It's been a while since I've posted, because I've been so busy with my studies. Finals are right around the corner, so I probably won't post anything else for another week or two, but I'll make it a good one!
Last night was a really fun night for me for a couple reasons:
1. I got to play a fantastic little pipe organ!
and 2. I went on a fun date after I finished playing!
As the title suggests, that is nearly my ideal Friday night!
The organ I played was an 8-rank, 2-manual Wicks organ in the chapel at the Utah State Hospital in Provo, UT. They have the chapel to provide a worship space for their patients, no matter their beliefs, so the space is configured to be able to support LDS sacrament meetings, as well as Catholic Mass, and other religious services, along with meetings for Alcoholics Anonymous, etc.
Here's a link to their website, with an outdoor photo of the chapel:
I was able to play this chapel because it was rented out for the evening by Arches Academy, a small private school where my mom is a member of the faculty. Arches rented out the chapel for the evening for their annual Christmas concert, featuring the students of the school. My mom spoke to some of her fellow faculty members, and found out that there was a one-hour window--that happened to fit my schedule perfectly--in which I could go in and play the organ. I am grateful to the staff of the Utah State Hospital and the faculty of Arches Academy for making it possible for me to play in such a beautiful space on such a fun instrument!
The thing that makes this organ unique in this area is that it is positioned at the back of the hall. That is unusual for this area, since there is a very high number of LDS church buildings, and they all have their organs positioned at the front of the room, rather than the rear.
Here's a photo of the rear with the organ (pipes and console) taken from just forward of the center of the hall:
Here's the front of the hall, for those who are curious:
Here's a closer-up view of the pipe facade. Notice a couple things: First of all, no swell box. This organ does not have expressive capabilities (For my non-organist friends, this doesn't mean that I can't use it to express myself, but rather that I can't control the volume of the sound directly. I can add and remove stops, but not change the volume of the stops I have pulled.). Second, You will see some pipes left of center in this photo that appear to be in pairs. These are not a 2-rank Sesquialtera Mixture, but rather a 2-rank Erzähler stop. This is probably my favorite stop on this organ, and it occurs both on Manual I and Manual II, as this organ refers to them as, either as both ranks together, or individually. Manual I also has a 16' Erzähler, which is also beautiful. It's a hybrid sound, in between a principal and string sound, and I like the sound because it doesn't get as buzzy as strings sometimes can, and it's softer and smoother than a principal. Erzähler are hard to find, and are great for prelude or any meditative music.
My parents came to see me play for a few minutes, and my dad was once again my photographer:
It was really nice, I played a few different hymns and a pop song, then spent a good 20 minutes doing some improvisations on Christmas songs (mostly religious, but a couple were secular)!
Here's a closer-up view of the Zymbelstern, as I described in my post about the Provo Central Stake Center Organ. The kids who were coming into the concert loved this, they were simply enthralled by it! Those who had come before I left (I had to leave before the concert started) stood there in awe when I "made the bells ring," as did some of their parents! In this case, the bells are hanging on little wire hangers, and there is a set of small clappers (like mallets) that spin around when a toe piston is pushed, ringing the bells and creating a lovely twinkling, tinkling sound in the room. You can see it near the center of this photo, just above the center supporting beam for the organ.
Here's the console, and it's a pretty unusual design. It's narrow at the top, like a Holtkamp, but it uses drawknobs above the manuals, instead of the stop tabs or tablets typical of this design. (Non-organists: drawknobs are pulled out like these. Most of the other organs I have played use stop tabs, so just look back at some of my other photos if you are curious.) It was pretty comfortable to play though, I felt right at home, and I really enjoyed being able to observe what was happening from the back of the room. That was fun! That said, this organ has no reed stops, and no mixtures, either. I can't say I'm surprised, though, because the space is rather small, and a reed chorus could easily overpower someone sitting in the congregation. The principal chorus (with a flute for the 2' instead of a principal) is plenty powerful, and adding some of the mutations to the 2' gives you a pseudo-mixture, which produces a similar effect to an actual mixture stop. To be honest, it was refreshing to see an organ with more focus on some beautiful quiet stops, rather than some beautiful loud ones. The Erzähler stops are a very, very welcome addition!
And here's my selfie:
I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday season! In case I don't get to write another post until then, Merry Christmas to you all, and remember that Jesus Christ is the reason for the season!
Utah State Hospital Chapel (Multi-Use):
Built By: Wicks Organ Company
Opus Number (if indicated):
Year: Unknown, rebuilt 1993-1994
Manuals: 2
Ranks: 8
Location: 1300 E Center St. Provo, UTUtah State Hospital - Stoplist
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