the late afternoon sunshine and took up benches in a huge park across the street and listened to a concert played for us on the cathedral’s 63-bell carillon housed in the 212-foot central tower. The carillon was cast by the Taylor Bell Foundry, Loughborough, England. The concert was expertly played for us by John Gouwens, whom we had heard in an organ recital on Friday—a man of many talents, he. His program included Pealing Fire by Libby Larsen, Impromptu by Léon Henry, Stephen Foster’s Beautiful Dreamer, a piano piece, Charmes by Federico Mompou, which Gouwens transcribed, and his own Sicilienne ronde. It was a very agreeable change of pace for us to sit in that beautiful park, which is an urban mall, containing numerous huge monuments to honor war dead. If you’ve never been to Indianapolis, I highly recommend a visit!
We then entered the cathedral, passing through one stunning room after another, finally making our way to the large ballroom where we enjoyed a bountiful buffet. We then went upstairs to the 1300-seat auditorium, where we heard a great recital by Martin Ellis playing the glorious 1929 Skinner organ (5m, 71rks), Opus 696. The auditorium is a step back in time to an opulent world of deep reds and a forest of dark and gleaming walnut. Huge carved angels act as brackets supporting the ceiling. The seating is horseshoe shaped around a platform that leads to a stage. The organ console is placed in and among the seats at the opposite side of the room from the stage. The pipes are all in the ceiling and speak through a grille. There are Antiphonal and Stage divisions in a separate locations. Originally the organ had a four-manual console. The Reisner company provided a new five-manual console in 1969. The sound is powerful and has an amazing presence in the room.
Ellis opened with the hymn God of Grace and God of Glory (Cwm Rhondda), which was followed by a grandiose arrangement by Richard Ellsasser of a Frescobaldi Introduction and Toccata. Bach’s Toccata in F Major, BWV 540, worked surprisingly well on this very orchestral organ. He followed that with Seven Sketches of Utrillo by Robert Hebble, in which we could hear many of the beautiful solo stops on this huge instrument as it evokes Parisian scenes. Next up was his own arrangement of Manuel de Falla’s Ritual Fire Dance; coming out the ceiling as it was made the colors and rhythms very intoxicating. Mr. Ellis is a very youthful, energetic performer, who is organist and assistant director of music for North United Methodist Church in Indianapolis.
After intermission we again heard Vierne’s Berceuse, a piece I never tire of hearing, followed by Ellis’s arrangement of Louis Adler’s novelty tune High Hat. He played it in pure theatre organ style, which was delightfully refreshing. His talented fingers and musicianship ruled the day! He also played a piece by Indiana composer Janet Louise Mauzi entitled Momento. As it happened, the composer (b. 1916) was present at this recital. The ever gallant Mr. Ellis paid tribute to her. The work was a sweet-cup-of-tea sort of piece—utterly beguiling. Ellis closed with Elgar’s famous Pomp and Circumstance in D Major, which he tore into with bold, muscular energy, performing it with great style, spaciousness and nobility. His encore was the late Welsh composer William Mathias’s Recessional—a strong and lively piece that made a nice aperitif. It was an altogether thrilling concert—a perfect ending to a long but pleasant day.

Tuesday, July 17
The convention, on its final day, was joined by the first rainfall we’d seen all week. It was most welcome as grass everywhere was going dormant from lack of rain. Our first stop was Calvary United Methodist Church in Brownsburg, Indiana, a suburban area of Indianapolis. The congregation was begun in 1828, but the building we entered was built in 2006. From their previous building, they brought with them their organ built by Charles Ruggles in 1994: three manuals, although the Rückpositif is prepared for. It has a commanding position on a platform behind and about eight feet above the altar, and has a fine North German tonal palette. The handsome stop knobs are of brass.
Our soloist was Carla Edwards, professor of organ and associate dean of the School of Music at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. She began with Brahms’s Praeludium in G Major. It was well played and, among other things, gave us a good hearing of the elegantly voiced 8′ Principal. The mixtures are quite good. I especially enjoyed the pedal’s full-length, deep-throated 16′ Trombone. She next gave us Daniel Pinkham’s Variations on Wondrous Love, followed by Gerald Near’s A Triptych of Fugues. The second fugue, marked “Slowly, expressively,” nicely demonstrated the rich, full flutes of this fine organ. The hymn was another Wesley hymn, Praise the Lord Who Reigns Above (Amsterdam). We sounded grand singing in the resonant acoustics of this attractive worship space.

The next stop was a unique experience for most of us: a visit to a Quaker Yearly Meetinghouse. Upon entering we were immediately struck by the peaceful simplicity of the place. Smooth wooden floors and pews stretched out along the width of this rectangular structure with simple tables at the front. On the left side stood an attractive 1899 August Prante organ, 2m, 16rks, which had been relocated by the Organ Clearing House in 1999 from the former Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Indianapolis. It was restored and installed by Goulding & Wood. The case has honey-colored wood and the façade pipes are in shades of cream and maroon.
William Aylesworth, distinguished organist from Chicago, and longtime OHSer, was the performer. We began with the singing of My Country, ’tis of Thee, but from then on all the music was by Chicago composers. His first selection was by Robert John Lind (b. 1940), Festludium in C, a fine contrapuntal piece. The next pieces, also by Lind, were a smart set of variations on Nun danket alle Gott, newly composed for Mr. Aylesworth to use at this concert.
Next came a sweet and gentle piece, In Summer by Charles Albert Stebbins (1874–1958). After a pp beginning, it grew into a larger, expansive sound, coming back down to an Oboe solo with tremolo and to the softest sounds again. Meditation by Rosseter G. Cole (1866–1952) was one of those dreamy, wandering little pieces that I found to be charming. He closed this program of good music unknown to most of us with another Cole piece, A Song of Gratitude, a joyous work. We were then served cookies and lemonade at which time we could enjoy the beauty of the grounds with large, lush, well-shaped trees. It was a refreshing pause for all of us.
After lunch at DePauw University in Greencastle, we gathered at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, a small building with a lively acoustic, that is adjacent to the campus. Kirby Koriath performed on the 2002 Zamberlan organ (2m, 23rk), Opus 1. Mr. Koriath is coordinator of graduate programs and professor of organ, church music and harpsichord at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana. The organ stands in a rear balcony in a modern case. Nearly all the pipework was vintage pipework obtained from the Organ Clearing House. Some of the old pipes came from the 1870 E. & G. G. Hook Opus 555 built for the Methodist Episcopal Church of Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, and from a ca. 1855 George Stevens or Stevens & Jewett organ.
Koriath began with Simon Preston’s Alleluyas. It was clear that this is not a shy organ and a bit on the strong side for such a small room. Next he played Pachelbel’s Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern in which we heard the beautiful Stopped Diapason (Hook) with the cantus in the Pedal on the Hautboy. Then more Pachelbel, his Toccata in D Minor. The loudness of this organ was particularly apparent in this piece and the hymn Es sungen drei Engel, a carol I fondly remember from my study of Orff-Schulwerk many years ago. He ended with a three-movement work on the hymn we had just sung: Orgelkonzert über die Weise “Es sungen drei Engel” by Hans Friedrich Micheelsen (1902–1973). I enjoyed the second movement’s use of the flute stops. Mr. Koriath played very well, and I enjoyed the pieces he chose. More variety and restraint in dynamics would have left a better impression.
Our next event was back on the DePauw campus in a large room on the second floor of the oldest building on campus, Meharry Hall. The rectangular room has a horseshoe balcony. Large portraits of past presidents line the walls above and below the balcony. The organ was at the rear in the balcony—an Aeolian-Skinner that was originally built as an antiphonal division for a large Kimball and was probably one of the last instruments Aeolian-Skinner built before the Second World War. All the pipework for the 2m, 13rk instrument was exposed.
The organist was Kristi Koriath (wife of Kirby Koriath whom we had just heard!), organist at Grace Episcopal Church in Muncie, Indiana. She began her program with a Partita on “Auf, auf, mein Herz, mit Freuden” by Flor Peeters, in which we could hear the fine voicing of this Aeolian-Skinner: it was clear, refined, and never forced. Next we heard a fine performance of Vierne’s “Scherzetto” from 24 Pièces en style libre, op. 31, which worked very well on this attractive little organ.
Ms. Koriath introduced our hymn Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott (rhythmic) with a chorale prelude by Buxtehude. Verse three was an organ solo: a chorale prelude by Jan Bender that used a 4′ reed in the Pedal. On verse four we joined her, but her accompaniment did not work so well as it had in the other verses. I’m not sure what happened, but we never got back on track. Hymns are funny things. Next came a Bach chorale prelude, Mit Fried’ und Freud’ ich fahr’ dahin, BWV 616, which was very enjoyable. She closed with a lively reading of Bach’s Prelude in G Major, BWV 541. We left with happy faces—not the easiest thing to summon up on the last day.
We then bused to Wabash College in Crawfordsville, one of the few remaining all-male undergraduate colleges in the country (850 students), to hear the 3m Aeolian-Skinner organ in the college’s chapel. Our soloist was the tireless Stephen Schnurr, director of music for St. Paul Catholic Church, Valparaiso, Indiana, secretary of the OHS National Council, and chair of the Historic Organ Citations Committee, and who, with Dennis Northway, is author/publisher of the book Pipe Organs of Chicago. As if that weren’t enough, Dr. Schnurr also wrote all the convention venue histories for the 300-page Organ Atlas 2007, which is an extraordinary and invaluable resource. Oh, and he is an excellent organist and teacher!
He opened with the hymn Love Divine, All Loves Excelling (Beecher) because of Henry Beecher’s connections to this chapel. The chapel is in New England Meeting House style with horseshoe balcony and clear Palladian windows. The colors blue and white predominate. The barrel-vaulted ceiling gave our singing much resonance. The console, rebuilt by Goulding & Wood, was moved front and center on the stage. The pipes are in chambers on either side of the stage. The auditorium’s walls are lined with portraits of past presidents. Schnurr continued with Mendelssohn’s Sonata in B-flat Major, op. 65, no. 4, which he played with great energy. He generously shared the program with his student, Micah Raebel, who will be a senior at Kankakee Valley High School, Wheatfield, Indiana. Micah performed the second and third movements of the Mendelssohn with great clarity—a talented young man, he! He used the Oboe stop to great effect. Dr. Schnurr played the final movement.
Next up was Indiana composer Joseph Clokey’s Jagged Peaks in the Starlight, which sounded very well on this organ—the Clarinet is a dream of purity. That was followed by another Indiana composer, H. Leroy Baumgartner (1891–1969), with his Prelude and Fugue on the Tune “Laudes Domine,” op. 42, no. 7. Dr. Schnurr and young Mr. Raebel sat down together on the bench for a 4-hand, 4-foot piece by Gustav Merkel (1827–1885), Sonata in D Minor, op. 30: Allegro moderato. This is a good duet if you are looking for such a thing. They played it very well. A fine and interesting recital with which to end the afternoon!
Back in Indianapolis, we all looked forward to dinner at The Rathskeller, a great old building that looked like a German Rathaus, with an interior decked out in all things Germanic. The food, served buffet style, was very good, but alas, none of it was German! Nevertheless, no one went away hungry. We then walked two blocks, passing a huge Shriner temple, to Zion Evangelical UCC Church for the closing recital of the convention by Ken Cowan on the church’s 1933, 4m, 63rk Kimball, with an antiphonal division added by Casavant in 1955. The organ stands in a chamber to the left side of the front of the church, speaking into the church at an angle. Renovated by Reynolds Associates in 1999, it is quite a beautiful-sounding instrument and a favorite of Indianapolis area organists.
It is difficult to find enough adjectives to describe Ken Cowan’s playing. He is simply one of the best anywhere! He began with Mendelssohn’s Sonata in F Minor, op. 65, no. 1. I especially enjoyed the soft whispering sounds of the sweet Erzähler and Swell strings. In the third movement he used the fine Clarinet, and the final movement moved along with great momentum with its arpeggios and chromatic passages. The hymn was All Things Bright and Beautiful (Royal Oak), which bubbled along merrily under his care. He spoke before each piece he played; his charming, boyish manner belied the blazing musicianship that streams out of the pipes at every turn.
His next piece was Fugue, Canzone, and Epilog by Karg-Elert. Now, Cowan is a master colorist, but he had a surprise for us when suddenly we heard a real violin begin to play from within the organ chamber. It was soon joined by a trio of women’s voices. The magical effect was enchanting. When it was over, he brought out the trio, and the violinist, Lisa Shihoten, whom he introduced as his wife. We cheered. Before intermission, Ken and his wife played a great violin/organ duet, Chaconne in G Minor for Violin and Organ by Tommaso Antonio Vitali (1663–1745) in an arrangement by Leopold Auer. This is a very good piece and Mr. Cowan gave it the full romantic orchestral treatment. Ms. Shihoten is a superb player who brought great passion to the music.
Following intermission, Mr. Cowan and Ms. Shihoten returned for two more pieces together: Caprice for Violin and Organ by Naji Hakim, and the second movement of Violin Concerto in D Minor, op. 47, by Jan Sables. The Hakim piece was commissioned by the AGO, and Cowan described it as being “light hearted.” It is that in spades, sounding like an audience of laughing people. In places it reminded me of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, with the occasional Cuban or Latin American rhythm. The organ part seems not for the faint of heart, but it sure sounds like fun. The music sparkles. I don’t think the audience stopped smiling once from beginning to end. The Sibelius movement was quite a contrast—all warm and low in the violin with luscious string tone in a bit more movement supporting, building to a climactic forte then pulling back for the violin entrance. The Kimball’s gorgeous tone embraced the violin and all of us. It is a marvelous instrument.
For the next item on the program, Ken came out alone to play Vierne’s Naïades. But, before he could start he had to fetch his wife who he had “engaged as a page turner.” They came back out and she had her violin bow in hand because she could not reach all the way across the wide pages on the wide music rack. She demonstrated her technique much to the merriment of all of us. Naïades, a difficult work, was played effortlessly. Cowan closed with his arrangement of Franz Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No. 1. Needless to say it was utterly fantastic! I’ve heard him play many times and each time I come away wondering how he could ever “top this,” and every time he manages to do it! We leapt to our feet amid shouts of “Bravo!” He came back and gave us a charming bonbon of an encore, Gigue by Bossi.
It was a stunning end to a convention that was well run, on time, gracious, and friendly. Many of us come each year, finding that it is always a pleasure to be among our own kind—people who love the organ, instruments old and new. People who love history, love to get a feel for a particular area of the country and to learn about how pipe organs, and the buildings in which they stand, are a part of the fabric of communities large and small. Being fans of architecture plays a key role as does curiosity about local cuisine. On the bus rides, we like to sit with different people each time we board. It is fascinating to discover all their backgrounds. We find professors, cathedral organists, parish organists, organ builders, organ historians, and some who don’t play at all, but just like to listen to organ music. With 25 concerts one certainly has an opportunity for that! We come from all over the world to experience the American organ. There is much to be proud of here, and it was on fine display in the long history of superb organs in the Central Indiana region at this summer’s convention. Bravo to the committee and to the Organ Historical Society!■

June 27-July 2, 2011, Washington, D.C.

Frank Rippl holds a BM degree from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, where he was a student of Miriam Clapp Duncan and Wolfgang Rübsam, and an MA degree from the University of Denver. He has been organist/choirmaster at All Saints Episcopal Church in Appleton since 1971, is co-founder of the Appleton Boychoir, and coordinator of the Lunchtime Organ Recital Series. Photos by Len Levasseur

In the immortal words of Charles  Dickens, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Now, please don’t be alarmed by those words, because the convention itself was really wonderful: terrific organs, organists, many and varied venues displaying the remarkable depth available in and around our nation’s capital—from the National Cathedral to a former convent chapel. The hotel, the food, the displays and the well-researched Atlas were just fine and highly commendable.

The only bad thing, that “worst of times,” which nearly brought the convention to its knees, was an inept bus situation that seemed to conspire against us each day by being hours late, not showing up at all, sending buses with not enough seats, or by being utterly confused as to how to get from point A to point B. It was frustrating, and many an oath was uttered. But we still had a good time in spite of the craziness. Because of the buses, I did miss one of the recitals on the last day, and I truly apologize to the performer. But enough of that. Let’s get on to the good things and the music!

The convention headquarters was at the Holiday Inn at Reagan National Airport—not far from Crystal City and Old Town Alexandria, and near the Pentagon. Coming in for a landing at Reagan Airport gives one a stunning view of the National Mall with the Capitol, the White House, and all the famous monuments. But, for organists, it is probably the sight of the National Cathedral that causes the heart to skip a beat or two. Checking in at the hotel, greeting old friends, and visiting the displays are familiar rituals of these conventions. It made it all seem very comfortable.

Opening event 

The first event of the convention was the recital that Monday night at the National Cathedral by Nathan Laube. The buses were hopelessly late with inadequate seating, so some of us jumped into cars and raced across town to the cathedral, which stands on the city’s highest hill, Mount St. Alban, making it easy to find. It never fails to impress. I sat in the Great Choir just in front of the console and enjoyed the view in this massive Gothic church. I was surrounded by pipes on three sides. Cathedral organist Scott Dettra greeted us and introduced the performer. Laube began with Cathedrals from Vierne’s Pièces de Fantaisie, op. 55, no. 4. He plumbed the depths of the huge stone space and the massive
E. M. Skinner foundation stops in a wonderful piece well suited to the occasion. Next was Pierre Cochereau’s Berceuse à la mémoire de Louis Vierne, transcribed by Frédéric Blanc. Like the first piece, it moved through the vast room at a majestic pace—quietly at first, then bringing in the gorgeous Skinner strings. Laube slowly added the reeds, culminating in a solo on the Tuba Mirabilis. He pulled back to the strings, along with what I believe was an 8′ flute and a nazard in the right hand, and clarinet in the pedal. It was a brilliant demonstration of this organ’s huge range of orchestral color.

Laube then explored the neo-classic sounds of this instrument with Two Fantasies by Jehan Alain. He closed the first half of the program with a wild, neo-classic-style piece Dupré wrote in memory of his father—a Tutti that was astonishing in its power. Following intermission he offered salutes to two gentlemen associated with this cathedral: Leo Sowerby and Richard Wayne Dirksen. Sowerby’s Requiescat in Pace used the “subtle colors” of Skinner’s “Sowerby Swell”—lovely strings, solo stops, and chimes. The hymn was Rejoice, ye pure in heart to the tune Vineyard Haven by Richard Wayne Dirksen. Our “Hosannas” made a joyous roar that matched the organ. 

Laube ended with his own transcription of Liszt’s Les Préludes. Great salvos of sound were hurled through the arches of the cathedral. The familiar melodies, both loud and soft, fell on our ears like the voices of old and dear friends. We heard the Trumpet-en-Chamade (which is mounted above the reredos) and the 32′ Bombarde for the first time. At other times, the Harp “plucked” away. For an encore he played Messiaen’s L’Ascension: II – Alléluias sereins—a perfect end to a truly extraordinary recital.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The first full day of the convention dawned bright and sunny with an amazing blue sky, making the sight of our first stop in Alexandria, Virginia, even more outstanding than it might have been. Standing atop Shuter’s Hill was the George Washington Masonic Memorial—a massive, tall, white stone structure, designed to resemble the ancient lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt. The tower, completed in 1932, is capped with a pyramid. Inside was a great semi-circular hall lined with columns behind amphitheater-style seating. A large portrait of George Washington, dressed in his Masonic apron, hangs at the back of the stage. The three-manual Möller, Opus 8540 from 1953, was designed by Ernest White and Richard O. Whitelegg. The Atlas stated that White’s contribution was a Choir division with independent mutations and a Cromorne. The console was on the floor and against the stage, while the pipes were in the ceiling, speaking through an elaborate Art Deco grille.

Charles Miller, organist at National City Christian Church in Washington, D.C., opened with Marche aux Flambeaux by Frederick Scotson Clark, complete with trumpet fanfares. Next came Introduction and Fugue in D Minor by John Zundel. The introduction had alternating ff and mp sections, and the fugue moved along with zeal. I was struck by this organ’s strong bass sounds. Then Sowerby’s Chorale Prelude on Picardy showed off the softer side of this organ, especially the lovely Möller strings and flutes, and a rather thin Cromorne. 

Miller then played Mendelssohn’s Sonata II in C Minor. He drew dark and ponderous sounds for the Grave section, and the Adagio featured many opportunities for solo stops. The Allegro maestoso was brought off with just the right amount of style, as was the fugue. Dudley Buck’s Scherzo (from the Grand Sonata in E-flat) worked very well on this organ, as did Buck’s Variations on the Star Spangled Banner. The hymn was O Beautiful for Spacious Skies, a very moving song to sing in our nation’s capital. 

We were divided into two groups because the next venues were small. My group went to Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Collington, Maryland, where we heard Phillip L. Stimmel, an authority on Estey organs, play an Estey: Opus 655 (1908), two manuals, eight ranks, with tubular-pneumatic action. The Praeludium in A Minor by Clarence Eddy was a nice demonstration of the warm foundation stops. Ballade in D Minor by Joseph Clokey began on the Swell Stopped Diapason plus tremolo, with alternating passages on a particularly sweet Great Dulciana. An agreeable solo on the Swell reedless Oboe preceded a buildup to full organ; it then came back down to the opening sounds. In Beach’s Prelude on an Old Folk Tune, “The Fair Hills Of Eire, O,” Stimmel explored all the colors and registrations of this eight-rank organ, making it seem like a much larger instrument. Next was a favorite, Will o’ the Wisp by Gordon Balch Nevin. The hymn was O holy city, seen of John (Morning Song). Stimmel closed with Gardner Reed’s Once more, my soul, the rising day (Consolation, same tune as Morning Song), another good choice for this organ.

My group then went to St. Paul Moravian Church in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, to hear the church’s E. & G. G.
Hook & Hastings Opus 702 (1873), which has been enlarged and rebuilt by David M. Storey, Inc. between 1985 and 2010. Built for the temporary home of Trinity Episcopal Church in Boston, it was used until the present sanctuary was constructed. At some point it was moved down to the D.C. area. St. Paul’s first church was dedicated in 1972, and a second in 1985. The Hook organ was purchased in 1986. It sits in a transept of sorts to the right of the altar in this smallish modern red brick church, whose proud members welcomed us warmly.

Kevin Clemens, of Aberdeen, Maryland, opened with Tone Poem in F, op. 22, no. 1, by Niels Gade. Next was Arioso in the Ancient Style by James H. Rogers, which used the Oboe with tremolo. Then came Caprice by Cuthbert Harris, charming and well played, and Elevation from Messe Basse by Louis Vierne, in which we heard the rather nice Celeste, which was actually the former Great Dulciana. Next, The Cuckoo (Scherzino) by Powell Weaver, which featured the Oboe and the Melodia. The hymn was Sing praise to God who reigns above (Mit Freuden Zart). We were asked to sing harmony on the middle verse, but alas, our printed harmony was not what was played; we sang out with gusto, nonetheless. Clemens closed his program with Sousa’s Liberty Bell March. 

The next stop was St. John’s Episcopal Church, Broad Creek, King George Parish, Fort Washington, Maryland to hear Peter Crisafulli play the beautiful little Jacob Hilbus organ from 1819. Hilbus, born in Westphalia, Germany, was the first organbuilder in Washington. I would encourage the reader to see Michael Friesen’s excellent article in this convention’s Atlas on Hilbus’s work, and on this particular organ, as well as the fine article by convention chair Carl Schwartz. It is a lovely instrument to behold, with delicately carved pipe shades, one manual and no pedal. The sound was sweet and gentle. Crisafulli began with General Washington’s March by an anonymous composer. Cornet Voluntary by John Travers followed. We heard the Principal 4′ (played an octave lower) for the first time. Crisafulli is also an excellent composer, as we heard in his next selection: Greensleeves (from In Sweet Jubilee—A Suite of Carols for Harpsichord), played on the lovely 8′ Stopped Diapason. He next played Adagio by Mozart on the Flute 4′, which alternated with the exquisitely soft Dulciana Treble. We then heard the first Samuel Sebastian Wesley works of the convention: Choral Song—elegant, graceful music—followed by the livelier Prelude and Fugue. I enjoyed his adding the Sesquialtera in the fugue, giving a bit of bite. The hymn was From all that dwell below the skies (Old 100th). A wonderful recital on a beautiful and very historic instrument—Crisafulli did a masterful job demonstrating its many charms!

Late in the afternoon, we arrived at the Old Presbyterian Meeting House in Alexandria, Virginia, for a recital by Samuel Baker, director of the D.C. AGO Foundation. The 1849 one-manual (no pedal) Henry Erben organ stands at the front of the church behind the pulpit. In the Voluntary by William Croft, the 8′ Open Diapason alternated with a bright solo combination. Next, Festival Overture from Cutler & Johnson’s American Church Organ Voluntaries (1856). The hymn was As with gladness men of old (Dix), followed by David Dahl’s Variations on the Hymn Tune Dix. We heard a clear 4′ flute, flutes 8′ and 2′, a lovely Dulciana, a jaunty 8′ and 4′, and a fine Trumpet 8′. Stephen Schnurr presented the church with an OHS Historic Citation to encourage the preservation of this very good organ. Baker then went to this church’s other organ, which stood in the rear gallery: a Lively-Fulcher (1997) of two manuals and pedal, with mechanical key action and electric stop action. He performed Gerre Hancock’s beautiful Air (1963)—lovely sounds played with great feeling. The program ended with another hymn: Ye watchers and ye holy ones (Lasst uns Erfreuen).

The evening concert took place at Capitol Hill United Methodist Church. The building is modern in style, tall and narrow with red brick walls. It stands on the site of the birthplace of J. Edgar Hoover—the large “west end” window commemorates that historic fact. The organ, a large and sumptuous 1936 Möller, was built for Covenant-First Presbyterian Church, which later became the National Presbyterian Church. David Storey is the hero in the restoration of this priceless gem, once considered old fashioned. The organ originally had been voiced by Richard O. Whitelegg, who came to Möller from England, where he worked for Harrison & Harrison, August Gern, and Henry Willis. The Atlas states that he voiced the powerful flue stops for the Liverpool Cathedral organ. 

The organ is in the front of the church, with chambers on either side of the chancel and a smaller chamber in the left wall of the nave for the solo division. The walls of the brick nave are windowless at the clerestory level, but a large window in back has the image of the risen Christ in chunks of colored glass embedded in concrete. 

Ken Cowan began his recital with Marche héroïque by Herbert Brewer. A gutsy opening gave way to a majestic and expansive tune; at the close, the melody was played on full organ. The Soul of the Lake, op. 96, no. 1 (Pastels from the Lake of Constance) by Karg-Elert followed—a marvelously impressionistic piece, deliciously played. Next came a thundering reading of Mozart’s Fantasia in F Minor, K. 608. The hymn was Songs of thankfulness and praise (Salzburg). Cowan leads and supports in perfect proportion—ever aware of the text, the music, and the singers. The first half closed with Prelude to Act III, Parsifal, by Wagner in an arrangement by Frederic Archer. The Solo division’s French Horn stop got a workout. Cowan is a master colorist.

The second half opened with Henry Martin’s Prelude and Fugue in B Minor, a piece commissioned by Michael Barone. This was fairly tempestuous music. The fugue began in the pedal and quoted the theme of the prelude. Next was Schumann’s Canon in B Minor, Canon in A-flat Major, and Fugue on B-A-C-H. We heard the variety of reed and foundation tone on this fine organ. I especially enjoyed the A-flat Major, the end of which employed the large Tromba 8′ on the Solo, and then pulled back to the lovely Swell strings. 

We then heard Cowan’s transcription of Danse macabre by Saint-Saëns. The whole church seemed to sway back and forth to this wonderful music. Cowan made good use of the percussion on the organ: Chimes, Harp, and Celesta. He closed with Dupré’s Deux Esquisses, op. 41—totally virtuosic and muscular playing. He treated us to an encore: Roulade by Seth Bingham, a perfect bonbon to follow a concert that was like an incredibly rich and hearty meal.

Wednesday, June 29

We began the day on Capitol Hill at the towering St. Joseph R.C. Church, whose cornerstone was laid in 1868. It was intended to be used by the German-speaking Catholics of Washington, D.C., and architect Michael Stegmeier used his hometown’s cathedral (Cologne, Germany) as its model. The neo-gothic structure has a very high ceiling painted blue with gold stars. But the real gem for us was the magnificent three-manual, 29-rank Hook & Hastings organ, Opus 1491 from 1891. It has been restored/rebuilt many times, most recently by Bozeman-Gibson, Inc. in 1986. David Storey now tends to this highly regarded instrument.

George Bozeman Jr. entitled his program “Christmas in June.” He began with Reger’s Weihnachten, op. 145, no. 3, which began softly with the strings. The church’s air conditioning, though welcome, was terribly noisy, making much of the music nearly inaudible. The piece incorporated four different carols, ending with Stille Nacht. Bozeman played with a wonderful sense of feeling and sensitivity. Dudley Buck’s attractive Prelude (from The Coming of the King, Cantata for Advent and Christmas) incorporated “Silent Night” and “Adeste fideles.” The hymn was Adeste Fideles, which we sang powerfully in the resonant acoustic of this beautiful church.

Next was a wonderful Allegro by Katherine E. Lucke (1875–1962), which demonstrated the light and agile flute sounds of this fabulous organ. Bozeman closed with his own fine transcription of Four Fleeting Pieces, op. 15 by Clara Schumann. It was a good tour of the organ’s solo stops, and he played all very well; each musical line was beautifully shaped and controlled. We all enjoyed this recital and were quite smitten with this fantastic organ.

The second recital of the morning was at St. Martin of Tours R.C. Church, an attractive building completed in 1939 in the Florentine Renaissance style. A sign was tied between the two pillars on either side of the central door: WELCOME ALL SINNERS. I didn’t know what to make of that, but I certainly felt accommodated. The organ—Möller Opus 6809, three manuals, 22 ranks—stands in the rear gallery and speaks into a most favorable acoustic. There is reason to believe that Möller’s Richard O. Whitelegg worked on this organ. The Atlas states, “Most pipework was old and of unknown origin.” The Clarinet stop was terrific!

Carolyn Lamb Booth opened with a strong reading of Guilmant’s Grand Triumphal Chorus in A Major, op. 47, no. 2. The powerful sounds of this organ filled the space evenly; I liked the Trumpet. Next, Edward Bairstow’s Evening Song, registered perfectly. The hymn was “Christ, be our light.” Organ and organist led it convincingly. After that, the beautiful Elegy by George Thalben-Ball showed the many lovely solo stops and was nicely played. (I noted the Catholic Church in its current state of transition: the confessionals were used to store old kneelers.) The closing piece was Saint-Saëns’ Prelude and Fugue in E-Flat Major, op. 99, no. 3, perfectly suited to this fine organ and organist.

The final stop of the morning was at the lovely St. Gabriel’s R.C. Church in Washington, D.C., to hear its Lewis & Hitchcock, Opus 165 (1930) of two manuals and pedal, 21 ranks. It stands in a divided case on either side of the rear gallery of this English Tudor-style building, whose cornerstone was laid in 1930. We were greeted with the sound of bells—extra points! Upon entering, we encountered the smell of good incense—more extra points! Stephen J. Morris began his program with a hymn, Sing to God! Lift up your voices (Alchester). Robust OHS singing matched the organ very well in that great acoustic! 

Morris’s first selection was Mendelssohn’s War March of the Priests, which showed the strength of this organ’s sound as we enjoyed this cruciform church with its beautiful glass and elegant appointments. Next was Andante ‘Choeur de Voix humaines’, op. 122, no. 7, by Lefébure-Wély. The Great’s very beautiful Gross Flute made bubbly sounds against the Swell’s equally fine Vox Humana. Then Seth Bingham’s Rhythmic Trumpet (from Baroques, op. 41), followed by another character piece, The Squirrel by Powell Weaver—an entertaining bit of whimsey played with good humor. 

Next was Liszt, Introduction and Fugue (after Johann Sebastian Bach, from Cantata 21, Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis), played with broad authority and featuring the organ’s fine plenum. That was followed by a little composition that featured the Oboe: Allegretto in E-flat, op. 17, no. 2 by William Wolstenholme (1865–1931)—cute music. Then came the beautiful Claire de Lune from Karg-Elert’s Trois Impressions, op. 72—lovely music well chosen for organ, space, and audience. Morris played it exquisitely right down to the last ppp on the Aeoline. The recital ended with the March upon a Theme of Handel, op. 15, no. 2, by Guilmant. A fine performance and concert, which demonstrated the organ most admirably.

Following a box lunch, my group made its way to the Armed Forces Retirement Home, founded in 1851. It sits high on a hill overlooking the city of Washington. Abraham Lincoln spent a lot of time there escaping the heat of summer. The rolling grounds are extensive, tranquil, and very green with lots of trees and grass. The organ was in Stanley Hall, a facility built for recreation and entertainment, but now used a chapel. The organ, a two-manual and pedal instrument built by Stevens & Jewett (ca. 1855), is interesting for its 18-note pedalboard. The 16′ Double Open Diapason has only 12 pipes. The Atlas states: “From second C the pedals simply repeat the pipes in the bottom octave.” The instrument was acquired through the Organ Clearing House, having come from the former Universalist Church in Mechanics Falls, Maine. David Moore did the restoration. 

Rosalind Mohnsen opened her program with Allegro moderato maestoso by Mendelssohn, which had a fine majestic march feel to it. Then came John Stanley’s Voluntary in A, op. 7, no. 1, Adagio—Allegro. The Adagio was played on the Great Open Diapason—a warm and widely scaled sound. The Allegro used some lovely softer but bright stops on the Swell. Next, Gavotte Pastorale by Frederick Shackley (1868–1937). The Swell alternated with the Great Diapasons, then some of the Swell 8′ stops with tremolo—a good piece that showed some of the many colors of this organ. The hymn was, appropriately, Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord (Battle Hymn of the Republic). Mohnsen always chooses hymns and pieces with great care so that they are well suited to the instrument and place at hand. Her next selection was Abraham Lincoln’s Funeral March, op. 7 (1865), “In memory of a Country’s Martyred Father” by William Wolsieffer. Paul Marchesano hand pumped the organ. The piece showed more of the organ’s color, the fine reeds in particular. 

Next came Melodie (Homage to Grieg) by George Elbridge Whiting (1840–1923), which carefully demonstrated more solo stop combinations. Mohnsen closed with Marche militaire by Scotson Clark (1841–1883), a snappy number in which we heard more of the reeds. 

We next visited St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Riverdale, Maryland, which possesses a sweet little Jardine organ, originally built in 1853 as a one manual, and enlarged to two manuals in 1890. After several church “homes”, it had been purchased by OHS member Carolyn Fix, who sold it to St. John’s in 1988, and was rebuilt and enlarged by James Baird. It stands at the rear of this smallish cement block structure. Lawrence Young began with four selections from The Green Mountain Organ Book by Charles Callahan. In Prelude and Fugue we heard the lovely 8′ foundation stops. Rondeau used Great 8′ and 4′ in the A section, while the B sections used the Swell 4′ and 2′ with shades closed. It ended with Procession, which closed quietly. The next selection was Mendelssohn’s Prelude and Fugue in G Major, op. 37, no. 2, which started on the Great 8′ and 4′ Principals. The fugue was solidly played. Following that, Young played Daniel Pinkham’s Be Thou My Vision: Partita on Slane, a good demonstration piece. We then sang the hymn on which the partita was based. It was all very enjoyable.

For the afternoon’s last recital, our buses climbed up the hill to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Crypt Church, to hear the 1987 Schudi organ (two manuals, 23 stops, 25 ranks) built in the style of Gottfried Silbermann. The organ stands in a wide transept to the right of the altar.

Peter Latona, director of music at the shrine, began with Buxtehude’s Praeludium in F-sharp minor, BuxWV 146. In that acoustic, the effect was splendid; clean, clear sound, emanating from the polished tin pipes, filled the space. It was a superb performance, full of life, grace, and vigor. Then the Andante from Bach’s Trio Sonata IV, BWV 528, using an 8′ flute on each manual and 16′ and 8′ flutes in the pedal—a warm and inviting sound. Next, O Gott, du frommer Gott, op. 122, no. 7, by Brahms, showed the rich 8′ foundation stops. Then Latona played Joseph Jongen’s Petit Prelude, soloing out the tune on the Swell Schalmey, showing more of the romantic side of this organ. 

Then came a special treat: a series of improvisations creating a Suite on Rendez a Dieu. I. Trompette en taille; II. was the hymn itself, which we all sang; III. was a trio with the Cornet in the left hand; IV. was a Grand jeux complete with a duo in the middle. Very skillful improvisation founded securely in the French Baroque style. Latona made me wish that I lived in Washington, D.C. so I could hear him play every Sunday. 

Following a most tasty buffet dinner at the Pryzbyla Center, Catholic University of America, buses took us to Immaculate Conception Church in Washington, D.C. to hear Bruce Stevens play the evening recital on the church’s 1879 Steer & Turner organ, Opus 131 (two manuals, 25 stops). The church is a large sort of Tudor Gothic with tall windows. The program opened with Festive Prelude on the Chorale ‘Lobe den Herren’ by Niels Gade (1822–1890), which started with long chords and then led into a more “festive” reading of the melody going from manual to manual. That led to the hymn, Praise ye the Lord, the almighty (Lobe den Herren). Our “Let the Amen!” in that acoustic was something to hear!

Stevens then played Partita sopra Aria della Folia da Espagna by Bernardo Pasquini (1637–1710). I was amazed at how well this very 19th-century organ could sound in this music. Next, an Allegro by João de Sousa Carvalho (1745–1798).Then Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 543. The fugue was especially fine—masterful and profoundly musical playing! We then heard George Shearing’s setting of Amazing Grace, which was not in the program. Next was Saturnus (from The Planets: Suite of Seven Pieces for Organ) by Bent Lorentzen (b. 1935); lots of repeated chords accompanying a melodic line—wild music! 

Stevens then closed this fine program with Rheinberger’s Sonata No. 9 in B-flat Minor, op. 142. I especially enjoyed the second movement, Romanze, which was a good demonstration of the exquisite flutes on this instrument, as well as the quiet foundation stops. Movement three, Fantasie und Finale–Fuga, showed the clarity of the plenum. This is a very fine organ. The Fantasie contained Buxtehude-like runs, and the very well-conceived Fuga was performed with clear and refined style that comes with a long association with this music. It was a glorious evening!

Thursday, June 30

Lorenz Maycher began this day for us on a nearly mint-condition E. M. Skinner, Opus 744, from 1928, at the Church of the Pilgrims (Presbyterian) in Washington, D.C. It has three manuals and about 30 stops and stands in the rear gallery divided on either side of the window. Maycher is a specialist with Skinner organs. He played an entire program of music by Richard Purvis, beginning with Toccata Festiva. It was exciting music and playing—the organ filling the space nicely. The hymn was There’s a wideness in God’s mercy (In Babilone). He then played the popular Melody in Mauve, which sounded wonderful on this beautiful organ. Next was another popular piece, Les Petites Cloches, which featured the chimes and harp. Then, Idyl, with the lovely Flute Celeste II accompanying the Concert Flute, followed by the Vox Humana. 

Repentance was the next piece and showed the softer foundation stops, followed by the strings and then the larger foundation stops; the Tutti came on, but the piece ended with the softest strings. Maycher ended this lovely program with Thanksgiving, which began with the Great Tuba blasting out a fanfare in dialogue with the Swell reeds. A quiet B section, featuring the Clarinet, led us back to the beginning. Wonderful music, brilliantly played on a gorgeous American organ! 

The next stop was Epiphany R.C. Church in Georgetown to enjoy its two-manual, 11-stop Hook & Hastings, Opus 1623. Built in 1894 for a music room in Boston, it eventually found its way to this small and charming church. David M. Storey Inc. restored the organ in 2003. It stands in the rear balcony, its pipes painted in warm yet bright colors. Convention chair Carl Schwartz described this organ brilliantly in the Atlas: “This musical instrument reveals its charms in subtle ways, much like a fine wine unfolding before the senses. As with most Hook & Hastings organs of this modest type, it proves to be far more than the sum of its parts.” 

Kimberly Hess opened with Buxtehude’s Toccata in F Major, BuxWV 157, which worked very well on this 1894 organ. The hymn was I sing the mighty power of God (Mozart). She then played no. X from 23 Préludes liturgiques by Gaston Litaize. We heard the beautiful and careful voicing of the smaller sounds on this lovely organ; each stop is satisfying in every way. Then C.P.E. Bach’s Sonata in D Major, Wq 70/5, which showed refined 8′ and 4′ sounds in the Allegro di molto. In the Adagio e mesto she used the Swell Stopped Diapason with tremolo to good effect. The Allegro was cheerful and bright with good dialogue between the manuals. Hess ended her fine concert with two selections from Arthur Foote’s Seven Pieces for Organ, op. 71. Cantilena in G featured a solo on the organ’s gorgeous Oboe. The melody was spun out for us with warmth and just the right amount of flexibility. Toccata moved well in the opening A section, coming to a restful B section. It finished big, using the sub and super couplers from the Swell. First-rate playing on a first-rate organ. 

The last stop of the morning was at the sprawling and beautiful Washington Hebrew Congregation, begun in 1856. The present building was completed in 1955. The organ, a large three-manual Aeolian-Skinner, Opus 1285, was installed in 1956. The organ stands in front of the room, although the pipes (and organist) are hidden. There is beautiful tone and balance within the divisions. Two well-known organists have served this congregation: German composer and scholar Herman Berlinski, and B. Michael Parrish, a student of Herbert Howells and George Thalben-Ball. Mr. Parrish began with very soft flute sounds in Sabbath Eve by Robert Starer (1924–2001). Next a piece by one of his teachers: George Thalben-Ball’s Elegy—a great piece that built to a fine roar. Then a piece by another of his teachers: Herbert Howells’s Master Tallis’s Testament, with a beautiful solo sound from the Choir. Next was a very moving In Memoriam by Herman Berlinski (played in memory of Sina G. Berlinski). That was followed by “Rosh Hashana” from Funf Fest-Preludien, op. 37, by Louis Lewandowski, and then the hymn The God of Abraham praise (Yigdal). A very beautiful and meaning-filled program.

We then made our way to Washington’s National City Christian Church, a building designed by John Russell Pope, who also designed the National Archives, the Jefferson Memorial, and the National Gallery—so one can imagine that it is indeed an imposing structure fronted with a huge sweeping staircase. It opened circa 1929. The first organ was by the Skinner Organ Company, Opus 824 (four manuals, 55 ranks). Like many of those grand old E. M. Skinner organs, it was deemed old fashioned by mid-century, and in the 1960s it began to be greatly enlarged by the Möller Company and others until it reached its present size of five manuals and 141 ranks, including a large Antiphonal division in the rear of the church. The main organ stands in the front of this basilica-like structure behind the apse and four huge granite columns—all of this in a building smaller than several of the larger Catholic churches we had visited. It is the third largest organ in the city, but it is in a building smaller, it seemed, than of one of the National Cathedral’s transepts. Perhaps E. M. had the right idea about proportion for the space. This is a very loud organ, and too big for the church.

The legendary and brilliant organist, composer, and teacher John Weaver gave a terrific program. He opened with Bach’s Wir glauben all an einen Gott, S. 680 (Clavierübung Part III). It was a bit of a shock to hear this Möller with its 1975-era mixtures after two and a half days of more subtle mixture sound. Next was Mozart’s Adagio and Allegro in F Minor, K 594. The Adagio was lovely, but the Allegro was a bit over the top with the power and aggressiveness of the registration choices. Weaver played it very well with good attention to detail, but it was just too loud. I found myself wondering if he had trouble judging the level of the sounds as the pipes spoke over the player’s head, sending all the sound into the nave. 

Then Karg-Elert’s Five Chorale Improvisations from opus 65. 1. Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern used the lovely strings and soft foundation stops. 2. O Gott, du frommer Gott used several levels of foundation tone. 3. Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend was quite loud and seemed to demand Christ’s presence among us—brilliant playing with a wild pedal part! 4. Herzlich lieb hab ich dich, o Herr—gorgeous music with a gentle echo after each phrase; we heard the famous Handbells stop on this organ—interesting, but I wasn’t crazy about them. 5. Nun danket alle Gott was the well-known piece often played at weddings. It was another case, however, of over-use of the loud sounds. This organ is simply too big for this room.

Next came one of Weaver’s own compositions, Carillon (2002), which used the Handbell stop. The bells were accompanied by gurgling flutes—very nice music. The hymn was Surely the Lord is in this place to the tune Madison Avenue by Weaver. He then played a piece he wrote based on his hymn tune Meyers Park, following by the singing of the hymn. Weaver closed with his famous Toccata for Organ (1958). It was very exciting, but, with this instrument, it was painfully loud. One longed for the old E. M. Skinner organ that first graced this church.

The bus caravan deposited us at the lovely All Souls Unitarian Church in Washington, D.C. The congregation traces itself back as far as 1815, but the present church, styled after St. Martin in the Fields, London, was built in 1923. The organ was built by Rieger in 1969, a tracker of four manuals, 60 registers, and 96 ranks. It was an important instrument in its time and attracted quite a bit of attention, with a Rückpositiv and an enclosed Brustwerk that has glass shades. It also was the first, it is said, to have computerized combination action with multiple memory levels. To our ears it sounds dated, but in its day I’m sure it was a revelation. There is still much to admire in this instrument. 

Eileen Morris Guenther opened with Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in C, BWV 547 (“the 9/8”). I would have liked to hear more articulation in the playing, which seemed rushed with many dropped passing tones. All the drama in that wonderful fugue was lost. Next, Prelude for the Organ in G Major by Fanny Hensel (née Mendelssohn-Bartholdy). The mid-20th century mixtures got in the way of an otherwise good performance. Then Robert Schumann’s Sketch in D-flat, which used the 8′ foundations and flutes. Staying in the Schumann family, we heard Clara’s Prelude and Fugue for Organ, op. 16, no. 3, played very well. Two spirituals by Joe Utterback (b. 1944) followed: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (blues for manuals) and Balm in Gilead. I enjoyed her fine performance of them, which showed the pretty soft string sounds. The hymn, a new setting of “A Mighty Fortress” by Emma Lou Diemer (Reformation), was not the easiest thing to sing. This was an instructive recital that showcased the transitional state of organ building midway through the last century.

The evening program was Solemn Evensong and Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, K Street in Washington. D.C. My bus got lost and we barely made it on time. Since all the pews were occupied, I got to sit in a row of chairs set up in front of the front pew—a great view of all the proceedings. The church was founded in 1866, but the present building dates from 1948. It is very traditional, with all the high church trimmings, great acoustics, and a four-manual Schoenstein & Co. organ of 52 voices and 65 ranks. The organ and choir are divided on either side of the chancel, and there is a Tuba Mirabilis mounted on the liturgical west end (the pipes stand vertically). The volunteer choir was superb in every way, led by director of music and organist Robert McCormick, and accompanied by assistant director of music John Bradford Bohl. 

The pre-service voluntary was Rhein-berger’s Introduction and Passacaglia from Sonata No. 8 in E Minor. It was marvelously played, but I could not tell by whom. The responsory was by Hancock, the preces were by Philip Radcliffe, and the psalms were sung to Anglican chants by Stanford and Thalben-Ball. The organ was perfect for the proper accompaniment of Anglican chant; amazing effects could be created by the swell boxes within swell boxes. Each line of the psalms was carefully prepared by the organist, and the choir sang with proper style and grace. 

The office hymn was All praise to thee, for thou, O King divine (Engelberg). Now, if you have never been to an OHS convention, the hymn singing is amazing. So it was with a certain amusement that I noted a few of the choir members looking out at us with widened eyes as if to say “Who are these people?” We fed each other as congregation, choir, and organ raised the song from our collective hearts to amazing heights—it was an unforgettable moment! The Magnificat and Nunc dimittis came from Evening Service No. 2 in E-flat Major by Charles Wood. It was a powerful sound—McCormick drew astonishing sounds from his forces. After the prayers, they sang the Salve Regina, and then one of my favorite anthems, Te Lucis ante terminum by Henry Balfour Gardiner. That was followed by Benediction. The closing voluntary was a stunning improvisation. It was an unforgettable evening, both musically and spiritually.

Friday, July 1

Our day began at the beautiful National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. with a recital by that church’s organist, William Neil. The church was established in 1947, but has connections dating back to 1780. The present building was opened in 1969. The organ was one of the last Aeolian-Skinner organs, and has been altered many times since then. A Solo division was added in 2010 using several E. M. Skinner ranks. The organ has four manuals and seven divisions. It was featured at the AGO convention in 2010 in a concert by Nathan Laube. I was eager to hear the Skinner Solo division ranks, as they were not playing for that recital. Neil’s fine recital began with Mendelssohn’s Sonata in F Minor, op. 65, no. 1. In the first movement we heard the clear and never overwhelming plenum, with echos on an 8′ reed. The beautiful Adagio showed the lovely strings along with several excellent solo stops including the French Horn. The Andante used the Antiphonal 8′ and 4′ flutes against a reed chorus on the main organ in front. The Antiphonal is at the back of the room, while the main organ is behind a screen on the front wall. The Allegro assai vivace burst forth with extraordinary energy and power. This was one of the most exciting performances I’ve ever heard of this piece. 

In Elgar’s Nimrod (from Enigma Variations, op. 36), the organ’s gorgeous and lush strings were on full display; the clear Clarinet uttered its plaintive cry. The marvelous crescendo began building seamlessly to full organ, then tumbled gently back down to a breathless ppp—it was brilliantly achieved. Next came J. S. Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor. Neil began on quiet flutes. His trills were flawless, and the calm pedal was unruffled by the increasingly busy manual parts. This was a fabulous performance of one of the great monuments of western civilization. My only criticism of this concert was that there was too much loud music. Our ears needed more variety. Stunning though this performance was, we had a long day ahead of us. The hymn was O Lord, You are my God and King (Jerusalem).

We made our way through the tree-lined streets of Washington, D.C. to St. Columba’s Episcopal Church in a quiet neighborhood. A handsome church, it looks as though it would be right at home in an English village. Built in 1926–1927, its first organ was a Lewis & Hitchcock that was replaced in 1981 by the present organ, a two-manual, 25-rank Flentrop that the company enlarged in 2003, adding three stops to the pedal. It stands majestically in the liturgical north transept. 

Mark Steinbach began with Philip Glass’s Mad Rush (1981), which worked well on this organ. Next, Bruhns’s Kleine Praeludium in E Minor, played freely and skillfully. This piece provides good opportunity to vary registration—a plus at an OHS convention. There were a few inner rhythmic patterns that were hurried, but he got the big overall shape of this piece quite nicely, and the organ was lovely. Then came Buxtehude’s chorale prelude on Nun komm’ der Heiden Heiland in a beautiful demonstration of the Hoodfwerk Cornet—played with wonderful sensitivity and flexibility. Keeping with that same chorale, the hymn was Savior of the nations, come. The organ held its own leading our vigorous singing—good playing!

My teacher in college, Miriam Clapp Duncan, was Anton Heiller’s second American student. So I was eager to hear the next piece, Nun Komm’ der Heiden Heiland—Eight Variations (1972), by Anton Heiller. (Steinbach has recorded a forthcoming CD of the music of Anton Heiller’s music.) He used the full range of this organ. I especially liked the Borstwerk 4′ Roerfluit, which seemed to chirp. Steinbach closed with more Philip Glass: Satyagraha, Act III, Conclusion (1980). While it was interesting to hear, for me, at least, it soon wore out its welcome. He did build a fine crescendo. This is a very good organ, and Steinbach gave an excellent tour of it. 

The next organ was a major historic treat: a nearly intact three-manual Henry Erben organ from 1850—very rare, and very exciting for us OHS’ers. This was at Trinity United Methodist Church in McLean, Virginia. The congregation can trace its beginnings back to 1820. They built their present Georgian-style church in 1961. The organ was originally built for Monumental Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia. In 1926 they replaced it with a Skinner, keeping the Erben façade, which was silenced. The Erben pipes went to another church. James Baird managed to put the Erben back together between 1975 and 1997. It now stands rather proudly in the front of this sanctuary. Nearly all the pipework has been restored, with three rare Erben reed stops. The organ has a painted white case with gold trim. There are dentils adorning the tops of the towers. The capitals at the tops of the towers have carved flowers painted colorfully. The church created needlepoint kneelers using the case designs. Convention chair Carl Schwartz, in introducing the concert, called the organ “a national treasure.” 

Before the recital began, we had the annual meeting, which included the introduction of the four E. Power Biggs Fellows to this convention. The Fellows get an all-expense-paid trip to the convention. Many eventually become performers at subsequent conventions and go on to great success in the organ world. We also had a delightful preview of next summer’s convention in Chicago.

Kevin Birch began his program with Concerto in G Major, BWV 592 (after Ernst) by J. S. Bach. In the Allegro he used the Great 8′ 4′ 2′ in alternation with the Swell. The second movement, Grave, used flutes 8′ with tremolo, a beautiful sound. The Presto was played with secure rhythm and nicely shaped phrases. Next, William Boyce’s Voluntary I in D. The Larghetto featured the very attractive 8′ Open Diapason; the Vivace featured the delicious Great Trumpet; I loved that sound—full bodied and true. Next, Muffat’s Aria sub elevazione (aria, three variations, aria), which worked quite well on this organ. Then, Mendelssohn’s Sonata No. 1 in F, op. 65. I especially enjoyed the fourth movement, when he added the thrilling 16′ Trombone in the Pedal. It was all good, solid playing on a really fine and certainly historic instrument! 

The hymn was Ye servants of God (Hanover). Guilmant’s Prière et Berceuse followed the hymn, beginning on a very quiet string. The Berceuse began with a solo on the Oboe. It was a gorgeous call from the past that made one long for the many organs that are lost. Thanks be that this one has come down to us virtually intact. The piece ended with the sweet sound of the Swell Dulciana and tremolo. Birch ended this marvelous recital with Grand Choeur in G Major by Théodore Solomon. After a sturdy beginning, a fugue started, using 8′ foundations and the Oboe, sounding very French. The Mixture came on with full organ, bringing the piece to an end—very good playing on a remarkably versatile organ!

And so we came to the final evening recital of the convention. Following a delicious meal at the American Indian Museum, we walked to St. Dominic’s R.C. Church, just a few blocks off the National Mall. It is a large gray granite church completed in 1875. It has seen several fires in its history. The church’s Hilborne Roosevelt Opus 290 dates from 1885: three manuals and 47 ranks. Originally a tracker, after various fires and rebuilds it is now on electro-pneumatic action. It enjoys a fantastic acoustic, is just the right size for the building, and stands in the rear gallery. 

Thomas Murray began with Rheinberger’s Sonata in G, op. 88, no. 3. The first part featured the fine plenum. Later we heard the beautiful Cornopean on the Swell. The closing movement was all fire and bravura. Then, Bossi’s Ave Maria, showing the lovely strings and flutes with tremolo, and Bossi’s Divertimento en forma de Giga—immaculate playing. Next, Guilmant’s Communion on Ecce panis angelorum on quiet 8′ and 4′ flutes, then the soft 8′ foundations. Guilmant’s Caprice in B-flat was a nice contrasting bit of whimsey, with chords tossed out into the great nave of this church—a charming sense of fun. Then, Grand Choeur on “Benedicamus Domino” (1934) by Guy Weitz. The Great and Swell reeds called back and forth. A fugue followed on the very good plenum—all very lively and yet grand. The hymn was There’s a wideness in God’s mercy (Blaenwern). 

Following intermission, Murray played Alfred Hollins’s Concert Overture in C Minor (1899). Bold, strong, and large chords were flung through the nave. The Swell reeds had a solo or two before returning to the Great. The piece gave voice to several solo stops and a fugue before returning to the opening material. Liszt’s Epilogue (from Années de Pèlerinage, Suisse) worked very well on the organ. Murray closed with Dupré’s Prelude and Fugue in G Minor, op. 7, no. 3, which made one want to get up and dance. It was a brilliant performance! 

Saturday, July 2

This was an “extra” day, with just three recitals. About half the convention attendees chose to go home following the Friday night recital. A few elected to stay, wanting to hear the Pomplitz organ that was on the schedule. However, the buses confounded our best intentions. The company only sent one bus, but we needed two. We all lined up in the usual manner behind the hotel. The first ones in line got on that bus. The rest of us waited for nearly two hours. It really was frustrating. But finally one came after several frantic phone calls. We missed the recital at St. Patrick’s in the City R.C. Church with its large three-manual 1994 Lively-Fulcher organ built in a French manner. The recitalist was Ronald Stolk. My apologies to all concerned that I was unable to review that recital. 

We did get to hear the August Pomplitz organ, No. 140, built in 1869 for Grace Episcopal Church in Alexandria. The organ was believed to have come to St. Vincent de Paul R.C. Church in Washington, D.C. about 1905—two manuals, 16 ranks with mechanical key and stop action. Carl Schwartz called it “a lovely instrument and a survivor.” It stands in the rear gallery of this little church. Philip T.D. Cooper started with Voluntary VII in G Major (from Ten Organ Voluntaries, op. 6) by John Stanley. Next, Flute Piece in F by William Hine. The flutes on this organ possess a rare beauty. Cooper handled the sounds with deftness and clarity. In Voluntary in A Minor by Lucien H. Southard (1827–1881), we heard the foundation stops, which ended in a fine fugal section.

Cooper’s own Fuga I tertii tone was a hit with the audience. The hymn was Jerusalem, my happy home, sung to Cooper’s tune, Kenny Dawson’s Mighty Hymn. We then heard this organ’s elegant strings in Tantum Ergo by John Henry Wilcox. The program closed with Postlude in A Major by George J. Webb.

The final concert of the convention was at St. Mary Mother of God R.C. Church in Washington, D.C., founded in 1845 for the German-speaking Catholics. The organ, which is in the rear balcony, is George S. Hutchings’ Opus 239 from 1891: two manuals, 27 ranks; it is nearly intact with its original tracker action. Timothy Edward Smith began with Bonnet’s Fantasy on Two Noels. A hymn followed: Sing of Mary, pure and holy (Raquel). Next, two selections from Seth Bingham’s Sixteen Carol Canons in Free Style. In Gabriel’s Salutation, which had  six canons, he demonstrated all manner of sounds small and great. Bring a Torch, Jeanette Isabelle had three canons. These were great organ demonstration pieces, with many refined colors.

Next was Myron Roberts’ Improvisation on God Rest You Merry. I loved the sweet little 8′ Dolcissimo stop on the Great. Then, Harvey Gaul’s The Christmas Pipes of County Clare. The flutes had their day in this charming and wonderful music. Get this music—your congregation will love you! A second hymn followed: Hark! the herald angels sing (Mendelssohn), then Balbastre’s Joseph is a good husband. The fine reeds on this organ were well displayed making a mighty Grands Jeux. The final piece, and the finale to the convention, was Fantasy on Two English Carols. The First Noel was nicely articulated. Good King Wenceslaus was heard on the Swell reeds, and then on the soft flues and flutes. The First Noel returned triumphantly! A grand conclusion to a grand convention.

This was another outstanding OHS convention. Carl Schwartz and his committee are all to be congratulated for an exceptional effort. The organs were in great shape, the venues were spectacular, the scholarship we saw in the Atlas, the Convention Handbook, and the Hymn Book evidenced their thoroughness and affection for the organs of the communities in which they are so blessed to live. And, of course, the beauty of our nation’s capital seemed to grace and welcome us at every turn. 

The 2012 OHS national convention takes place July 9–13 in Chicago. For information: www.organsociety.org.