Friends, Fugues and Fournitures

Let me just start with a shout out to my awesome readers! You have helped me locate so many new organs to play, got me access to play them, and supplied me with such great and detailed information about these instruments. THANK YOU!!! 

As a small announcement, I will be adding a link to a stoplist for each organ in Utah County I have shown here on the blog. The link will be at the bottom of each post near the specifications and address for each organ. I'm still working on getting some of the information, so stoplists will be going up one by one, but keep an eye out for them.

This week has been a wonderful week for me as an organist. On Saturday, I went to the Utah Valley American Guild or Organists' Pedals, Pipes and Pizza activity on Saturday, and I got to go inside Bigelow's Opus 16! It was a really neat experience to see the inside of an organ up close. I also noticed how meticulously crafted, tuned and maintained Bigelow organs are. I've seen the pipework of several instruments up close, and Bigelow's is so pristine, right down to the tuning scrolls on the pipes Here's a picture of me inside the organ:

Yes, it was a great day, as you can tell by my face. I also made some new friends in the local AGO chapter, which was wonderful! I even met a couple of fans of Pedals and Pipework, which was really cool! 

One of the people I met, Bryce, made me an offer I couldn't refuse, to play the organ at the Alpine Stake Tabernacle in American Fork! We set a time on Monday, and I met him at the Tabernacle to discuss and play this instrument. We were joined by David Chamberlin, who I have mentioned before, a local organ builder and talented organist who is very versed in the history of the Alpine Tabernacle Organ. 

Here's a picture of the organ, and I'll give you the condensed version of the Organ's history:

This organ was completed in 1923 by the Austin Organ Company, after persuasion by John J. McClellan, tabernacle organist (and my relative) to have Austin, one of the foremost organ builders at the time and who had just renovated and expanded the Salt Lake Tabernacle organ, to build this one. Over the years, some changes were made. The current Trompette was originally a Tuba stop, and the organ got a new console in 1976 after being vandalized. When this happened, several stop tabs were added, plans having been made to add these ranks to the organ, but they have not yet been added, and the new console is almost 40 years old. Stops that were simply "prepared for" have a red dot on the stop tab, so as not to confuse the organist. Here's the console:

You'll see from the stop list, this organ is very symphonic. It has both a clarinet and an oboe, a vox humana, some beautiful flutes, and two separate ranks of strings with accompanying celestes. Another interesting thing about this organ, is that some of the ranks extend up to the 2' range, even though there are no functioning 2' stops on the organ. This top octave of pipes is accessed using a 4' coupler, meaning that everything being coupled is played an octave higher than normal. This allows something resembling a full principal chorus to be achieved.

Also, the bar above each divison's stops is a divisional cancel when depressed. I can't tell you how many times I have wanted one of these! Sometimes, I'll have the Pedal set up just right, but I need to start from scratch on the Swell, so I push the general cancel and Whoops! There goes my perfect pedal. This is a feature more organ builders should integrate into their consoles, it makes it so much easier to play. 

This console was also a little confusing at first to me, since there are two rows of stop tabs. With stop jambs and drawknobs, I know the standard location of the divisions, as I do with a single row of stop tabs, but with more than one row, it confused me at first, but it's less confusing after playing for a while. This organ's manuals are also farther apart vertically than they are on other three-manual organs I have played, which, once again, took some getting used to, but is fine after playing for a bit.

This organ's sound is unique. It's not quite like anything else I've ever played. The Tutti is not quieter, but less bright than on most of the organs I have played. I understand this is part of the design, and I like it. This organ is capable for pieces some traditional or more baroque-style pipe organs would not necessarily be capable of. And I love the eclectic nature of symphonic organs, there are so many different tone colors to play with, even on organs with relatively few ranks for a symphonic instrument. 

Here's another view of the organ, from the balcony. Bryce made it in this shot! He's at the console:

This is the last tabernacle we have in Utah County, and we are very blessed to have it. I don't think many people realize what a treasure this instrument is. Though it has had some minor changes over the years, this instrument is pretty close to how it sounded in 1923 when it was first installed. And it's still in amazing condition, with Austin's impeccable build quality manifest in every piece I had contact with. The organ sounds wonderful and brings life to the space. I see why John J. McClellan wanted this organ installed, it's wonderful, and most of all unique.

And here are a couple fun photos; my selfie and a nice shot of me at the console!

Keep your eyes out for more posts soon! I have several pictures from last year I still need to show you, and some new organs to play as well, thanks to you!

Have a great week, everyone!

LDS Alpine Stake Tabernacle:

Built By: Austin Organs, Inc.

Opus Number (if indicated): 1130

Year: 1923

Manuals: 3

Ranks: 20

Location: 100 E Main St. American Fork, UT

Alpine Stake Tabernacle - Stoplist

A Personal Record and a Personal Connection

First of all, Happy New Year everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've posted, I've been pretty busy with finals, and with work over my Christmas break from school. I still have a few older pictures to post, so I'll be finishing with those soon, and I will be trying to play more organs as time permits.

Also, for anyone who is interested, or has kids who are interested in organs, there's an event going on this Saturday morning here in Utah Valley sponsored by the American Guild of Organists, called "Pedals, Pipes, & Pizza." It's a great opportunity for children, adults, and young people to get to know more about how a pipe organ works, and about what organs are all about. More info is available here for those who are interested in attending.

I gave this post the title "A Personal Record and a Personal Connection." The personal record occurred back in July, in that I played three different pipe organs in one day. I'll get to that in a minute.

I was browsing some articles on various organs the LDS Church owns, and I discovered one that mentioned Alexander Schreiner, one of the greatest organists to ever serve at the Salt Lake LDS Tabernacle. It mentioned in passing the name of his teacher, John J. McClellan, who also served as organist at the Tabernacle, and on the LDS Church's original music committee. I knew that I have some ancestors who are McClellans, so I looked at my family history, and, lo and behold, John Jasper McClellan, Jr. is my Great-Great-Great-Swell Uncle! (Just kidding about the Swell, though I'm sure he was a swell guy...) In his time McClellan would have overseen the renovation of the Tabernacle Organ by the Austin Organ Company in 1915 (its second renovation, it has undergone two since then), and of course played it extensively. It's pretty neat to know that I'm related to one of the early organists at the Tabernacle! What a privilege! I guess I know where my love of organ music comes from!

So there's the personal connection. Now on to the personal record.

One evening in early August of last year, I decided to go check some out. I ended up driving all over Orem a couple of times, since the Sharon Stake Center (photos to come soon) was locked, and when I initially went to the Cascade 1st & 2nd Ward Building, someone was actually practicing the organ, so I found another and went back later. The Sharon 1st & 2nd ward building was a surprise, I didn't know if it actually had a pipe organ, but I got in and played it. I ended up driving past it and the Sharon Stake center several times to check and see if they were open, and it all paid off eventually.

And yes, you counted that correctly. Three different pipe organs in the same evening. What a day!

Let's start at the Sunset Heights Stake Center. I knew about this organ since a good friend of mine was baptized at this chapel my senior year of High School. I remember the organ being very striking, as it looked different from most other LDS chapels, and most pipe organs I had seen up to that point.

Here's a photo of the facade:

As you can see, it's a combination of exposed pipework (front center, nothing around the pipes), encased pipework (front right and left, pipes in gothic arches), and enclosed pipework (visible through the open swell shades, rear center). This is one of my favorite LDS organ facades, because it is so unique and eclectic. You really don't see much else like this in an LDS chapel, the organ usually doesn't try to draw so much attention to itself.

Here's the console:

The on switch is under the edge to the right of the manuals, and is somewhat hidden. This organ has three memory positions, and a Full Organ toe piston, which was broken when I visited it. Both the memory and full organ pistons are mechanical. They physically move the rocker tabs, not with a motor. The rocker tabs are also heavier than I expected, leading me to believe that they are at least partially mechanical as well. 

And here's the selfie:

This organ was built by the Reuter company, which is uncommon for LDS chapels, much like the design. I love the tone quality of this organ, I find it to be more smooth and refined than you find in most Wicks organs. The principals and flutes are clear and bright enough, and it has a "Geigen Principal," which is a hybrid string/principal stop, a more principal-like version of a Gemshorn or an Erzahler. Very nice!

On to the next organ, at the Cascade 1st & 2nd Ward Chapel. The LDS seminary I attended in high school used to have morningside meetings, where a guest speaker would come teach about the Gospel, in this building from time to time. I don't remember ever attending one, but I wish I had, just look at that organ! 

This organ is one I would love to have in my chapel, because I love the facade, and I love the tonal diversity of it, as compared to other LDS chapel organs built around the same time (1970s). This one has several unique stops, which I will explain shortly. Above you get a good view of the powerful16' Trompette pipes, positioned vertically along either side. These play with a powerful force that shakes the console! They are very fun to play!

Here's a wider view:

And the selfie...

Here's the console, drawknobs and all! This organ has 13 ranks of pipes, which is one of the larger organs I have seen in an LDS building, so I guess there wasn't enough room for stop tabs. Drawknobs, such as these, in addition to being great fun to play (you actually get to 'pull out all the stops!'), allow the organ builder to position more stops within easy reach on the console.

Here are a couple of the unique ones. In addition to having an extremely high (an somewhat piercing) 1' principal stop, this organ has a 4' Schalmei in the Pedal division (top center of the photo below) and an 8' Rohr Schalmei in the Swell. I like the sound of these, they are soft solo reeds, much like an oboe, but I didn't know what a Schalmei was. According to the internet, a Schalmei is an ancient instrument considered to be the predecessor to the oboe, much like the krummhorn is considered predecessor to the clarinet.

This building is nice as well, so here's a wider view of the chapel:

Starting with the selfie this time, for the Sharon 1st & 2nd Wards. This was a nice surprise, as I wasn't aware of this organ until I played it. The building was available when I happened to stop by, and I discovered this neat little instrument.

The way they positioned the pipes here, and the high ceiling of the chapel makes for a nice acoustic space, as well as a grand appearance:

Here's the view from the console:

And here's a view of the console. This organ didn't seem too special compared to other Wicks instruments at first, but then I remembered that it is only the second one I have seen with a 32' resultant stop. Looking around, I couldn't see where they could possibly have put 32' pipes, and it turns out I needn't have wondered. This stop is a Resultant, which uses a 16' rank and a 10 2/3' rank to produce the same harmonics as a 32' rank does. Playing a piece at full organ, it honestly doesn't make a ton of a difference, but, now that I know how to use it, I imagine it can be fun to engage on a final chord, to a nice effect.

Also, this is the first time I ever saw an old MIDI sequencer on a pipe organ. This is probably the oldest one I have ever seen, and I have since seen the same unit on two other organs. It allows for organists to create their own profile, which is just a memory level with their name on it, and lets one save his or her memory settings to a floppy disk, or a USB flash drive on newer models.

Was that post long enough for you? I'll be posting more pictures soon, I still have a couple more sets of "organ-hunting" pictures from last summer I haven't had time to upload. I'll continue to upload new pictures as I take them. I'm also working on uploading some recordings as well, so you can hear the stops I talk about enjoying so much!

Organ Specifications:

Orem Sunset Heights Stake(LDS):

Built By: Reuter Organ Company

Opus Number (if indicated): 1812

Year: 1972

Manuals: 2

Ranks: 11

Location: 1260 S 400 W Orem, UT

Sunset Heights Stake - Stoplist

Cascade 1st & 2nd Wards(LDS):

Built By: Wicks Organ Company

Opus Number (if indicated): 

Year: 1973

Manuals: 2

Ranks: 13

Location: 481 E Center St. Orem, UT

LDS Sharon 1st & 2nd Wards:

Built By: Wicks Organ Company

Opus Number (if indicated): 

Year: 1974

Manuals: 2

Ranks: 8

Location: 641 S 400 E Orem, UT