Guilmant Symposium Celebrates Centennial of Organ at 1904 World's Fair

The Holtkamp Organ at the University of New Mexico

Arlene DeYoung Ward

A native of Los Angeles, Arlene DeYoung Ward is currently coordinator of the piano lab and the piano proficiency program, and teaches organ along with John Clark at the University of New Mexico, Department of Music. Ms. Ward is a veteran of more than 100 solo organ and harpsichord recitals, including the complete works of J. S. Bach. In addition, she has published articles in both The American Organist and The Diapason on the subject of the Orgelbewegung. Most recently, she has completed two CDs, featuring music of J. S. Bach and organ music of Spain and Spanish America. Current recordings in progress are Music for Flute and Organ, with flautist Laura Dwyer, and Nineteenth Century Masterworks for the Organ. Ms. Ward has been a featured organ concerto soloist with both the Symphony Orchestra of Albuquerque and the Los Alamos Sinfonietta, has been heard nationally on The Pacifica Foundation Network as soloist in the American Guild of Organists (Los Angeles Chapter) 20th-century organ music series, and has toured in Oulskapar, The Netherlands, and Darmstadt-Eberstadt and Hamburg, Germany.

“Most of what I have learned about organs has come from working on organs or from observing organs. But I have had two principal teachers. The first was John Swinford of Redwood City, California. He taught me about organ tone. The second was Walter Holtkamp, Sr. He taught me that an organ should be articulate above everything else. And he did a fair job of teaching this lesson to the country as a whole.”--Charles Fisk1

“Someday people will realize that the organ is a keyboard instrument and not just a big vat of sound.”

--Walter Holtkamp, Sr., 19542

Any discussion of organs designed by Walter Holtkamp, Sr., must begin with the profound influence of the Orgelbewegung (Organ Renewal) movement in Germany during the first three decades of the twentieth century, as well as its French manifestations with Nadia Boulanger. The Orgelbewegung strongly influenced the work of Walter Holtkamp. One of Holtkamp’s organs, designed shortly before his death in 1962, resides in Keller Hall at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and is the organ featured and pictured in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (2001), Volume 18, page 635.3

But before we trace the history of this instrument, its visual impact and articulate good sound, here follows a history of the movement that inspired its creation.

The Orgelbewegung (Organ Renewal) Movement

The portrayal of 20th-century church music’s regeneration, effected primarily in Germany in the 1920s, should be viewed only as an attempt to trace the outlines of an age which justifiably has been called “the Renaissance of church music” (O. Sohngen). As the Renaissance of Humanism stood upon the shoulders of its predecessors, so does this newest epoch of Protestant church music have its roots in the past. Consequently, we are obliged to shed light upon the diverse historical determinants and principal features in the development of the “Renaissance,” whose influence extends to the present and perhaps even into the future. The rebirth owes a great deal more to the hymnologists, liturgists, restorers of church music, and liturgical reformers in musicology, as well as to one or another 19th-century creative musician, than was immediately apparent to the new generation around 1930.4

--Adam Adrio

The various trends and movements that characterize the music of the 20th century are usually considered under the heading of New Music.5 New Music may perhaps be regarded simply as anti-Romanticism. One group particularly known is Les Six in France, a group that formed a front against the romantic concept of things artistic. Another manifestation is the movement generally known as neo-Classicism. Although Ferruccio Busoni is usually considered its prime mover,6 neo-Classicism experienced its real beginnings with Igor Stravinsky in his Octet for Wind Instruments (1923). Perhaps the chief exponent of neo-Classicism was Paul Hindemith, with his mastery of contrapuntal technique. Heinrich Strobel, a major biographer of Hindemith, shows the affinity of the neo-Classical movement to the aims of Les Six.7 [Briefly summarized, neo-Classical works exhibit a kinship with Bach and earlier composers through the consistent use of contrapuntal texture and imitative procedures; a decided preference for motor rhythms; the choice of comparatively short themes with sharply defined rhythms; the reduction of orchestral resources and color; and the rejection of the idea of program music. Thus, compactness and structural clarity are principal aims of neo-Classicism.]

Since it came into being at about the same time as neo-Classicism, exhibits a similar reaction to the excesses of the 19th century, and shares its retrospective nature, the German “Renaissance of church music” and within it the Orgelbewegung8 must be regarded as parallel movements within a more limited sphere. Rochus von Liliencron stated in 1900: “The New . . . can be discovered only through reverent contact with the old church art of the 16th century and the Protestant of the 18th; but for the purpose of permeating the music to today with the exalted, genuinely religious spirit of the old art, rather than of imitating it insensitively.”9 The Orgelbewegung, then, was primarily a reaction against the Klangideal of the 19th-century organ, a return to the organ music of the Baroque masters, and a renewal of interest in polyphony and the organ as a vehicle for compositional activity.10

Albert Schweitzer, in his 1906 essay “Deutsche und franzosische Orgelbaukunst und Orgelkunst,”11 favored a reform in organ construction to make available an organ that would be more compatible to the works of J. S. Bach and his predecessors. As history often has a habit of doing, the political turmoil in Europe culminating in World War I prevented the idea of reform in organ building until the 1920s. A major step in the direction of the Orgelbewegung was taken when Willibald Gurlitt, together with the organbuilder Oskar Walcker, undertook the construction of the Praetorius-Orgel in 1921 at the University of Freiburg in Breisgau. This instrument was constructed according to the specifications which Praetorius set down in his Syntagma Musicum II:  Organographia (1619).12 In the aftermath of the Praetorius-Orgel, a number of other old organs in Germany were discovered, including those built by Arp Schnitger (Jakobi-Orgel, Hamburg, 1688-1692) and the Silbermann-Orgel in Freiburg.

Beginning in 1925, several organ conferences were held in Germany, with the purpose of clarifying the direction of the Orgelbewegung for organbuilders. As Friedrich Hogner has suggested, however, the effect of these would have been lost if they had ended with a mere revival of the classical organ masters, important as that was, and had not operated as a fruitful stimulus to contemporary composers.13 The French were not only aware of the efforts of their German neighbors; beginning in the middle of the 19th century they had experienced their own renewal of composition, organbuilding and, through the Lemmens school, brilliant technique. Nadia Boulanger (1887-1979), arguably the most influential teacher of composition of the 20th century, was not only aware of the efforts of the Orgelbewegung, she became deeply involved in it. An organist herself, Boulanger was an organ recitalist of considerable fame as well as a composer and one of the first professional female conductors. An important figure in American musical life as well, she toured the country as an organist in 1925, giving the premiere of Copland’s Symphony for Organ and Orchestra,14 and lived here during World War II, conducting the Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra and New York Philharmonic, and teaching at Wellesley, Radcliffe and Juilliard.15

The Holtkamp Family--Early Works

In the United States, wave after wave of German immigrants arrived during the second half of the 19th century, settling through the American Midwest with especially large communities in the Dakotas, the Texas hill country and the Ohio River valley. For generations they remained faithful to their religious heritage, language and customs. In fact, during the 19th century, so many new Americans spoke German rather than English that German almost became the official language in several areas, losing, for example, by only one vote in the Texas legislature as the language of that state.

Several members of the Holtkamp family emigrated from Ladbergen, Westfalen, Germany to the United Stated in the 1850s and 1860s. Heinrich Herman Holtkamp settled in Illinois;16 Heinrich Wilhelm and his brother came to New Knoxville, Ohio. The latter Heinrich Holtkamp and his wife Mary produced eight children, and it is their son Herman Heinrich “Henry” Holtkamp (d. 1932) who was the first organbuilder in the family.17

The Holtkamp Organ Company traces its lineage back to 1855, when G. F. Votteler established a shop in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1903, the first organbuilding Holtkamp, Herman Heinrich “Henry,” moved to Cleveland to join the then retiring Henry Votteler. Briefly named the Votteler-Holtkamp-Sparling Company, control of the firm eventually passed to Herman’s son, Walter Holtkamp (1894-1962), in 1931.18

The young organbuilder Walter had already been profoundly influenced through contact with musicians who had in turn been inspired by their teacher, Nadia Boulanger. Chris Holtkamp, in a phone interview, spoke of his grandfather’s musician friends who had worked with Boulanger. Exposing her students to the real literature of the French and German Baroque and the new ideas about organbuilding, these young organists and composers returned from Paris, sought out Walter Holtkamp and encouraged him to “look into this,”19 and a new era of organ building in the U.S. began. Although of German descent, Walter Holtkamp, Sr. had never attended any of the famous Orgelbewegung conferences in Hamburg or Freiburg, but learned about the new movement and its “sound ideal” through his French connections.

After 1918 and the end of WWI, the American economy was experiencing a “boom” cycle in the decade referred to as the “Roaring Twenties.” “The craze for ever-larger, more opulent organs, filled with luxury stops designed to tickle the ear, and conceived as one-man symphony orchestras, seemed to take over. The competition was on for possession of the largest and most extravagant instrument. The pipes of these organs were then buried in chambers out of sight, sometimes behind heavy curtains or carvings. This development tended to lose sight of the classical nature, its functional character, its . . . dignified tradition.” In addition, American organists tended to play transcriptions of symphonies in their recitals, to a great degree ignoring the great literature composed for their instrument in previous centuries.20

Walter Holtkamp, now strongly influenced by the new ideas and rediscovery of early music, advocated several seemingly radical notions: Pipes, he said, should be out in the open, clearly visible to the eye. To bury them in “chamber-tombs” is like asking a violinist to play from a closet backstage with the door closed, “like trying to woo a lady by correspondence,” he said. With pipes displayed in the open, fewer would be needed. Holtkamp’s success in obtaining very open positions for his organs gave them a presence and spontaneity that made him famous. So he insisted on smaller, leaner instruments, carefully designed to make each rank distinctive in its own right but essential to the total ensemble of tone--as his German contemporaries called it, the Werk-Orgel. Moreover, he demanded the highest quality materials and workmanship. The metal pipes were to have a high content of pure tin, the ivory on the keys was to be thick-cut and heavy, as ivory absorbs perspiration while other materials allow moisture to collect in puddles, to the distress of the player. (It is duly noted that it is now illegal to import pure ivory into the U.S.)

In 1933, Walter Holtkamp addressed the American Guild of Organists and the Association of Pipe Organ Builders with a pronouncement that is regarded as the starting point for a return to integrity in organ design in the U.S. He said, “The watchword should be smaller organs of finer quality, in advantageous positions. They are more of a pleasure to build and certainly more of a pleasure to listen to. The mammoth thing may satisfy the ego of the purchaser, but it sins against all the dictates of good taste and the laws of musical sound.”21

Following the philosophy of the early Orgelbewegung and the ideas of Boulanger and her disciples, Walter Holtkamp first designed several portativ organs for use in smaller church buildings--a vision for a rich, authentic pipe organ sound at a price that could compete with the newly-emerging electronic organ. The result was a totally self-contained, single-manual, three-stop pipe organ. Holtkamp said that the portativ organ was typical of his urge to natural, functional expression. Besides adapting the pipe organ to the smaller setting, the early portativs incorporated design features that were to become hallmarks of even the largest Holtkamp organs.

In several early Holtkamps, tracker key action was used (this was by no means the only action for later organs). Most important, however, was the placement of the organ pipes within the space where they would be heard, rather than in rooms or chambers adjacent. Only about a dozen of these early Holtkamp portativs were built; several, though, are still in use and can be seen and/or heard at the Smithsonian Institution, the Cleveland Museum of Art and (still in constant church use) at Faith Lutheran Church, Jacksonville, Illinois. This latter instrument has been recently enlarged by  Chris Holtkamp, who saw to it that the visual design of the new pipes complemented the design of the existing, that the woods and finishes of the cabinetry were carefully matched, and the integrity of the original portativ was not compromised.22

As the Holtkamp Organ Company became ever more famous, another surge of organbuilding came after the Second World War. This time, colleges and universities around the country were demanding high quality organs. The upsurge in serious historical musicology in the 1950s and ‘60s would result in many institutions of higher learning greatly desiring organs that brought to life the excitement of the early music so avidly being rediscovered, and which could, in addition, do justice to new music as well. Among those institutions with funds newly available to achieve these goals were such prestigious schools as Amherst, UC, Emory, Furman, Hollins, Indiana, Juilliard, MIT, Northwestern, Oberlin, Ohio Wesleyan, Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, Salem, Sweet Briar, Syracuse, Wellesley, Yale and Duke.23 Is it any wonder that the University of New Mexico should desire the same for their new performing arts complex of several halls?

The University of New Mexico and its Holtkamp Organ

Following World War II, universities around the country were again booming, along with the economy. UNM was certainly no exception, as students poured in. For a time, the various departments in Fine Arts were scattered around campus. By the middle 1950s Tom Popejoy, President of the University from 1948-1968, Edwin Stein, Dean of the College of Fine Arts, and Joe Blankenship, Chairman of the Music Department, had determined that the university needed a true Center for the Arts, with several performing and exhibit halls, rehearsal halls, an art museum, classrooms, libraries, faculty offices--in fact, everything that a first class university should have. Even more astonishing to those of us working in universities today, there were funds available to make all of this happen, and fairly quickly: a 2000-seat auditorium (Popejoy Hall) and a 324-seat Recital Hall (later named Keller Hall in memory of Walter Keller, Music Department Chair (1967-70). Any music or art department needs seem to have been funded within the 10-year period that the Center for the Arts was conceived and built. This included a fine organ for the Recital (or Keller) Hall, with 51 ranks and 2,471 pipes.24

At a time when university music departments across the country were sharing the excitement of musicological research and the rediscovery of neo-Baroque organbuilding principles, this was a rare opportunity for a brilliant builder, Walter Holtkamp, to work together with the architect Edward Holien and acousticians Bolt, Baranek and Newman, to build what was considered to be the very best possible marriage of instrument and building--a contrast to the problems innate in building an organ for an already existing space.

Accordingly, Edwin Stein contacted Walter Holtkamp in March 1960; Holtkamp was retained as the designer of the organ in January 1961 and completed the design between January and April, 1961. Several other organs were at various stages of design and building during this same time, and a comparison of their specifications shows where Walter Holtkamp’s creative energies had taken him. Tragically, Walter Holtkamp died in February of 1962, at the relatively young age of 68, while still realizing his considerable creative powers. Organs conceived during the late period in addition to the one for UNM included St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota, Lakewood Presbyterian Church, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Mountain Brook, Alabama, the Unitarian Church in Arlington, Virginia,25 and Westwood Lutheran Church in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.

This final project was another opportunity to work with the architects (Sovik, Mather and Madsen) and once again with the acoustical engineering firm of Bolt, Baranek and Newman. The organ at St. John’s Abbey was the last large contract, completed in November, 1961, before Walter Holtkamp’s death.26 St. John’s organ was placed in a monastically austere, not to mention large, church, and the brothers felt that the organ might be dwarfed by the scale of the room. Never conceived for concert use, but rather to serve the monastic community at prayer, the pipes were placed behind a red cloth screen, acoustically transparent, chosen primarily for architectural considerations. The brothers at St. John’s Abbey consider this organ to be Walter Holtkamp Sr.’s magnum opus. One should comment, however, that the Holtkamp at St. John’s was first played by the great Flor Peeters at its inaugural.27 It is most useful, now, to compare the specifications of this sister organ with the one in Keller Hall at UNM--only slightly smaller, but in this instance, one meant to be played in concert and to be seen.

At this point in the creation of the organ in Keller Hall at UNM, some construction delays occurred, and the organ was not completed until December of 1967. St. John’s was indeed the final opus totally designed and installed by Walter Holtkamp, Sr. These last half dozen or so organs designed by Holtkamp were then completed by his son, Walter Holtkamp, Jr., who insured the integrity of his father’s design. Another important figure, then, in this installation at UNM came to be the new Department Chair, Walter Keller, who was a keyboardist (harpsichord, piano and organ) and musicologist of some note. Thus there was a virtual guarantee that the vision of those 20th-century builders of the Orgelbewegung would come to fruition at UNM.28

Our Holtkamp in Keller Hall was inaugurated in grand fashion, with a conference and series of lectures by the composer-author William Schuman. The inaugural recitals in what was then called Recital Hall, now Keller Hall, were given in February and March, 1968. Featured artists were Catharine Crozier, Wesley Selby and the UNM choirs, brass and string orchestra together with Wes Selby.29 The original recordings of those programs are now available on CD, thanks to recording engineer Manny Rettinger (UBIK Sound).

I am pleased to report that our newest generation of young students, particularly those in our Music Appreciation courses (more than 1,000 of them in several sections!), really love our Holtkamp organ. It is exciting to me as both teacher and performer to have a full house of excited 18-year-old students come to organ recitals--our new audience of the future for the next generation of concert organists.

The Holtkamp at UNM is in marvelous condition, helped by the temperature control designed into the building and the commitment of the Music Department to preserve the organ with the help of the Mountain States firm for tuning and maintenance. It has been continuously played since its installation, by numerous students of Wes Selby and Wes Selby himself, now Professor Emeritus of Organ and Theory, as well as numerous guest artists over the years, organ instructor Edwina Beard, and by myself. With our excellent recording system in the hall, new CDs continue to be made with this instrument. The author is grateful to Wes for his oral history and contributions to this article. It is Wes’s picture that accompanies this article, playing the instrument in its, and his, early days at UNM. The author is also grateful for the extensive interviews and oral history contributions by Professor Emeritus Dr. William Seymour.

John Bishop

Size matters

We’re fascinated by superlatives. We admire great engineering feats and geographical marvels, and we are skeptical of fallacious claims. When a family restaurant advertises “the world’s largest ice cream sundae,” we expect something big but we doubt whether the claim is true. I went to  and saw a video of someone named Higgenbotham jumping off an eight-meter platform into an 18-inch deep pool of water, setting a new record. Pretty silly, but he did it in front of a huge audience and stood right up waving his fists. He must have been very proud.
Hammacher-Schlemmer claims to be selling the World’s Largest Crossword Puzzle. According to their on-line catalogue, it “hangs on a full seven feet by seven feet of wall space and has 28,000 clues for over 91,000 squares . . . a 100-page clue book, with no repeats, provides the hints.” (“Comes with a storage box.”)
Until I started writing today, I thought that the Grand Canyon of the Colorado River was the largest canyon in the world. It’s as much as 8,799 feet deep (that’s 1.66 miles) and almost 275 miles long. But when I Googled® “world’s largest canyon” I learned about the Great Canyon of the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) River in the Himalayas of Tibet, which has a maximum depth of more than 17,500 feet (3.3 miles) and is more than 308 miles long. It’s located in a very remote area forbidden to foreign travelers, and has apparently been revealed only recently to the rest of the world.
The world’s largest city is Bombay where the population was 12,778,721 in 2005. That’s larger than the entire country of Zimbabwe (12,671,860). New York City is number eight with 8,143,197 residents in 2005.
The Nile is the longest river in the world with a total length of 4160 miles. While the Amazon is second longest (4049 miles), it’s the largest in volume, discharging something like seven million cubic feet of water into the ocean every second.
I looked up tallest buildings and found an argument about whether or not antennas should be counted (Sears Tower in Chicago if you don’t, Taipei 101 in Taipei if you do). What a time-sink is Guinness! (Get back to your writing.)
We brag about our pipe organs by citing statistics: “It has 20 reeds.” “It has three 32's.” “It has three 8' Opens on the Great.” But let’s be careful. In the organ world (or elsewhere in the world of the arts), bigger is not necessarily better. Most of us have generally known that the Midmer-Losh organ in the Convention Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, is the largest in the world, but we also know that it’s not playable, and when we read more carefully we find that some experts believe that the entire specification has never been playable at once. One legend says that the early staff of the organbuilding workshop at the Wanamaker Store in Philadelphia claimed that the Atlantic City organ was never finished.1 Small wonder that they would want to make such a claim—they were involved in building what they believed would be the world’s largest organ.
As with skyscrapers, it turns out that it depends how you count. Here is what seems to be current and definitive regarding the dimensions of the largest pipe organ in the world:

Atlantic City       Wanamaker’s
Ranks    452            469
Pipes   33,112       30,067
Weight (tons) 150    2872

It’s easy to guess why the Atlantic City organ has more pipes but fewer ranks—the bottom three of seven keyboards have 88 notes! Wanamaker’s has the edge by 17 ranks, but where did the extra 137 tons come from? (I imagine that the same person who figured out the weight of these organs also did the numbers for the cubic capacity of the Amazon.) (See Photo 1, The Grand Court.)

The customer is always right

John Wanamaker was the personification of the classic American success story. He attended school through the age of 13 and opened his first store in Philadelphia at the age of 22. His stores grew progressively larger as he introduced retail policies that are central to the industry today. Wanamaker was among the first to offer guarantees, refunds, and fixed prices; he introduced the first restaurant in a store, and was a pioneer in the use of newspaper advertising for retailing, including the first full-page newspaper ad.3
The unprecedented opulence of the Wanamaker stores in both Philadelphia and New York allowed customers to express their personalities as they shopped. The very wealthy were catered to in special ways—those with more modest incomes were made to feel special, and had specialty goods of high quality made available to them as never before.
It was John Wanamaker’s appreciation of beauty that inspired him to include pipe organs in his stores from the very beginning. That appreciation was instilled in his son Rodman whose love of the organ began early in his life. Devout Presbyterians, John Wanamaker was a Sunday school teacher at Philadelphia’s Bethany Presbyterian Church, and young Rodman was the organist. The family’s country home Lindenhurst boasted an important personal art collection and a large two-manual Roosevelt pipe organ, all of which was destroyed in a catastrophic fire in 1907.4
Longtime Grand Court Organist Mary Vogt linked John Wanamaker’s original inspiration for the construction of a truly monumental organ in the Philadelphia store to this fire. He lavished attention on Rodman, his only surviving son, and knew how much the Lindenhurst organ meant to him. The Grand Court organ was therefore offered as consolation to Rodman, and once the project was underway, John Wanamaker deferred to Rodman’s exquisite artistic and musical taste for the fulfillment of the vision that has now provided the world with one of its most important musical instruments.5
The Grand Court of the Wanamaker Store in Philadelphia is an immense space, taller than it is long or wide. America’s major organbuilders were considered for the commissioning of a new organ, but John Wanamaker commented that it would take years to construct a new organ large enough to fill the space, and the financial climate of the time was unstable (the Panic of 1907 was just ending). Then a wonderful opportunity presented itself.
Organbuilder Murray Harris had been chosen to construct a huge concert organ for the St. Louis World’s Fair of 1904. It was planned that after the World’s Fair, the organ would be moved to a new convention hall in Kansas City, Missouri (the initials “KC” were carved in the console’s music rack). The scope of this contract necessitated the building of a larger factory and considerable expansion of the firm’s staff, and the company’s capital was stretched so thin that stockholders were assessed $10 a share to raise needed cash. Their outrage led to the end of Harris’s association with the firm, which was reorganized with company superintendent William Boone Fleming in charge.
The organ was a great success at the World’s Fair, attracting millions of visitors to hear recitals played by the world’s greatest organists, including a landmark series of 40 recitals by French master Alexandre Guilmant. But when the fair was over, both Murray Harris and the Los Angeles Art Organ Company were insolvent. While the organ was being built, in the confusion during the reorganization that resulted in the formation of the latter firm, the contract with officials in Kansas City had never been ratified. It was voided and the organ was placed in storage in St. Louis in default.6
The organ had been in storage for five years before John Wanamaker focused on acquiring it. Finding such an immense organ “ready-made” seemed an ideal solution for the grand space in the Philadelphia store.
Organbuilder George W. Till had worked with Odell in New York for many years. When he left that firm in 1905, he had heard that John Wanamaker was looking for an experienced organbuilder who could also repair and tune player pianos. By the time the Wanamakers were considering the purchase of the St. Louis organ, George Till was well ensconced as the house “organ-man.” Till was dispatched to inspect the organ in storage and was later charged with closing the purchase and arranging for the organ to be shipped to Philadelphia.
While most organbuilders are accustomed to being able to move their instruments in rented trucks, the St. Louis World’s Fair organ filled 11 railroad boxcars. The train left St. Louis on the evening of August 5, 1909. William Fleming was engaged to supervise the installation of the organ. George Till was to be the “tonal man.” From the first times the organ was heard in the store, it was evident that it was inadequate to fill the immense space of the Grand Court with sound. Shortly after its dedication on June 22, 1911, the Wanamaker Organ Shop under the direction of both Till and Fleming was established on the 12th floor of the store. Over the ensuing years the organ was expanded from its original specification of approximately 130 stops to its present gargantuan size.
My source for this historical background is the beautifully produced book Music in the Marketplace written by Ray Biswanger, president and one of the founders of the Friends of the Wanamaker organ. If you are interested in reading the history of this unique organ and the people who built it, funded it, and have played on it, visit  where you can order a copy. (And while you’re at it, join the Friends.) There are dozens of wonderful photographs of the organ, specifications of the Grand Court organ in several stages of its development, and photos of the Grand Court decorated for different festivals and celebrations. On the website, you can also see the schedule of regular performances, hear streamed radio broadcasts, and purchase recordings of the organ by several distinguished artists.

Just the facts, ma’am . . .

Here a few tidbits I single out from the specification that help define for me the scale of the Wanamaker Organ (See Photo 2, The String Division):
The 88-rank String Division includes 58 eight-foot strings, all of 73 notes, all ranks starting on low C. A quick glance shows 34 eight-foot Diapasons on the manuals. The Main Pedal Division has 54 ranks, and only five stops borrowed from the manuals.
Another quick glance shows 82 ranks of reeds. There are altogether seven different ranks at 32' pitch—one of them is a Bourdon with half-length resonators.
More than virtually any other large organ I know, the Wanamaker Organ is a “straight organ.” There is very little borrowing. A large percentage of the manual ranks have 73 notes. And true curiosities such as the two-rank Clarinet in the Swell, the nine-rank chorus of Vox Humanae (recently reconstructed as an independent division!), or the chorus of strings in the String/Orchestral Pedal Organ at 16', 102⁄3', 8', 51⁄3', 4', 22⁄3', 2', 13⁄5', 11⁄3', and 4⁄5' (this division includes two full-length 32's and a total of 19 ranks and 716 pipes) add up to separate the organ from any other in the world. You cannot say it’s the best or largest of its class, because it’s the only organ in its class! (See Photo 3, String/Orchestral Pedal Organ, 32¢ Contra Diaphone and 32' Contra Gamba.)
The six-manual console is as elegant in design and construction as any I’ve seen. There are 692 stop tablets in eleven rows. There are 167 pistons. And under each of the six manuals there are brass slides about three octaves long that operate the expression shutters. The woodworking is exquisite, the materials rich and colorful—a world-class single-class console for a world-class single-class organ. (See Photo 4, Wanamaker console, Peter Conte, organist.)
Maintaining an organ of this scale is a continuous process. It requires all of the usual organbuilding skills, of course, with the addition of extraordinary organizational skills and patience. And how do you go about playing such a thing? One of the things I love about my work is the number of different organs of all sizes, shapes, and descriptions that I get to play. But sitting in front of a console like this is bewildering. And what about funding? Simply and bluntly put, how much does it cost to keep an organ with 82 reeds in any kind of presentable good tune? Remember, this is an organ that is played in public 12 times every week.
The Wanamaker Organ by itself is special enough. It’s a marvel—it’s over the top—it’s indescribable. But in my opinion the real story is the group of people who are gathered around the organ—the organist and his associates, the curator and his colleagues, and the executives and officials of the corporation that now owns the grand store built by John Wanamaker, which has been handed down through several generations of ownership.
The May Company has recently taken control of the Philadelphia Wanamaker store. Their division of Annual and Special Events (think of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade) has assumed responsibility for the organ, by all accounts an exciting and constructive move. A new Wanamaker’s Organ Workshop has been established in the building, and ambitious plans for the further renovation, preservation, and presentation of the organ are in the works. (See announcement, page 3.) To put it simply, the organ is now owned by a corporation that understands its importance as a musical instrument, cares deeply about its place in America’s cultural life, and is committed to maintaining it in the best possible condition.
So consider this column as background, and join me here in the next edition of The Diapason so I can tell you about those wonderful, brilliant, welcoming people who are the modern-day stewards of the world’s grandest organ.

Notes

1. Biswanger, Ray, Music in the Marketplace, Friends of the Wanamaker Organ Press, 1999, p. 241.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid., p. 35.
4. Ibid., p. 47.
5. Ibid., p. 49.
6. Ibid., p. 330.

Malcolm Wechsler

Malcolm Wechsler was born in Da Bronx, but grew up in Stamford, Connecticut, totally unexposed to the sound of a pipe organ, but"taking" piano with a local private teacher. Entering Oberlin College, not Conservatory, in 1953, he studied piano as a college elective withthe late Emil Danenberg. Finally, attending student recitals, he experiencedthe sound of a pipe organ, and a passion developed that has continued over theyears. He became an organ student of Fenner Douglass in 1955. Wechsler enrolled at Juilliard in 1958 for graduate study in organ and church music, with Vernon deTar as his major teacher. He earned a Master of Science degree in organ and church music in 1963. After years of teaching and of church appointments inCanada and the U.S., he is now North American Representative of Mander Organsof London (since 1987), and Director of Music at Trinity Church, Stamford,Connecticut.

The 2003 national convention of the Organ Historical Society took place June 19-26 in South-Central Pennsylvania. It was a long, sometimes grueling week, but without question, a week of many happy surprises: organs, organ music, and organists. And let me not forget the opportunity to meet old friends, and to make new ones. There is nothing quite like an OHS convention, and I will attempt to report on it accurately and with balance.

Grand opening of the convention, Thursday, June 12

Erik Wm. Suter

Mr. Suter holds degrees from Oberlin and Yale, and is organist and associate choirmaster at Washington National Cathedral. His recital took place at St. Paul the Apostle R. C. Church in Annville, Pennsylvania, a building in which organ music looked to be contraindicated, partly thanks to heavy carpeting widely applied! However, the early 20th-century builders knew about building effectively for bad acoustics, and the 1902 E. W. Lane tracker organ proved a gentle but projecting instrument. The wind was pleasantly relaxed. The console is at the left side, and the instrument was restored by R. J. Brunner & Company in 2002. The program: Placare Christe Servulis (from Le Tombeau de Titelouze), Dupré; Prelude & Fugue in G Minor, Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen, Schmücke dich (on a single, beautiful flute), Brahms. The hymn, Schmücke dich (of course), was wonderfully sung and played. Then, Sonata IV, Mendelssohn; Torah Song, Craig Phillips (a very fine piece, toying with dissonances and clusters in a completely intelligible way); next, from Book 1 of Gospel Preludes by William Bolcom, "Just as I am," and "What a friend we have in Jesus"; the Duruflé Prelude on the Epiphany Introit; Adagio and Final (Symphony VI), Widor. This E. W. Lane instrument of 19 stops really does wonderfully well in this quite dry acoustic, but a genuine Cavaillé-Coll it is not, and a sort of heavier, more sustained, compensatory approach might have better suited the Widor. All that notwithstanding, this was a wonderful recital, and a perfect opening to yet another splendid OHS convention!

First full day, Friday, June 20

Agnes Armstong

Friday, June 20, was the first full day of the convention, and it began with a very fine lecture by Frederick Weiser. The topic was Pennsylvania German Culture, a perfect orientation to so much that we would see and hear throughout the week. Then buses took a long journey to Lititz to hear Agnes Armstrong in the Chapel of the Lindenhall School for Girls, the oldest boarding school for girls in the U.S. She played on a 7-rank, 1904 Hook & Hastings, restored (in 1998) by Patrick Murphy, whose ties to the OHS go back a long way, he having been the first E. Power Biggs Fellow.

Agnes Armstrong plays in two churches on Sunday--one of which, St. John's Lutheran in Altamont, New York, has a new French organ by Cabourdin. She has advanced music degrees from SUNY, the College of St. Rose, and New York University, has concertized a great deal, and her CDs are available through the OHS. As for Lititz, where the next three recitals took place, here is a quote from one of the many websites devoted to the place: "Located in the heart of beautiful Lancaster County, Lititz has an eclectic history dating well beyond its founding by Moravian missionaries in 1756. Situated among the rolling hills, quiet streams and lush farmlands of Pennsylvania Dutch Country . . . ." Other than the fact that the four days of rain had begun by now in earnest, this is a wonderful part of the world, and as the week unfolded, we learned also of its organic treasures, and I don't mean vegetables.

Agnes Armstrong played beautifully and sympathetically on wonderful and gentle sounds: Prelude in D, Vogler; Voluntary on a Moravian Hymn, Abraham Ritter (1792-1860); Largo in A-flat, Elizabeth Stirling (1819-1895); Will o' the Wisp (Scherzo-Toccatina), Gordon Balch Nevin; Postludium, Adolph Friedrich Hesse (1808-1863). The program ended with a hymn, as does every recital at these conventions, a moment to be looked forward to and savored: "We who here together are assembled," the tune, Covenant, by Christian Gregor, the words by Christian Renatus von Zinzendorf. What a lovely beginning to a fine first full day.

Robert Barney, the Chapel of the Single Brothers' House

Robert Barney drew the task of playing this tiny and quite delicate Tannenberg from 1793: four manual stops, no pedal. He did battle with it manfully, it having a very difficult and delicate action to play. The stops are 8' Gedackt, 8' Gamba (with 17 basses common with the Gedackt), 4' (Open) Floet (spelled thus), and a 2' Principal, lower 29 pipes in the façade. It is all very gentle, and in the first piece, Voluntary in G of Purcell, the clattering of the action nearly drowned out the music! Then followed a Pachelbel Choralthema in D Major with eight variations on the tune Alle Menschen müssen sterben. To me, the pleasures of the hymn singing we do at these conventions are greatly enhanced when we can sing in harmony, as we did this day. The tune is Gregor, in honor of Christian Gregor, who wrote the words "My portion is the Lord." The anonymous tune is from the Choral Buch of the Hernnhut Moravian community in Germany. The program offered next Will o' the Wisp of Nevin (Robert announced what we had all guessed, that this piece, not part of his plan at all, slipped into the book in mysterious ways, obviously from Agnes Armstrong's program just before); then Four Voice Fugue on the name B-A-C-H by Johann de Deo Beranek (1813-1875). Barney is organist at Trinity Episcopal Church, Concord, Massachusetts and associate director of the Treble Chorus of New England. He has an active performing and teaching life in the Boston area.

This organ had been built for a Moravian church in Frederick County, Maryland, which, in 1957, decided to set the instrument free. The Lititz Moravian community got it and packed it off to M. P. Möller for repairs and the move. In recent years, James McFarland & Co. have done further restorative repairs.

Ray Brunner, Auditorium of the Linden Hall School for Girls

This was a lecture that was certainly music to my ears--"Pennsylvania German Organ Building, David Tannenberg's Legacy." Any précis of this wonderful non-stop appreciation of such a strong artistic vein in the history of organ building would require reproducing the entire speech. Nothing could be left out. My small knowledge and experience of Tannenberg's work all came from books and articles. Obviously, by the end of this week, that all changed dramatically, and for me, one of the highlights, almost an emotional experience, was hearing and seeing David Tannenberg's very last organ, built in 1804, now safely situated in a small auditorium at the York County Museum. More about that later.

It was not just in this talk that we heard from Ray Brunner. It was also in the beauties of quite a number of organs heard in this convention, organs that his firm, R. J. Brunner & Company, had restored, repaired, and even rescued. [Ruth Brunner, wife of Ray Brunner, and a master organbuilder in her own right, died of cancer at the age of 45, on November 6, 2003. She worked hard planning this convention, and though clearly ill, kept things in order as the convention progressed. She is missed!] Ray and Ruth were a huge part of putting together and maintaining this distinguished convention. At one of our venues, they were both given an award for distinguished service to the OHS, this presented amidst cheers.

James Darling, the Fellowship Hall of the Single Brothers' House

It is now 1:45, and I must mention that we had a beautiful box lunch which would have been eaten out of doors, were not the heavens continuing to open up. James Darling is perhaps known to many who have made the pilgrimage to Colonial Williamsburg, a wonderful place to visit. He is at the center of a lot of musical activity there, particularly in Bruton Parish Church, where he has served for almost 40 years. Here, he was playing a much-traveled single-manual Tannenberg of nine stops, built in 1787. It found its way to the Fellowship Hall of the Single Brothers' House in 1983, restored and reconstructed by James R. McFarland & Co. The organ had suffered mightily from various forms of ill treatment including a fire, and required extensive work. The 20-note pedalboard has two stops of its own, a Sub Bass at 16' and an Open Wood Oktav Bass at 8'.

The program: Allein Gott, settings by Bach and Pachelbel; Fugue & Chorale, Pachelbel; four Preludes by the English Moravian, Christian Latrobe (1758-1836); the event of the day was the hymn, "Morning Star, O cheering sight," to the tune Hagen, by the Rev. F. F. Hagen, with a very young singer from the Lititz congregation as the excellent soloist; two preludes and fugues from the Well-Tempered Clavier, and closing with a Pachelbel Prelude in D.

Bruce Stevens, Salem Lutheran Church, Lebanon, Pennsylvania

At 2:30, we said goodbye to Lititz and traveled about an hour to Lebanon. Bruce Stevens played on a rather amazing organ of 1888, built by the builder who bid lowest in a competition among many, the Miller Organ Company of Lebanon, Pennsylvania. The Organ Handbook gives the names and bids of the six other builders; Miller's bid was $3,300, for which they produced a lot of organ, 31 ranks on three manuals. The Great is founded on an independent 16' Double Open, the bottom four pipes of which are stopped wood, space clearly being an issue. The Pedal also has an independent Double Open, Bourdon 16', and 8' Violoncello. The Great Trumpet is the only commanding manual reed. The Swell has only a Bassoon Oboe at 8' and the Choir has a Clarionet at 8', yet this organ makes a mighty sound, full of excitement. It is also a beautiful visual presence in the room, if a bit unusual in its presentation.

Bruce Stevens is organist of Second Presbyterian Church in downtown Richmond, and is director of the OHS European Tours, this year's heading to Sweden. His degrees are from the University of Richmond and University of Illinois, with further study in Denmark with Finn Viderø and Gretha Krogh, with Anton Heiller in Vienna, and at the Royal School of Church Music, then in Croydon. He has played recitals internationally and at 12 OHS conventions, and his CDs are available from the OHS Catalogue. The program began with the March on a Theme of Handel by Guilmant; Mein junges Leben, Sweelinck; Second Sonata, Mendelssohn; the hymn, "O Christ the Word Incarnate" (so listed in the Supplement, but as "O Word of God Incarnate" in the printed program), in Mendelssohn's harmonization, connecting us back to the Sonata. At this point, wanting to be sure that we had a complete tour of the organ, Bruce showed us the somewhat audible Choir Dulciana and the gentle Swell Viola, knowing that they would be swamped in the registrations of any pieces on the program. Then, Moderato from Tre Tonstykker, Niels Gade; Fugue (Sonata 11), Rheinberger; three Chorale Preludes, Pepping; and to conclude, the Bach Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor. Following this recital, the entire convention was fed sumptuously in one of the great spaces in these spacious buildings.

Lorenz Maycher, the Memorial Chapel of Salem Lutheran Church, Lebanon

We then moved from the original church to what began as a memorial chapel, but is now really the more used of the two buildings. It is larger as well, and sounds different, too. This place is referred to as Salem Lutheran Church (Memorial Chapel). The organ is Ernest Skinner Opus 683 of 1928. Lorenz Maycher is organist-choirmaster at Trinity Episcopal Church, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and teaches at Lafayette College in Easton. He was an OHS Biggs Fellow in 1990, and has played for six OHS conventions. Having relaxed over dinner, I was slow to enter the chapel; as I arrived the Bach C Minor Fantasy and Fugue was beginning. Whatever do my ears hear? I have not heard Bach on this kind of sound for years--a 26-stop organ, 73-note chests on Swell and Choir, thus supercoupled to be sure, fighting its way out of a chamber on one side of the chancel. The playing was the kind of legato that matches all of this. Next a wonderfully orchestral performance of the Handel Concerto in F; the d'Aquin Cuckoo; Dreams, Hugh McAmis; Suite in E Major, Everett Titcomb; Fanfare d'Orgue, Harry Rowe Shelley; the hymn, "Lord Jesus, we humbly pray" to a tune by Ignaz Pleyel; Grand Choeur No. 2, Alfred Hollins; three Songs of Faith and Penitence, by Leo Sowerby (sung dramatically by Linda Laubach, and Maycher's accompaniments were nothing less than superb); then, Impromptu, Gaston Dethier (1875--1958); and lastly, Improvisation on an Irish Air, by Norman Coke-Jephcott, one-time organist at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York.

And here endeth a very long first day of the convention. A one-hour trip brought us back to the hotel for visiting, drinking, and buying music, books, and CDs.

Second full day, Saturday, June 21

Justin Hartz at St. James Presbyterian Church, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania

We began this day with a short bus ride to Mechanicsburg. St. James Presbyterian Church is a large classroom or assembly sort of room, but with something of a raised ceiling, kind of a square dome effect. There is some acoustic to be enjoyed, not a huge amount, and we were hearing an old instrument (mid-19th century) by William H. Davis, a single-manual with a pedal Bourdon and coupler. This much traveled, much troubled instrument was rebuilt and refurbished by R. J. Brunner & Co. in 1989, including a brand new and very handsome case of simple design. Wow! What projection and richness of sound!

Justin Hartz is organist and choir director at Church of the Incarnation, Morrisville, Pennsylvania, and also frequently appears at the Aeolian organ of Longwood Gardens. A graduate of Westminster Choir College, he has a master's from Juilliard, and was a Biggs Fellow. The program: Voluntary No. 29, Andante (from American Church Organ Voluntaries, Cutter and Johnson), the 8' Open having a lovely sound and a fulfilling projection; Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, Buxtehude; Voluntary 25, Moderato, from Ryder's Short Voluntaries; Andante, K. 616, Mozart, a lovely gem of a piece, and the fluty sounds of the organ were divine; the program closed with a rather quick accompaniment to our robust singing of "Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven." This was a fine recital on a worthy little organ, by a fine organist who looked like he was having fun, the fun being happily contagious. Now, back on the buses to warm up a bit, for the short trip to Camp Hill.

Mark Brombaugh, Peace Church, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania

The organ here has a single manual with six stops, built by Conrad Doll in 1805, and lovingly restored by the Noack Organ Company in 1974. It is gentle but it is lovely, and looks down from a balcony in a truly beautiful church built in 1799. Mark Brombaugh holds degrees from Oberlin College, the University of Louisville, and Yale University. He is director of music at United Church on the Green in New Haven, and is a past national secretary of the OHS. The program: Praeludium and Fugue in A Minor (Clavier Übung 1728), Vincent Lübeck, wonderful sounds, so fresh and clean, with playing also so clean and gently driven; Partita on the Aria Jesu du bist allzu schöne, Böhm; Toccata in C, Sweelinck; Fairest Lord Jesus (five variations) by James Woodman (b. 1957), which really worked well on this small organ. All subtleties were made perfectly clear. We were well prepared, and after the fifth variation, we instantly sang, with the middle stanza in glorious harmony, thrilling in this building. Time for a fairly long bus ride to Mount Pleasant Mills, the tedium beguiled a bit by a very nice box lunch on board.

Susan Hegberg, St. Peter's Lutheran & UCC Church, Freeburg, Pennsylvania

This recital recalls the Bible quote, "it maketh the heart glad." Dr. Susan Hegberg holds degrees from St. Olaf College, the University of Michigan, and Northwestern University, and is professor of music and university organist at Susquehanna University. In addition to what turned out to be a splendid recital, we were also about to hear one of those good, old Möllers (really!). Those turn-of-the-century Möller trackers (in this case, 1904), were really lovely to hear and to behold, and this organ was reasonably substantial at 13 stops and two manuals. And, on top of all that happiness, this church greeted us with an unexpected reception, good things to eat and drink, a great kindness. The program: Sonata in D Major, C. P. E. Bach; I want Jesus to walk with me, in a fairly mild jazz setting by Joe Utterback, written for Susan Hegberg in 2002; Variations on Leoni, by Frank Ferko; after the Finale (the sixth variation), we cleverly picked up our cue, and began to sing Leoni. The whole recital was a model: the playing was solid throughout, and the program was interesting to all. Back on the bus, headed for Mount Pleasant Mills, a 30 minute journey.

MaryAnn Crugher Balduf, Botschaft ("Grubb's") Lutheran Church, Mount Pleasant Mills, Pennsylvania

Well, to begin, what's a Botschaft? My Cassell's says it's Tidings, or News, or a Message. I suppose "Tidings" has the most promise as a church name. Improbably enough, Grubb's refers to someone who actually owned the church at one time, but his name was really Kruppe--that is quite a morph. This was a Reformed congregation, but they became quite weak, and in 1934, the Lutherans took over the church, buying the building for $1, which was worth something in those days, but surely not as much as a church. The organ was built circa 1865 by John Marklove of Utica, New York. It was discovered by the Organ Clearing House, and in 1978 James R. McFarland & Co. relocated it and did the work of reconstruction and restoration.

MaryAnn Crugher Balduf is an old OHS hand, having played many a convention recital over the years. She has a reputation for presenting interesting programs on single-manual instruments, and that is what she got this year (7 stops and a pedal Bourdon): Processional, Grayston Ives (b. 1948); Cornet Voluntary in F, John Humphries (1707- 1730?); Entrée (Messe Basse, op. 30), Vierne; Koraal (Suite Modale, op. 43), Flor Peeters, Andante No. 2, Henry Stephen Cutler (1825-1902); Improvisato (op. 37, no. 6), Arthur Bird (1856-1923) [see "The Organ Works of Arthur H. Bird," The Diapason, February, 1995]; Hommage (Twenty Four Pieces for Organ) and American Folk-Hymn Settings for Organ (which incorporated five stanzas of "Amazing Grace"), Jean Langlais. Not on the printed program was the Sortie of Theodore Dubois, an exciting finale to an interesting recital. On the bus to Danville, for a ride of approximately one hour.

Michael Britt, St. Paul's-Emmanuel UMC, Danville, Pennsylvania

Heretofore, on this day, the convention had been divided in two, but before we heard Michael Britt's fine recital, we were all driven to First Baptist Church, reunited with the other half of our convention and fed a fine dinner. It was then just a short ride to St. Paul's-Emmanuel UMC. Michael Britt is native to Baltimore, and graduated from the Peabody Conservatory. He concertizes as both a "classical" and a "theatre" organist, being a frequent performer at the Capitol Theatre in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. His assigned organ this week: a really fine 19-stop A. B. Felgemaker of 1892, Opus 584, a wonderful looking instrument in addition to being distinguished tonally. The program: American Rhapsody, Pietro Yon (this was Yon at his most exploitative, a bag full of American patriotic melodies crowned at the end by the "Star Spangled Banner," assuring a standing ovation every time!); Count Your Blessings, Dan Miller (b. 1954); Hymn Prelude on the tune Bethany (op. 38), Seth Bingham; world premiere of Prelude on Marching to Zion, Wayne Wold (b. 1954), a fine work, clearly from our century, and totally digestible. The composer was in the audience, and was well cheered by all. Of course, we next sang "Marching to Zion," and the entire convention roared full throat--"We're marching to Zion, beautiful, beautiful Zion; we're marching upward to Zion, the beautiful city of God!" It was really something, and it would not have been possible without a rather incredible accompaniment from Michael Britt. What a great concert! For our next venue, no muss, no fuss, no bus, Gus. With a police escort by the entire police force of Danville, all one of them, we walked across the street to Mahoning Presbyterian Church where Bruce Cornely made a bit of OHS history.

Bruce Cornely, Hymn Sing, Mahoning Presbyterian Church, Danville, Pennsylvania

I'm not sure this evening's event was a "first," but certainly I don't remember anything quite like it at an OHS convention. It was a Hymn Sing that really was a SING. We hardly stopped, and I don't think I was alone in enjoying just about every minute of it. The whole evening was created and "executed" by Bruce Cornely. He is a long-time member of OHS and a strong presence on the Pipe Organ lists. He has studied organ with Ronald Rice, William Weaver, Robert Bennett, Robert Jones, and William Barnard, and is organist at First Baptist Church in Gainesville, Florida. The church was packed with our entire convention and many parishioners. We were well supported by Hook & Hastings Opus 1073 of 1882, a quite powerful 22-stop instrument. The Great has a 16' Bourdon, extended from the 8', a three-rank Mixture, and a Trumpet; the eight-stop Swell contains a Cornopean and a Bassoon/Oboe at 8' pitch; the Pedal has a 16' Open Wood, a 16' Bourdon, and an 8' Violoncello. Bruce varied these resources deftly, with registrations that kept us interested through the entire program. The 17-page booklet we were handed as we entered the church was beautifully organized, and cleverly, too. One could hold the booklet under the hymnal, and with the directions, like unison stanza one, etc., written way over to the left of each sheet, it was possible comfortably to read both the directions and the pages of the hymnal.

"Wind who makes all winds that blow," (Aberystwyth)--as an introduction, Bruce played a Chromatic Fugue by Johann Pachelbel; "Bless the Lord, my soul and being" (Rustington); "New songs of celebration render" (Rendez a Dieu), as introduction, No. 29 of 29 Short Preludes by Carl Nielsen; "With joy I heard my friends exclaim" (Gonfalon Royal), as a prelude, excerpts from Communion by Theodore Dubois; "Give praise to the Lord" (Laudate Dominum); "Let the whole creation cry" (Salzburg); "All praise to God for song God gives" (Sacred Song); "Called as partners in Christ's service" (Beecher); "As those of old their first fruits brought" (Forest Green); "The church of Christ in every age" (Wareham); "We all are one in mission" (Woodbird); "In Eden fair" (Aldersgate), with text and tune by Bruce Cornely. Finally, a somewhat solemn moment: another tune and text by Bruce, Laufman, in honor of the late Alan Laufman, for so many years director of the Organ Clearing House, and also editor of the yearly Organ Handbooks. This was good, and was well sung by all. Despite occasional problems in this massive undertaking, I thought it was a really rich and meaningful event, and lots of fun as well.

Third full day, Sunday, June 22

This was a gentle day, beginning with the Annual Meeting of the Organ Historical Society in the hotel at 9 am. From this meeting, one can always learn a great deal about the workings of the Society, and of the great scope of its influence and importance to us and to our chosen instrument. Michael Barone passed the office of president on to Michael Friesen, who will continue the other Michael's always wise and steady shepherding of the organization. I note with pleasure, as I have been able to do in the past, the large number of members interested enough to awaken early to attend the proceedings. Some slipped away at the Holy Hour of 11:00 to attend church in downtown Harrisburg.

Vaughn Watson, Basilica of the Sacred Heart, "Conewago Chapel," Hanover, Pennsylvania

After a good lunch at the hotel, we took a relaxing post-prandial bus ride to the historic "Conewago Chapel," or really, The Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Hanover, Pennsylvania. "Conewago" comes from a settlement near the St. Lawrence River in Canada, and a similarly named creek that runs somewhere near the church. The present, impressive, building was finished in 1787, and was then the largest church yet built in the United States. It is the oldest Catholic church in the U.S. built of stone. Neither the acoustic nor the organ are shy. Looking at the stoplist of this 10-stop Hook & Hastings instrument, Opus 1866 of 1900, one has to ask whence cometh this wall of sound. The Great has four stops, an Open Diapason, possibly the scale of a smoke stack on the Queen Mary, a Viola da Gamba, a Doppelfloete--all these at 8' pitch--and a 4' Octave. The Swell has five stops, a Violin Diapason, a Stop'd Diapason, and a Salicional, all at 8', and a 4' Flute Harmonique. There is an 8' Trumpet, for reasons unspecified, not the original, but a Hook & Hastings replacement. The sole Pedal stop is a large Open Diapason 16'; oh, and there is an intermanual supercoupler!

Vaughan Watson is a graduate of Fordham University, and has studied for a number of years with William Entriken at First Presbyterian Church in Manhattan. Since 1992, he has been director of music at Abiding Presence Lutheran Church in Fort Salonga on Long Island. His program: Prelude (Three Pieces for Organ, op. 29), Gabriel Pierné (1863-1937); Lo, how a Rose and Herzliebster Jesu (Opus 122 Chorale Preludes), Brahms. Looking at the specification, one sees (and hears) the beauty of the five relatively quiet 8' stops, not, of course, counting the Open Diapason in that. This served both Brahms works wonderfully well. Sortie in E-flat, Lefébure-Wély; Prelude, C. S. Lang; the hymn: "Most Sacred Heart of Jesus," a highly sentimental-sounding tune by a Jesuit, just identified as Fr. Maher, S.J.; Nos. 3 and 5, both in D Major, from Six Little Fugues, Handel; from Three Characteristic Pieces of Langlais: 1. Pastoral-Prelude, an absolutely charming work, and the lovely and introspective Interlude, both perfect choices for the organ and the space; lastly, Variations sur un Noël Bourguignon, André Fleury (1903-1995). After the program, we sang "Faith of our Fathers," all in unison; I guess it was a special favor to someone. Anyway, unison sounded quite o.k. in this building. This was an interesting program, a nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon. There were nervous moments, but all in all this was very nicely done, and one is grateful for the chance to hear some music "less traveled."

At this point, a relaxing and short bus ride took us to St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Hanover, which we visited just for a very nice church supper. We were well looked after here, which gives me a chance to point out that, while registration for OHS conventions is a bit higher than is the case with AGO conventions, all meals are included, which is a great time saver for convention-goers, and the food is always well done. Usually, perhaps once when we are at concerts in the downtown area of a large city, we might have lunch on our own--a nice chance to explore restaurants in the area. This happened once during this week, and it was indeed a nice experience. Now, on to New Freedom--sounds good to me.

James Hildreth, St. John the Baptist R. C., New Freedom, Pennsylvania

Since 1987, Mr. Hildreth has been organist at Broad Street Presbyterian Church, Columbus, Ohio. He is also organist for the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. I believe this is his first performance for an OHS convention, and I hope not his last. In a church packed with convention attendees, parishioners, and the larger community, he gave a performance that really satisfied all, both connoisseurs and amateurs alike. We were beguiled by his chosen program and the total competence of his playing; those less familiar with the organ and its repertoire also responded to his spoken comments. Well, we did too. The organ is Opus 2024 (1904) of Hook & Hastings, relocated and rebuilt by R. J. Brunner & Company, purveyors of much organic good in this part of the world. They converted the old tubular pneumatic action to electric action, which made it possible to make the console movable within the small space of the choir area. This organ is not small, with 26 stops on two manuals. Given the great numbers of parishioners present, one would assume that organ recitals here have been popular.

The program began with a solid and exciting performance of the Guilmant Grand Choeur (Alla Handel), op. 18, no. 1, our first experience of the really exciting full sound of this instrument; two Orgelbüchlein chorals, Ich ruf zu dir and Wenn wir in höchsten Nöthen sein; Trumpet Voluntary in D, John Bennett; Prelude & Fugue in G Major, Mendelssohn; Souvenir (op. 27, no. 1), Marcel Dupré, published in 1931; Nocturne, Arthur Foote; Thunderstorm, Thomas P. Ryder (no Orage pedal in sight, we had pedal clusters in abundance); Festival Toccata, Percy Fletcher (1879-1932). We sang the hymn "By all your saints still living" to the tune St. Theodulph. The evening ended with a breathtaking improvisation, merging the tune St. Theodulph with Ut Queant Laxis, the hymn of St. John the Baptist, clever and wonderful in every way. What a great recital.

Fourth full day, Monday, June 23

Thomas Lee Bailey, St. Paul's United Church of Christ, New Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania

This day began with the earliest morning bus departure of the convention: 7:45! Thomas Lee Bailey is organist and choirmaster of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, New York. He holds a bachelor's degree from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a Master of Divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary. The organ is by Samuel Bohler, and is now 110 years old! It was built for Zion Union Church, Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania, and in 1950 was moved to St. Paul's, with some repairs, by Justus Becker. Just this year, it was restored, including a recreation of the original reservoir and wind trunks, by R. J. Brunner & Company. There are 12 stops, with the Pedal containing only a 16' Sub Bass.

The program: Scherzo in Sol Minore per Organo, Marco Enrico Bossi; Prelude in E-flat Minor, Vincent D'Indy; "Humoresque" from L'Organo Primitivo (Toccatina), Pietro Yon; the hymn, "O Master let me walk with Thee," tune de Tar by Calvin Hampton; Andante with Variations (posthumous), Mendelssohn; Roulade, Seth Bingham. (1882-1972). This was a splendid recital.

Rosalind Mohnsen, Old Belleman's Church, Mohrville, Pennsylvania

Rosalind Mohnsen's biography in the Organ Handbook mentions that this was her 17th appearance at an OHS convention! She holds degrees from the University of Nebraska and Indiana University and later studied with Jean Langlais in Paris, and is director of music at Immaculate Conception Church in Malden, Massachusetts. The organ, single-manual with 13-note pedalboard, surmised to be of the 1870s, is also surmised to be the work of Samuel Bohler, and Ray Brunner gives cogent reasons for making this assumption. The disposition is interesting. The manual compass is 54 notes, and the four 8' stops share a common bass, each thus having 37 pipes of its own; all 8': Open Diapason, Clarabella, Dulciana, and Stopped Diapason. One then draws the Stopped Diapason Bass, with its 17 pipes, to provide the lower octave and a bit. There is also a 4' Principal, Twelfth, and Fifteenth. The Pedal has a stop at 16' simply called "Pedal Bass," with 13 pipes, and there is also a pedal coupler. This handsome church is no longer in regular weekly use, but holds four annual services, and is also used for weddings. In this lovely program of ten pieces, I knew only two. There were five composers whose music I had never heard. I present this as a virtue, as none of the music was dull, or less than convincingly played: Concerto in G, Christoph Wolfgang Druckenmueller (listed as from Das Husumer Orgelbuch); Praeludium (from Three Character Pieces, op. 64, no. 1), Rudolf Bibl (1832-1902); next a selection of five quite varied chorale preludes, all of which managed to sound quite fine on this little instrument: Jesu, meine Freude (Neumeister Collection), J. S. Bach; Wo Gott der Herr nicht bey uns haelt, Johann Christoph Oley (1738-1789); Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier, op. 78, Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877-1933); Herzlich tut mich erfreuen (alla Giga), Gerhard Krapf (b. 1974); Ein' feste Burg, Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg (1718-1795), something of a charming gallop on "full organ"! The hymn was a bit different: we sang "What a friend we have in Jesus" to the familiar tune, but in "Pennsylvania Dutch" or German, perhaps we should say. We had the words and knew the tune, so off we went in glorious unison, stumbling over the words a bit. Next, Fugue in 3 Voices, Charles Zeuner (1795-1857); Impromptu, J. Frank Donohoe (1856-1925); the program ended with Open Diapason March (1879), by Louis Meyer, in three words: corny but effective. It made a fun ending to a most interesting and rewarding recital.

Walter Krueger, Christ Little Tulpehocken UCC

While waiting for Dr. Krueger to begin his recital, we were edified by an attendance board prominently displayed: Attendance today 31, Offering $39.40. [Slightly better than a dollar per person!] Attendance last week 32, Attendance one year ago 26, Enrolment 50. Walter Krueger holds a doctorate from Northwestern University. He teaches music at Portland (Oregon) Lutheran School, is an adjunct professor at Concordia University in Portland, and is director of music at Trinity Lutheran Church, Portland. The instrument, in a high gallery, was built in 1862 by Joel Kantner, and while that is all that is known, there are many mysteries about this organ. It looks in several ways to be an English instrument, and as the Organ Handbook notes point out, and as many noticed early on, it can sound a bit like something out of 1962! There is lots of articulation, and the 4' Principal is louder than the 8', for starters. The tone is, however, gentle and singing, not always a 1962 characteristic. There are eight stops on its single manual, built, fortunately, on an 8' Open Diapason, ending with a 12th and 15th. There is no Pedal. For the perfect beginning, a lovely Toccata in the Aeolian Mode, by Sweelinck; Toccata for the Elevation (Fiori Musicali), Frescobaldi; Fugue on the Trumpet, François Couperin; La Romanesca with Five Variations, Antonio Valente (1520-1580); Berceuse (24 Pieces in Free Style), Louis Vierne; Gehende and Schnelle (from Thirty Pieces for Small Organ), Hugo Distler (1908-1942). The program ended with an attempt to meld a Johann Gottfried Walther Partita with the hymn (chorale) we were to sing. The partita was splendid--the melding process did not work too well, as in each of the three stanzas we were to sing (Jesu, meine Freude, Bach harmonization), we were really left uncertain about where to begin. The whole process began with Dr. Kreuger playing the chorale, as Walther harmonized it. Then we sang stanza 1. The second part of the Partita was played on 4' stops alone, the third on just flutes. Then we sang stanza 2. The Partita continued with part four, in sixteenth notes. Part five was on the softest stops in the organ, and part six was on two manuals. At this point, we sang stanza three of the chorale, followed by part seven of the Partita, on "full organ," an apt ending for a most pleasant concert.

Sally Cherrington Beggs, North Heidelberg UCC Church, Robesonia, Pennsylvania

Upon entering this church, one was immediately plunged into a mood of serenity and expectancy. Something lovely had to happen in this place, and it did, beginning with the visual impact of the late afternoon sun highlighting the gold in the stenciled organ case. Then, the gentle and beautiful qualities of the 1892 single-manual (and pedal) organ by Samuel Bohler. A Pennsylvania native, Sally Cherrington Beggs holds degrees from Susquehanna and Yale universities. She is presently college organist and chairs the music department at Newberry College in South Carolina. In honor of the fact that this church began life as a Moravian congregation, we first heard, from Nine Preludes for Organ of Christian Latrobe (1758-1836), Preludes 2 and 3; Variations on God Save the King, Charles Wesley (1757-1834); Adagio and Scherzo (for mechanical organ), Beethoven; Mozart Changes, Zsolt Gardonyi. Dr. Beggs had been served during this recital by a quiet and efficient page turner and stop puller. He (Stuart Weber) now became soloist, playing a Native American flute in a chorale prelude by Emma Lou Diemer, based on the Native American tune, Lacquiparle; then, Sketch No. 3 in F Minor, Schumann; the hymn, "Jesus makes my heart rejoice."

Following this recital, we hopped on the buses for an hour's ride to Annville, the home of Lebanon Valley College, which provided a very nice dinner in the college dining hall. Many of us managed to get over to the chapel, and some managed to get the Schantz wound up and going. It lacked the historicity needed for us to notice it, but I am glad we got a chance to visit the chapel and organ nonetheless. After dinner, it was back on the buses, heading for Hershey, and the Hershey Theater.

Matthew Glandorf, Hershey Theater, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Matthew Glandorf grew up in Germany, and at 16 entered the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, studying with John Weaver and Ford Lallerstedt. He presently teaches at both Curtis and Westminster Choir College. We were in a rather opulent theater with a 1932 Skinner organ, probably unlike any other, full of brassiness and with a killer Pedal division. Harrison's name is on the console, but it would seem that Skinner was actually responsible for the job, but under the thumb of Hershey's consultant, Dr. Harry Sykes of Lancaster, who probably has a lot to answer for. Certainly, what we heard this evening would not have pleased G.D.H., and possibly not E.M.S. either! Matthew Glandorf offered a mixture of a bit of organ music, several transcriptions, and one very impressive improvisation. I thought the improvisation was the most successful. The room has the deadness of any large theater, with carpets and plush seats. The program began with Sonata Eroïca, Joseph Jongen. I found it unsatisfactory on this instrument, given the over-brassy quality of the sound, which seemed to clash within itself. Glandorf's own transcription of the Rachmininoff Vocalise seemed to work quite well. It was an island of tranquility, and, I think, the sort of piece that survives transcription relatively untarnished. From then on, all hell broke loose. On to two more transcriptions of Rachmaninoff works, the first done by Mr. Glandorf himself of the famous C-Sharp Minor Prelude. With Full Organ engaged most of the time, much of the detail in the piece became muddled. Next, the Prelude in G Minor, transcribed by "G. Federlein," which could be either father (Gottlieb) or the son (Gottfried) who was organist at Temple Emmanuel in New York for many years. When it was over, I still longed for the Steinway, and in the Wagner transcription which followed, the Liebestod, transcribed by Lemare with some Glandorf additions, I wanted a full symphony orchestra to emerge on stage. Next was a brilliant performance of the Dupré Allegro Deciso, the third part of the symphonic poem, Évocation, of 1941. And then, Mr. Glandorf's towering improvisation on The Star Spangled Banner, done brilliantly, and I will happily hear him improvise again--and again. For the "hymn of the day," we then sang, of course, the "National Anthem," quite lustily, and then, it was on the buses for the Crowne Plaza, our home away from home.

Fifth full day, Tuesday, June 24

Gerald E. Mummert, York County Historical Society Museum

Today, the convention was split in three, some going to hear a 1995 organ by Ray Brunner in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, some going to the Museum of the York County Historical Society in York, and some visiting the National Clock and Watch Museum in Columbia. I frankly regretted the forced choice, wanting to hear Ray's instrument, plus the last Tannenberg, and to visit also the watches and clocks. The strongest contender in the Must Hear category was the Tannenberg in York, and that is where I chose to go. The organ is on display at the front of a small auditorium, and to me, even though simple, it was breathtaking. Ray Brunner, who has done considerable restorative work on this instrument, gave an introduction to it, before, I presume, rushing over to Mount Joy. Quoting Ray Brunner:

"Although 76 years of age and in failing health, Tannenberg completed an organ for this large Lutheran congregation in York. The wagons carrying the organ arrived in York in late April, 1804, and Tannenberg and his assistant began the installation. May 17th, while standing on a bench or scaffold tuning the organ, Tannenberg had a stroke and fell. He died two days later; the organ was finished by his assistant John Hall."

There were eleven stops, nine manual (54 notes) and two pedal (25 notes), but the Trumpet went missing at some point. There are apparently no examples of a Tannenberg Trumpet around to copy, so no attempt has been made to add one so far. The organ survived in original condition for a century, with Midmer doing a rebuild in 1905, and that is how Ray Brunner found it in 1990. There is more restorative work he hopes to do, as budget permits, but at present, the instrument is lovely to behold and to hear.

Gerald Mummert has been since 1971 director of music in the church for which the Tannenberg was originally built, Christ Lutheran Church in York. He holds degrees from Susquehanna and Indiana universities, and is adjunct professor of music at York College of Pennsylvania. A splendid player, he offered an imaginative and interesting program, one well calculated to suit the organ wonderfully. He proved yet again that wonderful music can be made on a single-manual organ, a fact well-known to OHS members. The program began with "Hampton" by The Rev. Johann Georg Schmucker, who was pastor at Christ Lutheran from 1802 to 1836; next, Herz nach dir gewacht, by Michael Bentz, who was organist of Christ Lutheran Church, Lancaster, when the Tannenberg was installed, or possibly a bit after that. Sublime is the only suitable word for the combination of the performance, the Tannenberg, and the Brahms setting of Schmücke dich; then, Elegy (Three Pieces for Organ), William Walton; Versets, Daniel Pinkham; and we closed with a hymn by Michael Bentz, Der Herr ist Sohn und Schild, sung in three parts (SAB), arranged by Gerald Mummert, a lovely ending to this really fine recital.

Scott Foppiano, Covenant UMC, Lancaster

After the sweet gentleness of the very last Tannenberg, the next recital gave something of a jolt--from both the instrument and the player. The organ is a Casavant from 1926, and not a great deal has been done to it since its installation. There was a releathering in 1959, and another in the late 1980s. In 2002, Columbia Organ Works rebuilt the console, and "at the church's insistence" made some additions at that time. The additions were, on the Great: 2' Super Octave, and 4-rank Mixture, and on the Swell, 5-rank Mixture. The given specification fails to list couplers, other than those that have reversible pistons. However, one can surmise from 73-note chests on Swell, part of the Choir, and all of the Solo, that these have super couplers to the Great. The fact that the Great has only 61-note chests comes as a relief.

Mr. Foppiano is from Memphis, where he now serves as director of music in a church not named in his program biography. After studying in Memphis, he was a student of both John and Margaret Mueller at the North Carolina School of the Arts. Further study was with Donna Robertson, David Lowry, Thomas Hazleton, the late William Whitehead, and Gregorian Chant with Dom Daniel Saulnier from Solesmes. The program: Suite for Organ, John Ireland; Prière, Rene Vierne; Tuba Tune, C. S. Lang; the hymn, both text and tune, was written by Benjamin R. Hanby (1833-1867), a pastor in the Church of the United Brethren; Prière à Notre Dame, Boëllmann; Will 'o the Wisp (Scherzo-Toccatina), Nevin; Fest-Hymnus, op. 20, of Carl (or Karl) Piutti (1846-1902). This was a most interesting program, not all the "usual stuff." So, thank you, Scott.

Peter Stoltzfus, Otterbein United Methodist Church, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Peter Stoltzfus is organist and director of music at All Saints' Church, Worcester, Massachusetts, and was returning to the church in which he grew up and where, for a time, he was organist and choirmaster before heading east. He introduced to us the lady who was his teacher and exemplar at Otterbein, and later in the program, played a piece that she had played all those years ago, a piece that turned him on to the organ, a chorale improvisation on the tune Deo Gratias by Paul Manz, and he managed to play it using the same registration that his teacher had used. The organ is Skinner Opus 805 from 1930. It has four divisions, the usual three with a small two-stop Echo, all of this in only 25 stops, 28 ranks.

The program: Trumpet Tune in D, David Johnson; Deo Gratias, Paul Manz; Gavotta, Padre Giovanni Battista Martini (1706-1784), arranged by Guilmant; Requiescat in Pace, Leo Sowerby; Allegro (Symphony V), Widor. One of the few composers in the tradition of the United Brethren in Christ denomination was Edmund S. Lorenz (1854-1942). In 1890, he established the famous Lorenz Publishing Company, and was also at one time president of Lebanon Valley College. We sang one of his hymn tunes, with a text also possibly by him: "Tell it to Jesus." It is in the gospel song tradition, and the convention no doubt gave it one of the best performances of its life. We were unrestrained in our enthusiasm, and then were similarly unrestrained in saluting Peter Stoltzfus for his good work past and present, including his fine performance of this evening.

Karl Moyer, St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

This evening's concert by Karl Moyer put the singing of the hymn first, "Holy God, we praise thy Name," to a tune whose composer is unknown. Karl established his credentials, as if he had to, as a consummate accompanist for a singing congregation. Not many are so established! Dr. Moyer spent much of his long career on the faculty at Millersville University, while serving several major parishes in the area, most recently Grace Lutheran Church in Lancaster, from which he retired a year ago. He holds degrees from Lebanon Valley College, Union Theological Seminary, Temple University, and has his doctorate from Eastman. He has also run the Boston Marathon!

The organ is a fine Barckhoff instrument from 1891, with mechanical key action and pneumatic stop action. At 26 stops, it is a quite complete two-manual, anchored by a not slender 16' Double Open and a 16' Trombone, the latter added by James McFarland in 1985 at the time of a general restoration. Columbia Organ Works later added a new blower and did further restoration work.

The program: Prelude and Fugue in G (BWV 541), Bach; Ronde Française (op. 37), Léon Boëllmann; As the Dew From Heaven Distilling, Joseph Daynes, (1851-1920), arr. Alexander Schreiner; three movements from Sonata No. 5 in C Minor of Guilmant, 1. Allegro appassionato, 4. Recitativo, and 5. Choral and Fugue; Adagio & Fugue for Violin & Organ (op. 150, no. 6), Josef Rheinberger (with violinist Scott Hohenwarter); Wir glauben all' in einen Gott, Vater, attributed to Johann Ludwig Krebs; two Bach Two-Part Inventions, with an added voice by Max Reger: No. 3 in D and No. 14 in B-flat; Claire de Lune (Three Impressions, op. 72), Sigfrid Karg-Elert; the program closed with two settings of Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, first by Paul Manz, and second, the stupendous setting by Max Reger--a grand, high octane performance, sending us out into the night most cheerfully. What a great program, and what a great organist, a man who had much to do with the success of this convention, and still had time to give us this evening.

Thus ended the fifth full day of this great convention.

Sixth full day, June 25, 2003

Ann Marie Rigler, St. John's UCC, Boalsburg, Pennsylvania

Boalsburg is one of many historic towns in this part of Pennsylvania, and one of its claims to fame seems to be as the birthplace of Memorial Day. In late May, 1864, two families by coincidence met at the cemetery to place flowers on the graves of loved ones who had died in the Civil War. They later decided to meet again at the same time the next year, and others from the community joined them in the same observance. The idea soon spread to other communities, and that is how it all began. St. John's UCC Church was built in 1861, and by 1868 it became the home of the very first church organ built by Charles Durner. Durner was born in Germany in 1838 into a five-generation family of organbuilders. At age 21 he came to Pennsylvania and set up shop. The St. John's organ has 14 stops, including a Great 16' Bourdon (only to tenor g#) and Principals to the Fifteenth, including a Twelfth. The Swell offers two 8' Flutes and a Dulciana, 4' Flute and Vox Humana to tenor C (really a Clarinet). In the Pedal, 16' Sub Bass, and 8' Violin Bass (Open Wood). The organ had been in a west gallery, but at the turn of the century was brought down to a chamber in front. In 1971 Hartmann Beatty rebuilt the instrument, bringing the pedal to 30 notes from its original 20, and in 1990 R. J. Brunner did a proper restoration. This congregation has lovingly cared for the instrument, and has produced a fine booklet about its history.

Ann Marie Rigler is both instructor in music (organ and music appreciation) and reference librarian at the University Park campus of Penn State University. Prior to coming to Pennsylvania, she taught at a number of well-known universities, and has a long list of performance credits, including at AGO conventions. She holds undergraduate and doctoral degrees in organ performance from SMU and from the University of Iowa respectively, and a master's degree in library and information science and musicology from the University of Illinois. Generally, it takes me about five bars to figure out what kind of recital is in store. Dr. Rigler set me at ease in perhaps two bars, with her great musical assurance and musicality, and the program began with the Mendelssohn G Major Prelude (op. 37, no. 2), rather the perfect beginning for a recital on a not very large but totally unforced and honest instrument. It was beautiful sound combined with beautiful playing. Next, Canzonetta (op. 71, no. 4), Arthur Foote; Concert Variations on the Austrian Hymn (op. 3), John Knowles Paine (1839-1906), who was Foote's teacher; we finished with the expected hymn, chosen by the recitalist--in this case, Austrian Hymn, of course. Dr. Rigler's accompaniments were just right. She led us without crushing us. She was under us with just the right amount of support, leaving room for us to hear and enjoy our own singing together.

Following this recital, we strolled around the town's historic district while the other half of the convention heard the same recital. Then buses picked us all up for a short trip to State College, Pennsylvania and lunch at the elegant Nittany Lion Inn.

David Dahl, St. John's Episcopal Church, Bellefonte, Pennsylvania

This, the penultimate day of the convention, is about as perfect a day of music as one could hope for, and not the only such day in this convention, or in other conventions. Please, even if you have never done it before, give serious consideration to attending this summer in Buffalo, New York, July 13-20. You will not believe the roster of artists and the distinguished collection of organs arranged for us by Joe McCabe and his committee. Go to and click on Conventions.

The 15-stop mechanical action organ at St. John's Episcopal Church was built circa 1892 by J. W. Steere & Sons. It is an untouched original, other than for routine maintenance and tuning, and it is in perfect working order. David Dahl's program began with the Buxtehude Toccata & Fugue in F, impeccably and beautifully played; Du, O schönes Weltgebaude, Ethel Smyth (1858-1944); Concerto Voluntary-Homage to John Stanley, David Dahl; Calvin Hampton's lovely Hymn Prelude on America, the beautiful-Materna served as a prelude to our, as always, spectacular hymn singing. We were given the directions we like to have: Stanza 1, Unison; Stanza 2, Harmony, sung quietly; Stanza 3, Harmony, sung boldly. There was not a dry eye to be found. Then, Allegro in C Major (for Flute Clock Organ), Haydn; Sidste Vaar (The Last Spring), Edvard Grieg, arr. Hans Olaf Lien; Toccata in G, Theodore Dubois, a very exciting end to this splendid performance. David Dahl recently retired from Pacific Lutheran University, and continues as director of music ministries at Christ Episcopal Church in Tacoma, Washington. His list of performances in this country and abroad is a long one, and there are numerous recordings.

Kola Owolabi, Trinity United Methodist Church, Bellefonte, Pennsylvania

I first heard Kola Owolabi in Spivey Hall outside Atlanta in 2002. He was a semi-finalist in the Calgary International Organ Competition. He has a bachelor's from McGill, a master's from Yale in organ performance and choral conducting, and is now enrolled at Eastman. In 2002, in Philadelphia, he was awarded Second Prize and the Audience Prize in the AGO National Organ Performance Competition. A published composer, he has received commissions from the Archdiocese of Toronto and the Royal Canadian College of Organists. For his performance here, he played a 1902 Hook & Hastings Organ of 16 stops, Opus 1893, restored by R. J. Brunner & Co. in 1991.

The program: Sonata III in A Major, Mendelssohn; here followed the hymn, Aus tiefer Not; from the Six Canonic Studies of Schumann, we heard No. 4 in A-flat major; Voluntary No. 4, William Russell (1777-1813); O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good (from Portraits from the Psalms), Kola Olowabi; this music is unique and wonderful, while yet accessible to all. Do watch for this name--I know there will be more music. This muse cannot be stilled.

Ken Cowan, Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, Altoona, Pennsylvania

Ken Cowan's recitals always create a great buzz of anticipation. What marvelous new delights will he unleash this time? Then, add in an organ not heard by many previously, but an instrument of incredible importance in organ history. It's an unbeatable formula. We certainly were not disappointed in the least with either organist or organ. The organ at the cathedral was built in 1931 by G.F. Steinmeyer & Company of Oettingen, Bavaria, Germany, as their Opus 1543. It comprises 83 ranks over three manuals and pedal, and a fourth manual and couplers were provided for a Sanctuary division, prepared for in 1931. The organ was restored in 1990-92 by Columbia Organ Works. Cowan began his recital with the Franck E Major Choral, which sent chills down our spines. This organ is capable of tremendous volume, but it all fits incredibly comfortably in the building, so no one is overwhelmed but all are moved powerfully. Next, Variations on Weinen, Klagen, Liszt, arranged from the original piano version by Alexander Winterberger (a pupil of Liszt), and by Ken Cowan; Valse Mignon, Karg-Elert; Max Reger's transcription of the Bach Chromatic Fantasie and Fugue for harpsichord turns it into a big Romantic affair, and it got a blaze of glory at the end. After intermission, we sang Calvin Hampton's tune St. Helena to the text "There's a wideness in God's mercy;" then, O Lamm Gottes (BWV 656), Allein Gott (BWV 664), Bach; and, finally, Hallelujah, Gott zu Loben, Reger. The ovation that followed is best described as tumultuous. It just would not stop, until Ken made it clear he was to offer up one more piece. The "Jig" Fugue was the perfect encore.

Last day, Thursday, June 26

The 2003 convention's last day featured single-manual organs. Over the years, the OHS has taught many organists that for the careful listener, wonderful music can be made on an organ of only one manual and a very few stops. While we miss here a large palette of stops of differing colors, we hear the music, its quality adorned by a mere handful of stops, themselves, hopefully, of great beauty. I have heard people say of, perhaps, a particular 8' Principal or a Flute, that "This is a sound I can listen to all day." It's this kind of experience that validates a day with four recitals on single-manual organs by builders of unquestioned quality, along with players who know how to best exploit them.

John Charles Schucker, Salem United Church, Bethel, Pennsylvania

The first recital of the day was played by John Charles Schucker, a name new to me, and a person I hope to hear again. He was at one time an organ student of Karl Moyer, who was perhaps responsible for bringing him to this convention. Mr. Schucker holds bachelor and master's degrees from the Juilliard School, where he studied organ with Vernon deTar and piano with Earl Wild. He is now pianist and organist with The American Boychoir in Princeton, New Jersey. The organ was built in 1872 by the distinguished Pennsylvania German organbuilder, Thomas Dieffenbach. It is one of two instruments we will hear today that has a Pedal division, in this case, a 16' Bourdon, a coupler, and only 13 pedal keys. The manual division is fairly complete with three 8' stops--Open Diapason, Flute, and Dulciana--a Principal, Flute, and Stopped Diapason at 4', and a 2' Fifteenth. The console is detached and reversed. The Wanamaker organ it is not, but for the careful listener, there is much beauty to be found.

Mr. Schucker's program: Sinfonia in E-flat major, BWV 791 (Three Part Inventions), Bach; two settings of Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten, by Telemann and Jacob Friedrich Greiss; Andantino in E Minor (L'Organiste), César Franck; O Gott, du frommer Gott, Brahms; we also sang the chorale, in Bach's glorious harmonization; Fugue on the name Julian (Three Fugues in honor of Thomas Julian Talley), David Hurd; two choral preludes on Vom Himmel hoch, by Friedrich Wilhelm Zachau (1663-1712) and Helmut Walcha (1907-1991); Fugue in C, Buxtehude. How wonderful, and what a fine recital, resourceful in its choice of music for the instrument, and played with both verve and sensitivity.

Lou Carol Fix at Peter Hall, Moravian College, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

After a relaxing, snoozing trip to Bethlehem and Moravian College, the convention divided into two parts, one having an early lunch, while my group headed upstairs to Peter Hall, with its wonderful little late 18th-century organ by Samuel Green of London. This is smaller than the Dieffenbach instrument, having no pedal division at all, and only four stops. It is also approximately 100 years older! There is an 8' Open Diapason and an 8' Stopped Diapason, a 4' Principal, divided Bass and Treble, and a 2' Fifteenth, also divided. So, smaller instrument, but a new flexibility, reflected in Ms. Fix's fine program. Ray Brunner (R. J. Brunner & Co.) meticulously restored this instrument in 1998.

The organ has an ingenious wind supply system. There is a wooden handle at the back right which can be pumped easily from there, but there is also a foot pedal which is movable. It can slide over to the right side of the case front where the pumper can both pump and, with hands free, turn pages or pull stops. However, this clever pedal can also be moved close enough to the organist so he or she can pump and provide wind while playing the organ.

Lou Carol Fix is artist/lecturer at Moravian College, teaching organ, recorder, and music history since 1985. She has degrees in organ and musicology from Salem College and Indiana University, and is organist and director of music at Peace-Tohickon Lutheran Church in Perkasie, Pennsylvania. The program began with a familiar Moravian hymn by Christian Gregor, "Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes . . ." Next, a hymn setting, thus called to set it apart from a simple chorale prelude. This was an historic manner of accompanying a hymn, Allein Gott, by Van Vleck; Prelude III (Nine Preludes, 1806), Christian Latrobe (1758-1836); the divided stops came into their own in a Trumpet Voluntary by John Bennett (c. 1735-1784); Toccata Terza (The First Book of Toccatas, Partitas), Girolamo Frescobaldi (1583-1643); the mean tone temperament of this instrument combines with this early 17th-century work to create sounds of a rare beauty. The concert ended with Voluntary for the Organ by Benjamin Carr, born in England in 1768, but coming to the U.S. in 1793, and settling in Philadelphia. And so ended a second fine recital on this final day of the convention.

Thomas Dressler, Moravian Historical Museum

Next was lunch and a stroll around the grounds, before hopping on the bus for Nazareth and Whitefield House of the Moravian Historical Museum. The organs are getting smaller! Not so much, actually, as this organ by Tannenberg has four stops as did the Samuel Green instrument, but here the stops are not divided, and there is not an 8' Open Diapason, but rather a Flute Amabile, an open stop beautiful in its own right, but without quite the strength that a Diapason would have. The honor of playing this lovely instrument went to Thomas Dressler who studied as a teenager with James Boeringer, later earning a Bachelor of Music degree, cum laude, at Susquehanna University, and then a Master of Music degree in performance, with honors, at Westminster Choir College. His teachers at Westminster were Mark Brombaugh and Joan Lippincott.

The program began with our magnificent singing of a hymn in glorious harmony, a hymn that is apparently of tremendous significance in Moravian congregations, "Sing hallelujah, praise the Lord" to a tune by Bishop John Bechler (1784-1857); next, Trip to Pawtucket, Oliver Shaw; Voluntary #1 (from American Church Organ Voluntaries, 1856); Rondo, Oliver Shaw; Voluntary in C (Century of American Organ Music 1776-1876, Vol. 3), James Cox Beckel (1811-1880); The Bristol March, Oliver Shaw; Partita on Gelobet seist du, and Capriccio in D, Georg Böhm (1661-1733).

After a suitable interval, we found our way to the buses, heading for Shartlesville, for The Pennsylvania Dutch Dinner at the famous Haag's Hotel. We then were given the choice of taking the bus or a short walk to Friedens Church, still in Shartlesville.

Lois Regestein, Friedens Church, Shartlesville

The final recital of the day, and also of the convention, was given by Lois Regestein, an OHS regular of long standing. She began with the lovely Prelude in F of Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel (1805-1847); Pastorale, Bach; The Nines, a most interesting piece written in 1992 by a well-known member of the OHS family, Rachel Archibald; Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g'mein, Ernst Pepping (1900-1981); a lovely Polish carol, Pospieszcie pastuszki do stajenki, Stefan Surzyuski; Freuet euch, ihr Christen alle, Pepping; The Nighting Gall, Henry Loosemore, (c.1605-1670); The Thunder Storm, Thomas P. Ryder (1836-1887); we sang the hymn quoted in the last movement of the Ryder, the well-known Vesper Hymn, to a tune attributed to Bortniansky. The organ was by Thomas Dieffenbach, built in 1891, one of his last instruments. Like the Dieffenbach we heard first today, the console is detached and reversed. The manual division of this instrument has eight stops, four at 8' (Open Diapason, Stopped Diapason, Flute, and Dulciana); at 4', Principal and Stopped Diapason, Quint (shown as 3' here) and 2' Flauto. There are 20 pedal notes, and the two stops are a 16' Sub Bass and an 8' Violin Bass, plus a coupler.

Mrs. Regestein holds degrees from both Oberlin and the Yale School of Music. Since 1983, she has been organist for the First Congregational Church in Winchester, Massachusetts. In 1987, the OHS conferred on her The Distinguished Service Award for her efforts to protect the splendid 1863 E. & G.G. Hook Organ in the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Boston, from threatened damage or removal.

2004 Convention

Let us all gather in Buffalo this summer, from July 13th through the 20th for the 2004 Convention of The Organ Historical Society. For information: 804/353-9226; www.organsociety.org.

John Bishop

Size matters, part two
First assignment: Please reread In the wind . . . in the May issue of The Diapason. Thank you.
Robin Hall is a very cool man. I met him in his office on West 34th Street in New York late on a February afternoon. A two-foot model of Sponge Bob Square Pants hangs from the ceiling. Kermit the Frog sits on the desk next to a DVD of Miracle on 34th Street. The walls are painted Wasabi Green. Kermit clashes with the walls—It isn’t easy being green. There’s a rack of file folders on a shelf under the window behind his desk—the folders are bright orange, obviously chosen to complement the walls. A snappy haircut, stylish eyeglass frames, and a breezy enthusiastic manner complete the picture.
Mr. Hall is a vice president for Macy’s department stores, and his office is in Macy’s flagship store on Herald Square. He heads the company’s department of Annual and Special Events. While I expect some department stores consider inventory to be the height of annual events, when you think of Macy’s you think of the Thanksgiving Day Parade. The department employs about 50 people who produce the parade, in-store flower shows, and public fireworks displays, to name a few activities. The hanging Sponge Bob is a sculptor’s model for a huge parade balloon. A few blocks away, there’s a parade studio with welders, woodworkers, and the cadre of artisans needed to build the floats and balloons for the parade, the artsy little bridges and gazebos that are installed in the store for flower shows, and all the other gizmos and gadgets that are the products of this unique division.
When I observed that he has a dream job, Robin pointed through the wall to the guy in the next office saying, “he’s the one with the great job.” He’s the one who interviews, reviews, auditions, and coordinates the high-school bands that travel to participate in the parade each Thanksgiving. You might think that job to be a nightmare of logistics, cancellations, and odd requests from hundreds of people, but Robin referred to the huge excitement of the many families traveling to New York so their kids could march in the great televised parade. Attitude matters.
Our conversation was about an hour long, ebullient, rocketing from one thing to another. At one point Robin said, “. . . more than in many other facets of modern life, passion is common in my world. I’m surrounded by passionate people doing the things they are passionate about.” (See Photo 1: a disinterested listener.)
Wouldn’t it be great if someone like this were in a position of responsibility for the care and promotion of a monumental public pipe organ?
A few years ago Macy’s merged with Federated Department Stores. The new company spun off Lord & Taylor. Lord & Taylor moved out, and Macy’s moved into a grand building on Market Street in Philadelphia, originally built by John Wanamaker to house his legendary department store, which included just that monumental public pipe organ. That’s right—the people who produce the Macy’s Parade are in charge of the Wanamaker Organ.
Last month I wrote about the history of that iconic instrument, hence the assignment for rereading. This month I share my reflections after spending 36 hours with the organ and the people around it. It was organ curator Curt Mangel who told me about Macy’s hearty support of the organ. Curt encouraged me to get in touch with Robin Hall; that referral led to my interview with him. Robin told me that when Macy’s acquired the Wanamaker properties, Melissa Ludwig, regional director of Macy’s Stores for the Philadelphia area, “sent an e-mail around” that described the relevance and reputation of the Wanamaker organ and in effect encouraged store management to be aware of the importance of the stewardship of the organ.
Robin Hall told me much about the importance of music in Macy’s heritage. He described an upcoming concert at Carnegie Hall, A Tribute to Macy’s, which would include newly commissioned songs. Each of the 80 versions of the Macy’s Parade has been a major musical event. For 40 years Macy’s has produced the July 4th fireworks on the New York waterfront in collaboration with the New York Pops Orchestra. Live music is considered an important part of any Macy’s event. Robin told me, for example, that the East Village Opera Company would be performing at upcoming corporate meetings. Special events are not a marketing tool, but central to the company’s mission. Attractions like the parade and flower shows are assets to retail activity and an opportunity for Macy’s to give back to the community. Simply put, Macy’s has always believed that music and theater are an essential part of the shopping experience. Special events enhance the brand. And emotionalism is “almost a religion.” How’s that for a corporate priority?
As Macy’s has long been devoted to musical and artistic extravaganzas, what better organization to have responsibility for the world’s greatest musical instrument? I was told how the Wanamaker Organ was a perfect fit into the portfolio of the Special Events Division, that it would “have a natural place in the Macy’s method.” Plans are under way to feature the organ in new types of programs and to enhance the listening experience in the Grand Court. And beyond mere enthusiasm is considerable tangible support. In its first years of stewardship of the organ, Macy’s has committed to the design and purchase of a new Peterson combination action (remember, there are 462 stop-tablets and 167 pistons!) and to the refinishing of the massive ornamented case of the six-manual console.
My hour in Robin Hall’s office was inspiring—how thrilling to hear of a major retail corporation wholeheartedly involved in arts and culture. It was fun—Robin is a compelling and engaging person. And it was encouraging—we live in a world dominated by bad news, in a culture that celebrates mediocrity, and my heart was warmed by the enthusiasm emanating from a corporate office in Manhattan in support of an organ in Philadelphia.
But the real thrill that day was to hear Robin talk about Peter Richard Conte, the Grand Court Organist, and L. Curt Mangel III, the curator of the organ. Robin spoke of how Peter understands the mission of the organ, that he is a serious, exceedingly skillful classical musician who knows how to balance high culture and popular populist selections, and who has a highly developed sense of fun. He spoke of Curt’s deep dedication to his work, his technical and organizational skills, his encyclopedic understanding of the instrument, and the work of keeping it in good condition. (See Photo 2: Peter Richard Conte [aka The conjurer].)
Peter Richard Conte has been Grand Court Organist at the Wanamaker Store since 1989. The hundreds of concerts he’s played at the store—along with his active touring schedule—make him one of America’s most experienced performers. In addition to what must be dozens of hours at the keyboard each week, Peter is both skilled and prolific at transcribing major orchestral repertory for his performances. His neat large-format manuscripts are peppered with colored dots indicating registration changes—the preparation time is obvious. I felt privileged to stand next to Peter while he played a noontime recital that included the “Immolation Scene” from Richard Wagner’s Götterdämmerung, César Franck’s Choral in A minor, and Robert Hebble’s intricate and sexy Danny Boy (melody in the pedal, accompaniment packed with the “ten dollar chords” described in Ted Alan Worth’s rambling, moderately literate, intensely personal recollections of Virgil Fox in The Dish). The console is bewildering. I’ve mentioned 462 stop-tablets, but you have to see it to appreciate it. There are eleven expression pedals and six keyboards. Peter’s hands are just like everyone else’s except they each have eight telescoping fingers and each finger has three knuckles that are not double but universally jointed. He flies through the most complicated passages with apparent ease, the observer having hardly a chance of comprehending the relationship between the printed score and what’s happening on the keyboards.
It sounds like a parlor trick, but it’s so much more. While the symphony orchestra comprises dozens of separate voices that are independently expressive, it’s usual for organists to think of expression as a one- or two-dimensional concept. Peter Conte playing the Wanamaker organ produces expressive effects that defy the commoner’s understanding of the pipe organ. Independent voices on three keyboards simultaneously, two pedal voices, one of which is a high-note melody, and inexplicably one voice in decrescendo with another climaxing—oh yes, remember those brass bars under the keyboards that operate the shutters, and look at those sneaky thumbs. (See Photo 3: Swell Shoes?) Amazing. A decrescendo into nothingness accomplished by running a thumb across a row of stop tablets like a line of falling dominoes. Breathtaking. A powerful burst from an array of colorful stentorian solo reeds. Thrilling. And all the while, commerce is going on. Macy’s customers are trying on shoes, sampling cosmetics, matching neckties to shirts, paying for their purchases. Peter’s abilities as an organist and performer are exceeded only by his understanding of the limitless instrument at which he sits.
The late Charles Fisk reportedly defined a “reed” as “an organ stop that needs two days of work.” This organ has 82 ranks of reeds. There are more than 30,000 pipes, each with a valve that’s a potential cipher. Heaven may or may not know how many electrical contacts there are, but Curt Mangel does. (See Photo 4: L. Curt Mangel III—The man behind the curtain.) Curt is a brisk energetic man whose gait announces his sense of purpose. He speaks with authority and precision, each sentence including an extra clause for explanation. It’s hard to ask him questions, because so much of what he says is answers. Curt has been curator of the Wanamaker Organ since March 2002. He guided me through the instrument, talking of history, challenges, dreams, and accomplishments. He told me how it’s possible, even usual, for two or three tuners to work in the organ at once, each with an assistant at a tuning keyboard, working in different divisions with shutters closed. His command of technical details reveals the diligence and intensity with which he has informed himself about the organ.
Curt showed me the newly commissioned organ workshop on the third floor of the store. Assistant curator Samuel Whitcraft and apprentice Scott Kip work with Curt to facilitate large-scale restoration projects and day-to-day maintenance. New equipment, large windows looking out at City Hall, spacious work areas, and historic photos combine to make a most agreeable working environment, space provided by Macy’s in the spirit of their positive attitude toward the future of the organ. (See Photo 5: The Wanamaker Organ Shop.)
Together and separately, Peter and Curt are enthusiastic advocates of this mammoth organ. They speak freely about their love of the instrument, their devotion to its heritage, history, and future, and of their mutual respect. They are working in a climate of collegiality and cooperation with the people at Macy’s—reveling in the opportunity to work with this special instrument with the support and encouragement of its owner. But it was not always like that. There have been long periods during which it was difficult to secure funding. There have been management teams that limited practice time because of the cost of after-hours security. There have been disputes over decibel levels during daytime performances. There have been periods during which the future of the organ was uncertain. Perhaps the greatest contribution to the organ by long-time curator Nelson Buechner was his dedication during what devotees to the Symphonic Organ might term the long dark days of the Revival of the Classic Organ.
And in the darkest of those appeared Ray Biswanger, founder and president of the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ. Ray has been instrumental and effective in the advocacy of the organ to its various owners. Working with Curt Mangel, the Friends have established the Symphonic Organ Symposium, an educational effort that organizes the gathering of ten or so volunteers, all professional organbuilders, for four or five days at a time, about four times a year. Curt lays out large repair projects, lays in the necessary materials, and lays on the marching orders. This confluence of talented professionals provides an unprecedented forum for the exchange of ideas, techniques, and experiences—hence the emphasis of the symposium’s educational value. This extraordinary effort is what allows us to experience the Wanamaker organ in such wonderful condition. The Friends of the Wanamaker Organ provide lodging and meals for symposium participants who volunteer their time and pay their own travel expenses.
Recently there was a special event to unveil the new organbuilding workshop. At the same time, the newly restored chorus of Vox Humanas was introduced. Originally part of the Orchestral Organ (currently under restoration), Manual 8' Vox Humanas I–VII (originally I–VI—they added one—you can’t have enough Voxes!), Manual 16' Vox Humana, and Pedal 16' Vox Humanas I–II (count ’em, ten ranks of Voxes in the same room) have been installed in their own division in a prominent location behind the shutters that were originally for the Orchestral Organ. As the ten ranks stand neatly in pairs on windchest divisions, there are five regulators and five tremulants to “complete the bleat.” Amazingly, but after all logically, Peter asked Curt to provide “Vox divisional pistons!” Sure enough, that extraordinary chorus has its own pistons allowing Vox crescendi and Vox decrescendi. And the proof is in the pudding—what a singular effect when that thumb runs down the buttons at the end of a phrase. (See Photo 6: You don’t see this every day.)
Free of the burden of all those Voxes, the restored Orchestral Organ will be installed in a new location to the right of the main organ at the same level as the String Organ. It is testament to the community’s regard and opinion of the organ that 380 new square feet of floor space are being provided for the organ. Think how many Speedos and bikinis they could sell in that amount of commercial space. The Orchestral Organ is scheduled for installation in the spring of 2008. After that, the restoration of the Great Chorus—a separate division of large solo Diapason, Flute, and String voices—will begin in the fall of 2008.
Philadelphia is a good vacation destination. Excellent restaurants and hotels abound, historic shrines and sites are everywhere. There are dramatic vistas that include photogenic bridges and waterfronts. And for the organ nut there is immense wealth. If you want to plan a trip, look into schedules of organ performances at the new Kimmel Center (home of the Philadelphia Orchestra and the new 125-rank Dobson organ) and Irvine Auditorium of the University of Pennsylvania (162-rank Austin). You might also try the Girard College Chapel where there’s a 102-rank E. M. Skinner organ. Four terrific organs, 851 ranks.
In the last few years, the Organ Clearing House crew has spent considerable time in Philadelphia dismantling, packing, and later shipping the massive Möller organ from the now-destroyed Philadelphia Civic Center (it’s now at the University of Oklahoma, where it will be restored as part of that school’s new American Organ Institute). That work, along with the 2002 AGO convention, and the fact that Philadelphia is “on the way” from Boston to lots of other places, have provided me with ample opportunities to visit the Wanamaker Store. And the longer that organ, Peter Conte, Curt Mangel, and the good people of Macy’s are working together under the same ornate roof, the more reason for all of us who love the pipe organ to visit Philadelphia.
Writing about statistics, stoplists, or histories cannot do real justice to the experience of hearing this organ. You must go. There are countless opportunities—go to www.wanamaker organ.com to see the schedule of concerts, to join the Friends of the Wanamaker Organ, to make a contribution to this amazing work, and to purchase a copy of Ray Biswanger’s thoughtful, balanced, and copiously illustrated book about the organ, Music in the Marketplace. Tell them I sent you. There is nothing else like the Wanamaker Organ, anywhere. Don’t take my word for it. And don’t miss the Brazilian steak house next door.

New directions in US organ research

by Joseph Fitzer

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

by Brian Swager

News from Iowa State University

1. Spring Carillon and Organ Festival 1997

Iowa State University hosted the Spring Carillon and Organ
Festival 1997 and the Carillon Composition Competition during the weekend of April 25-27. The Festival also celebrated the tenth anniversary of the installation and dedication of the Brombaugh organ of the Music Department. Guest artists were Brian Swager, former University Carillonneur at Indiana University, Bloomington, and David Dahl, organist from Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington. The Festival began with two recitals by the guest artists. Brian Swager performed carillon music from Belgium and America that included Johan Franco's Ames Nocturne, a work commissioned by The Stanton Memorial Carillon Foundation in 1984. David Dahl performed organ works by two women composers: Fanny Mendelssohn and Ethel Smyth, and Michel Corrette's Magnificat du 3e et 4e ton with Donald Simonson as cantor. A workshop on "Organ Works by Three 19th-century Women Composers: Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn and Ethel Smyth" was conducted by David Dahl on Saturday morning, and Brian Swager held a carillon seminar in the afternoon on "Music for the Carillon: A Distinguished Repertoire Emerges." The Festival continued with a Family Concert featuring ISU student carillonneurs, ISU Wind Ensemble, ISU Dance Tour Company, and ISU Oratorio Choir. Echo by Amy Michelle Black was premiered by Michael Tammaro at the carillon and the Oratorio Choir under the baton of Robert Molinson. The Festival concluded on Sunday with carillon music from The Netherlands performed by Tin-shi Tam, Iowa State University Carillonneur.

A  Carillon
Composition Competition was held to encourage young composers to write original
carillon music. Judges were Brian Swager, Jeffrey Prater, and
style="mso-spacerun: yes">  Tin-shi Tam. Contestants were from all
parts of the country and overseas. The winning composition was By de dei
lâns (The Proceedings of the Day) by Klaas R. R. de Haan of Amsterdam,
The Netherlands. It was premiered by 
Tin-shi Tam during the Festival. The next Spring Carillon Festival
and  Carillon Composition
Competition  will be held from
April 24-26, 1998. Guest carillonneur will be Albert Gerken, University
Carillonneur  at University of
Kansas, Lawrence.

II. Junior High Keyboard Camp

The Fifth Annual Keyboard Explorations junior high school
summer music camp was hosted by the Iowa State University Music Department from
July 7-12, 1997. Participants had the opportunity to learn about various kinds
of keyboard instruments and had hands-on experiences in playing them. Seven
participants studied carillon under ISU Carillonneur, Tin-shi Tam. Two carillon
concerts were performed by students towards the end of the week.

III. 1998 Carillon Composition Competition

Iowa State University has announced the Carillon Composition
Competition '98. The purpose of the competition is to encourage the writing of
original carillon compositions by composers under age 35. The submitted work
shall be an original composition for four-octave carillon (tenor C to C4), with
a two-octave pedal board (tenor C to C2). The composition may be a solo, duet
for one carillon, or a work for carillon with one or more other instruments or
chorus. The submitted composition must be postmarked no later than March 31,
1998. For more information contact the University Carillonneur at Iowa State
University; Music Department; 149 Music Hall; Ames, IA 50011; phone:
515/294-2911, e-mail: tstam@iastate. edu or web-site: www.music.iastate.edu

Bell information requested

In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Belgian
Carillon School, a festschrift will be published. Marc Van Bets is preparing a
paper on Mechelen bellfounders for this book. He requests reports on all
Mechelen bells that currently are, or ever have been, in
style="mso-spacerun: yes">  North America. Such bells would have
been brought by Capuchin monks who came to North America as missionaries. All
bells are included in the scope of the paper: carillon, church, tolling,
ornamental, etc. All information is welcome, such as the function of the bell,
measurements, pitch, anecdotes, photos. Please contact Marc Van Bets; Ridder
Dessainlaan 27; 2800 Mechelen; Belgium. Phone: (0112)32.15.42.38.52. Fax:
(011)32.15.43.17.07. Email: [email protected]

1998 Queen Fabiola Competition

Since its founding in 1922 the Royal Carillon School
"Jef Denyn" in Mechelen, Belgium, has fostered a greater blossoming
of the carillon art. Toward this end, the school established the Queen Fabiola
International Carillon Competition in 1987. This competition has grown rapidly,
becoming the most important of its kind and providing a strong stimulus for the
recognition of the carillon art as a high-quality artistic expression.

The winners of the first three competitions were: Geert
D'hollander of Belgium in 1987; Boudewijn Zwart of The Netherlands, in 1990;
and Gideon Bodden of The Netherlands, in 1993.

The fourth Queen Fabiola Competition will take place August
5-9, 1998. Carillonneurs from around the world are invited to take part. There
is no age limit. After an elimination round, a maximum of six competitors will
be selected for the finals. Judging will be done by an international jury.

The candidates are required to present nine pieces of a high
virtuosic level: three baroque, three romantic, and three contemporary pieces.
The romantic and contemporary selections must be original carillon compositions
and not transcriptions. One of the baroque pieces must be a carillon prelude
written by Matthias van den Gheyn. In addition, there will be an obligatory
piece.

The school's 1997 international composition competition
brought 21 entries from seven countries: Belgium, The Netherlands, Australia,
The USA, Spain, Russia, and Sweden. Performance of the winning composition will
be required for participants in the Queen Fabiola Competition. Winners of the
composition competition will be announced once registration for the Fabiola
Competition is closed.

During the competition, the participants perform on the new
carillon in the St. Rombouts tower. This instrument was founded by Koninklijke
Eijsbouts in 1981. It is tuned in equal temperament and consists of 49 bells;
the bourdon sounds F and weighs eight tons.

The first-prize winner will receive 100,000 BF, a bronze
bell, a certificate, and a concert tour in Belgium  in 1999. Five additional prizes with cash awards will be
given. The SABAM prize of 25,000 BF will be awarded for the best interpretation
of a contemporary Flemish carillon composition, and an additional 25,000 BF
will reward the best improvisation. Participants should send their completed
applications to the Royal Carillon School "Jef Denyn"
style="mso-spacerun: yes">  before April 30, 1998. After their
repertoire has been approved, the full list of regulations and practical
information will be sent to each competitor. The obligatory piece will be sent
to the participants two months before the beginning of the competition.
Participants are granted a per diem of 1000 BF for as long as they take part in
the competition.

For information and applications, contact
style="mso-spacerun: yes">  the Royal Carillon School "Jef
Denyn"; Frederik de Merodestraat 63; 2800 Mechelen; Belgium. Phone:
32.15.20.47.92. Fax: 32.15.20.31.76.

McLellan appointed at MSU

Ray McLellan has been appointed University Carillonneur at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. His responsibilities include playing weekly recitals, teaching carillon and organ, coordinating and
producing the MSU Summer Carillon Recital Series. Ray studied carillon with
Margo Hal-sted at the University of Michigan and with Todd Fair at the
Netherlands Carillon School. He earned the Bachelor of
style="mso-spacerun: yes">  Arts degree at Florida Southern College
in Lakeland and the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees at the
University of Michigan. He also studied on full scholarship at the
Pädagogische Hochschule in Freiburg, Germany. Besides the position at MSU,
Dr. McLellan continues in his church and temple positions.