morrison (05/29/82)
Here's some more on worthwhile Boston organs. I'm afraid much of it may be out of date, as I haven't lived in Boston for about four years. As mentioned by cjh the Flentrop at the Busch-Reisinger Museum is a wonderful instrument. Biggs was titular organist there for donkey's years. Unless things have changed, there is a recital there every Thursday lunchtime while Harvard is in session. Two other fine, famous Boston organs are the Skinners (done under G. Donald Harrison) at Symphony Hall and the Church of the Advent. The former is, I believe, rarely played, but the latter is the finest French Romantic sort of organ I've ever heard "in the flesh" (of course, I've never been to Paris...). Worthwhile, if only because of the unusual tuning, is the Fisk organ at the Memorial Chapel in Harvard Yard. There are evening recitals there several times a year. One I remember in particular was a program entirely of Avant Garde stuff, and the performer (I forget her name) did a master class the next day. One of the pieces was incredably discordant, except for this wonderful triad in the middle: sounded like the most consanant thing you'd ever heard. The next day she pointed out the joke -- it was an F# major triad, which is the WORST in Werkmeister II tuning, way, way off. When played alone it made your hair stand on end. But the night before, in context, it was like music from heaven... There's also another Fisk organ as Old West. Concerts every Friday (or at least, there used to be) at lunchtime which were more often than not organ recitals. A real curiosity: there's a player organ (like a player piano) at the Church of the Covenant. I don't remember exactly where most are, but there are some fine, old early American organs scattered through the area. The only one I remember specifically is in Christ Church, Cambridge. Don't remember any details, but it was done up a couple of years ago, I think retaining most of the old stuff. One "early" organ I do actually know a good deal about is at Christ Church, Boston (The Old North, Paul Revere, etc.). While the tour guides will tell you it's over two hundred years old, don't believe them. PART of the case is orignal, but everything else was done up in the fifties. Still, it's a nice mechanical action organ. Lots of brilliant mixtures. The poor, decrepit thing (lots of hullabaloo when it was put in, I think it was Holtkamp's first on such a scale, but it's rarely played now -- no more recitals at all I think) in the poor, decrepit auditorium at MIT is, I believe, used to accompany "The Phantom of the Opera" every year or two. Recommended. For simple size, one just has to include the monster in the First Church of Christ, Scientist (trans. Christian Science). I find it an abomination, can't hear anything but a dull rumble, but others disaggree. Two other organs on which there are (or were) regular recitals: King's Chapel, Sunday afternoons, and the Goethe Institute, once a month. I believe there's a recital series on the fairly new Frobenius organ at First Congrational Church in Cambridge. This probably contains lots of dated or misremembered information for which I apologise. I'd appreciate corrections from anyone with more accurate information. P.S. Gee, since top 20 polls are topical, how about "my favorite 20 organs" (or may top 10? Need you have actually heard them, or just on records?). Considering how esoteric such a thing would be, and how much fuss there is about polls, if anybody takes me seriously on this, please send stuff to me instead of the net. I'll digestify it, and will be happy to send undigestified stuff to anyone who would like it forwarded.
morrison (05/29/82)
Here's some more on worthwhile Boston organs. I'm afraid much of it may be out of date, as I haven't lived in Boston for about four years. As mentioned by cjh the Flentrop at the Busch-Reisinger Museum is a wonderful instrument. Biggs was titular organist there for donkey's years. Unless things have changed, there is a recital there every Thursday lunchtime while Harvard is in session. Two other fine, famous Boston organs are the Skinners (done under G. Donald Harrison) at Symphony Hall and the Church of the Advent. The former is, I believe, rarely played, but the latter is the finest French Romantic sort of organ I've ever heard "in the flesh" (of course, I've never been to Paris...). Worthwhile, if only because of the unusual tuning, is the Fisk organ at the Memorial Chapel in Harvard Yard. There are evening recitals there several times a year. One I remember in particular was a program entirely of Avant Garde stuff, and the performer (I forget her name) did a master class the next day. One of the pieces was incredably discordant, except for this wonderful triad in the middle: sounded like the most consanant thing you'd ever heard. The next day she pointed out the joke -- it was an F# major triad, which is the WORST in Werkmeister II tuning, way, way off. When played alone it made your hair stand on end. But the night before, in context, it was like music from heaven... There's also another Fisk organ as Old West. Concerts every Friday (or at least, there used to be) at lunchtime which were more often than not organ recitals. A real curiosity: there's a player organ (like a player piano) at the Church of the Covenant. I don't remember exactly where most are, but there are some fine, old early American organs scattered through the area. The only one I remember specifically is in Christ Church, Cambridge. Don't remember any details, but it was done up a couple of years ago, I think retaining most of the old stuff. One "early" organ I do actually know a good deal about is at Christ Church, Boston (The Old North, Paul Revere, etc.). While the tour guides will tell you it's over two hundred years old, don't believe them. PART of the case is orignal, but everything else was done up in the fifties. Still, it's a nice mechanical action organ. Lots of brilliant mixtures. The poor, decrepit thing (lots of hullabaloo when it was put in, I think it was Holtkamp's first on such a scale, but it's rarely played now -- no more recitals at all I think) in the poor, decrepit auditorium at MIT is, I believe, used to accompany "The Phantom of the Opera" every year or two. Recommended. For simple size, one just has to include the monster in the First Church of Christ, Scientist (trans. Christian Science). I find it an abomination, can't hear anything but a dull rumble, but others disaggree. Two other organs on which there are (or were) regular recitals: King's Chapel, Sunday afternoons, and the Goethe Institute, once a month. I believe there's a recital series on the fairly new Frobenius organ at First Congrational Church in Cambridge. This probably contains lots of dated or misremembered information for which I apologise. I'd appreciate corrections from anyone with more accurate information. P.S. Gee, since top 20 polls are topical, how about "my favorite 20 organs" (or may top 10? Need you have actually heard them, or just on records?). Considering how esoteric such a thing would be, and how much fuss there is about polls, if anybody takes me seriously on this, please send stuff to me instead of the net. I'll digestify it, and will be happy to send undigestified stuff to anyone who would like it forwarded. P.P.S. Sorry if anybody has to read multiple copies of this. I think I killed the other ones in time, but perhaps I messed up again. Don Morrison harpo!utah-cs!don