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In terms of sound and appearance, the organ's design was inspired by the choir organs of the great French nineteenth-century organ builder Aristide Cavaille-Coll (1811-1899), whose organs continue to be enjoyed in famous cathedrals and parishes in France and throughout the world. While his instruments inspired a new era of organ compositions by such great composers as César Franck, Charles-Marie Widor, and Louis Vierne, their design also respected the need to render the works of the Baroque masters, such as the great Johann Sebastian Bach, with musical integrity. Like Cavaille-Coll’s organs, our new instrument offers a similar eclecticism. One of its many virtues is that it embraces the design principle of mechanical key and stop action. Unlike electric action organs that have electrical contacts connected to wires that run to the pipe valves, mechanical action organs employ a complex array of thin pieces of wood, called trackers, which connect the keys to the valves. Over the past few decades there has been a return to an historic style of organ building in terms of key and stop action, which has proven itself valid to this day, offering the best of musical sensitivity, mechanical longevity, and low maintenance. Our organ consists of three divisions: the Grand-Orgue, Récit, and Pédale. The Grand-Orgue, or Great Organ, contains the larger-scaled stops used for congregational singing. It was of utmost importance that these stops be scaled and voiced in such a way to provide an elegant “backbone” to our worship. They are designed to provide a rich sonority that inspires congregational participation but does not overpower. The Récit contains softer stops used for more intimate music making, such as the accompanying of choir, instrumentalists, and soloists, as well as the more delicate solo music heard during preludes and improvisations. The Pédale provides gravity to the sound, much like the double basses of an orchestra. The aurally and visually dramatic pipes of the Trompette en chamade, located high on the West wall, employ a unique design concept that was born in Spain over four centuries ago. Since trumpet pipes utilize metal reeds, which are sensitive to dust, the Spanish began mounting these pipes horizontally instead of vertically, thereby reducing the amount of dust that could affect the reed of the pipe. Besides serving this practical purpose there was a pleasing musical byproduct, as organ builders later capitalized on the fact that the orientation of these pipes allowed their sound to be focused directly into the nave of a church with great intensity. As such, these trumpets command great presence, allowing for the melodies of hymns to have great prominence even amidst the full organ, and for dramatic fanfares at festal services. In fact, the phrase en chamade means "to sound a parley," referencing the trumpets of medieval heralds. To quote the organist and composer Charles-Marie Widor: “to play the organ properly, one should have a vision of Eternity.” It is this vision of eternity that drives this church organist both in the playing of the organ and seeing to the design details of this magnificent new instrument. May the aural and visual splendor of this organ inspire us in our worship and grant us “even now glimpses of God's beauty” for many years to come. James Diaz, Organist and Choirmaster |
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