Reflections on the Philosophical, Metaphysical and Practical Aspects of Dual Temperament in the Pasi Organ at St. Cecilia’s Cathedral, Omaha, Nebraska

by Herbert L. Huestis

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

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

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

Brainstorming

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

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

Music making

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

An overview

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

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

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

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

"Off-campus" concerts

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

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

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

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

Herbert L. Huestis

Hearing a pipe organ tuned in a sympathetic temperament is
like discovering fine wine after a lifetime of roadhouse coffee. There is
simply no comparison between the delights of pure tuning and the frustration of
cadences that beat unmercifully, no matter what the key or modulation.

When the listener does not hear this woeful tuning,
psychologists call it habituation. In other words, the average person does not
hear the inharmonicity of equal tuning because they know nothing better, and
have come to accept the ragged chords that have echoed in their ears for so
long as normal everyday music. One may take a holiday from equal temperament by
listening to a barbershop quartet for a dose of close harmony. Or take in a
concert on an organ made by an artisan builder who regards tuning as an
integral part of the instrument, reflective of its true baroque heritage. This
journey is worth the expense of rethinking all that we have taken for granted
in years past.

Ironies abound in the world of musical bias and each new
discovery can be delicious. In the late 19th century, we find a reliable bearer
of tempered tuning in that most unassuming of instruments, the reed organ. Free
reeds can hang on to their original tuning at least as well as cone tuned
pipes--in fact, they suffer less from wear and tear. Pump them up, and they
continue to play with the same sweet harmonies that their original tuning gave
them.

There are some aspects of 19th-century tuning that are tantalizing
indeed. Victorian temperaments are nearly equal, which means that in the
tradition of well-tuning, they render harmonious chords in all keys, though not
without individual key color. They are subtle, providing tension and relaxation
behind the scenes, rather than by the blunt contrast of sheep and wolves, as in
baroque temperaments. Their intervals gently progress from calm to agitated,
depending on the complexity and remoteness of each key. Somehow, they walk a
fine line between purity and utility. It seems that their particular strength
is modulation, where the prime keys assert themselves like the sun appearing
through cloud or the calm after a storm.

Of late, Victorian models of tuning have become popular with
both piano technicians and organ builders. The late 19th century was no less
rich in its diversity of temperaments than the 17th and 18th centuries.
Although theorized very early on, equal temperament was a child of the
industrial revolution. Perhaps it was the factory production of musical
instruments that propelled it into nearly universal practice among tuners and
musicians. Studies of ethnomusicology have informed us that the practice of
equal tuning was unique to western civilization and that other cultures
simultaneously developed far more rich and complex modes of intonation.

As we reflect on the revitalization of early music and an
increased regard for performance practice, we take equal tuning less for
granted. The realization that tuning methods have varied tremendously according
to time and place has awakened our ears in such a way that we can now explore
the world of sound and imagination, unfettered by musical prejudice. Take the
challenge: play through the modulations of your favorite 19th-century composer
and see what a "less than equal" temperament does for the music!
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> 

Three practical considerations

If one is going to change an organ from equal to
well-temperament, it should be an operation that is undertaken with
considerable planning. One should consider the nature of an appropriate
temperament and what music will be the primary repertoire. It is important to
look at the objectives of a major change and to evaluate the musical results,
insofar as possible, ahead of time.

The sound of an organ goes a long way to dictate temperament.
Compatibility of organ building style and repertoire are major issues. If equal
temperament is one frustration among many, the organist must decide if a change
to well temperament is going to help change musical values for the better. It
is comforting to know that even a spinet piano can be satisfying when tuned in
a historic temperament. By the same token, there are many organs that will
benefit immensely from the natural harmonicity and increased resonance of a
carefully chosen temperament.

Once the decision is made, one should not use the
"candy store" approach to the selection of a temperament! It is a
good idea to seek out a consultant who has the sounds of various tunings in his
ears. Experience can be most helpful! There are several practical matters that
should be considered when evaluating the pros and cons of various tunings:
balance of thirds, regular or irregular intervals, and shared tuning with equal
temperament.

Balance and width of thirds (in cents)

The reason for tuning in well-temperaments is to achieve key
color. As a composer calls for various keys with a lesser or greater number of
accidentals, the key color is expected to change from pure and restful chords
to vibrating and agitated harmonies. These shifting key colors are relatively
subtle, perhaps even obscure to the layperson, though quite obvious to most
musicians. As one evaluates diverse temperaments, the issues revolve around the
amount of key color desired and the achievement of an even balance that
increases the frequency of beating thirds in accordance with a greater number
of accidentals, both in sharp and flat keys.

Circle of fifths: regular or irregular intervals

This consideration is often overlooked until one makes music
with orchestral and chamber players. Regular intervals ensure the best tuning
of obbligato instruments because the transition from various intervals within
the temperament is predictable and intuitively correct. Some well tunings have
a fine balance of key color, but present such irregular intervals that out of
tune playing by ancillary instruments is unavoidable. It is not a reflection
upon the players--actually, the more experienced and intuitive the players are,
the more likely they are to have difficulty with irregular temperaments. It is
precisely the "anticipatory" nature of "tuning on the fly"
that causes the problem.

Certainly, the best chamber players always tune with the
continuo for each open string or major interval, usually in a circle of fifths.
If that circle of fifths is predictable, things go well. If each successive
fifth is a bit wide or narrow, almost at random, how is an instrumentalist
going to remember the exact tuning? "Regular" temperaments solve this
problem by the use of predictable intervals for the circle of fifths.

Convertible or shared tunings

This is a special consideration where a well temperament
will actually share part of the circle of fifths with equal tuning, usually the
notes A-E-B-F#-C#. These five notes may be tuned exactly the same in both
temperaments! In an equal temperament, the remaining seven notes are tuned in
the same ratio as the first five. However, in a convertible or shared
temperament, the remaining seven notes are altered to the new temperament. The
benefits of a shared tuning are considerable, particularly if the instrument is
to be tuned back and forth between well and equal tuning. This is often the
case with a continuo organ which is featured in various temperaments and often
at various pitches from one concert to another.

Graphs

It is very helpful to see these relationships in a graph, as
well as text and numbers. It has become very common to express numeric
relationships among various temperaments in terms of deviation in cents from
equal temperament. This is not because equal temperament is best or right, but
because each interval is a mathematical division. Thus, a rendering of equal
temperament is not given as a "norm," but as a mathematical point of
reference.

Using an electronic tuning device vs. tuning by ear

It is ironic that tuning in equal temperament became
standard practice about the same time as electronic tuning devices became
commonplace professional tools. At this time, it may be said that most tuning
of musical instruments is done with an electronic reference. That is not to say
that "tuning by ear" is no longer practiced, but aural tuning has a
new perspective, to "test" temperament rather than set it. Before the
reader jumps to any conclusion, it should be emphasized that the "art of
tuning" is still very much intact, and fine piano and organ tuning has not
suffered at all. The very finest tuners still use their ears, and the machines
are just another tool in the box.

Paradoxically, the resurgence of well temperament coincides
with the widespread use of electronic tuning devices and computerized tuning
programs. Virtually every device available offers a synthesis of historic
temperaments that are available at the touch of a button. One might argue that
this enables those without sufficient ear training to "tune" various
instruments--it also enables quick and precise tuning by professional
technicians who have more than enough ear training to do the entire job without
an electronic tuner. It is very advantageous to move from theoretical considerations
to practical application  so easily
and effortlessly. It is a conundrum, but a happy one. Without electronic
assistance, historic tunings would be sufficiently tedious that they might well
be left undone.

Tuning by ear remains indispensable. The name of the game in
tuning is to reduce error--especially cumulative error. "Tests" are
the most important aspect of any tuning. They keep the tuner on the straight
and narrow, and prevent compound or cumulative errors that seriously degrade an
artistic tuning.

Recommended computer programs

Two fine computerized tuning programs are Robert Scott's
TuneLab program, available from Real Time Specialties, 6384 Crane Road,
Ypsilanti, MI 48197 ([email protected]) and Dean Reyburn's CyberTuner,
available from Reyburn Piano Service, 2695 Indian Lakes Road, NE, Cedar
Springs, MI 49319.

These are devices for tuning both historic and equal
temperament. Cost varies from less than $100 to about $900, depending on the
range of software desired. The best feature of these programs is that each
historic temperament file may be edited with a word processor. Other electronic
tuning devices are available, usually with pre-programmed historic
temperaments. The author suggests that they be compared on the basis of
accuracy (up to 1/10 cent) and the ease of programming various temperaments.
After that, there are issues of cost, portability and so forth.

As an aside, one may also consider style of tuning. The
author prefers the use of not one, but two electronic tuning devices--a
portable one to use inside the organ and a fixed unit at the console to monitor
tuning as the job progresses. This keeps the tuner's helper quite busy at both
organ and computer keyboards and reduces cumulative error by a considerable
amount. 

Historic tuning on the Internet

Bicknell, Stephen. A beginner's guide to temperament.

www.users.dircon.co.uk/~oneskull/3.6.04.htm

Bremmer, William. The true meaning of well-tempered tuning.

www.billbremmer.com/WellTemp.html

Foote, Edward. Six degrees of tonality; The well-tempered
piano.

www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_te mpered_piano.html

Gann, Kyle. An introduction to historical tunings.

http://home.earthlink.net/~kgann/his tune.html

Greenberg, Bernard S. What does "well-tempered"
mean?

www.bachfaq.org/welltemp.html

Kellner, Herbert Anton. Instructions for tuning a
harpsichord "wohltemperirt." 

ha.kellner.bei.t-online.de/

Palmer, Frederic. Meantone tuning.

home.pacbell.net/jeanannc/mpro/art icles/MeanTone.htm

Rubenstein, Michael. Well vs. equal temperament.

www.ma.utexas.edu/users/miker/tun ing/tuning.html

Taylor, Nigel. Tuning, temperaments and bells; The
ill-tempered piano.

www.kirnberger.fsnet.co.uk/   

Gail Archer

Gail Archer is an international concert organist, recording artist, choral conductor, and lecturer who draws attention to composer anniversaries or musical themes with her annual recital series. She was the first American woman to play the complete works of Olivier Messiaen for the centennial of the composer’s birth in 2008; Time Out New York recognized the Messiaen cycle as “Best of 2008” of classical music and opera. Her recordings include her September 2017 CD, A Russian Journey and The Muse’s Voice. Archer’s 2017 European tour took her to Germany, Italy, Great Britain, Russia, Ukraine, and Poland. She is the founder of Musforum, an international network for women organists, college organist at Vassar College, and director of the music program at Barnard College, Columbia University, where she conducts the Barnard-Columbia Chorus. Archer serves as director of the artist and young organ artist recitals at historic Central Synagogue, New York, New York.

Musforum (www.musforum.org), a network for women organists, held its second conference, Prairie Voices, in Omaha, Nebraska, June 8 and 9, 2017. Omaha was the conference site because it is the only American city in which a woman serves as music director at both the Catholic and Episcopal cathedrals, Marie Rubis Bauer (at St. Cecilia Catholic Cathedral) and Marty Wheeler Burnett (at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral), respectively. Women organists, composers, and conductors from across the United States were the featured artists­­—from age 12, Gianna Manhart, the youngest student at the St. Cecilia Institute, Omaha, to age 88, the remarkable Wilma Jensen, who was our keynote speaker. The events took place at St. Cecilia Catholic Cathedral, Dundee Presbyterian Church, and First United Methodist Church in Omaha. The conference was made possible, in part, by a generous grant from Barnard College, Columbia University, New York.

 

Thursday, June 8

The events began on Thursday morning, June 8, with a program of early Dutch and German music combined with contemporary music by women composers played by Rhonda Sider Edgington from Holland, Michigan. Edgington is the organist and assistant music director at Hope Church and a staff accompanist at Hope College in Holland, Michigan. The Pasi organ at St. Cecilia Cathedral is really two organs, a mean-tone instrument and a well-tempered instrument on which it is possible to play a program in ancient and modern temperaments. The program opened with the variation set by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Est-ce Mars, followed by Intabulation on Alleluja, laudem dicte Deo nostro by Heinrich Scheidemann and Praeludium in G Minor, BuxWV 150, by Dieterich Buxtehude. Edgington made these works come alive with her precise articulation and colorful registrations, which were heightened by the meantone tuning.

She then turned to living women composers for the remainder of the hour: Patricia Van Ness, Cecilia McDowall, Rachel Laurin, and Margaret Sandresky. The Laurin pieces, “Fugue on a Bird’s Song” and “Scherzetto,” were taken from the Twelve Short Pieces, op. 64 (2012). The light, vivacious gestures in both pieces reached to the highest range of the keyboard and delighted the audience with their humor and rhythmic verve. Sandresky’s “And David danced before the ark of the Lord,” from Five Sacred Dances (1998), drew a fiery and powerful performance from the recitalist.

Chamber music played by the women’s ensemble, I, the Siren—Darci Gamerl, oboe, and Stacie Haneline, piano—was featured in the late morning performance in the nave of St. Cecilia Cathedral. The musicians presented works by Bach, Mahler, Clara Schumann, Amy Beach, and Alyssa Morris. The splendid ensemble playing, sparkling dialogue, and nuanced phrasing were such a pleasure for the audience, as these Omaha-based musicians have collaborated for many years.

Our keynote address was provided by Wilma Jensen from Nashville, Tennessee. Jensen was the music director at St. George Episcopal Church in Nashville and taught organ at Oklahoma City University, Vanderbilt University, and Indiana University. Her lively and amusing address focused upon healthy keyboard technique. She emphasized, “Each finger swings freely from the knuckle to the key, while the thumb rotates to the key to play. The thumb does not lift to play. Separating the action of the thumb from that of the fingers is often one of the most difficult tasks for keyboardists.” She demonstrated at both the organ and the piano, as we were in a classroom at the St. Cecilia Institute adjacent to the cathedral, which has a fine small pipe organ and a piano. The organ was built in 2000 by Darron Wissinger of New Hampshire and revoiced by Hal Gober in 2009 for its installation at St. Cecilia. 

Jensen encouraged organists to practice wisely using a gradual method for tempo. “Once I know a passage thoroughly at a slow tempo, I take it a little faster, generally only two metronome numbers, so that the mind and hands hardly notice the change. At each playing I increase the speed by two metronome numbers until I reach a limit where I can still deliver the passage accurately but can’t exceed the speed. There I stop.” Jensen also drew attention to resources for ordinary touch of Baroque keyboard music and cited texts by Quentin Faulkner, J. S. Bach’s Keyboard Technique: A Historical Introduction, and Organ Technique Modern and Early by George Ritchie and George Stauffer, as well as texts by Jon Laukvik, John Brock, and Sandra Soderlund.

Musforum provided luncheon each day and a wine and cheese gathering on Thursday afternoon. These social occasions are as important as the musical events, as they give everyone a chance to get to know each other and discuss our work in a relaxed and informal setting. One of the problems for women who are organists is that we are separated by great distances and do not have regular opportunity for the conversations that we enjoyed at the conference. The conference schedule is deliberately arranged so that we all attend every event and we all have sufficient time to meet our colleagues.

Organist Elisa Bickers and the Bach Aria Soloists from Kansas City performed on Thursday afternoon in St. Cecilia Cathedral. Soprano Sarah Tannehill Anderson joined the violinists and organist in arias by Claudio Monteverdi, Si dolce è’l tormento, and G. F. Handel, Da Tempeste il legno infrante from the cantata Giulio Cesare in Egitto, HWV 17. Bickers performed the Variations on John Dowland’s ‘The Prince of Denmark’s Galliard’ by Samuel Scheidt and Toccata in F Major, BuxWV 156, by Dieterich Buxehude. The varied program also included chorale preludes, Herzlich tut mich verlangen by Pamela Decker and Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns halt by Cecilia McDowall. The concert concluded with Prayer by Olufela Sowande and Nun danket alle Gott by Egil Hovland. The rich variety of the repertoire was the hallmark of the programming, and this factor drew many people from the general Omaha community to all of the performances. 

The afternoon session concluded with a reading session: “Women Composers for Lent” presented by Stacie Lightner. Lightner serves as director of music at St. Martin’s Lutheran Church in Annapolis, Maryland. During the workshop, we sang a number of the choral works listed in the extensive 12-page resource guide, which included both choral music and organ literature appropriate for the liturgical season of Lent, all composed by women.

The St. Cecilia Cathedral Choir under the direction of Marie Rubis Bauer presented an inspiring evening concert, which included choral music by Omaha composers J. Michael McCabe, Marty Wheeler Burnett, and Marie Rubis Bauer. Music arranged by Alice Parker, Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal and Be Thou My Vision, as well as the Messe pour deux voix egales, op. 167, by Cécile Chaminade were featured in the program. Rubis Bauer played Ave Maris Stella by Girolamo Cavazzoni as the prelude and “Dialogue sur les grandes Jeux” from Ave Maris Stella by Nicolas De Grigny as the postlude. Certainly one of the most inspiring moments was provided by 12-year old Gianna Manhart playing Galleries ancient by Dennis Janzer. The beautiful music from the Latin Office, “O Caecilia felix! O felix Caecilia!” began the concert, and the audience sang Magnificat on the Fifth Tone by Kevin C. Vogt at the conclusion.

 

Friday, June 9

Our Friday morning session at Dundee Presbyterian Church began with a fine organ recital by Chelsea Vaught, music director and organist at First Presbyterian Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, followed by a lecture/recital by Catherine Rodland on the choir and organ traditions at St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota. The morning concluded with three young women organists currently enrolled in graduate study, playing a joint recital, with half hour segments for each performer: Sarah Johnson at Boston University, Yumiko Tatsuta at Indiana University, and Shayla Van Hal at the University of Kansas. The afternoon session began with a lively lecture on the more than 500 hymn texts written by Rae E. Whitney, presented by Marty Wheeler Burnett, who researched these texts for her doctoral dissertation. We learned about Whitney’s fascinating life story and sang a number of the hymn settings of her poetry together. There was also a professional quartet of singers who performed additional musical works set to Whitney poetry. Burnett emphasized the importance of including women’s voices when planning music for worship.

The afternoon concluded with a duo organ performance by Melody Steel and Ann Marie Rigler. Steel played Sanctuary by Gwyneth Walker as a solo selection, and Rigler performed Psalm 151 by Emma Lou Diemer as a soloist. The duo organist repertoire was powerful and very exciting: Variations on Veni Creator Spiritus by David Briggs, Martyrs: Dialogues on a Scottish Psalm-tune, op. 73, by Kenneth Leighton, and Rhapsody for Organ Duo by Naji Hakim. 

The gala final recital took place on Friday evening at St. Cecilia Cathedral featuring Lynne Davis, Crista Miller, and myself, Gail Archer. A well-known specialist in French repertoire, Davis began with “Offertoire sur les Grand Jeux” from the Mass of the Convents by François Couperin, followed with Choral II in Si mineur by César Franck, and concluded with Te Deum by Jeanne Demessieux. My own program featured Ceremonies Suite by Jennifer Higdon, Prelude and Fugue by Alexander Shaversaschvili, and Power Dance by Joan Tower. Tower and I worked together on this piece on the organ at Vassar College for nearly a year, and it was a great pleasure to play the work at this event. Crista Miller concluded the concert with works by Fanny Mendelssohn, Prelude in G Major, Pamela Decker, “Ubi Caritas” from Retablos, Brenda Portman, Trio on St. Helena, and Naji Hakim, “Rags” from Esquisses Persanes.

All women, no matter what age or point in their professional career, are welcome in the Musforum network. Women organists are cordially invited to join us by sending me an email: [email protected], and I will add your name to the free listserve. Women need to move forward in the field on the basis of merit: their education, skill, and accomplishment. The world will be enriched by our musical gifts, and we will lift up hearts and minds by the beauty and powerful inspiration of our song.

Cover

Pasi Organbuilders, Roy,

Washington, Op. 14

St. Cecilia Cathedral, Omaha,
Nebraska

The firm of Pasi Organbuilders of Roy, Washington, has
installed a new organ in St. Cecilia Cathedral, the Mother Church of the Roman
Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha. The organ comprises 55 stops over three manuals
and pedal, 29 of which are playable in two temperaments: 1/4-comma meantone and
a new well-tempered tuning devised for this instrument by organbuilder Kristian
Wegscheider of Dresden, Germany. The organ replaces a 37-rank electro-pneumatic
instrument from 1918 by the one-time firm of Casavant Bros. of South Haven,
Michigan.

The idea of a dual-temperament organ for St. Cecilia
Cathedral developed in early conversations between organbuilder Martin Pasi and
cathedral organist and music director Kevin Vogt, and was inspired by the
dual-temperament organs at Stanford University (C.B. Fisk, Op. 85) and the
Wegscheider organs at the Allstedt Schloßkapelle (Op. 1) and
Dresden-Wilschdorf (Op. 21). While the two temperaments of the Stanford Fisk
are made possible by five extra pipes per octave, and the smaller Wegscheider
organs boast six extra pipes per octave, 29 stops of Pasi Organbuilders Op. 14
contain eight extra notes per octave, tipping the scale of the concept from a
single organ with extra pipes to the equivalent of two organs which share a
third of their pipes. The abundance of extra pipes allows the circulating
temperament to accommodate much of the Romantic and modern repertoires, while
retaining enough key color to bring Baroque music alive and to lock into tune
the mixtures and reeds in the best keys.

All stops in the Oberwerk and selected stops in the
Hauptwerk and Pedal divisions are available in both temperaments. The
well-tempered and meantone organs share the following notes in every octave: C,
D, G and A. The desired temperament may be chosen independently in each
division by the choice of stops. Each dual-tempered voice has two sliders and
separate stop controls: traditional drawknobs for the well-tempered stops and
Italian-style levers for the meantone stops.  This is thus a simpler and more flexible system than a
shifting roller board (e.g., Fisk, Op. 85) or a shifting stop action mechanism
(e.g., Wegscheider, Op. 1 and Op. 21).

While an argument could be made that it would have been
easier to build two separate organs, the economy of the Pasi dual-temperament
design yields much larger and more complete organs in both temperaments than
would be possible if separate cases, chests, actions and wind-systems were to
be built for the same price.

The mechanical key action is suspended to provide the most
direct link between keys and pallets. Solenoid slider motors and an electric
combination system by Taylor of England enhance the mechanical stop action of
the well-tempered side of the organ. The meantone stops may be drawn only by
hand, but the well-ordered Italian levers allow for the drawing of an entire
chorus with one sweep of the hand.

All of the pipes were made by hand in the Pasi shop, with
the exception of 10 wooden basses recycled from the previous organ. Metal pipes
are made of an alloy of 97% lead, with a remainder of tin and trace metals,
cast to variable thickness and hammered to increase density. Flue pipes are cut
to exact length and cone- or scroll-tuned for maximum stability of tuning.
Wooden pipes are of poplar and Douglas fir. The freestanding case is of white
oak and incorporates pillars, arches and ornaments from the original 1918 organ
façade designed by cathedral architect Thomas Rogers Kimball.

Tapered wind lines deliver wind to the organ from a
separate, adjacent bellows room, which will be a dedicated public space for
education about the organ. The organ is winded by four 4' x 8' wedge-shaped
bellows, either fed by a 2-horsepower silent blower or raised with calcant
pedals by human assistants. The option of hand-pumped (or in this case,
treaded) wind and the resulting possibility of a messa di voce bloom in the
organ's sound are reflected in an excerpt from John Dryden's Song for St.
Cecilia's Day painted around the perimeter of the bellows room ceiling:

But bright Cecilia raised the wonder higher

as to her organ vocal breath was given . . .

Both the instrument and its builder seem to consciously
evade characterization as either eclectic or stylistically specific. While the
stoplist may look like a complete "eclectic" organ, preference is
clearly given to a colorful, well-blended Schnitgerian tonal ideal. For
instance, the smooth 16' Posaune easily balances only a couple of other stops,
but seems to grow in gravitas as brilliant choruses are built upon it. A
colorful variety of flutes, principals and mutations seem to blend and balance
in every conceivable combination and permutation. Conversely, while materials
and Blockwerk-like choruses may recall Niehoff, and reed scales and shallots
Schnitger and Clicquot, liberal incorporation of harmonic flutes and slotted
strings equally sympathetic to Bach and Widor contributes to the artistic
fusion and synthesis characteristic of "universal" and
"cosmopolitan" organs of every age.

The fifteen reed stops of the organ are particularly
noteworthy, made with resonators as long as the stop's character and the reed's
"flip point" will allow, achieving as much fundamental in the tone as
possible. Both Hauptwerk and Pedal divisions boast both Schnitger- and
Clicquot-style Trumpets. The smooth Hauptwerk 16' Trumpet and its counterpart in
the Unterwerk (Swell), the 16' Bassoon, are equally at home in chorus and
consort registrations. A Dutch-style Vox Humana, a Schnitgerian Trichterregal
and Dulzian, and a French Oboe compete the palette.

A large case, open between Hauptwerk and Oberwerk divisions,
and a remarkably effective swell enclosure for the Unterwerk, provide primary
resonating cavities for the instrument. The large, resonant nave of the
cathedral, however, brings the organ into its full glory.
style="mso-spacerun: yes">  Recently fitted with a new plaster ceiling
and splendidly decorated in a bright Iberian style by Evergreene Studios of New
York City, the pristine Spanish Renaissance Revival cathedral begun in 1905
literally sings with seven seconds reverberation when empty and four seconds
when full. The ceiling restoration and interior decoration crowned a complete
cleaning and restoration of the cathedral in 1999, led by liturgical design
consultant Br. William Woeger, FSC, who is also the director of liturgy at the
cathedral, and the architectural firm of Bahr, Vermeer & Haecker. Robert
Mahoney of Boulder, Colorado, was the acoustical consultant.

The organ will be inaugurated with a yearlong celebration
entitled "The Saint Cecilia Organ Festival," commencing on October 3,
2003. The festival will include a performance on March 23, 2004 by Olivier
Latry, events throughout the year featuring John Ferguson, George Ritchie,
Marie Rubis Bauer, Kevin Vogt, Craig Cramer, Kimberly Marshall, James Higdon,
and others, and will conclude in the fall of 2004 with a conference on the
liturgical organ.

The following artisans participated in the building of this
instrument: George Brown, Emanuel Denzler, Martin Elsaesser, Markus Hahn,
Dominik Maetzler, Brett Martinez, Christian Metzler, Markus Morscher, Markus
Nagel, Markus Pasi, Martin Pasi, Chris Schinke, Robert Wech.

--Kevin Vogt

Director of Music

St. Cecilia Cathedral

Omaha, Nebraska

Cover photo by Tom Kessler

For information: <www.pasiorgans.com&gt;

Hauptwerk (Well-tempered) Manual I, 58 notes (C-a3)

(* Denotes stops sharing pipes with the meantone organ)

                        16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>              Praestant*

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Octave*

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Rohrflöte*

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Salicional

                        4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Octave*

                        4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Spitzflöte

                        22⁄3'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>         Quinte*

                        2'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Superoctave*

                        11⁄3'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>         Mixture
V*

                        1'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Mixture
IV

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Cornet
V (discant)

                        16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>              Trumpet*

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Trumpet*

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Vox
Humana*

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Trompette

Oberwerk (Well-tempered)

Manual II, 58 notes (C-a3)

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Praestant

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Suavial*
(discant)

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Gedeckt*

                        4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Octave*

                        4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Rohrflöte*

                        22⁄3'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>         Sesquialtera
II*

                        2'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Octave*

                        2'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Waldflöte*

                        11⁄3'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>         Quinte*

                        1'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Mixture
IV*

                        16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>              Dulzian*

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Trichterregal*

Unterwerk (Well-tempered)

Manual III, 58 notes (C-a3)

(in a Swell enclosure)

                        16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>              Bourdon

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Principal

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Harmonic
Flute

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Gamba

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Celeste
(tenor c)

                        4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Principal

                        4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Harmonic
Flute

                        22⁄3'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>         Nazard

                        2'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Octavin

                        13⁄5'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>         Tierce

                        2'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Mixture
V

                        16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>              Bassoon

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Trompette

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Oboe

                        4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Clairon

Pedal (Well-Tempered)

30 notes (C-f1), flat/parallel

                        32'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>              Subbass

                        16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>              Praestant*

                        16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>              Subbass
(transmission)

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Octave*
(transmission)

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Gedeckt

                        4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Octave*

                        22⁄3'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>         Mixture
V*

                        32'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>              Trombone
(transmission)

                        16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>              Posaune*

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Trumpet*

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Trompette

                        4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Clairon

                        2'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Cornet*

Hauptwerk (Meantone)

Manual I, 48 notes

(C, D, E-c3, d3)

                        16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>              Praestant

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Octave

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Rohrflöte

                        4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Octave

                        22⁄3'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>         Quinte

                        2'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Superoctave

                        11⁄3'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>         Mixture
V

                        16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>              Trumpet

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Trumpet

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Vox
Humana

Oberwerk (Meantone)

Manual II, 48 notes

(C, D, E-c3, d3)

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Praestant

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Suavial
(discant)

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Gedeckt

                        4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Octave

                        4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Rohrflöte

                        22⁄3'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>         Sesquialtera
II

                        2'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Octave

                        2'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Waldflöte

                        11⁄3'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>         Quinte

                        1'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Mixture
IV

                        16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>              Dulzian

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Trechterregal

Pedal (Meantone)

28 notes (C, D, E-f1)

                        16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>              Praestant

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Octave
(transmission)

                        4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Octave

                        22⁄3'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>         Mixture
V

                        16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>              Posaune

                        8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Trumpet

                        2'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                  Cornet

Accessories

                                                Tremulant

                                                Zimbelstern

                                                Rossignol

A Review by Herbert L. Huestis and David Calhoun

Perhaps it is a good idea to state right away that there are several goals which may be served by a report on the AGO 2000 convention in Seattle, Washington. The first is to validate the experience of those who were there, the second is to describe and interpret the events that took place for those who could not attend, and the third is to mention the word "millennial" only once! A convention report is like "Highlights of the Opera"--hopefully the important arias are there for all to hear. Alas, it is impossible to tell the whole story, and surely some events will be left out all together. This is the woeful experience of all reviewers; it is impossible to be in two places at once and sometimes impossible to be in the right place at the right time.

 

There were two of us rummaging around throughout the convention, looking for tales of human interest and analyzing events as we encountered them. David Calhoun (items marked DC) is a harpsichord builder and long time resident of Seattle; Herb Huestis (items marked HH) is a contributing editor for The Diapason. Their differing perspectives of various events (and sometimes the same event) offer the reader some interesting viewpoints as they look back on the AGO Seattle 2000 experience.

--HH

Planners would usually like their conventions to open and close with a bang. Sure enough, this one came in with a roar and went out with a mighty noise. For most participants, the most nourishing events will have been the weekday workshops, while the closing concert and especially the opening recital will linger as strange memories to mull. (I admit my bias; to quote Sean Connery paraphrasing Couperin, I would rather be stirred than shaken.) These "Bookend" events on the new Fisk organ at Benaroya Hall will be the subject part 2 of this article, and will be discussed in the November issue of The Diapason.

Seattle organ fans have been spoiled, maybe, by a number of wonderful matches of organs with unusual rooms. Added to the three major venues of our two Cathedrals and Pacific Lutheran University, the convention displayed at least two more fine matches: a new Reuter organ at University Presbyterian Church and the 1984 Paul Fritts and Ralph Richards organ at St. Alphonsus Church in Ballard.

--DC

 

Is there a "perfect match" of performer and instrument?

 

 

If there is a persistent conundrum in convention programming it is matching performers to instruments. How handy that most concert pianists are perfectly well at home on a Steinway or Bosendorfer! Not so with the organ. In some cases, the designated artist must zip their lips when confronted with the instrument lady luck provides.

 

Obviously, a given performer and program may fly on one organ and crash and burn on another. Who hasn't seen this happen? Suffice to say, several recitals heard at the AGO Seattle 2000 convention might have been far more successful had they switched from tracker to electric-action organ or vice versa. One wag noted that for Seattle's incredible and informed diversity of tracker organs, it remains "Skinner deficient"! There might have been some better matches of performer to organ had there been a few more "American Classic" organs available. All things being equal, I was struck by a very large number of "perfect matches."

 

There were some matches that were obviously not made in heaven, but under skilled hands worked out very well. One of these was a performance with the Seattle Wind Ensemble by Kimberly Marshall on a large Balcolm and Vaughan organ. This organ typified "tinklespeile" voicing, but Ms. Marshall used it so effectively that it embued a performance of Hindemith with surprising "authenticity." The organ accented the neo-classical textures perfectly and Ms. Marshall played with precision and panache. Organ and artist coalesced, perhaps not out of choice, but out of experience and intellect.

 

Another perfect match seemed to be a new four-manual Reuter organ and the organist John Weaver. Surely, he is one of the generation of organists who followed Lynnwood Farnam, Alexander McCurdy, Alexander Schriner, and in our very own generation, David Craighead. Weaver played entirely from memory and there is no doubt that a completely internalized repertoire could flow from his fingers in ways impossible for players whose eyes are tied to a score. His adjustment to this  very large, sumptuous and smooth Reuter organ was complete. After hearing Weaver's playing, one found oneself saying, "suppose so-and-so had also been able to play the Reuter--it would have been so fine." Weaver is an acknowledged master of the American classic type of instrument--of that there is no doubt. His sure performance remains indelibly etched in my memory.

 

Along with perfect occasions, one must mention what seems to be a striking omission. Surely, there should have been a concert in memoriam for the late Edward Hansen and even more surely, it should have been played by one of his students, and even more surely than that, it should have included the "St. Anne" prelude and fugue, a work which he played with great reverence and humility throughout his career. This gesture would have been more than fitting and its absence was sorely missed.

 

--HH

 

 

From the Heart:

 

 

James D. Christie plays a Fritts/Richards organ at St. Alphonsus Church, Seattle

 

 

James Christie gave a recital of early music at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Ballard, a Scandinavian suburb of Seattle. This is a unique organ made by Paul Fritts and Ralph Richards in 1984. Building this organ required a tremendous leap of faith for Fritts and Richards in that they took their study of the work of the old masters and translated it into their own masterpiece in a very contemporary building. It is an organ that has as much soul and spirituality as any of the models upon which they based their work.

 

Christie explained to the audience how this organ made him weep to play it! He explained that it was an immeasurable lifetime privilege to be able to give these recitals--this from an organist who routinely plays the Taylor and Boody organ at the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachusetts.

 

Needless to say the music he played made a spiritual impact upon the listener, just as Charles Brown in his workshop on "The Organ as Mask" said an organ can do--if the player enables a musical instrument to become a channel of metaphysical as well as physical values. This recital was a special situation where the organist provided an unforgettable experience for the listener through his emotional attachment to both the music and the organ.

 

I met with James Christie to explore these feelings a bit further and was amazed at the depth he brings to the performance of both early music and orchestral music with organ. Tours with the Boston Symphony have provided some memorable vignettes which come to the fore in conversation and interview. In the presence of James Christie, one feels the power of emotion and the broad "romantic" gesture, that is a reminder of the late Douglas Butler. There is a sensitivity here that truly comes from the heart.

 

--HH

 

 

From the Pen:

 

 

Christa Rakich plays the music of Pamela Decker

 

Robert Bates plays the music of Robert Bates

 

 

Pamela Decker, assistant professor of organ and music theory at the University of Arizona in Tucson is, in real life, a bubbly effervescent person. One would think from the title of her work (commissioned by the American Guild of Organists for organ solo) "Rio abajo rio" that the dance movements Boliviana, Diferencias and Fantasia might be light and fanciful. Though the work is dedicated to the memory of William Albright, this is not so.

 

Christa Rakich gave the composition a rich and illuminating performance at St. Mark's Cathedral. The beloved Flentrop organ was as much at home with this contemporary idiom as any instrument could be. The first movement is based upon the hymn Venid, pastores, a Puerto Rican melody. The second movement is is a series of transformations of the hymn, Hosanna en el cielo, and the third movement is based on original themes and contains a complete tango, yet comes to an intensely powerful ending that culminates in an immense minor sonority. The final chords of the Fantasia leave the listener with a sense of astonishment that is monumental and compelling.

 

Robert Bates is such an inovative performer and composer that one approaches his works with a sense of anticipation that the composition will be significant, rather than the "bubble and squeak" class of contemporary music. Under the magnificent facade of the phenomenal Fritts organ at Pacific Lutheran University he placed two rather small speakers that transmitted an amazingly credible sound image of this pipe organ. Under Bates' hands, it was an organ playing with a digital refraction of itself.

 

How Robert Bates does this is some kind of Einsteinian wonder. He spins out the composition, then joins it with its mirror image like a contrapuncti in  the Art of Fugue. Somehow it all makes sense and the listener perceives a logic that underscores the work.

 

To say that Bates captivated the audience is an understatement. In fact, at the conclusion of the concert most of the audience refused to leave! Even when threatened with a clearing of the hall, these organists retained their seats in an act of civil disobedience that must be rare indeed!  To say the least, the next-scheduled recital by Bruce Neswick was very well attended. This is a true measure of the impact made by Robert Bates' playing of this exceptional organ made by Paul Fritts.

 

The closing gala concert of the AGO Seattle 2000 convention was highlighted by an award from ASCAP to the AGO "for its outstanding contribution to the art of music through commissions for the performance of new music in our time." The works of these two composers certainly represented a pinnacle of talent for modern organ music.  Their compositions are not to be missed!

 

--HH

 

 

For the mind:

 

 

Workshops on practice, harpsichord playing, Bach organs, countless workshop topics (and the sheer problem of getting around the city)

 

 

I contrived to get to three workshops. Charles Rus, newly appointed organ faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory, was assisted by my colleague Gary Blaise in a demonstration of the clavichord as the traditional practice instrument for organists. A more utilitarian instrument might have supplemented Mr. Blaise's exquisitely finished, tiny transposing example.

 

Barbara Baird of the University of Oregon introduced concepts of harpsichord playing, using mainly the method published by Nancy Metzger, now of Sacramento, to a good-sized class with many questions. Later Christoph Linde, long-experienced voicer now with Klais of Bonn, discussed the organs which Bach is known to have tested, his criticisms, and the current state and proposed renewal of some of them.

 

I counted an offering of ninety-seven workshops, not including the post-convention event featuring M. Hakim at an  Allen; nothing exceeds like excess. If there was a common complaint, it was the problem of getting around this maze of offerings. Busses were provided, of course; they left the hotel on time, but often before others returning from the previous events. In the midst there was no time to eat. I met one lady turning in an evaluation form marked with the most extreme negatives, based on a run of such bad luck.

 

In this way, the organizing committee was a victim of Seattle's exploding traffic congestion. There were other organizational issues; no list of enrollees was provided, handicapping professional contacts and social life. The sheer expense of Seattle's downtown hotels sent some registrants north to cheaper lodgings.

 

--DC

 

 

Theatre:

 

 

Charles Brown and "The Organ as Mask"

 

The Paul Fritts Organ at Pacific Lutheran University

 

 

Charles Brown has a talent rarely found in the organ world--he is a gifted story teller who is able to totally captivate his audience.  And so it was when he began a workshop on "The Organ as Mask," with a tale of a little boy dressed up as Batman, making Halloween rounds. Successive stories consisted of the tales of three organists and their discovery that the organ (like a mask) has tremendous spiritual as well as physical values. His thesis was simply that the the mask, as conceived in ancient, contemporary, and aboriginal societies, imbues the wearer with special attributes and, conversely, is a vehicle for special attributes to be channeled through the wearer--and the pipe organ, curiously, shares these attributes in its own way.

 

He showed how Batman could do good deeds once he enabled himself with mask and costume, but also that the good citizens of Gotham City could expect good deeds from the person who wore the mask. Masks both enable and channel spirituality in aboriginal societies and Dr. Brown made a leap of intellect to speculate that the organ as a "City of God" does the same thing. It enables spirituality to flow both into the organist and outward through the organist to listeners and all those who come into contact with the instrument. In a word, it has special powers. Charles Brown, organist of the United Church of Christ in Dallas, Texas, created theatre in this workshop space, captivated his audience with these stories and enabled his spellbound audience to see some very special relationships.

 

A Paul Fritts organ that is the embodiment of "The organ as mask" vessel of spirituality espoused by Charles S. Brown, is the monumental instrument at Pacific Lutheran University of Tacoma. This organ brings a transcendental quality to Lagerquist Hall at PLU--it is a phenomenon that must be experienced first hand to be believed. Proof of this was ample enough when audiences simply refused to leave the room to go to the next event. They wanted to see the movie again!

 

From the inception of this organ, there has been a term employed to describe it--the "fusion organ" of the Northwest builders. Long after a performance, the listener remains enthralled with the singing principals and gorgeously refined reeds, not to mention the extraordinary visual impact that some may see only once or twice in their lifetimes. From my perspective, it was magnificent theatre.

 

--HH

 

 

Dance:

 

 

Christopher Young plays a Martin Pasi organ at Trinity Lutheran Church, Lynnwood, Washington

 

 

Charles Fisk knew how important it was for the organ to dance both in the buoyancy of the wind system and the natural expression of lead pipes. He described the North German organ as " . . . a plain-faced girl in a dirndl who jumps up and asks you to dance." Those qualities are more than abundant in the Martin Pasi organ that resides in Trinity Lutheran Church, Lynnwood, Washington. This organ more than anything, wants to dance! Trinity Lutheran church was on the edge for convention planning, both in distance from Seattle and size of the room, but thankfully made it under the wire! Christopher Young played this organ and it danced to the music of J.S. Bach!

 

The Fritts organ at Pacific Lutheran University can be described as an instrument of superb elegance, and in contrast, it might be said that the Pasi organ wears with the comfortability of an Eddie Bauer flannel shirt. (Martin Pasi was Paul Fritt's pipe maker for five years.) One never tires of the Pasi organ and somehow it plays the music of Bach with the authenticity of gut strings, natural horns and the rhythm of folk dancing.

 

In this Martin Pasi organ there is an intuitive affinity for the music of the master and fortunately, Christopher Young devoted the last half of his program to J.S. Bach. When Young drew the Cornet stop for "O Mensch bewein" the organ was on familiar ground. The Cornet sang and the wind ebbed and flowed like tides in the ocean.  The final selection was the G Minor Fantasia and Fugue, where the organ transported the listener back 300 years in a flash. This is a real Bach organ that can energize, entertain, and inspire.

 

--HH

 

 

A Measure of Time:

 

 

Improvisations of Bruce Neswick on the Paul Fritts organ at Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, and David Hurd on the Henry Willis organ at St Joseph's Catholic Church, Seattle

 

 

It might be said that an improviser has but one task--to make time stand still for the listener. When a melody is quoted and often recognized as a childhood hymn or familiar tune, it is a challenge to the player to produce a credible work. The improviser begins a dare with the audience: "Can they make this music come alive?"

 

The performer settles down to work and the listener waits, perhaps drifting off in thought while things get underway. Then it happens; time stands still because scholarship and preparation give way to inspiration and music fills the air. A transformation takes place and a composition-in-the-making takes flight.

 

Bruce Neswick's improvisation on Pacific Lutheran University's Fritts organ was based on the modal tune "Wondrous Love." Somehow, during a well crafted fugue on the beloved tune, time stood still and music flowed from his fingers in an act of both preparation and inspiration. Yes! This is how improvisations should be.

 

Neswick is an alumnus of Pacific Lutheran University and was, in a sense returning home. He explored all elements of the organ: wind, tuning, throaty reeds and spirited cornets. He captivated the audience with singing principals playing Lutheran tunes that were so much at home in that hall. He found a wonderfully lyric Oboe and united it with Pierne's Cantilena. Time stood still while this serpentine melody played itself out on this elegant stop.

 

Neswick's improvisation on "Wondrous Love," was structured so concisely that the audience could almost follow a mental score. Later, your scribbler could not resist putting the question to him: "Are the modal tunes harder or easier for improvisation?" Neswick pondered for a moment and said that for him they were easier. It was a self effacing response for one who is a master of the craft.

 

In a later recital at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, David Hurd presented an improvisation on the noble plainsong chant "Creator Alma Siderum." He began with a lofty plenum on the 1881 Willis organ--probably the only extant Willis instrument in the Americas. Hurd played the organ as if he were conducting a grand choir. "Creator of the Starry Night" was personified in bold brush strokes that prevailed to the end of the piece--then all that remained was the memory of a huge choral paean and the melodious, booming Ophicleide.

 

The memory of that organ remains somehow linked to the Gregorian melody in that magnificent Roman church. There is a fascinating story about the relocation of this organ from England to Washington State, replete with the usual deadlines barely met. A hasty installation neglected various aspects of a true restoration and the organ presently makes its home behind an oak cabinet that one day should be replaced with genuine Willis casework. Since this noble organ begs for an artful and sympathetic restoration, we must, as listeners, be genuinely moved to support any and all efforts to reclaim this magnificent instrument.

 

In his book "The American Classic Organ in Letters," Charles Callahan quotes Henry Willis' complaint that he was never able to build an organ in North America. A full restoration of this organ would give the opportunity to rectify Willis' grievance in some small measure.

 

--HH

 

 

 

Part 2 will appear next month.

 

Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

Herbert L. Huestis

Herbert L. Huestis is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, where he studied organ with David Craighead 40 years ago. After a stint as a full-time church organist, he studied psychology and education at the University of Idaho, where be obtained his Ph.D. in 1971. He spent time as a school psychologist, and was subsequently lured back into the organ world and took up pipe organ maintenance with his wife Marianne and son Warren. Now retired, he spends more time tuning pianos and reconditioning harpsichords.

Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and the Westfield Center, Orcas, Washington, presented an international conference entitled “Central/Southern European influences on Bach,” June 7–10, 2006. The conference celebrated the new cathedral organ by Hellmuth Wolff, Laval, Quebec, Canada, and honored organ virtuoso, historian and teacher, Harald Vogel, Osterholz-Scharmbeck, Germany.

The Westfield Center

The Westfield Center is a national resource for the advancement of keyboard music, serving professionals and the public since 1979. In pursuit of this goal, they host symposia to celebrate major instruments of our day, and have sponsored more than 30 conferences. This year they met in Victoria to honor the career of Harald Vogel, noted organist and scholar, and a new organ built by Hellmuth Wolff for Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria, British Columbia.

The new Wolff organ

I have dubbed this organ of 60 stops a “singing organ” because it stands nearly alone in its ability to bring to life the vocal effects and Italianate characteristics that infused the music of Bach and his predecessors. For Hellmuth Wolff, the creation of this organ was no small accomplishment. In fact, this masterpiece caps a career that is filled with instruments of artistic merit.
Delicate and well-balanced voicing is a hallmark of Wolff organs, and in this case the organ matches the room perfectly. Wolff has a reverence for historical organs and is able to build in various styles for his clients and the contemporary buildings they offer. The musical requirements of Christ Church, Victoria, and inclinations of the builder came together when a design was chosen that followed the work of builders such as Holzhey and Riepp, who were linked to French, German, and Italian organ building practices in the 18th century.
Hellmuth Wolff established his firm in 1968, after serving his apprenticeship in Switzerland with Metzler and continuing as a journeyman with Otto Hoffman in Texas and Charles Fisk in Massachusetts. In Canada, Wolff worked with Casavant Frères in the development of their mechanical-action workshop and subsequently worked in collaboration with Karl Wilhelm until he started his own workshop in Laval, Quebec. There, he heads an elite group of organbuilders who participated in the design and construction of this organ over a period of several years.
The organ comprises 61 stops, located in five divisions, including the pedal. Three manual divisions begin with 16' sub octaves, while the pedal has two stops at 32' pitch. There is an abundance of unison tone on every level, and the harmonics of the pipework are enhanced by both third- and fifth-sounding mixtures spread over four keyboards. Wolff was able to integrate character and variety into an extremely broad ensemble while at the same time emulating vibrant examples of organ style from times past. This sense of integration is perhaps the strongest aspect of Wolff’s art.
Spatial variety is a very strong characteristic of this organ. The wide case with Hauptwerk split on either side and Oberwerk in the center provided unique opportunities for registration at many volume levels by combining these two divisions into a large ensemble or playing them separately. The Rückpositiv lies well forward of the rest of the instrument and speaks directly to the listener, creating a clear, three-dimensional sound.
The variety of stops is compelling, both in flues and reeds. All are voiced with a sense of just the right volume so that interplay between stops is remarkably well balanced. Trumpets of all national styles are available on each keyboard and pedal, providing a tonal palette seen in few organs. Wolff has an intuitive sense of proportion in the placement of these reeds, so that volume and stylistic variation work very musically. He has taken great care in the selection of pipework to amplify his concept of the Holzhey organ style found in southern Germany in the late 18th century.

The conference

The conference topic, “South/Central Influences on J. S. Bach,” grew out of advances in musical scholarship and organology that have increased the understanding of influences of Pachelbel, Frescobaldi, Kerll and others on the music of Bach. The celebration of the work of Harald Vogel reaches to the beginnings of the Westfield Center, founded by two of his early students, Lynn Edwards Butler and Edward Pepe. This all culminates in the largest publication of the Westfield Center to date: Orphei Organi Antiqui: Essays in Honor of Harald Vogel. This Festschrift brings together 21 articles and essays that delineate the Vogel personality as well as performance practice, improvisation, congregational singing, organ restoration and organ culture. This work was edited by Cleveland Johnson, professor of music history and dean of the School of Music at DePauw University. Harald Vogel’s legacy as a teacher was outlined by Elizabeth Harrison, assistant professor of music at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. She gave an inside look at the North German Organ Academy, the founding of which she described as his most pivotal accomplishment.

Recitals

One should note that there are two audiences who have interest in an event such as this, “those who were seen and those who were unseen.” For those who heard this amazing instrument and the recitalists who presented this organ literature in a vital way, this report may serve to crystallize the event itself. For those who were not able to attend, it is hoped that some idea of the freshness and originality of these players will be communicated.
It is invigorating to see how a group of players could present varied aspects of this unusual organ in such a concerted way. Harald Vogel praised the instrument as one of the finest of its type in the world, and each artist contributed a unique vision to the celebration of this organ. One had the feeling that all recitalists read from a similar script, with great attention paid to Southern influences on German music.
William Porter, professor of organ and harpsichord at the Eastman School of Music, presented the inaugural concert with a fresh idea that served the symposium very well. He designed his concert after the style that Bach himself used when he played, as described by Forkel, his biographer. This showcases the instrument rather than the repertoire. Porter has a strong reputation as an improviser, which led him in this direction for the concert. He maintained that “since the repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries has its roots in improvisational practice,” he could take the opportunity to show off all the colors of the organ. Italian influences were immediately apparent, and Porter, like all of the recitalists, concentrated on variation and ciacona forms.
Michael Gormley, Christ Church Cathedral organist, and Erica Johnson, a student of Hans Davidsson, Eastman School of Music, continued the concert series with an exploration of the breadth of the instrument and a further presentation of Italianate aspects of the music and instrument. Johnson explored the concerto style and played with a lightness and delicacy that characterized subsequent recitals. Her theme for the recital was the dance—both in her playing style and aspects of the musical styles of Italy and Germany. She characterized this as a “pas de deux” where Italy led and Germany followed. Indeed, Italian influences on German music were the order of the day.
Harald Vogel continued these ideas with toccatas, canzonas, a spectacular battaglia and the famous Capriccio Cucu of Johann Kerll. His program reached a zenith with intense colors found in his interpretation of the second Biblical Sonata of Johann Kuhnau. In this organ he found a tonal palette with which to characterize the depression and madness of Saul as Kuhnau envisioned it. Beauty was everywhere, but more than that, the organ could communicate real emotion, passion and feeling, even fear and anxiety.
Edoardo Bellotti, who teaches organ, harpsichord, and continuo playing in Trossingen, Germany, and Bergamo, Italy, brought these recitals to a climax with a presentation of Frescobaldi, Pachelbel and Bach. By limiting his repertoire to three composers, he was able to explore the styles of variation, toccata and ciacona, building in the listener an expectation of both floridity and drive culminating in a rendition of Bach’s Passacaglia and Fugue full tilt, with no resorting to the usual registrational variation in the Passacaglia. His performance was so musically varied, and the organ so clear and delicate in its ensemble that he could play the whole piece in a continuous, driving plenum. He was so convincing in this performance that he gave immediate credence to statements that Harald Vogel had made, that organists are often the victims of “bad traditions,” which they must rethink in order to fully appreciate this music.
The final concert was a mix of vocal and organ works in which Michael Gormley, director of the CapriCCio Vocal Ensemble (of Christ Church Cathedral, Victoria) and Carole Terry, professor of organ at University of Washington, Seattle, stood the conference topic on its head and presented a concert entitled “Bach influences on Central/South Europe.” These included vocal works of Mozart, Bruckner, and Reger, among others. Dr. Terry made a final and climactic statement of what the organ could do with masterful renditions of the works of Max Reger. Reger’s music gave a final contrapuntal and harmonic lushness to the sound of this organ, whose 60 stops exhibited a monumental heroism. Again, it seemed that all of the recitalists had similar goals: to show the full effect of this magnificent new organ and to trace the beauty of the musical styles that made their way from Italy to Germany in the 17th and 18th centuries and beyond.
These musical influences were further elaborated in noontime recitals by Colin Tilney, harpsichordist, and Ulrika Davidsson, fortepianist. Tilney explored the Italianate forms and Davidsson followed J. S. Bach’s influence through C. P. E. Bach to Joseph Haydn.

Keynote addresses

The academic side of the symposium centered on the presentation of a Festschrift, Orphei Organi Antiqui by Cleveland Johnson, to Harald Vogel on the occasion of his 65th birthday. The publication (“Orpheus of the Historic Organ”) is a collection of 21 articles and essays. It features writings about Vogel as teacher, performer and scholar, and deals with keyboard literature, performance practice, improvisation, congregational singing, organ restoration and organ culture.
Harald Vogel took the opportunity in his keynote address to open up some very interesting concepts regarding organ culture. He examined “organ tradition” and outlined some rather subjective but important considerations. The most notable of these seemed to be the idea that somehow “traditions” were carried from Bach through the 19th and 20th centuries unbroken, when in fact, they are deeply flawed in terms of playing style, registration and type of instrument. He appealed to his listeners to look toward historical evidence to make decisions regarding playing style, rather than rely on old traditions that have been passed through many teachers and students, with all the attendant changes in organ culture, of each period of time and style of instrument.
Lynn Edwards Butler also presented a keynote address on the general topic of organ examinations, which harkened back to the celebration of the Paul Fritts organ at Arizona State University and the topic of “The Historical Organ” presented in 1993.
In a third keynote address, Keith Hill, the noted harpsichord maker, took a look at the psychological aspects of artistic performance in a topic called “The Craft of Musical Communication.” This is a difficult subject, and he was able to create the imagery to help his audience grasp important concepts involved in music making. He outlined various building blocks of artistic performance so that some analysis could be made of performers and their art. A certain objectivity was welcome in an area that is almost always purely subjective!
Masterclasses were provided by the artists, and of course there was the joy of discovering all the various aspects of the organ and its construction. Michael Gormley and the cathedral staff were most gracious, and the setting in the provincial capital of British Columbia was magnificent. From a meeting in the parliament buildings on the first day to high tea on the last, there was the constant infusion of Canadian culture and magnificent weather, found only on this enchanted isle on the west coast of North America. I suppose the only thing that can be said is “You should have been there!--Herbert L. Huestis

Improvisation jam session

For many of us the culmination of the symposium was the jam-session of the three improvisers by name of Vogel, Porter and Bellotti. The demonstration was divided into three parts, first the reeds, second the solo possibilities and then the different organo pleno possibilities.
Harold Vogel demonstrated the many different reed stops—there are six trumpets at 8' pitch, four reed stops at 16', and one 32' Posaune, besides softer reed stops, such as Hautbois, Krummhorn, Schalmey and Vox humana. The sound of the latter, a Voix Humaine after Dom Bédos, can easily be coloured by adding flutes at different pitches. Mr. Vogel’s improvisation was haute voltige—flying high, through all kinds of places unheard of—and concluded his flight with the glorious roar of the trumpets!
A good number of the organ’s solo possibilities where shown through William Porter’s delightful and poetic improvisations. The various flutes and strings—typical for organs of Southern Germany and Austria—and the mutations (there is a jeux de tierce in every keyboard division, except for the Swell) were shown in a single piece, wonderfully constructed by a great player.
One could have thought that demonstrating the mixtures might be a much more arduous task, but Edoardo Bellotti brought us to new heights with his magnificent demonstration.
Each organist was an inspired Orpheus, playing with great power and imagination—and each of them should have received an Olympic trophy!
—Hellmuth Wolff