Schoenstein & Co. Celebrate its 125th Anniversary

R. E. Coleberd is a contributing editor to The Diapason.

Introduction

Pipe organ building in America today, as portrayed in the music media, is described exclusively as the crafting of new instruments, some with mechanical action and nearly all with carved or gilded cases. This is understandable given the news value of new instruments, but it is nonetheless unfortunate because it ignores a vital segment of organbuilding today: the restoration, rebuilding, refurbishing, updating, and modernizing of existing instruments as well as the building of new instruments from recycled and new material. This activity is primarily the work of individuals and small firms, unsung heroes in the spectrum of organbuilding today. Their work is especially important for two reasons: it speaks to the ongoing primacy of the King of Instruments as the time-honored musical medium in a house of worship, and the determination of congregations, recognizing this fact, to preserve and promote the pipe organ for present and future generations.
In 1966 the author published, in these pages, “The Place of the Small Builder in the American Organ Industry.” His comment that the independent builder “may well assume increasing importance in the future of the pipe organ and the organ industry”1 was perhaps prophetic of the situation today. In many ways this narrative is a continuation and update of that article. Forty years ago the pipe organ industry was dominated by the major builders, whose work accounted for 80% of the new instruments in a market where the discarding and replacement of older instruments was a major portion of the work. Today the situation is vastly different. The market is now only a shadow of its former self. Several major builders have folded, unable to continue under greatly diminished factory production; buyers have welcomed the electronic instrument amid drastically diminished mainline church membership and budgets; and the academic market, with certain notable exceptions, is gone because colleges and universities are market-driven and direct capital resources to enrollment demand.
Yet, organbuilding continues, and pipe organs will always be built in this country and the world over. An important segment of this effort, now demanding recognition, is the work of talented individuals, working alone and in collaboration with other artisans, to craft instruments of singular artistic merit in accordance with public recognition today that a pipe organ is a work of art and the work of an artist. In a statement in 1966 prophetic of the situation today, Robert J. Reich, founder and now retired president of the Andover Organ Company, an early participant in the tracker organ revival in America, stated his philosophy of organbuilding as “the craftsman’s approach to construction and the musician’s approach to tone.”2 Musical interest and skill begin early and often with other instruments, while craftsmanship is acquired through formal and informal training.
This article describes the career of D. Steuart Goodwin: the experiences and individuals who shaped his philosophy of organbuilding, details of several instruments in his opus list, and his contemporary voicing and tonal finishing assignments. Steuart has won the admiration and respect of organ committees, organists, and builders as evidenced by his assignments across the country. Jack Bethards, president of Schoenstein Organbuilders, calls Goodwin a genius:

There is no other way to explain his brilliance in so many fields. Steuart combines the well-honed skill of a master craftsman with the cultivated taste and sensitivity of a fine artist. He has a real gift for design both visual and tonal. He is a musician through and through. His touch with pipes is magical. With ease and efficiency, he can bring the best musical quality out of just about any set of pipes.3

Said Manuel Rosales of Rosales Organbuilders:

My friend and colleague Steuart Goodwin is a rare individual, whose organ building talents combine great skill, good taste, and economy of resources. He is equally at home with visual design, tonal finishing, and hands-on organbuilding. His love of the craft is exemplified by the warm and inviting sounds of his new instruments and many revoicing projects. He and his work continue to be a source of personal and professional inspiration for me, his coworkers, and his clients.4

Early life and education

Donald Steuart Goodwin, Jr. was born on April 9, 1942 in Riverside, California, the son of a building contractor who sang in college musical productions, and a sometime public school teacher and housewife who taught piano privately.5 His grandfather, Phillip Goodwin, taught violin in Redlands, California, and played in a string quartet. Steuart’s folks met at the University of Redlands, a Baptist liberal arts college long known for its fine musical program. Arthur Poister taught organ there in the 1920s when a celebrated four-manual, 54-rank Casavant organ, recently restored and updated, was installed in Memorial Chapel. The organ program at Redlands is primarily associated with Leslie Spelman (1903–2000), a nationally known teacher and pedagogue who joined the faculty in 1937.6
Steuart’s musical interests began early; his 96-year-old mother recalls that he could carry a tune at the age of two. He began cornet lessons in the fourth grade and enrolled in the band at Lincoln School in Riverside. He recalls as a youngster asking his mother about the Estey pipe organ in the family’s Methodist church, but what really turned him on was when, at the age of fourteen, he and his father saw Disney’s 20,000 Leagues under the Sea and heard Captain Nemo play Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor. “I went home and played my older sister Jane’s recording over and over, checked out books at the library on organbuilding, and from that time on I was permanently ‘hooked’,” he says.7
Eager to study organ, Steuart approached Roberta Bitgood, organist at Calvary Presbyterian Church in Riverside, who had studied organ with Clarence Dickinson and who was later national president of the AGO. She suggested he begin with a year of piano instruction, which he did, before studying with her for two years, in the 11th and 12th grades.8 While in high school, his future organbuilding career began when he installed a three-rank Robert Morton theatre organ in his family’s garage. His theatre organ interest continued and became part of his work.
In 1959 he matriculated in the music program at the University of Redlands, majoring in composition under Wayne Bohrnstedt, having already written two chorale preludes for organ and a sonata for woodwind quintet. He sang in the University Choir his freshman year and played in the concert band all four years. In 1961, his sophomore year, he won the $800 first prize in the Forest Lawn Foundation Writing Awards Contest with an essay entitled, “The Organ Builder Finds His Place.”9 During Goodwin’s junior year, the band director persuaded three trumpeters to switch to French horn, which was a wise move for Steuart as he went on to play horn for 13 seasons in the University-Community Symphony—until it was converted to all union professionals.10 In recent years he has played French horn in a woodwind quintet and in the Redlands Fourth of July Band.
Goodwin studied organ at Redlands with Raymond Boese (1924–1988), who came to Redlands in 1961 to join his former teacher and now colleague Leslie Spelman in the music department.11 By his junior year, Steuart had become dissatisfied with the Wicks, Harry Hall (New Haven), and Robert Morton practice organs on campus, all dated and woefully inadequate for modern pedagogy and performance. He convinced the school that they needed a tracker instrument, having been listening avidly to recordings by E. Power Biggs playing and narrating tracker organs in Europe. Scouring classified ads in The Diapason, he found an 1870s George Stevens (Cambridge) instrument for sale by Nelson Barden.12 After months of negotiating with school officials, the parties reached an agreement, whereby the school would pay for the instrument and shipping, and Goodwin would install it in Watchorn Hall. In gratitude for this effort, the school awarded him three credits toward graduation.13 Steuart’s senior recital at Redlands, featuring his own compositions, included a Trio for horn, violin and piano, a Quintet for woodwinds, a Sonata for organ, and a Suite for brass.14 He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in music in 1964.
During this period he built a small organ with paper pipes on which he could play a Haydn clock piece (see photos). Then, in a remarkable coincidence, E. Power Biggs played a recital on the Casavant in the Redlands chapel. Goodwin showed him the paper-pipes organ, and Biggs, unprompted, played that particular Haydn piece on it. Recognizing Steuart’s interest and promise, Biggs suggested that he apply for a Fulbright scholarship to study organbuilding in Europe. In his letter of recommendation to the Institute of International Education, Biggs wrote:

Steuart Goodwin has the possibly-unusual wish to study organ building in Europe, preferably in the center of fine organs, old and new, which is Holland. . . . I cannot think of anyone who would be more qualified for a Fulbright grant than Steuart Goodwin, nor anyone who could make better use of the opportunity. Already at Redlands he has proved his theoretical grasp of the subject, and his ability to transform ideas into action, and practical results.”15

The choice for the Fulbright year abroad for Goodwin, 1964–65, was between Flentrop and von Beckerath. He chose Flentrop because most Hollanders speak English, and his German was very limited. His experience was mixed, probably unlike that of most Fulbright scholars, he comments. He was assigned to the pipe shop where he acquired pipemaking skills, but he had a brief run-in with Mr. Flentrop. Inadvertently interrupting a conference while trying to introduce himself, he was subsequently ushered into the maestro’s office and severely scolded. “If we had been Germans you would have been thrown out immediately,” Flentrop said, adding, “you can stay here if you will simply work in the pipe shop and keep quiet. Try to observe the Dutch boys and behave as they do.”16 This meant never asking questions—asking questions was unheard of for an apprentice. He was never allowed to see the company woodworking shop in Koog an de Zaan. He did, however, make several sets of pipes for the Rugwerk division of the large four-manual Flentrop instrument in St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle.
At the end of his Flentrop sojourn, Goodwin met with Dr. Martin Vente, internationally renowned organ historian and scholar, who provided him with a map locating important Dutch organs nearby. He spent several days traveling by train and bicycle to see many of them. The one that deeply impressed him and would greatly influence his emerging tonal philosophy and mark his work today was at the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, ironically dismissed by Flentrop as too romantic.17 “I suffered something of a cognitive dissonance over this, since Flentrop represented the Neo-Baroque ideal espoused by Biggs,” Steuart comments. “I was supposed to like the Baroque, but found myself more deeply moved by the 19th-century voluptuousness of this instrument.”18
Returning from Holland, he opened a small shop in San Bernardino, soon welcoming an opportunity to move to a larger, well-equipped facility nearby, the former Fletcher Planing Mill, whose owner was retiring. There he built three small tracker organs and rebuilt two. Opus 1, a six-rank, two-manual tracker for the Fine Arts building at the University of Redlands, was originally purchased by the organ professor, Raymond Boese. He sold his interest to the university, which paid Steuart a nominal sum and traded him the Hall and Morton instruments. The stoplist comprised a Gemshorn 8' and Principal 2' on Manual I, a Gedeckt 8' and Rohrflute 4' on Manual II, and a 16' Bourdon and 4' Choral Bass on the Pedal, plus the usual couplers. His Opus 2, 1972, was an 11-rank, two-manual tracker for the Fourth Ward Mormon Church in Riverside. In 1973 he built Opus 3, a one-manual, four-rank rental organ. This instrument was used at the Memorial Chapel, University of Redlands, for the Feast of Lights one year, and has been rented by the Ambassador Auditorium and by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestras for use in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and Hollywood Bowl. It is now in a home in Altadena.19 Reflecting on Opus 1 and 2, he describes this period as his Biggs, Flentrop, Schlicker days and says:

In each of these first two small organs there was to be only one independent eight-foot rank on the Great. It needed to work as an accompanimental sound as well as the foundation for a small principal chorus. At St. Bavo in Holland, I had heard an unforgettably warm tapered hybrid stop called ‘Barpijp,’ which inspired me to use a Gemshorn instead of a less flexible Principal or Stopped Flute. I experimented with using Gemshorns in a Swell division, but soon grew out of that and came to greatly prefer real string tone.20

During this long period of apprenticeship including travel, reading, talking with organists and organbuilders, and perhaps most importantly listening—to records and instruments—his philosophy of organbuilding and tonal ideals were taking shape, and he made certain fundamental decisions about the direction of his emerging career. He determined that he wanted to work individually, expressing his own artistic concepts, free from the constraints of established large builders where opinions differ, compromises are often the rule, and mimicking some academic paradigm or current fashion is required. His primary goal became to achieve “a certain populist sensibility when it comes to providing what will please congregations and audiences.”21 “Many times I have wondered whether to stay [in Redlands], but if I were to work for a nationally known organ builder, I would lose the independence I have here,” he told the San Bernardino Sun-Telegram in 1978.22 And as he told columnist Nelda Stuck of the Redlands Daily Facts in 1987, “There is no area of music I can think of where there are so many factions and arguments about style,” referring to Baroque vs. Romantic pipe organs and tracker vs. electro-pneumatic action.23

Trinity Episcopal Church

Opus 4, an instrument in which he takes particular pride, illustrates the scope of Goodwin’s early work and evidences his talents in voicing and case designs: the 35-rank, 31 speaking stops, three-manual tracker in Trinity Episcopal Church, Redlands, California. Originally built in 1853 by the prominent New York City builder George Jardine for the First Presbyterian Church in Rome, New York, it was acquired by St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Rome in 1908, where it was rebuilt by C. E. Morey of Utica, New York. Meanwhile, Trinity Church in Redlands installed a three-manual Austin, Opus 111, in 1904.24
The Jardine-Morey organ was acquired through the Organ Clearing House, and over a period of 19 months was rebuilt, together with parts of the Austin, as an eclectic instrument combining 802 original and 838 new pipes for a total of 1640 (see 1975 stoplist). This project illustrates the amalgamation of older and new material into an instrument of singular artistic merit. Through a vision of what these two instruments together could and should be, Goodwin was able to “see” how the skilful blending of solo and foundation stops would produce vibrant and colorful choruses and ensembles. This organ fulfills Goodwin’s conviction that there has to be a visual-sonic relationship, i.e., a relationship between what you see and what you hear (see photos). “A pipe organ should be capable of choruses, amalgams of many tones from many pipes, producing a rich, subtly infused musical statement,” he told Dennis Tristram, a reporter for the Riverside Daily Press newspaper.25
In an arched nave opening three lancet arches were formed of oak and filled with 15 newly painted and stenciled dummy pipes retained from the Austin façade. Trinity Church has been described as an example of 19th-century Anglo-American architecture, which led to the chancel case design that Steuart based on the case at Peterborough Cathedral in England designed by Arthur George Hill (1857–1923), described as one of the great Victorian organ builders.26
During the construction of this organ Steuart joined the choir, and ultimately became confirmed as a member of the church. This has provided an unusual opportunity for the builder to repeatedly update and modify the instrument over many years, both tonally and mechanically. The large single bellows was replaced a number of years ago with individual regulators for each division, resulting in steadier wind and the possibility of divisional tremulants. More recently electric stop and combination actions were installed, several ranks were added and others moved around, giving the organ more scope and a more English flavor (see 2004 stoplist).

Tonal evolution

Goodwin’s work is especially noteworthy because it represents the crafting of instruments embracing the required resources in tonal families and pitches capable of performing the great music of antiquity as well as today’s requirements, but one that is free from the strident and narrow definitions of Baroque, Neo-Baroque, North German, South German, or American Classic stoplists, scales, wind pressures, and voicing. These eclectic instruments, beginning with the work of individual artisans and small shops, have influenced a new style of organs, free from the prejudices against stops that in the 1950s were considered “old hat” and indicative of an obsolete organ that should be replaced. Formerly verboten stops—the Melodia, Cornopean, Harmonic Flute, and Vox Humana, for example—are now recognized for their intrinsic musical content and are often embraced without hesitation by many builders who incorporate them in their instruments, confident of their ongoing musical value. This approach extends to the use of wooden flue work and open flutes, a defining characteristic of American organbuilding from the very beginning, but largely eschewed in the 1950s in favor of metal ranks and tapered, half-tapered, stopped, and chimneyed stops.
Steuart’s Opus 5 was a restoration for St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Upland, California, of E. & G. G. Hook & Hastings’ Opus 734, 1873, formerly located in the First Baptist Church in Bloomington, Illinois. Opus 6 is a four-rank, two-manual house organ, featuring an ornate case and suspended action (see photo).27 This is an early example of an elaborate 18th-century case as built by the Dutch and Germans and pioneered by John Brombaugh in America at a time when the European builders were building modern cases in this country. In 1978, in a brief detour from mechanical action, Steuart built a two-manual, six-rank unit organ with electric action for the United Methodist Church in Yucaipa, California. “I never built another unit organ for a church,” he comments. “I am enthusiastic about the unit principle for a theatre organ, but you can easily overdo it in church work if you are concerned about good tone.”28
In 1978, David Dixon, who met Manuel Rosales at Schlicker in Buffalo and who became his partner in Los Angeles (and who later returned to Schlicker before his untimely death at an early age), approached Steuart about working for them, which he elected to do. He assisted in their introduction to tracker work, in designing cases, traded organ philosophy with Manuel, and acquired some refinements in voicing technique from Dixon.
Opus 8, a 13-rank, two-manual electropneumatic action organ for the First Baptist Church in Colton, California in 1979, marked a major milestone in Goodwin’s tonal philosophy, and contains elements that characterize his later work. In earlier years he was interested in tracker action, but over time came to believe that even 11 ranks (Opus 2, Fourth Ward Chapel, L.D.S. Church, Riverside) in a tracker aren’t very flexible. He became convinced of the value of a unit Gedeckt stop, which he first used in Colton and subsequently on several 12- or 13-rank instruments (see stoplists for Colton and St. George’s Episcopal Church). He began searching for a small, flexible church organ design, and the unit Gedeckt was part of the answer. “I hit upon it almost by accident while contemplating for Colton how to best use a couple of pitman chests incorporating one unit chest,”29 he comments, adding:
“The concept begins, as usual, with a complete principal chorus, 8' through mixture, on the Great. Next, on the Swell, I use a pair of strings (real string tone, not hybrids), a medium-bright Trumpet, and (where space and finances permit) a 4' Principal or Fugara. Budgetary concerns generally limit independent pedal ranks to the ubiquitous 16' Bourdon. The Great also contains an open metal flute, which, in the Colton prototype, was originally part of an Aeolian house organ. The pipes looked ridiculous to one brought up on Neo-Baroque ideals. The heavily nicked mouths were cut-up two-thirds in a half circle, and, yet, when you blew on them they were magically beautiful. I began to realize that you couldn’t depend on what other people said was good, you had to trust your own ears.
“The 85 to 97 pipes of a Lieblich Gedeckt are located on a unit chest in the Swell box. This rank is made available at three pitches on the Great, six on the Swell, and four to six pitches on the Pedal. Importantly, the Gedeckt stop tabs on each division are grouped together to the right of the straight stops and couplers, and they are not affected by the couplers.
“This arrangement makes the structure of the tonal design quickly apparent to an organist, while simultaneously making registration practically goof-proof. For instance, it is impossible to mix the derived mutations on the Swell with the principal chorus on the Great. I settled on the Lieblich Gedeckt for the one unified rank because it blends well at all pitches and because the pitch-beats caused by an equal-tempered rank used at mutation pitches are only barely discernible.
“In an organ of only 12 or 13 ranks, one can make dozens of useful combinations and build ensembles suggesting a much larger instrument. For instance, on the Pedal the 51⁄3' through 2' pitches—when used with the Great chorus coupled—reinforce the 16' line and create the impression that there is a Pedal mixture. A solo Cornet effect can be registered as follows: couple the string and celeste to the Great and silence them on the Swell using the Unison Off. Then set a solo combination of Gedeckt pitches such as 8', 4', 22⁄3' and 13⁄5' on the Swell (tremulant optional).
“The point of all this is to provide excellent sound and unusual flexibility in a small church organ design. To keep these organs even more affordable, we incorporate many used parts and pipes. A brand new console shell is hardly a necessity when so many are available used. I like to put the money where it counts the most—in careful voicing and tonal finishing, new electronic relays, and high quality visual designs.”30
The discovery of the Aeolian open metal flute, quixotically called Flute Piano (apparently for people barely musical and certainly not organists) was to mark a milestone in Goodwin’s career. Placed in the Great of his instrument in Colton, it proved to be of such great value as both a solo and ensemble stop that it led him to incorporate 8¢ open flutes on that division routinely. Most instruments, having a Chimney Flute on the Great and Gedeckt on the Swell, don’t have the flexibility of an open 8' flute, an important color in his judgment, adding, “I voice it quietly in the bass and midrange and somewhat ascendant from middle C up so one rank can be used three ways: as an accompaniment stop in the left hand, a solo stop in the treble and a lighter foundation than a Diapason in a Principal chorus.”31
Perhaps the most impressive example is found at Holy Cross Church in Santa Cruz, California. Built in 1889 on the site of one of the famous Spanish Missions, Holy Cross is an imposing neo-Gothic brick building with splendid acoustics. Starting with a 13-rank A. B. Felgemaker tracker obtained through Alan Laufman and the Organ Clearing House, Goodwin added 10 ranks including an open metal flute, two mixtures, two chorus reeds and a string celeste (see before and after stoplists above right, and photo on page 28).
In 1995, Steuart installed his Opus 15, a remarkably cohesive two-manual and pedal organ of 12 ranks, featuring the unit Gedeckt and the 8' open flute discussed above in St. George’s Episcopal Church, Riverside (see stoplist on page 26, and photo left). The striking white oak case is accented with bronze moldings and padouk wood stripes.32

Voicing and tonal finishing

In 1980 Steuart became associated with the Schoenstein firm in San Francisco, which marked still another chapter in his career, one that would grow and distinguish his work today. He worked closely with Jack Bethards, Schoenstein president, in the major renovation of the epic Aeolian-Skinner organ in the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, where he did most of the flue voicing. Bethards does extensive consulting coast-to-coast, and when he concludes that the major problem with an organ is inferior tonal work, he often recommends Steuart, who, working with his assistant Wendell Ballantyne, has had nationwide assignments: New York, Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina. Reworking an older instrument almost always begins with a sensitive new organist, and one job leads to another. This work typically involves removing sizzle and chiff, increasing foundation tone, repitching a mixture with new breaks, and replacing unsuitable pipes. With his fine reputation as a voicer and finisher, when prospects hear his work, they want the same thing. For example, Steuart’s current work at the Covenant Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, is the direct result of his work at Myers Park Baptist Church there. Goodwin’s recent theatre work includes voicing, in collaboration with Lynn Larsen, a large theatre and romantic instrument in the home of Adrian Phillips in Phoenix, Arizona, and completing a mostly seven-rank Wurlitzer organ in his own home in Highland. His much admired tonal work on the epic four-manual, 26-rank Wurlitzer in Plummer Auditorium, Fullerton, led to his election to the governing board of the Orange County Theatre Organ Society.33

Summary

In a varied career marked by many accomplishments, Steuart Goodwin represents the individual organbuilder, working alone or in collaboration with others, a vital segment in the spectrum of organbuilding in America today. Long neglected but deserving of greater recognition, the work of these persons may well assume greater significance in the future of the trade and the instrument. Beginning with a rich musical background, often both instrumental and vocal, which continues, they acquire the knowledge and skills of building the pipe organ through travel, reading, observation and apprenticeship. In their deep commitment to the King of Instruments, they gladly sacrifice more lucrative occupations. Today and tomorrow, amid the manifold and far-reaching changes in our culture, the majestic pipe organ is recognized as a work of art and the work of an artist. There can be no better example of this truth than the life and work of Steuart Goodwin.
 

Steuart Goodwin & Co. Opus List

1. 1970. Two-manual, six-rank tracker practice organ. Now in home of Dr. Harold Knight in Dallas, Texas.
2. 1972. Two-manual, 11-rank tracker, 4th Ward, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Riverside, California.
3. 1974. One-manual, four-rank portable rental organ. Now in home of Bruce and Mary Elgin, Altadena, California.
4. 1976. Three-manual, 35-rank tracker, Trinity Episcopal Church, Redlands, California. With components of an 1852 Jardine from Rome, New York, obtained through the Organ Clearing House.
5. 1977. Two-manual, 17-rank tracker, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Upland, California. Rebuild of E. & G. G. Hook & Hastings #734, 1873, obtained through the Organ Clearing House.
6. 1978. Two-manual, four-rank practice organ in the home of Frances Olson, Mount Baldy Village, California.
7. 1978. Two-manual, six-rank unit organ, now in St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corona, California.
8. 1979. Two-manual, 13-rank electro-pneumatic, First Baptist Church, Colton, California.
9. 1984. Two-manual, 13-rank tracker, Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral, San Bernardino, California. Rebuild of Moller #1701, 1913, obtained through the Organ Clearing House.
10. 1988. Two-manual, 23-rank tracker, Holy Cross Church, Santa Cruz, California. Based on A. B. Felgemaker #506, 1889, enlarged and considerably modified visually and tonally.
11. 1991. Two-manual, 11-rank, electric action, Stake Center, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Simi Valley, California. Incorporates many pipes and parts of Moller #5482, 1928, obtained through the Organ Clearing House.
12. 1992. Two-manual, 13-rank electro-pneumatic, Fontana Community Church, Fontana, California. Incorporates console and many pipes from the church’s 1920s Spencer organ.
13. 1993. Three-manual, 38-rank, electric slider chests, First Christian Church, Pomona, California. Extensive tonal revisions. Based on Hook & Hastings #2240 with prior modifications and additions by Ken Simpson and Abbott & Sieker.
14. 1995. Two-manual, 19-rank, electric and electro-pneumatic, St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Lakewood, California.
15. 1995. Two-manual, 12-rank, electro-pneumatic, St. George’s Episcopal Church, Riverside, California.

Other work

The tonal finishing team of Steuart Goodwin and Wendell Ballantyne has done extensive work on organs in California, Georgia, North Carolina, New York, Texas and Utah.
Steuart has worked on many case design and voicing projects with Rosales Organbuilders and Schoenstein & Co. For photographs and details visit .
For research input and critical comments on earlier drafts of this paper, the author gratefully acknowledges: Edward Ballantyne, Jack Bethards, Ken W. List, Albert Neutel, Donald Olson, Michael Quimby, Robert Reich, Manuel Rosales, Jack Sievert, and R. E. Wagner.

Spreckels Outdoor Organ at 100 years

In summer 2001, I had just finished my doctorate at the Manhattan School of Music and was living in New York City when I read about an open position in San Diego as civic organist. I applied along with a hundred other organists. I love all kinds of music and just knew this was the job for me because that is just what the Spreckels Organ venue is about: music for all people of the world.

I was appointed Civic Organist and Artistic Director of the Spreckels Organ Society in October 2001. This venue demands a versatile music program every Sunday or the seats become empty. Little did I know that I was in for a roller-coaster ride of hard work. I soon found my footing as a self-appointed ambassador of the Spreckels Organ. As a concertizing organist, I encourage people to engage in the salubrious sounds of the pipe organ, and in doing so, hopefully gain a larger audience. We have always been blessed with appreciation and support from the people of San Diego and all those that visit from around the world.

As the seventh civic organist of San Diego, another position I hold is to work with the Spreckels Organ Society in producing their International Summer Organ Festival each year from June through September. Since this organ was given to San Diego under the condition that they cannot charge admission, the Spreckels Organ Society was formed to preserve, promote, and program this organ. The society has transformed this civic organ with their volunteer efforts, raising money for a new console, additional ranks, and the continued maintenance; the organ has become a world-class instrument.

With the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the organ, I wish to inform the reader of what has happened with the instrument and people who surround this venue.

When I began my tenure, I decided to have printed programs for every Sunday’s concert. The programs are always posted on the website the week before each performance, at www.spreckelsorgan.org. 

I truly believe that when this instrument was given by the Spreckels brothers, they intended to enrich the community—not just through organ concerts, but also by using the great organ to help others. On these lines, I decided a series of benefit concerts would be a worthy way to give back to the community.

With my love of animals, I started “Bark in Balboa Park,” and all the donations for that Sunday concert have gone to the Humane Society of San Diego. They always bring animals and boutique items and this has turned into a family event. In 2015 we will have our tenth anniversary of this event.

Every January 1—whatever day of the week it falls on—we do an extra 2 p.m. concert, and this event will benefit a worthy charity in the San Diego area.

This year, I will do my second 12-hour organ marathon to raise money for our wounded vets. All donations will go to CAF’s Operation Rebound—a fantastic organization in San Diego. 

We are now live streaming the Sunday and Monday concerts. This was a dream I had a while ago, and I must thank the Spreckels team for making this happen.

If you have never visited this venue, then may I suggest you add the place to your “bucket list?” San Diego is a beautiful city and Balboa Park is the heart of the environment.

I have made wonderful friends with my predecessors. Here are some thoughts from key people around the organ.

Dr. Carol Williams, melcot.com 

San Diego Civic Organist 

Artistic Director, Spreckels Organ Society 

A history of the venue and its people

The Spreckels Outdoor Organ and Pavilion was a most remarkable gift to the City of San Diego. It was a daring and courageous concept to think that a pipe organ could sound into the open air and that programs could be played throughout the year. That it is in outstanding use and condition for a full one hundred years is truly extraordinary. Seven Official Civic Organists (the correct title for the post) have served in all kinds of weather and performed all kinds of music, transcriptions, classical, and theatrical, and given to the general public the joy of a municipal organ. This writer has heard all seven of these musicians play and would like to express a few thoughts on each of these fine persons.

Humphrey John Stewart came to play as the 1915 Panama-California Exposition Organist, and then again in 1916 when the Exposition became International, and continued as the Official City Organist until his death on the 28th of December 1932. During the more than nine thousand concerts played almost daily by Dr. Stewart, he used colorful registrations and often concluded with a grand improvisation. The writer’s mother took her son to his programs! 

Royal Albert Brown had assisted Dr. Stewart and was appointed as the “Civic” organist in 1933. Except during the years of the Second World War, he played four times each week and all public holidays until his passing on October 28, 1954. 

Charles Rollin Shatto served from fall 1954 until late summer of 1957 and introduced many contemporary French organ composers. 

Douglas Ian Duncan had grown up hearing the park organ; when faced with its possible closure, he returned the programming to a lighter fare in the style of Mr. Brown. 

Jared Jacobsen became the Fifth Official Civic Organist in 1978 and is remembered for his brilliant playing and insightful historic comments. He served until 1984. 

Robert Plimpton became the sixth to serve the post, playing for well over sixteen years. His extensive musical background, having served in very important church positions, brought to Balboa Park a most extensive repertory. 

The seventh and current artist is Carol Anne Williams, the first woman to serve as a municipal organist. She has built on the past devotion of those who served before her and has carried the concerts to new heights.

The gift of John D. and Adolph B. Spreckels resounds loud and clear, in rain and cold, fair and warm days, giving its hometown a rich century of musical enjoyment and treasure. 

Douglas Ian Duncan 

Fourth Official Civic Organist

(1957–78, Retired)

Reflections on the Spreckels Organ, 1978–1984

My first encounter with the remarkable outdoor organ in the heart of Balboa Park was early in 1978. I had moved to San Diego eighteen months earlier, fresh out of graduate school, to serve an Episcopal parish in La Jolla that had just installed a new and very nice Austin organ; its curator, Lyle Blackinton, also took care of the 1915 Spreckels instrument. When it became apparent that the civic organist position might be opening up there, Lyle arranged for me to have some hands-on time.

I distinctly remember the hiss of sprinklers nourishing morning-sun-dappled grass as I parked my car behind the organ pavilion that first time (a sound that has welcomed me back every time in the ensuing thirty-six years). From the moment I sat at the Spreckels console, I felt at home there, and just a few months later, after an extensive audition process, I was named the Fifth Civic Organist of the City of San Diego, a post I was privileged to hold for the next seven years. It was my, and our city’s, great good fortune that my predecessor Douglas Ian Duncan had stubbornly refused to allow both the instrument and civic position to fade away during an especially stressful time in its history, enabling me to continue his stewardship and to continue building attendance and enthusiasm.

Shortly after I began my tenure two major arson fires were set within a month of each other, in the Aerospace Museum and the historic Old Globe Theatre, both near the Organ Pavilion. In the aftermath of these fires great interest began building to assess and then preserve the unique heritage of all of the buildings from the world’s fair for which the park was created in 1915. (Only the Spreckels Organ Pavilion and the nearby Museum of Man were originally intended to be permanent; San Diego’s benign climate had assisted in preserving all of the rest.) A citizens’ group called The Committee of 100 stepped forward with the intention of preserving this heritage, and one of their first projects was the refurbishment of the Organ Pavilion, including the replacement of the existing organ console which, while not quite “at death’s door,” was nonetheless showing its age. The Austin firm was commissioned to build this replacement, which then served us ably until 2010. After much lively discussion, Lyle Blackinton and I seized the opportunity to make preparations on the 1980 console for some judicious tonal additions—not to alter the original grand sound of the instrument, but to enhance its tonal palette. These additions were eventually realized through the efforts of the Spreckels Organ Society, a grass-roots enthusiast group chartered in 1987 to support the original vision of the Spreckels brothers in ways unable to be accomplished by the City of San Diego.

So what is it like to play the Spreckels Organ? Playing a vast variety of organ literature while directly enjoying San Diego’s renowned year-round climate is fantastic. And the occasional frustration of presenting music with no traditional supporting acoustic is more than balanced by the daily opportunity to bring new listeners to the pipe organ. (Balboa Park is a vast public space in the center of a great metropolitan area; every time you fire up the organ, even in the wee hours of the morning, a hundred listeners will materialize out of the trees to cheer you on!) The core instrument from 1915 retains its original visceral thrill, with the oh-so-carefully-chosen later additions lending extra purr and growl, whimsy and fireworks as desired. After 99-plus years, the unique and historic Spreckels Outdoor Organ continues to be a favorite venue for all who encounter it.

Jared Jacobsen

Fifth Official Civic Organist (1978–84)

The formation of the Spreckels Organ Society

I began my relationship with the Spreckels organ in June 1984 when Civic Organist Jared Jacobsen resigned to take a church music position in the San Francisco Bay area. As an east coast classical organist, I admit to being not much interested in a 1915 outdoor orchestral organ designed to entertain Sunday audiences in a city park. But I reluctantly agreed to fill in as interim while the city sought a successor.

The civic organist was an independent contractor with a purchase order from the city for 52 Sunday concerts. I had barely begun when curator Lyle Blackinton mentioned that there was a tradition of not having Sunday concerts in February and using those on four Monday evenings in August. My second full month in the job found me playing eight totally different programs on four Sunday afternoons and four Monday evenings. The difference between Sunday afternoon and Monday evening was huge: Monday evening audiences were much more intentional; a greater dynamic range of the organ could be used in the cooler evening air, inviting more serious repertoire.

Jared Jacobsen had built a loyal following of organ fans who began asking why we couldn’t do “more.” The City of San Diego offers a special use permit to organizations to develop programming for the benefit of the public, using the city facilities without charge. It was obvious that such an organization was needed to expand the use of the Spreckels Organ. I phoned the people who expressed an interest in the organ and invited long-time friend Vivian Evenson to chair the effort. We met in February 1988, adopting the name Spreckels Organ Society, naming Vivian Evenson Founding President and the others Founding Trustees. We immediately wrote our bylaws and established ourselves as a non-profit charity with the IRS and the State of California. We were an official arm of the San Diego Park and Recreation Department. 

Our initial projects were to expand the number of summer Monday evening concerts, restore the February Sunday afternoon concerts, design publicity cards to be distributed in hotel tourist racks, work with the San Diego public schools to present a 45-minute concert every Friday to fifth-graders participating in a week-long Balboa Park program, establish a membership base, and actively recruit financial support. We defined our mission: “to preserve, program and promote the Spreckels Organ as a world-treasure for all people.”

In the beginning we barely paid more than the city’s budgeted $100 per concert. As support grew we were gradually able to pay better fees and enhance the position of Civic Organist/Artistic Director. Within a few years our International Summer Organ Festival became a major part of San Diego’s cultural life, attracting audiences of 2,000 or more each week. Performers and repertoire were chosen to represent the widest possible cultural diversity. We commissioned new music and collaborated with other performing arts groups. I am honored to have had a small part in fulfilling the vision of the donor John D. Spreckels, who gave this organ “for the free use and enjoyment…of the people of all the world.” I thank all who have worked to expand this vision.

Robert Plimpton

Sixth Official Civic Organist (1984–2000) 

From the Curator

The Spreckels Organ has played an important part in my life, as it was this instrument that captured my interest in the “King of Instruments” when I first heard it as an eleven-year-old in 1948. I began working as an apprentice to the previous curator Leonard Dowling in 1954 and took over the position in 1974. 

During these past sixty years I have had the privilege to hear all of the civic organists, except for the first, Humphrey Stuart. Each of these artists played an important part in the organ reaching its centennial year.

The City of San Diego also must be commended for its one hundred years of support for the position of Civic Organist and for the on-going maintenance of the organ and pavilion. Many municipalities have let famous instruments slip into disrepair and have ultimately been abandoned. 

The organ has also benefited from the generosity of local support groups such as The Committee of 100 and the Spreckels Organ Society who have partnered with the City to preserve and program this great instrument.

During my tenure as curator, it has been my goal to preserve the historic integrity of the original symphonic organ and also ensure that the subsequent additions made be done in a seamless manner that enhances this grand instrument. As the Spreckels Organ celebrates its centennial anniversary, it seems appropriate that after forty years as the curator of the organ that it is now time pass the position to my long-time associate, Dale Sorenson, who also shares a great passion for the instrument.

Lyle Blackinton

Curator, Spreckels Organ, 1974–2014

The Spreckels Organ Society comes of age in time for the Centennial Celebration.

The great Spreckels Organ and Pavilion have been at the heart of Balboa Park and San Diego, California, ever since brothers John D. and Adolph Spreckels gave the “citizens of San Diego and the world” this wonderful gift on December 31, 1914. The organ has been in almost continuous use since that time. Its programming and maintenance were entirely the responsibility of the City of San Diego until 1988, when the civic organist, Robert Plimpton, and a small group of enthusiastic supporters of the organ organized the Spreckels Organ Society (SOS), “to preserve, program and promote the Spreckels Organ.”

SOS started with a small, dedicated Board of Trustees, some basic bylaws, and a big vision. We wanted more and more people to hear the organ, appreciate its vast capacity to produce a broad range of sonic experiences, and educate our children on the joys of music in general and the sounds achievable through the unamplified workings of this fabulous instrument. Our first summer, in addition to the regular Sunday afternoon free concerts, we programmed four Monday evening free concerts—showcasing artists from outside San Diego, with national and international reputations.

Through the years since 1988, SOS has grown steadily, in membership, budget, and in outreach. The International Summer Organ Festival features at least ten separate concerts, and the very best organists from around the world take the stage under the warm skies of Balboa Park every summer and thrill our ever growing audiences. The Spreckels Organ itself has grown with the addition of new ranks and new percussion. Our beloved civic organist, Dr. Carol Williams, performs, composes, and supervises the programming. The Centennial Celebration Concert was a once-in-a-lifetime event recalling our rich history and celebrating a revitalized, expanded organ, soon to be the World’s Largest Outdoor Pipe Organ once again.

As the Spreckels Organ turns 100, the Spreckels Organ Society reaches a new level of maturity. Through steady support of our trustees, our patrons, our volunteers, and our generous audience members, SOS is able to hire a full-time Executive Director, who has the happy task, with an enthusiastic Board of Trustees, of guiding SOS into the second 100 years. As we like to say, “Together we made it happen.”

George Hardy 

President, Spreckels Organ Society

Cover photo: Representing the Spreckels Organ Society is George Hardy, president of the Spreckels Organ Society, and representing the City of San Diego is San Diego Civic Organist Carol Williams (photo credit: Robert E. Lang, Spreckels Organ Society).

Article arranged and compiled by Kerry Bell.

First Congregational Church, Los Angeles, January 12-16, 2001

"Despite the nay-sayers, the organ is very much alive and we're going to keep it that way." With that hopeful remark, Fred Swann opened the third annual Organ Alive! conference at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles. Swann started this conference when he assumed the position of organist at the church three years ago, in response to a request from the church leaders for more prominence for the organ. The previous year's conference in January 2000 had been a retrospective of the organ in the 20th century. This year focused on the future of the organ and young emerging talents who will help keep the organ profession vital, hence the subtitle, "The Organ in the 21st century--Quo vadis?"

First Congregational Church of Los Angeles, founded in 1867, is the oldest Protestant church in continuous service in Los Angeles. It is built in gothic style of reinforced concrete, with a square tower rising to a height of 157 feet. The church is a large multi-storied facility--157,000 square feet--with fellowship

/dining hall, chapel, meeting rooms, parlors, and lovely courtyards, providing a very pleasant atmosphere and ample space for the conference events. Thanks to Swann's planning and music administrator Kathie Freeman's organizational wizardry, the conference was well-planned and organized. An army of volunteers from the church gave up their weekend to serve as ushers, set tables, provide refreshments, drive the shuttle bus, give directions, and see that visitors were comfortable. 175 people from 21 states and three  foreign countries were registered for the conference (the original registration limit was 120, they increased it to 175 and still had to turn 63 people away).

After formally opening the conference, Fred Swann asked everyone to stand and launched into a "name that tune" game. He played very brief excerpts from organ literature, starting with the opening of the Bach D-minor Toccata and getting progressively more difficult. When you couldn't identify one, you had to sit down. There were prizes for the winners--great fun for all. The organ in Shatto chapel--34 stops, including seven digital voices installed by Robert Walker--proved able to suggest the characteristic sounds to help us identify the pieces from hearing only a few notes.

The Great Organs

"Like Zephyrus, Eurus, Boreas and Notus, the four winds of classical antiquity, the quartet of organs at historic First Congregational Church are awesome to contemplate, even when calm in the stillness of their vaulted home. From the gossamer evanescence of their lightest stops to the redwood-strength and majesty of their full fury unleashed, they are positively mind-altering in power and heart-stopping in passion." (--Peter Rutenberg, in the program notes for Double Organ and Chorus concert)

While some readers might be put off by the poetic effusion of Rutenberg's description, the great organs at First Congregational are magnificent indeed. Few places in the world can boast of the musical resources available in these organs. The color, contrast, and spatial distribution of the pipes make the sanctuary a very exciting place to hear organ music.

The original 58-rank organ was built in 1932 by Ernest M. Skinner, with William H. Barnes serving as consultant. The organ was greatly enlarged in 1969, but the Skinner hallmark sounds--rich diapasons, lush strings--were unaltered. A large new instrument was built in the rear gallery by the Schlicker Organ Company in 1969, adding great versatility to the church's musical resources with its 17th-century North German character. Schlicker also constructed an Italian-style continuo organ located above the south choir.  In 1984, a state trumpet was added to the chancel organ. In 1990, the church began a renovation and renewal project with three phases: replacement of the consoles with two new consoles built by Möller, new windchests and mechanical repairs for the chancel organ, and, thanks to a substantial gift, the installation of 100 additional ranks to the organs. The two new consoles are the largest drawknob consoles ever built in North America (the movable chancel console was completed shortly before the Möller company closed). All of the organs can be played from either or both of the twin five-manual consoles, one in the chancel, the other in the rear gallery. Richard F. Muench, longtime curator of the organs at First Church, undertook the second and third parts of the work until his death in 1992. William Zeiller, present organ curator, continued the project. The present renovations to the Great Organs will make them collectively one of the largest musical instruments ever built, and one of the largest and most complete organs in any church in the world. When the restoration work in progress is completed, the Great Organs will consist of more than 346 ranks, 265 stops, 233 voices, and 20,000 pipes.

Sunday morning worship

I was eager to attend the Sunday service at 11:00 am, looking forward to observing a master service player in action. I tend to dislike services put together solely to demonstrate repertoire, etc., for conference attendees (though enjoyable, they always have an ersatz feel), so I was glad to be attending a regular Sunday service at First Congregational. Upon entering the narthex, I was greeted by ushers in morning coats, and took my place to listen to Swann's extended prelude--Chorale from Symphony II, Vierne;  Choralfantasy "How Brightly Shines the Morning Star", Buxtehude; Came Three Holy Kings, Glière; and The Children of God, Messiaen. People listened in silence. Attendance was sparse, but those there exhibited enthusiasm. I looked and listened with admiration as Swann played the hymns from memory and skillfully accompanied the conference choir and the First Congregational choir.

Concerts and recitals

Sunday afternoon featured a concert given by the Los Angeles Master Chorale. The program included Kodály's Missa Brevis, Laudes Organi, and Vierne's Messe Solennelle, with organists Fred Swann and Philip Allen Smith. As concert time approached, the sanctuary was filled to capacity--people were standing in the aisles. The 60-voice Los Angeles Master Chorale, under the direction of Paul Salamunovich, is marvelous. Their sound is a seamless and rich straight tone, the altos and basses particularly strong, never outshone by the tenors and sopranos. Fred Swann knew when to keep the organ just behind the choir, and when to let it be at least equal, skillfully using the Skinner organ sounds to blend wonderfully with the voices. Kodály's festive "Laudes Organi" was premiered by Swann at the national AGO convention in Atlanta in 1966.

The Vierne "Messe Solennelle" was handled skillfully by Philip Allen Smith at the gallery organ and Swann at the chancel console. It was a treat to hear this work in an environment that shares important characteristics with the one for which it was conceived. Parry's "I Was Glad" was a thrilling close to an outstanding concert, rewarded with thunderous, extended applause.

The evening before the conference officially began, participants were invited to attend a keyboard tribute to Fred Bock at the First Presbyterian Church of Bel Air. The concert featured organists and pianists playing repertoire from two collections--"Encore, Encore" and "Bock's Best Friends," both published by Fred Bock Music Company--honoring the memory of Fred Bock, composer, music publisher, and former organist of First Presbyterian of Hollywood.

The organ at First Presbyterian of Bel Air was built by Robert Tall & Associates, blending 60 ranks of pipes salvaged from the previous Casavant organ (destroyed in the Northridge earthquake in 1994) with Rodgers digital voices to create an instrument with 151 ranks and 118 speaking stops. Although the organ's range of sounds is impressive, tuning and blend problems were evident. John West, artist in residence at First Presbyterian of Bel Air, demonstrated his expertise in effectively and tastefully handling the instrument's non-organ sound MIDI voices, while Fred Swann handled the instrument's traditional sounds with elegance in absentia (performing via MIDI playback, having been called to a rehearsal), in his own arrangement of "Great Is Thy Faithfulness." A fabulous Steinway concert grand was given equal time on the program, as pianists Jan Sanborn, Dwight Elrich, Mark Hayes, William Phemister, Michele Murray and Dick Bolks performed some lovely hymn-tune settings, several of which were arranged by the performers. These works are published in the collection "Bock's Best Friends" (Fred Bock Music, catalog number BG0967).

In keeping with the conference theme, two young artists were featured in recitals--Felix Hell and Svetlana Fiakhretdinova. The programs were well attended, the audience nearly filling the main floor of the 1000-seat sanctuary.

Felix Hell, 15-year-old organ prodigy, exudes a natural musicality and a palpable eagerness to perform. Dwarfed by the monster five-manual console, from the first notes of his performance he took command. His Bach, Buxtehude and Mendelssohn were elegantly expressive: he lingered over cadential harmonies and exuberantly freed the fantasy sections. His Bach D-major Prelude and Fugue was heroic. The fiendish Schlafes Brüder, his signature piece, sizzled, Felix negotiating its fistfuls of notes with aplomb. Felix hasn't quite grown into the expansive legato style of the Franck B-minor Choral, which also suffered from ineffective registration (though limited practice time while on tour might have been a factor). The Adagio from Widor's fifth sounded hurried, but he romped through the famous Toccata with ease. His encore was the Final from Vierne's Symphony I, and the second encore a repeat of "Schlafes Bruder."

Svetlana Fiakhretdinova, native of Moscow, Russia, was a regional winner in the AGO Young Artists Competition and is a student of John Weaver at the Curtis Institute. She played her program from memory, opening with Guillou's Toccata, demonstrating a very quiet technique. Her Vierne Adagio showed a good sense of the long lines in French music, and the stops of the Skinner organ sang warmly. Her Bach Trio Sonata, though rhythmically supple, was hindered by memory lapses, but she hit her stride with the Duruflé Suite. The Prelude flowed well and rumbled satisfyingly, the Sicilienne bubbled along gracefully at an impressive tempo, and the Toccata was electrifying yet solidly under control.

Noon organ concerts were offered on Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday by Robert Plimpton, Melody Steed, and Sean O'Neal, performers from the Los Angeles area.

Conference workshops

The conference workshops focused on two main topics--performance and organbuilding. Sessions on improvisation, repertoire, MIDI, the role of the accompanist, and organ maintenance made up the performance-related offerings of the conference.

The Los Angeles AGO Chapter, a sponsor of the Saturday events of the conference, had requested that the conference include workshops on improvisation. Two such workshops were held on Saturday afternoon: "Improvisation for the Advanced" led by Bruce Neswick, and "Improvisation for the Challenged" led by Fred Swann. Since I had heard Bruce Neswick speak before, I attended Fred Swann's session. He distributed a handout--"Basic Improvisation Suggestions for the Doodling/Noodling Challenged," which was full of great advice and guidelines, all demonstrated by Swann. The talk was interspersed with anecdotes from his experiences at Riverside Church and the Crystal Cathedral. Mark Thallender, associate organist at the Crystal Cathedral, was coaxed to the bench to demonstrate as well. These workshops were followed by an improvisation recital by Bruce Neswick.

Craig Phillips

If you haven't played anything written by Craig Phillips, call your music supplier. His works have a modern sound with somewhat modal harmony, are rhythmically interesting, and are very appealing to the listener. His oeuvre consists of organ solo and choral works as well as a smattering of works for organ with instruments and various instrumental ensembles. Craig Phillips serves as music associate at All Saints' Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills. He's a fine organist and demonstrated several works based on hymn tunes, including Torah Song, a well-crafted piece based on a tune from the Hymnal 1982. His yet unpublished Pastorale for Bassoon and Organ was lovely, and beautifully played by a bassoonist from his church. He commented that organ repertoire is inextricably linked to the development of the instrument, tied to the church, and for utilitarian purposes, with many works associated with specific instruments and churches. His influences are Buxtehude, Mendelssohn, Franck, Widor and Messiaen, and he views his work as part of a well-established continuum.

Thomas Somerville

Thomas Somerville, director of music at First Congregational, gave a workshop titled "What a Choral Director Expects of an Organist." Far from being a dry, didactic "how-to" session, Somerville's workshop was inspiring and well-planned. His affable nature and obvious respect for his colleagues communicated as much as his outline and remarks. He stressed the importance of communication--about the music and about working together. He distributed a sample of the detailed music schedule he prepares, relating how he discusses accompaniments and plans with Fred Swann and other staff members.

Somerville defines our purpose as church musicians as follows: "to point to, and glorify God as the author of goodness, the creator of beauty, the giver of artistic sensibility and talent, and focus of adoration and praise." He shared five points towards achieving our purpose as musicians in the church: choose music that embodies our purpose, prepare to perform the music to the best of our ability, commit to a musical partnership with all who will rehearse and perform the music with us, maintain an attitude of respect for all who will hear the music, do this with joy insofar as possible. Fred Swann concurrently gave a workshop on designing recital programs. A lively discussion had arisen at the end of Somerville's lecture, and Swann, having finished his workshop, poked his head in the door to tease Somerville about going a few minutes over time.

Robert Noehren

Having been an avid reader of his work and played his instruments, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to hear Robert Noehren speak after dinner on Saturday evening. This elder statesman of the organ world offered a new perspective on listening to music, noting that when you're ninety years old, you definitely live one day at a time. He asked himself two questions: "Do I listen to music simply for the pleasure of it?" "Have I missed that in my profession?" He realized he had been guilty of not truly listening to music. He believes you can't truly listen to music and do anything else, so now he sets aside time each day just to listen--behaving like an amateur, listening with curiosity. This practice has brought music to him in a refreshing new way and has virtually changed his outlook on music. Each morning he looks forward to his listening time.

He detailed some of the repertoire he listens to, and some of his experiences as performer and organbuilder, and made a parallel with food. He wants to make eating an art, to take great pleasure in it. In closing, he recommended choosing only music that you like, playing everything beautifully, and taking pleasure in doing things as well as you can. Live your life with a sense of artistic purpose. Sound advice for a world of people rushing around, often too busy to savor the substance of life. (See the text of Noehren's lecture in this issue, pages 15-16.)

Organbuilding workshops

Organbuilding workshops featured presentations by several prominent personalities from the organ world. John Wilson, organ curator at the Crystal Cathedral, gave a workshop on organ maintenance, offering advice on how the organist can help organ technicians, and what the organist should not do. He shared some anecdotes about the challenges of keeping the Crystal Cathedral organ in tune. Meanwhile, Robert Tall of Robert Tall & Associates, Inc.--a company that builds pipe and digital organs--gave a workshop, "The Magic of MIDI," demonstrating with equipment brought in for the workshop.

Manuel Rosales

Anticipation was in the air as Manuel Rosales took the podium on Monday afternoon, the audience eager to hear what this outspoken organbuilder had to say. Rosales feels it unwise to try to predict the organ's future, but prefers to look back and synthesize the ideas of the past to create something new. He seeks an organ design that allows a vast range of music to be played, not necessarily authentically, but convincingly, allowing performers to bring out the best in their own playing. In the 20th century, much of what the 19th century developed was discarded; the 21st century is now reversing that. He calls this idea the "universal" organ, citing examples from his opus list, pointing out the "restoration of the 8¢ principal in each division," something not common in tracker organs built in the second half of the 20th century.

Two of his latest projects are of particular interest--the organs for Disney Hall and the Catholic Cathedral, both in Los Angeles. The Cathedral organ will be housed in a new building, with a sanctuary seating 3500. The instrument will be built by Lynn Dobson (with electric action and a movable console), with Rosales as the consultant, overseeing the voicing of the instrument. He described the Disney Hall organ as a further development of his "universal organ" ideas. (See the article, "A Brief History of the Walt Disney Concert Hall Organ Project," by Manuel Rosales, in the July issue, pp. 12-13.) For this project, he will be collaborating with Glatter-Götz Orgelbau, a firm he has worked successfully with on two other organs. G-G is building the pipes and other components, while Rosales is overseeing the voicing. The organ's tonal design (4M, 72 stops, 107 ranks) is a traditional three-manual concept, but very grand. He described the organ's 4th manual division, the Llamarada, as "Spanish on steroids," including the Llamada (Spanish for bugle call) and Trompeta de Los Angeles, stops that are "spicy as a chili pepper." The organ will be mainly tracker action, but the big bass pipes and the Llamarada division will be on electric action, a necessity, Rosales says, in large tracker instruments. In fact, the entire organ will have redundant electric action, and a second, movable console will be provided to help the organist hear and be seen. The organ's façade was greatly influenced by the architect Frank Gehry (designer of the concert hall complex), and has been the subject of much discussion. About the design, Rosales commented, "It's something you'll never forget and people will have an opinion about it. However, its unusual design will incite people's curiosity and they'll want to hear it!"

Jeff Dexter

Jeff Dexter is tonal director of Schantz Organ Company, probably the youngest person in such a position in American organbuilding, and an organist himself. Dexter's lecture, "A Look Beyond the Stoplist," dealt with unraveling the intricacies of creating a stoplist and what goes into making it a reality. Dexter excels at presenting technical information in easily digestible form, with a personable style. His purpose was to illuminate what the stoplist reveals: the musical intent of the builder, particular musical goals, desires of the client, and a link to the past. He outlined the building blocks of tonal design: scaling (historical practice and empirical knowledge) and pipe construction (materials appropriate for desired sound), and reliable mechanism so the vision can succeed. He described tonal finishing as the ultimate realization of the tonal design, molding the sound and polishing it.

Panel discussion

Given the framework questions and the organbuilders involved, the panel discussion promised to be interesting. The discussion questions included: Is the pipe organ doomed? What are the trends? What can we do to keep it alive? What "style" will dominate? Fred Swann opened the session by saying, "There's an audience for every type of organ. The main criterion is can you make music on it?" He had invited four organbuilders representing four schools of thought to be on the panel: Gene Bedient--tracker; Jack Bethards--Romantic/symphonic, electro-pneumatic; Jeff Dexter of Schantz--tried and true middle of the road; Robert Walker--digital sounds. Each builder was invited to make an opening statement about his own work and point of view. Excerpts follow.

Gene Bedient: We at Bedient believe first and foremost in creating beautiful, acoustical sounds made by organ pipes. I'm constantly struck these days by the amount of knowledge there is in the organbuilding world--knowledge of types of sounds, of different national styles. My interest is in how we combine those exceptional sounds--and that does not mean only sounds from 16th-century Italy, but everything I've learned abroad and in this country from the early history of the organ through the present. American culture is diverse and has many facets, but the pipe organ is not inherent in our culture like it is in some cultures. It's important that we as organists, organbuilders and organ-lovers engender enthusiasm in the pipe organ among the rest of society.

Jack Bethards, Schoenstein: Our tonal philosophy is based on the romantic or symphonic tradition and it's our goal to try to carry forward this tradition into the modern age by increasing the musical expressiveness of the pipe organ through two main means--increasing its dynamic range and the range of tonal colors. This type of instrument has a solid place in the church because it is so suited to the role of accompaniment and playing a wide variety of repertoire--things that all churches want and need. It is a very musically flexible style.

I see an extremely bright future for the pipe organ in terms of quality and variety. I give a lot of credit for this to sources that may seem surprising. First,  the electronic organ. The electronic organ has now progressed to the point where pipe organ builders do not have to try to satisfy every need, every budget. It leaves pipe organ builders free to concentrate on highly specialized work for discriminating clients who really love the pipe organ. In a way, that is a real blessing. Second is the tracker organ revival. The organ reform movements have been a great boon to the whole organbuilding world in two ways. One, bringing back the idea of thorough research into organbuilding, developing knowledge of what went on before. Another, the interest in fine hand-craftsmanship. Now what we are seeing is a variety of organbuilders working in all sorts of fields, but most of them working for high quality in both mechanical and musical matters.

What about the quantity of organs being built? This is another story, and I'm very concerned about it. The real problem is the music that's being played on the organ. I would classify the music by type and quality. There is music that is organistic and music that is not organistic. What I see creeping into the church is music that is primarily based on rhythm with vanilla harmonic structure. This is a serious problem for those of us who love the great choral and organ tradition. We're being inundated with cheaply-constructed, terrible pop music. I'm concerned that we're not doing enough both as builders and players and as educators to fight this trend of cheapness. We must not back down on standards. We're not in a relativistic world. There are good things and bad things and we need to stand up and fight for the good.

Jeff Dexter, tonal director, Schantz: It was said of our firm by a very distinguished colleague of mine that the Schantz organ company has the distinct quality of building ordinary church organs. While I'm not sure that this colleague meant that as a compliment, we take that as a very, very high compliment. We unapologetically build church organs; 95% of our business is associated with building church organs. I would wholeheartedly echo the sentiments of Mr. Bethards about the quality of church music and how important that is, and how important it is that organbuilders, organists, choirmasters, and leaders of church music make sure that the quality of the music is the absolute best. We need to get young people involved in this art form. We have to be tireless in our advocacy of getting young students involved and interested in what we do and what we build.

One of the things that we're going to see in the early part of the 21st century is something that really has been evolving over the past several decades--an actual American organbuilding school, much like we think of Germanic or French or Spanish schools. I think we're going to see more and more coalescing of that which is "American," just as Willis sounds English or Cavaillé-Coll sounds French.

As organbuilders, whatever discipline we find ourselves in, I believe there is room for everybody at this table in terms of American organbuilding. There are some basic tenets that we could all agree to. First, we have to have organs that are accessible in a variety of ways. They have to be easy to play in the sense that they must be approachable. They must not put off people. They must be flexible in their ability to perform a wide variety of literature, and above all, they must be musical. If they're not musical, we've failed on a very basic level.

Robert Walker, Walker Technical Company: I look at things abstractly because I'm centered in the pipe organ business but I'm not really in it. I love the sound of a pipe organ more than anything--nothing is like it. What we're doing is imitation. It's very good and getting better, but not the same. What makes the pipe organ live for hundreds of years? The pipe organ appeals to the senses more than any other instrument. You feel it, you can feel the 32¢ sounds. The overall grandeur of the organ is going to last. You can create various moods with an organ.

One of the worst aspects of reproducing pipe sounds by digital means is that speakers project in a conical fashion, which is fine for reeds but is terrible for flues. A flue pipe is a spherical radiator. One of the reasons electronic reproduction has not been successful is its speaking system. The one thing we really love at our company is to have an enclosure because we can aim speakers in different directions at different surfaces to get all reflective sound; 80-90% of pipe organ sound is reflective energy. And it's the reflective energy that fills the building as opposed to being directed at it. The pipe organ moves the building whereas speakers move the air. So in order for us to reproduce what a pipe is doing, we need a chamber to really be able to move the chamber in addition to the air.

Walker's last comment sparked some questions regarding organs with cases or unencased and straight vs. concave radiating pedal boards. Further discussion dealt with what the aspects of an American sound are and the fight against pop-style church music. The most interesting exchanges dealt with the marriage of digital voices and pipes. The builders were asked to give their thoughts on the matter.

Walker: Digital sounds can be effective if a quality perspective is taken. All aspects must be considered--how do the sound families match? How will they be tuned? How will maintenance be undertaken and synchronized with pipe maintenance? It requires a great deal of custom work.

Bedient:  "This is one situation where divorce is justified." (great laughter from the audience)

Dexter: Schantz uses digital voices for 32¢ pedal stops and percussion sounds, but no manual stops are digital. Schantz was a founding member of the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America, which has strict guidelines. Schantz never uses a digital sound to substitute for a real rank of pipes. Their philosophy is if it won't fit, don't do it in digital.

Bethards: Schoenstein uses digital percussion sounds and no others. "We are PIPE ORGAN builders." His concerns about the marriage were related to service and maintenance, and the need to find qualified people who can do both. Also, digital sounds tempt people to make additions to organs that shouldn't have additions. Instruments that have unity and balance can be thrown off by being able to add anything. It's a slippery slope.

At this point, Fred Swann quickly raised his hand and said, "Guilty as charged! I've had digital stops added here." But Swann knows how those sounds should be integrated with the instrument, and how to use them effectively, key concepts to grasp when traversing the "slippery slope" of the world of digital sounds.

Thank you, Fred Swann

The future of the Organ Alive! conference is uncertain due to Swann's retirement in May. In fact, the entire First Congregational music staff--Swann, Thomas Somerville and music administrator Kathie Freeman--retired at the same time. Martin Neary will assume the position of director of music at First Congregational. It is hoped that  he will be able to continue to share the great organs and ample facilities of the church as Fred Swann has with the Organ Alive! conferences.

During the conference, many peopled shared anecdotes about Fred Swann, and reminiscences of performances and of his kindnesses. I was amused by the way he often pipes in with a quip of some sort. My favorite was: "More souls have been saved by two notes on the chimes than by all the mixtures in captivity." He often uses humor to get a point across and is self-effacing. He has served the field of church music for sixty years with his excellent musicianship and inviting manner.

Expressing his appreciation for the presence of the many conference attendees, Fred Swann graciously said, "I can't thank you enough if I thank you every time I see you." No Fred, WE can't thank YOU enough if we thank you every time we see you.

Key for the cover illustration
1. Original factory building, 158 Woodland Street. Occupied from 1899–1937.
2. Opus 2, Sweetest Heart of Mary Church, Detroit, 2 manuals, 20 stops. Still in regular service.
3. Opus 500, Panama-Pacific Exhibition, San Francisco, 4 manuals, 121 stops. Damaged in a 1989 earthquake, it remains in storage awaiting completion of restoration and installation.
4. Opus 2536, Trinity College Chapel, Hartford, 3 manuals, 62 stops.
5. Opus 2719, Our Lady of Czestochowa, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 4 manuals, 65 stops.
6. Opus 453, The Organ Pavilion, Balboa Park, San Diego, 4 manuals, 62 stops.
7. Opus 323, City Hall Auditorium, Portland, Maine, 5 manuals, 124 stops.
8. Opus 2768, St. Mary’s College, Moraga, California, 4 manuals, 68 stops.
9. Opus 2782, Fountain Street Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 4 manuals, 139 stops.
10. The “new” factory building (1937), as expanded several times.
Center: The Austin Universal Airchest logo, including the crest with the motto: Scientia Artem Adjuvat. The motto and crest are said to have been the design of former Austin employee Robert Hope-Jones.
Background: The background is a blueprint, Opus 2786, Assumption Church, Westport, Connecticut.

The first Austin milestone:

1893—the first instrument

The Austin story begins like so many tales of European emigration. It was in the year 1889 that young John T. Austin sailed for the shores of the new world with a man he met who was visiting England (the Austin family native soil) and was returning to California. The Austin family was considerably well off: Jonathan Austin (the father) was a “gentleman farmer,” whose hobby was tinkering with organs and organbuilding. During the voyage, all of John’s money was liberated from his person before arriving in New York, presumably the result of the kindness of his traveling companion!

Penniless, he used his extraordinary wits to find his way to Michigan, and was immediately hired by the Farrand & Votey firm in Detroit. In a few years’ time, he had become plant superintendent, and in his free time he developed a concept for a new type of windchest. After building and servicing bar and slider (tracker organ) windchests, and certainly seeing many of the new electro-pneumatic actions coming on the scene, he was convinced that there must be a better way. The folks at Farrand & Votey were not interested, so in 1893 he built and sold a new organ that he built at the Clough & Warren (reed organ) plant.

His concept was innovative, because you could simply walk right into the windchest (he called it an airbox) and service the complete mechanism. Inside the airbox of many of these early instruments were also the motor for the bellows and the electric (direct current) generator. He started selling these new instruments with alacrity. It is an often-held belief that Austin organs have tracker-like lifespan, and this is evidenced by the fact that several of these early instruments, Opus 2 from 1894 for example, continue to play well year after year.

A discussion of the Austin mechanism would easily consume an entire volume, but in digest form, the organ utilizes one manual motor (primary note action) for each note, or key, in a division, and one stop action motor for each stop on a main windchest. The valves under each pipe are not leather pouches, such as one might find in a Skinner, Möller, or other electro-pneumatic instrument, but in an Austin, they are simply mechanical valves connected by wooden trackers (yes, trackers!) to the manual motor for each particular note. This mechanism is reliable and inherently self-adjusting. Springs and felt guides allow wild changes in humidity and temperature with no degradation in performance. The whole concept is, in a word, brilliant!

In 1899, perhaps the apex of the American Industrial Revolution, John T. Austin was just 30 years old when he moved into the facility on Woodland Street in Hartford, Connecticut. Legend has it that that the crew (including JTA) was installing the organ at the Fourth Congregational Church (Opus 22, now the Liberty Christian Center) when the factory in Detroit burned to the ground. Actually, John T. Austin was in Woodstock, Ontario, supervising the construction of the first and only Austin organ constructed by the Karn-Warren Company. The date of the fire was February 2, 1899 (the feast of Candlemas!). On March 31 of that year, the Austin Organ Company was incorporated in the state of Maine. The company actually signed a contract for a new organ on March 1 of that year and rented factory space in Boston—just down the street from the first, soon-to-be Skinner organ factory. The following August, the board of directors authorized the acquisition of the Hartford facility.

The business moved along quickly. It would be safe to say that most instruments of this period were of moderate size; literally dozens of three and four-manual instruments were delivered between 1900 and 1915. This was the point in Austin’s history when some rather significant and interesting instruments were installed. For example: Opus 323, The Kotzschmar Memorial Organ (www.foko.org) was built for the City Hall in Portland, Maine. It was one of the first municipal organs installed in the country. The organ has been played and maintained with loving care. A handsome, new five-manual drawknob console was built for the organ by the Austin firm in 2000.

This organ was followed a few years later by Opus 453, the Spreckels Organ in Balboa Park, San Diego, on New Year’s Eve, 1914. The largest and most renowned outdoor organ, it was the gift of businessmen John D. Spreckels and his brother Adolph B. Spreckels. The organ continues to be heard in regular concerts and events. Dr. Carol Williams retains the position as Municipal Organist, performing regularly to hundreds (www.sosorgan.com). This organ was originally built for the Panama-California Exposition, before being re-gifted to the city.

Meanwhile, up the coast in San Francisco, the Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco would open just two months later and run concurrently with the San Diego event. Austin was chosen from a list of about 31 builders to construct the organ for this exposition, and was given a stiff timeline: six months! It was completed the very morning that the exposition opened. When the exposition was concluded, the organ was moved to the Civic Auditorium. The city’s new municipal organist, Edwin Lemare, specified scores of tonal and mechanical changes that he required the Austin Company to complete upon re-installation. Of primary concern was the fact that the organ was being moved from a space that seated 3,000 to an auditorium with a capacity of over 10,000. The organ had many years of fame, but fell to near-obscurity in the late 1950s. In 1963, the Austin firm built a stunning black lacquer drawknob console. It saw a bit more use, but the horrific 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake rendered the organ silent. The organ sustained some damage due to falling debris. Funds were eventually allocated to repair and re-install the organ. The organ was returned to Hartford, and much work had been completed, but a few months into the project, a directive from the city ordered the organ to be returned to San Francisco. It remains in storage beneath the city, much like that final scene of Indiana Jones’s Raiders of the Lost Ark!

Opus 558 would be the company’s first five-manual instrument, built for the Medinah Temple (Masonic Lodge) in Chicago. This organ also had a sister stopkey console of four manuals. During this period, the company production averaged over 60 new pipe organs a year! The next major instrument would be for the Eastman Theater (for the Eastman School of Music); Opus 1010 was a unique theatre organ—the largest ever—of 229 stops! It was, sadly, removed in the 1970s. There were additional notable instruments during this time: the University of Colorado received a four-manual, 119-stop instrument in 1922. The Cincinnati Music Hall awarded a contract for Opus 1109, an 87-stop instrument that utilized much of the existing Hook & Hastings pipework. Opus 1416, a four-manual instrument of 200 stops, was built for the Sesquicentennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The final large concert hall organ of this period, Opus 1627, four manuals and 102 stops, was built for Hartford’s own Horace Bushnell Memorial Hall in 1929.

By the mid-1920s, Austin Organ Company was producing over 80 new pipe organs annually. This trend continued until the crash of 1929 and ensuing depression era. The company soldiered on, a bit weakened because of the lack of new business, tremendous overhead (the factory was expanded over three times from its original footprint), and company financing of new instruments to churches, from which payments only dribbled in. In July 1935, The Diapason published the announcement that the Austin Organ Company would close its doors. Non-specific Austin assets and raw materials were sold, and remaining contracts were completed (the final A.O.C. contract was number 1885). A few folks remained to complete warranty work and move the Austin tools and machines into storage. At this time, young Frederic Basil Austin and long-time employee Harold Dubrule kept the fires burning by completing some small rebuilds and service jobs. It was this association that inspired John T. Austin’s nephew to consider purchasing the company, a process that was completed in 1937.

The second Austin milestone: 1937—reorganization and move into a new facility

The “new” Austin Organs, Incorporated opened its doors in February of 1937. The transition from the old management to the new Austin was as seamless as could be expected. They were able to return most employees to their workstations, however, in a scaled-down facility located directly behind the behemoth structure that had been home to the company for the previous 36 years. For the first few years, the company leased the property from G. F. Heublein & Bro. Distributors—liquor distributors for much of the East Coast, famous for their pre-mixed “Club Cocktails.” A wooden guard mounted to an ancient band saw that is still in service in the Austin mill is actually a trespassing warning sign from the pre-1937 Heublein days. Within a few years, the property was purchased by the Austin corporation, and over the next three decades the buildings were expanded several times.

The original factory was rather foursquare—four stories, small footprint. Then a separate wood frame structure was built that served as an erecting room, then a fire, then the mill and new brick erecting room, additions to the main building that became pneumatic departments, more voicing rooms, console and cabinet shop, etc. The design department and metal pipe shop grew along the railroad tracks, requiring the private rail siding to be moved. In the late 1960s, the final addition was the large shipping/receiving and casting room. This expansion required a somewhat more adventurous move: purchase of land from the N.Y./N.H. & Hartford Railroad. Somehow, it was pulled off; the centerline of the main rail appears to have been moved slightly north, and the siding was completely eliminated. The sprawl of the factory now reached nearly 50,000 square feet. Sometimes it was not enough, but it is as efficient as any multi-story manufacturing space can be.

A charming, vintage Otis elevator allows safe and uncomplicated material transport between floors. Systems throughout the factory are up to date, and have been carefully maintained by conscientious staff and the foresight of F. B. Austin’s son, Donald. Assuming the role of president in 1973, Don was a formidable figure in the organ industry. He was a very private person, well respected by his colleagues and employees. Aside from his devotion to the company and care of the physical plant, he maintained the Austin tradition of assiduous design trends.

The well-regarded voicer, David Broome, who retired as tonal director at Austin in 1998, describes the “Austin sound” as never one of extremes. Austin has, as he expresses it, not traditionally been a leader in any new tonal movement in organbuilding. That being said, the company has always built a well-balanced chorus. Even instruments from the 1930s, when so many of our hallowed builders (now gone) built the most tubby-sounding diapason choruses, one can hear the gentle articulation and effects of moderately scaled Austin pipework. We can argue about the sound of the vintage Austin trumpets and oboes, etc., but we never find reeds like them—they not only remain in tune, but have good, steady tonal color as well. The construction of reed pipes was just one of the more than four dozen patents that the Austin Company was granted through the years.

The company motto—Scientia Artem Adjuvat—was not just a clever marketing concept for the Austin family; it was a way of life. Many of the machines in the factory that are used for Austin were made right here. So, we have the machines that repair the machines, right here in the factory! The now famous seven-headed monster that is used to build pedal and stop action blocks was originally built in the front building, and moved here in 1937. It has been improved several times, most recently this year when we added new bushings and guides to allow the belts to travel and run their saws and drills efficiently. (Rafael Ramos, who has been mill foreman since the 1980s, states that it now runs faster and smoother than ever before.)

In 1999, Don Austin retired from active participation in the daily operation of the company. He appointed his daughter Kimberlee as president. He continued as CEO until his death in the fall of 2004. In early 2005, Kimberlee Austin resigned her position with the company.

On an otherwise pleasant Monday in March of 2005, I received a phone call from Trinity College Organist John Rose. He told me that as of that afternoon, the Austin Company would be closing its doors. I was shocked. It felt as though my slightly peculiar but lovable old uncle had passed away. (We were at that time competitors, of course.) We wondered how in the world this could happen. Austin was always so . . . solid. The truth of the matter was that, in fact, the company did not “close”, but just temporarily ceased manufacturing new organs. There was no bankruptcy, no liquidation of tooling or assets. Don Austin’s wife, Marilyn, retained the services of business consultants; the result of their consultation was basically a public offering in the form of a letter sent to nearly every organbuilder or supplier in the country, while Marilyn and a few employees kept the phones answered and made small parts for existing instruments.

The third Austin milestone:
2007—a new direction

In the late 1960s, Richard Taylor, a former Aeolian-Skinner employee and New England Conservatory graduate, arrived at Austin Organs to assume the position of the soon-to-retire Les Barrows, who had been purchasing manager for 59 years. After a couple of years working in the plant and in the service department, the day finally arrived when he would occupy a small desk in the corner of the factory offices on the second floor. At the rather generous rate of $2.00 an hour, he was fairly pleased with his position. In the early 1970s, there was a brief drop in organ sales, and Don Austin decided to cut back in every department. He decided that there was no need for a purchasing manager. So, Mr. Taylor moved on to other industries, among them, purchasing manager–military operations for Colt Firearms. By the late 1980s, he had returned to organbuilding, as superintendent at the former Berkshire Organ Company in Western Massachusetts.

As for me, I have studied engineering in Springfield, Massachusetts, music at Westminster Choir College, and Emergency Medicine at Northeastern University. I had attended two seminaries, and for a short time was a novice in a small Franciscan religious order. Leaving all that behind, I applied science to music, and was working with Berkshire Organs in its final years, where I discovered the absolute wonder of the technology that transmits music from the organist, through the console, windchests and eventually evokes sound from the pipework.

Following the demise of Berkshire Organs in 1989, we formed American Classic Organ Company. While remaining a modest-sized operation, we completed several new instruments and built a respectable service business. We located the workshops in sleepy Chester, Connecticut in 2000.

We came into the Austin picture during the summer of 2005. Through a series of events, we received a letter proposing financial investment or purchase. After several weeks of soul-searching and discussions, we were able to come to an agreement. In January 2006, we purchased the assets and liabilities of the company. Almost immediately a dozen employees returned to their benches, sales representatives arrived back at the door, and the company has begun to rebuild. Several new people have since been added to the roster of Austin employees. The new management aims to build team spirit, stay nimble, and remain rational in the face of terror!

Among the projects completed this year have been dozens of action orders for existing Austin organs (often delivered ahead of schedule). We designed, built and delivered a mahogany four-manual drawknob console in 62 days. It was constructed on the traditional Austin steel-frame system. We completed a major project on an instrument in Lansing, Michigan, which required a new console, utilizing the existing (stripped and refinished) casework, re-actioning, and some tonal additions. A new instrument, Opus 2790, will be installed this coming Easter. This contract was negotiated within a few weeks of restructuring. Several interesting projects are pending for 2007. The metal pipe shop has completed new pipework for the new organ on the floor right now (Opus 2790) and other Austin projects. We have also recently completed extensive repairs and historic renovation on several sets of vintage Aeolian-Skinner pipework at the Mormon Tabernacle. We continue to cast our own pipe metal, and manufacture both flue and reed pipes.

The company is celebrating the milestones of 114 years since the first Austin organ was built, and 70 years since reorganization and move into the current factory. We are on solid footing and in good shape to complete projects large and small, with confident vision of significant growth and expansion.
In quiet moments around the factory, you can hear the faint, yet distinct footsteps of John, Basil, F.B., and Don Austin, as their spirits permeate every process and instrument. The memories of so many gifted and wonderful people who have literally spent their lives here continue to affect our days. They are all a constant reminder of our commitment and challenge to continue Austin’s heritage in American organbuilding. We are humbled to bring new life into this venerable institution, and the many calls and notes we receive encourage us to move forward to celebrate whatever might be the “next milestone.”

—Michael Brian Fazio

Pipedreams Organ Tour, April 21-May 3, 2002, Part 1

Mary Ann Dodd is Colgate University Organist Emerita. Her lectures and performances have often featured the music of contemporary American composers. She is presently at work on a book about the life and times of organist Leonard Raver.

"Travel back in time. Open that church door and peer inside. Hear the incredible, vital voice of instruments you have only read about . . . climb the winding stairs to view the organ up close. If you wish, lay your hands on its keyboards and let its time-honored voice sing just for you. Prepare to be enchanted . . ." Who could possibly resist such an enticing invitation? Certainly not I, nor--apparently--the forty-three others who lost no time in signing up for this extraordinary travel opportunity sponsored by Minnesota Public Radio and hosted by Pipedreams' own J. Michael Barone.

For this septuagenarian, who had never before ventured across the "Big Pond," this was, indeed, a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Our itinerary was an ambitious one. We would be visiting at least forty organs in eleven days--an interesting mix of old and new instruments in a variety of venues including castles, palaces, museums, cathedrals and village churches.

It was my intention to keep some kind of travel diary and to write an article about the trip when I returned. As luck would have it, my life took some unexpected turns about that time, and many months passed before I was able to turn my attention to this self-appointed task. More than a year would have passed by the time the article reached the hands of readers. I thought long and hard about it. Perhaps I should abandon the project. In the end, I couldn't. It was a trip that deserves to be documented and shared. By now, many details, once vivid, have faded, and I apologize for the errors and omissions that are bound to occur. This is not intended to be a scholarly report in any sense. It is not about facts and figures and stop lists. The memory of this remarkable journey has been simmering away on the back burners of my mind, and I want to try to capture its essence and share some impressions with you. Here, then, is the Pipedreams Organ Tour, 2002, in retrospect.

Day 1

Early Monday morning, as we arrived from various points of embarkation, our group began to assemble in the boarding area of Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. Weary and jet-lagged, we were a motley crew indeed. Our ever-genial host, Michael Barone, greeted each of us warmly and presented us with a thirty-page booklet that he had prepared. In addition to a detailed itinerary, it contained a fine introductory essay, photographs, maps, stop lists, website links and other pertinent and helpful information. It would become our vade-mecum for the next eleven days. In a matter of mere minutes, a group of strangers were rapidly becoming "family," and the final leg of our journey to Berlin was about to begin.

The flight from Amsterdam to Berlin is a relatively short one, and before long, we found ourselves deplaning. Tegel airport--as one might expect--is large, bustling and modern. Had our ears not been surrounded by myriad voices all speaking in German, it might have been the airport of any great city. We were warmly welcomed by our German tour guide, Sonja Ritter, and our bus driver, Manuela Huwe. Eventually, our luggage was duly accounted for and stowed, and we climbed aboard our large and comfortable modern tour bus. The adventure had begun!

Our itinerary promised a brief "panoramic tour" of the city, and it did not disappoint. It was a beautiful, warm and sunny day--the first sunshine Berlin had seen in this month of April! As we drove through the city, flowering trees were everywhere. Everyone in Berlin seemed to be outside enjoying the sunshine. Crowded sidewalk cafes and mounted policemen on horseback were reminiscent of the isle of Manhattan on a warm day in spring.

Our only stop in Berlin that first day was at the Breitscheidplatz for a brief lunch break. The plaza, a popular tourist attraction, is dominated by the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which was built at the end of the nineteenth century. Bombed by the British in 1943, the ruined church tower is all that remains. It has been preserved as a memorial, and a new, modern church of blue-stained glass now stands beside it. Some in our group chose to explore the church. Others wandered off in search of lunch and souvenirs, and some seized the opportunity to acquire some euros at a nearby bank. Too sleep-deprived and exhausted to move, I chose to sit on a bench in the warm sun and reflect on my first impressions of this great city. Berlin exudes an almost overwhelming aura of energy, vitality and transformation--a modern-day phoenix rising from the ashes. It is a city of starkly dramatic contrasts between old and new--building for the future, while preserving and learning from its past.

Once again aboard our bus, we headed for Potsdam, some eighteen miles to the south and west. If Berlin was colorful and bright, Potsdam seemed gray and somber. Older, smaller, less urban and "touristy," we were now in what had once been East Germany before the reunification in 1990. Potsdam was bombed by the British in 1945, and even today--more than a half-century later--the signs are still visible. Large, ugly, institutional-looking apartment buildings bear witness to the recent Communist occupation. But Potsdam, like Berlin, is also a city of contrasts. Palaces, formal gardens and landscaped parks speak eloquently of the wealth and splendor of the past.

Sanssouci Park

Our first stop was Sanssouci Park, the home of Frederick the Great's eighteenth-century summer palace. Neither words, nor even photographs, can begin to do justice to this incredible monument to royal self-indulgence. Wilhelm Frederick II, the philosopher king, had a passion for things French, and spoke only that language. An accomplished pupil of Quantz, he was famous for his daily chamber music concerts and midnight suppers, at which he surrounded himself with an elite circle of intellectuals and artists, among them such luminaries as Voltaire. It was for Frederick that Bach wrote The Musical Offering after visiting the king in Potsdam in 1747. The lavish, single-story palace, with its yellow, rococo façade, sits high atop what had once been only a desolate hill. The palace is not open on Monday, but we were able to walk about and take in the panoramic view of the park below. Walking across the vast plaza and past the fountains, we made the long descent down the broad and elegant staircase, past six tiers of terraced vineyards with their glassed-in alcoves designed to protect the orange and fig trees. Having reached the great fountain at the bottom, one is able to turn and look back up the hill toward the palace. It is a truly extraordinary sight, now etched indelibly in my memory.

From there, a leisurely stroll took us through more of the park with its beautifully landscaped gardens, temples, statues, pavilions and grottos. Approaching the edge of the park, we arrived at the lovely Friedenskirche (Peace Church), a picturesque Italianate structure modeled after an early Christian basilica and complete with campanile. Built by Frederick IV, the nineteenth-century, "romantic" Prussian king, the church was completed in 1848, the same year that the organ was dedicated.

The original 18-stop instrument, built by Gottlieb Heise, employed casework designed to encircle the rose window. Over the years, additions and alterations were made by various builders. A major rebuilding and dramatic enlargement by Sauer, in 1909, resulted in a new façade which covered the rose window. During the twentieth century, the revisions continued, resulting in the replacement of many Romantic registers by Baroque stops. Plans are now underway, and funds being raised, for a major rebuilding project which will return the organ to something like its original nineteenth-century state. The acoustics are fine, and in spite of its checkered past, the organ gave a decent accounting of itself under the capable hands of Director of Church Music, Matthias Jacob, who welcomed us warmly and played a mini-recital of Bach, Reger and Franck.

Schuke Orgelbau

Back on the bus once more, we headed for the Schuke Orgelbau, the last stop of the day before checking into our hotel. The Schuke organ factory is located in the heart of the old Dutch Quarter. It was here, after the Thirty Years' War, that Frederick I, the "Soldier King," commissioned the building of 134 red brick, gabled houses in the Dutch style, meant to attract workers from Holland to help with Potsdam's building boom at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The Schuke company was founded in 1820 by Gottlieb Heise, builder of the original Friedens-kirche organ. Since 1894, it has been under the Schuke name and has survived two world wars as well as the enforced nationalization which took place between 1972 and 1990. Not a small shop by any means, Schuke employs twenty-eight craftsmen, including a physicist and a design engineer. With an international clientele, the company designs, builds, restores, reconstructs and maintains organs of every size in every venue.

East Germans seem to be early risers. A working day at the Schuke company begins at 6:30 and ends at 2:30. By the time we arrived, most of the workers had already left or were leaving for the day. The quaint, picturesque setting imbued the whole enterprise with an ambience of charm and informality. Our tour guide was a young physicist from the University of Potsdam. We wandered up and down and through many small rooms which occupied several adjoining buildings, all accessible through a small, cobblestone courtyard. For some in our group, it was their first visit to an organ shop, and there were many questions, some of which were difficult for our guide to field because of the language barrier. Fortunately, our group included the American organ builder, Roland Rutz, who was able to greatly facilitate the communication problem.

A church, a palace, a royal chapel, and an organ factory--not bad for an afternoon's work! By now, we were beyond exhaustion and more than ready to head for our small hotel, which was located in a quiet, residential Potsdam neighborhood. We would be on our own for the remainder of the evening. It was still early, and a few of the more adventurous in the group headed back to Berlin via public transportation. After being reunited with our luggage, and having stretched our legs a bit, most of us were quite content to settle on a leisurely meal right there in our hotel.

Day 2

The restorative powers of a good night's sleep had worked their wonders, and after an early breakfast, we gathered in the lobby eager to board our bus for what promised to be a very full day in Berlin. The fact that the day had dawned cold and rainy had not dampened our spirits. Our driver, Manuela, drove us back to Berlin by a different route, more residential than that by which we had come before. Lakes, streams and lovely forested areas abounded. Green was the color of the day, and signs of spring were everywhere. Berliners evidently love their gardens, yet their lawns seem to fend for themselves and lack the "manicured" look one expects to find in similar neighborhoods back in the States. I found the effect charming and thought again of Berlin as a city of contrasts--in this case, the rather dramatic juxtaposition of urban and rural.

Church of the Holy Cross

Our destination on this rather dark and gloomy Tuesday morning was the Kreuzberg district of Berlin and the Church of the Holy Cross. The bus let us out on the Blücherplatz, and we made our way on foot to the church. The Church of the Holy Cross is one of the largest and most prominent in Berlin. Built between 1885 and 1888, it suffered severe damage in WW II, and the interior was completely destroyed. Although a rather limited reconstruction in the 1960s had made the church habitable again, many problems still remained, and it had become a financial liability to the community, rather than an asset. As a result of many years of creative and foresightful cooperative planning in the 1980s, the church has undergone a major reconstruction and revitalization. After several years, the project was finally completed, and the building was inaugurated in 1995. Recognized as an historic monument, its exterior remains virtually unchanged. Inside is another story altogether. While preserving the integrity of the main room (the worship space), this very large interior has been miraculously transformed into an ecologically sound, multi-use facility, which serves the entire community. Side galleries, open stairways, windows and skylights, stone, glass and steel: all of these elements have been combined into a harmonious blend of old and new. Michael Barone has referred to it as "creative contemporary recycling at every level." Wherever one happens to be in this vast space, the effect is visually thrilling.

But enough about the building. We had come to see, hear and play the organ--an organ no less extraordinary than the building it occupies. The organ is E. & G. G. Hook, Opus 553, II/39, built in 1870 for the First Unitarian Church of Woburn, Massachusetts. In 1991, the organ was threatened with destruction when the congregation ceased to function there, and the building was designated for other uses. The Organ Clearing House came to the rescue and removed the instrument, but a local buyer could not be found at that time. Fortunately, the organ specialist, Uwe Pape, was able to arrange the purchase of the instrument by the Kreuzberg chapter of the Evangelical Church. This was followed by a period of uncertainty while the organ waited in storage. Finally, the Church of the Holy Cross was designated as its new home, and after careful planning, the installation and revoicing was accomplished in 2000-01 by the Eule company. The organ was in good condition and, except for some releathering and the repairing of some cracks in the windchests, it remains unaltered. In its original Woburn incarnation, the organ had been buried in a narrow chamber and forced to speak into an acoustically dead room. Here, a beautiful, new, free-standing organ case has been designed by two of the architects who were involved in the recent renovation. The organ is now visually "at home" in its new surroundings and speaks, for the first time, into a good acoustic. Perhaps even more importantly, Berlin now possesses a fine example of nineteenth-century organ building. Kantor Gunter Kennel greeted us warmly, introduced us to the organ, answered questions and played for us. Afterwards there was ample opportunity for those who wished to try the instrument themselves.

Charlottenburg Palace

Back on the bus again, our next stop was Charlottenburg Palace, the largest palace in Berlin. Located on the Spree River and once approachable by boat, it was built between 1695 and 1699 as a rural summer home for Sophie-Charlotte, wife of the future King Frederick I of Prussia. Over the years, it was added to in stages and finally completed by Frederick the Great with the addition of an east wing in 1746. Severely damaged by Allied bombing in 1943, the palace has been meticulously restored and is now a major tourist attraction.

We took the guided tour and enjoyed viewing the many priceless paintings, tapestries and furnishings, including the famous porcelain collection of Frederick I. But the major attraction for us on this gloomy Tuesday was the royal chapel and its organ. Having completed the formal tour, we were escorted into the small chapel. Once free of the museum-like context of viewing roped-off treasures, we seemed to have quietly slipped into another dimension where we found ourselves at once immersed in sumptuous, eighteenth-century splendor. To actually experience this architectural detail at close range and in three dimensions was both wonderful, and at the same time, a bit overwhelming.

The original instrument had been a 1706 Schnitger of two manuals, twenty-six ranks. Even though the organ had been removed and stored for safekeeping in the cellar in 1943, it was totally destroyed by fire bombs the following year. Fortunately, Alexander and Karl Schuke had been planning a thorough restoration and had carefully documented and photographed the instrument in its every detail. The restoration by Karl Schuke was completed in 1970. In the center of one of the long sidewalls, high above the floor of the chapel, Haupt-werk and Pedal divisions and console are housed within a chamber, which sits behind the arched opening into the room. The Rückpositiv, in an elaborately carved and ornamented frame, projects into the room. In spite of this rather "quirky" physical design, the organ has a pleasant sound and a clear presence that fills the room nicely. Professor Klaus Eichhorn was on hand to greet us and play works by Sweelinck, Scheidemann and Weckman. Although time was short, several in our group seized the opportunity to try the instrument. The organ loft is very small and able to accommodate only a few people at a time. I was content to remain below, absorbing the sights and sounds of another age in this royal chapel where kings had worshipped. I must say that exiting the palace and finding ourselves abruptly back in the twenty-first century was a bit of a jolt.

Berlin Konzerthaus

Back on the bus once more, we headed for the Gendarmenmarkt, the largest plaza in Berlin, and thought by many to be the most beautiful square in all of Europe. "Take-out" sandwiches sufficed for our lunch break and helped to keep us on schedule, as we were expected shortly at the Konzerthaus for an organ demonstration.

Dominating the large plaza, the Berlin Konzerthaus is an imposing structure. Flanked by the German cathedral (the Berlin Dom) on one side and the French cathedral on the other, it stands today as an outstanding example of European concert hall reconstruction. Originally designed in 1801 as the State Theater, it has survived many disasters and reconstructions over the past two hundred years. Severely damaged in WW II, it was first made structurally safe, and then, starting in 1979, systematically restored to its original design. In 1984 it reopened as the Berlin Konzerthaus, now home to the Berlin Symphonic Orchestra.

The organ, IV/74, built by the Jehmlich firm of Dresden, is of modern, eclectic design. Mounted high on the wall above the orchestra, the case has been beautifully integrated into the overall architectural scheme, which reflects the classical elements and lavish details of an earlier age. In addition to the attached, mechanical-action console, there is a second, movable console with electric key action, which sits on the concert stage. Organist Joachim Dalitz greeted us and gave us a brief demonstration and mini-recital while we were free to wander about if we wished. Somehow, for me, the visual aspect of the instrument in this grand concert venue seemed to promise far more in terms of sound than it actually delivered. There was absolutely nothing one could point to that was "wrong" or unpleasant in any way. But to my ears, something ineffable was missing. But there was no time now for further reflection, and we would be back again that evening for an orchestra concert. In the meantime, it was out on to the plaza again, and time to make our way across to the Berlin Dom.

Berlin Dom

This magnificent domed building, inspired by the Italian Renaissance, was built by Kaiser Wilhelm II in 1905, replacing the original eighteenth-century cathedral which he had demolished in spite of the sharp criticism of some of his contemporaries. The Berlin Dom is home to what was once the largest organ in all of Germany and the largest instrument ever built by Wilhelm Sauer. The organ, IV/113, was inaugurated at the same time as the Cathedral church itself in 1905. Sauer (1831-1916) established his own organbuilding shop in 1855. Having traveled widely, and having absorbed the ideas of such distinguished builders as E.F. Walcker and Cavaillé-Coll, he became one of the most famous builders in all of Europe. Most of the nineteenth-century instruments in Berlin were built by him, and the Berlin Dom instrument is considered by many to be his crowning achievement. Over the course of the century, many changes were made, reflecting the current trends in organ design as well as the devastation of two world wars. In 1917, the tin façade pipes were donated to the "war effort" and later replaced in 1927. In 1932, at the instigation of cathedral organist Fritz Heitmann, several neo-baroque changes were made in the Positiv. In 1942, a plan was proposed by the Rudolf von Beckerath firm for an extensive, neo-baroque rebuild which, because of the war, was never seriously considered. When the Cathedral dome was de-stroyed in a 1944 bombing raid, the organ miraculously survived unscathed, only to be subsequently damaged by theft and vandalism and exposure to the elements, as the dome remained open and was not repaired until 1953. Since then, some twenty years later a serious and thorough restoration of both cathedral and organ was undertaken and finally completed in 1996. The earlier neo-baroque tonal modifications have been removed, and once again the instrument speaks in the warm, romantic orchestral sounds intended by its builder.

The Dom is a major tourist attraction, and on the day that we were there, it was crowded with people. We were ushered up to one of the side galleries where we heard a short, regularly scheduled recital played by the young organist, Thomas Sauer. Unfortunately, I think we were in a very poor location for hearing the organ. Although we did not have programs, I recall the selections as being surprisingly eclectic for such a Romantic instrument. The program certainly demonstrated the organ's versatility in handling a great diversity of styles--perhaps not always with authenticity--but the musicianship was never in doubt. Due in part, perhaps, to my mounting fatigue and our less-than-satisfactory seats, I found my attention wandering a bit during the recital. A rather strange phenomenon seemed to be occurring. The sound of the organ and the lavish, visual grandeur with which we were surrounded were being upstaged by this extraordinarily magnificent space. In spite of the cold, drizzly day, the vast interior seemed to be bathed in sunlight, and I felt em-braced by the atmosphere in a magical, timeless, and almost tangible, way. With the familiar and rousing strains of the "Finale" from the Vierne First Symphony, the spell was broken, and we were once again on our way.

"Good Tidings" Church

We would return later to the Gendarmenmarkt for dinner and a concert, but for now our destination was the Karlshorst District of Berlin and the Evangelical Church, "Good Tidings," where we would hear and play a 1755 Migendt organ, II/22. This well-traveled little instrument has a quite remarkable history. The organ was originally commissioned by Princess Anna Amalia, sister of King Frederick the Great. It was for this instrument that C.P.E. Bach wrote his Six Sonatas and dedicated them to the princess. After Anna's death in 1787, the organ was moved to a church in the Berlin suburb of Wendisch-Buch where it remained undiscovered until 1934. Plans were made for it to become a second organ at the Nikolai Church, and in 1936 it was disassembled. During the ensuing confusion of WW II, it was moved about again and miraculously preserved from harm. In 1960 it was restored by Schuke and installed in the "Good Tidings" church. This modest and charming neighborhood church provided a welcome contrast after our earlier exposure to the grandeur of palaces, concert halls and cathedrals. We learned that Roland Münch, the man who had been curator of this historic instrument since 1969, had only recently died. In his absence, we were greeted warmly by Herr Knappe and his wife, who seemed to be members of the parish. His knowledge of the instrument and the pride and joy he took in demonstrating it more than compensated for any lack of virtuosity on his part. In spite of some language difficulty, we felt welcomed and at home. No vastness here to be sure, but instead, a warm, vibrant sound that seemed to permeate every nook and cranny of the small sanctuary in a vital, but not in the least aggressive way. After the demonstration, our three most serious players each took a turn along with Michael, and for the first time--but not the last--there was some hearty hymn singing.

Back at the Gendarmenmarkt, there was time for a leisurely stroll before heading to the Opernpalais restaurant for a dinner. We were divided into small groups at several tables for a pleasant and relaxing meal in quiet and elegant surroundings. Concert tickets were distributed and, having got our "second wind," we made our way back to the Konzerthaus for a symphonic concert of Schubert, Schumann and Mozart.

It was hard to believe that this was the same venue we had visited only hours earlier. The very presence of this large and enthusiastic crowd of serious music lovers seemed to breathe warmth and life into what had seemed to me earlier to be a rather cold and austere building. And indeed, why not? It was for this that the building was intended. Magic was afoot here. The musical "chemistry" generated by conductor, performers and audience had, at least for me, succeeded in invoking the spirit of "Music Past." This was indeed where Mozart had come to attend the premiere of Weber's Freischütz overture and where Wagner had conducted The Flying Dutchman. No longer just a group of American organ buffs, for one magical evening, we were Berliners, intensely proud of our musical heritage and of our concert house, which had literally risen like a glorious phoenix from its ashes. There was an intensity about this musical evening which I will not soon forget.

In spite of the lateness of the hour, our coach had not turned into a pumpkin, and we headed back to Potsdam for one last night, mulling over the days events and welcoming the opportunity to get a glimpse of Berlin at night.

Day Three

Wednesday began with a very early wake-up call. We had to have not only ourselves, but also our luggage collected, be breakfasted and at the entrance for a 7:30 departure. It was a tall order indeed. Even though the day was dark and drizzly and chillier than the day before, everyone seemed eager for the next leg of the journey.

It felt good to leave the city behind us, and it was interesting to see something of the rural countryside. We passed by vineyards and fields of white asparagus, the Hartz Mountains always visible in the background. Sonja's commentary enhanced our enjoyment of the ride, and she also took advantage of the travel time to provide us with some interesting historical background about our first stop of the day. As Sonja would succinctly put it in her very precise English, "Destination: Wittenberg."

Wittenberg

The small medieval city of Wittenberg was founded on the northern bank of the Elbe River in the twelth century. We were headed for the Schlosskirche (Castle Church). Both castle and church were built during the reign of Frederick the Wise between 1490 and 1511, and we were about to step through yet another window into the past. We began with a walking tour of the castle. Five hundred years embraces a lot of history as well as a lot of destruction and painstaking restoration. Of the original castle, only the exterior remains. History can be read about, and architectural details can be photographed and described. But one is never quite prepared for the experience of being there in that space and imagining what it might have been like to live within these walls so long ago.

From there we proceeded into the church. It was on the original doors of this church that Luther had posted his 95 Theses in 1517. But we had come to hear the Ladegast organ. Friederich Ladegast (1818-1905) was an important nineteenth-century builder whose shop produced more than 200 organs. Influenced by the ideas of both Andreas Silbermann and Cavaillé-Coll, he developed a sound that was a unique blend of the Baroque and the Romantic.

The original Castle Church instrument was an 1864 Ladegast of three manuals and 39 stops. In 1935 it was rebuilt by Sauer. The alterations (typical of the time) were substantial and included electrifying the action and adding a Schwellwerk. Then, in 1994, the Eule firm took on the enormous task of returning it to its original mechanical and tonal condition, although it was decided to retain the 1930s Swell. Today the organ boasts four divisions and fifty-seven stops. It was demonstrated for us on this day by organist/cantor Anne-Dore Baumgarten, who is also professor of church music at the Wittenberg seminary. Afterwards, all who wished were invited to climb the gallery stairs and play. All too soon it was time to move on, but we could not leave this historic cradle of Lutheranism without at least one rousing stanza of "A Mighty Fortress."

Out on the ancient cobbled streets, we made our way to St. Mary's, the Stadtkirche (City Church) of Wittenberg. It was here that Martin Luther preached, and here that he was married and buried. Although it is the oldest church in Wittenberg (begun in the thirteenth century), its organ, completed in 1983, is a contemporary mechanical-action instrument by Sauer of three manuals and fifty-three stops. Herr Lamberti was on hand to greet us and to demonstrate the instrument with works by Bach and Mendelssohn.

With a full day still ahead of us, we scrambled back aboard the bus and continued on our way as we consumed the "Bach's lunches" with which we had been provided. This time our destination was the historic town of Halle.

Halle

Located on the River Saale, an important tributary of the Elbe, Halle was first mentioned in the tenth century, although it is located on what appears to be the site of ancient Bronze Age and Ice Age settlements. During the Middle Ages, the river provided fish, drinking water and transport for the town's most important resource, salt. Today, Halle is a major industrial center as well as the largest city in the District of Saxony-Anhalt with a population of more than a quarter of a million people. We were headed for the famous Marktplatz at city center with its Handel Monument and the famous "Five Towers" which dominate the landscape. Our first stop would be the historic Marktkirche where Handel had been baptized and received his first communion. Here he had his first organ lessons with his teacher Zachow and played his first services as Zachow's substitute .

The church originally possessed a sixteenth-century instrument by Esauas and David Beck, which was praised by Michael Praetorius in his Syntagma Musicum. The Beck orgorgan no longer exists and in 1984, the Schuke company built a modern instrument of three manuals and fifty-six stops. Of special interest to us was the small Reichel organ of one manual and six stops. Played from the back of its beautifully carved case, it had been added to the cathedral in 1664 in order to expand the musical possibilities. Over the years, the organ has unfortunately been "tampered with," and in 1972, the Schuke firm restored it to the original mean-tone temperament and brought it back to its original specification. Students of Konrad Brandt demonstrated both instruments for us briefly, and then it was on to the Halle Cathedral for a demonstration by Konrad Brandt of the 1851 instrument by Wäldner. It was here at the Cathedral that Handel had been appointed probationary organist for one year before he resigned and left for Hamburg. Following that, we took a guided tour of the Handel museum before boarding our bus once more. Destination: Merseburg Cathedral.

Merseburg Cathedral

The history of Merseburg can be traced back as far as the ninth century. The cornerstone of the Cathedral was laid in the year 1015 and since then, the edifice has been rebuilt several times. The history of the Cathedral is a complicated one, even for this time and place. But of particular interest to us was the 1855 Ladegast, IV/80, which sits high in the rear gallery of this immense and ancient building. It was for the inauguration of this instrument that Liszt composed his largest organ work, the Fantasia and Fugue on "Ad nos." Unfortunately, the work was not finished in time, and so the cathedral organist, a pupil of Liszt, played instead the Prelude and Fugue on B-A-C-H. In 1961, the organ was "baroqued," a fate which befell so many fine examples of nineteenth-century German organ building. After the pendulum had swung back, a provisional restoration was completed in 1995. Now a more thorough and complete restoration is in progress to be completed by 2003.

At the moment, the only playable instrument in the Cathedral was a small Ladegast organ of one manual and ten stops which is being used as a substitute until the restoration project is complete. It sits quite unpretentiously down on the main floor to the side of one of the transepts. Built in 1850, it is the oldest extant Ladegast instrument. It was demonstrated for us by the organist, Michael Schönheit, who played a short program of amazing variety: Bach, Mendelssohn, Rheinberger and Brahms. Herr Schönheit's busy schedule did not permit him to linger, but since this was our last scheduled stop for the day, arrangements were made for us to stay and try the little organ. It had been a very long day--a castle, a museum and five organs. By now we were all, without exception, hungry, exhausted and chilled to the bone.

And then something quite extraordinary happened. I no longer recall who was the first to play as we gathered around the organ, but I can only describe it as a kind of magical, musical chain reaction. We were somehow enchanted by the musical sounds emanating into that huge space from this tiny organ. People came forward to play who, up until now, had only watched and listened. It was surely the most awkward console we had encountered to date--hardly "user friendly" for those of us accustomed to AGO standards. Shyness and self-consciousness were abandoned with much encouragement all around. Some only played a hymn. Some did not read music, and played by ear. Of all the things we had seen and heard on that eventful day, one moment is etched most vividly in my memory. It was nearly time to leave, and the very last to play was the eldest gentleman of our little group. There we stood, huddled together for warmth in the corner of that dark and vast space, united by the sound of this remarkable little instrument, raising our voices in a chorus of "Church in the Wildwood."

And then it was back to the warmth of our bus and on to Leipzig which would be our home for the next two nights. The light was fading and our mood was rather subdued as we rode past rural farms and open fields, reflecting on the day's events and looking forward to a warm meal and a good night's sleep. Although it was nearly dark by the time we arrived in Leipzig, our driver, Manuela, took us past St. Thomas-kirche. Just enough light remained to afford us a glimpse of this famous church where Bach had spent the last twenty-seven years of his life--an enticing foretaste of what lay in store for us tomorrow.

This article will be continued.