Organs in the LAND of Sunshine

Volume 57, Number 3, Summer 2013 THE TRACKER JOURNAL OF THE ORGAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY OHS 2014 August 11–14 Finger Lakes Region ~ Syracuse, New York Fingerlakes Wine Tour, August 9–10

Featured Organists Will Headlee Christopher Houlihan Nathan Laube Kola Owolabi

INstruments Include Aeolian-Skinner Organ Co. Casavant Frères GOArt Hellmuth Wolff & Associé Holtkamp Organ Co. John Brombaugh & Associates Johnson & Son J.H. Willcox & Co. M.P. Möller, Inc. Frank Roosevelt Vicidomini/Greg Harrold Wurlitzer www.organsociety.org/2014 Convention Chair Ryan Boyle ~ [email protected]

Syracuse University - Crouse College, Holtkamp Organ Company, 1950. photo len levasseur THE OHS CATALOG Sheet MuSic BookS RecoRdingS ࿇ ࿇ The recordings from hisToric organs The splendid 2005 of soUThern ohs convenTion in Southeastern Massachusetts massachUseTTs are finally available! This diverse 4-CD collection features stellar 37 PIPE OrGAnS! performances by 37 different organists, including Brian Jones, Thomas Murray, Peter Sykes, and Barbara Owen. More than just a memento of the convention, this is an important documentation of many historic organs that have never before been recorded, featuring instruments by Beach, Erben, Hook, Hutchings, Jardine, Johnson, Skinner, and more. The repertoire is equally varied, ranging from Buck, Brahms, and Borowski to Foote, Fedak, and Farnaby. Be among the first to own this long-awaited treasury!

$31.95 FOR OHS MEMbERS $34.95 ALL OTHERS

IN STOCK FOR IMMEDIATE SHIPMENT! CHOOSE FROM OVER 5,000 TITLES! ORDER ANY TIME ONLINE: www.ohscatalog.org

ORGAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY UPS shipping to U.S. addresses, which we P.O. Box 26811 Richmond, VA 23261 recommend, is $10.00 for your entire order. Telephone: (804) 353-9226 Media Mail shipping is $5.00 for your entire order. Shipping outside U.S. is $4.50, plus Monday-Friday 9:30am-5:00pm ET the cost of air postage, charged to your VISA

[email protected] shipping or MasterCard. OHS Press PUBLICATIONS BOOKS FROM THE OHS PRESS

JOAN LIPPINCOTT: THE GIFT OF MUSIC LARRY G. BISER

Head of the organ department of Westminster Choir College, the largest in the world, Joan Lippincott taught hundreds of students and played more than 600 recitals around the world. The Gift of Music is the story of Joan Lippincott’s life, career, and influence. In addition to a biography by compiler and editor Larry Biser, former students, friends, and colleagues have con- tributed essays. The book is profusely illustrated and includes recital programs, a list of Lippincott’s recitals, and a complete discography. Contributors to this volume include Scott Dettra, Lynn Edwards Butler, Marty Waters, Craig Cramer, George Dickey, Lee Ridgway, Mark Brombaugh, Joseph Flummerfelt, Karen McFarlane Holtkamp, Robin Leaver, and Barbara Owen, with a foreword by Quentin Faulkner. $29.95

Organs in the LEWIS JAMES Organs in the Land of Sunshine: Fifty-two Years of Organs Land of Sunshine FIFTY-TWO YEARS OF ORGANS in Los Angeles ~ 1880 – 1932 IN LOS ANGELES, 1880 – 1932 James Lewis Larry G. Biser JAMES LEWIS OF SUNSHINE LAND THE IN ORGANS

Sponsored in part by a grant from the Los Angeles Chapter of the American Guild of Organ- ists in celebration of the chapter’s centennial anniversary, this book chronicles the history of

the King of Instruments in Los Angeles from the OHS PRESS city’s first organ built by Joseph Mayer for St. Vibiana’s R.C. Cathedral to the E.M. Skinner IN STOCK FOR IMMEDIATE SHIPMENT! instrumentOrgans in thein the First Land Congregational of Sunshine Church. TArrivinghe book at the Los Angelesfeatures train station inbrief the early 1880s,histories a visitor would and find himself stoplists in a NOW CHOOSE FROM OVER sleepy town of eleven-thousand residents. The streets were yet to be paved, most of the side- walks were made of wood planks, and along the commercial blocks the wood-frame buildings looked like “old west” motion picture sets. It may have seemed a bit primitive compared to of organsSan Francisco—that in all elegant the neighbor important to the north—but thechurches city was growing. by build- 5,000 TITLES! ers such as Bergstrom, E. & G.G. Hook, Jardine, Farrand & Votey, Hutchings, Kilgen, Austin, Estey, Möller, Casavant, Wangerin, Kimball, Skinner, and, Order ANY TIME online of course, LA’s first organbuilder, Murray M. Harris. Also included are residences, with Aeolian, Welte, Harris, Morton, and Estey organs; schools (high schools, USC’s Bovard Auditorium, UCLA’s Royce Hall), www.ohscatalog.org lodges, department stores, apartment houses, outdoor theaters, cemeteries, and, of course, major motion picture theaters with their Wurlitzers, Mortons, and Kimballs. A section on organs never built UPS shipping to U.S. addresses, which we recommend, includes the three-page stoplist of the proposed Welte for the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. More is $8.50 for your entire order. Media Mail shipping is than 35 superb period photographs illustrate this enjoyable historic travelogue through one of America’s $4.50 for your entire order. Shipping outside U.S. is most fascinating cities. $29.95 $4.50, plus the cost of air postage, charged to your VISA or MasterCard. www.ohscatalog.org the Tracker Volume 57, Number 3 ~ SUMMER 2013 From the Executive Director OHS Press PUBLICATIONS james weaver CONTENTS Dear Members and Friends, From the Executive Director 5 Whether it’s bowling or bell James Weaver ringing, compelling activities bring people together. It was love of the pipe From the President 9 organ that prompted the founding and Scot L. Huntington subsequent development of our beloved Organ Historical Society. Today, The Farrand & Votey Organ 12 I think of one who is incredibly dedi- at St. Ignatius Church, San Francisco cated to the pipe organ and to this or- james lewis ganization, Scot Huntington. Scot has served, for the past 16 years, as a na- Richard O. Whitelegg: 16 tional council member, working tire- The Voice of M.P. Möller lessly to provide the leadership that would sharply focus the Bynum Petty goals and strengthen the future of the OHS. Through all those years, and especially during his tenure Archives Corner 24 as president, Scot has supported long-established activities and Bynum Petty traditions that include an active OHS Press, a splendid library and archives, an increasingly comprehensive organ database, In the Tracker 50 Years Ago 26 annual conventions, and educational projects. We will ben- Scot L. Huntington efit from his greatest contributions even as he steps away from years of leadership. Major projects under way for some time Transitions 28 are now bearing fruit. I know that Scot determined to ensure a healthy future for the OHS by developing important lev- Reviews 30 els of collaboration, streamlining operations, and constantly working with the bottom line that supports our activities. Ex Libris 34 It has been a privilege to work with Scot on major changes that impact our institution. We have installed and successfully Minutes of the National Council 35 adapted an IT system that allows for important data collection. This system played a key role in our ability to organize OHS Chapter Reports 38 the financial information necessary to achieve a full financial review and complete audit of the organization. The audit is News 39 complete, available to share with all our members, and with it in hand our annual reviews will become an ongoing part Obituaries 40 of our business plan, immediately available to members, and used to support fundraising activities. EndNotes 42 Having determined that the library and archives consti- On Our Cover tutes our greatest resource, Scot sought expert advice to plan for its future. For years our holdings were dispersed, and the OHS has operated as a tenant at each of its successive loca- tions. It was determined to seek a fulfilling relationship with shared responsibilities that would secure the future of our major collections. The resultant RFP brought offers to establish viable partnerships that would preserve our holdings while ensuring they would be available nationwide, indeed worldwide, as a signal example of America’s cultural patri- mony. The long-term loan that will move our splendid library and archives to the University of North Texas takes the on the cover world’s largest collection of books and archives about the pipe The 1904 Aeolian organ at Rosecliff, the organ to the nation’s largest university school of music. Al- Newport “cottage” of Mrs. Hermann Oelrichs. The case was reportedly designed by the celebrated American architect, Stanford White. Vol. 57, No. 3 the tracker 5 executive director cont. Hampson A. Sisler ready, the plans for its utilization and dissemination show ex- 34 West 12th Street  New York, NY 10011-8636 citing promise. Ph. 212.242.9507  Fax 212.691.2455  [email protected] Perhaps the greatest gift that Scot brought to the OHS derived from his realization that non-profit operations have Composer changed in many important ways since the inception of our classical organ, choral, orchestral society. Sensing the need to reconsider and, particularly, to concert band music strengthen its future, he organized an extremely important Publishers retreat for the national council that was guided by a highly Laurendale (Van Nuys, CA) gifted and learned facilitator, William A. Weary. The out- Emerson (Montclair, CA) World Library (Schiller Park, IL) come of that meeting prompted significant recommendations for a new governing structure, and our counsel, James DISTRIBUTORS L. Wallmann, responded by drafting revisions to our bylaws Morning Star Music.com; 1-800-647-2117 that will put the new governance in place. Those revisions Canticle Distributors, Fenton, Mo. have been supported by the votes of our membership and will Compact Discs take effect in two years as we elect yet another slate of officers. (compositions) by MSR Classics Apart from these major initiatives, Scot has supported me (available where CD’s are sold) with each new step taken to enhance the efforts of our staff CD titles and our operations. As we proceed through the year, I am “Classics, Eclectic; Geophysics — and Bach” particularly aware of the new initiatives undertaken during “The Cosmic Divide”  “Songs Of the Sages” the past months that directly affect you as a member. For the “American Holidays Suite” (16 movements) “Milestones” (14 movements – 2 discs) second time, primary advertising for the national convention was conducted online and, for the first time ever, we asked Performances in New York, Buenos Aires, Honolulu, members to vote for new officers online and to consider re- Moscow, St. PetersbUrg, Prague, Porto, Yalta, visions to the OHS bylaws by voting online. I am excited to Kharkov City, Kiev, Sophia, Plovdiv, Doniesk say that this is working extremely well; I am especially pleased that we can conduct our business in this manner. It is important to add that we will offer printed material and the ability to use traditional mail for as long as necessary, because we untington & S.L. H Co. want to serve all our members—all the time! TRACKER ORGAN BUILDERS Please help us all to celebrate the initiatives, large and small that will guide our future, and, please join me in of- New Instruments Preservation Restoration fering a heartfelt round of thanks to Scot Huntington for the leadership that prompted us to devise and attain such worthy 401.348.8298 goals. Will you join me also in extending your hand to Bill Czelusniak who takes the reins now as our new president? I PO Box 56 cannot imagine a more devoted nor gifted person to assume stonington, ct 06378 this role. www.slhorgans.com HOOK & HASTINGS 1889 RESTORED 2007 Sincerely,

Jane Errera St. Anne’s Church Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

The editor acknowledges with thanks the advice and counsel of Michael D. Friesen, MaryAnn Crugher Balduf Scot Huntington, Len Levasseur, Barbara Owen, Bynum Petty, Organist • Recitalist • Accompanist and James Weaver. Ypsilanti, MI (734) 485-0411

6 the tracker Vol. 57, No. 3 New m E m be r s The Organ Historical Society welcomes its newest members. The Legacy Society Paul Barte Richard E. Miller • Anthony Carr Matthew Morrison Herbert D. Abbott † Thomas Garbrick John Chapman Nathaniel Mueller Anonymous John J. Geller Jean Claude Duval Glenna Bell Orman Rachel W. Archibald † Belmon H. Hall John Fenstermaker Freeman Bell Judith Kooser James Peterson William L. Huber † Paul C. Pringle Paul A. Bender Dana J. Hull Lawrence H. Lehman Edgar A. Boadway Sharon A. Loudon Dan Pruitt Scot L. Huntington Mrs. E. Power Biggs † Mark Jameson Sheri Masiakowski Stephen Woodland Paul Birckner David L. Junchen † Brian Buehler † Preston J. Kauffman † Randell Franklyn Busby MAJOR SUPPORTERS John Rice Churchill † Forrest C. Mack † OF THE ORGAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY John E. Courter, fago † Earl L. Miller † Dennis E. Northway The Society expresses its profound gratitude to the following David P. Dahl Barbara Owen individuals and organizations whose support totals $500 or more Richard Ditewig Stephen L. Pinel during the 2011–2012 fiscal year. All members are challenged and A. Graham Down Clark H. Rice † encouraged to join this group during the 2013–2014 year. Charles Eberline James A. Fenimore, md James A. Tharp American Institute of Lowell E. Johnson Linda P. Fulton Richard E. Willson Organbuilders Len Levasseur Eric A. Anderson Robert D.C. Long The Legacy Society honors members who have included the J. Michael Barone J.O. Love OHS in their wills or other estate plans. We are extremely grate- George E. Becker John Lovegren ful to these generous OHS members for their confidence in the fu- Paul A. Bender Christopher S. Marks ture of the Society. Please consider supporting the OHS in this Gordon L. Biscomb Michael McDermott Stephen B. Black way, and if the OHS is already in your will, please contact us so Bradley McLain that we can add you as a member of the OHS Legacy Society. Bradford Organ Company Messrs. Czelusniak et [email protected] Willis Bridegam Dugal, Inc. Karl Bruhn Rosalind Mohnsen Catherine Bruno Donald Jack Newsom Chicago Midwest Chapter Chris C. Nichols of OHS Organ Supply Industries 2013 election results Lynn R. Clock Roy D. Perdue James H. Cook Bynum Petty PRESIDENT COUNCILORS Chester W. Cooke S.L. Huntington & Co. William F. Czelusniak �� 440 Jeffrey Dexter �� 298 David P. Dahl Russell Schertle Vice PRESIDENT Christopher Marks �� 394 David C. Dasch Willis Bridegam �� 218 Schoenstein & Company John Rust �� 289 Robert C. Davey Dan Clayton �� 226 Ronald E. Dean Carl C. Schwartz Theresa Slowik �� 325 Jane Scharding Smedley Mr. and Mrs. Wesley Dudley BYLAWS St. Paul Cathedral Charles N. Eberline Yes �� 297 TOTAL ELECTION BALLOTS �� 444 James M. Stark Fox Valley Chapter No ��22 TOTAL BYLAWS BALLOTS �� 319 of the American Guild Martin F. Stempien of Organists Eric Talbot Paul Fritts Michael J. Timinski John J. Geller Kenneth W.Usher Publication Deadlines Kevin A. Grose Joseph A. Vitacco EDITORIAL ADVERTISING Will Headlee Randall E. Wagner The editorial deadline is Closing date for all advertising Kent B. Hickman Camille P. Wagner the first of the material is the 15th of the Hilbus Chapter of OHS Richard B. Walker second preceding month second preceding month Carl L. Hillyer James Weaver April issue closes �� February 1 February 15 ��for April issue Charles H. Horton Richard E. Willson July issue closes ��May 1 May 15 ��for July issue John-Paul Buzard Pipe Gerald M. Womer October issue closes �� August 1 August 15 ��for October issue Organ Builders Lawrence A. Young † January issue closes ��November 1 November 15 ��for January issue

Vol. 57, No. 3 the tracker 7 Organ Historical Society Post Office Box 26811, Richmond, Virginia 23261 • 804-353-9226 • fax: 804-353-9266 e-mail: [email protected] • web: www.organsociety.org • online catalog: www.ohscatalog.org

The National Council CONVENTIONS Officers and Councilors Term Expires FINGERLAKES REGION, August 11–14, 2014 syracuse, new york Scot L. Huntington ...... president 2013 Ryan J. Boyle P.O. Box 56, Stonington, CT 06378 401-348-8298 [email protected] [email protected] Berkshire region and pioneer valley, June 22–25, 2015 William F. Czelusniak ...... vice president 2013 springfield, massachusetts P.O. Box 60, Northampton, MA 01061 413-586-7600 [email protected] Roy D. Perdue [email protected] Jeff Weiler ...... secretary 2015 1805 S. Michigan Ave., #1905 Chicago, IL 60616 312-842-7475 [email protected] Organ Historical Society Allen Langord (ex officio) ...... treasurer appointed Library and Archives 451 Gateway Road, New Wilmington, PA 16142 863-427-2865 [email protected] At Talbott Library Westminster Choir College, 101 Walnut Lane, Princeton, NJ 08540 James H. Cook ...... councilor for education 2015 Box 549033, Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, AL 35254 [email protected] Bynum Petty ~ archivist 609-477-8758 ~ [email protected] Jeffrey D. Dexter . . . councilor for organizational concerns 2013 P.O. Box 156, Orrville, OH 44667 800-416-7426 [email protected] HONORARY MEMBERS A. Graham Down . . . councilor for finance and development 2015 †E. Power Biggs; †Joseph E. Blanton; †Alan Laufman 4100 Cathedral Ave. NW, #152B Washington, DC 20016 [email protected] Barbara Owen; Orpha Ochse; †John Ogasapian; Stephen L. Pinel Christopher Marks ...... councilor for archives 2013 † † 3022 Browning St., Lincoln, NE 68516 402-472-2980 [email protected] Albert Robinson; Albert Schweitzer; William T. Van Pelt †Martin Vente; Randall E. Wagner; †F.R.Webber Daniel Schwandt ...... councilor for conventions 2015 1128 E. 54th Place, #1 Chicago, IL 60615 773.259.0774 [email protected] ADVERTISING IN THE TRACKER Theresa Slowik . . . .councilor for research and publications 2013 Washington, DC 202-633-8464 [email protected] The Tracker, Journal of the Organ Historical Society, is published four times a year. It is read by over 4,000 people who shape the James Weaver (ex officio) ...... executive director course of the art and the science of the pipe organ. For nominal cost, P.O. Box 26811, Richmond, VA 23261 [email protected] you can support the publication of The Tracker and keep your name before these influential readers by advertising. For additional infor- OHS HEADQUARTERS mation, contact us at [email protected]. Amanda R. Watson [email protected] ...... Office Manager Rates and technical requirements are available on the OHS Web Sarah M. Fielding [email protected] . . . . Catalog buyer site, at www.organsociety.org. Hilary N. Sauermann [email protected] . . . . . CATALOG ASSISTANT Members may join any one of ten chapters THE TRACKER Chapter Name �� FOUNDING DATE Inquiries Rollin Smith ...... editor 313 Fulton St., Westbury, NY 11590 [email protected] CHICAGO-MIDWEST �� 1980 MIOHS, MICHIGAN �� 1994 DEREK NICKELS CARL BALDUF Len Levasseur ...... pre-press and design Church of the Holy Comforter 1046 Coleman St. [email protected] 222 Kenilworth Ave. Ypsilanti, MI 48198-6308 Kenilworth, IL 60043 [email protected] Althea Frary ...... Advertising Manager [email protected] 413-586-7600 [email protected] EASTERN IOWA �� 1982 MID-HUDSON, New York �� 1978 RODNEY LEVSEN Stuart L. Ballinger 221 Maple Street, P.O. Box 542 11 Lown Ct. Committee and board chairs Buffalo, IA 52728 Poughkeepsie, NY 12603-3321 [email protected] Alan Laufman Research Grant ...... James L. Wallmann [email protected] HARMONY SOCIETY �� 1990 NEW ORLEANS �� 1983 American Organ Archives Governing Board . . . . . Christopher Marks Western PA & Ohio Valley Rachelen Lien Walt Adkins Distinguished Service Award (ad hoc, expires 2014) ...... Daniel Schwandt 476 First St. 1010 Nashville Avenue Heidelberg, PA 15106 New Orleans, LA 70115 Endowment Fund Advisory Board ...... A. Graham Down [email protected] [email protected] E. Power Biggs Fellowship ...... Samuel Baker HILBUS �� 1970 PACIFIC-NORTHWEST �� 1976 Historic Organ Awards ...... Sebastian M. Glück Washington-Baltimore David Dahl Carolyn Booth [email protected] Nominations (ad hoc, expires 2013) ...... Randy Wagner [email protected] OHS Pipe Organ Database ...... James H. Cook MEMPHIS �� 1992 WISCONSIN �� 1988 Dennis S. Wujcik Phyllis Frankenstein Publications Governing Board ...... Theresa Slowik 45 N. Belvedere #101 1253 Riverton Dr. Memphis, TN 38104-2517 Mukwanango, WI 53149 Publications Prize Committee ...... Bynum Petty [email protected] [email protected]

THE TRACKER (quarterly) and the same rates. Add $15 for postage to the International Index to Music Periodi- ADVERTISEMENTS are paid and do not ORGAN ATLAS (annual) are published Canada or Mexico; $30 for delivery cals, [email protected]. imply OHS endorsement. Advertising is by the Organ Historical Society, a non- outside North America; $10 for First not accepted for electronic substitutes for profit, educational organization. Class US delivery. EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE the organ. P.O. Box 26811, Richmond, VA 23261. may be addressed to the editor 804-353-9226. www.organsociety.org. BACK ISSUES of The Tracker are avail- at [email protected]. The ORGAN HISTORICAL able at $5 each, $18 per volume. Back is- Responsibility for facts and opinions SOCIETY is not obligated to any ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DUES sues of the annual Organ Atlas are $15.00 expressed in articles rests with the commercial interest. The Society will (includes The Tracker and the Organ (2006-13). The annual Organ Handbook (28 prevent or prosecute: 1) any use of Atlas): Regular Member $60; Age issues through 2005) are $5.00 each. Index authors and not with the Organ its material to imply endorsement or 65 or over $50; Age 25 or under $20; to Volumes 1-33 is $7.50. Order at www. Historical Society. Material accepted discredit; 2) misuse of the name The Tracker Additional Member in household $45; ohscatalog.org/ohspress.html. The Tracker for publication in The Tracker and the or the Organ Atlas; 3) misuse of the name Contributor $100; Donor $250; Sponsor is indexed (Vols 32 to present, annually) Organ Atlas becomes the property of ORGAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY. The $500; Patron $1,000; Benefactor $2,500. in print and online by The Music Index, the Organ Historical Society, and may Tracker is a registered trademark. Payment over $33 is deductible as charitable www.harmonieparkpress.com/Musicin not be reproduced in whole or in part contribution. Institutions and businesses dex.asp. Also indexed (from Volume 37) in any form without permission from Copyright © 2013, Organ Historical may be members with no vote at the with abstracts on CD-ROM and online by the editor. Society, The Tracker ISSN: 0041-0330. scot l. huntington From the President

Solace As I contemplated what to write for this column, an stability in a ritual or space idea kept recurring: this wouldn’t be a typical column extol- that offers comfort and re- ling the virtues of this wonderful organization, but a public assurance. On September soul-baring catharsis. 11, 2001, with most trans- While you are reading this in July, I am writing in portation in New York City early May. For the past month, it seems that the world has shut down, tens of thousands gone completely crazy. It began in April with North Korea’s walked across the Brooklyn spoiled-brat head-of-state making increasingly bellicose state- Bridge—one of the few out ments that seemed poised to bring the world to the brink of of the city that day. The first nuclear war. Then, hundreds of innocent people out to enjoy church one comes to, hard a warm spring holiday tradition were maimed or killed in by the bridge, is Brooklyn’s Boston. The news changed by the hour and culminated in Plymouth Church, which the unprecedented lockdown of the entire city as a “Don’t still has the majestic case of @%#*! with Boston” manhunt unfolded. Reporters could E. & G.G. Hook Opus 360. scarcely catch their breath, when a Texas factory mysteri- While the dust was still roil- ously exploded, nearly wiping out an entire town and killing ing across lower Manhat- 13 first responders who attempted to protect their families, tan, the church had opened friends, and neighbors. Poison was sent through the mail to its doors and quickly arranged an impromptu rush hour ser- the president and members of Congress in a bizarre story with vice for the thousands seeking to grasp at normalcy in a world tragically comedic twists and turns; a substandard factory col- that assumed an alternate reality. The Aeolian-Skinner organ lapsed in Bangladesh, killing over 1,100 mistreated workers; played a major role in that service, touching souls in a way the upper Midwest had blizzards in May after a 90-degree that only music can. A year later, we had a memorial ser- hot spell, while the central south was flooded, and parts of vice at my church here in Stonington for a beloved mem- California were ablaze. Just this week, not only did the Dow ber’s young grandson who had perished in the south tower reach an all-time high above 15,000, after a decade of eco- and whose remains were never recovered. When you think a nomic uncertainty, but the miraculous yet deeply disturbing devastating tragedy only happens to others, it finds a way to story broke about the rescue of three young women held in sneak up behind you. captivity and tortured for a decade while their family mem- For lovers of organ music and, in particular, my fellow bers routinely walked by their prison—an event uniting the members in the Organ Historical Society, the pipe organ is country in a brief moment of collective joy. As if to punctu- often another vehicle we turn to not only for enjoyment, but ate all this madness, the spire topping out at a symbolic 1776 also in our private moments of disquiet. I have an OHS friend feet was placed on No. 1 Trade Center after twelve years of who is a gifted performer, with a young family and busy teach- national healing, making this site once again the tallest building career, who seeks private peace and solace in his man-cave ing in North America, and giving us the opportunity to savor where he listens to organ music on a state-of-the-art stereo some good news. system while savoring his equally sophisticated home-brewed Generations have defining moments. For my parents, it ale. I have several friends who invariably have organ music was the bombing of Pearl Harbor, VE/VJ Day, or the death playing in the background when I call them on the phone, of President Roosevelt. For my baby boomer generation, it and friends whose social calendar never intrudes on a broad- would be the moment television grew up: the assassination of cast of Pipedreams. All of my organbuilder or organist friends President Kennedy, when an entire nation, huddled in front have certain pieces that provide solace when they are troubled of a flickering eye, was transfixed in communal grief and dis- or unsettled. I am especially cognizant of the effect the music I belief, in real time. Such moments seem part of normal life play for weddings and funerals has on the attendees, especially now, happening at least once each generation. when it strikes a recognizable emotional chord. Our first reaction in such moments is to seek solace in the I find that in my own moments of grief or anguish, I company of friends and family, whom we instinctively hold turn to the music of Bach and to the 1870 E. & G.G. Hook I a little tighter. The next reaction for many is to seek spiri- have been so privileged to play for three decades in the sturdy, tual solace from a higher power, hoping for answers to ques- white New England church in Stonington. There is some- tions that cannot be answered, or perhaps to look for simple thing cathartic about being alone in the calming stillness of

Vol. 57, No. 3 the tracker 9 From the President cont.

this stately but humble space, connecting intimately to instru- America’s distinguished organ history—the proud products of ment and music, with the wind rushing through the Hook’s the skill and toil of my spiritual ancestors and teachers. One antique pipework producing sounds of soul-touching nobil- doesn’t get rich in this business, but I couldn’t imagine doing ity—for my ears and God’s, alone. I always feel better when I anything else and being as contented or as privileged. leave than when I arrived, my soul having been momentarily People deal with the craziness around them in many dif- cleansed of anguish. ferent ways. When our daily routine is disrupted by events They say if you love the work you do, you aren’t really beyond our control, psychologists will often tell you to main- “working.” I am blessed to be an organbuilder, doing the work tain your daily routine. Going through the motions of the fa- I love. The morning’s e-mail, phone calls, and bookkeeping miliar can supply a bit of normalcy in a world seemingly de- are drudgery, but I look forward every day to walking into void of it. For me, and my many musician friends, music is an the shop. Just inside the door, I am greeted with the smells essential part of what helps us get through the day. Those of every organbuilder or woodworker recognizes—lumber, us the organ touches with such profound inspiration, joy, and, sawdust, solvents, and the sweet/sour smell of antiquity—a when needed, solace, are not a recent phenomenon, but part smell as comforting to me as the smell of my grandmother’s of an anointed continuum reaching back centuries. When I kitchen when I was a little boy. I am surrounded by my hear a masterpiece so beautiful, I know I have heard the voice cherished tools, and now those of my father. There are two of God, and think how lucky I am to be able to appreciate good friends now on the floor: the oldest church organ in such beauty. Connecticut (an 1823 Thomas Hall) and Alvinza Andrews’s Opus 1 (1836), both of which will be going home in a few Could you possibly imagine a life without the organ? more months. Instrument builders bond with instruments like family members; I will miss them when they are gone. I find solace, stability, and normalcy here too, in the midst of a world at times going crazy, surrounded by touchstones of

Carl PhiliPP EmanuEl BaCh he omplete orks    nOW aVailaBlE Organ Works Wq 70, Wq 119, h 336 Edited by annette richards and David Yearsley isbn 978-1-933280-33-2 (xvi, 123 pp.) $20.00*

Organists may also be interested in the Passions and Cantatas in Series IV, V and VI. Please see website for a complete list of available and forthcoming volumes. All are cloth-bound and contain introductions and critical commentaries.

Phone orders: (800) 243-0193 Web orders: www.cpebach.org Email: [email protected] * This price is for direct sales only

10 the tracker Vol. 57, No. 3 Saving organs throughout America....affordably!

1-800-621-2624 foleybaker.com Andover

P.O. Box 36 Methuen, Massachusetts 01844 THE NOACK ORGAN CO., INC. MAIN AND SCHOOL STREETS Telephone: 888-ORGAN CO GEORGETOWN, MA 01833 Telephone 978 352-6266 www.andoverorgan.com www.noackorgan.com New Organs

Rebuilds Church of St. Peter Restorations Haverstraw, New York Geo. Jardine & Son Opus 1248 - 1897 Maintenance Restored 2011

130 West 100 South American Fork, UT 84003 801-756-5777 www.bigeloworgans.com The 1896 Farrand & Votey, in place after removal of the second gallery.

The Farrand & Votey Organ at St. Ignatius Church, San Francisco

James Lewis

y the time the earth had ceased shaking and the fires Symphony Hall. The new edifice was designed in what is were extinguished, the Great San Francisco Earth- sometimes known as “Jesuit Baroque,” an architectural style Bquake and Fire of 1906 had destroyed many of the that draws elements from both the Renaissance and Baroque city’s churches and organs. Among the instruments lost were periods. The front of the building had wide steps leading to organs by California builders John Bergstrom, Joseph Mayer, three tall entrance doors flanked by two three-sectional tow- Felix Schoenstein, and Murray M. Harris, and eastern builders topped by open cupolae. ers such as Appleton, Erben, Hook, Johnson, Hutchings, The long nave seated some two thousand worshippers. Müller & Abell, James Treat, and possibly the most impres- Along each side of the room were Corinthian columns that sive loss, the great church of St. Ignatius, with its four-manual supported nine arches carrying a wide ornamental entablature. 1896 organ built by Farrand & Votey of Detroit, Michigan. Above this, the clerestory rose to the ceiling and was divided The first St. Ignatius Church in San Francisco was a small, into nine bays by pilasters framing arched windows. At the rear wood-frame structure built along Market Street in 1855, six of the nave were two galleries; the top gallery holding the choir years after the first Jesuits arrived from Italy. By 1862, a larger and organ and the lower gallery, providing overflow seating. brick church replaced the 1855 structure. It was in this second San Francisco organbuilder Felix Schoenstein moved the building that the parish installed its first pipe organ, a three- 1868 Hook organ into the new building, placing it on the manual E. & G.G. Hook, Opus 453, which was delivered in higher of two galleries at the rear of the church. He made 1868. It had 42 registers, a projecting console, and a three- some additions and extended the case horizontally to accom- sectional, Romanesque-style case. modate additional bass pipes. A third St. Ignatius Church was built in 1880 at Hayes One of St. Ignatius’s wealthiest parishioners was Mrs. An- Street and Van Ness Avenue, a site now occupied by Davies drew Welch, who was married to a sugar magnate from New

12 the tracker Vol. 57, No. 3 The Farrand & Votey Organ

Orleans. The couple, along with their three sons, settled in All of the manual divisions were enclosed except for five San Francisco in the 1880s and Mrs. Welch gave sizeable gifts stops of the Great. The Swell Vox Humana and reeds of the to St. Ignatius Church and to local Catholic charities. In 1890, Solo organ were imported “from a celebrated maker in Paris.”3 she gave $50,000 to decorate the church with frescoes, gild- A brochure published by the builder stated that the French ing, stained glass, and statuary. Several years later, Mrs. Welch reeds gave “a strength of tone and reedy character much more gave another $50,000 for the purchase of a new organ that marked than those of American make, rendering them almost would suit the church’s size and prestige.1 indispensable for solo effects, while their contrast with Amer- As church authorities were deciding on a builder for ican reeds adds greatly to the variety of the instrument.”4 A their new organ, the newspaper was petitioning for a local full-length 32ʹ Diapason, “copied from the celebrated organ at organbuilder: Lucerne, Switzerland, built by Herr Haas,” 5 gave foundation to the Pedal division. The lowest twelve notes were made in Hearing that a new pipe organ is about to be put into the church to avoid packing and shipping the large pipes on St. Ignatius Church, Secretary Meade of the Manufacturers’ Association has written to Rev. Edwin Allen, of St. Igna- railway cars. tius Church, asking him to allow California manufacturers Two electric motors, one of five and another of two-and- to compete in the bidding, and if they can do as well, to give one-half horsepower, operated six sets of bellows, provid- them the preference over Eastern bidders. ing wind pressures of seven inches for the Solo division, four Mr. Meade has also sent word to George Andrews of inches for the Great and Pedal, and three-and-one-half inches Oakland, Thomas Whalley of Berkeley, and John Bergstrom of this city, informing them that the possibility exists for the for the Swell and Choir organs. Storage batteries and charg- patronage of a home manufacturer.2 ing facilities for the electric key action, along with the instrument’s wind supply, were all located in a tower room above Although this was a thoughtful gesture on the part of the level of the organ gallery.6 Mr. Meade, the California builders named did not have In the following stoplist of the St. Ignatius organ, the the facilities to build an electric-action 90-rank organ. By reader can see what extensive tonal resources the instrument the fall of 1895, the church had selected Farrand & Votey as possessed. What a contrast it must have been to the mild- organbuilder for the project. The plans called for a four-man- toned Simmons, Erben, and Stevens organs in neighboring ual instrument with electric action, 90 ranks, 76 speaking churches, and the elegant, but equally mild James Treat organ stops, and a prepared-for Echo division that would be located installed in Grace Episcopal Church just two years before the near the altar. Farrand & Votey organ. To accommodate the large organ, structural changes By Christmas of 1896, the organ was installed and ready were made to the galleries at the rear of the nave. The upper- for its inaugural recitals. Clarence Eddy, the distinguished most of two galleries, on which the Hook organ had stood, American organ virtuoso, arrived in San Francisco to play on was removed so that the new instrument could be placed in December 25, 1896. He provided music for Masses during the the lower, remaining gallery. Felix Schoenstein removed the day and, after the final service, played a recital. His selections Hook organ and installed it in St. Rose’s Catholic Church, are listed here: 7 where he built a new case in the Gothic style to match the church’s interior. 5:00 a.m. Mass Prelude: Alleluia Dubois Standing impressively on the rear gallery of St. Ignatius, Offertory: Offertoire de Ste. Cécile in C Minor Batiste the Farrand & Votey organ was housed in a massive case with Communion: Prière à Notre-Dame Boëllmann stenciled display pipes. It was embellished with fluted pilasters Postlude: Finale, Sonata No. 5 Guilmant topped by gilt capitals, two life-sized angels holding trum- 10:30 a.m. Mass pets, and large urns with blazing torches. The detached, four- Prelude: Prélude and Cantilène Pierné manual console was positioned about ten feet in front of the Offertory: Fiat Lux Dubois case to allow room for a group of singers. Oblique-faced stop- Postlude: Konzert-Satz in C Minor Thiele knobs were placed on terraced jambs at either side of the key- 7:30 p.m. Mass boards. The manual compass was 61 notes, and the flat pedal- Prélude: Double Thème Varié Rousseau board had a 30-note compass. An adjustable combination action could be set at the console by drawing a selection of 3. Souvenir: Inauguration of the Grand Organ (Detroit: Farrand & Votey Organ stops and then giving the chosen piston a slight pull, thereby Company, 1896). capturing the combination. 4. Ibid. 5. Ibid. 1. From the Rooftop (May 23, 2005): 6. 6. Ibid. 2. “Buy Homemade Goods,” San Francisco Call (August 3, 1895): 20. 7. Ibid.

Vol. 57, No. 3 the tracker 13 The Farrand & Votey Organ

GREAT (unenclosed) SOLO Recital 16 Double Open Diapason 8 Stentorphone Fantasia and Fugue in G Minor Bach 8 First Open Diapason 8 Horn Diapason Pastoral in E Lemare 8 Second Open Diapason 8 Violoncello Pilgrims’ Chorus Wagner 8 Principal Flöte 8 Philomela The Answer Wolstenholme 4 Octave 4 Hohl Pfeife Canon in B Minor Schumann GREAT (enclosed) 16 Tuba Major Toccata in E-flat Capocci 16 Bourdon 8 Tuba Mirabilis The Storm Fantasia Lemmens 8 Violin Diapason 8 Orchestral Oboe Grand Processional March Goldmark 8 Viol di Gamba (tin) 8 Viol d’Amour ECHO (prepared for) Eddy returned to San Francisco in 1897 to play a Palm 8 Gemshorn 8 Viola Diapason Sunday recital on the James E. Treat organ at Grace Episco- 8 Doppel Flöte 8 Keraulophone 8 Clarabella 8 Unda Maris pal Church and then repeated his performances of the previ- 4 Gambette 8 Quintadena ous year at St. Ignatius Church on Easter Sunday, playing “at 4 Hohl Flöte 8 Fern Flöte Masses and Vespers.”8 22/3 Octave Quinte 4 Flute Traverso The great Farrand & Votey organ was the pride of St. Ig- 2 Super Octave Dulciana Mixture III natius Church until early on the morning of April 18, 1906, Mixture V 8 Vox Humana Scharf III-IV when a tremendous earthquake violently shook the city, caus- 16 Double Trumpet PEDAL ing the gas and water mains to twist and break. Thirty-five 8 Trumpet 32 Double Open Diapason fires began almost immediately, spreading through the tinder- 4 Clarion 16 Open Diapason box-dry wood construction of many of San Francisco’s build- 16 Violone ings. By noon, the financial district was ablaze, and by that SWELL 16 Dulciana 16 Bourdon 16 Bourdon evening, the firestorm had incinerated the entire city center. 8 Open Diapason 16 Lieblich Gedackt (Sw.) Broken water mains allowed the fire to burn unchecked for 8 Violin Diapason (tin 102/3 Quint three days. 8 Salicional 8 Octave St. Ignatius Church didn’t have a chance. After the quake, 8 Vox Celestis 8 Flute the structure was then swept by fire, leaving only a charred 8 Aeoline 8 Violoncello 8 Flute Harmonique 4 Super Octave shell. The only evidence of the great organ were some twisted 8 Spitz Flöte 16 Trombone crankshafts lying in the debris. 8 Stopped Diapason 8 Trumpet The Jesuits eventually rebuilt their church on a new site. 8 Clarinet Flute A large edifice similar to the building lost in 1906 was con- 4 Octave ACCESSORIES structed on Fulton Street, near the east end of Golden Gate 4 Salicet (tin) Swell Tremulant 4 Flauto Traverso Choir Tremulant Park. Still very much in use today, this structure features 2 Flageolet Echo Tremulant twin towers at the entrance and a large dome over the cross- Cornet III–V High Pressure Indicator ing. Unfortunately, the 1896 organ was never replaced with 16 Ophecleide Low Pressure Indicator a comparable instrument, although when plans for the new 16 Contra Fagotto Combination Release church were being drawn up in 1910–1912, the Jesuits con- 8 Cornopean 8 Oboe COUPLERS tacted the Murray M. Harris Company in Los Angeles and 8 Vox Humana Great to Pedal inquired about an instrument. Still in the church files is this Swell to Pedal undated proposal from Harris for an organ similar to the 1896 CHOIR Choir to Pedal Farrand & Votey. 16 Contra Gamba Solo to Pedal According to Louis Schoenstein in Memoirs of a San Fran- 16 Lieblich Gedackt Swell to Pedal Octaves 8 Open Diapason Pedal Octaves cisco Organ Builder (1977), the church purchased for the new 8 Geigen Principal Swell to Great Sub, Unison, Octaves building a second-hand three-manual Kimball. Originally 8 Viola Choir to Great Sub, Unison tubular and built for the College of the Pacific in San Jose, 8 Dulciana Solo to Great Unison and Octaves Calif., it has been twice electrified and has a later console, 8 Quintadena Solo to Swell in use in 1977. Of course, much smaller than the Farrand & 8 Concert Flute Swell Octaves 8 Rohr Flöte Solo Octaves Votey, it replaced a temporary two-manual tubular-pneu- 4 Fugara matic Murray Harris, in use in a frame building until 1914 and 4 Flute d’Amour in the new, large church until the Kimball arrived in 1928.9 2 Piccolo Harmonique Mixture IV 8 Clarinet 8 Cor Anglais (free reeds) 8. The Oakland Tribune (April 3, 1897): 3. 9. Information kindly provided by E.A. Boadway.

14 the tracker Vol. 57, No. 3 at St. Ignatius Church, San Francisco

Specification of a Four Manual Organ CHOIR PEDAL Prepared Expressly for St. Ignatius Catholic Church, 16 Double Dulciana 64 Gravissima 16 Lieblich Gedackt 32 Double Open Diapason San Francisco, California, 8 Open Diapason 16 Open Diapason by the Murray M. Harris Company, 8 Geigen Principal 16 Open Diapason (Gt.) Los Angeles, California. 8 Keraulophon 16 Violone 8 Dulciana 16 Gamba (Gt.) 8 Vox Celeste 16 Dulciana (Ch.) GREAT (unenclosed) SWELL 8 Quintadena 16 Bourdon 16 Double Open Diapason 16 Bourdon 8 Gedackt 16 Lieblich Gedackt (Sw.) 8 First Open Diapason 16 Contra Viol 8 Concert Flute 16 Quintaten 8 Second Open Diapason 8 Open Diapason 4 Fugara 102/3 Quint 8 Gross Flöte 8 Violin Diapason 4 Flute d’Amour 8 Octave 4 Octave 8 Nachthorn 2 Flautina 8 Flute 8 Viola Corroborating Mixture V 8 Violoncello GREAT (enclosed) 8 Salicional (tin) 16 Contra Saxophone 4 Super Octave 16 Contra Gamba 8 Unda Maris 8 Clarinet 32 Contra Bombarde 8 Horn Diapason 8 Aeoline 8 Cor Anglais 16 Trombone 8 Doppel Flöte 8 Flute Harmonic 8 Tromba 8 Clarabella 8 Spitz Flöte SOLO 4 Clarion 8 Viola di Gamba (tin) 8 Melodia 16 Double Open Diapason 8 Viola d’Amour 8 Stopped Diapason 8 Stentorphone TREMOLOS 8 Gemshorn 4 Octave 8 Flûte à Pavillon Swell 4 Gambette 4 Violina (tin) 8 Orchestral Flute Choir 4 Harmonic Flute 4 Flauto Traverso 8 Gross Gamba (tin) Solo 22/3 Octave Quint 2 Harmonic Piccolo 4 Octave Echo 2 Super Octave Mixture V 4 Hohl Pfeife Vox Humana Mixture VI Viol Cornet IV 16 Bass Tuba 16 Double Trumpet 16 Contra Fagotto 8 Tuba Mirabilis COUPLERS 8 Harmonic Trumpet 8 Cornopean 8 Orchestral Oboe Swell to Great 16, 8, 4 4 Harmonic Clarion 8 Fagotto Swell to Swell 16, 4 8 Oboe ECHO Swell to Choir 8 Vox Humana (2 ranks) 16 Stillgedackt Swell to Pedal 4 Musette 8 Echo Diapason Choir to Great 16, 8, 4 8 Fern Flöte Choir to Pedal Summary 8 Viol Etheria (tin) Solo to Great 16, 8, 4 Great 20 stops 1,525 pipes 8 Vox Angelica Solo to Swell Swell 25 stops 2,409 pipes 4 Flauto Traverso Solo to Choir Choir 17 stops 1281 pipes 8 Echo Oboe Solo to Solo 16, 4 Solo 10 stops 730 pipes 8 Vox Humana (2 ranks) Solo to Pedal Echo 8 stops 657 pipes Great to Pedal Pedal 20 stops ...640 pipes Pedal Octaves Total 100 stops 7,242 pipes Solo off / Echo on

St. Ignatius Church, 1880 St. Ignatius destroyed. The shell of the church photographed on April 20, 1906.

Vol. 57, No. 3 the tracker 15 Richard Whitelegg voicing the Shove Chapel Cor Anglais at the Welte factory

Richard O. Whitelegg The Voice of M.P. Möller

Bynum Petty

ichard oliver whitelegg (August 12, 1890– Chapel organ was shipped in late August. Whitelegg esti- December 20, 1944) was born in the county of mated the installation to take five weeks, with tuning and Cheshire, located on the Welsh border of west- regulation requiring an additional three weeks, for which he R 3 ern England. An accomplished organist, at the age of 14, he was responsible. Robert Pier Elliot, chief engineer at Kim- passed the intermediate exam at Trinity College of Music, ball, interceded for Whitelegg to argue the importance of a London, where he studied with Herbert Wild, organist at St. proper environment necessary for tonal finishing. George’s Church, Stockport, Greater Manchester. Believing I have had two letters from Mr. Meunier since the Shove that a thorough knowledge of organ construction would make Memorial Chapel Organ arrived and he says the work is him a more informed organist, Whitelegg served a seven-year going on in good shape. In his first letter he said you were apprenticeship, after which he was variously associated with planning for the dedication on November 6th, but in the one organbuilding firms Harrison & Harrison, Durham; August received today he says it will be very near the end of Octo- ber before the pews and cushions can be installed, and while Gern, London; and Evans & Barr, Belfast. In time, Whitelegg they are putting in pews and putting up the organ screen, returned to London and became a partner with Gern. After tone regulation and fine tuning are impossible. One can get the end of World War I, he was employed for several years along in a theatre with the degree of smoothness expected in the voicing department of Henry Willis & Sons. His first there, and have other workmen in the building, even noisy trip to America in early 1926 was as a representative from the ones. The church or chapel organ is quite different and is sub- jected to a wholly different kind of criticism and of use. Mr. London office of the Aeolian Company. While at the Aeolian Whitelegg is going all the way from New York to do this factory in Garwood, New Jersey, he was engaged as a reed work and we are sure that you and the college authorities will voicer. Later that year, he returned to England in order to ob- co-operate with us to insure a perfectly finished instrument. tain an immigration visa. In early 1927, he became head reed That means reasonable quiet, or a reasonable amount of per- voicer for Welte-Mignon in the Bronx, and he remained with fect quiet, while the tone regulation and tuning are going on, 1 and it may mean, in view of this new information about the the company after it was reorganized as Welte-Tripp. delivery of pews and organ screen, that the dedication should In the summer of 1931, Welte-Tripp filed for bankruptcy be set later than November 6th.4 and was absorbed by the W.W. Kimball Company. Richard Whitelegg was appointed superintendent of the Welte-Tripp With this organ, Whitelegg’s tonal design distinguished it- factory in Sound Beach (Old Greenwich), Connecticut, and self immediately as a departure from the American paradigm. was responsible for completing outstanding contracts, one of which was for the chapel at Colorado College.2 The Shove 3. Richard O. Whitelegg to John Gray, August 17, 1931. Colorado Col- lege Special Collections at the Tutt Library, Colorado College, Colorado 1. Einar Olsen to Donald R.M. Paterson, November 9, 1971. Organ His- Springs, Colorado. torical Society Library and Archives, Princeton, New Jersey. 4. Robert Pier Elliot to John Gray, September 21, 1931. Colorado Col- 2. “Kimball Takes Over Welte-Tripp Company,” The Diapason 20, no. 9 lege Special Collections at the Tutt Library, Colorado College, Colorado (August 1931): 1. Springs, Colorado.

16 the tracker Vol. 57, No. 3 Richard O. Whitelegg: The Voice of M.P. Möller

The principal choruses are complete, cohesive and brilliant; should be applied to an organ to determine its musical effec- and the reeds speak with clarity and authority. tiveness. One of these is clarity, the other cohesion. The only Even while Whitelegg was still working in Connecticut, type of tone which is truly effective musically seems to us to it is certain that as early as May 1931, he was advising M.P. be the one which combines both these virtues. The so-called Möller Jr. on tonal matters, his first being that for Opus 6000, ‘English’ type does so.”10 St. John’s Lutheran Church, Hagerstown, all the while still in This English type was a clear nod toward the work of the employment of the Welte-Tripp Organ Company. M.P. G. Donald Harrison at Aeolian-Skinner, as both Covell and Möller Jr. asked Whitelegg to “. . . check over these specifica- Gammons were strong advocates of his pioneering efforts, but tions particularly the Great, Swell, Choir, and Pedal and mark equally it could apply to that of Whitelegg, for he had al- any suggestions that you may. I wish you would also send me the formula for the Great and Swell Mixtures and the scales of the Diapasons, Great Octave, and Swell Principal.”5 Shortly thereafter, Whitelegg was asked to correct problems with the recently installed Waldorf-Astoria organ: “Mr. Whitelegg brightened up the diapasons and mixtures in the organ and made the Solo string and [the] 4ʹ string from the 16ʹ string in the Swell organ louder.”6 Radical changes to the American organ were already well under way, having begun with the pioneering work of Walter Holtkamp (1894–1962) and with the appointment of G. Don- ald Harrison (1889–1956) to the staff of the Skinner Organ Company in Boston. Sensing the need to compete effectively with an enlightened tonal concept of its own, Möller hired Richard O. Whitelegg in November 1931, and made the appointment public with a one-sentence notice in The Diapason.7 Whitelegg’s arrival at Möller coincided with a national movement demanding greater clarity in organ tone. Emerson Richards (1884–1963) is given credit for initiating the clarified ensemble movement with his work in Atlantic City, New Jersey. When G. Donald Harrison heard the Great division of the Atlantic City High School organ, he said, referring to a well known English organ, “That is what they hoped for, but it didn’t come off.”8 Describing the clarified ensemble, William H. Barnes (1892–1980) said, “It is clarified by the omission of Tibias, etc.; by the reduction of the amount and Shove Memorial Chapel weight of 8-foot tone; by lowering the pressures of the flues and omitting altogether the high-pressure reeds. Clarification ready demonstrated the tonal qualities of clarity and cohe- is carried still further by raising the harmonic structure, giv- sion with the Welte-Tripp organ in Colorado. While he was ing more importance to the fours and twos, and by adding not more conservative than either Walter Holtkamp or G. Donald one mixture but several mixtures, each of a different kind and Harrison, Whitelegg achieved clarity and cohesion by means each performing a different function.”9 William King Covell that would become widely accepted as essential: reducing pipe (1904–1975) and Edward B. Gammons (1908–1981) argued that scales, increasing the amount of tin in pipe alloys and de- “. . . there are two tests of fundamental importance which signing organs with complete principal choruses. Whitelegg codified and standardized flue pipe halving ratios at Möller; 5. M. P. Möller Jr. to Richard Whitelegg, June 2, 1931, Organ Historical and the four halving ratios he commonly used were the 17th Society Library and Archives, Princeton, New Jersey. or Normalmensur, the 18th/19th, the 20th and the 21st. The 6. W. H. Fisher to M.P. Möller Jr., October 25, 1931, Organ Historical So- unusual 18th/19th was his preferred ratio for principal cho- ciety Library and Archives, Princeton, New Jersey. rus foundations. He also assumed responsibility for making 7. “Appointments by Möller,” The Diapason 23, no. 1 (December 1931): 3. sweeping changes in the reed department, established only 8. T. Scott Buhrman, “Clarity and Its Development,” The American Organist 20, no. 2 (February 1937): 47. 10. William King Covell and Edward B. Gammons, “Clarity, Cohesion 9. William H. Barnes, “Beloit’s New Organ by Möller,” The American Or- Organ Fundamentals; A Word to Builders,” The Diapason 24, no.1 (De- ganist 21, no. 2 (February 1938): 52. cember 1932): 12.

Vol. 57, No. 3 the tracker 17 Richard O. Whitelegg: The Voice of M.P. Möller two years prior to his arrival in Hagerstown. Resonator scales you some time about this instrument, but may I offer my con- were reduced, the number of shallot scales was expanded, and gratulations, especially on the superb ‘Pedal Mixture?’ On the parallel shallot was introduced, producing reed tone with the whole I thought that the instrument was thoroughly sat- considerably more brilliance than was common in America at isfying . . .”16 In a letter to Robert Pier Elliot, William King that time. Covell, a strong supporter of G. Donald Harrison’s work at One of Whitelegg’s first opportunities to create a clarified Aeolian-Skinner, praised the Plainfield organ: ensemble at Möller materialized in 1931, when fire destroyed the organ and building of Second Presbyterian Church, New- I have been waiting a few days to think over the Plain- ark, New Jersey, and the firm was selected to build a replace- field organ before writing to you about it. The more I think ment instrument.11 Of the four manuals, both the Great and of it the more satisfactory it seems in retrospect. I don’t consider it the finest organ I have ever heard, but it is certainly a Swell divisions had complete principal choruses with three- very good one. Of course it is greatly superior to anything by rank and five-rank mixtures respectively. The Pedal division Möller up to the present time—refer to anything produced is the least developed with only two complete ranks. in the era preceeding [sic] the advent of you and Whitelegg. In early 1932, Whitelegg began negotiating construc- I was particularly impressed with the careful execu- tion and tonal details for his second major installation.12 He tion of the work, mechanical and tonal alike. The mechanism seems to be quite satisfactory. The pipework is beau- was in charge of all aspects of the organ at Trinity Methodist tifully made and well voiced, and the regulation is superb. Church, Albany, New York: acoustics, console design, organ Certain details, such as slide-tuned basses, graduated thick- chamber construction, and tonal disposition. Although he ar- nesses for wood pipes, and open basses for open wood flutes, gued unsuccessfully for an independent reed in the Pedal di- about which I argued without result with G.D.H., I was de- vision, the organ contains twice as many independent Pedal lighted to find in the Plainfield instrument. The slides on the 32ʹ reed were an unexpected additional luxury, which I was voices as the Newark organ. Lawrence Pike, organist at Trin- much pleased to find. ity, praised the organ for its English ensemble, the beauty of Personally I like a little less fullness in the unison diapason individual stops and “. . . the magnificent transparency of its work and a little more brilliance in the upper work. That may ensemble.”13 T. Frederick H. Candlyn, organist at St. Paul’s be the result of hearing Harrison’s work. I think, however, that Church, Albany, and subsequently at St. Thomas’ Church, Schulze is ultimately responsible, coupled with Lewis, and the earlier flue choruses of Father Willis. Of course I know that New York City, praised the organ for its ensemble and Willis- Whitelegg is quite capable of producing work of that sort. It style reeds. Charlotte Lockwood, rising to prominence in the is obvious that a slight bulging out, so to speak, in the unison, organ world, played the inaugural recital on October 10, 1933. and an easing up of power or brilliance or both, in the super- Lockwood was organist at Crescent Avenue Presbyterian structure, will come nearer to the usual American idea of an Church, Plainfield, New Jersey, with which Möller signed a ensemble than the work of Schulze, for example. I feel that G.D.H. is, in actual effect, less pleasing, superficially, but per- contract in August 1933 to build an organ of 96 ranks. The haps somewhat more correct theoretically, than Whitelegg. As organ contained an astounding 25 ranks of mixtures, with their work stands, I incline just at present to favor Whitelegg, Richard Whitelegg being given complete freedom over tonal but for an organ of my own I would like a few changes in his matters.14 With critical approval from prominent organists and practise [sic] to bring it nearer the Harrisonian type. [A] modi- organbuilders, this instrument established Möller as an equal fication that way should, I think, be easier than a modification of the current Skinner style, which, as we all know, is and al- to Aeolian-Skinner. T. Scott Buhrman praised the organ for ways has been quite fixed, once it is determined.17 being “. . . grandly toned and grandly adequate. I found perfect satisfaction.”15 Ralph Downes, organist at Princeton Uni- During the Great Depression, even Möller, with its vast versity—with its seven-year old Skinner, wrote to Whitelegg reserves of raw materials, did not escape the economic pres- about the organ. “I dropped in at Plainfield last Saturday, sures of the times. Although the firm built many new instru- being in the vicinity. I would really like to have a talk with ments throughout the 1930s and early 1940s, it relied heav- ily on tonal additions and alterations to existing organs as a 11. “New Organ at Newark Installed by Möller,” The Diapason, 24, no. 5 (April reliable source of income. In February 1935, Möller signed 1, 1933): 4. a contract to enlarge the small Pilcher organ at First Presby- 12. Lawrence H. Pike to Richard O. Whitelegg, March 30, 1932, American terian Church, Kilgore, Texas. In 1930, oil was found over Organ Archives, Princeton, New Jersey. large areas of East Texas, so vast that it still remains the largest 13. Lawrence H. Pike to M.P. Möller Jr., October 3, 1933, American Organ Ar- oil field ever discovered in the lower 48 states. Oil was flow- chives, Princeton, New Jersey. ing and the conservative villagers of Kilgore cautiously were 14. G. Donald Harrison to William King Covell, June 8, 1934, quoted in Charles Callahan, The American Classic Organ: A History in Letters (Richmond: 16. Ralph Downes to Richard O. Whitelegg, August 20, 1934, American Organ The Organ Historical Society, 1990), 118. Archives, Princeton, New Jersey. 15. T. Scott Buhrman, “A Church to Be Proud Of,” The American Organist 18, 17. William King Covell to Robert Pier Elliot, May 10, 1934, American Organ no. 2 (February 1935): 64. Archives, Princeton, New Jersey.

18 the tracker Vol. 57, No. 3 Church of the Holy Name, New York City ready to spend some money to enhance an organ only three sign, the two restrictions being the retention of the old cases years old. For this small project, a considerable amount of cor- and facade pipes and the necessity of using 22 ranks of pipes respondence occurred between Whitelegg and Roy Perry from the previous Müller & Abel organ, which were returned (1906–1978), organist of the church. In a letter regarding tonal to the factory for rescaling and revoicing. matters, Whitelegg wrote to Perry, “My perfect Diapason is a Speaking on low wind pressure, the Great principal cho- 43 scale [155.6 mm, halving on 18-19], 1/4 mouth made of spot- rus creates an expansive, rich, sophisticated harmony that ted metal, on an unenclosed chest with a reverberation pe- must be described as classic, albeit understated when com- riod of not less than 3.5 to 4 seconds.”18 Perry was well pleased pared to that of G. Donald Harrison at the Church of St. with Whitelegg’s additions to the organ; but four years after Mary the Virgin in midtown Manhattan. Although there are the death of Whitelegg, Perry signed a contract with Aeolian- no reeds on the Holy Name Great division, the four-rank Skinner, further enlarging the instrument. Harmonic Mixture produces a texture not unlike that of an Richard Whitelegg’s tonal concept came to full matu- 18th-century German chorus reed when combined with the rity in 1937 with Opus 6570 at Church of the Holy Name in principal chorus. New York City. The organ is remarkable for its clarity and The Swell division, with a principal chorus topped by a brilliance, complete principal choruses, and large Pedal divi- five-rank Plein Jeu mixture and a full battery of harmonically sion with twelve ranks of pipes, of which five are mixtures. rich reeds, is a convincing foil to the Great. Often described Whitelegg was practically unimpeded executing his tonal de- as being “French,” the chorus reeds are fitted with parallel shallots, the faces of which are tapered, producing a brilliant 18. Richard O. Whitelegg to Roy Perry, March 5, 1935, American Organ Ar- harmonic spectrum without the characteristic aggressiveness chives, Princeton, New Jersey. of 18th- and 19th-century French reeds.

Vol. 57, No. 3 the tracker 19 Richard O. Whitelegg: The Voice of M.P. Möller

In the mid-1930s, subtle changes began to occur in Whitelegg stoplists with an expanded pallette of harmonic variety. The Juniata College (Pennsylvania) organ contains a Cymbal, a Spitzflöte, a Flute Triangulaire, and a Waldflöte. Later the same year, Möller signed a contract to build a small instrument for the chapel at First Presbyterian Church in Bal- timore. The stoplist of Opus 6900 (1940) is boldly unconven- tional compared to earlier Möller instruments. Between the Holy Name and Baltimore organs, lies one of Whitelegg’s most unusual projects, a five-manual (the company’s first) portable theater organ for the British organist, Reginald Foort (1893–1980). The organ was constructed in 1938 and shipped to England in October of that year. With the expectation that the organ would generate much publicity and lead to further sales in Britain, Möller sold the organ for the giveaway price of $24,615.19 Less than nine months after his first concert tour, Foort was forced to abandon his venture

19. David Junchen, Encyclopedia of the American Theatre Organ, vol. 1 (Pasa- dena: Showcase Publications, 1985), 365.

20 the tracker Vol. 57, No. 3 Richard O. Whitelegg: The Voice of M.P. Möller because of the outbreak of war. During this brief time, Foort’s 15- man crew set up and disassembled the 30-ton instrument 187 times.20 The war, however, did not si- lence the touring organ. Since the BBC’s organ in St. George’s Hall was destroyed in the first air-raid on London, Foort offered them his instrument for the duration of the war. The BBC eventually purchased the organ and installed it in a redundant London church known as Jubilee Chapel.21 As the war placed rigid restrictions on the use of materials, organ work at the Möller factory slowed and greater attention was given to the war effort. During this time, Whitelegg turned his attention to inventing a method for electronically reproducing pipe organ sound and applied for a patent soon after the Foort organ was shipped to England. The patent begins with Whitelegg’s statement of purpose: Above: Virgil Fox, M.P. Möller Jr., and Richard O. Whitelegg at the “My invention relates broadly to an improved apparatus for Juniata College console electrically reproducing sound vibrations and more particularly to apparatus for electrically reproducing sound devel- Opposite: Top, Solo chamber of the Foort organ on the erecting room floor. oped in musical instruments of the wind or pipe type.”22 The Bottom, the Foort console being assembled at the factory. concept avoids the use of microphones and the acoustical distortions created by some organ pipes. In Whitelegg’s system a tube is placed through the languid of the pipe. The the organ pipe.”23 Whether or not Möller ever incorporated tube continues through the foot of the pipe and the wind Whitelegg’s invention into one of its instruments after the chest into a sealed compartment containing a magnet dia- war is unknown. phragm (part no. 128) and an electrical tone generator con- As World War II ended, the factory returned to build- sisting of two permanent magnets and two pole magnets. ing organs, but without Richard O. Whitelegg. His tenure at When a pipe sounds, the sound wave travels through the Möller was short-lived—only twelve years, dying at the age of tube and sets the diaphragm into sympathetic vibration. 54 on December 20, 1944. In May of that year, he contracted Whitelegg continues, saying “The sound vibrations from the viral pneumonia while on a visit to New York, and because organ pipe change the physical position of the diaphragm of the severity of the infection, he was hospitalized for several with respect to the pole members due to the intense mag- weeks; in November he suffered a serious heart attack. netic field from the permanent-magnet system. The mod- The few untouched Whitelegg instruments remaining ulations thus produced cause a change in the current sup- today are testaments to his genius. His methods were straight- plied to the input of the amplifier system . . . for electrically forward and well considered. When asked what was required transmitting a tone corresponding to the vibrations within to be a good voicer and tonal director, he responded, “To know what you want, to know how to get it, to know when you have it, and to know how to do it yourself.”24 That he did, 20. Daniel Cariaga, “Plans Afoot for Summer Festivals,” Los Angeles Times (De- cember 30, 1979). and he did it very well. 21. Reginald Foort, The Cinema Organ, 2nd ed. (Vestal, N.Y.: The Vestal Press, 1970), 160. 23. Ibid., 2. 22. U.S. patent 2,198,521 (April 23, 1940), 1. 24. Olsen.

Vol. 57, No. 3 the tracker 21 Richard O. Whitelegg: The Voice of M.P. Möller

Möller Opus 6323 First Presbyterian Church, Kilgore, Texas Great Organ Swell Organ Choir Organ Principal 8* 61 pipes Bourdon 16* 97 pipes Open Diapason 8 73 pipes Harmonic Flute 8* 73 pipes Violin Diapason 8* 73 pipes Gamba 8 73 pipes Dulciana 8 73 pipes Salicional 8* 73 pipes Gamba Celeste 8 (t.c.) 61 pipes Harmonic Flute 4* from Har. Fl. 8 61 notes Vox Celeste 8 (t.c.) 61 pipes Spitz Flöte 8 85 pipes Diapason 8 85 pipes Stopped Diapason 8* from Bdn. 16 73 notes Spitz Flöte Celeste 8 (t.c.) 61 pipes Octave 4 from Dia. 8 73 notes Stopped Flute 4* from Bdn. 16 73 notes Spitz Flöte 4 from S. Fl. 8 73 notes II Grave Mixture 122 pipes Piccolo 2* from Bdn. 16 61 notes Nazard 22/3 from S. Fl. 8 61 notes Tromba 8 73 pipes III Mixture 183 pipes Flautina 2 from S. Fl. 8 61 notes French Horn 8 73 pipes Contra Fagotta (t.c.) from Oboe 8 61 notes Tierce 13/5 from S. Fl. 8 61 notes Chimes* 20 tubes Trumpet 8 73 pipes Basset Horn 8 73 pipes Tremolo Clarion 4 73 pipes Harp 8* from Celesta 4 49 notes Oboe da Cassia 8 73 pipes Celesta 4* 49 bars Vox Humana 8 73 pipes Tremolo *existing pipes from the Pilcher organ Tremolo Pedal Organ Gamba 16 ext. of Ch. Gamba 8 12 pipes Subbass 16 32 pipes Flute 16* from Sw. Bdn. 16 and Ch. S. Fl. 8 32 notes Stopped Flute 8* from Sw. Bdn. 16 32 notes Flute 8 from Ch. S. Fl. 8 32 notes Bass Flute 8 from Fl. 16 32 notes Welte-TripP Organ 30712-RJ-a Trombone 16 ext. of Gt. Tromba 8 12 pipes Shove Memorial Chapel, Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Great Choir Double Diapason 16* 61 pipes metal Contra Dulciana 16 73 pipes metal First Open Diapason 8* 61 pipes metal Geigen Principal 8 73 pipes metal Second Open Diapason 8 61 pipes metal Concert Flute 8 73 pipes wood & metal Hohl Flute 8 61 pipes wood Dulciana 8 12 pipes spotted metal Gemshorn 8 61 pipes spotted metal Unda Maris 8 73 pipes spotted metal Principal 4* 61 pipes metal Suabe Flute 4 73 pipes wood & metal Harmonic Flute 4 61 pipes metal Rohr Nasat 22/3 61 pipes metal Twelfth 22/3 61 pipes spotted metal Piccolo 2 61 pipes metal Fifteenth 2 61 pipes spotted metal Clarinet 8 73 pipes reed Mixture III 183 pipes 15-19-22 Cor Anglais 8 73 pipes reed Tuba 8 73 pipes in Choir box Tuba 8 (from Gt.) heavy pressure Chimes 25 tubular bells Harp 8 61 notes Harp (with resonators) 61 metal bars Celesta 4 61 notes Chimes 8 *unenclosed registers Pedal Swell Open Diapason 16 32 pipes wood Lieblich Gedeckt 16 73 pipes wood Double Diapason 16 (from Gt.) Horn Diapason 8 73 pipes metal Contra Dulciana 16 (from Ch.) Clarabella 8 73 pipes wood Bourdon 16 32 pipes wood Cor de Nuit 8 73 pipes Cavaillé-Coll scale Lieblich Gedeckt 16 (from Sw.) Salicional 8 73 pipes spotted metal Quint 102/3 (from Gt. Open) Voix Celeste 8 73 pipes spotted metal Octave 8 (from Gt. Open) Viol Dolce 8 73 pipes spotted metal Stopped Flute 8 (ext. Bourdon) Octave Geigen 4 73 pipes spotted metal Fifteenth 4 (from Gt. Open) Traverse Flute 4 73 pipes wood & metal Trombone 16 32 pipes reed Nazard 22/3 61 pipes metal Double Trumpet 16 (from Sw.) Flageolet 2 61 pipes metal Tromba 8 (ext. Trombone) Super Octave 2 61 notes from Mixture Tromba Clarion 4 (ext. Trombone) Mixture IV 244 pipes 15-17-19-22 Chimes 8 25 notes Double Trumpet 16 73 pipes reed Harmonic Trumpet 8 73 pipes reed Oboe 8 73 pipes reed Vox Humana 8 73 pipes separately boxed Harmonic Clarion 4 73 pipes reed Harp 8 61 notes Celesta 4 61 notes

22 the tracker Vol. 57, No. 3 Dry overheated churches can wreak havoc with pipe organs!

• Our fully assembled organ humidification control systems allow humidity to be sent where it is needed most— the interior of the organ • Highly effective and completely automatic • Design, installation, and on-site technical assistance available

JL Weiler, Inc. PIPE ORGAN CURATORS, CONSERVATORS & CONSULTANTS

Specialists in Restoration, Conservation, Voicing & Tonal Finishing of High-Pressure Pipe Organs

1845 South Michigan Avenue #1905 | Chicago, Illinois 60616 312-842-7475 | [email protected] | www.jlweiler.com Archives Corner bynum petty

he name American Organ Archives the highest quality instrument for those interested is somewhat of a misnomer, as the in this movement, the M.P. Möller Company of Hagerstown, Maryland, has entered into collection is much more than T an arrangement with Mr. Dirck [sic] of the name implies. Because of this, the Holland to supply complete tracker ac- National Council of the OHS has tions and chests for organs that will changed the name to the OHS Li- speak with pipes made in the Möller brary and Archives. To the casual factory to classic scaling and voicing techniques. visitor, it is a beautifully appointed In Europe the mechanical action library containing thousands of vol- system has remained the classic norm, umes related to the pipe organ; but largely because of a slightly different to the visiting scholar, the Library and and impersonal use in church; and be- Archives is a repository of rare books cause of highly resonant buildings, which and one-of-a-kind manuscripts. Indeed, treat the sound with great kindness. The decline of tracker action organs in America is the manuscript holdings in the archives de- caused largely by the reverse of these two points. partment is the non plus ultra of such collec- The revival of interest in the old ways is by tions; and of all in the archives, those related to the no means restricted to organs. The use of a harpsichord, Möller Organ Company stand apart as the largest, and even the recorder, and various other modern replicas of old instru- out-number all other manuscript files combined. Over the ments, is on the increase. Not instruments alone—but music as well pulls in both the old and the new directions. next several issues of this journal, little known facts, stories, The Möller Company has been aware of and inter- and photos of the world’s largest organ company will be pre- ested in this trend. Eighty years ago this same company made sented to the reader. tracker organs, some of which are still in existence, though In November 1941, Möller introduced a factory news in a state of neglect mechanically. The men who engineered bulletin designed to keep sales and maintenance represen- and built these instruments have died and there was scant use in perpetuating the skill because of lack of public interest. To tatives informed and up to date on activities at the factory. wholly revive this type of building at this time is a matter of H. Monroe Ridgely—known by some people as Herb, and such concern as to be thought impractical, hence the arrange- Mon by others—was assigned to produce the Möller Mixture, ment with one of Europe’s foremost builders to provide the a monthly publication of sales figures, biographies of factory action for these organs. By next summer a sample of the work personnel, factory news, news from competitors’ factories, proposed will be on view in the Möller factory. In making this type of instrument available, it does not and nudges for regional representatives to “sell more.” Be- follow that the Company is emphasizing this view of the art cause of World War II, the bulletin was short lived, but was of organ building. Our auditoriums and the usual use of the resumed in 1946. Ridgely’s workload was demanding during organ in church make the mechanical action instrument diffi- the years immediately after the war, and the Möller Mixture cult to apply, yet for those persons interested we are happy to was shelved again until October 1958. offer this type of instrument.” Herbert Monroe Ridgely (1905–1980) was hired by We are sure you realize that in certain quarters there is Möller in June 1926, the date of his graduation from Dickin- a seeming desire and almost demand for tracker-action or- son College. Initially, he was assigned to the erecting room to gans, and we know that one or two other companies are seri- assist with the assembly of completed organs. In 1942, he was ously considering the manufacture of tracker organs. As you appointed sales manager, and he retired as senior vice presi- also know, Flentrop has installed several of his instruments in this country, and for the type of organ they are, we feel they dent in 1972. are superior to any other tracker organs we have seen. We In the May 1959 issue of the Möller Mixture, Ridgely in- definitely are not in a position, nor do we have any desire, to formed the sales force of the company’s intent to sell tracker build tracker actions here but it is our thought that for those instruments through an arrangement with Dirk Flentrop of who are interested in the tracker action organ, we should pre- Zaandam, Holland. (Ten years later, the Reuter Organ Com- pare to give them the best available, with all pipes very definitely being made and voiced here. pany would establish a similar relationship with Emil Ham- We want to make it very, very clear that we have no mer Orgelbau of Hannover, Germany.) Ridgely’s texts are idea whatsoever in going around the country recommending given in full. tracker action organs. In fact, it is needless to tell you that there would be very few cases where a tracker-action organ would be adaptable, but in those cases, where they are de- Following is a copy of an article that will appear immediately manded, we will have something to offer. We doubt whether in The Diapason and The American Organist. there are more than a half dozen tracker organs purchased per “In recent years, interest in the classic organ with me- year in this country, and even with our setup with Flentrop, chanical action has been increasing. In an effort to provide we will not be able to furnish more than two or three per year.

24 the tracker Vol. 57, No. 3 Artist’s rendering of the Möller-Flentrop organ.

We repeat, and want to emphasize, that the association sary case work in accordance with the picture you have. In with Flentrop is NOT to be construed as a recommendation those territories where it is necessary to add the additional for tracker organs. We will not even suggest a tracker organ, percentages for delivery, the same percentages must be ap- but when you find someone that is interested in nothing but a plied to the above-mentioned price. tracker, you will have something to offer. When such a pros- pect arises, ALL details must be sent here for appraisal and recommendations. Acoustics—location of organ and space conditions—type of music program—is the congregation re- Great (56 pipes) Rückpositiv (56 pipes) Pedal (30 pipes) ceptive—are some of the things we will want to know before 8 Gedekt 8 Quintadeen 16 Bourdon making definite recommendations. 4 Prestant 4 Roerfluit 8 Prestant In the September 1959 Möller Mixture, Ridgely gives fur- Mixtur III (168 pipes) 2 Prestant 8 Gedekt 1/3 ther details about the Möller-Flentrop organ. 1 Quint 4 Regaal Regarding the first Flentrop organ we will be getting, this should be here during the spring of 1960, and we certainly The organ as received from Flentrop was two ranks larger hope that we can sell it by the time it arrives if at all possible. (with a 2ʹ Gemshoorn added to the Great and an 8ʹ Kroom- We have previously sent you a picture of the organ, but have not given you the specification, so it is below. The price de- hoorn on the Rückpositiv) and was sold to the University of livered and installed is $21,945, which includes all the neces- Georgia.

Vol. 57, No. 3 the tracker 25 In The Tracker 50 Years Ago

scot L. Huntington

Volume VII, Number 4, June 1963 the cover article by F.R. Webber titled “An Audsley The second installment of the Ken Simmons treatise on Organ bites the Dust,” described the large residence organ the history of the William Johnson organbuilding family was in the Yonkers mansion of Eugene C. Clark, vice-president an informative and highly accurate assessment of the tonal de- of the Alexander Smith & Sons carpet works in that city. sign characteristics of Johnson’s early work up through 1860. G.A. Audsley, perhaps the most famous church architect, in- The oldest Johnson organ known to the author when writing tellectual essayist, and chronicler of all things related to the the treatise in 1948 was Opus 47 built for the White Church in American organ at the turn of the century, best known for Springfield, Mass. An editor’s note indicated Opus 43, heard the his seminal book The Art of Organ-Building (still regarded as previous year at the Syracuse, New York, convention, was now the greatest reference book yet written on the subject), lived considered the oldest known two-manual instrument. Today, in Yonkers, not far from the mansion that was to contain an we recognize Opus 16 (1850), still extant in its third home in organ of his design. Clark moved from one mansion to an Heath, Mass., as the second two-manual organ built by Johnson even larger dwelling in 1905, but whether the organ was built and the oldest now extant. The Johnson opus list continued with for this or the previous home was unknown to the author. the years 1856–1860. It is clear from the list that within a decade When Webber went on an Audsley pilgrimage in preparation of opening his business, William Johnson had developed a thriv- for writing the article, he found the Clark mansion was now ing trade in western Massachusetts, Connecticut, and eastern the clubhouse for a country club, and although the facade was New York, building between 10 and 18 instruments per year. extant in the music room, the organ behind had been sold for Three stoplists of tracker organs in Denver were printed scrap during a World War II metal drive. No stoplist of the with a request for information on one built in 1875 by the organ had yet been found nor any indication as to who may then unknown builder, Anderson-Silsby. Charles Ander- have built the organ.1 The only clue to the organ’s size was an son, Colorado organbuilder, and his partnerships were subse- old photo of the keydesk showing 22 drawstops and five cou- quently covered by an extensive article by Michael D. Friesen plers arranged in terraced jambs, and some indication that the in The Tracker 42, no. 1 (1998):26–47. resources were duplexed. William Porter began a series of articles that excerpted Audsley claimed this was the first organ with all divi- definitions from James Loring’s book published in 1834 in sions under separate expression; therefore, it could have pre- Boston with the ungainly title: The Principles of Music Embrac- dated the large organ designed by Audsley and built by the ing a Complete Musical Dictionary, and the Outlines of a Musi- Los Angeles Art Organ Company for the 1904 World’s Fair cal Grammar, and of the Theory of Sounds and Laws of Harmony; in St. Louis. That instrument contained all six divisions under with Direction for the Practice of Vocal and Instrumental Music, and expression and was the organ that formed the nucleus of the a Description of Musical Instruments. Under “Choir,” he listed Grand Court organ in Wanamaker’s department store in Phil- eight “desecrations” causing such sacred exercises to be some- adelphia. Largely an opinion piece about the influence of Aud- thing other than “celestial.” Among the numbered entries sley, Webber commented that late in life, Audsley (1838–1925) were such things as singers of irreligious character, too great was out of step with the unisonic instruments of the sym- a fondness for display, hiring secular singers who have a fond- phonic organ age, and that his championing of well-designed ness for vain and frivolous music to perform sacred music, ex- choruses based on the harmonic series up through mutations treme jealousy of interference from clergy ignorant of reform and mixtures only came back into fashion after his death (“. . . or quality, bad taste in choice of tunes and style of perfor- even the Solo organ is a thing of the trolley car age”). mance, inattention of the congregation, and the disregard of the clergy during performances, seen leafing through sermon 1. The organ was purchased from the Art Organ Company, but actually built by the Wirsching Organ Co. Its history is detailed in Rollin Smith’s papers or looking for the next hymn. Now, 180 years later, the forthcoming book, Pipe Organs of the Rich and Famous. more things change, the more they stay the same.

26 the tracker Vol. 57, No. 3 by gregory crowell opinion

BLACKSTONE VALLEY Michael A. Morvan (508) 278-9762 PIANO AND ORGAN www.pianoandorgankeys.com ADVANCING THE ART OF KEYBOARD RESTORATION MANUAL KEYBOARD SERVICES TO THE TRADE • HISTORICALLY CORRECT RESTORATION • NEW KEYS FOR EXISTING FRAMES OF VINTAGE MANUAL KEYBOARDS IN AND CHEEKS, PRESERVING THE IVORY, BONE, PLASTICS, AND EXOTIC INSTRUMENTS’ AUTHENTICITY WOODS • REBUSHING, REPINNING, CLEANING, • NEW MANUAL KEYBOARDS AND BUFFING, AND REPAIRS FRAMES TO THE CLIENT’S • CUSTOM CNC SERVICES: CHEST PARTS, SPECIFICATIONS, TRACKER OR GRILLE SCREENS, PRIMARY BLOCKS, ELECTRO-PNEUMATIC ACTIONS CONSULTING AND PROTOTYPING

PATRICK J. MURPHY & ASSOCIATES, INC.

ORGANBUILDERS 300 Old Reading Pike, Suite 1D, Stowe, PA 19464 Voice: (610) 970-9817 • Fax: (610) 970-9297 Email: [email protected] Website: www.pjmorgans.com

A. David Moore, Inc. First Religious Society, Newburyport, Mass. Restored in 2012  www.adavidmooreorgans.com ~ 802.457.3914 Vol. 57, No. 3 the tracker 27 Transitions St. Patrick’s Church ~ Watervliet, New York

Demolition of St. Patrick’s R.C. Church in Watervliet, N.Y., on Tuesday, April 23, 2013. The church, school, and a block of century-old townhouses were leveled in order to build a larger version of the Price Chopper supermarket, replacing the present one just a few blocks away. The Jardine organ has been purchased by St. Edward the Confessor R.C. Church in Clifton Park, N.Y., just a couple of miles from Watervliet.

TUNING MAINTENANCE REBUILDING RELEATHERING RELOCATIONS UNIQUE CUSTOM WOOD CREATIONS P.O. BOX 601 ANTIOCH, ILLINOIS 60002 847-395-1919 FAX 847-395-1991 www.fabryinc.com

28 the tracker Vol. 57, No. 3 An International Monthly Devoted to the Organ, Harpsichord, Carillon and Church Music

Now in Our Second Century

Each Issue Includes:

Feature articles by noted contributors. Monthly calendar of events. Reviews of organ, choral and handbell Extensive classified advertising music, books and recordings. section. Stoplists and photos of organ News of people and events, installations. appointments, organ recital programs.

Visit Our Website At: www.TheDiapason.com

One-Year Subscription: $35

Request a FREE SAMPLE COPY

3030 W. Salt Creek Lane, Suite 201 Arlington Heights, IL 60005-5025 Phone: 847-391-1045 Fax: 847-390-0408 E-mail: [email protected] Reviews

Compact discs Viola and Holzflöte mentioned above, ory serves, Chorzempa’s recording is is performed on the 16ʹ Bourdon, 8ʹ an excellent capture of the effect of this reviewed by george bozeman jr. Principal, and 4ʹ Octave of the Haupt- beautiful instrument in its rich acoustic werk. Evidently Schnur doesn’t know environment. that English organs of Stanley’s era And here the symphony comes never had manual sub-octave stops. alive as the fascinating, mysterious, The Bach offering is a transcrip- colorful work that it is. The myriad tion of a keyboard Toccata, BWV “symphonic” colors of the organ are 913, which is nicely done. Two cho- beautifully explored. And, there is a rale preludes by Johann Ludwig Krebs, great variety of beautiful bass tones, Franck’s Prélude, Fugue et Variation, and some richly rosiny, some ponderously Mendelssohn’s Fourth Sonata round round and satisfying, and, of course, out the disc. Highly recommended. the incredible roar and thunder of the full Pedal reed battery. We can hear Daniel Roth plays Charles-Marie many of these colors in the Saint-Sul- Widor, Symphonie Gothique and pice recording too, but usually they are Symphonie Romane, Cavaillé-Coll as if coming through a veiled filter of organ, Saint-Sulpice, Paris. JAV confusion. The Metzler Organ in St. Jakob Fried- Recordings, JAV193. Available for I can’t say this CD isn’t worth hav- berg (Bavaria). Peter Schnur, or- download on iTunes. I was excited ing. It’s certainly a document of a great ganist, Chromart Classics, to find this CD in a recent arrival organist’s performance, and perhaps TXA12008. Available from www. of new review materials because I’m it is also a valid representation of the ohscatalog.org. This CD contains a an admirer of both Daniel Roth and sound of this organ in its space. But if well-chosen variety of music to show Cavaillé-Coll, and who wouldn’t the latter is true, perhaps it would be off the beauties of this fine 2001 instru- be excited about hearing music on best not to attempt such densely de- ment from the highly respected Swiss the immense organ at Saint-Sulpice? tailed music as Widor’s last two sym- firm, Metzler, as well as the musician- Therefore it’s with sorrow that I must phonies on it. ship of Peter Schnur, who apparently report this CD disappointed and had a hand in the design of the instru- puzzled me. Let me make it clear that A Land of Hope and Glory, Music of ment and presides over it each Sunday. I have never been to Saint-Sulpice and Sir Edward Elgar played by Jean- The organ has a bold sound with a solid obviously have not experienced the Luc Étienne on the Stahlhuth/Jann foundational quality beneath glisten- sound of this organ in the flesh. I also organ in L’Église Saint Martin in ing upperwork. There is a rich assort- understand that the combination of Dudelange, Luxembourg. Hortus ment of beautiful, quiet colors as well. human ears and brain makes it possible 103, available from www.edition- I was particularly taken with the mel- to focus and filter through complex shortus.com. This CD is a dish com- low Viola d’Amore and the Melodia- or sounds in order to “hear” the details, posed of various regional ingredients Clarabella-like open Holzflöte, two 8ʹ and that this often is not possible which, blended together, could make stops on the Hauptwerk. Registrations through the medium of a recording. a tasty dish. The music of Elgar is of are included for each piece so it’s easy to My complaint is that the sound, course quintessentially English. Or- identify sounds that catch one’s fancy. at least on this recording, is so un- ganist Étienne is undeniably French, The program opens with a rowdy clear that it is hard to follow the musi- but the organ, located in Luxembourg, Rondo by Giovanni Morandi in early cal lines. The worst part of the sound, was built originally by a German 19th-century Italian operatic style. A to my mind, is the thick, thudding, organbuilder who was a disciple of the Muffat Toccata permits us to hear some opaque quality of the low bass tones. French firm Merklin, and restored by a mellow combinations and Dandrieu’s Unfortunately, I don’t have another re- Bavarian organbuilder. Alas, it doesn’t Le Coucou uses some delightful flute cording of the Symphonie gothique in really work. Perhaps the main reason colors. My only serious disappointment order to make comparisons, but I do is the organist’s lackadaisical playing. It on the disc was John Stanley’s Voluntary have an excellent recording by Dan- just doesn’t catch fire, and without fire (we’re not told which one) that instead iel Chorzempa on Philips 410 054-2, Elgar can be pretty ordinary. of opening with the diapasons that played on the Cavaillé-Coll at the Ba- For some real excitement, listen on Stanley probably specified, and which silica of Saint-Sernin in Toulouse. This YouTube to Herbert Sumsion’s iconic would have been served nicely by the organ I have heard live and, if mem- recording of Elgar’s Organ Sonata in

30 the tracker Vol. 57, No. 3 Reviews

largely by chance, often at the mercy of the artist thought an organ should look subjectivity and assumption. From the like? According to Williams, even the start, even the word organum presents iconic, almost “photographic” image of a challenge: was it used as the name of the organ in Jan van Eyck’s 1432 Ghent what we know as an organ, or did it Altarpiece is suspect in this issue. Early refer to vocal polyphony or to a liturgi- written documentation of organs and cal book of authority, such as a psalter, organbuilding is equally dubious: Were or to musical instruments in general? the early theorists describing real or- Indeed, it was used to describe all these gans? Was their information reliable? at one time or another, and Williams is Often, the only certainty was ambigu- generous in offering appropriate Latin ity, and much of what is known was texts from important early books and based on speculation, presumption, and treatises, side by side with their English mis-translation until the evolution of G, Op.28. It was recorded in a single written, itemized contracts in the late take on the 1922 Harrison & Harrison translations, to help sort out this and 14th century that began to provide organ of Gloucester Cathedral in 1967. other ambiguities. He acknowledges precise and detailed descriptions. George Bozeman Jr. that “to translate is to interpret,” and warns that any translation into a ver- Interesting questions and hypoth- nacular is at best subjective and should eses abound in this book: Was the hy- Books not be taken as final authority. Wil- draulis indeed the genesis of the mod- Peter Williams, The King of Instru- liams laments this as one reason to be ern church organ? Was it the zeal of ments: How the Organ Became Part of suspect and critical of most previous the early organbuilder or the demands Western Culture. Richmond: OHS references to the early organ. of the composer that drove the expan- Press, 2012. Available from www. The King of Instruments is a fasci- sion and development of the organ? ohscatalog.org. Peter Williams is no nating window into the development Did the development of larger organ stranger to the library of anyone seri- of “reliable knowledge.” For exam- pipes inform the evolution of the ously interested in the organ, its music, ple, were the early drawings of organs bass line? What did early organs do? and its history. The King of Instruments: based upon any direct knowledge by What were organs before they became How the Organ Became Part of Western the artist? Was the image created from church instruments? What were early Culture does very well what any good something he actually saw, or from a Christian organs like, and where were book should: it provides an interesting description by someone who saw one, they put? Williams confronts and dis- story line, offers new insights into old or was it based in fiction, that is, what cusses these and other questions using ideas and assumptions, and gives the available primary source material and reader tremendous food for thought information buttressed by his own ex- after the book finds its way to the tensive knowledge and educated infer- bookshelf. ences. He writes in an engaging, au- We clearly live in the “information thoritative style, and his work is well age,” where untold amounts of knowl- supported (an impressive list of refer- edge, wisdom, and lore are instantly ences may be found at the end of the available at one’s fingertips. In contrast, book). Interesting footnotes are plen- Williams explores a world in which in- tiful, conveniently located at the bot- formation about the organ’s origin and tom of the pages. My only quibble is early development is sketchy, ambigu- the relative lack of illustrations (there ous, and cloudy, often based on sup- are only nine in the entire book). Al- position, and is frequently undepend- though Williams occasionally refers able (ironically, not unlike some infor- the reader to “well-known” illustra- mation found on today’s Internet). In tions to underscore or further explain fact, much of the organ’s early history a point, I couldn’t recall any of them wasn’t written down at all. with enough clarity or detail to be use- The business of separating fact ful and found it annoying to have to from fiction about early organs and look for them elsewhere. organbuilding is daunting. Our knowl- The King of Instruments: How the edge of their development survives Organ Became Part of Western Culture is

Vol. 57, No. 3 the tracker 31 Reviews a must-read for anyone truly interested mysteries of the classic French organ ers of England and Germany being es- in the organ and its history. In fact, it and its literature.1 More than 40 years pecially affected. One needs look no was so compelling, I read it twice! earlier, Fenner Douglass made his- further than the works of Purcell and Thomas Brown tory with the publication of his The Bach for evidence. The French influ- Language of the Classical French Organ.2 ence on Purcell is striking in the “no David Ponsford, French Organ Whereas Douglass (1921–2008) primar- never” phrases in Act III of Dido and Music in the Reign of Louis XIV. ily devoted his attention to the vehicle Aeneas. Bach copied the table of orna- Cambridge: Cambridge University of performance, i.e., the organ, David ments from d’Anglebert’s Pièces de clave- Press, 2011. ISBN 9780521887700. Ponsford’s work goes to the heart of cin (1789); and in Pièce d’orgue, BWV Hardcover, 328 pp. $114.00. Avail- the music created for an equally unique 572, Bach marks the opening tempo as able from www.ohscatalog.org. performance medium. He lays out his très vitement and transforms the short Wikipedia states that the French Organ plan in the book’s introduction: French plein jeu into a tripartite structure of considerable length and excep- School was formed in the first half of The fundamental raison d’être of this the 17th century, and that it progressed book, that each genre—the plein tional achievement. from the “strict polyphonic music of jeu, fugue, duo, trio, récit, and grand Ponsford’s table demonstrates that Jean Titelouze to a unique, richly or- jeu—had its own line of historical uniformity of notes inégales usage was namented style with its own charac- development, with successive com- elusive; and likewise, there were dif- teristic forms that made full use of the posers “developing” the exemplars ferences from one composer to another from previous publications. The concerning ornaments, as revealed in a French classic organ.” So far, so good. philosophy behind this book is to With a small number of bibliographic bring together the disciplines of sty- comparison of agréments used by Rai- references, the Wikipedia article con- listic analysis and performance prac- son and d’Anglebert. tinues, saying that “French organ com- tice. Performers need to grasp the Attitudes about ornamentation dif- posers cul- stylistic developments of each genre fered, too. Saint Lambert and François in order to gain some idea of how tivated four Couperin were polar opposites. to play with authority and taste. major genres: One is extremely free in the choice masses, hymns, Before examining the six genres, of agréments; and in the pieces that suites, and Ponsford considers two essential ele- one studies one can play them in noëls.” Here ments of style: ornaments and notes in- places even where they are not indicated, remove those that are there ends the in- égales, both equally misunderstood, which may account for the general ab- if one finds that they don’t suit the terest of many piece well, and add others accord- underpaid and sence of this music in organ recitals. ing to taste. One may even, if so overworked Of the two, he devotes over 30 pages desired, neglect all those that I have Sunday or- to notes inégale and compares note val- taught here and compose new ones 3 ganists, whose ues as formulated by 30 contemporary according to taste. goal it is to get through a Dandrieu authors. This comparison is made easy Couperin complained about this lax noël on Christmas Eve, with or with- for the reader, as it appears in sum- practice. out a grand jeu. mary table form. The study of orna- David Ponsford would say other- ments is given even more space. Once I am always astonished, after the pains I have taken to indicate the wise and challenges the conventional again, Ponsford articulately lays out his premise. “Ornaments in French Ba- appropriate ornaments for my wisdom as understood in the context of pieces . . . to hear persons who have roque music were as essential as they 17th- and 18th-century French organ learned them without heeding my music. With French Organ Music in the were in architecture and the decorative instructions. Such negligence is un- Reign of Louis XIV, Ponsford joins that arts.” We know that the French style pardonable, the more so as it is no growing exclusive league of scholars crossed national boundaries through- arbitrary matter to put in any or- out Europe, with Baroque compos- nament one wishes. I therefore de- who have irrevocably redefined French clare that my pieces must be per- organ performance practice. Ponsford 1. While classical, but not classic, it is generally formed just as I have written them took an interest in French organ music understood that this school of organbuilding . . . without adding or taking away while a student, with his doctoral dis- and compositional style spanned the period of anything.4 sertation evolving into a definitive text time from the early 17th century to the late 18th century. 3. Saint Lambert, Les principes du clavecin (Paris, of his chosen subject. 2. Fenner Douglass, The Language of the Classi- 1702). Indeed, Ponsford was not the first cal French Organ: A Musical Tradition Before 1800 4. François Couperin, Troisième livre de pièces de English-speaking scholar to explore the (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1969). clavecin (Paris, 1722).

32 the tracker Vol. 57, No. 3 Reviews

Finally, Ponsford moves on to the tinue this study of French Baroque by There is also information about heart of the book, a study of genre. In tracing the connections between organ Cochereau as a teacher, and his work French Baroque organ music, there compositions and operatic arias, instru- in rebuilding the Cavaillé-Coll organ were three factors governing genre: mental music and airs de cour, “so that, at Notre-Dame. Purists will not be the organ, the liturgy, and compo- rather than being isolated, organ music happy with many of the changes made sitional methods. Of the organ, it will be seen as an important stream to that instrument under his direc- was so consistent in color and design amidst the continuum of French Ba- tion, but it is good to have a reason- that titles of the constituent parts of roque music as a whole.” ably clear picture of what happened. organ masses prescribed the registra- The book, while expensive, is There are also stop lists of other or- tions: plein jeu, fugue, duo, récit, trio, fond handsomely produced and is rich with gans important to Cochereau’s ca- d’orgue, and grand jeu. Writing in the illustrations and musical examples. For reer. I do wish that author Hammond, New Grove Dictionary of Music and Mu- 40 years, performers and scholars have and the French in general, would stop sicians (2001), Edward Higginbottom waited for this book; and to David using the word “restoration” in in- quotes Pope Clement VIII’s Cæremo- Ponsford we are indebted for his admi- stances that were obvious “rebuilds,” niale episcoporum concerning the use of rable scholarship. “revisions,” and in some cases, merely the organ in the mass: Bynum Petty a tuning. At the solemn Mass the organ is Anthony Hammond, Pierre Co- On page 270, in a list of changes played alternatim for the Kyrie elei- chereau, Organist of Notre-Dame. made to the Notre-Dame organ insti- son and the Gloria in excelsis; like- gated by Louis Vierne in 1904 is this wise at the end of the Epistle and at Eastman Studies in Music. Roch- the Offertory; for the Sanctus, alter- ester: University of Roches- puzzling item: “Harmonic basses of natim; for the Agnus Dei, alternatim, ter Press, 2012. 372 pp. ISBN Récit Bombarde and Trompette re- and at the verse before the post- 9781580464055, $85. Available from placed by full-length versions.” Is Communion prayer; also at the end www.ohscatalog.org. This defini- “harmonic basses” an awkward transla- of the Mass. tive biography of Pierre Cochereau is tion that should have been “basses with Thus, the liturgy determined the richly endowed with a wealth of ma- fractional-length resonators?” On page length and genre of each organ verset terials exploring and explaining this 281, in a list of changes Cochereau in the Mass. Ponsford devotes a chap- brilliant musician’s life and career. It made to the organ is found a chamade ter to each genre—plein jeu, fugue, duo, is, first of all, an illuminating window Trompette that “overblew at c4 to cre- trio, fond d’orgue, and grand jeu—and into the French process of producing ate the highest octave.” Again, I don’t sub-genre—récit de dessus, récit en taille, brilliant organists, composers, and im- know for sure what is meant, but sus- and récit de basse. In each, he meticu- provisers. Surely, no one still thinks pect that the trebles are simply har- lously analyses registration and struc- that improvisation is simply a God- monic Trompettes, i.e., with double- ture, and compares compositional pro- given talent that some are born with length resonators. cedures of representative composers. and others can never attain. The truth The only recording I own by Co- Beginning with Guillaume-Gabriel is that almost any musician can be chereau is of music by Carlos Seixas on taught how to create passably decent Nivers’s Livre d’orgue contenant cent pièces the organ of Saint-Vincent in Lisbon. improvisations. When the training is de tours les tons de l’église (1655), Pons- Since this does not exhibit his skill at as thorough as organists such as Co- ford gives the reader and understand- improvisation I was happy to find sev- ing of how each genre developed in chereau, Widor, Vierne, Franck, Lan- eral examples on YouTube. In addition the hands of successive composers dur- glais, etc. received, their real genius to a very large number of recordings, ing a period of more than half a cen- can fully express itself. Cochereau also made quite a few films, tury, concluding with François Cou- Anthony Hammond is an English perin’s Troisième livre de pièces de clavecin concert organist, improviser, and musi- and all of these are carefully listed in (1722); and in this context Dr. Pons- cologist who specializes in French Ro- the appendixes. ford’s work is unique and represents a mantic and 20th-century organ music. This is a valuable study and de- radical departure from other studies on His training has obviously also been serves space on your bookshelf, par- the subject. thorough, and enables him to provide ticularly if you are a student of impro- As detailed as it is, Ponsford ad- detailed descriptions of the many im- visation, a fan of 20th-century French mits that his study represents only the provisations that Cochereau recorded, music, or of French Romantic and metaphorical tip of the iceberg, and is giving the careful reader an insight 20th-century organs. hopeful that future scholars will con- into how he shaped them. George Bozeman Jr.

Vol. 57, No. 3 the tracker 33 tra un Organo Colombi 1555 e un Luca Center in Dallas: From Concept to da Cortona 1536” (Pier Paolo Donati), Inaugural Recital” (Laurie Shulman), Informazione Organistica 22, no. 3 (De- The Organ, no. 363 (Spring 2013): cember 2010): 201–218. 30–41.

“Organ Historical Society National Con- “Restoration of the Renaissance Organ vention: Chicago, July 8–13, 2012” in the Former Collegiate Church of (Frank Rippl), The Diapason 104, no. 3 Saint-Pierre in Saint Julien du Sault” (March 2012): 20–25. (Helmut Eckardt), ISO Journal, no. 41 (August 2012): 9–38. “Les Organistes français, interpètes et compositeurs, au concert à Paris de “Het Rochet-orgel van de Sint-Pieter- 1919 à 1939: Panorama chronologique skerk te Wezembeek-Oppem gerestau- Articles of Interest des concerts des organistes et des pre- reerd” (Luk Bastiaens), Orgelkunst 35, from Organ Journals Around the World mières auditions de leurs œuvres à la no. 3 (September 2012), pp. 116–19. lecture de la presse musicale,” (Alain “Ancora Sull’attività Italiana di Willem Cartayrade) Bulletin de l’Association “Romantik im Renaissance-Gehäuse: die Hermans, 1650–1674” (Patrizio Barb- Maurice et Marie-Madeleine Duruflé, no. bewegte Baugeschichte der ‘Denkmal- ieri), Informazione Organistica 22, no. 2 12 (2012): 79–381. orgel’ in St. Martin zu Junglinster in (August 2010): 99–132. Luxembourg” (Francis Erasmy), Organ: “Orgeln und Orgelbau in der Dom—und Journal für die Orgel 15, no. 1 (2012): “Haskell Pipes: A Practical Introduction” Metropolitankirche St. Stephan in 14–20. (John A. Panning), ISO Journal, no. 40 Wien” (Gottfried Allmer), Das Orgelfo- (December 2012): 42–57. rum no. 14 (September 2011): 33–67. “Sui ‘concerti che si fanno nell’organo’ con voci e strumenti, II. Il Seicento” “Modifications to an Aeolian-Skinner “Orgues et facture d’orgues à l’église mét- (Pier Paolo Donati), Informazione Or- Reservoir” (Gary H. Phillips), Jour- ropolitaine et dôme de St. Stephan à ganistica 21, no. 2 (August 2009): nal of American Organbuilding 26, no. 8 Vienne, III” Gottfried Allmer), La Tri- 147–88. (September 2011): 6–9. bune d’Orgue 64, no. 3 (2012): 37–46. “Het Utrechts Orgelarchief Maarten Al- “Au Pays Basque avec le Musée suisse de “Oxbridge Organs VIII: Queen’s College, bert Vente. I. Een rijke bron voor de l’Orgue” (Guy Bovet), La Tribune de Oxford” (Curtis Rogers), The Organ, toekomst” (Jaap den Hertog), Het l’Orgue 62, no. 4 (December 2010): no. 363 (Spring 2013): 21–29. Orgel 108, no.6 (2012), pp. 14–21. 9–30. “Realising an American Dream: The C.B. “Waarom scheuren onze historische orgls? “Nota sugli Ideali Sonori nel Veneto e in Fisk Opus 100—The Lay Family Con- (Marc Stappers; Bart Ankersmit), Het Toscana nel XVI Secolo: Confronto cert Organ at the Meyerson Symphony Orgel, no 2 (2013): 26–33.

Dobson pipe organ builders, ltd. 200 North Illinois Street new pipe organs Lake City, Iowa 51449 design consultation Phone: 712 . 464 . 8065 restorations Fax: 712 . 464 . 3098 maintenance www.dobsonorgan.com ecclesiastical furniture [email protected]

34 the tracker Vol. 57, No. 3 OHS national council Minutes

Minutes of the Moved to accept resolutions as put forth Organ Awards Review Committee that OHS of- Historical Society on Monday, March 4, 2013, above. MOVED—Bill Czelusniak. Motion fer a National Heritage Pipe Organ award as at 6:42pm CST. National Council carried. described in its report. Motion carried. Meeting The secretary called the roll: The ad hoc committee reviewing November 20, 2012 Budget: Historic Organ Citations (P-Present, D-DELAYED) the budget is continuing its work in anticipation Committee: MOVED—Jim Cook, that Special Meeting by Teleconference of producing final recommendations for review the Historic Organs Citations Committee be Scot Huntington (President) P and approval in the next few days. dissolved and that an Historic Organ Awards William F. Czelusniak (Vice-President) P Call to Order: President Scot Committee be established and charged with Jeff Dexter (Councillor for Organizational Huntington called to order a special telephone The next meeting of the National Council will administering the Historic Pipe Organ Awards Concerns) D meeting of the National Council of the Organ take place at a time to be determined in early program of the OHS. Motion carried. Allen Langord (Treasurer) P Historical Society on Tuesday, November 20, January. Jeff Weiler (Secretary) P 2012, at 7:19pm CST. Electronic Balloting: MOVED— James Cook (Councillor for Education) P The President declared Adjournment: Jeff Dexter, that the Executive Director shall Graham Down (Councillor for Finance and the meeting adjourned at 8:21pm CST. establish a means for electronic balloting for all The secretary called the roll: Development) P future elections including the National Council (P-Present, E-EXCUSED) Christopher Marks (Councillor for Archives) P /s/ Jeff Weiler, Secretary election upcoming, with a mail-in option for Daniel Schwandt (Councillor for Conventions) P those requiring that method of participation. Scot Huntington (President) P Theresa Slowik (Councillor for Research and In addition, the Executive Director shall ap- William F. Czelusniak (Vice-President) P Minutes of the Publications) D point a minimum of two tellers to tabulate the Jeff Dexter (Councillor for Organizational James Weaver (Executive Director) P Concerns) P National Council voting results for the 2013 ballots. Motion Allen Langord (Treasurer) P Meeting carried. A quorum of Council members was established. Jeff Weiler (Secretary) P February 4, 2013 James Cook (Councillor for Education) P Approval of provisional bud- Special Meeting by Teleconference Approval of Minutes: MOVED— Graham Down (Councillor for Finance and get: MOVED—Jim Cook, that the provision- Graham Down, that the minutes of the Development) P al budget as presented by the financial adviso- February 4, 2012 teleconference be approved. Christopher Marks (Councillor for Archives) P Call to Order: President Scot ry committee (Bill Czelusniak, Jeff Dexter) be Motion carried. Daniel Schwandt (Councillor for Conventions) P Huntington called to order a special telephone approved as amended. Motion carried. Theresa Slowik (Councillor for Research and meeting of the National Council of the Organ Historical Society on Monday, February 4, Publications) P Appointment of Distinguished Historic Organ Awards 2013, at 6:32pm CST. James Weaver (Executive Director) E Service Awards Ad Hoc Committee: MOVED—Jim Cook, to ac- Committee: MOVED—Dan Schwandt, cept members Sebastian Gluck (Chair), Jeff A quorum of Council members was established. The secretary called the roll: that an ad hoc committee including Jack Weiler, Steuart Goodwin, Greg Crowell, John (P-Present, A-ABSENT) Bethards, David Dahl, Chris Marks, Barbara Panning. ex officio members are President, Owen, and Dan Schwandt be appointed for a Approval of Minutes: October Vice President, and Councilor for Education. Scot Huntington (President) P one-year term. Motion carried. 15, 2012 meeting in Baltimore, Maryland. Motion carried. William F. Czelusniak (Vice-President) P MOVED—Graham Down. Motion carried. Jeff Dexter (Councillor for Organizational The next meeting of the National Council will Jeff Dexter joined the meeting at 7:10pm CST. Concerns) P take place by teleconference on Monday, Archives Relocation: Chris Marks Theresa Slowik jointed the meeting approxi- Allen Langord (Treasurer) P March 4, 2013 at 6:30pm CST. On Friday, circulated a memo dated November 6, 2012, mately 7:30CST Jeff Weiler (Secretary) P April 5, 2013, a face-to-face meeting of the on behalf of the Archives Governing Board with James Cook (Councillor for Education) P National Council shall be held in Denton, Texas The Executive Director provided updates on a the following resolutions: Graham Down (Councillor for Finance and beginning at 9am CDT. number of topics including convention registra- Development) P RESOLVED FURTHER, that the Relocation tions and fundraising. Christopher Marks (Councillor for Archives) P Adjournment: The President declared Subcommittee of the Archives Governing Board Daniel Schwandt (Councillor for Conventions) P the meeting adjourned at 7:56pm CST. Chris Marks provided an update on convention be, and hereby is, authorized to conclude ne- Theresa Slowik (Councillor for Research and recordings and discussed the ongoing negotia- gotiations with a university to relocate the col- Publications) A /s/ Jeff Weiler, Secretary lections of the American Organ Archives on the James Weaver (Executive Director) P tions regarding the relocation of the Archives terms presented to the National Council. collection. RESOLVED FURTHER, that a definitive A quorum of Council members was established. Minutes of the agreement or agreements with the university National Council The next meeting of the National Council will will be subject to the further approval of the Approval of Minutes: MOVED— Meeting take place April 5, 2013, in Denton, Texas National Council. Jeff Dexter, that the minutes of the November beginning at 9am CDT. Room 400 Willis RESOLVED FURTHER, that, effective with 20, 2012 teleconference be approved. March 4, 2013 Library. UNT the public announcement of the relocation of Motion carried. Special Meeting by Teleconference its collections to the university, the American Adjournment: The President declared Organ Archives of the Organ Historical Society Historic Organ Awards: Call to Order: President Scot the meeting adjourned at 7:54pm CST. shall change its name to the “Organ Historical MOVED—Jim Cook, that the National Council Huntington called to order a special telephone Society Library and Archives.” accept the recommendation from the Historic meeting of the National Council of the Organ /s/ Jeff Weiler, Secretary

Vol. 57, No. 3 the tracker 35 Minutes OHS national council

Minutes of the James Wallmann joined the meeting at Determining the Obligation restrictions, the discussions of whether National Council 11:40am. Organ Historical Society has to have financial statements audited Under Restrictions on Assets quickly led to discussions of how the Meeting Convention Recordings: that have been Imposed by obligation OHS has under donor restric- Moved— Chris Marks, that Bill Van Pelt and April 5, 2013, 8:30am Donors: tions could be determined. Willis Library, Edward Kelly be thanked for their work to get It is apparent from those exten- the convention recordings for 2005 completed A Practical Solution for the The University of North Texas Governing Body of Organ sive discussions that the obligation can- and distributed. Motion carried. not be determined with a high degree Denton, Texas Historical Society to Approve of precision. The only practical alterna- Jim Scott, Dean of the College of Music; Sue Call to Order: President Scot tive is for the governing body of OHS Parks, Assistant Dean for Special Libraries; An important consideration in accepting Huntington called to order a regular meet- to formally approve an estimate of the Morris Martin, Head of the Music Library; and contributions is ensuring that the not- ing of the National Council of the Organ obligation based on the information Historical Society on Friday, April 5, 2013 at Mark McKnight, Music Library joined the meet- for-profit entity honors any restrictions that has been gathered through those 8:51am CST. ing for lunch. the donor places on how the contribu- discussions. tion is used. Donor restrictions are ei- Based on the information that The secretary called the roll: Old Business: Ogasapian Prize funding: ther temporary or permanent. (P-Present, E-EXCUSED) the Council will review this matter in June. has been gathered— a. Temporary restrictions require using the a. Only four donor restrictions are likely to Scot Huntington (President) P New Business: A Note of Thanks: contribution for a specified purpose, have been in effect at September 30, William F. Czelusniak (Vice-President) P Moved— Scot Huntington, that Jim such as providing scholarships or adding 2012: restrictions imposed on the dis- Jeff Dexter (Councilor for Organizational Wallmann be thanked for his ongoing invalu- to the archives. tribution from the Huber trust, contri- Concerns) P b. Permanent restrictions require investing able legal council in revising the bylaws, ne- butions made in response to appeals Allen Langord (Treasurer) P the contribution, with the earnings on gotiation of agreements for relocating the for the Biggs scholarship program, and Jeff Weiler (Secretary) P those investments either restricted to a archives, and work with the completion of the restrictions imposed on the Van Pelt and James Cook (Councilor or Education) P specified purpose or available for use at audit. Motion carried. Harriman contributions. Graham Down (Councilor for Finance and the discretion of management and the b. The endowment fund is not subject to re- Development) P governing body (i.e., the OHS National strictions imposed by donors. Christopher Marks (Councilor for Archives) P Strategic Planning Committee: Graham Down Council). will form and chair a strategic planning The governing body is being asked to Daniel Schwandt (Councilor for Conventions) P A restriction may be explicit or Theresa Slowik (Councilor for Research and committee. approve the following practical solution Publications) E implicit. An example of an explicit re- without modification: James Weaver (Executive Director) P Huber Trust: Moved Dan Schwandt, striction is a letter stating that the con- that the National Council adopts a resolu- tribution must be used to provide schol- Restrictions imposed on A quorum of Council members was established. tion drafted by James Wallmann and Stephen arships, and an example of an implicit the distribution from Holton, CPA, a partner in the firm Martin, restriction is a contribution received Approval of Minutes: Moved— the Huber trust Dolan & Holton, Ltd. of Glen Allen, Virginia in connection with an appeal to raise a. the distribution from the Huber trust Chris Marks, that the minutes of the March (the firm completing the OHS audit) relative to funds for scholarships. was $983,248 and is subject to the fol- 4, 2012 teleconference be approved as the Huber Trust. The report is appended to, and lowing explicit restrictions: amended. A not-for-profit entity has a legal 1. Half of the income from investment Motion carried. made a part of these minutes. obligation to ensure that donor restrictions are honored, and, as part of its of the distribution is restricted to “adequately maintain the archive system,” Other Business: University of North Reports: The following reports were re- oversight role, members of the govern- and the other half is unrestricted and Texas Library Tour: Members of the National ceived and filed: ing body have a fiduciary responsibility “to be used for general purposes at the Council and James Wallmann spent the af- to monitor compliance. Noncompliance discretion of the Board.” President’s Report–Scot Huntington ternoon touring facilities of the University of can require the entity to return the con- 2. the $983,248 distribution is to be Vice-President’s Report–William Czelusniak North Texas Library and meeting with depart- tribution to the donor. Organ Historical invested and treated as principal that Treasurer’s Report–Allen Langord ment heads. Society (OHS) has received a number “shall be used for emergencies only.” Executive Director’s Report–Jim Weaver b. the phrase “archive system” in the of contributions whose use is restricted Date and Time of Next Council Huber trust was clearly intended to refer Councilors’ Reports by the donor. However, for a variety of Meeting: The National Council shall hold a to the American Organ Archives, now A) Archives–Christopher Marks special meeting by teleconference on Monday, reasons, the accounting system of OHS the Organ Historical Society Library & B) Conventions–Dan Schwandt Archives (OHSL&A), and the governing May 6, at 6:30pm CST. did not keep track of those restrictions. C) Education–James Cook Five years ago, the management body and the governing board of the D) Finance and Development–Graham Down and governing body of OHS began dis- OHSL&A have consistently interpreted E) Organizational Concerns–Jeffrey Dexter Adjournment: The President declared the phrase this way. The governing the meeting adjourned at 5:00pm CST. cussing whether to have its financial body confirms that the phrase “archive Moved: Graham Down, that reports be ac- statements audited. Because audited fi- system” in the Huber trust means the cepted. Motion carried. /s/ Jeff Weiler, Secretary nancial statements must address donor OHSL&A. The governing body further

36 the tracker Vol. 57, No. 3

Minutes

confirms that the term “Board” used Restrictions imposed The Sound of Pipe Organs in the Huber trust means the govern- on the Van Pelt and by Michael McNeil ing body of OHS, namely the National Harriman contributions Council. f. the restrictions imposed on the Van Pelt 192 pages, hardbound c. the distribution from the Huber trust and Harriman contributions were tem- ISBN: 978-0-9720386-5-2 will be treated as a permanently re- porary. Those contributions have been stricted contribution. The phrase “shall used, but the purpose for which they Written for the professional organ builder, be used for emergencies only” will be were used cannot be determined. How- tonal designer, and pipe voicer, this new book interpreted as meaning that the distribu- ever, in recognition of those gifts, the explains how the vast range of organ sounds tion will be permanently maintained as governing body will designate an equal are achieved and explores in depth the principal and will not be used for other amount of unrestricted assets for one or relationships between the scaling and voicing purposes unless there are no other alter- more special projects. of organ pipes, acoustics, wind system natives to preventing OHS or OHSL&A dynamics, and temperaments. from no longer being able to continue as

going concerns. The endowment fund d. the distribution has been invested in g. the endowment fund is not subject to The scaling and voicing of organ pipes are two mutual funds. donor restrictions but is being main- subjects which have long been shrouded 1. At September 30, 2012, the tained as a designation of the governing behind a veil of mystery. New models and fair value of those funds was body. practical tools are presented which draw back $1,083,004 and includes unreal- this veil and give the tonal designer and ized appreciation of $99,756 (the Summary of the obligation of voicer a deeper understanding of their art. The appendix includes a worked example and $1,083,004 fair value less the OHS under donor restrictions at $983,248 distribution invested). detailed analysis of the tonal design of the 2. Half of the unrealized apprecia- September 30, 2012 Isnard organ at St. Maximin. tion ($49,878) was to be used to h. the $983,248 distribution from the Huber trust is the only asset of OHS that “adequately maintain the archive The design of wind systems to suit any tonal system.” Rather than sell shares is restricted at September 30, 2012, design or acoustic are described in detail, and it is a permanent restriction. None of the mutual funds to realize that using the Isnard organ at St. Maximin as a of the unrealized appreciation in the fair appreciation, OHS has used unre- practical worked example. value of the mutual funds in which the stricted cash to adequately maintain the archive system. Therefore, distribution was invested is subject to donor restrictions. Illustrations and data are used throughout the the temporary restriction on the book to describe and compare the broad range unrealized appreciation at Septem- of organ sounds, including the Romantic The status of this practical ber 30, 2012, has been met. voicing of E. G. & G. Hook, the instrumental 3. the $49,878 remainder of the solution voicing of D. A. Flentrop, the unique sounds unrealized appreciation was un- i. this practical solution will be reconsid- of Gottfried Silbermann, and the Classical restricted under the terms of the ered only in response to advice from French voicing of Isnard at St. Maximin. distribution from the Huber trust. competent accounting and legal profes-

sionals and compelling evidence that The included DVD contains an Adobe version Contributions made in response comes to the attention of the governing body. of the book, working Excel files of the to appeals for the Biggs scaling, voicing, and wind system models, scholarship program and short sound clips to make the theoretical Monitoring compliance with e. Contributions to the Biggs scholarship points clear. program have generally been used for donor restrictions after scholarships soon after they were re- September 30, 2012 Published and sold by CCCA: ceived. At September 30, 2012, any j. the governing body will monitor compli- remaining contributions are likely to be ance with donor restrictions on contri- US$40 postpaid in the USA immaterial, and the assumption will be butions received after September 30, US$59 postpaid outside the USA made that no restrictions remain. 2012. send PayPal payment and shipping address to:

[email protected]

CCCA

Vol. 57, No. 3 the tracker 37 OHS Chapters reports

Memorial United Methodist Church. New Orleans OHS Chapter Its three manual divisions and Pedal Holds an Organ Crawl are located on either side of a choir loft above the altar table and fill the church and Recital with a blaze of brilliant sound. George Bozeman Chapter members Ryan Celes- tin, Robert Zanca, Norman Maunz, On April 6, 2013, members of the New and Joel Bevington demonstrated Orleans OHS Chapter met at St. Mat- the organs and provided informative thew’s United Church of Christ for remarks. the beginning of an organ crawl. The I was honored to be asked to play instrument there is Hook & Hastings a recital the next afternoon on the sur- Op. 2058 (1905), which was rebuilt and prisingly versatile 1913 Geo. Kilgen expanded by Roy Redman as his Op. organ in Parker Memorial Method- 32 (1981). The next stop was Ripar- ist Church. The instrument is in origi- ian Hall, the home of Chapter Presi- nal condition, including cone-tuned dent Robert Zanca, to inspect his new though further work is needed to put it pipes, and restorer Roy Redman dem- house organ that started life as Hook & in first class shape. St. Mary’s Assump- onstrated the hand-pumping feature Hastings Op. 2217 (1909), for St. James tion R.C. Church still has the 1861 for the last piece of the program. I Episcopal Church in Palestine, Texas. Simmons & Wilcox organ built for it. played music ranging from a 501-year- After receiving some new pipes, while In spite of being fitted with new, tubu- old piece by Arnolt Schlick on through owned by Richard Howell in 1970, it lar-pneumatic windchests by William Frescobaldi, C.P.E. Bach, one of the was refurbished by the Redman Com- Schuelke of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as Eight Little Preludes and Fugues as- pany as their Op. 98 (2013). his Op. 148 (ca. 1900), apparently most cribed to J.S. Bach, Frank Bridge, and Two of New Orleans’ grandest old if not all the original pipes still play Arthur Honegger. Because of the jazzy organs were next on the agenda. A Jar- with a fine, bold sound. This is another harmonies of the Honegger, we sang dine of ca. 1870 was visited in St. Te- organ that deserves a thorough and Duke Ellington’s Come Sunday. resa of Avila Roman Catholic Church. careful restoration. As usual in Louisiana, food was Through super-human efforts of the The final stop featured an organ in an important part of the occasion; we Chapter in 1988, this impressive organ excellent, original condition, the Aeo- would hardly take a bite at a meal be- was restored to playable condition, al- lian-Skinner, Op. 1409 (1962), in Rayne fore we started talking about the next one! The New Orleans Chapter is one of the most active in the OHS. They would love to have you join them and receive their newsletter, The Swell Shoe. Simply write to the chapter at 1010 Nashville Avenue, New Orleans LA 70115, or go to www.ohsno.org.

HILBUS OHS Chapter On March 23, 2013, Hilbus Chapter member Paul S. Roeder arranged an organ crawl in Alexandria, Virginia. First on the agenda was a visit to Fair- lington United Methodist Church to see and play its 1984 II/27 Holtkamp Above: The 1913 Geo. Kilgen & Son at Parker Memorial Methodist Church. mechanical action organ. After lunch, Below: Members having lunch at New Orleans Hamburgers and Sea Food: Travers Koerner, the group continued on to Fairlington Rachelen Lien, James Oakes, Benjie Branson, Fred Lawler. Presbyterian Church where they en- Photos: George Bozeman joyed its 2005 II/20 Austin, Op. 2788.

38 the tracker Vol. 57, No. 3 News

demonstrated by John Tarver. Follow- Schoenstein ing a box lunch, the largest of the or- Retrospective gans was heard at Park Cities Presby- terian Church. A 90-rank instrument, The work of Schoenstein & Co. in combining both a four-manual chancel Dallas, Texas was celebrated with a organ and a two-manual gallery organ weekend of activities, January 26—27, (Schoenstein Nos. 150 and 151—2006 2013. Schoenstein & Co. 1992–2012, A and 2007), it is a fully realized exam- Retrospective, a day-long organ event ple of a church organ in the symphonic and demonstration, provided the style. Schoenstein’s vice president Louis unique opportunity for participants Patterson guided participants on a brief to see and hear four instruments by look inside the chancel organ. To con- the same builder in the same city. The clude the day, organist and associate di- day began at Wynne Chapel, High- rector of music, Colin Howland, pro- land Park Presbyterian Church, home vided a performance of Tchaikovsky’s of Schoenstein No. 119 (1992), a three- 1812 Overture, assisted by a four-man manual, 37-rank “symphonic organ percussion battery. in miniature.” Jack Bethards, Schoen- The second day of activities fo- stein’s president and tonal director, cused around a celebration of the 20th gave a history of the firm and over- anniversary of the organ at Wynne the church, and stands as a pioneering view of its symphonic/romantic tonal Chapel, Highland Park Presbyterian work in the continuing search for more philosophy. Organist and associate di- Church, Schoenstein’s first fully sym- musical expressiveness and beauty of rector of music Michael Shake dem- phonic organ with double expression. tone from the King of Instruments. onstrated various tonal colors and per- Thomas Murray of Yale University, The event was organized by Michael formed solo works. The next stop who inaugurated the organ in 1993, re- Shake with his colleagues John Tarver was Spring Valley United Methodist turned for a pair of recitals with music and Colin Howland. Church where its III/34 Schoenstein of Bach, Saint-Saëns, Rheinberger, organ, No. 134 (1999), with two dou- Elgar, and Widor. The chapel organ Above: Schoenstein organ at Highland Park ble expressive divisions, was capably is a much-beloved part of the fabric of Presbyterian Church, Dallas

Call for Ogasapian Book Prize 2012 David Yearsley Nominations David Gaynor Yearsley is the recipient of the The John Ogasapian 2012 John Ogasapian Publication Prize for his book Book Prize 2013 Bach’s Feet: Organ Pedals in European Culture, (Cambridge University Press, 2012), recognized by The prize is awarded to scholars who have made outstanding contributions the OHS as a distinguished work of original scholar- to the art of the pipe organ through the publication of distinguished books ship related to the pipe organ. Dr. Yearsley received written on the subject. Books bearing copyrights of 2010-2013 are eligible his Ph.D. in Musicology from Stanford University in for consideration. 1994 and is Professor of Music at Cornell University. Deadline for nominations is November 30, 2013. Previous Ogasapian Prize Winners For more information and online nomination: 2010 Wm. A. Little, Mendelssohn and the Organ www.organsociety.org 2011 John R. Near, Widor: A Life Beyond the Toccata

Vol. 57, No. 3 the tracker 39 Obituaries

Marie-Claire Alain david a.j. broome

THE RENOWNED FRENCH ORGANIST AND PEDAGOGUE, david a(lbert) j(ohn) broome (1932–2013) died on March Marie-Claire Alain, died February 26, 2013, at the age of 17, 2013 at his home in Windsor Locks after a long illness. 86. Born on August 10, 1926, at Saint-Germain-en-Laye, He was 81. Born in Leicester, England, on February 21, 1932, a western suburb of Paris. She was the daughter of organist Broome served two years in the Royal Air Force. In 1948, Albert Alain (a pupil of Guilmant, Vierne, and Fauré) and he began his career in organbuilding at J.W. Walker Sons, sister of Jehan Alain, a promising composer killed in the Ltd., in London, England and immigrated to the United Second World War. Marie-Claire began her career in 1937 States after marrying Caroline Mason in Leicester on Octo- at the age of eleven when she substituted for her father at the ber 27, 1956. The Broomes settled in Windsor Locks, Conn., organ of the Church of Saint-Germain in Saint-Germain- in 1958 when Broome joined the Austin Organ Company. en-Laye. She succeeded him as organist on his death in By 1978, he had risen to the executive post of vice presi- 1971. She entered the Paris Conservatory at the age of 18 dent and tonal director, a position he held until his retire- and, over a period of six years, won first prizes in harmony, ment in 1999. Broome was responsible for the tonal design counterpoint, fugue, and organ (in the class of Marcel and finishing of more than 150 organs worldwide, including Dupré). Brompton Oratory, London; Nassau Cathedral, Bahamas; After her formal debut in Paris in 1950, Marie-Claire Adelaide Cathedral, Australia; Riverside Church Chapel, Alain made frequent tours of Europe and visited the United and the First Presbyterian Church, New York City; Cze- States first in 1961. stochowa National Shrine, Doylestown, Pa.; St. John’s Epis- Alain played more than 2,000 recitals throughout the copal Church, West Hartford, and Trinity College Chapel, world and her 260 recordings make her perhaps the most Hartford. Since his retirement from Austin, Broome and recorded organist in history. She recorded the complete his son Christopher operated Broome and Company, voic- works of more than a dozen major organ composers, as ing reeds for restorations and new installations, including well as the complete organ works of Bach three times. Longwood Gardens, Woolsey Hall at Yale University, and As a teacher, Marie-Claire Alain lectured at the Haarlem Duke University Chapel. David Broome will be remem- Summer Academy in Holland from 1956 to 1972 and gave bered not only as a loving husband, father, and grandfa- masterclasses around the world. ther, but also as one of the world’s foremost reed voicers in the organbuilding industry. He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Caroline, four children, his sister, ten grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.

40 the tracker Vol. 57, No. 3 Scattered leaves ... from our Sketchbook

Schoenstein & Co. Established in San Francisco • 1877 www.schoenstein.com ❧ (707) 747-5858

   JL Weiler, Inc. PIPE ORGAN CURATORS, CONSERVATORS & CONSULTANTS  , .  JL WeilerSpecialists inInc Restoration, PIPE ORGAN CURATORS, CONSERVATORS & CONSULTANTS   Conservation, Voicing & Tonal  Finishing of High-Pressure  Pipe Organs   

1845 SouthMichigan Avenue #1905 | Chicago, Illinois 60616   312-842-7475 | [email protected] | www.jlweiler.com

bedientorgan.com 402.420.7662 800.382.4225 Endnotes rollin smith

the instrument on the cover is an example of just how In 1904, the Aeolian Company installed at one end of this fragile a piece-of-art the organ can be. It was built by one room a twelve-rank organ behind an opulent white and gold of America’s premier organbuilders, the case was designed by carved case. Aeolian filled orders quickly: the organ was to be one of America’s greatest architects, and it was bought for one shipped by June 10, and in position by July 15, no doubt to co- of America’s prominent homes, and yet, after 37 years, it fell incide with Mrs. Oelrichs’s famous “Bal blanc” on August 19, to an auctioneer’s hammer and has since disappeared. A thing in which everything was white—including the guest’s clothes of beauty may be a joy forever if it makes it into a museum, and their powdered hair. but in a church or private home, it is too often a casualty to The organ was enclosed in two independent expression the whims and fortunes of its owners. chambers with a 4ʹ Harmonic Flute as the only rank above The organ was built by the Aeolian Company for Mrs. 8ʹ pitch. It was equipped with a player mechanism for both Hermann Oelrichs, daughter of James Graham Fair, one of 58-note rolls (utilizing one manual), and 116-note (operating the discoverers of the Comstock Lode, in Virginia City, Ne- two independent manuals, providing both solo and accompa- vada, the country’s largest single silver deposit. In 1890, Fair’s niment). The stoplist was in Italian and we have provided the daughter Theresa “Tessie” married Hermann Oelrichs, man- English equivalent as notated on the shop copy of the contract. ager of the North German Lloyd Steamship Company, and Theresa Oelrichs died in 1926 and Rosecliff was used by with her newly-acquired respectable lineage and vast inheri- her son, Hermann Oelrichs II, and his wife as their summer tance from her father, who died in 1894, Mrs. Oelrichs con- residence until 1941, when the estate and furnishings were solidated her position in society. After a few years, Mr. Oel- sold at public auction. On July 16, the organ, bench, and a richs absented himself from his wife’s social whirl, dying in “chest of records” (roll cabinet) were sold for $1,700.1 1906, and Tessie reigned for the rest of her life as one of the After changing hands several times, Rosecliff was three queens of Newport society. bought by a New Orleans oil millionaire who, in 1971, gave The Oelrichses bought a 14-acre estate on Newport’s it to the Preservation Society of Newport County, including Bellevue Avenue in 1891 and seven years later commissioned an endowment for its maintenance. It has been used as a set the New York firm McKim, Mead & White to build a French for several movies: the ballroom was featured in the 1974 film Baroque Revival mansion, Rosecliff. The celebrated ar- version of The Great Gatsby. Rosecliff is open for self-guided chitect, Stanford White, designed the “cottage,” including audio tours, the next being between October 15 and Novem- much of the interior. The great central space on the first floor ber 22, 2013. was the living room and, with its furniture removed, the 40ʹ by 80ʹ expanse served as the largest ballroom in Newport. 1. “Oelrichs Villa Sold for $21,000,” New York Times (July 17, 1941): 16.

42 the tracker Vol. 57, No. 3 Endnotes

Compass: Manuals, 61 notes, CC–c4 Pedal, 30 notes, CC–f1 Wind pressures: Manuals 3½ʺ, Pedal 4ʺ

MANUALE I (enclosed) PEDALE 8 Principale Grande [Open Diapason] 16 Contra Basso [Bourdon] 8 Corno di Caccia [Gross Flute] 8 Viola Pomposa [Gamba] COUPLERS 8 Viol d’Amore [Gemshorn] Manuale II to Manuale I 8, 4 8 Tromba [Trumpet] Manuale I to Pedale Manuale II to Pedale MANUALE II (enclosed) 8 Flauto Lontano [Rohr Flute] ACCESSORIES 8 Violino Primo [Viol d’Orchestre] Tremolo 8 Voce Angelica [Vox Celeste] Balanced expression pedal for Manuale I 8 Viol Sordino [Aeoline] Balanced expression pedal for Manuale II 4 Flauto Minore [Harmonic Flute] Balanced Crescendo Pedal 8 Oboe di Caccia [Orchestral Oboe]

Vol. 57, No. 3 the tracker 43 MADE IN AMERICA

A.R. Schopp’S SonS, Inc. 14536 oyster Road • Alliance, oh 44601 330.821.8406 • 800.371.8406 www.arschopp.com SUPPLIERS TO THE PIPE ORGAN INDUSTRY SINCE 1898