Cover feature
Pascal Quoirin, St. Didier, France Church of the Ascension, New York, New York The Manton Memorial Organ at the Church of the Ascension, New York City, is the fi rst French-built organ ever to be installed in New York City. The 95-stop, 111-rank instrument has been designed to play as large a part of the repertory as possible. The core of the instrument is a classical (baroque) organ of Grand- Orgue, Positif, Récit-Écho, and Pédale, played by a three-manual mechanical action console. A second console—this one with four manuals and electric ac- tion—controls that classical core as well as many other stops intended for sym- phonic and modern repertory. The instrument is situated in the front of the church on two sides of the chan- cel, fl anking the famed 1888 mural “The Ascension” by John LaFarge. Four or- gan façades—two on each side—include elaborate wood carvings of peacocks, inspired by the peacocks in the marble reredos, also from the 1880s. The beauti- ful carvings were the work of Babou Vau- quois, wife of Pascal Quoirin. Unknown to most Americans, Pas- cal Quoirin has spent his career restor- ing and building organs throughout the world. Major restorations include many of the great historic instruments of France, such as the Dom Bédos mas- terpiece at Sainte-Croix in Bordeaux and the Cavaillé-Coll organ in Saint-Cloud, France. Quoirin’s new organs include his recent instrument in the gothic Cathe- The two consoles, with the mechanical action console on the right dral of Evreux, France, and instruments in other European countries, Japan, and gressive adaptation to an original model. Mexico. The Church of the Ascension’s That model transforms and evolves in instrument is his fi rst organ in the Unit- step with the various styles of musical ed States. writing appropriate to each epoch: poly- The new organ is made possible by a phonic, classical, romantic, symphonic, grant from the Manton Foundation to etc. It sometimes even happens that this honor the memory of Sir Edwin and Lady evolution anticipates the imagination of Manton, who were active members of the musicians. That is the case with the in- Church of the Ascension for over 50 years. struments of Cavaillé-Coll in which his The Mantons were avid lovers of music, ideas preceded the compositions, among particularly the music of Olivier Messiaen others, of César Franck. and other French composers. The organ, therefore, is in perpetual The Church of the Ascension is the evolution, and the history of the organ oldest church building on New York City’s of Notre-Dame in Paris is a signifi cant Fifth Avenue and has been known for its example: a Blockwerk from the Middle music program for more than 100 years. Ages was still present in the organ at the The church is the home of the Voices of beginning of the 17th century; it was Ascension Chorus and Orchestra. transformed by Cavaillé-Coll in the 19th Elaborate inaugural events took place century and, in its present state, it was in May and June and included a dedica- completed and adapted to the modern tory Mass, three major organ recitals, techniques of today. All the marks of its two choral concerts, and the debut of the evolution are still present, and the history Ascension Organ Academy. Each concert of the French organ is inscribed there. had capacity crowds, and throughout the Organbuilding, furthermore, is con- inaugural events the exceptional quality tinually subject to foreign infl uences, and range of the instrument were on full such as those of North Germany, Spain, display. When the Quoirin team was pre- Italy, etc. These also modify traditional sented to the audience they received a practices and in each instance the organ fi ve-minute standing ovation. adapts to new musical sensibilities. The This year the organ series begins on experience acquired by organbuilders November 15 with Messiaen’s Medita- at the time of major historic restora- tions on the Mystery of the Holy Trinity tions is, and still remains, absolutely played by Jon Gillock, followed later in necessary to understand and master the the season with recitals by Louis Robil- ensemble of the different aesthetics of liard, Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini, and organ design. This knowledge also per- a Vierne Marathon with Christopher mits a much more realistic approach in Houlihan. The Ascension Organ Acad- the design of a new organ voluntarily emy will take place in June. For informa- conceived in opposition to actual his- tion, visit
30 THE DIAPASON
Nov 2011 pp. 30-32.indd 30 10/13/11 11:24:11 AM Pipes of the Grand-Orgue division The south chancel façade The south aisle façade
stops: Bombarde, Trompette, Clairon. coupling the manuals among themselves, The 2ème Trompette (en-chamade) is either electrical or mechanical. the fi rst stop on the foundation chest The pipes are entirely cone tuned in behind the façade. The confi guration is the classic manner. Yet, certain stops the same for the Positif situated above have a tuning scroll: the Gambes and the Grand-Orgue; the four chests have Voix céleste, the Aéolines, the Second the same dimensions. 4′ and, of course, the Second 8′ of the The mechanical action of the keyboards Grand-Orgue. These two stops, the size permanently pulls two sets of pallets, one of which was given by Cavaillé-Coll, are for the foundation stops with pallets lon- very strong, especially in the top, and ger than one foot, the other, shorter, for are voiced with open toes. When one the reed stops. To facilitate the open- plays the registration of all the 8′ stops ing, the fi rst two octaves of each chest coupled together, the Second 8′ adds are equipped with a special assist. The an effect of fullness, powerful, strongly touch is supple and responsive for each keyboard. There are two possibilities for ➤ page 32
The Manton Memorial Organ GRAND-RÉCIT EXPRESSIF Church of the Ascension, New York City 16′ Bourdon* Pascal Quoirin, Saint-Didier, France 8′ Principal* Three-manual mechanical (suspended) 8′ Flûte harmonique* action console 8′ Bourdon* Four-manual electric console (movable) 8′ Gambe* 95 stops, 111 ranks 8′ Voix Céleste* 8′ Aéoline* Pascal Quoirin adjusts the trackers of the mechanical console GRAND-ORGUE 8′ Aéoline Céleste* 16′ Montre 4′ Prestant* ner, to masterpieces of the French patri- which, in general, was not written for di- 16′ Bourdon 4′ Flûte octaviante* ′ 2 ′ mony of historic organs. rect mechanical action. 8 Montre 2⁄3 Nasard harmonique* This concept of the organ, as badly The cases were designed to integrate 8′ Second (large Cavaillé-Coll-style 2′ Octavin* 3 ′ realized as it was, nevertheless inspired as harmoniously as possible with the Montre)* 1⁄5 Tierce harmonique* 8′ Flûte traversière Plein Jeu V* many musicians (including Messiaen), architecture of the site. They are con- 8′ Bourdon Sur Cymbale III* and, in my opinion, it is unthinkable to structed of ash and walnut woods. The 8′ Gambe 16′ Basson* 1 ignore it. The purpose of this type of sculptured decorations are freely in- 5⁄3′ Gros Nasard 8′ Trompette harmonique* instrument, called “neo-classic,” was spired by the Art Nouveau style, an echo 4′ Prestant 4′ Clairon harmonique* to allow one to interpret a large part of of the Tiffany stained-glass windows of 4′ Second (large Cavaillé-Coll-style 8′ Basson Hautbois* the Classical repertoire. But, that type the church. The key motifs represent Prestant)* 8′ Voix Humaine* 4′ Flûte ouverte Tremblant* of instrument is accepted with diffi culty imaginary birds, recalling the birdsongs 1 3⁄5′ Grosse Tierce 8′ Trompette harmonique en chamade* today by many organists and European so dear to Olivier Messiaen. 2 2⁄3′ Quinte organbuilders, because we think that it 2 2⁄3′ Nasard RÉCIT-ECHO (expressif) is really possible to propose more logical Disposition and details of the 2′ Doublette 8′ Bourdon solutions thanks to knowledge acquired instrument 2′ Flûte 4′ Flûte allemande 2 during the course of restorations of an The organ is divided into two groups Grande Fourniture II 2⁄3′ Nasard historic character, whether it be instru- situated in the choir of the church, on Fourniture IV 2′ Flûte 3 ′ ments of the renaissance, classical, ro- each side of the high altar. Two 16′ fa- Cymbale III 1⁄5 Tierce Cornet VII (c3) 8′ Trompette mantic, or symphonic periods. çades are therefore facing each other. ′ ′ And, it is this accumulated historic These two entities also have an opening 16 Bombarde 8 Hautbois 8′ 1ère Trompette 8′ Voix Humaine knowledge that has guided the concep- into the side aisles to the right and left of 8′ 2ème Trompette (chamade) 8′ Basson (Cor anglais) tion of the organ at the Church of the the choir to which we have applied two 4′ Clairon 8′ Clarinette Ascension. We fi nd here, therefore, clas- cases, one of which is composed of two Tremblant Tremblant sical entities like the plenum, the jeux de superimposed 8′ façades. 8′ Trompette harmonique en chamade 8′ Trompette harmonique en chamade* tierces completely developed, the grand- The organ on the left comprises the (Récit) choeur of reeds on their own chests, and a major part of the instrumental structure: PÉDALE POSITIF 32′ Bourdon classic disposition of the divisions: Grand- on the main level the Grand-Orgue, the ′ ′ Orgue, Positif, Récit-Écho, Grand-Récit Positif above, the Récit/Écho behind the 16 Quintaton 16 Flûte 8′ Montre 16′ Principal Expressif, “large” and “small” Pédale. Positif. The big foundation stops of the ′ ′ ′ 8 Flûte conique 16 Bourdon A large part of the “classic” foundation Pédale are on the bottom (Bourdons 32 8′ Bourdon 16′ Petit Bourdon (Récit)* ′ ′ ′ 2 of the organ is found in the case placed and 16 , Contrebasse 16 , Flûte 8 , Jeux 8′ Salicional 10 ⁄3′ Grande Quinte to the left of the choir: the Grand-Orgue, de tierce 32′, Bombarde 32′, etc.). The 4′ Prestant 8′ Flûte Positif, Récit/Écho, and an important whole rises in tiers to almost 43 feet. 4′ Flûte conique 8′ Violoncelle 2 ′ ′ part of the Pédale. These divisions are The organ on the right is chiefl y in- 2⁄3 Nasard 8 Bourdon 2 2′ Doublette 6⁄5′ Grande Tierce played with a suspended, mechanical ac- habited by the Grand-Récit Expressif 1 2′ Quarte de Nasard 5⁄3′ Quinte tion from the console located en fenêtre of 21 stops; its main façade is formed 3 1⁄5′ Tierce 4′ Prestant [attached console]. by the pipes of pedal stops (Principal 1 1⁄3′ Larigot 4′ Flûte ′ ′ 1 An identical case, facing the fi rst, 16 , Violoncelle 8 ). Between this façade 1′ Flageolet 3⁄5′ Tierce houses the Grand-Récit Expressif and and the expressive box of the Récit are Fourniture IV 2′ Quinzième the remaining pedal stops. The entire placed the Bassons 16′ and 8′, the Plein Cymbale III Plein Jeu IV organ, which joins the two cases, to the Jeu, the Prestant 4′, and the Quinzième 16′ Basson 32′ Bombarde left and right of the choir, with their re- 2′ of the Pédale. The façade facing the 8′ Trompette 16′ Bombarde 4′ Clairon 16′ Basson (Schnitger-type Posaune) spective façades facing the side aisles, is side aisle is made up of the bass pipes of ′ ′ played from an electric console of four the Second 8′ of the Grand-Orgue. The 8 Cromorne 8 Trompette ′ Tremblant 8′ Basson (Schnitger-type Posaune) keyboards, a mobile console that can rest of this stop, as is all of Second 4 , is 8′ Trompette harmonique en chamade* 4′ Clairon be placed in the center of the choir for found behind this façade. (Récit) 8′ Trompette harmonique en chamade* concerts. It is at this console that one The windchests of the Grand-Orgue interprets most easily the contemporary number four: two large chests for 16′ * playable only on the electric console repertoire or that of the 20th century, stops and two others for the three reed
NOVEMBER, 2011 31
Nov 2011 pp. 30-32.indd 31 10/13/11 11:24:28 AM New Organs
Kegg Pipe Organ Builders, California, falls somewhere between Hartville, Ohio these two. The client uses it to practice, Private Residence, Palm Springs, yes. But his organ playing is something California he does purely for pleasure, not a fi rst or Traditionally, American residence or- even second job. It is nearly impossible gans have taken one of two roads. In the in these pages to fi nd the term “unifi ca- fi rst half of the twentieth century, the tion” without the qualifi er “judicious” Aeolian company specialized in a style close at hand. The Palm Springs organ of organ that was heard but not seen. goes beyond simply embracing the unit The pipes were typically in fairly remote organ concept: it exploits it! Even this chambers, and the music was mostly electric-action unit organ needs to be intended to provide a luxurious back- responsive and meticulously regulated ground to some other activity around the to encourage good technique, but it also house. Scaling and voicing could be done must be beautiful to listen to, musical in a normal or even aggressive way, rely- in its own right, and visually coopera- ing on distance to blend and mellow the tive with the guest suite whose 16′ x 24′ fi nal result. space it shares. In the second half of the century, with It begins with taking into account that the advent of the Organ Reform move- the requirements of this organ differ ment, a residence organ became much signifi cantly from a church organ of the less of an entertainment device (radio same size. There is no congregation to and recordings had fi lled that role) and lead in singing, no choir to accompany, more of a practice instrument. Crisp, re- no bride to bring down the aisle, and no sponsive key actions were far more im- Easter Sunday postlude, although all of portant than variety of color, and many that music will probably be played. an organist spent countless hours train- The specifi cation is built around try- ing his fi ngers and feet to control two ing to extract as many different color eight-foot fl utes while his mind’s ear combinations as possible from the re- heard Schnitger. sources available. All eight of the ranks The function of the new Kegg organ are quite similar in volume, so that any for a private residence in Palm Springs, given pair of stops drawn from them has a reasonable chance at sounding balanced. The two fl ute stops in par- ➤ page 31: Quoirin cover feature ticular change construction frequently in order to emphasize different colors crescendoing upwards. Thus, the sound at different pitch ranges. They include of the organ is centered for the listener stopped wood, capped metal, chimney located in the nave. fl ute, koppelfl ute, spitzfl ute, open and The plenum in two planes, Grand- harmonic pipes. The Viola and Celeste Orgue and Positif, is founded on the fun- are scaled small enough to have a defi - damental of the 16′, in the French man- nite string tone, but are voiced gently ner, Grande Fourniture with its resultants enough to beguile even a listener stand- of 102⁄3′, Fourniture, and Cymbale. ing directly in front of them. The Quinte The Plein Jeu of the Grand-Récit Ex- is voiced to work well with the Octave pressif is not a part of the plenum. It is in the wired Mixture, providing a satis- rather to be used with the reeds, which fying but not earsplitting top end to the the symphonic character favors. On the ensemble. The unenclosed Principal other hand, the Sur Cymbale on this key- gives a solid foundation to the rest of board is of the “neo-classic” type, narrow the organ with the shades open, but also scale and high-pitched, voiced with low sings a rich velvety solo line, particularly mouths and toes relatively closed. The in the tenor range, when the shades are use of such a stop fi gures in certain very closed. Finally, the capped Flugelhorn special registrations of Olivier Mes- walks the fi ne line of being able to simu- siaen. It is also the typical color of the late “full Swell” as a chorus reed, or play neo-classical epoch that considered the solo melodies against a variety of accom- effect of the Plein-jeux as an intense and paniment registrations. penetrating light, whose goal was to illu- Two other components are crucial to minate the foundations of the organ. On the success of this instrument: a very ef- the other hand, the classic conception fective swell box, and a virtually silent, interprets the Plein Jeu, the plenum, as well-regulated tremulant. A great deal of the result of a synthesis of harmonics: care was taken in making the swell box as one homogenous sonority with its vowel airtight as possible. The bottom 15 pipes sound perfectly defi ned. of the 16′ fl ute are wood, and mounted The reed stops differentiate them- horizontally behind the swell box, with selves in three different ways. their mouths speaking into it. The 16 The fi rst: classic, copying the “Dom- swell shades are operated noiselessly in Bédos” reeds of the Église Sainte-Croix 32 stages by an electric shade motor. in Bordeaux, for the reeds of the Grand- At a small dinner party the evening Orgue, Positif, and the Trompette, Haut- the tonal fi nishing was completed, the bois, and Voix humaine of the Récit- client chose as his opening selection Kegg Pipe Organ Builders, Palm Springs residence Echo, with their distinctive reeds made Alec Wyton’s arrangement of the Billy of brass in the form of a “U”, 2/3 open. Strayhorn tune, “Lotus Blossom.” We Tonal Resources SWELL ′ 1. 8′ Principal (unenclosed) 61 pipes 8′ Rohrfl ute 2 The second: the Clarinette 8 and the did not hear an organ preparing a player 2. 16′ Rohrfl ute 85 pipes 8′ Viola 4 Basson 8′ of the Récit-Echo, the Basson for a real performance somewhere else. ′ ′ ′ 3. 4 Harmonic Flute GG 54 pipes 8 Viola Celeste 5 16 of the Positif, with their “tear-drop” We heard an instrument completely con- 4. 8′ Viola GG 42 pipes 4′ Principal 6 reeds, according to the measurements of tent with its surroundings, happy to get 5. 8′ Viola Celeste TC 37 pipes 4′ Harmonic Flute 3 2 Cavaillé-Coll, and the Bassons 16′ and out of its own way and let the beautiful 6. 4′ Octave 73 pipes 2⁄3′ Nazard 7 1 ′ ′ 8′ of the Pédale, with their rectangular music sing for itself. And that is a deeply 7. 1 ⁄3 Quinte 49 pipes 2 Octave 6 8. 16′ Flugelhorn 85 pipes 2′ Flute 2 & 6 “tear-drop”, tin-plated reeds. rewarding experience for our company 3 1⁄5′ Tierce 2 & 6 The third: the harmonic reeds of the of organ builders. 1 GREAT 1⁄3′ Quinte 7 Grand-Récit Expressif, with their reeds —Fredrick Bahr 16′ Viola TC 4 1′ Fife 2 & 6 more closed, of the “Bertounèche” type 8′ Principal 1 16′ Bassoon 8 (Bertounèche was a French craftsman Kegg Pipe Organ Builders 8′ Harmonic Flute 2 & 3 8′ Flugelhorn 8 who made the shallots of Cavaillé-Coll’s Charles Kegg, President* 8′ Rohrfl ute 2 4′ Hautbois 8 reeds; this little enterprise existed, re- Fredrick Bahr, Tonal Director* 8′ Viola 4 Tremulant maining in productivity, until 1976). Philip Brown 8′ Viola Celeste 5 Swell 16, UO, 4 4′ Octave 6 MIDI Ch. 3 The acoustic of the church, where the Michael Carden ′ reverberation time is about three sec- Joyce Harper* 4 Harmonic Flute 3 4′ Rohrfl ute 2 PEDAL onds, can appear very short, yet it has the Philip Laakso 2′ Piccolo 3 & 6 16′ Bourdon 2 advantage of eliciting no deformation to Thomas Mierau* III Mixture 6 & 7 8′ Principal 1 the sound. The bass has a fl awless defi ni- Bruce Schutrum 8′ Flugelhorn 8 8′ Flute 2 tion and does not invade the space, and *members, American Institute of Organ- Swell to Great 8 8′ Viola 4 the higher pitches sound without any ag- builders MIDI Ch. 1 4′ Octave 1 gressiveness. There are no curved surfac- MIDI Ch. 2 2′ Cantus Flute 3 16′ Bassoon 8 es in the interior architecture that could Kegg Pipe Organ Builders ′ introduce disturbing reverberation. 1184 Woodland St., SW 8 Flugelhorn 8 4′ Hautbois 8 —Pascal Quoirin Hartville, OH 44632 Great to Pedal 8 http://www.atelier-quoirin.com/ 330/877-8800 Swell to Pedal 8, 4 [email protected] MIDI Ch. 4 Photo credit: Tom Ligamari www.keggorgan.com
32 THE DIAPASON
Nov 2011 pp. 30-32.indd 32 10/13/11 11:24:53 AM