The latest in a series of new concert hall organs was recently inaugurated to great fanfare in Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center. Finally able to show off the completed organ in Verizon Hall, Philadelphians were justifiably proud of their newest musical accomplishment, after only being able to see—not hear—its façade these past five years. The instrument was built by Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, Ltd. of Lake City, Iowa. As is the case with so many huge organ projects, this one took a long time, some eight years to complete. While the project was initiated back in 1998, only the façade could be completed in time for the opening of the new hall in December, 2001. (Verizon is the name of the Kimmel Center’s concert hall, the Perelman Theater being its other, smaller space.) Almost five more years were then required to complete it and find time within the hall’s busy schedule to allow for the remainder of the installation, voicing, finishing, and tuning. Some 52,000 hours of labor were invested in its creation, plus another 10,000 hours for installation and voicing. Reportedly the largest concert hall organ of this generation, it’s a giant at 125 ranks, 6,938 pipes, two consoles, 300 levels of memory, four blowers, weighing 32 tons, and occupying a space 24' deep, 36' wide, and 55' tall. The centrally placed instrument dominates the hall visually. Its 32' façade, tilted slightly forward to accommodate the angles of the balconies, is placed high in the room, behind and above the stage, and is surrounded by seats that can function as either audience seating or choir loft. The attached tracker-action console is placed slightly under the façade, with openings in the overhead chamber floor to help the organist hear better. A TV monitor above the music rack helps visual communication with the stage. The second, movable console is of elegant, terraced design, and was prominently placed on the stage for the entire weekend, the one exception being for Saint-Saëns’ Third Symphony when the crowded stage required use of the attached console. Of special interest is the stage console’s bench, which looks a little like a teeter-totter. Its seat is balanced on a central pillar with cut-away sides, allowing the audience an unusually good view of feet and pedals.
Philadelphia is a city known for other outstanding instruments (Wanamaker, Girard College, etc.) and is enthusiastic about its newest acquisition, known as the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ. Fans turned out in droves for the festive weekend—I attended eight performances in three days. All orchestra performances were sold out months in advance, and Saturday’s five-hour recital marathon attracted more than 2,000 enthusiastic listeners. Promotional material abounded—TV, kiosks, newspapers, magazines, bus panels, etc. The city was eager to hear its new organ.
Design and acoustics
Dobson states that his goal was to build an instrument that would meet the following four requirements:
• Have a dynamic range that exceeds that of the orchestra. It is not enough to depend on a chorus of high pressure reeds to provide the dynamic strength required to balance the orchestra. Every stop in every division must contribute to a grand crescendo.
• Possess a great variety of tone color. While transparent tone is characteristic of instruments of former ages, such tone is not appropriate for 19th-century literature. Bold, massed foundation stops and strong unison up
perwork should provide brightness without the appearance of parallel fifths found in mixtures. • Unyielding bass. While the orchestra possesses an incredible range of pitch and sonority, it cannot supply sustained tones of very low pitch. Thus the new organ has a wide range of 16' and 32' tone.
• An immediacy comparable to the orchestral instruments. The organ is placed in a case that assists in the projection of sound. This marriage of classical layout with romantic tonal concepts greatly aids the organ’s presence in the hall.
I sat in many different locations during the weekend, and the organ had a wonderful sense of presence everywhere, never seeming buried or remote. While the acoustics of the room are not as reverberant as organists would normally choose, the space nevertheless allows the organ tone to bloom and expand. It never seemed to be an overly “dry” room to me, as some have complained, but I noticed that the adjustable reverberation chamber doors, ARTEC’s signature acoustical design, were variously opened—much like an organ’s swell shades—and were never completely closed the entire weekend. However, even when completely open there were not two seconds of reverberation.
Olivier Latry performs with the Philadelphia Orchestra
I heard the concert Friday evening, May 12, featuring Olivier Latry as organ soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Christoph Eschenbach conducting. Latry is one of three organists at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. The Philadelphia Orchestra and the Kimmel Center had jointly commissioned Gerald Levinson, a composer now teaching at Swarthmore College, to write a new piece for the occasion. Toward Light is a bombastic piece, featuring blocks of orchestral and organ sounds, sometimes separate, sometimes combined. Exotic percussion instruments were occasionally heard, as was the large 20-bell zimbelstern placed atop and to the left of the façade. Various choruses of the orchestra and organ bantered back and forth, but the organization of the piece, if there was one, escaped these ears.
Samuel Barber’s popular Toccata Festiva was a welcome contrast. Barber, one of the Curtis Institute’s most prominent graduates, composed the piece for the 1960 inauguration of the Aeolian-Skinner organ in the Academy of Music. This night the organ and orchestra blended and balanced extremely well, and the long pedal cadenza absolutely mesmerized the audience. (Composers take note: if you want to captivate an audience, write an extended solo passage for the organ’s pedals. It’s magic!) Latry’s console manner is incredibly quiet; he sat almost motionless even during the complex pedal solo, and there were no exaggerated body movements or contortions as were displayed by some of the next day’s recitalists.
For the Toccata and the remainder of the concert, the acoustical canopy above the stage was lowered like an alien space ship to about mid-way, and while it didn’t block the organ façade from my seat on the first floor, those in the upper tiers had their view somewhat obscured. I didn’t notice that it diminished the organ sound, but apparently it was intended to do just that, and also help the orchestra musicians better hear themselves.
Next was Francis Poulenc’s Concerto in G minor for Organ, Strings, and Timpani, clearly a favorite of organists, orchestras, and audience. Here the organ’s extensive tonal palette came to the fore, as well as its wide dynamic range, allowing it to sometimes fade away into the vapors. At these moments one became aware of the extremely quiet ambiance of the room, never hearing any extraneous or mechanical noises. Intermission permitted time to visually explore the hall. Its shape is inspired by the body of a cello, and, with the exception of upholstered seats, virtually every surface—walls, ceilings, floors, and aisles—is wood, mostly very red mahogany—a red that took some getting used to. The second half of the program was devoted to Camille Saint-Saëns’ Symphony No. 3 in C minor (“Organ”). For this performance Latry sat silently at the tracker console during the long first movement, and when the organ finally made its entrance one knew instantly why concert halls need organs—authentic, artistically designed and finished pipe organs. Here the warmth and quiet elegance of the Dobson instrument stirred the heart, and when the great C major chord announced the finale those hearts were sent into near cardiac arrest.
After the concert, the audience was invited to stay for an organ “postlude,” and some 1500 remained while Mr. Latry returned to the stage console for Franck’s Chorale No. 3, Widor’s Andante Sostenuto from the Gothic Symphony, and the Vierne Carillon de Westminster. Standing ovations honored Mr. Latry, members of the Dobson firm, and the new organ. Clearly the audience loved all they saw and heard.
A five-organist recital
Saturday afternoon offered an opportunity to hear the organ as a recital instrument, featuring five organists, mostly with ties to the Curtis Institute, and, I suspect, mostly more experienced with electric action consoles. All five used the stage console, perhaps because of limited rehearsal time (the tracker console would initially require more time for registration), but because it also brought the performer and audience much closer together. Communication between the two was ideal, even with some of the 2,000-plus audience hanging over the railings of the upper tiers. Michael Barone served as host for the marathon event, offering friendly, conversational introductions of performers and music. Incidentally, Mr. Barone, known for his weekly radio program Pipedreams, has been engaged by the Kimmel Center to serve as advisor on various organ-related matters including artists, repertoire, education, and marketing. His expertise and involvement should help make certain the organ will continue to be frequently heard in concert and recital.
Marvin Mills was an engaging first performer, opening the afternoon with a varied program drawn from the 19th and early 20th centuries, beginning with Dupré and concluding with Reger. Mills is a deft and expressive performer, and his verbal program notes helped the audience better understand both music and organ. For this first hour I sat in a center lower box, considered by many to be the best place to hear the organ.
For the next performer, Alan Morison, I moved to the third tier and found that the organ sounded equally present and clear. Morrison performed more 19th- and 20th-century music—Langlais, Widor and Jongen. His performances were expansive, never rushed, and he revealed an excellent sense of timing and vocality.
Cameron Carpenter was the third performer, and for this hour I moved to the front and side of the third tier, finding the organ sound in no way diminished. His was a frantic, frenetic attack on music of Mahler, Bach, Chopin, and Vierne. All were his own transcriptions, even the Vierne, and while some in the audience were clearly thrilled with his histrionics and skill at maneuvering about the console—his technique is formidable—the central purpose of a recital, making music, never happened. It was all show biz.
Diane Meredith Belcher was the only female organist heard all weekend long! She began the fourth hour with two Bach transcriptions: the Sinfonia from Cantata No. 29 and her own arrangement of the Concerto for Two Violins in D minor, the latter suggesting a seventh Bach trio sonata—one that demands an extraordinary pedal technique. Belcher was clearly up to the task. Here for the first time we got to hear a baroque organo pleno, and from my vantage in the second tier it was precise and clean, allowing the counterpoint to be heard with clarity. Bringing us back once again to the 19th century, she closed her program with César Franck’s Grand pièce symphonique.
Gordon Turk closed the afternoon events with more music of Bach, Widor, Dello Joio, and his own “Siciliano.” For this final hour I returned to the first floor box, and decided that the organ really sounded equally well everywhere I sat. If there’s a bad seat in the house I didn’t find it.
Reflecting on the five hours of programming, I couldn’t help but wonder why the vast majority of music was drawn from the 19th century. There were no Bach preludes and fugues, no chorale preludes, no classic French music, no Buxtehude or Böhm, and only a slight nod to the 20th century. Maybe it suggests that concert halls, churches, and AGO meetings attract different audiences. Maybe it suggests that for the organ to once again become a popular medium, audiences need to be wooed with more dramatic, more accessible, less profound fare. I don’t know the answer, but the audience this afternoon was clearly enthralled, giving standing ovations to each performer, and to the organ.
Pop style and accompaniment
Sunday afternoon showcased the organ in two other roles—first taking on a theatre organ personality, and then accompanying a choir. As a prelude to the afternoon, David Hayes conducted New York’s Mannes College of Music Orchestra, Michael Stairs, organist, in a breezy work by native son David Raksin (1912–2004). Raksin, known best as a composer of over 170 film scores, had written A Song after Sundown some 25 years ago for a San Francisco AGO event, one that featured the late Keith Chapman. (Chapman, before his premature death, was the Wanamaker organist.) Parts were subsequently lost, but the piece was reconstructed for this occasion. While certainly not a concerto, the organ did have several colorful solos, letting it demonstrate its beautiful harmonic flutes and lush strings in a bluesy kind of way, and showing that it could fit in very well with a “dance band” kind of orchestra, complete with vibes, brushed snare drums, etc.
Next was Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. Here the organ functioned in a more traditional role, undergirding the bass lines, doubling many of the choral and orchestral parts, and generally filling out the ensemble in a way frequently called for in large 19th-century works. When the huge, robust pedal stops were deployed their presence was clearly evident, and when they dropped out the bass line seemed wanting, thin, even anemic. Again, one was impressed with the presence of the organ in the room. It never was forced to scream out from behind a proscenium arch or from a buried chamber. It was right there, part of the orchestra. The choir also enjoyed a fine vantage point, standing in three rows just behind and above the stage, and surrounded with the organ. The sound these 54 singers were able to produce was incredibly powerful, filling the space with drama and emotion.
Organ and brass
The weekend closed with a concert Sunday evening for organ and brass. Eight members of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s brass section—four trumpets and four trombones—were joined by organist William Neil, who is organist and harpsichordist with the National Symphony in Washington, D.C. It was outstanding brass playing with beautiful tone, never overblown, and perfectly in tune. The thoughtfully designed program included well-known pieces from the 17th through the 20th centuries as well as several new works not yet in the popular repertoire. We heard various instrumental combinations—solos, duets, quartets, etc., and once again one became aware of the versatility of this new organ. It blended extremely well with the brass, never overpowering, and when combined with those eight performers it brought the weekend to a thrilling close. The performers were honored with yet another standing ovation.
Next season
I was particularly heartened to learn that some 50 performances during the next season will be using the organ. Visiting orchestras are being encouraged to feature the organ, complete with mini-recital postludes, and there is a great variety of other offerings as well. A “Family Concert” will feature Peter Richard Conte (present Wanamaker organist) and the Mum Puppettheatre Company. Tom Trenney will improvise along with some well-known silent films, and to assist with fund raising, there’s even a “Pay-to-Play” event when organists can play the organ—for a fee.
And so the list of new concert hall organs continues to grow. Plans are in the works for new installations in Atlanta, Georgia; Kansas City, Missouri; Nashville, Tennessee; Orange County and San Luis Obispo, California. Maybe at last a larger American public will begin to hear works heretofore rarely programmed. Let’s hope that Michael Barone’s list of some 200 works for organ and orchestra will start to influence regular programming throughout the country. The current scene is certainly encouraging, and Philadelphia is a shining example.
