Two new organs in the news

[KB7DQH]

Noack opus 152...

"This is the top of the line, the best in organ design and, like the great organs in Europe, should last 200 years," Luckner said. "It's very exciting to have this magnificent instrument, which is also beautiful visually."

The new organ will be dedicated Nov. 7 in the first of four free recitals. Olivier Latry, a world-renowned organist from the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, will open the recital series.

http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/article_77ef8d98-df1b-11df-a5d5-001cc4c002e0.html

http://www.wxow.com/Global/story.asp?S=13448949


And the first "French-built organ in New York City"...

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/24/importing-a-joyous-sound/?partner=rss&emc=rss

A teacher with whom Mr. Keene had studied in the 1970s advised him to look up Pascal Quoirin of St. Didier, France. Mr. Quoirin is known in organ circles for his restoration of a Dom Bédos organ in Bordeaux that is considered one of the two or three greatest 18th century French organs that still exist.

"I knew in two minutes he was the one," Mr. Keene said. "I couldn't have an American company build a French-style organ. The best American organs remind me of an overblown California cabernet. They have a huge tone, but it just isn't balanced. This will be nuanced, but it will have fire. It will roar."

Eric
KB7DQH

[KB7DQH]

... And now it's....   Built 8)

When you think of a pipe organ, you probably hear a distinct, eerie sound. On Sunday, you can experience that sound for yourself in Greenwich Village at the Church of the Ascension on Fifth Avenue and 10th Street. You won't hear just any pipe organ. The Manton Memorial organ will be played for the public for the first time.

The Manton Memorial organ was built specially for the church by the French master organ builder Pascal Quoirin. Tracking him down was no easy feat given how rare musical pipe organs are. There are just a handful of qualified organ builders in the world.

"I went all around this country and I didn't find exactly what I was looking for," said Dennis Keene, the music director at the Church of the Ascension. "I called one of my old teachers in Paris and said, 'Are there any builders in Europe that I don't know about?'"

That's how he found Quoirin. Within a few minutes of meeting him, Keene knew he was the organ builder for the church's instrument. Quoirin learned how to build organs through an apprenticeship he began when he was 15 years old.

http://culture.wnyc.org/articles/features/2011/apr/29/vital-organ/

Included in the link is an audio sample of the instrument 8)

Eric
KB7DQH

[KB7DQH]

And a review of the inaugural concert...

The pipe organ is a mysterious and complex instrument, whose flight deck of keys, knobs, tabs and pedals require the performer to be pianist, pilot and tap dancer simultaneously. Organists often work diligently in the shadows, their consoles hidden from view. But the handsome new Manton Memorial Organ at the Church of the Ascension in Greenwich Village was on full display for its inauguration on Thursday evening, with a concert by Jon Gillock.

The organ, built at the workshop of Pascal Quoirin in St.-Didier, France, has 6,183 pipes, 95 stops, 7 keyboards and 2 consoles. It is said to be the first French-built organ ever installed in New York and the largest French organ built in almost 50 years.

Organs are often constructed to accommodate a specific genre of music, like German Baroque or French Romantic. But Mr. Gillock and Dennis Keene, the organist and choirmaster at the Church of the Ascension, wanted 'an eclectic instrument that would be ideal for playing a wide repertory, with a particular facility for Messiaen's music. The exquisitely carved peacocks and birds of paradise decorating the pipes allude to Messiaen's fascination with birdsong.

The rest of the review can be read herehttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/10/arts/music/jon-gillock-inaugurates-organ-at-church-of-ascension-review.html?_r=1

Eric
KB7DQH