Cover feature

 

Quimby Pipe Organs, 

Warrensburg, Missouri 

Opus 67: 3 manuals, 38 ranks

First Congregational Church, 

Greeley, Colorado

 

Quimby Pipe Organs, 

Warrensburg, Missouri 

Opus 67: 3 manuals, 38 ranks

First Congregational Church, 

Greeley, Colorado

Quimby Pipe Organs’ new Opus 67, completed in the summer of 2011, at the First Congregational Church in Greeley, Colorado, is an exceptional instrument in every way. There is more to this instrument than first meets the eye—a three-manual instrument of thirty-eight ranks—which, with great utility and refinement, seems to provide the resources of a much larger instrument.

The primary inspirations for Opus 67 are from British and American 19th-century traditions, and from 20th-century American influences such as Ernest M. Skinner and Aeolian-Skinner. Opus 67 is particularly remarkable because it blends these traditions within the confines of a relatively modest three-manual organ. The conceptualization of this instrument takes to heart seriously the simile that 20th-century organbuilder James Jamison marked as a requirement for a well-rounded smaller organ: like “an athlete trained down to hard muscle, without a superfluous ounce of flesh.” “Everything has to play its role and do multiple jobs,” Michael Quimby agrees; “No stop can be an individualist.”

Opus 67 covers all the essential bases and provides much we might ordinarily consider to be lavish. Moreover, everything contributes to the musical excellence of a diverse but coherent whole. There are many surprises, given its relatively modest size of thirty-eight ranks, such as three reeds at 16′ pitch in the Pedal (two of which are also available on the manuals), three different 8′ trumpets, color and solo reeds, contrasting but complete choruses in every division, an open 16′ in the Pedal, two sets of strings and celestes, a Cornet, and contrasting flutes at 8′ and 4′ on every manual. Many of these could be considered luxuries, were the essentials not present, but nothing crucial is omitted where something special or surprising is provided.

Each of the manual and pedal divisions has a complete principal chorus. The scaling and voicing of the Great principal chorus is in the style of T. C. Lewis, which grandly fills the room and is the backbone of the organ. The Swell principal chorus, by comparison, is of Geigen quality with slotted pipes, and draws influence from 19th-century American practice, most notably from the Hook tradition. Both are based upon 8′ principals. Although there is no open manual double, the Swell Gedeckt is available at 16′ pitch in both the Great and Swell for flexibility and utility. The Choir principal chorus is based on a tapered 4′ Principal, which works admirably well with either the 8′ Gemshorn (also tapered) or 8′ Rohrflute, or both. The Pedal principal chorus is derived from a single Principal rank, available at 16′, 8′, and 4′, and is scaled suitably for its role at multiple pitches. Each of the manual choruses has a mixture, and the manner in which the individual stops blend together to form a rich ensemble is further clarified by Michael Quimby: “The diapason choruses have sufficient foundational tone plus emphasis on all other partials to lock the entire chorus together, which prohibits any voice from standing out as an individualist.” Although the choruses of the Great and Swell divisions are of contrasting character, the two divisions are very close to one another in dynamic level, with the Great asserting the more prominent aural position because it is unenclosed. Likewise, the Choir is slightly diminutive to the Swell, but all of the divisions are closely related in terms of volume, resulting in a coherent instrument from one division to another. Both the Choir and Swell, enclosed in separate chambers with Quimby standard two-inch-thick expression shades, present a surprising and effective range of dynamic contrast. 

Three contrasting unison manual flutes are provided: the Great Hohlflute, the Swell Gedeckt, and the Choir Rohr Flute. All three are of similar dynamic levels, with the Hohlflute dominating. The Great open Hohlflute is contrasted with a stopped 4′ Gedeckt as its octave. The stopped Swell Gedeckt, the only rank retained from the church’s previous organ, is contrasted by the open 4′ Harmonic Flute at octave pitch. The Choir Rohr Flute, stopped with chimneys, has for its octave an open 4′ Nachthorn, also well-suited for its role in the cornet harmonic series, which is completed by the 22⁄3′ Nazard, 2′ Flageolet, and 13⁄5′ Tierce. The Pedal Bourdon, available at 16′ and 8′, provides a solid foundation for the Pedal, the volume of which is in between the Principal and Gedeckt, the latter of which is borrowed from the Swell. The timbre of every stopped or open flute is different than any other, and the variety in flutes of all pitches provides many opportunities for authentic, convincing, and creative registration.

There are two pairs of strings in the organ. The Swell Viole and Viole Celeste are influenced by typical practices of both Ernest M. Skinner and Aeolian-Skinner, and are full of harmonics and richness. The Choir Gemshorn and Gemshorn Celeste are really Skinneresque Klein Erzählers, hybrid ranks that prove to be versatile chameleons; with the shutters open, the characteristic Erzähler octave partial adds richness, which contrasts the Swell strings, though always remaining subordinate to them. With the shutters closed, they lose enough of the octave presence and edge so that the possibility of a gentler Flute Dolce Celeste is suggested. 

Each manual has its own trumpet, all broadly influenced by the work of Henry Willis. The Swell Trumpet is a synthesis of French and English schools. From 16′ C to 4′ g, English open shallots are used, but from 4′ g up, French dome shallots are used, resulting in a versatile rank that works well in each of its designated pitch levels, with more fundamental lower in its range, and more “fire” moving upward. At 16′ “Contra” pitch, it serves as the primary pedal reed; the rank also does triple duty at 4′ pitch as the Swell Clarion. The Great Trumpet has English open shallots and is voiced for roundness, but also with brilliance.  The Choir Solo Harmonic Trumpet provides a commanding voice in the organ, tuba-like, which is loud enough to stand up in solo dialogue to the Great principal chorus, but not so overpowering that its use in the ensemble climax of a big piece is offensive or unmusical. In fact, its placement behind the effective Choir expression shutters allows it to be brought on imperceptibly with shutters closed underneath full Great and Swell ensembles, and then gradually opened, as Michael Quimby suggests, “for a final surge of unexpected sound.” This rank is on 15 inches of wind pressure, but not “for generating excessive dynamic effects.” Rather, the high wind pressure allows the greatest “refinement of tone,” something which is surely desirable in so prominent a stop. Adding the reeds to full ensemble, while dramatically changing the ensemble’s character, never obscures the flues. The three contrasting trumpets immediately present possibilities for use in dialogue with the different choruses. 

The Swell Oboe is inspired by American practice as typified by Aeolian-Skinner from the 1930s until after World War II. Like the Swell Trumpet, it is also extended, from 16′ to 8′. At 16′ pitch it functions as a Fagotto for use in the Swell reed chorus and as a secondary 16′ reed in the Pedal; at 8′, it fulfills the traditional roles required by organ literature.  The Choir Cromorne is also inspired by early Aeolian-Skinner examples, and is slightly softer than the Oboe, especially in the 16′ range, allowing it to be used as a secondary manual double reed and tertiary pedal double—an unexpected but welcome luxury in an organ of this size. Its duplication in the Great at 8′ pitch allows for its use in dialogue with the Choir Cornet décomposé.

Mechanically speaking, the instrument is responsive and reliable, something that Michael Quimby attributes to the fact that “the majority of flue manual ranks are on electro-pneumatic slider windchests in the Blackinton style.” Other ranks, which are duplexed or unified for flexibility, are “on electro-pneumatic windchests with individual actions.” Duplexing and unification are restricted to some reeds and the Swell Gedeckt between the manuals, and for the augmentation of the Pedal. The responsiveness of the chest actions is matched by their reliable performance, proven over time to be dependable. Complete octave and sub-octave couplers are provided within and between all manual divisions, not for completing the ensembles, but for registrational flexibility and expanded color possibilities. 

The three-manual, drawknob console, constructed in the Skinner style, is an exercise in both convenience and elegance. Constructed of black walnut with a mahogany interior, the casework matches accent walnut woodwork in the newly renovated chancel, providing rich contrast to the more prevalent blond oak. The console has 256 levels of memory for the combination action, a piston sequencer, adjustable crescendo pedal, sequence recorder, and MIDI in and out.

Chancel renovations completed prior to the installation of Opus 67 included reconfiguration from a traditional English divided choir to built-in hardwood risers with moveable chairs facing the congregation. The console cabinet from the previous instrument was converted into a new pulpit, which helps to anchor the liturgical south end of the chancel (the new console being on liturgical north). A new façade, cased in black walnut, with polished zinc 16′ principal pipes and Great principal basses, replaces a mid-twentieth-century organ screen and monumental cross. A new stained glass and metal cross, crafted by congregation members Carolyn Stuart and Gary Pitcher, is suspended in front of the organ façade.

In their mission statement, Quimby Pipe Organs admits to “a great responsibility to produce organs that will not only ‘do church,’ but will do it with style.” Their stated goals for achieving this are to provide organs that support choirs, offer organists “registration possibilities for creative and sensitive service playing,” and to have “an essential grandeur as well as a heroic nature appropriate” to the context and requirements of the situation. These objectives have been resoundingly met in the design and construction of Opus 67, which “combines the foundation for excellent support of choral, congregational, and service music in addition to supporting organ concert literature and the community concert venue.”

First Congregational Church’s organist Kim Pace echoes these thoughts, as she describes her own impressions of the new organ: “This glorious instrument is an expression of beauty as it envelops the congregation’s songs, as it colors the choir’s anthems, as it speaks to our hearts and souls through Bach or Duruflé, spirituals or jazz. It is an expression of faith—the faith and vision of a congregation that embraces music in worship and as a ministry to others. And, it is an organist’s dream!”

The organ was first used in worship on Sunday, September 11, 2011, with Kim Pace presiding at the console. The dedicatory recital was given on October 21, 2011, by Wilma Jensen, who opened her program with Franck’s Pièce Héroïque, not knowing it was the same piece that Professor George Whitfield Andrews played to close the dedicatory recital of the church’s former Lyon & Healy 104 years earlier. On March 25, 2012, Kim Pace presented a recital to the community, and one additional recital is scheduled for this year, with Ken Cowan performing on October 7 at 4 pm.

— T.  Daniel Hancock

 

A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ 

Company, Lithonia, Georgia

Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, Atlanta, Georgia

 

The O’Neil-Foster Memorial Pipe Organ

Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church is located in my hometown of Atlanta, Georgia, just a short drive from my office. Our involvement in the project began with an invitation to consult with this church from director of liturgy and music William Jefferson (Jeff) Bush. The church was planning a new sanctuary and wanted to study the possibility of building a pipe organ for this space.

During my first visit I had the opportunity to meet many of the church leadership, including Rev. James A. Schillinger, S.T.L., pastor; Michael D. Mullink, associate director of music; and Paul Tooher, director of business. The organ committee at this church included Jeff Bush as committee chair, Michael Mullink, Phil Jardina, Leann Logsdon, and Mark Galvin. Dr. John Romeri was invited by Jeff to serve as an informal consultant to him personally on this project.

As this distinguished group talked about plans for the new sanctuary, there was an excitement and zeal for their mission, which personally enveloped me. Beyond a simple cerebral response, I found a lasting emotional attachment to this church and its membership. I left this church posed with the question, “How could the members of the Schlueter family and our staff not be a part of this grand commission?” 

To design the new sanctuary, the church engaged the services of the architectural firm CDH Partners with project architect Michael Boland. This firm’s work was interlaced with that of the liturgical consultant Brother Martin Erspamer, OSB. His contribution to this project was invaluable. Over a period that spanned years, he provided a distinct vision for the finished church building and its furnishings. He also worked as an able arbiter to diligently channel and focus the ideas, concerns, and aspirations of all the design parties and committees. 

The organ, later to be named the O’Neil-Foster Memorial Pipe Organ, was made possible through the generous donations of Walter & Mary Alice Foster and Jim & Pat Sedlack. 

When I was brought into the project, the basic layout of the sanctuary had already been formed and we lacked a space that allowed consideration for an organ chamber location. The only possibility was to incorporate a free-standing organ case design. The challenge was to find sufficient space that would work physically and tonally for the organ. As we studied the building plans to find a location, the sole workable area was on the central axis of the church, just behind the altar. The members of the church were willing to consider this space, but we all knew that the path to a final design would be an arduous choice, given the prominent chancel location. We considered over a dozen different organ case iterations, before settling on a final rendering.

To minimize the visual impact of the organ case, we held the center of the organ case to 10 feet of width on its forward exposure. The largest pipes of the 16′ Principal are positioned to the sides of the case and arrayed in an inverted ellipse that arcs away from the case center, which de-emphasizes the overall case width and accentuates its verticality. This greatly reduced the visual weight of the organ case.

What has pleased us most with the completed design is that it “feels right.” The casement is built of red oak with ebonized walnut accents. Taking the form of a reredos, it provides a visual backdrop that anchors the cross and the corpus. When viewed from an off-center location, the largest pipes vertically ascend toward the center to provide a central focus on Christ. 

Taking advantage of the organ’s position in the church, we used the mass of the instrument casework to separate the main sanctuary from the chapel behind it. The rear of the organ case was built as a paneled oak wall with ebony dividers. The center panels form an arch to mirror and highlight the baldacchino. The stained glass in the cupola that forms the rear chapel wall provides a coalesced mixture of light and shadow, which plays off the organ’s oak panels to make this area a quiet, contemplative space for prayer. Here one senses the cloistered feeling of a space that is at once part of, and separate from, the main sanctuary. The emotional response experienced in the chapel leaves no doubt that this is Holy Space.

As the outer shell of the casework was brought to a point of design conclusion, we began to develop a stoplist that would be capable of the varied uses required of this instrument. From the beginning, the charge we were given was to design an instrument that would support worship, with a specificity of a literature bias to be a secondary concern. From shared listening experiences with the church, we developed an eclectic specification with roots in American Classicism. To support the choir and congregation, all divisions of the organ were planned to be weighted around an 8′ chorus structure with multiple weights of this tonic pitch register.

As we labored on the final stoplist, there were budgetary considerations that could not be ignored. With the free-standing case, console, and three-manual specification, this would not be an inexpensive organ to build. We faced a crossroad where the design for an instrument included most but not all of the elements we wanted in a stoplist, but a budget that had already been reached. To free ourselves from this stricture we looked inward. Those who have followed our work know it has not been uncommon for our firm to gift some additional items to our clients. We have always looked at this as our tithe to the communities of faith where we build organs. In the end, the 8′ Viole Dolce, 8′ Viole Dolce Celeste, 4⁄5′ Terz, and the 16′/8′ Trombone unit became gifts from the Schlueter family. As artists, it can be liberating to add stops into the organ on the basis of “it should be there” without sole regard to budget. Hearing the organ in the church we know that we made the right decision by our gifts.

The Great division of this instrument was built with a Principal chorus of 8′, 4′, 2′, and IV-rank Mixture that is grounded with a 16′ Bourdon. Due to a room acoustic that promotes the propagation of bass frequencies, the pipe scales of the 16′ and 8′ registers were pulled in, and made slightly smaller to support clarity of speech and phrasing. We chose to use a large-scale metal open 8′ Hohl Flute because of its ability to be used as a blending and thickening agent to the Great chorus. When used as an independent solo voice it has a clarity and focus that are often lost in large-scale open flutes of different construction. It is paired with a lyrical 4′ Rohr Flute that is a playful muse in this acoustic. The 8′ Trumpet on the Great has English shallots and is thinner in scale and texture than its compatriot in the Swell division. As a chorus reed with a subtle edge-tone, it provides a blaze of color under the Great chorus. The Swell Basson-Hautbois and Positiv Krummhorn are duplexed to this division to allow differing weight and color possibilities to the ensemble or allow their use as solo voices.

While everyone recognizes the utilitarian function of the Swell division as a foil to the Great for congregational accompaniment, we realized early on the importance of careful stop choice for the single enclosed division on this instrument. It would need to have a wide dynamic range and timbre to be effective in undergirding the choir and soloist. The Swell division was designed with a rich palette, replete with various weights of color and texture.

With the choir on the side apse, there was a concern about the organ being heard evenly. The expression box opens on three sides to provide an evenly diffused cone of sound in the church and also to provide tonal focus for support of the choir. 

The third manual on this instrument is an unenclosed Positiv division. With its rearward position in the upper portion of the chapel cupola, we were able to take advantage of the tangential incidence of the wall surfaces. This reflects and refracts the Positiv division to a position of forward presence in the organ.

The Erzahlers proved to be the perfect string stops in this unenclosed division. With their position at the capstone in this space, the sound filters throughout the church in an even, gentle manner. These stops, when drawn and coupled with the Viole de Gambe, Viole Dolce, and their companion Celestes, mass in a bloom of sound that buoys the spirit and lifts the soul.

An unusual stop in this Positiv is the 4⁄5′ Terz. Constructed as small principal pipes, it breaks back one octave at G3. It can be effective as a coloring agent to 8′ and 4′ stops in the organ, added to the 11⁄3′ to build a bell-like Glockenspiel mixture, or used with the 16′ and unison couplers to build a secondary Cornet. With its middle compass octave shift, the 4⁄5′ has enough tonal weight to combine with the mixture to supply a French accent to larger registrations. 

To provide sufficient undergirding for this instrument, we started with a case design that allowed an exposed 16′ Principal in the Pedal. With its forward position in the case, this stop is voiced in an unforced manner that provided the fundamental we desired allied with harmonic definition. The 16′ Bourdon and balance of the Pedal resources are positioned at the upper rear of the organ case to take advantage of the acoustical reflection of the cupola in the same manner as the resources of the Positiv division. With this spatial treatment, these stops project forward to tonally sit beside the 16′ Principal. Softer underlayment of the Pedal foundation is provided by the 16′/8′
Lieblich Gedeckt in the Swell division. 

The 16′ Trombone and 16′ Basson-Hautbois provide the reed foundation for this instrument. The 16′ Trombone in the Pedal division is available as a manual extension to provide a dynamic solo reed. This stop is eight inches in scale at CCC and is on a moderately high wind pressure. It provides a rich, vibrant voice in the favorable acoustics of the room and can work equally well as a solo voice or logical conclusion to the ensemble in large registrations.

Mechanically, this organ follows our normal practice with its use of electro-pneumatic slider windchests of the Blackinton style, electro-pneumatic unit action for reeds and large flue stops, and a winding system with dual curtain valve reservoirs. The resources of the organ are controlled by a three-manual drawknob console that is built of red oak and includes ebonized accents commensurate with the organ case. The console features such modern conveniences as multiple memory levels, programmable crescendo and sforzando, transposer, piston sequencer, MIDI, and the ability to record and play back organ performances.

With any organ project it is possible to be so close to your own work that you cannot judge it on its own merits. It becomes important to step back from your work before you can say it is time to “put down the brush.” This is particularly true of tonal finishing. The surety of vision and purpose that guides one’s work can also result in blinders preventing your best work from coming forward. To mitigate this, our firm completes tonal finishing over a period of time. Not only does it allow the ears to relax, but it also allows you to come back to a project more objective and able to assess your work dispassionately. The tonal finishing occurred throughout the first year, with multiple visits to the church as we traveled through the liturgical year and made different demands of the organ’s resources. 

I want to extend a sincere “thank you” to our team of tonal finishers on this project, which included Dan Angerstein, Anthony Nichols, John Tanner, Bud Taylor, Dave Koscis, and Fred Oyster. I also want to thank the dedicated members of my staff, led by Marc Conley, who selflessly provided their hands and hearts to the building and installation of this instrument. The construction of an instrument of this scale is a monumental task with thousands of man hours that are visible and many thousands more that are unseen. The aforementioned are the people who helped sculpt the wood, zinc, lead, copper, and brass into poetry.

In the end, as a principal of the firm whose name is on the organ, what do I think about the organ we built? Early on I knew how special this project could be. As a builder I have been privileged to attend many concerts at this church and to attend Mass on multiple occasions. I must confess that as much as I have enjoyed the organ in recital, I have taken far great pleasure hearing the organ in a worship setting. This is not said to diminish the music brought forth by those who have played the organ in concert; rather, hearing the organ taking its part in worship is a validation of the years of planning and work that go into such an instrument. Having been part of building an instrument that serves in worship every day is the greatest gift an organ builder can have. It is a culmination of pride, passion, and a legacy that we are leaving to future generations.

We are very pleased to offer selections from recordings made on this organ by Herbert Buffington, available at pipe-organ.com/listen.shtm. 

A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company can be reached at P. O. Box 838, Lithonia, GA 30058; 770/482-4845 or via our website: www.pipe-organ.com. 

—Arthur E. Schlueter III

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

 

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

Sacred Heart Co-Cathedral, 

Houston, Texas

 

From the organbuilder

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mark Brombaugh: design, installation, and voicing

Arpad Magyar: metal flue and reed pipes

Maurine Pasi: pipe shade carving and gilding

Jennifer Von Holstein: carving design and administration

Robert Wech: design

Raphi Giangiulio: metal flue and reed pipes, design

Gyöngyi Czimbor: assistant in the Pasi wood and pipe shops

Douglas Brewer: installation

Bruce Shull: voicing

Dominik Maetzler: combination action wiring

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

—Martin Pasi

 

From the consultant

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

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

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

—Robert Bates

Professor of Organ

Moores School of Music

University of Houston

 

From the director of music

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

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

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

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

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

—Crista Miller 

Chair, Organ Selection Committee

Director of Music and Organist

 

Letter from Daniel Cardinal DiNardo in the dedication program booklet

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

—Daniel Cardinal DiNardo

Archbishop of Galveston-Houston

 

Pasi Organ Builders, Opus 19

Four manuals, 76 stops

GREAT II

16′ Principal

8′ Praestant

8′ Spitzfloete

8′ Harmonic Flute

8′ Gamba

6′ Quinte

4′ Octave

4′ Nachthorn

3′ Quinte

2′ Octave

13⁄5′ Terz

8′ Cornet V (c1)

2′ Mixture V

22⁄3′ Rauschpfeife IV

16′ Trumpet

8′ Trumpet

8′ Trompette

4′ Clairon

POSITIVE III

16′ Quintadena

8′ Praestant

8′ Gedeckt

8′ Salicional

8′ Suavial (g)

4′ Octave

4′ Rohrfloete

3′ Nazard

3′ Sesquialtera II

2′ Octave

2′ Gemshorn

13⁄5′ Tierce

11⁄3′ Larigot

1′ Scharff IV

16′ Dulzian

8′ Cromorne

8′ Trumpet

8′ Trechterregal

SWELL IV

16′ Bourdon

8′ Praestant

8′ Viola

8′ Celeste

8′ Rohrfloete

4′ Octave

4′ Harm. Flute

4′ Violetta

31⁄5′ Gross Tierce

22⁄3′ Nazard

2′ Octave

2′ Octavin

13⁄5′ Tierce

1′ Flageolet

2′ Mixture V 

16′ Bassoon

8′ Trompette

8′ Oboe

4′ Clairon

8′ Voix Humaine

GRAND CHOIR I

32′ Principal

16′ Praestant

16′ Violone

16′ Bourdon

8′ Octave

8′ Flute

4′ Octave

3′ Plein Jeu Harmonique III–V+

16′ Posaune 

16′ Bombarde 

8′ Trompette 

8′ Trumpet 

8′ Clarinette 

4′ Schalmay 

8′ Trompeta

4–16′ Trompeta

+Grand Choir only

PEDAL

32′ Principal 

16′ Praestant

16′ Violone

16′ Bourdon

8′ Octave

8′ Flute

4′ Octave

4′ Mixtur VI*

32′ Bombarde* 

32′ Trombone* 

16′ Posaune 

16′ Bombarde 

8′ Trompette 

8′ Trumpet 

8′ Clarinette 

4′ Schalmay 

2′ Cornet*

8′ Trompeta

* Pedal only

Zimbelstern (seven rotating bells)

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

Normal mechanical-action unison couplers.

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

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

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

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

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

John Bishop

 

What’s in a name?

Did you ever meet someone named Smith? Ever wonder where that name came from? Ever wonder why Smith is such a common name? Your friend John Smith is descended from a blacksmith, or maybe a silversmith. Smith is a common name because centuries ago, a much higher percentage of the population was involved in actually making stuff by hand. How about Cooper? They made barrels. How about Sawyer, Taylor, Shoemaker, Brewer, or Cook? Come to think of it, my name is Bishop—but I know it’s not relevant.

Just like those common surnames, lots of functions and devices in our world have names that are descriptive, and I think many of us seldom stop to notice how accurate those names are.

Likewise, I know that lots of people take for granted how something works. You flick a switch and a light comes on. Don’t bother me with stories about fuel sources, generating plants, transformers, distribution systems, self-burnishing contacts, correct choice of wire gauges, or tungsten filaments.

 

The long and short of it

After graduating from Oberlin, we lived in an old four-bedroom farmhouse in the farmlands a couple miles out of town. It was a lovely place if a little ramshackle. The rent was $225 a month, and there was a natural gas well on the property—foreshadowing the controversial fracking going on now in that area. The electrical system in the house was just terrible, and all the lights and outlets in the kitchen, utility room, and dining room were on one circuit. I was cooking dinner one night when the lights went out. There was toddler Michael, sitting on the dining room floor, a startled look on his face, a black mark on the wall around an electrical outlet, and a pair of scissors on the floor. He looked at me and said, “hurtchoo.”

What was it he did that caused the lights to go out? I know, I know, he stuck the scissors in the outlet. (Today, responsible parents put little plastic pluggy things into the outlets so that can’t happen. In those days, we did have seatbelts in our cars, but not those pluggy things.) What he actually did was shorten an electrical circuit. He tried to use the scissors as an appliance. We’re used to operating devices that are designed to consume electricity, whether it’s a motor we use to make daiquiris, a heating device we use to melt cheese on a piece of bread, or a light bulb that illuminates our world. Each of those items “burns” electricity to do its job.

The wiring in your house is all in circuits. Each circuit originates at an electrical panel, goes to whatever appliances it’s supposed to run, fuels them, and returns to the source, which is protected by a circuit breaker that shuts off the circuit if something goes wrong. (Our house in Oberlin had fuses, which have the same function as a circuit-breaker.) If something happens to connect the outgoing and incoming sides of the electrical circuit before it gets to the appliance, the result is a “short circuit.” Michael’s pair of scissors was not designed to perform a function when fed with electricity. All it could do was make a big spark. He “shorted out” the circuit. We laugh now, but bad things could have happened.

A couple more simple points. That circuit breaker I mentioned is designed to break the circuit (turn it off) when it’s overloaded by a short circuit, or by the attempt to run too much power through the circuit by plugging in a vacuum cleaner in addition to a space heater. Too much power and the wires heat up. If there’s no safety system, they start a fire. The old-time fuses have a piece of wire in them engineered to carry only a certain amount of power. When that was exceeded, the wire burned safely inside the little glass enclosure.  

And many of the circuits in our houses are actually left open in the form of outlets. A ceiling lamp is a closed circuit, but an outlet doesn’t become a complete circuit until we plug something in—not a pair of scissors, but something that includes an appliance that consumes electricity. 

 

Keep the pressure on

Water towers are architectural icons and infrastructure workhorses on Manhattan Island. Every building more than eighty feet high needs one, and there are a lot of buildings more than eighty feet high in Manhattan. We can see thirteen water towers from our apartment in lower Manhattan. They are necessary here because there are simply too many faucets and toilets for the municipal water provider to be able to supply pressure hundreds of feet in the air to thousands of buildings. So a building has a tank on the roof and a pumping station in the basement. Filling the tanks works something like a toilet bowl. Water is pumped into the tank. When it’s full, a ball-cock valve operated by a float turns off the pump. As water is used, the float goes down with the water level and turns on the pump to maintain the proper level.  

The water tower on an average apartment building holds around 10,000 gallons, and the pumps are capable of filling a tank in two or three hours. Larger buildings have huge internal tanks mounted high inside. The Empire State Building, which is 1,250 feet tall, has water tanks every twenty floors. Buildings that size use as much as 40,000 gallons per hour.

I imagined that the source of the water pressure from a rooftop tank would be the weight of the water as affected by gravity, and I read that in a couple news stories, but I read on a “science-fact” website that it actually comes from hydrostatic pressure, which is a factor of elevation. The higher in the air the tank is located, the greater the pressure. Shameless and unscientific rounding off of numbers I found at <www.howstuff works.com> shows that every foot of elevation produces about .45 PSI (pounds per square inch) of pressure. A tank that’s a hundred feet up produces about 45 PSI, which is the kind of pressure we’re used to when we open a spigot to take a shower or wash the dishes.

There is one way that the weight of water plays a role in this system. The tanks are built like old-fashioned barrels (built by coopers) with wooden staves held in place by iron hoops. The hoops are closer together at the bottom of a tank, and spaced increasingly further apart toward the top. The graduated spacing is similar on all the tanks, which makes me think there’s a mathematical ratio involved, something like Pythagoras’s overtone series. That provides extra strength down low to contain the great weight of water at the bottom of the tank. Water weighs about 8.35 pounds per gallon, and when you stack it up in a tank, the weight is concentrated toward the bottom. A 10,000-gallon tank holds more than forty tons of water!

There are two companies in New York City that still build water tanks: the Rosenwach Tank Company, and Isseks Brothers, both located in Brooklyn. Rosenwach builds between two and three hundred tanks each year. The tanks must be serviced annually to remove sediments from the water, and they usually last about forty years, though the Rosenwach website (www.rosenwach tank.com) says that some tanks made of redwood are still in service after ninety years. Wood is considered the best material because it is hoisted to lofty roofs relatively easily—it would cost a fortune to lift a 10,000-gallon steel tank to the roof of a twenty-story building—and because it has terrific built-in insulation qualities. Imagine if your source of cold water was a metal tank on a sunny roof. The wood is not treated with any paint or preservatives so as not to taint the water. Rosenwach uses so much lumber that they have a sawmill located in the heart of Brooklyn.

 

Wind regulators

The principle I described of graduating the spacing of the hoops around a water tank appears in many other ordinary facets of our life. Long runs of pipes for fire-suppression sprinkler systems are visible in the fellowship halls of many church buildings. Notice how they’re larger in diameter at the end where the water originates than at the end of the run. This accounts for the ever-smaller demand for the volume of water as you pass each sprinkler head, and maintains the appropriate amount of pressure for the last sprinkler in the line.

This exact principle exists in pipe organs that have multiple wind regulators (reservoirs). The windline is largest in diameter where it enters the organ from the blower room, and the diameter decreases as you pass the regulators, ensuring that the wind pressure is adequate at the end of a long run.

We can compare the wind system of a large pipe organ with the water system in Manhattan. A rooftop water tank is both a reservoir and a pressure regulator, kept full and ready for use by a pump, and equipped with a valve that fills the reservoir as water is used. An organ regulator is kept full of air by a pump (the blower), regulates the pressure through the use of weights or springs, and has a valve that keeps it full as pressure is used. The valve is typically a curtain valve that works something like a window shade, connected to the top of the regulator with string or chain that runs across a system of pulleys. In a water system, pressure and volume is used when we fill a teakettle. In a pipe organ, pressure and volume is used when we play a hymn.

 

Electricity in pipe organs

You walk into the chancel, change your shoes, open your briefcase, put something up on the music rack, slide onto the bench, and turn on the organ. What’s happening? You have started a big electric motor, and if your organ has electric action, you’ve also turned on a rectifier. The motor turns a fan (the organ blower), which blows air through the organ’s windlines to the reservoirs, which inflate to a controlled height, and create stored wind pressure. Until you play a note, the organ is idling, sitting still at a constant pressure.

Did he say rectifier? What’s a rectifier? What needs to be rectified? Is there something wrong? We use electricity in two basic forms, AC (alternating current) and DC (direct current). Electricity is polarized—one side is positive (+), the other is negative (–). In direct current, the polarization is constant—positive is always positive, negative is always negative. In alternating current, the sides alternate, swapping positive and negative back and forth at a rapid rate. We refer to 60-cycle current because standard AC power swaps sides 60 times a second. Fluorescent light tubes emit a 60-cycle hum.

Our household (and church-hold) electricity is AC power at 120 volts (volts is a measure of power), but pipe organ actions are designed to operate on DC power at around twelve volts. A rectifier is an appliance that converts 120VAC to 12VDC, rectifying the discrepancy. (While the voltage of house current is standardized, the DC voltage in pipe organs varies, usually between 12 and 16 VDC.) How does it work? A rectifier contains a transformer—an appliance that transforms AC power to DC power.

George Westinghouse and Thomas Edison were both pioneers of the industrial and residential use of electricity, and both are credited with the invention of many related devices and processes. They both found financial backers who supported the construction of neighborhood-wide systems to light houses—J.P. Morgan’s house on Madison Avenue in New York was the first to be illuminated by Edison. Edison was a DC man, and Westinghouse focused on AC power. Neither was willing, or perhaps able, to promote both. As the public was learning to accept the concept of having this mysterious power in their homes, there was a debate comparing the relative safety of the two systems, and Westinghouse and Edison each went to great lengths to try to discredit the work of the other by publicizing levels of danger. When the first electric chair to be used for executions of prisoners was built using DC power, Westinghouse and AC power gained traction in the public eye. If DC could kill people, we don’t want it in our houses. It was political. Today, when we hear of a construction worker getting electrocuted, it’s proven to us that AC power can kill, too. Michael was lucky.

 

Pipe organ wind

When I talk about pipe organ wind, I keep mentioning reservoirs and regulators. Don’t I really mean bellows? Like the short circuit, and the circuit breaker, I suggest we use the name that best describes what the thing is actually doing. A bellows produces a flow of air. A blacksmith uses a bellows to blow on the fire in his forge just as we use a bellows at our living room fireplace.  

A reservoir is a storage device. A rooftop water tower is a reservoir. In modern pipe organs, the bellows have been replaced with electric blowers, so what we might call a bellows under the windchest of the organ is actually a reservoir. But the reservoir also regulates the wind pressure. We use weights or spring tension to create the pressure. The more weight or the heavier the springs, the higher the pressure. But in order to create pressure, we also have to limit how far the thing can open—that’s another function of the curtain valve. The organbuilder sets it so the valve is closed when the reservoir is open far enough. Otherwise it would inflate until it burst, which is the air pressure equivalent of a short circuit. So the balancing of weights, springs, and limit of travel determines the wind pressure. And, the curtain valve I mentioned earlier opens to allow more air in as you consume air by playing. So I think the most accurate term to describe that unit is “regulator.” Reservoir is correct, but incomplete. The rooftop water tank is also a regulator, though the regulation of pressure happens automatically as a function of physics—remember that hydrostatic pressure. Hydro means water, static means “lacking in movement.” You get pressure regulation without doing anything!

 

Stop and think about it

Many of the common names for organ stops are descriptive, even definitive. “Prestant” comes from the Latin, prestare, which means “to stand before.” So a Prestant, by definition, is an organ stop that stands in the façade. Many organs have misnamed Prestants. A Chimney Flute is a capped pipe (usually metal) that has a little chimney sticking up from the cap. The purpose of the chimney is to emphasize the third overtone (22⁄3′ pitch). That’s why a Chimney Flute is brighter than a Gedeckt.

I don’t need to say much about Clarinets, Oboes, Trumpets, or Flutes. But a Harmonic Flute is special because the pipes are twice as long as Principal pipes, and the characteristic hole halfway up the resonator breaks the internal sound wave in half, so the double length produces normal pitch, but with a much richer harmonic structure.

Diapason is a mysterious word, until you look it up. I found two good applicable definitions: “a rich, full outpouring of sound,” and “a fixed standard of pitch.” Go to <www.diapason-italia.com&gt; and you find an Italian manufacturer of high-quality audio speakers—“a rich, full outpouring of sound.”

Quint = fifth. A 22⁄3′ Quint speaks the second overtone above fundamental pitch—one octave plus a fifth. A Quintadena emphasizes that overtone—that’s why it’s brighter than a Bourdon. 

Tierce = third.  A 13⁄5′ Tierce speaks the fourth overtone—two octaves plus a third.

A Resultant is a tricky one.  Turns out that if you play 16′ and 102⁄3′ pitch together, your mind’s ear is tricked into thinking that you’re hearing 32′ pitch, because 16′ and 102⁄3′ are the first two overtones of 32′. The result is that you imagine you’re hearing a 32′ stop.  Hah!  Fooled you!

By the way, why does blowing on a fire make the fire bigger? Simple. Fire uses oxygen as fuel. Throwing a blanket over a fire cuts off the oxygen supply, as does the acolyte’s candle-snuffer. Blow air on a fire and you increase the oxygen supply. Poof! S’mores, anyone?

The inaugural recital weekend March 10–11, 2012 for Casavant Opus 3875 featured James David Christie performing an eighty-minute recital 

David C. Pickering

David C. Pickering is Assistant Professor of Music at Kansas State University and organist at First Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, Kansas. He is an active recitalist, having performed throughout the United States and Canada. Pickering’s three recordings feature the organ music of American composers Daniel Gawthrop, Alice Jordan, and Leroy Robertson. He has also authored articles on these composers that have appeared in The American Organist and The Diapason. His degrees in organ performance (DMA, MM, BM) are from the University of Kansas and Brigham Young University.

 

The opening of Kansas City’s Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in September 2011 ended a sixteen-year search for a new location to house three of the region’s leading performing arts organizations—the Kansas City Ballet, Kansas City Symphony, and Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Civic leader and philanthropist Muriel McBrien Kauffman first articulated the vision of the Kauffman Center in the mid-1990s. After her death, daughter Julia Irene Kauffman worked to bring this vision to reality. Designed by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie, whose work encompasses a wide variety of structures including airports, government buildings, libraries, museums, and residences, the Kauffman Center boasts two major performance spaces—the 1,800-seat proscenium-style Muriel Kauffman Theatre, home to the ballet and opera, and the 1,600-seat Helzberg Hall, which hosts a variety of local, regional, national, and international artists and performance groups, in addition to serving as the home of the Kansas City Symphony. Ground-breaking ceremonies for the Kauffman Center were held October 6, 2006, and the grand opening weekend of the Kauffman Center was held about five years later on September 16–17, 2011, capped off by a free public open house September 18, which drew an astonishing 55,000 people during a six-hour period.  

As discussions for the Kauffman Center were initiated in the 1990s, John Obetz, Principal Organist at the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (now Community of Christ) in Independence, Missouri, and other area organists approached Julia Kauffman about the idea of including a pipe organ in the plans for a new concert hall. Obetz invited the people involved with the Kauffman Center’s planning to the Community of Christ Temple in nearby Independence, home to what was then a new organ by Casavant Frères Opus 3700 (1993), where he played sections from the Symphony No. 3 in C Minor, op. 78, by Camille Saint-Saëns. A tour of the organ for committee members followed, and the seeds for the new concert hall organ were sown. 

As an organ committee was formed and various organ builders considered, the committee traveled once again to the Community of Christ Temple to hear Casavant Opus 3700, demonstrated by Obetz’s successor Jan Kraybill. This eventually led the committee to select the Casavant firm to design and construct the organ for the Kauffman Center—it would be the Kansas City metropolitan area’s second large Casavant organ. James David Christie, Professor of Music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio, Distinguished Artist-in-Residence at Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts, and organist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra, was hired to serve as the organ consultant for this new instrument, which has since been named the Julia Irene Kauffman Organ.

The inaugural recital weekend March 10–11, 2012 featured James David Christie performing an eighty-minute recital containing a varied selection of music, which included several compositions that are largely unknown to organists. Tickets for the inaugural recital sold out quickly, to the surprise and delight of many. In response to the demand for tickets, the Kauffman Center staff and Mr. Christie generously offered to provide a second recital scheduled for the following evening—which also sold out. Christie’s decision to perform two nights in a row was particularly dramatic, given the scope and difficulty of the program he presented. I attended the second performance (March 11) and was situated in the Mezzanine Left section of the hall, one level up from the main floor seating. The Julia Irene Kauffman Organ is prominently featured at the front of the Helzberg Hall, a beautiful facility awash with wood and soothing blue colors. The organ’s façade features both wooden and metal reed, principal, and string pipes angled forward and sideways. A mesh screen separates the visible façade from the other organ pipes.  

The recital opened with remarks of welcome from Jane Chu, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Kauffman Center, Julia Irene Kauffman, James David Christie, and Casavant owner Bertin Nadeau, who presented a token organ pipe to Ms. Kauffman on behalf of the company. Since the organ employs mechanical action and the console is connected directly to the instrument, closed-circuit cameras were employed so that the audience could view Christie’s pedal and manual movements on two huge screens that were posted on the stage floor. Whenever he played a pedal part that was particularly interesting for the audience to see, a small additional screen linked to a camera that was focused on Christie’s feet was displayed at the corner of each screen, thus providing further enjoyment and interest to everyone. The quality of the projected image was positively superb.  

The first half of Christie’s program, which consisted of forty minutes of music, was devoted almost solely to music of France, Germany, and Italy written during the Baroque period. Christie opened the program with Louis Mar-chand’s well-known Dialogue from his Troisième Livre, showcasing the organ’s fiery Grand jeu, the mellow 16′, 8′ and 4′ fonds d’orgue, a breathy Flûte harmonique from the Récit division, the Grand Choeur’s Cornet decomposeé and the Positif Cromorne. Those in the audience who were anxiously anticipating the entrance of the Pédale division’s 32′ Contre-Bombarde did not have to wait long—Christie engaged this stop for the final two measures, revealing a sound that was surprisingly smooth and refined. Christie’s beautifully nuanced, yet dramatic playing showed a thorough mastery of the French Classical style, which lent a magisterial air to the opening of the program that was extremely fitting.  

Dieterich Buxtehude’s Passacaglia in D Minor, BuxWV 161, followed, demonstrating the Grand Orgue’s refined 8′ Montre and the uncoupled plena of the Positif and Grand Orgue divisions, the latter accompanied by the Pédale’s principal plenum colored by the division’s smooth 16′ Basson. Christie built the organ’s registration to climax with the Pédale division’s 32′ Montre, which provided a firm underpinning to the composition’s conclusion. The next two works, Rondò in G Major by Giuseppe Gherardeschi and Ballo della Battaglia by Bernardo Storace, were unfamiliar to almost everyone. Christie charmed the audience by adding the Rossignol in the Rondò while the Storace dialogued the organ’s principal and reed choruses.

One of the program’s most sublime moments was Christie’s performance of Johann Bernhard Bach’s Ciaconna in B-flat Major, an attractive work of about ten minutes’ duration that allows the organist to explore an instrument’s varied stops and choruses. Christie both opened and closed this composition with the arresting 8′ Cor de Nuit from the Récit division. Other solo flute stops featured included the Grand Orgue and Positif 8′ Bourdons, the faint but quaint Positif 16′ Quintaton and that same division’s delightful 1′ Piccolo, a stop not often found on organs even of this size. The Positif 16′ Clarinette, a delicate string and celeste, and the Clochettes accompanied by the Positif 4′ Flûte douce each made brief appearances. Christie imbued this work with a mesmerizing dance-like spirit that demonstrated his informed musicianship and technical finesse.  

The program’s first half concluded with Johann Sebastian Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565. Christie dialogued the toccata’s opening statements on the Grand Orgue and Positif divisions, whose notes were immediately humbled into silence by the thundering pedal point that followed. He effectively dialogued the fugue’s middle section episodic material by ascending all four manuals in stair-step fashion, creating both an aural soundscape and visual interest for the audience. Christie unleashed the organ’s full resources for the final few measures of the fugue, creating a drama and excitement that could have engaged even the most casual listener.

Christie conveyed his love of Baroque-era music superbly by combining a thorough understanding of the performance practice traditions of different countries within this era, a freedom and spontaneity uninhibited by technical showmanship, and a warmth and sensitivity that is often missing in performance of this era’s music. His use of the organ combined informed scholarship, which those in the profession appreciated, with the ability to show a wide range of the organ’s different sounds that were obviously appreciated by the enthusiastic audience. The character and voicing of the plena and stops demonstrated in this half of the program was some of the finest this reviewer has heard from Casavant—so much so that this reviewer wishes that the organ were more present in the hall. Whether the need of greater presence is due to the full house that yielded a drier acoustic than that in which the organ was voiced, the need for more manual coupling, the organ’s dependence on higher-pressure stops to effectively convey forte and fortissimo dynamic levels, or the general need for increased wind pressures are issues that will no doubt be analyzed and hopefully rectified with more study and the passage of time. Likewise, there is much anticipation over how the instrument will perform with a full orchestra in the hall.

The program’s second half comprised forty additional minutes of music featuring primarily works of French composers from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and a work by Christie himself, composed in the French idiom in the early years of the twenty-first century. I believe that the Julia Irene Kauffman Organ finally found its voice with the opening chords of Guy Ropartz’s Sortie (from his Six pièces), and it was immediately obvious that while the organ can play earlier literature competently, it is music of the French symphonic style in which this instrument feels truly at home. The organ sounded more present in this work due to the presence of the Grand Choeur division’s hooded reeds, which in this reviewer’s opinion must be engaged for the organ’s presence to adequately fill the hall. The organ chamber’s lights were turned on for this piece’s entirety to clever effect, so that the audience could have an excellent view of its pipes and expressive division shutter movements that are located behind the mesh screen. The dynamic volume of the organ’s expressive divisions increased the most when the shutters were opened the first third to half way. Unfortunately, the remaining two-thirds to half of the distance that the shutters moved produced no further dynamic contrast and the movement of some shutters was slightly spasmodic and not completely smooth. Surely, this small post-installation issue will be attended to in the coming months.

Ermend Bonnal’s La vallée du Béhorléguy, au matin from his Paysages euskariens evoked a flood of soft and meditative flute and string sounds; the Pédale 32′ Soubasse provided just the right touch as the work drew to an introspective close. Christie gave an impassioned performance of Jehan Alain’s most famous composition, Litanies, creating truly visceral excitement as he played the work’s final two pages—some of the most difficult in the organ literature. The fervent outpouring of the soul described by Alain on the work’s opening page was tangibly felt. Christie, in turn, delivered the most heartfelt playing of the evening in his own Elégie, a work composed in 2006 and dedicated to his former teachers: Sister Dolorette Recla, FSPA, and Jean Langlais. A plaintive solo flute permeates the work’s opening, and Christie created a truly ethereal effervescence by coupling many of the organ’s string and celeste stops together; the work eventually died into oblivion. The effect was magical. Christie concluded the program with the Final of Alexandre Guilmant’s Sonata No. 1 in D Minor—a piece he frequently performs. However, as was evident in this performance, he never seems to tire of it—his technical prowess was impressive and he yielded an overall exhilarating effect. The audience gave Christie a well-deserved standing ovation, and he responded with an encore—the second movement from the Guilmant Sonata (Pastorale). This piece allowed Christie to demonstrate stops he had not yet featured—the Récit Voix humaine, which beautifully conveyed the French mystical sentiment often associated with this stop. This aura was further heightened by the softly rumbling pedal accompaniment provided by the 32′ Soubasse and other soft pedal stops. The Grand Choeur Cor Anglais, which had not yet been featured in the program, dialogued nicely with the Récit division’s Hautbois with the return of the main theme in the composition’s final section. When all was said and done, the whole program clocked in right at two hours, the audience having been fed a varied feast of music from several countries and historical eras.  

Although the organ sounded more present in the hall during the second half, I still wished for more presence in the room. From where I was sitting in the hall, the sound of completely full organ adequately filled the hall, but even more sound would not have been an unwelcome guest. While the designated star of the evening’s performance was the Julia Irene Kauffman Organ, organist James David Christie deserves equal recognition for the knuckle-busting program he dispatched with such élan, especially considering that he played this recital two times in two days for sold-out audiences. Christie’s performances on the Julia Irene Kauffman Organ represent only one facet of the organ’s mission. The public will experience how this organ functions as both an orchestra member and a solo instrument with orchestra in its future performances with the Kansas City Symphony. 

The benefits that the classical music scene in Kansas City has received from the construction of the Kauffman Center have been immediate and tangible. Kudos are especially in order to Julia Irene Kauffman for her generosity and to John Obetz and the organ committee who lobbied for the organ’s inclusion in Helzberg Hall. The building of any new organ gives organists everywhere cause for celebration; the appearance of the Julia Irene Kauffman Organ is no exception. I have high hopes that Christie’s recital represents the dawning of a new chapter for the pipe organ in the Kansas City music scene that will inspire performers and audiences for years to come. n

 

 

Joseph E. Robinson

Joseph E. Robinson received his B.A. from California State University at Long Beach and his M.A. from Occidental College in Los Angeles. He studied piano with Charles Shepherd, and organ with Clarence Mader, Paul Stroud, and Robert Prichard. He studied choral conducting with Frank Pooler and Howard Swan. During 1970–71 he was an organbuilding apprentice with the Schlicker Organ Co. under the direction of Herman Schlicker. He was organist at the University United Methodist Church in Buffalo, New York, and later St. James’ United Methodist Church in Pasadena, California. Now a retired business systems analyst, he is currently organist for the Mission Lake Ward, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. His interest in pipe organs and their music was sparked years ago when, as a sixth grade student, his class was taken on a field trip to a recital on the Mormon Tabernacle Organ. He has been married 35 years to his wife Pat, who has given her support for the large pipe organ in their home. One day during construction Pat said, “You need help, and I have found just the help you need—G. Donald Harrison.” She had found a golden retriever named Harrison on a rescue site. Harrison is now a happy member of the family.

 

I meet Herman Schlicker  

After completing a master’s degree, I talked over options with my teacher, Robert Prichard. Since I was very interested in all things related to pipe organs, a career in organbuilding looked promising. Mr. Prichard was well acquainted with Herman Schlicker, and broached the subject of my joining his firm as an apprentice. Schlicker was not interested. He said that the best apprentices come right out of high school and he had bad luck with those who had master’s degrees.   

Herr Schlicker flew to Southern California on business, and so it was arranged that while he was here I would be his chauffeur. One stop that I remember was at what is now the Crystal Cathedral. Their first building contained a small Wicks organ, which was to be replaced with a substantial instrument. Schlicker was among the contenders. At another stop, I was disgusted with the way they treated Mr. Schlicker—didn’t they realize they were talking with a great man?

After our final stop, Schlicker said to come on to Buffalo, and I would be their newest apprentice. I drove my red Corvair across the country and rented a room from Mrs. Herbst, who had rented to many a Schlicker apprentice. She asked us to keep our stereo playing of organ music down—it reminded her of her husband’s funeral. 

 

The factory

The factory is described in sales literature from the late 1960s:

 

From a modest beginning, the company has expanded to include 65 persons at the Buffalo factory-office, as well as sales and service representatives throughout the United States. The construction of the present modern factory was begun in 1947, and since that time six additions have been made to the building, giving a total working area of over 36,000 square feet, and including a spacious erecting room. 

 

That there was no master plan for this expansion from the beginning was obvious. For example, there was a large room devoted to lumber, that in most respects functioned well. However, there was no loading dock, or even a door to the outside. When a lumber truck came, Herr Friedrich (foreman) would announce “LUMBER!” and we would all drop what we were doing and rush to the truck to unload the lumber piece by piece and feed them through a window in the lumber room. On a cold winter day, that was a very unpleasant task.

 

Factory tours

Occasionally music committees or groups of organists would tour the factory. I was among those selected to conduct the tours. At first I would meet visitors at the door and then physically take them through the building, saying this is where we do this, and this is where we do that. Then I witnessed a tour led by Manuel Rosales, who was then at Schlicker Organ Co. He started at the melting pot in the pipe shop, went step by step in the construction of an organ, ending in the erecting room. Even though there was some crisscrossing in that method, it explained the organbuilding process better, and I changed my approach accordingly.  

 

Organization chart

When Schlicker described the apprentice position to me, he said that I would work in all aspects of organbuilding and eventually be able to do any task. In fact, his factory was full of workers that could do any task. He was proud of that. So, organization was simple: Herman Schlicker, President; Ken List, Vice President; Herr Friedrich, Foreman; organ builders, and apprentice, with a few exceptions such as the accountant. In practice, however, people would tend to gravitate to that which they did best. Take Don Bohall, for example. In many organizations, he would be referred to as Service Manager. He could quickly diagnose and fix problems, clearly the best man to call if an organ under the ten-year warranty experienced an unexpected malfunction. I asked Don how he managed to be exempt from the lumber calls. He told me that after I had been there a few years and made myself valuable in a particular operation I could announce that I was no longer going to do lumber. But I would have to be sure I was valuable enough. Some who tried that too soon were no longer doing lumber or anything else at the firm.  

 

Apprentice duties

The apprentice program at Schlicker’s was more typical of the German apprentice system than what we are used to in the USA. The view at the Schlicker Organ Company was: we pay you for this time and so you do whatever we ask of you, be it sweeping, cleaning messes, painting walls, or shoveling snow! So this, I thought, is why people who have worked so hard for a master’s degree don’t like it here. I was told a story of one such, who after driving from California worked one day, got in his car and drove back home. One unhappy apprentice had given the place a nickname “Stalag 15-30” [the address was 1530 Military Road]. Stories of this nature were a kind of unofficial initiation exam. 

 

Information on a need-to-know basis

At graduate school, you are filled with information and encouraged to ask questions and find answers. There were many things I wanted to know. For example, on most three-manual Schlicker organs, the pedal contains a unit 16–8 principal rank, but the 16 and 8-foot stopped flutes are always separate ranks. How come? I learned that awhile before my arrival, some former employees had stolen plans, records, scalings, and materials—everything they needed to make copies of Schlicker organs. So Mr. Schlicker was now cautious in sharing information, and an apprentice is at the bottom of the totem pole in need-to-know. 

I got my lecture in Schlicker organ design in a most unexpected way. One holiday season, there was in the factory a 32′ Bombarde, which was to be placed in an organ previously finished with that stop prepared for. Schlicker had placed a small two-rank unit organ in a Buffalo bank for publicity purposes. Since I could play, I was assigned to play Christmas music on the little organ while the bank was open. One day after the bank closed, I returned to the factory, where I was greeted by Ken List. Ken said, “So how is Merry Christmas on the Gedeckt?” I responded, “Well, it’s OK, but that little organ really lacks a proper foundation. Too bad we could not have hooked up that 32′ Bombarde with it.”  

Schlicker overheard the conversation, and while I thought anyone would recognize that I was being outlandishly facetious, Schlicker thought I was serious that the third rank in an organ should be a 32′ Bombarde. “You are there representing the Schlicker Organ Company,” he said. “You know nothing. A lot has to happen in an organ before you include a 32′ Bombarde.” So I heard all about small to medium to large organs in a very informative lecture, though I could have done without the frequent “You know nothing” comments.  

 

A wiring error

An electro-pneumatic organ was being set up for testing. There was a testing wiring harness used for such purposes. I said, “I have never done this before; there are surely a lot of wires here.” I was told, “There is nothing to it, just start here at the end, and take each wire in sequence.” So I did, but it was the wrong end. Final result was that low C sounded from the highest note on the keyboard and vice versa. I started to play a hymn. “What on earth are you doing?” “I thought I might never again have the opportunity to hear music inverted and wanted to see what it sounds like.” “You idiot, why don’t you just broadcast to the world what a fool you are!” So I stopped abruptly. Fortunately this was the testing wiring harness and not the organ’s permanent wiring.

 

A bright and dim bulb

Sometimes my education was of use. When something unusual came along, such as “What the heck is an 8/9 None?,” I would know the answer. There was a fine older gentleman, whose name I unfortunately no longer remember, who was in charge of Schlicker consoles. He would review with me console layouts, controls, order of stops, etc. He said, “You know much more than those guys. You should be recognized for your knowledge and taken off the lumber run.” Obviously I liked him. On the other hand, as the wiring example shows, in construction matters I was a rookie. One day I was assigned to a task and heard rumblings, “I don’t know why they assigned HIM this task. HE doesn’t even know how to use a HAM-MER.” The speaker usually got this task. Since in this case it was an overtime task, I was robbing him of time-and-a-half pay. Welcome to the world of office politics. I did not like it, and was a rookie there as well. Fortunately for future employment I learned 1) never be cruel to someone and 2) never be the company scapegoat. 

 

Organ pipes

Most flue pipes were manufactured in the pipe shop. Reed pipes built to Schlicker specifications were imported from Europe. For flue pipes it was considered that for the vast majority of cases, such things as tuning scrolls, pipe slotting, and tuning collars were detrimental. Take tuning collars, for example. A tuning collar means that at the top of the pipe there is a sudden increase in scale. On bass pipes that were nearly cut to length, the effect is minimal. But on treble pipes, the distortion of pipe shape is considerable. Thus Schlicker organs had pipes cut to length and were cone tuned. This practice was one reason why Schlicker mixtures had outstanding cohesion with the principal chorus.  

 

The Schlicker sound

Open-toe voicing, low wind pressure, low cutups, etc. are only part of the story. It is well known that some Aeolian-Skinner contracts, such as the Mormon Tabernacle and Grace Cathedral, specified that G. Donald Harrison do the final voicing. It is the artist who does the finishing that gives an organ its distinctive sound; thus organs of the same manufacturer may sound different depending upon who does the finishing. At the Schlicker Company, we had two superb voicers who finished at least the more important instruments. Wally Guzowski voiced with a bold, fresh, exciting sound. I decided that someday I would like him to voice my residence organ when I could afford such. Louis Rothenberger Jr. had a more elegant, refined sound. [We always specified the Jr. because LR senior had also been a voicer.] 

They were aware that their styles were different, and Wally told me that they worked together to try and make a uniform result. There should be a specific sound quality associated with the brand. These men produced some instruments of distinction. As voicers, they would physically adjust pipes. As finishers in the final location, they would sit at the console, playing through a rank of pipes, pick a note and shout a command to someone like me in the pipes: “Lower the languid,” “Pull the upper lip forward,” “Narrow the windway,” “Increase the cutup,” and so forth.

 

Deterioration of the Schlicker sound 

As years have passed, I have noticed that some of my favorite instruments no longer have the magic they possessed when they were new. More is involved than just my ears getting older; recordings of the original instruments captured the magic. Here is what I think may have happened. Schlicker instruments were cone tuned and were very stable in tuning within themselves, but the whole instrument goes flat in winter and sharp in summer.

Take a fictitious organ service man Sam Cifodelance, for example. Sam gets a customer who has a Schlicker organ. He orders some tuning cones from a supply house. In winter, when the organ goes flat, he pounds the pipes with the pointed end of the tuning cones to bring the pitch up to A440. In summer, he pounds the pipes with the other end to bring the pipes down to A440. Over time this attention alters pipe mouth dimensions slightly, and what was an outstanding sound becomes an ordinary sound. 

This theory is an educated guess, but I do know that who does the servicing makes a huge difference, is a concern of organbuilders, and improper servicing deteriorates an organ’s sound. It saddens me that some of my favorite instruments have deteriorated. 

 

Schlicker’s bias

Bad for Aeolian-Skinner, but providential for Herman Schlicker was the rise in popularity of the Orgelbewegung. With his strong German accent and experience in German organbuilding, he was in an ideal place to be the foremost American builder in that style. I discussed with Schlicker a trip to Europe I was going to take. We went through the German instruments I was going to see. “Yah, you must see that,” he would say. For Holland, “There are some good things there.” For France, “A waste of time.”  

 

The good consultants

One of the first things you do as an apprentice is to rack pipes on a windchest. Here were some pipes that looked like a double row of little milk cans with their lids soldered on top. This experimental rank had been specified by Paul Manz. Louie Rothenberger Jr. was having a very difficult time getting the pipes to speak at all. I made the comment, “I don’t see why we need organ consultants at all. A church should just choose a builder and let their expertise do the job.” Louie responded, “You are new here. You will eventually have the opportunity to visit many organs. When you do, compare those that were built under consultants such as Paul Manz, your teacher Clarence Mader, Paul Bunjes, E. Power Biggs and so forth, with those that had no consultant. I think you will find that our best organs had consultants such as these.” He was right!

When I was at Occidental College, I played among other things French Romantic organ music that I liked. I commented to my teacher Clarence Mader how well the Schlicker played that music. He replied, “Yes, you need French reeds to play that music and I requested that Schlicker include them in the Swell One division.” I bring this up because on his own, Herman Schlicker would not have given the Swell One division a French flavor. Somehow they managed to do that and yet have it integrate beautifully with the rest of the instrument, resulting in far greater versatility. The very best instruments somehow achieved a result of being more than the sum of their parts, a joy to play and to hear. 

 

The not-so-good consultants

These are the ones who think they know more about organbuilding than the organbuilder, specifying scales, wind pressures, mouth widths, voicing techniques and so forth. One such organ had so many conditions that the final result did not have the distinctive Schlicker sound. Herman Schlicker summed it up thus: “It might as well have been built by ———.” [I don’t know if ——— would want to claim it either.]

In finishing an organ, Wally Guzowski explained to me, “You have to be very diplomatic with the organists. When they tell you what they want, smile and nod your head like you agree with them.  When they are gone, disregard everything they said. Organists know nothing about organ finishing.” A quite common occurrence in finishing an organ would be the arrival of the organist with some last requests for what was going to be his instrument. At that time, it is too late. A successful finishing process brings out the maximum beauty a pipe was designed to give. An organist’s request to now make a German Principal more like a French Montre, for example, robs the instrument of its potential. That decision should have been made long before.¹

 

Insubordination

I was given two rules, which probably came about due to prior difficulties with employees who were also organists: 1) When you are on an assignment do not play the organ, even during a break or after you are done. Customers are charged by the hour and we don’t want them to think they are paying for you to play the organ. 2) Because you may be called at any time to travel, do not accept a church organist position. It is not fair to the company, the church, or yourself. Rule 1 was difficult to manage; we worked on some beautiful instruments. But I did manage this rule in spite of working on some instruments I longed to play. 

 After arriving in Buffalo, each Sunday I visited various churches to see and hear organs and get a feeling of that particular church. One Sunday, I visited the University United Methodist Church. While certainly not the finest organ in town, the people were very friendly and when they discovered that I was from California and knew no one in town, they invited me to meals and made me feel at home and said, “You have friends here.” Shortly thereafter their organist moved away. “Do you play, Joe? Would you mind substituting for a while till we find a permanent organist?” A few Sundays later, “We want you to be our organist.” “Impossible—I can be called out of town at any time without notice.” “We can have someone fill in on the piano when that happens. Please be our organist.” It seemed like this would work; they knew I would leave without notice when Schlicker called. I would fulfill my obligation to him, and what he did not know would not hurt anyone. This happy arrangement continued for many months. 

I have a couple theories of how Ken List found out about this arrangement. “Joe, you have to tell Schlicker.” I dreaded that conversation, but I was caught, so I set up a time to meet with him. Schlicker told me he understood after all the time I had put into learning to play the organ that I would not want to just let the talent die. So he instructed me to resign and he would arrange for me to have practice time at his church, which had a very nice organ. As a naive young person, I thought as long as I can do my job, he has no business telling me what I can and can’t do on my own time. And there were many around me who encouraged that thinking. Perhaps more than the mundane tasks, this kind of thing is the reason Schlicker had trouble with master’s degree organists. In subsequent employment ‘my own time’ would be redefined by being on call 24/7 with aids such as beepers and later, cell phones. One boss would even follow me into a restroom stall. So now I see that Schlicker was at least trying to meet me half way. 

 

Money

Perhaps because organs are very expensive instruments, money is a problem in organbuilding. Herman Schlicker was a master of finance. We did not look forward to his daily rounds at the factory. “Robinson, why don’t you gold-plate it while you are at it?” That comment translates to the work is very good, but your progress is too slow and we can’t afford it. So I would speed up. Then, “Robinson, what is this? It will never do! The Schlicker organ is a quality instrument.” While making us employees stressed out during his rounds, he did achieve the right balance, getting us to do good work with enough production speed to be cost effective and keep the firm in business. After he died, that balance was lost and the firm eventually went bankrupt, as have far too many organbuilding firms.²

As an apprentice I made very little. One day I got an unexpected raise. Congress had just passed an increase in the minimum wage, and the salary I was making was below the new minimum. Schlicker added an extra five cents an hour because he did not want to be seen as paying minimum wage. As an apprentice, I rented a room. Most full-fledged organbuilders lived in apartments. I wanted to live in a house in the suburbs and I did not see that happening at any time in the future if I stayed on my current path. Many things I loved about organbuilding—your part in making a thing of beauty. But there were other important things to me that were either denied or out of reach. So my house in the suburbs was financed by leaving organbuilding and becoming a business systems analyst. And I am quite happy with my self-built 22-rank residence organ. Unfortunately, lack of space in my residence made it impossible for the third rank to be a 32′ Bombarde.

 

The author wishes to thank Justin Matters for permission to use the photographs of Schlicker organs.