Why post a recital story on this board???

[KB7DQH]

Because the article is as much if not more about the instrument as the musical event...

Some important concepts become apparent in the following article about an organ recital celebrating the professional tonal finishing of... an instrument built out of bits found here and there and combined into a working instrument with the lion's share of the work of finding the parts required to build the instrument done by... the organist :o

That it replaces an electronic organ just adds "icing to the cake" 8)

http://www.timesdaily.com/stories/New-voice,184301

Recital celebrates pipe organ's enhancements
By Bethany A Giles
For the TimesDaily
Jim Hannon/TimesDaily
Phase two — the tonal finishing — of the pipe organ at St. Bartholomew Episcopal Church on Darby Drive in Florence is complete. To celebrate, the church will present a recital by Samuel Burke on Sunday, Nov. 20, beginning at 5:30 p.m. A reception will follow.

If each pipe in an organ is likened to one voice in a choir, then the organ at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in Florence has matured from an assorted assembly of voices to a finely tuned chorus suited to its particular home.

This new phase in the life of the organ will be celebrated at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 20, with a recital by guest organist Samuel Burke.

Burke dubbed this event as "a great event in the life of the church," adding he is looking forward to "showing off" to the community this organ that "is quite versatile for its size."

The process that matured the organ is that of "tonal finishing," which involves each pipe in the organ being adjusted — or "voiced" — in this case by master craftsman Eric Johnson, of the Quimby Pipe Organ Co. Inc. in Warrensburg, Mo.

Adjustments are made so the instrument in total sounds its best in the acoustical environment where it is placed.

"Think of every pipe in the instrument being like a voice in a choir," said Randy Terry, organist at St. Bartholomew's. "The job of the voicer is to achieve the proper balance and blend among the organ's pipes, just like a good choral conductor works to build the elegant, balanced and blended sound one hears when listening to a fine choir."

Johnson was brought to the Shoals by way of Birmingham, where he was working on an organ at Samford University. He is best known for his restoration of the great organ at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.

"This program is being held because we just had one of the best pipe organ master craftsmen to do the tonal finishing to fit each pipe to the room and take out any non-musical sounds," Terry said.

"The church is 50 years old. They wanted a pipe organ. I'm a Florence local, and my hobby is ... to look all over the country for different pieces of discarded organs — things that can be recycled — and I find the people to make it happen."

Most of the organ was in a home in Lebanon, Tenn., when Terry found it, but it was in 1940s technology. He found updated, computerized equipment to change out all the electronic parts and bring it to current-day standards.

"I bought some used pipes from different places ... as church funds became available," Terry said. "It took three years."

Finally, Milnar Organ Company assembled the instrument in 2010.

Terry said the organ has affected the worship experience at St. Bartholomew's in a number of ways. "People sing better with the organ," he said. "The old electronic organ was a very aggressive sound. The new one is more mellow. That's the comment I get most of the time."

The recital will feature various hymns that are familiar to a lot of people; the closing piece is a toccata written by Burke based on the hymn "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee."

"They will hear a lot of the different stops, such as flute, strings and what we would call principles," Terry said. "The principle rank makes the ensemble you think of when listening to a hymn. The music will feature individual stops and smaller ensembles as well as lot of loud music.

"There is a lovely, vintage, wooden flute that will be used quite a bit, as well as a stop called vox angelicia or 'angel voices.' "

While there will be music from the Baroque period through what the composer has written himself, nothing will be dissonant 20th-century organ music.

"It will all be tuneful and light," Terry said.

Tonal finishing of the organ was performed with support from the Elizabeth "Betsy" Harris Memorial fund and the generosity of her family and friends. Mrs. Harris was an accomplished organist, pianist and accordionist.

Bethany A. Giles is a freelance writer living in the Shoals.

Eric
KB7DQH