Rebecca Taylor, with trumpet

Bálint Karosi demonstrates Taylor & Boody Organbuilders Opus 83 organ at Ancilla Domini Chapel, Mother House of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, Unites States Province, Plymouth, Indiana. He narrates and demonstrates every stop on the organ, and also performs Matthias Weckmann’s Magnificat Secundi Toni.

The new organ comprises 36 stops, 52 ranks, 2,486 pipes across two manuals and pedal.

The case of the organ is modeled after 17th- and 18th-century Dutch instruments. It is constructed of white oak and stands 34 feet tall to the top of the center spire. All of the case decoration is reflective of the sanctuary, and especially ornate high altar.  

The façade contains pipes from the Hauptwerk 16′ Principal, down to low F-sharp, as well as the Oberwerk 8′ Principal. Behind it, at impost level, sit the two large windchests of the Hauptwerk division. Located above that, in the center, are the Oberwerk windchests. The Pedal is housed in a separate, two-tiered open case that stands behind the main case.

The specification provides a variety of 16- and 8-foot stops in each division, as well as complete choruses and a plethora of flutes and mutations. The Oberwerk’s high-tin 8′ Principal in façade is modeled after 18th-century examples, and its instrumental speech is the perfect foil to the Hauptwerk’s hammered lead 8′ Octave, whose dark, vocale sounds recall an earlier era. The Hauptwerk is lent gravitas by its full-compass 16′ Principal. The 8′ Holzflöte of the Oberwerk is a tapered wooden stop that sings from its position high atop the organ. 
For information: 
https://www.taylorandboody.com/ https://www.taylorandboody.com/opus_pages/opus_83/organ_photo_gallery.html

The organ is featured on the cover of the January 2024 issue of The Diapason:
https://www.thediapason.com/content/cover-feature-klais-fisk-organ-saint-peters-church-new-york-city

Dr. Bálint Karosi has been Cantor and Director of Music at Saint Peter’s Church in Midtown Manhattan since 2015. After winning the 2008 Bach Prize in Leipzig, he has been in demand as a recitalist and clinician worldwide, known for the interpretation of Bach’s music and his Baroque-style improvisations. His recording portfolio includes three albums by Hungaroton, including his original orchestral works, and thirteen albums of the complete works for organ by J. S. Bach. In August 2023, he joined the faculty of the Organ Department at the University of Michigan, where he teaches organ literature, church music and improvisation. 

For information: https://karosi.org/

James Cameron Taylor, organ builder in Kaukauna, Wisconsin, died June 29. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, May 25, 1948, his early motorcycle travels in the 1970s led him to apply for work at Andover Organ Company where he worked closely with Walter Hawkes and Robert Newton. After his time in Massachusetts he returned to Wisconsin, working for organ builder Ronald Wahl in Appleton before setting up his own shop in the Fox River Valley of northeast Wisconsin.

J. C. Taylor & Co. was in operation for decades, producing seven new mechanical-action organs, one electric-action organ, and numerous restorations and rebuilds of nineteenth- and twentieth-century organs in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Minnesota, as well as providing service to organs throughout the Wisconsin area. Notable work included the rebuild of a three-manual Wadsworth organ for St. James Church, Madison, Wisconsin, and the conservation of the Hutchings organ at the James J. Hill House in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the Steere & Sons organ at Luther Memorial Church, Madison, Wisconsin. Taylor accomplished his work with the assistance of many career-long employees and partners including Michael Meyer, Bruce Petros, Tom Salzman, and Robert Voecks.

James Cameron Taylor is survived by his sister Vicki (Leo), brother Tom (Penny), nieces, a nephew, and a stepson, Rev. Jonathan Wallis. A funeral Mass was held July 7 at Holy Cross Catholic Church, Kaukauna, and he was buried next to his wife, Nancy.