OCTOBER, 2012 Independent Presbyterian Church Birmingham
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THE DIAPASON OCTOBER, 2012 Independent Presbyterian Church Birmingham, Alabama Cover feature on pages 26–28 THE DIAPASON Letters to the Editor A Scranton Gillette Publication One Hundred Third Year: No. 10, Whole No. 1235 OCTOBER, 2012 In the wind . and there are pointy-painful heat sinks Established in 1909 ISSN 0012-2378 John Bishop’s fascinating column (Au- (fi n-shaped radiators) across the back so An International Monthly Devoted to the Organ, gust 2012) on electricity and wind in they’re awful to handle. the Harpsichord, Carillon, and Church Music pipe organs misstates what rectifi ers and Yesterday, I installed a new rectifi er transformers do. A transformer takes an in an organ in Manhattan that was small AC voltage and changes it to another AC and light enough that I carried it in a voltage, e.g., 120 VAC to 12–16 VAC. A canvas “Bean Bag” on the subway along CONTENTS Editor & Publisher JEROME BUTERA [email protected] rectifi er then takes the stepped-down AC with my “city” tool kit. Obviously, there FEATURES 847/391-1045 voltage and rectifi es it to DC. It is that have been lots of changes in how “recti- DC which electrically powers the circuits fi ers” work, but whatever goes on inside, An Interview with Montserrat Torrent Associate Editor JOYCE ROBINSON of the organ. John has the functions of as long as they provide the power I need Queen of Iberian organ music [email protected] by Mark J. Merrill 19 transformers and rectifi ers reversed. to run an organ’s action I’m stuck with 847/391-1044 William Mitchell calling them “rectifi ers.” An American Organ Moves to Germany Contributing Editors LARRY PALMER Columbus, Ohio Mr. Gadbois correctly states that elec- Steer & Turner Opus 14 trical voltage is comparable to the pres- by Jay Zoller 20 Harpsichord In The Diapason’s August 2012 edi- sure of air or water while wattage is the Mamusia: Paul Wolfe Remembers JAMES MCCRAY tion of “In the wind . .” in his section amount of fl ow. We fi ll a car tire with 35 Wanda Landowska Choral Music “Electricity in Pipe Organs,” I believe PSI (pounds per square inch) of pres- by Craig Smith 23 John Bishop’s description of electricity sure, and we run a living room light bulb BRIAN SWAGER Carillon has some inaccuracies. If I am not mis- at 120VAC. At 120VAC that light bulb NEWS & DEPARTMENTS taken, rectifi ers convert AC to DC but can use 20 watts or 200 watts of power— Editor’s Notebook 3 JOHN BISHOP don’t convert voltages and don’t neces- the more power you let fl ow through a Letters to the Editor 3 In the wind . sarily contain transformers. Transform- bulb, the brighter the light. Here & There 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 12 ers raise or lower AC voltages, but don’t I wrote that Thomas Edison wired the Appointments 8 GAVIN BLACK work with DC voltages. So therefore to New York home of J. P. Morgan with DC Nunc Dimittis 11 On Teaching convert 120VAC to 12VDC the power power and that George Westinghouse In the wind . by John Bishop 13 must fi rst go through a transformer to promoted AC power. I fi rst learned of Reviewers John L. Speller On Teaching by Gavin Black 15 lower the voltage and then through a the intense political battle, including the John Collins rectifi er to convert to DC. In addition to story of the electric chair, between the REVIEWS Kenneth Udy pipe organs, most electronic gadgets that two “titans of power” in the marvelous Music for Voices and Organ 16 plug into the power outlet work that way. book Empires of Light: Edison, Tesla, New Recordings 17 Also voltage is not a measure of power Westinghouse, and the Race to Electrify New Organ Music 18 but of pressure (as in wind pressure). the World, written by Jill Jonnes and Current is a measure of electrical fl ow published by Random House (2004). (as in wind fl ow). Electrical power is a Visit your independent bookstore and NEW ORGANS 28 THE DIAPASON (ISSN 0012-2378) is published monthly by Scranton Gillette Communications, Inc., 3030 W. Salt measure in watts of how much electric- pick up a copy. It’s the ideal non-fi ction CALENDAR 29 Creek Lane, Suite 201, Arlington Heights, IL 60005-5025. ity can be used given a particular voltage book—an erudite telling of a complicat- Phone 847/391-1045. Fax 847/390-0408. Telex: 206041 and resistance (as in how many pipes can ed subject that’s fun to read. ORGAN RECITALS 33 MSG RLY. E-mail: <[email protected]>. Subscriptions: 1 yr. $38; 2 yr. $60; 3 yr. $80 (Unit- sound given the amount of wind pres- John Bishop ed States and U.S. Possessions). Foreign subscrip- sure and fl ow). CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING 34 tions: 1 yr. $48; 2 yr. $70; 3 yr. $95. Single copies $6 (U.S.A.); $8 (foreign). Edison invented and championed DC Gavin Black: recital programming Back issues over one year old are available only from power, while Westinghouse championed Gavin Black’s articles on recital pro- The Organ Historical Society, Inc., P.O. Box 26811, Rich- AC power. Edison’s DC power plants gramming in the July and August issues Cover: Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, mond, VA 23261, which can supply information on avail- Lake City, Iowa; Independent Presbyterian abilities and prices. couldn’t carry power effi ciently more are detailed and informative. However, I Periodical postage paid at Pontiac, IL and additional than a mile or so, while Westinghouse’s feel that he has omitted one major con- Church, Birmingham, Alabama 26 mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE DIAPASON, 3030 W. Salt Creek Lane, Suite 201, Ar- AC plants, the power being converted sideration in his articles, or at least he lington Heights, IL 60005-5025. to higher voltages by transformers, did not comment strongly on one aspect. Routine items for publication must be received six could travel great distances and then be Who is the audience? I feel that we can- weeks in advance of the month of issue. For advertising www.TheDiapason.com copy, the closing date is the 1st. Prospective contributors lowered in voltage on the other end by not afford to “turn off” even one listener of articles should request a style sheet. Unsolicited re- other transformers. The political battle to organ music. We need to program piec- views cannot be accepted. This journal is indexed in the The Music Index, an- between Edison and Westinghouse over es that will work together, as described notated in Music Article Guide, and abstracted in RILM DC and AC was over the safety of AC. in the July and August articles, but we Abstracts. Edison promoted AC electric chairs to also need to draw the listeners into the Copyright ©2012. Printed in the U.S.A. make the public believe how deadly it program—we need to meet them where THE DIAPASON accepts no responsibility or liability was, but he eventually lost out. DC pow- they are, and move them forward. In ad- for the validity of information supplied by contributors, er can kill too as is evidenced by people dition, he did not comment on the length vendors, advertisers or advertising agencies. falling on the “third rail” of electric tran- of programs. sit trains. Years ago I ran into the prominent No portion of the contents of this issue may be reproduced in any form without the specifi c written permission Robert Gadbois piano teacher in my town. I invited her of the Editor, except that libraries are authorized to make photocopies of the material contained herein for the purpose of course reserve reading at the rate of one copy for every fi fteen students. Such copies may be reused for Chicago, Illinois to come to a program I was doing in a other courses or for the same course offered subsequently. day or two. She said she NEVER went John Bishop replies: to organ programs because they were Thanks to William Mitchell and to so funereal. Several years later she was Robert Gadbois for their thoughtful re- widowed and married a man who greatly sponses to my column in the August is- liked organ music. They came to my next Editor’s Notebook sue of The Diapason. program. Afterwards, she was beside Both are correct in describing the dif- herself. She said that she had no idea ference between a “transformer” and a how interesting the organ and its music In this issue check the information. To update, con- “rectifi er” and I appreciate their shar- could be. I’m happy to say that she and Among the offerings in this issue of tact Joyce Robinson at 847/391-1044 or ing that with our readers. However, I her husband attended all of my recitals The Diapason, Mark J. Merrill inter- <[email protected]>. was speaking generally about pipe organ after that. However, I wonder how many views Iberian organist Montserrat Tor- To reserve advertising space in the “rectifi ers”—an item in a supplier’s cata- possible organ listeners were lost earlier rent; Jay Zoller documents the move of 2013 Directory, contact me. The dead- logue or on an invoice. For the purpose when she did not encourage her piano Steer & Turner Opus 14 from Keene, line for advertising is November 1. of this discussion, I was referring to the students to attend organ recitals. New Hampshire to Cologne, Germany; unit we call a rectifi er, without worry- We need to consider the purpose of and Craig Smith presents Paul Wolfe’s Full-color launch / digital edition ing about the details of what’s inside the the recital.