The Organ Forum

The past four days in New York have been really hectic but it was a blast. I made a mental note to myself to see an organ in the big apple. I thought maybe I'd see a B3 at a Jazz club, but I only got to go to one Jazz club (Bowery Poetry Club) and it was a vibraphone player (really wicked player, can't remember his name, but I believe he had a French accent). So finally at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the Musical Instruments section is this lovely little beauty poted for your enjoyment.

Pictures by Me. Copy them, print them do what you will with them.

For more info http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_Art/viewOne.asp?dep=18&viewmode=0&item=1982%2E59

More Pictures:

I almost forgot: The Museum also has an exceptional collection of harpsichords (about a dozen) including one with bass pedals.

This one is quite large and striking.

This is the bass pedal harpsichord. Sorry, Its really dark because you can't use a flash and the intrument section is really dark.

E Power Biggs did a great LP many years ago, playing Bach on pedal harpsichord - really different.

Andy

chchaisson:

Ah, that Appleton organ is really something!  Our POE group got to play it a couple years back, and it was in perfect working order; the museum takes good care of it.

How would one get an opportunity to play the instrument?

My wife and I have hosted over 30 exchange students, and we take them all to NYC, and the Metropolitan Museum is one of our mandatory stops.  Unfortunately, NYC is most foreigner's view of America.  So, we get the NYC trip out of the way and then spend the rest of the year trying to show them what America is really like.

myorgan:

So, we get the NYC trip out of the way and then spend the rest of the year trying to show them what America is really like.

Hey - New York is America! 

Especially if you are one of the many lucky souls who live there.

(speaking as a former resident of NYC) 

myorgan:

How would one get an opportunity to play the instrument?

That's simple... contact the curator!  He might say "no", but he might also say "yes". 

soubasse32:

myorgan:

So, we get the NYC trip out of the way and then spend the rest of the year trying to show them what America is really like.

Hey - New York is America! 

Especially if you are one of the many lucky souls who live there.

(speaking as a former resident of NYC) 

 

Nah nah nah! Being an upstater after we tell them we're from New York, they ask what Borough! Dah!

Sure the city is great, if you don't ever want to see stars, trees, or grass ever again! When the city folks come to town, they seem almost scared of all these wide open fields and woods! Why, cows (which outnumber us humans out here) are real novelties to them, ha!

America may seem different to forigners when they see the city, but after they see how the past three generations have lived up here, they'll think it's not so different after all.

soubasse32:

Hey - New York is America! 

Especially if you are one of the many lucky souls who live there.

(speaking as a former resident of NYC) 

I'm confused.  If NYC was so great, why did you leave?   Hmmm.

BTW, I've also wondered about a particular organ in NYC.  I played it about a week or two before the WTC disasters.  I was at a conference at the Citibank center on 56th? Street, and in the bottom floor of the building was a Catholic? church.  The organist let me practice a little on the instrument when I asked.  I don't remember that it was anything great, but it did strike me from a design aspect because some of the façade pipes were mounted up-side-down (and I believe were working pipes).  I've been to the NYC AGO website, and the organ doesn't appear to be listed there anywhere.

I've often wondered how gravity would affect the speech of a pipe, but always imagined that under enough pressure, it wouldn't affect the tone much at all.

Just curious.

Michael

myorgan:

soubasse32:

(speaking as a former resident of NYC) 

I'm confused.  If NYC was so great, why did you leave?   Hmmm.

I lived there as a student; when my studies finished I had to move away in order to manage a family business.  If I had a choice at that time, I would still be there today!  

BTW, I've also wondered about a particular organ in NYC.  I played it about a week or two before the WTC disasters.  I was at a conference at the Citibank center on 56th? Street, and in the bottom floor of the building was a Catholic? church.  The organist let me practice a little on the instrument when I asked.  I don't remember that it was anything great, but it did strike me from a design aspect because some of the façade pipes were mounted up-side-down (and I believe were working pipes).  I've been to the NYC AGO website, and the organ doesn't appear to be listed there anywhere.

Ah, that's easy.    That is St. Peter's Lutheran Church, with a Klais organ:  http://www.nycago.org/Organs/NYC/html/StPeterLuth.html

I've often wondered how gravity would affect the speech of a pipe, but always imagined that under enough pressure, it wouldn't affect the tone much at all.

Keep in mind that some of the façade pipes in any organ may not be speaking pipes; however, in this instance I'd bet that they are speaking pipes.

Inverting a pipe has no bearing on its tone, but there is one rather odd consequence: most pipes suffer from sagging languids over the course of many decades; in this instance, the languids would rise over time.

Do you mind if I jump in here to share an organ-related story from NY?

I was there for the first time in June 1998, 22 years old, fresh out of college, and not having really played the organ seriously for the previous 3 or 4 years. I knew about the Mander organ at Ignatius Loyola, so one Sunday morning I attended the ceremony and went hunting for the organist afterwards. I met Nancianne, who was as friendly as I could possibly imagine, expressing her surprise and happiness that word of the Mander had filtered all the way to Ireland. She gracefully showed me round the instrument, demonstrating various aspects, before saying that she really would love to stay longer, but she had an appointment elsewhere.

"That's no problem", I said, "it was really great to see it."

"Don't you want to play it?" she responded.

"I thought you were leaving?" I said.  

"I am, but you can stay as long as you want. Just pull the door behind you when you're finished." 

I was nothing short of astonished!! Here I was, left alone at the console to do as I saw fit. What followed was one of the happiest 45 minute periods I've ever put in. I'd NEVER played an organ of that size before, in a proper acoustic. I had never played an organ with 32' stops. I was in my element. The only unfortunate thing was that it had been so long since I'd played very much, my memory for pieces wasn't great, but I had fun with what I could remember.

To this day I still can't believe the generosity I was shown there. Isn't it great when something like that happens?

PS I love New York. It I go through my whole life without living there for even a little while, I'll be very disappointed. 

Hi Maestro Soubasse32,

Aha, someone has played the Klais at St. Peter's in New York.  All the pipes in the facade speak.  I know this because I was a member there and the organist Dr. Thomas Schmidt was a piano pedagoge of mine many years ago before he became organist /cantor/music director at St. Peter's.  The former organist Dr. Gordon Jones was a dear family friend who reposed in 1990 was a really great man, mensch, and musical whiz.

Cheers,

K-Phone