July 2005

Mention the name of the French organist-composer Jeanne Demessieux (1921-68) and someone will broach a tantalizing question from the history of the Paris organ world: why in 1946 did Marcel Dupré bring to a sudden end both his five-year-long artistic collaboration with Jeanne Demessieux and the close friendship he and his wife shared with the Demessieux family? No one knows, but recently rediscovered primary sources shed light on the matter.

Bedient Pipe Organ Company, Roca, Nebraska, Opus 67: Holy Cross Evangelical Lutheran Church, Rocklin, California; Fabry Inc., Fox Lake, Illinois: First Congregational Church, Huntley, Illinois; Glück New York, New York, New York: New York Stake Center, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, New York, New York

Rieger-Orgelbau GmbH, Schwarzach, Austria: Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania

Why in 1946 did Marcel Dupré bring to a sudden end both his five-year-long artistic collaboration with Jeanne Demessieux and the close friendship he and his wife shared with the Demessieux family? No one knows, but recently rediscovered primary sources shed light on the matter.

In 2005, from April 7–9, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Music and the Westfield Center held a symposium entitled “The Organ as Mirror of Religion and Culture—Temperament, Sound and Symbolism.” This symposium was also sponsored by the Schola Cantorum of St. Cecilia Cathedral in Omaha, Nebraska. The new Pasi dual temperament organ made these far-reaching discussions possible in a way one could only dream of a decade ago.

Last month’s issue of The Diapason began the fictional story of one church’s experience with the process of purchasing and installing a new pipe organ. We continue the tale as the new organ actually arrives at the church.

William C. Huffman