Thoughts on Service Playing Part IV: Helpful hints for accompaniment

David Herman

David Herman, DMA, MusD, is Trustees Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Music and University Organist at the University of Delaware. The author of numerous reviews for The Diapason, David has enjoyed playing hymns in churches of various denominations for more than fifty years. His recent CD includes music by his teacher Jan Bender and by Bender’s teacher, Hugo Distler.

Through the diverse work of nearly every organist runs a common thread: We are called upon to play the organ for religious services. This is the first in a series of articles that will offer ideas for enriching service playing; these articles were originally written for Crescendo, the newsletter of the Philadelphia AGO chapter and are used with their permission. Mention is occasionally made of the “young organist”—this is not a reference to age, but of skills and experience. Many “young” organists of all ages have keyboard skills and have been pressed to move from the piano bench to the organ bench. In this first installment, we will turn our attention to hymn playing.

 

Hymns must dance, even when they

“slow dance.”—Bruce Neswick

 

Hymn playing is a large topic—and the most important of them all, as it is the heart of what we do as church organists. A comprehensive treatment of hymn playing would include topics such as touch, breathing/phrasing, repeated notes, pedaling, registration, tempo, and, especially, attention to the text. You have probably recognized these as the same skills necessary in playing organ literature convincingly.

The service player, moreover, must consider many additional aspects. These include the different “personalities” of hymn texts and tunes; musical leadership; variety—in registration, texture, and harmonization; and, most importantly, bringing the words of the hymn to life. “Present the ancient truth as a present truth,” as Erik Routley once wrote, referring to hymns from previous centuries.¹

In short, hymn playing deserves a book and course of its own. What follows here are merely a few thoughts, with the hope they may be of some use and interest.

 

The organist as leader

First, some technical aspects. It is worth mentioning just what we’re about as organists during congregational singing. We are not the peoples’ accompanist; to accompany is to support, and, ultimately, to follow. That’s what we do, for example, when accompanying a vocal or instrumental soloist. When the people are singing they depend upon the organist for leadership—a significant, if subtle, difference.

The organist has a number of important decisions to make on behalf of the people. These include interpreting the “character” of the hymn, perhaps even determining the key; and setting the tempo. Having established these essential musical ingredients, the organist then invites the people to sing by way of an intonation: an introduction that is both music and signal. As the hymn unfolds, the organist maintains the tempo and sees to other musical ingredients—including phrasing and appropriate changes in texture and registration—with polite, but firm, insistence. Through all this, the organist encourages the faithful (nearly all of whom are musical amateurs) to sing and helps to interpret the texts of the hymns.

How is all this accomplished? What to do, for example, when the tempo (or spirit) sags? The answer: Of most importance in effective musical communication is the organist’s strong sense of rhythm, accomplished through touch. In other words, the same technical skills needed for a compelling performance of a Bach fugue or a French organ symphony are those we draw upon in leading congregational song. The late Robert Glasgow, one of my teachers and a man who didn’t waste words, was once asked at a masterclass to “say a few words about rhythm in organ playing.” “Well,” he replied, a bit bewildered by the question, “I’m very much for it.”

 

Playing the text

All this reinforces the fact that hymn playing is technically demanding. It requires a strong sense of rhythm, confidence in touch, and at least the beginnings of a dependable pedal technique. Hymn playing is especially challenging for the less-experienced organist, who is understandably concerned about playing notes; but ultimately, this really is about playing words!

Hymns are poetry, as we know; it is the hymn’s tune that we play. It is the wedding of hymn and tune that we sing. Out of respect for the hymn text, many British hymnbooks display it, separated from the music, at the bottom of the page so that the poetry can be seen and appreciated. Young organists (of all ages) often find it necessary to fix their attention on the music of the hymn, and become anxious when told they must also follow the text. If the words of each stanza are not considered, the result is playing the first stanza again four or five times. Indeed, there can be significant changes in mood and even in rhythm from one stanza to the next. (Think of the rhythmic variables among the stanzas of “For All the Saints.”)

Some of us have played hymns for a very long while and, as a result, we need not spend quite so much time working out the notes each week. My pre-Sunday preparation focuses on reviewing the hymns’ words: the phrases and stanzas. Realizing that the congregation will breathe when they need to, I nevertheless mark places in my hymnbook where the choir and I will not breathe, to help make clear the poet’s thoughts.

In earlier times I recommended that the organist sing aloud with the people. I changed my mind, however, when in a workshop some thirty years ago, John Ferguson made a convincing case for the organist’s forming the words mentally but not actually producing a sound. He was right: This allows the organist to be both involved with the text and to monitor the peoples’ singing. I want to be certain that the congregation is “with me,” not only in tempo but in spirit. I also believe that, if I can hear the people singing, the organ is not too loud.

 

Pedaling

Playing the pedal (bass) part of a hymn can be as difficult as trio playing. Until an organist has developed the requisite pedal technique, it is better to not use pedals on hymns, even though this will likely increase the challenge for the hands. Example 1 shows an in-between solution: to pedal only occasionally—on long notes (pedal points) and at cadences, where the feet can prepare the primary scale degrees (tonic and dominant notes).

Q: How long may you hold on to a pedal point?

A: For as long as it sounds good!

Working out the pedal part is a challenge for all of us who like to write in pedaling marks, as hymnbooks typically have the settings notated in “choral” style, with insufficient room above the bass line for writing in pedaling.

 

Tempo

Tempo is a tricky and somewhat subjective matter, especially since the same hymn might call for different tempos depending upon such factors as hour of the day, age of the congregation, acoustics of the worship space, and the number of people singing. The organist sets the tempo, of course, which then must be maintained from beginning to end, through clear touch and rhythm.

 

Hymn introductions

Hymn introductions function as musical signals. They alert the congregation that it is time to sing, and provide essential information about the key, tempo and, perhaps, the nature of the hymn. What an introduction need not have to provide literally is the hymn tune, played all the way through (although this is typically what the British do).

In a hymn introduction, the organist can exercise some creativity in crafting a hymn “intonation,” by improvising or composing one, or using one of the many thousands in print by various composers. (See Example 2.)

 

Links

No, not golf or computer links. These refer to the precise amount of time inserted by the organist between the intonation and stanza 1, and between subsequent pairs of stanzas. This rhythmic silence is crucial in both giving the people time to breathe as well as signaling when they sing.

The link between stanzas is created by either adding a certain number of beats (if the last note of the tune is short, as in Example 3a), or subtracting beats (when the final note is long, say, a whole note, as in Example 3b). The great majority of people in our congregations are musical amateurs and we want to use all possible means to encourage them to sing energetically and with confidence.

 

Registration

“Flue” pipes on an organ are the strings, flutes, and principals. The first two are indispensible for accompaniment and in playing many organ pieces. Principals, on the other hand, excel at leading. A solid registration of principals 8′, 4′ and 2′ (crowned, perhaps, with a mixture) provides clear and encouraging leadership to the congregation. Normally, it is preferable to not overload the registration with 8′ stops; better to have stops of higher pitches, which sing out above the register of the congregation. Use manual 16′ stops carefully and sparingly and avoid celestes and the tremulant.

Above all: Listen to the congregation. If you can’t hear them, you may be playing too loudly!

 

Voice leading and texture

People often ask: “In passages with repeated notes, which do I tie and which should be repeated?” It’s not possible, I think, to declare an “always” rule for this (although some books do). Repeated notes in the melody of any hymn are always repeated—perhaps even overenunciated. Think of the opening notes of Rhosymedre. The best treatment of repeated notes is the use of “half-values” (that is, changing repeated quarter notes to eighth notes and eighth rests), shown in Example 4. As for the other voices, I suggest listening, to both the organ and the response of the congregation, making modifications in touch as needed.

 

Variety

A hymn may have four or five or— thank you, Martin Luther!—ten to fifteen stanzas. Why should all of them be played the same way? After all, the words change from one stanza to the next. Variety does not mean drastic or melodramatic musical gestures, unnecessary interludes, constant modulations, etc., but variety in response to the hymn text—musical interpretations that inspire the congregation to “sing ancient truths as present truths.” (See Routley’s comments below.) In the meantime, here are some easy ways to introduce variety in your hymn playing:

• Change registration (between stanzas, not within a stanza), reflecting upon aspects of the words.

• Solo the melody by using a trumpet or similar stop. Or better: Do you have young people in your congregation who play instruments? Most of us do. Recruit one or more to play the trumpet or other instrument on the melody of selected stanzas of a hymn. He/she can be thought of as a supplementary organ stop; and the young person will be thrilled to be a part of such an important activity.

• Drop out the pedals for a significant change (lightening) in overall sound.

• Occasionally, drop out the organ completely for a stanza. This requires preparation and the presence of a confident choir, who have been clued in as to what will happen. This can be very effective, even dramatic, on the right stanza and allows the people to find, and “center on,” their voices.

• Use alternation. Lutherans in 16th-century Germany continued the venerable process known as Alternatim Praxis—alternation. Carl Schalk described it this way: “The congregation, singing the unison chorales unaccompanied, alternated with (1) a unison . . . choir (the schola), (2) a choir singing polyphonic settings of the chorale (the choir), or (3) the organ, playing chorale settings.”²

Yes, that’s right: The organ can “play” a stanza of the hymn by itself. Other possibilities for alternation: men and trebles; right and left sides of the naves; choir and congregation. An example: Have the choir sing stanzas 5 and 6 of “For All the Saints” in parts. Perhaps from the aisle, before going on into the choir stalls. Alternation is meant to enhance, of course, not distract or annoy. So, the details of such a plan should be clearly laid out in the Sunday bulletin, especially when doing this for the first time.

• Sing in parts. None of these suggestions require the organist to depart from the harmony in the hymnbook. In many churches, the people wish to sing hymns in parts. This precludes, of course, the possibility of the organist’s occasional playing of alternate harmonizations (something many of us enjoy doing). Blessed is the church, then, that has the tradition of “unison on first and last stanzas, parts on the middle stanzas.” When the choir uses this plan, the people usually follow. This allows for the introduction (carefully) of varied harmonizations to enrich the hymn singing. These can be improvised (if thought out in advance), composed by the organist, or played from any number of fine publications written for this purpose.

Ultimately, hymn playing is about inspiration. For me, few musical experiences can top that of leading and encouraging a large congregation in singing a great hymn. The rewards and satisfaction can be tremendous. We’ve all been inspired by great service players, some of whom have been our own teachers.

Let’s allow Routley to have the last word:

 

It is your duty, your contribution to the service, to interpret as well as to play.

You are taking those words and notes out of the printed book and presenting them to the congregation as a new, fresh, contemporary thing.

Do nothing mechanically, by habit, or lightly, or casually.

Do all by decision. Do all after thought and prayer.

And may the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,

and may He prosper our handiwork.³

 

Additional resources

• The Association of Lutheran Church Musicians offers several hymn-based recordings, including a hymn festival by Paul Manz and Martin Marty. See www.alcm.org/marketplace/.

• David Cherwien provides many useful suggestions in his book on leading congregational song, Let the People Sing! A Keyboardist’s Creative and Practical Guide to Engaging God’s People in Meaningful Song (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1997).

• John Ferguson and others have created “Mini-Courses on Hymn Playing,” available from the publications section of the AGO website: http://ago.networkats.com/members_online/members/createorder.asp?action….

• Stuart Forster, Hymn Playing: A Modern Colloquium, offers contributions from eleven prominent organists (MorningStar Music Publishers, 2013).

• Gerre Hancock’s book on improvisation, Improvising: How to Master the Art (Oxford University Press, 1994) remains one of the standards in the field. 

• David Heller’s Manual on Hymn Playing: A Handbook for Organists offers techniques at all levels (GIA Publications, Inc., G3642, 2001).

• Noel Jones, A Catholic Organist’s Guide to Playing Hymns. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015 (available from Amazon).

 

Notes

1. Erik Routley, The Organist’s Guide to Congregational Praise (London: Independent Press, 1947), 12, quoted in Austin Lovelace, The Organist and Hymn Playing (rev.) (Carol Stream, Illinois: Agape, 1981), 26.

2. Carl Schalk, ed., Key Words in Church Music, rev. and enlarged (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2004), 26–27.

3. Routley, The Organist’s Guide, 12–13, quoted in Lovelace, The Organist and Hymn Playing, 26.

Michael McNeil

Michael McNeil has designed, constructed, and researched pipe organs since 1973. He was also a research engineer in the disk drive industry with 27 patents. He has authored four hardbound books, among them The Sound of Pipe Organs, several e-publications, and many journal articles.

Preface

The 1863 E. & G. G. Hook organ, Opus 322, is not only one of the best preserved of the earlier instruments of that firm, it had the good fortune to be placed in the superlative acoustics of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Boston, Massachusetts. Rooms with long acoustical reverberation are rare in the United States. Rarer still is a room where all frequencies of sound die away cleanly at a similar rate. At Immaculate Conception the clean diffusion of sound without slap echoes was enabled by a profusion of complex cornices and a coffered ceiling with intricate ornamentation; it is a wonderful example of a fusion of form and musical function.

Designed by noted architect Patrick Charles Keely, the classical façade of the church is executed in granite. The organ resided directly behind the windows above the main doors. The Church of the Immaculate Conception is situated in a historic district of Boston. Nearby elegant row houses reflect an age when architectural design valued a balance of form and the texture that cornices, corbels, and moldings bring to a structure. These classical elements live and reverberate into the new millennium.

Detailed documentation of such a universally acclaimed organ is important for several reasons. We can learn how the Hooks designed their organ to suit the acoustics. We can make useful comparisons with other organs and learn how this Hook differs from other styles of organ design. And perhaps most importantly, we can document this organ for posterity. Organs are consumed in wars and fires; they are replaced or modified with the changing tastes of time; and they never survive a restoration without changes. In a quirk of fate that makes this documention all the more valuable, the organ was dismantled in 2008 and placed in storage for Boston College. Plans by developers now exist to convert the Church of the Immaculate Conception into condominiums.

In June of 2000 the Jesuit Urban Center and its director, Fr. Thomas Carroll, SJ, invited the author to reside with them for a week at the Church of the Immaculate Conception with the goal of acquiring detailed data on the Hook organ. The author immersed himself in this work to such a degree that he often lost track of the passage of time. The resident Jesuits would ascend to the organ loft to remind the author that it was time to end a long day of work, promising good conversation and good libations as a reward, to which the author always happily acquiesced. The following study is an analysis of the data taken while a guest of the author’s most generous hosts.

The data showed that the Hook organ is in remarkably original condition, primarily the result of its careful maintenance by many generations of the Lahaise family. The data also revealed some crude interventions originating from the repitching of the organ and the 1902 installation of the Solo division, all of which are reversible.

 

Current stoplist

Great

16′ Open Diapason

8′ Open Diapason Forte

8′ Open Diapason Mezzo

8′ Viola da Gamba

8′ Clarabella

4′ Octave

4′ Flute Harmonique

3′ Twelfth

2′ Fifteenth

III Mixture

V Mixture

VII Cymbal

16′ Trumpet

8′ Trumpet

4′ Clarion

Swell

16′ Bourdon

8′ Open Diapason

8′ Stopped Diapason

8′ Viol di Amour

8′ Voix Celeste

8′ Quintadena

4′ Octave

4′ Violina

4′ Flauto Traverso

2′ Flautino

V Mixture

16′ Contra Fagot

8′ Cornopean

8′ Oboe

8′ Vox Humana

4′ Clarion

Choir

16′ Contra Dolce

8′ Open Diapason

8′ Melodia

8′ Gedeckt

8′ Viola

8′ Dulciana

4′ Octave

4′ Fugara

4′ Hohlpfeife

4′ Flauto Traverso

2′ Piccolo

8′ Clarinet

Pedal

32′ Contra Bourdon

16′ Open Diapason

16′ Violone

16′ Bourdon

12′ Quint Floete

8′ Violoncello

8′ Flute

16′ Trombone

8′ Trumpet

Solo

8′ Open Diapason

8′ Concert Flute

4′ Flute Harmonique

8′ Tuba Mirabilis

8′ Orchestral Oboe

8′ Orchestral Clarinet

4′ Tuba Octave

 

Casework and façade

Built in 1863, the Hook organ casework is constructed of pine, not a hardwood. Perhaps the Civil War took its toll on the availability of materials. The case façade was designed by the church architect, Patrick C. Keely.¹ Although it employs extreme over-lengths in the façade pipes, the case and nave are a successful fusion of the architectural style.

 

There are seven flats of pipes in the façade. The flats at the extreme sides contain three dummy pipes each. The Hooks utilized bass pipes from both the 16′ Open Diapason and the 8′ Open Diapason Forte in the façade. A few bass pipes that would normally be a continuous part of the façade were placed just behind the façade on offset boards in an effort to keep a normal progression of widths when using the pipes of two different stops. This resulted in some very large overlengths with many cutouts at the back of some pipes. Here is the order of speaking case pipes, facing the case, from left to right: 

9 pipes: 8′ F#, 8′ E, 8′ D, 8′ C, 16′ G#, 16′ c, 16′ d, 16′ e, 16′ f#;

3 pipes: 16′ c′, 16′ a#, 8′ A#;

9 pipes: 16′ A#, 16′ F#, 16′ E, 16′ D, 16′ C, 16′ C#, 16′ D#, 16′ F, 16′ A;

3 pipes: 8′ B, 16′ a, 16′ b;

9 pipes: 8′ G, 16′ d#, 16′ c#, 16′ B, 16′ G, 8′ C#, 8′ D#, 8′ F, 16′ f.

 

The form and presentation of the data 

Pipe measurements, which include enough data to reconstruct the voicing, were taken on selected pipes of the principal chorus of the Great division. Measurements taken by the author were entered into a laptop computer with the gracious help of Paul Murray, a volunteer at the church. The computer was set up within the expansive casework to make efficient use of time.

A total of 25 measurements and notes were taken on each of the selected pipes of the principal chorus; 34 measurements and notes were taken on a Clarion reed pipe. While this may seem excessive by normal practice, the standard for this type of documentation was pioneered by Pierre Chéron in his classic work on the Isnard organ at St. Maximin, L’Orgue de Jean-Esprit et Joseph Isnard dans la Basilique de la Madeleine à Saint-Maximin, France.

 

The scaling sheets devised by Mr. Chéron were adapted by the author to a spreadsheet.² Analysis of that data enabled a detailed understanding of the changes made to the 1863 organ. The missing gaps in the data reflect the inability to gain easy access without risk of damage to some pipes, along with the limitations of time. 

The author has shown how this data can be portrayed to advantage in his book, The Sound of Pipe Organs, published in 2012.³ This book describes models which can be used to intuitively compare the scaling and voicing of different organs, allowing us to visualize and understand the differences. The reader is referred to this book for a deeper understanding of the models which are presented in this study of the Hook. 

The basic data set to describe scaling and voicing must include, at a minimum, pipe diameters, widths of mouths, heights of mouths (“cutups”), diameters of foot toe holes, depths of mouth flueways, and treatment of the languids. The data in this study of the Hook principal chorus is graphically presented side-by-side with a graphical reduction of the data compiled by Chéron from the famous Isnard organ at St. Maximin, France. This is an instructive comparison. The two organs are of similar size and were designed for similar acoustics, but they represent very different tonal ideals ranging from the late 18th-century French Classical traditions of the Isnards to the fully Romantic middle 19th-century traditions of the American Hooks.

Normalized data is presented for inside pipe diameters, mouth widths, and mouth heights (cutups). The tables in Figure 1 show how the raw data was converted into normalized data.

 

Scaling and voicing

 

Pipe diameters

The Normal Scale of pipe diameters is a way to visualize relative power, where a flat line from bass to treble will produce relatively constant power. Pipes with data extending higher in the graph will produce more power. Each half tone on the vertical scale represents 0.5 dB of power. Interested readers can refer to The Sound of Pipe Organs, pp. 8–32 for a discussion of the underlying theory.

With the exception of the narrower Mixture V and Cymbal VII, the chorus of the Hook organ in Figure 2 is compressed, i.e., the foundation and upperwork stops have a similar, or “constant,” scale, and the trebles are relatively flat in scaling. In stark contrast in Figure 3, the Isnard scales become narrower as the pitch of the stops ascend, while the 4′ and Mixture scales widen dramatically in the treble.

Wind pressure has a very large effect on power, but fortunately the wind pressure of the Hook organ at 76 mm water column is close to that of the Isnard organ at 83 mm. Power balance differences in these two organs result from differences in the pipe construction (pipe diameters and mouth widths) and differences in the voicing parameters (toe hole diameters and flueway depths).

 

Mouth widths 

The Normal Scale of mouth widths operates just like the pipe diameters, where a flat line from bass to treble will produce relatively constant power. Pipes extending higher in the graph will produce more power. Each half tone on the vertical scale again represents 0.5 dB of power. 

Mouth widths are often a better indicator of power balances than pipe diameters, simply because mouth widths can be designed to vary within the same diameter of a pipe. Narrower mouths will produce less power, even if the pipe diameters are wide. 

The chorus of the Hook organ in Figure 4 is again compressed, much like the pipe diameters in Figure 2. The Mixture III is scaled as wide as the foundation stops. Note how the Cymbal VII and the Mixture V are the only narrow upperwork stops. Furthermore, the mouth scales of those two mixtures actually descend from bass to treble. The Cymbal VII was made and installed in 1870 by William A. Johnson,⁴ and it is representative of his typical chorus scaling with wide foundations and much narrower upperwork.

In Figure 5 the scales of the 4′ and Mixtures on the Isnard organ ascend dramatically from 1′ pitch to 1/8′ pitch. Isnard’s intent here is two-fold: the upperwork not only ascends in scale for an ascending treble, it is also scaled to compensate for the losses of power due to the atmospheric absorption of sound over long distances at higher frequencies. Interested readers can refer to The Sound of Pipe Organs, pp. 13–14, for a discussion of the foundations of this very important scaling principle.

These two graphs show the basic differences in the tonal balances of these organs, where the Isnard exhibits a well-balanced full spectrum of frequencies, while the Hook is tailored for warm and powerful foundations with a restrained full frequency spectrum.

 

Notes and Credits

All photographs, tables, graphs, and data are by the author except as noted.

1. Owen, Barbara. “A Landmark within a Landmark: The 1863 Hook Organ,” undated typescript.

2. Excel files with all raw data taken on the Hook and the spreadsheets that produced the graphs and tables may be obtained at no charge by e-mailing the author at: [email protected].

3. McNeil, Michael. The Sound of Pipe Organs (Mead, Colorado: CC&A), 2012, 191 pp., Amazon.com.

4. Huntington, Scot L., Barbara Owen, Stephen L. Pinel, Martin R. Walsh, Johnson Organs 1844–1898 (Richmond, Virginia: OHS Press), pp. 17–18.

 

To be continued.

David di Fiore

The leading of hymns is a fine art. I have played for many years in mainline Protestant and Catholic churches in the United States and now have a unique perspective that comes from playing in a central European cathedral. My hope is that some of what I have learned over these years will be of help to others. 

 

Registration

Registration is often a difficult topic to discuss because it is so variable and subjective. It can be affected by the size of the space, the size of the assembly, and the size of the organ—how it speaks into the room, and whether it is directly or indirectly buried behind concrete with a small opening or in a case or chambers. The voicing and style of an organ can vary, so that a “one size fits all” approach to registration simply is neither practical nor even advisable. 

For example, if the organ is of a modest size and voiced properly, it may produce a much larger sound than an organ that is much larger but poorly voiced and speaks not from a case but from chambers. The pipe scaling can also have a dramatic effect; wide-scaled flutes may be enough to lead a large assembly on some organs, while a thinly scaled principal chorus may not do the job. Thus we must know how our organs sound from top to bottom—every octave, every stop, and every pitch.

What does this mean for us as leaders of worship? First, we must do our homework every week. I advocate recording, in order to discover how the assembly responds to various registrations. I have been amazed at what recordings have taught me, and how listening this way has changed my thinking and my playing. In terms of registration, certainly less is more (although it may not be true in every situation). Our calling as artists is to work with the instrument at hand, find what is good about it, and make the most of those attributes. The organ is simply the medium to communicate music. 

After getting to know an instrument, the organist should develop several possible plenums of various volumes on all divisions, coupled and uncoupled. The principal chorus of 8′ 4′, 2′, possibly with mixtures, may not be the answer in all situations. Keep in mind that any stop whose speech is not prompt can affect the congregation’s ability to feel rhythmic pulse. 

Next, devise registrations for soloing out the melody line (playing the lower parts on a lighter sound, on a secondary manual with pedal at 8′ pitch and possibly without 16′). The solo line could be played on a solo cornet (or various related combinations such as 8′, 22⁄3′, 13⁄5′) accompanied by flutes 8′ and 4′, or possibly by an 8′ flute and a 4′ principal. The melody could also be played with a solo Trompete or any combination that makes for a good solo line. If the accompaniment is more than four voices, then on the secondary manual I adapt my left hand, by rewriting positions of chords or leaving out unnecessary or doubled notes.

Another possibility is to play the soprano line an octave higher, with again the alto and tenor voices played in the normal range on the same manual (or on a second manual depending on the size of the assembly), and an appropriate pedal to match. This may seem strange, but the effect is that you are not doubling the congregation at unison pitch—they can better hear the sound of the melody, as it is an octave above. This technique can be used with combinations of various stop families to good effect; lighter 8′ and 4′ stops have worked well for me.

In fact, I have found that doubling the congregation at unison pitch—with many 8′ stops playing in four parts or more—can really get in the way of the assembly being able to hear itself. I would save a bigger registration—say a manual 16′, Principal 8′, and Octave 4′ (or more or less dependent on the organ and room), with pedal—for a climactic verse. The above-mentioned registration can be large or small depending on the organ, so I would adjust to my situation accordingly. On the organ I play in Banska Bystrica, Slovak Republic, that combination of stops is plenty to lead a full cathedral at Sunday Mass. If more is needed, you could add a 2′ or couple something from the Swell with the box closed and open as needed.

Another possibility would be to try a chorus of flutes (possibly 8′, 4′, 2′) on a verse or perhaps add a string to that. This combination can provide a nice accompaniment dependent on the size of the assembly. When we sang a Gregorian Agnus Dei, I used flutes 8′ and 4′ on the Rückpositif for my left hand and used all of the 8′ stops from the Récit with the Hautbois coupled to 8′ flutes and strings on the Great but soloing the melody an octave lower on the Great with no pedal. It was very effective—the assembly could hear itself and also hear the organ because the pitch was an octave lower. 

I believe in changing registrations on every verse, making the registration fit the hymn text that is being sung. The accusation leveled at organists that the registration is too loud can be true when an organist plays four verses of a hymn with principal chorus plus reeds with no variation at all, or plays every verse of every hymn with the same combinations used every time in the same order. Know your instrument. Is what you are creating encouraging or discouraging your assembly’s ability to sing?

In accompanying Gregorian melodies, one could try using the strings (coupled to strings on another division, if available) but not doubling the melody; both hands would play chords an octave higher. This gives an ethereal effect. If one is good at improvisation, adding chord tones of the sixth, major seventh, ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth can also be very effective. In this case the organ is one voice with the assembly rather than playing a leading role. By very slightly anticipating the beat, one can keep the assembly moving along if they are dragging. This would also help if the cantor is singing at the opposite end of the building. 

 

Rhythm and tempo

Choosing a tempo for a hymn is not an easy task. The real test is: can the assembly sing full-voiced at a given tempo? It is helpful to study the harmonic rhythm of the hymn. Is the harmony changing quickly, on every beat or half beat? Are there a lot of passing tones? Are there many words on eighth notes written in succession? Is the meter in cut time or 4/4 time, and how does that affect the accents? Is a 3/4 meter in a feeling of three beats to the bar, or one to the bar? 

I have learned from recording that playing a hymn quickly is not necessarily exciting, and playing it slowly is not necessarily boring. It all depends on the hymn’s text and mood, whether there is an energized beat even if the tempo is not fast, and the congregation’s tradition of singing a hymn in a particular way (which sometimes we musicians tend not to respect).

One also must consider that meter is one thing but rhythm is quite another. Understanding where rhythmic accents should fall is crucial, is separate from meter, and will also be influenced by the text. 

Then there is the problem of acoustics. Are we in a large reverberant space, or a room full of carpet? Is the organ a beautifully singing instrument, or is its voicing harsh and is it placed in a dry acoustic? All of these must be considered when choosing a tempo. But remember that the chosen registration and the tempo are tied together and cannot be ignored. Only after assessing all of these considerations would I choose a metronome marking. The marking need not be followed slavishly, and in fact is only for a check before beginning to practice.

 

Conducting and singing

I advocate conducting and singing for all musicians. Conducting always allows for a stretching of the beat that a metronome does not permit. In conducting, one imagines a square for the beat. It can be small or large but it allows for a differing feel at the same basic tempo, be that square small or large. This principle has considerable ramifications for rhythm and needs a good deal of thought and consideration. The principle applies to hymns as well: the size of the square will affect the feeling and rhythm of a hymn and even differences between phrases. Hence, a mastery of basic conducting patterns is necessary. An analysis of large or smaller squares for a hymn (from line to line the feeling of a phrase can change) needs careful planning, recording, and practice.

Singers think differently about a line than organists do, and that is often why a singer and organist may have trouble staying together. Regarding the cantor (usually in Catholic liturgies), I am not advocating what I have heard some singers do, which involves wallowing in a sugary fashion, holding long notes too long, and using too much rubato (which some call “feeling”). This kind of vocal leadership is not appropriate for liturgical use, discourages any kind of assembly participation (especially if the singer is rhythmically impaired), and is unnecessary with a good organist. Remember, it is the congregation’s hymn. I would propose having a cantor with a lighter voice get the assembly started but then step back from the microphone and become one voice with the assembly. Certainly if the hymn is new, more vocal support may be needed, but not to the point where a solo voice is heard above the entire assembly. 

On the other hand, organists need to think more like singers in terms of creating beautiful lines. So often the playing of hymns can be angular, and articulation, while useful, can be overdone to the point where it hinders natural singing, with the music feeling like a series of downbeats. This is especially true when dealing with a dead acoustic and a harsh-sounding organ. A very good technique for organists is to practice singing each of the four parts. Using this technique changed how I played the hymn; the articulation then fell into place as a means of expression, rather than an end unto itself.

Releases of notes are extremely important. Singers will “think” a crescendo on a long note and crescendo to the rest, while organists have a tendency to clip the note before the rest. Singers also can stretch a beat naturally, and I have observed that many musicians do not understand this concept. It relates to conducting, as conductors will stretch a beat with their gesture but they keep in mind you can only stretch so far. Organists can have trouble with that concept, and what comes out has no stretch (is mechanical), or has an exaggerated stretch that sounds ridiculous. With a long note value, try thinking a crescendo to the next beat, and then try putting an ever-so-tiny articulation before you strike that next note—but always be aware that the listener cannot realize that the articulation is there. 

It is not uncommon to develop “systems” of playing—for example, making the first beat always strong, second always weak, third always strong, and fourth always weak. If this concept is followed in every case and is taken to extremes (as any system can be), then the final result could be that a dignified hymn could sound like a circus march. Regarding the hierarchy of beats, there are countless examples in Bach where the fourth beat is very strong harmonically and cannot fit into the “system” some try to create for it. In all periods, styles, and hymns, beat four can be very strong; to try to make it weak in every situation may be at odds with what the music itself wants to do. Every case—every piece of music, be it hymn, anthem, or voluntary—is different and must be treated individually.

Speaking again of conducting, there is always a bit of a wait on that fourth beat before the downbeat lands. This is a bit like being up in the air before landing. (Watch a good conductor beat 4 and then 1.) That fourth beat is certainly strong, not weak, and this certainly can apply to all periods and styles (though again not every time). 

Does your playing incorporate the best principles of good conducting and good singing? First, studying voice and conducting is invaluable. Secondly, it is a good practice to record your hymn playing in the nave while the congregation is singing. Then you can answer some of the questions I am posing. The recording will tell you exactly what you are doing with no mercy shown. Recording oneself may be the best teacher and provides a point of departure from which to work and create. 

Don’t let rules and regulations get in the way of the creative process; artists create, and reproducing a mindless system or pattern is not art. Explore every possibility with your instrument in terms of registration and do not let others dictate what “should be.’’ It is important to ask whether what you are doing is effective. Be sure that there is a good deal of color in your leadership of hymns and string out some beautiful lines like a singer would do, but also follow your inner conductor for nuanced rhythm and know that your voice is the organ. 

You will also find yourself spending much more time practicing because this process will cause you to really listen to what you are creating. It is possible to spend an hour getting the ending of a phrase just the way you want it to be, or finding a better registration, or maybe changing a tempo to one that will work in a given room. You will also find this same process will extend into voluntaries, accompaniments, and so on. I find I look forward to listening every week as I keep coming up with new ideas to try out. I can also promise that if you really want to improve, this technique is essential. 

 

Articulation

Articulation has an effect on rhythm. One cannot simply say that all organ playing is legato, portato, staccato, or anything else. You will need a variety of touches at your disposal, and your ear will have to tell you when to use one or another (or more likely, a combination of all kinds of articulations). 

You can also try staccato or non-legato in various voices. For example, try alto and tenor detached and soprano and bass legato. Or try soprano, alto, and tenor legato and detach the pedal notes. Sometimes you could play the soprano detached and the lower voices legato. Many combinations are possible, depending on the situation. 

Another really effective technique—especially if using a full plenum with reeds and mixtures—is to play the soprano extremely legato and play the lower voices very detached. In this way the congregation is able to cut through, so to speak, the full organ sounds—whereas if all the voices were played legato, it would be difficult for most average-sized congregations to be heard. Some advocate staccato in all voices for a dragging congregation, which can work, but I reserve that technique for very extreme cases. I have found that adding passing notes in the pedal actually does a better job of moving along the congregation. I also avoid heavy 16′ stops in the pedal for that kind of situation. 

If there is a long note in the pedal, adding some passing tones can keep a pulse going. Another possibility is to change a resolved harmony on a long note to one that is unresolved, which will usually keep people from hanging on past where they should, as they want the chord to resolve. 

I also use articulation to energize the beat, which means that the energy is transferred from the fingers to the key. But keep in mind that there must be tension and release/relaxation in relation to what the harmony is doing. It is a bit like the strong upbeat mentioned above. Similarly we cannot have relaxation without tension. Another concept is the idea of inner rhythm—that is what happens in the inner part of the beat; for example, on the second of two eighth notes, that second eighth note must be energized to move a line forward. 

 

Introductions and reharmonizations

Making hymn singing inspiring can include using creative introductions and reharmonizations. Introductions usually should be in the tempo of the hymn, or at least the last few bars set the tempo of the hymn with a clear reference to the melody. Much depends on whether or not the hymn is well known. 

One need not reharmonize every verse of every hymn, but the art of improvisation, used wisely, can really inspire a congregation to sing better. The study of improvisation is well worth the effort in terms of creative hymn playing. If a hymn verse is to be reharmonized, my preference is that the harmony stays close to the style of the hymn. Again, less is more when it comes to this topic, and much depends on the tradition within any given congregation.

 

Unaccompanied singing

Over the last few years I have learned the importance of unaccompanied singing within a service of worship. This could happen on a verse of a hymn, a Taizé response, or a host of other places. Listening to my recordings I think that some of the most exciting singing is when the assembly holds forth unaccompanied. For example, on one hymn I gradually reduced the sound from the second verse into the third verse and after two or three bars dropped out, then re-entered gradually before the beginning of the fourth verse. It is a nice contrast and is even more thrilling when the organ returns again after some unaccompanied singing. 

Another advantage is that the congregation is actually able to hear themselves in a different way than when they are accompanied. In a Catholic Mass, the Mass Ordinary and responses, especially during Lent, can be sung without accompaniment. I have used this technique with great success and would urge you to try it as well. If your congregation is used to being accompanied on everything, introduce this idea slowly. Perhaps the first time try it on a simple response like an Amen. Then try it on the other responses and also on a verse of a hymn that is well known. Moderation is the key, depending on what your congregation is used to.

I always tell my students who play for churches that hymn playing should be their first priority when they play for a worship service. Of secondary importance is the accompaniment of anthems or soloists and the third priority their own voluntaries. Hymns involve the entire assembly in a musical prayer. Hence hymnody must be of absolute importance in our preparation for Sunday mornings.

 

In closing

Hymn playing is a fine art and can be as difficult as playing some of the most challenging organ repertoire. The shaping of phrases and expression while maintaining leadership and playing for large numbers of people (all of whom have their own ideas what the tempo should be) is no easy task. It is hoped that this article will give you some food for thought and new ideas to try out in your own ministry.

 

Bibliography

Connolly, Michael. The Parish Cantor. Chicago: GIA Publications, 1991.

Day, Thomas. Why Catholics Cannot Sing. Spring Valley, New York: Crossroads Publishing, 1990, revised, 2011.

Lovelace, Austin. The Organist and Hymn Playing. Carol Stream, Illinois: Agape, 1981.

Noble, T. Tertius. Introduction to Free Organ Accompaniments to Well Known Hymn Tunes Volumes 1 and 2. New York: J. Fischer and Brothers, 1946. Later edition by Alfred Publishing, Van Nuys, 1985.

Ortloff Organ Company, LLC, Brookline, Massachusetts

Opus 1 – 2016

In collaboration with Russell & Company Organ Builders

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church,

Penfield, New York

 

From the builder

Organbuilders will likely say how their first contract was the hardest, or certainly one of the hardest, to procure. And why not? Spending a great deal of money on a product built by somebody with no previous track record is, in a word, insanity. But churches are necessarily in the faith business, and it was certainly an act of faith by St. Joseph’s Church to entrust my company to build this instrument, our Opus 1.

The road to Opus 1 began long before St. Joseph’s contacted me, long before I could even reach the pedals the first time I played a pipe organ at age four—a single chord on the 1933 Kimball at Trinity Episcopal Church in Plattsburgh, New York, after midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. That one chord began a fascination with the pipe organ that led to the decision in my teenage years, while working for Stephen Russell, to devote my life to this craft. Nine years of training at Russell & Company, further work for C. B. Fisk, Inc., and Spencer Organ Company, and six years at the Eastman School of Music and University of Rochester provided a broad range of experience that has informed how I play and how I wish to build. By 2014, I saw an opportunity to fulfill a dream of running my own shop and founded Ortloff Organ Company, LLC. Within just a few weeks, I was surveying St. Joseph’s Church in Penfield, preparing to draft my first proposal for a new pipe organ.

In 2013, St. Joseph’s received a generous bequest specifically to enrich the musical life of the parish. This happy event led to a decision to commission a new pipe organ, which would replace a failing 30-year-old electronic. Nathan Davy, the director of music and a fellow Eastman alum, approached me about the project, and from there he championed my firm, expressing faith in my ability to produce a high-quality instrument of distinction.

This abundance of faith was, however, fully sighted, and St. Joseph’s requested that the contract be co-signed by an established organbuilder to provide a level of security in the project’s success. It was only logical that I should collaborate with my mentor Steve Russell, to which Steve enthusiastically agreed, and we began discussing the instrument’s mechanical and tonal design shortly after my initial visit. This particular show of faith was perhaps the most important. Knowing my training and ability better than anyone, Steve’s tacit “You can do this. You’re ready. It’s time,” propelled me forward with confidence and excitement.

Distilling many musical requirements into 18 stops, particularly within a fixed budget and limited space, is naturally a challenge. Moreover, working in the shadow of our alma mater, Nathan and I were all too aware of the scrutiny the organ would receive, adding pressure to how the stoplist, scaling, and tonal approach were developed. But a suburban Catholic parish is not the academy, and my vision for the instrument was that it need make no apology for serving its liturgical requirements first and last. In the broad picture, the organ should subscribe to certain guiding principles. As much as possible, slider chests are used, for simplicity of mechanism, the benefits of tone-channel chests, and the honesty they enforce in design. Chorus work should be silvery and bright but not shrill, made of a high-lead alloy, and supported by amply scaled, warm 8′ tone. Reeds are ideally placed on higher pressure for improved speech, better tuning stability, and noble power. Applying these principles to St. Joseph’s, seating about 600, we strove to create an ensemble that would have plenty of energy and clarity without being unduly powerful. It should lead without overwhelming, not only a largely volunteer choir, but also occasionally reluctant congregational singing. The color palette should tend unapologetically toward the romantic, but be based firmly in sparkling classical choruses.

While organs of this size are often treated essentially as giant one-manuals spread over two keyboards, the architecture of St. Joseph’s necessitated the two manual divisions being too physically divided for that kind of approach. Furthermore, the ultimate design felt more honest; a few Swell stops are duplexed to the Great for accompanimental variety, but otherwise each division is independent, with its own chorus. While the organ’s original design included an independent Swell 8′ Diapason, a funding shortfall necessitated its elimination, as well as independent Pedal registers, a Clarinet on the Great, and mutation bass octaves. In turn, we modified the design of the Chimney Flute and Viola, and repitched the Swell mixture lower, introducing 8′ tone by treble C.

In these and many other details throughout the design process, Nathan, Steve, and I found ourselves largely on the same page. Thus it was a jolt when, shortly after signing the contract in November 2014, Nathan accepted the position of assistant organist at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D. C. Happily, Nathan’s successor, Jacob Fuhrman, picked right up where Nathan left off and has proven to be just as collaborative as his predecessor.

Built in 1967, St. Joseph’s wasn’t designed with a pipe organ in mind. Its low ceilings, quirky acoustics, and lack of obvious location for an instrument all contributed to the challenge of layout and visual design. Fortunately, the church was amenable to placing the organ front and center, giving it the best possible advantage. My older brother, Buffalo architect Chris Ortloff, Jr. developed a striking multi-tiered design of flamed and polished copper, with gentle curves and multiple layers. The façade also creates a useful arcade between sacristy and church, integrating into the room in an organic way. Great care was taken to maintain focus on the altar and to complement, not compete with, the gold mosaic surrounding the crucifix.

Behind the façade, the organ proper is arranged on a new, single-level, 37′-wide platform. The wind system lives in the center, with Great and Pedal to the congregation’s left and Swell on the right. Two fields of shutters direct tone both down the nave and into the south transept, where the choir sits. Electric-slider chests form the basis of the chassis, with electric and electro-pneumatic chests serving bass pipes and unit registers.

Of the organ’s 18 voices, six are vintage ranks, including reeds, wood flutes, and strings. All have been restored and revoiced. New flue pipes, built in the Russell & Co. shop, are made from a 94% lead alloy to promote warm, singing tone. Reed renovation and voicing was carried out by the Trivo Company, who also built a new 16′ Trombone of generous scale. A somewhat higher pressure is employed for the reeds, allowing a warm, rich voicing style.

Construction began in August 2015, with a deadline to have at least part of the new organ playing by Easter 2016. To ensure an installation process as free as possible from complication, everything was pre-erected and tested in our shop. On a twenty-below-zero Valentine’s Day, 2016, a truck left Waltham, Massachusetts, bound for Penfield with the Great and Pedal. Amory Atkins, Terence Atkin, and Dean Conry brought their signature steam-shovel efficiency to the installation, accomplishing in 10 days what I thought would take three weeks. By Holy Week, five stops of the Great and the Pedal divisions were playing, and much of the Swell mechanism was in place. Over the next few months, the remainder came together in the shop, with final installation in May and tonal finishing completed by early August. Much beloved by his former parish, Nathan Davy returned to dedicate the organ on September 9. His careful thinking about repertoire demands during the design phase paid off in a colorful, varied program that made the instrument seem far larger than its actual size.

This project brought together both the seasoned and the newcomer. Bart Dahlstrom, Ortloff Organ Company’s first employee, flunked retirement at age 62 when he decided to join his woodworking skills to his organ-playing talents and become an organbuilder. His steady hand, impeccable work, and unfailing cheer have been a blessing throughout the project. Andrew Gray, a precocious 16-year-old son of an organist and a singer, had expressed interest in organbuilding for a few years; he came on as a summer employee in 2015. His meticulous wiring and pipe racking speak to his quiet diligence. Kade Phillips, an MIT student, lent help when not busy studying computer science 80 hours a week. Robert Poovey, organist-choirmaster at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Rochester, and someone with not a little of the organbuilding bug himself, provided generous local assistance for installation and some of the tonal finishing. And Jonathan Ambrosino helped in scratch-tuning the organ on Labor Day, four days before its dedication.

Finally, the support from Steve Russell’s shop has been vital, principally in the construction of the console and 971 of the organ’s 1,390 pipes—each meticulously handcrafted. An organ’s soul lies in its pipes, and these are gorgeous indeed. Steve himself provided the sober foundation of over 40 years’ experience in all aspects of design and construction and was invaluable in helping me to shape the instrument’s final sound, both in shop and site voicing.

On behalf of the 14 people who had a hand in crafting this instrument, my thanks go to St. Joseph’s Church, and especially to its pastor, Fr. Jim Schwartz, for the vision not only to commission a pipe organ, but for putting faith in untried quarters. He and members of St. Joseph’s offered generous support and hospitality at every turn. It is my hope that the faith this parish demonstrated in all of us will be repaid by generations of faithful service from this instrument, our proud Opus 1.

—Jonathan Ortloff

 

Personnel

Ortloff Organ Company:

Bart Dahlstrom

Andrew Gray

Jonathan Ortloff

Kade Phillips

 

Russell & Company:

Mayu Hashigaya Allen

Paul Elliott

Erik Johansson

Carole Russell

Stephen Russell

 

From the former director of music

I remember the beginning of the organ project at St. Joseph’s very clearly. I was in the church office kitchen, making tea, when Father Jim Schwartz walked in and said, “We need a new pipe organ. You should go talk to some organ builders.” How often does it happen that the pastor approaches the organist about a new instrument?! Though not entirely without context—the church’s electronic instrument was old and ailing (a few months later it caught fire during a funeral)—I was still dreaming wistfully of a pipe organ and considering how to broach the issue persuasively.

Among those from whom we sought a proposal was Jonathan Ortloff. Jon and I had been at Eastman together, and I had been his assistant when he was one of the organ department’s staff technicians. I knew his work ethic, and I knew his preferences and values in organ sound. Upon receiving his proposal, we were taken with both the tonal and physical design. Each voice would be able both to stand on its own and to contribute uniquely to the united chorus. The façade would adorn the front of the church, catching the eye, but directing attention to the altar.

Now, Jon would be among the first to grant that to sign a contract with an unproven organ builder is not without a certain amount of risk. The parish was mindful of that risk, but two factors allayed our concern. The first was my above-mentioned firsthand knowledge of Jon and his work. The second was that Stephen Russell, with whom Jon had apprenticed, and whom I knew by reputation, had agreed to work alongside of Jon throughout the project. It was Jon and Steve’s combined presentation to the Parish Pastoral Council on a memorable night in the summer of 2014 that won over the hearts of the parish and persuaded us that we would be in good hands.

I could not have been more pleased with the completed instrument when I first played it in September. Never have I seen flamed copper so well integrated into a church’s interior architecture. The broad richness of the foundations fills the room, the mixtures add clarity and brilliance without stridency, and the reeds balance smoothness of tone with a prevailing warm effulgence. This is an instrument perfectly suited to congregational and choral accompaniment, but also fully capable of realizing a wide variety of organ repertoire in a thoroughly satisfying way. It is my sincere hope that it is the first of many.

—Nathan Davy

 

From the current director of music

Our organ’s arrival over the past six months has fulfilled my hopes and expectations of almost two years. When I began my work at St. Joseph’s in March 2015, the contract had already been signed, the stoplist was finalized, and design had begun. I am as fortunate as an organist can be, enjoying a world-class new organ without having had to do any of the groundwork—convincing committees, raising funds, and the like. 

It was exciting for me, as a relatively early-career musician, to work with an organbuilder who is at a similar point in his own career. The entire church staff enjoyed Jonathan’s sincere, energetic love for the organ. His combination of youth, expertise, and passion helped give St. Joseph’s parishioners confidence that our art has a future.

Those of our parishioners who were at the dedicatory recital had an epiphany singing a hymn with a large audience of organists and choristers—this organ really sings, and it supports full, vibrant congregational singing. The choruses are bright without ever losing gravity. The reeds are penetrating, yet admirably vocal. The console is extremely comfortable and manageable, and it is light enough that one person can move it easily in just a few minutes: I can play from the middle of the church whenever I want to, which helps tremendously for preparing performances. The physical design of the organ, with its outward-radiating flamed copper façade, draws the eye to the altar, complementing both the shape of the building and the color profile of its stained-glass windows. I couldn’t be more pleased with this instrument.

—Jacob Fuhrman

 

GREAT

16′ Bourdon (Pedal/Swell)

8′ Diapason (1–12 façade) 61 pipes 

8′ Harmonic Flute 61 pipes

8′ Viola (Swell)

8′ Chimney Flute (Swell)

4′ Octave 61 pipes

2′ Fifteenth  61 pipes

11⁄3′ Mixture III–IV 204 pipes

8′ Trumpet* 61 pipes

Great 16

Great Off

Great 4

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great

Swell to Great 4

SWELL

16′ Bourdon (tc) (from 8′)

8′ Chimney Flute* 61 pipes

8′ Viola* 61 pipes

8′ Viola Celeste (tc) 49 pipes

4′ Principal 61 pipes

4′ Flute* 61 pipes

22⁄3′ Nazard (tc) 49 pipes

2′ Flute* (ext 4′) 12 pipes 

13⁄5′ Tierce (tc) 49 pipes

2′ Mixture IV 244 pipes

8′ Trumpet* 61 pipes

8′ Oboe* 61 pipes

Tremulant

Swell 16

Swell Off

Swell 4 

PEDAL

32′ Resultant (Bourdon)

16′ Principal (1–34 façade) 56 pipes

16′ Bourdon* 44 pipes

8′ Octave (ext 16′)

8′ Bourdon* (ext 16′)

8′ Chimney Flute (Swell)

4′ Choral Bass (ext 16′)

32′ Harmonics (Trombone/derived)

16′ Trombone* (ext Great) 12 pipes

8′ Trumpet (Great)

Great to Pedal

Great to Pedal 4

Swell to Pedal

Swell to Pedal 4

 

 

18 stops, 24 ranks, 1,390 pipes

 

3½″ wind pressure throughout

*5″ wind pressure

8 general pistons

8 divisional pistons per division

300 memory levels

John Bishop

People, look east. 

The time is near . . .

We’ve done it again. We’ve finished a holiday season replete with performances of Messiah and Nutcracker, carol services, and pageants. We’ve roared through the glorious descants by David Willcocks, the Noël variations of d’Aquin and Balbastre, and we’ve sent choir members home to their families in the wee hours of the morning. We’ve tolerated ten weeks of holiday advertising—the first Christmas displays I saw this year were in Home Depot, two weeks before Halloween—and through it all, we’ve celebrated the holiday with our family and friends.

November and December are busy organ tuning months. In the northeast where I live, we think of these as “cold weather” tunings, adjusting the organs as required by the flow and striation of heated air, or the exposure of one organ chamber to prevailing winds while the other is in the lee. In this neck of the woods, Christmas and Easter are both winter holidays, so it makes more sense to tune in November and May. In the last couple months I’ve tuned more than fifty organs in New York and Boston, shuttling in and out of buildings, greasing the bearings of blower motors, cleaning keyboards, setting temperaments, and regulating reeds.

 

Of the crowning of the year . . .

I’ve been doing this since the 1970s, and I’ve always thought it’s fun to poke around the choir rooms to see what music is out. It’s also fun to see little packages of goodies that have been left for the organist, sometimes even a bottle or two, and notes on white boards offering thanks for the beautiful music.

Christmas is a holiday of traditions, so each church has a list of pieces that get sung each year. And lots of those pieces are common to hundreds of churches. Carols for Choirs is ubiquitous, in all its volumes. When I was a junior chorister, starting around 1966, Carols for Choirs I was five years old. The Willcocks descant to O Come, All Ye Faithful must be the standard against which all others are judged; how many millions of people know to start “Sing, choirs of angels . . .” on D. And let’s not forget those fantasmagorical chords under “Word of the Father . . .” or the majestic progression in the last phrase of the refrain after verse 7—all those sharps! Wow. Fifty-five years later, it stills gets me every time. Nice work, Sir David.

Daniel Pinkham’s Christmas Cantata is another favorite, with its beguiling mix of Renaissance-inspired motives and rhythms, and contemporary harmonies. Choirs love to sing it, and congregations love hearing it. I was at a party with Pinkham where he mentioned that Christmas Cantata paid for his house. Nice work, Daniel.

In the past generation, John Rutter’s music has renewed Christmas for many churches. Shepherd’s Pipe Carol is a peppy little number that makes people smile, and I imagine that Candlelight Carol will be as much a staple as Silent Night, Holy Night in a decade or two. Nice work, John.

Many organists consider the French Noël variations an essential part of Christmas. I know I do. But I had an interesting moment once when a parishioner asked me what was all that French stuff I play at Christmas. He helped me realize that the people in that New England Congregational church had never heard the French carols, as familiar to a French congregation as Hark! The Herald Angels Sing is to us, and equally familiar to organists. I had published the titles in the bulletin in French, meaningless to everyone except me. I knew it was Christmas music, but no one else did. Claude Balbastre (1724–99) was one of the most popular musicians in France, a virtuoso for the people. His Noël variations were wildly popular and people thronged to hear him play them, causing such a disturbance in the church that the Archbishop of Paris barred him from playing Christmas services. We should all have such trouble. Nice work, Claude.

 

Make your house fair as you are able . . .

Eleanor Farjeon (1881–1965) was a British writer, best known for the more than eighty books of stories and poems she wrote for children. She won several prestigious literary awards, and the Children’s Book Circle, a society of publishers, authors, and librarians, presents the Eleanor Farjeon Award annually in Great Britain for excellence in children’s literature.

Farjeon’s People Look East is a delightful sprightly poem, familiarly set to the tune of a French carol. It was first published in the Oxford Book of Carols in 1928 and has become a mainstay of traditional Christmas music. I bet the tune is rollicking through your mind’s ears as you read. I love this carol, both for its beguiling singability, and for the marvelous metaphorical allusion it suggests. Obviously, “. . . Make your house fair as you are able . . .” suggests the pleasure of decorating our houses, yards, and church buildings for the sweetest of Christian holidays. Nice work, Eleanor.

But it means so much more. As we prepare for the celebration of the birth of Christ, we pull out the rich heritage of seasonal music. While I know it’s important to take Facebook with a grain of salt, my community of “friends” includes thousands of organists and organbuilders making thoughtful comments that enrich my experience. As we approached Christmas I saw conversations about how to finger tricky passages, how to read composers’ metronome markings, and what people might suggest for new and interesting choral music to offer during this most traditional of celebrations. Working out the slithery fingerings for Dupré’s Variations on a Noël is just another way to “trim the hearth and set the table.”¹

To the organ tuner, in addition to oiling blowers and tuning reeds, making the house fair expands to include making sure the Zimbelstern reversible works reliably. And given the usual keys for such carols as Silent Night and O Little Town of Bethlehem, it’s smart to check that B-flat and F in the chimes are sounding their best. The sickening clunk of a chime struck by a faulty hammer can change everything in that magical moment at midnight when everyone is singing with a candle in their hands.

We all love to play the French Noël variations, so it’s important to check the Cornet combinations on each organ. The classic registration is flue pipes at 8′, 4′, 22⁄3′, 2′, and the pesky 13⁄5′. Sometimes the Cornet is created by combining five independent ranks, sometimes it’s independent ranks at 8′, 4′, and 2′, plus the Sesquialtera, which comprises the 22⁄3′ (Nazard) and 13⁄5′ (Tierce) ranks, and sometimes all five pitches pull as one stop. It’s most common for those five ranks to be wider-scale flutes, although some larger organs have Cornets both as flutes and as principals. In any event, those pitches, especially the two mutations, the second and fourth in the overtone series, complement the Cromornes and Trumpets of the organ because they reinforce the predominant overtones that color the reed voices.

If the organs you play have Trumpets, Nazards, and Tierces, you can prove this to yourself. Play a note on the Trumpet and turn the Nazard on and off. When it’s on, it reinforces that pitch hidden in the tone of the Trumpet, and when you turn it off, you can hear the tone linger as a component of the reed’s voice. If you have trouble hearing it, try it with different notes until you find one that’s clearer. It works best in the tenor range. This trick also works with an Oboe, Krummhorn, or Clarinet.

The Tierce is one of the most difficult pitches to hear in any organ. They’re tricky to tune accurately. But the pitch is clearer to your ears against a reed than a flue pipe. Try it. Play the Tierce with the Octave 4′, which is the usual tuning reference stop, then play the Tierce with a reed. I bet you’ll hear the tuning easier. It’s a good trick to tune a Tierce to a reed, as long as the reed has stable pitch and speech, and as long as you check each note as you go.

In French Classic organs, the combination of Cornet was developed to reinforce the treble ranges of the reeds, which were weaker than the tenor and bass ranges. That’s a simple explanation for why there are duets between cornet trebles and reed basses. It’s also the reason for the predominance of the Grand Jeu in French registrations. Those organs have lusty, powerful reeds that sound great with a Cornet added to the treble range. Hmm. Maybe that’s why the five-rank Cornet starts at middle C. Nice work, François (Bédos de Celles).²

 

Trim the hearth and set

the table . . .

The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (CMBG) is a spectacular example of community imagination, effort, and achievement. In 1991, a group of about ten families in the area of Boothbay, Maine, founded the original organization. They mortgaged their homes to raise the funds to purchase a 270-acre tract of coastal land, rescuing it from development, and they established the not-for-profit corporation. Corporate and private sponsorship came in at a rapid rate, and in June 2007, the gardens held a grand opening celebration. Less than ten years later, the CMBG comprises a rich collection of theme-based gardens, several public buildings with a café, gift shop, and educational facility. They present chamber music concerts and dozens of public events, and receive more than 100,000 visitors each year.

You might think that plants all grow at a common rate, but as we have visited the gardens several times each year, we wonder what they are using for fertilizer. You can almost hear the garden grow if you stand still. It’s gorgeous, thrilling, informative, and enriching. If you’re ever in the area, about forty miles up the coast from Portland, I recommend you stop in. Take a look at www.mainegardens.org.

Last year, CMBG introduced “Gardens Aglow,” an extensive lighting display festooned about the grounds. This year, with a houseful of family from out of town for Thanksgiving, we convoyed to the Gardens to witness the spectacle. Knowing it would be crowded, we arrived as they opened at 4:00 p.m., just as the sun was setting (Maine is at the extreme eastern end of the eastern time zone, and includes the eastern most point of land in the United States). We were amazed by the number of people. It was the third night of the season, and we learned that they had received more than 10,000 visitors over the previous two nights. That may not seem like much to city dwellers, but considering that the population of Boothbay is under 2,500, and the ten neighboring towns combined have fewer than 12,000 people, this is a big deal. They anticipate more than 100,000 visitors before the exhibit closes on New Year’s Day, effectively doubling the annual attendance at CMBG. Nice work, people.

The “Gardens Aglow” page of the CMBG website mentioned that the exhibit is open Thursdays through Sundays, November 18 through December 31, but closed on Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve—that was the only time I saw or heard the word Christmas connected with the event. The tasteful jazzy music playing through Bluetooth speakers seemed Christmasy, but it was actually just the wintery classics we associate with Christmas: Let it Snow, Jingle Bells, Sleigh Ride, Frosty the Snowman. Rudolph was nowhere to be heard, abolished, no doubt, due to his connection to Santa Claus, even though Jesus makes no appearance in the lyrics. Even the word “holiday” was missing.

It sure felt Christmasy to me, as it did to our Greek Orthodox in-laws. But I thought it was nice that the marvelous event could be freely enjoyed by people of any faith, or by people of no faith.

 

People, look east and 

sing today . . .

The United States has just experienced a painful and nasty presidential election. The amount of abuse suffered by both the candidates and their supporters is unprecedented. Things were said across public media that wouldn’t be tolerated in school playgrounds, and people of all races and ideological backgrounds were savaged and humiliated in public. No matter how we each feel about the results, no matter how we voted, we can’t escape the fact that it was a disgraceful display, a national tantrum displayed to the rest of the world. We should all be mortified. As a nation we are better than that.

While The Diapason is not a place to express or exchange political opinions, this experience must resonate for many readers because so much of the discourse involved interpretations of religious freedom. The idea that the United States was founded on religious principles is at best only partially correct, and according to many historians, it’s patently false. Of course, there was a huge indigenous population here before European settlers arrived in the early seventeenth century. But those European settlers did not arrive with the intention of establishing a religious country, they were escaping persecution because of their beliefs.

The point was to be able to worship freely, not just as Puritans, Anglicans, or Catholics, but as members of any faith. In the age of the Internet and the culture of social media, we express and confirm our opinions through memes, especially photos taken out of context and peppered with clever captions—modern versions of a political cartoon, and the campaign season fertilized many doozies. There was one that said, “If your religion tells you to hate anyone, you’re doing it wrong.” In others it was easy to interpret that “religious freedom” meant denying someone else the freedom to worship or express themselves.

A particularly poignant moment occurred less than a week before the election, when members of the Westboro Baptist Church protested in front of New York’s Juilliard School of Music. Their message was against the vanity of the arts and included hateful derogatory language directed at the faculty and students. The students responded elegantly. They came out onto the sidewalk with their instruments to play patriotic and religious music, and spoke eloquently about the importance of the arts to our shared human expression. Nice work, Juilliard students.

This was a small protest. Only three members of the Westboro Baptist Church were involved, including the daughter of the church’s founder, and fewer than a hundred students responded. It was not covered by major newspapers. Without social media it wouldn’t have amounted to much. But it was symbolic of how hatred and intolerance allows some people to condemn huge segments of society, justifying that intolerance by excerpting passages from the Bible out of context.According to my quick Google search, Playbill Magazine was the most prominent publication to carry a story with photographs. You can read the article at http://www.playbill.com/article/juilliard-students-greet-westboro-bapti….

 

Love the Guest is on the way.

A few days after the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, I was invited to visit Trinity Church Wall Street to inspect the organs there. I lived in Boston then, and while I had seen dozens of hours of television coverage of the attack, I was surprised by the devastation, the misery, and even the smells I encountered. St. Paul’s Chapel, the neighboring church building that is part of the Trinity family, had instantly been converted into an emergency aid station, providing rest, refreshment, medical attention, even massages to the rescue workers. And the iron fence surrounding the property became a poignant memorial, adorned with photos of missing people and lost loved ones and expressions of national loss and unity through poetry, art, music, and memorabilia.

I had a brief encounter with the church’s rector, a tall handsome guy with an enviable white coif, and suggested to him that it seemed a little strange to be thinking about a pipe organ in the midst of that immense tragedy. He responded that the work of the church had never been more important—and he meant all of the work of the church.

Many, if not most of us who read and care about The Diapason, serve the church in at least one capacity. We plan and present the church’s music, maintain and prepare its musical instruments for worship, sharing the message of the church through its music and through all forms of artistic expression. As we work through the next seasons of the Christian year, we should be aware of how bruised we are as a people. Our work has never been more important. Celebrate the talents and gifts you’ve been given, nurture them through study and practice, and return them to the church and to the nation, doing all you can to make this a better world. It matters. And it’s important. Go do it. Good work, people. ν

 

Notes

1. Eleanor Farjeon also wrote the poem, Morning Has Broken, popularly set to the Gaelic tune, Bunessan.

2. François Bédos des Celles (1709–1779), familiarly known to organbuilders as Dom Bédos, was a Benedictine monk and master organbuilder. His treatise, L’art du facteur d’Orgues (The Art of Organ Building), published in 1768, is still central to the education of every modern organbuilder.

M. P. Rathke, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana, Opus 8

Newtown United Methodist Church, Cincinnati, Ohio

 

From the director of music

II Corinthians 5:17 reminds us that “[t]he old becomes new again.” Organbuilder Michael Rathke’s Opus 8 at Newtown United Methodist Church (NUMC) in Cincinnati, Ohio, tangibly exemplifies just that. Rathke repurposed four ranks of century-old pipework— unanticipated gifts to NUMC from a neighboring church—juxtaposed them with a fresh principal chorus, Stopped Diapason, and Trumpet, and housed the result within a sleek, hand-crafted, solid walnut case to make the old new again.

In 2011, members and friends of NUMC began the process of selecting a new organ for their historic church. At first blush, artistic and practical considerations elicited from the modest membership of 106 people two responses: exhilaration and trepidation. Inspiration came from organbuilder Michael Rathke, organ consultants Thom Miles and Roberta Gary, and administrative council chair Larry White. White significantly reframed an increasingly nagging question, “How can we?” to an affirmative new mantra: “How can we not?” The decision to pursue the purchase of a pipe organ—a first in the church’s history—thus held stewardship on an equal footing with artistic goals. Larry White, Reverend Howard D. Preston, and Craig Correll (facilities manager and chair of the organ committee) led church members and friends in the purchase of an instrument that would prove an investment in the future of NUMC and a commitment to the values and history that had long been integral to the church.

All recognized the need for an eclectic instrument rooted in historical principles: sufficiently versatile to accompany solo, choral, and instrumental music; sufficiently rich to satisfy a wide range of liturgical requirements; and sufficiently responsive to evoke artistry in the performance of the organ repertoire. Paramount was an unwavering commitment to good stewardship and to honoring the architectural integrity of the worship space. Rathke Opus 8, a mechanical key- and stop-action organ modeled on centuries-old organ building practices, far exceeded our initial expectations.  This instrument inspires us to become new again.

—Dr. Kristy Swift

Director of Music

 

From the organbuilder

Nothing lasts forever. This cheerless reality surely haunted the earliest artists and builders who, observing decay in the natural world, would have foreseen the eventual deterioration of even their most careful work. Yet they designed, labored, and built all the same. Perhaps they were encouraged that, although nothing endures indefinitely, some things do last for a very long time. And pipe organs happen to be among the longest-lived of all human creations; this is especially true of their component wood and metal pipes, whose life spans are often measured in centuries.

Newtown United Methodist Church is located in a historic village on the near southeast side of Cincinnati, Ohio. The 1867 building was apparently constructed without a pipe organ, nor does one seem to have been installed during its first century and a half. Then in 2012 came a confluence of several related factors: quality vintage pipework offered for essentially the price of retrieving it, the creative vision of music director Kristy Swift, and the strong support of Pastor Howard Preston.

The deteriorating state of Newtown’s aged electronic organ had given church leadership pause for thought. A generous and welcome bequest from a parishioner in years past, it had reached the end of its anticipated life span and was no longer able to be repaired. In response to Pastor Preston’s directive, the church formed a committee led by Kristy Swift, which in turn retained consultants Thom Miles and Roberta Gary. That a modest pipe organ would be the preferred solution soon emerged, but then there was the small matter of funding. Although the congregation was healthy and, in fact, led the local Conference in per-capita giving, it was far from being rich, and the decision to procure a new instrument of any sort would be approached thoughtfully and prayerfully.

Then this remarkable church, which had given so much to others, received a surprise gift of its own in the form of several ranks of excellent vintage pipework from a neighboring church. This tipped the scales, so to speak; the Newtown congregation was able to raise the balance of funds for a modest two-manual, seven-stop pipe organ, a contract for which was signed in 2012 with M. P. Rathke, Inc., of Indianapolis.

Once the project was approved and local interest grew, several donors stepped forward and asked if they might contribute toward making the organ larger and more flexible. Dr. Swift subsequently met with the organbuilder and consultants; together they settled on an enlarged ten-stop specification, including an independent 8′ Open Diapason in the Pedal, as well as a full-length German Trumpet of hammered lead.

 

Placement

Where the organ would be situated and how it would relate to the worship space were twin issues that first had to be resolved. It is axiomatic that pipe organs generally sound their best when placed high in a room and speaking down its long axis; yet here we had limited ceiling height (16′) and a space that was nearly as wide as it was long, offering no obvious long axis. The choir’s historic location in the acoustically advantageous right-hand front corner of the room—visible to the congregation yet by no means the center of attention—ended up being a critical consideration.  We thus decided to place the instrument near the choir in a compact, freestanding walnut case, against a side wall near the front of the building, and centered between two windows—a solution that, happily, did not require appreciably more usable floor space than the previous electronic organ console.

 

Engineering

Once the organ’s placement and footprint had been established, we faced a familiar conundrum of fitting the proverbial ten pounds into a five-pound bag. In so doing, we were challenged to design a playing mechanism that was reliable, durable, and responsive; to ensure ready tuning and maintenance access; and to provide all pipework with sufficient speaking room. This last consideration was especially vexing because, unusually for a small instrument, fully five of its ten stops are at 8′ pitch; four of those five stops comprise full-length, open pipes.

The organ utilizes mechanical stop action and suspended mechanical key action, the latter playing through splayed tracker runs to keep the action simple and vertical space requirements to an absolute minimum. Manual I and Manual II share a common windchest with alternating divisional key channels in the chest grid, a space-saving expedient that has the knock-on effect of housing most manual pipework on the same level for optimal tuning stability. Two registers—the 4′ Open Flute and the 8′ Stopped Diapason—are tubed from the main windchest up to a so-called flying toeboard, much in the manner of a mounted Cornet. This configuration, while economizing on windchest depth, also lends a spatial aspect to Manual II, whose pipes are located higher in the case than Manual I and thus provide an interesting “stereo” effect when the two divisions are played in dialogue, and a special richness when coupled. But because the vertical distance is minimal (36 inches) there is essentially no negative effect on tuning stability or the two divisions’ tendency to hang together with regard to cohesion and blend.

All Pedal pipework is similarly tubed off from its own windchest, which sits immediately behind the pedalboard.  This somewhat unusual arrangement was chosen for several reasons.  First, had we placed the Pedal chest deeper into the instrument, beneath the pipework it controls—the most common solution, and appropriate to most situations—it would have simplified our design work considerably, but it would have introduced a potential maintenance nightmare: a bit of dirt on a pallet could necessitate a half-day’s disassembly. Now one needs only to remove the pedalboard for full access to the division’s pallet box.  Being entirely tubed off, pipework may be placed for maximum space efficiency. An added bonus is further enjoyed by the largest bass pipes, which typically speak their best when fed via wind conveyances of reasonable length.

 

Tonal design

Here the roles of consultants Roberta Gary and Thom Miles cannot be overstated. In a small instrument, especially, every stop must be something of a chameleon, functioning effectively not only on its own but also in a variety of combinations. The late addition of the 8′ Trumpet to the organ’s specification in particular required some serious discussions among church staff, consultants, and organbuilder. How much space, already at a premium, would it add to case depth? What would its tonal character be? And from which division would it play?

The first question was the easiest, answered by conventional drafting and geometry and mitigated by careful chest layout. The second question received more spirited discussion, but a Trumpet of North German character (this one based on Tobias Brunner’s fine example at Tellingstedt) soon emerged as the unanimous choice, largely on account of its rich, dark, and blending sonority, which one listener colorfully described as “German chocolate.”

The third question—in which division would this German Trumpet live?—occupied somewhat more time than anticipated. The celebrated historic instruments of North Germany and Holland, important points of departure for the Newtown organ’s design, would almost always have placed the Trumpet in the primary manual division. Secondary manual divisions would either have had no reed, or else a lighter reed register, often half- or quarter-length.

It was Dr. Gary who first suggested departing from tradition and placing the Trumpet on Manual II for the following reasons: 1) it could be played in dialogue with the Manual I Principal chorus; 2) it could be accompanied by any number of 8′ + 8′ or 8′ + 4′ combinations on Manual I; and 3) it could be coupled directly to the Pedal, thus lending substance and independence to this two-stop division.

 

 

Final Thoughts

At this point, many organbuilders will conclude by writing about the fine sound and appearance of their instrument, the excellent quality of pipe construction and voicing, the sensitive and responsive action, and the like. And we certainly hope others will write similar things about our work for Newtown Methodist in due course. For now, we will refrain from saying much ourselves because, as builders, we can’t pretend anything close to objectivity. We think we’ve built a beautiful and estimable instrument; but in the end, our thoughts aren’t the really important ones. We are encouraged that feedback thus far has been positive, we are proud of the work we have done for this remarkable congregation, and we hope our efforts will stand the test of time and inspire the worship of generations to come. And we unhesitatingly invite interested readers to visit, see, play, listen, and decide for themselves.

Nothing in this world lasts forever. It is nonetheless our sincere hope that our Opus 8 will last for a very long time, indeed, and that it may speak to future generations of those things which are truly eternal. Ad majorem Dei gloriam.

—Michael Rathke

 

Builders of the organ

Ana Carlson

Christopher Church

Timothy McEwen

Michael Rathke

Paul Rathke +

Lindsey Redder

Luke Redder

Caleb Ringwald

Nicholas Ringwald

Christopher Sedlak

 

Specialist Artisans

Linda Cook: calligraphy for stop labels, coupler labels, and builder plate

Louise Pezzi: design and fabrication of wrought-iron drawknobs

Morgan Faulds Pike: design and carving of walnut pipe shades

 

MANUAL I

8′ Principal (façade to middle C, polished 

    25% tin; rest hammered 50%)

8′ Gemshorn* (ex Kimball 1–25, zinc & 

    50% tin; rest new, 50% tin)

4′ Octave (hammered 40% tin)

22⁄3′ Twelfth (hammered lead)

2′ Fifteenth (hammered lead)

MANUAL II

8′ Stopped Diapason (poplar)

4′ Open Flute* (1–18 poplar, 

    19–58 50% tin)

8′ Trumpet (hammered lead)

PEDAL

16′ Bourdon* (white pine)

8′ Open Diapason* (zinc & 30% tin)

 

*ex 1908 Kimball, wholly or in part

Couplers (toe, hitchdown)

I–P

II–P

II–I

 

Tremulant (general)

Pedalboard: flat and non-radiating

Temperament: Kellner, A-441 @ 72° F