The pipe organ is an instrument that most people associate only with church or horror movies. Hmmm, that's kind of an interesting juxtaposition, isn't it?
Oh well, nevermind. The point is that the pipe organ is not the most mainstream instrument. Not like the guitar, say, or the piano. Can't carry it around with you, can't even buy one for your home. Well, you could, if you had a home the size of the average cathedral. Pipe organs require a lot of space. They also can get very, very loud.
It is known as the king of instruments, because a pipe organ is essentially an entire orchestra in a box. The biggest operational pipe organ in the world happens to be in Philadelphia, the Wanamaker Grand Court organ, built for that eponymous department store, now a Macy's. For those who care about statistics, it contains 462 ranks, or sets of pipes, contains a total of 28,541 pipes, has six manuals, or keyboards, and weighs 287 tons.
Knobs on the organ, referred to as stops, control a single rank of pipes, or sometimes several ranks, and each stop produces a different timbre, pitch, or volume. When a stop knob is pulled, air flows into a pipe or pipes. The expression "pulling out all the stops" refers to this practice. The stops have names as diverse and interesting as the Vox Angelica, the Major Tibia, and the Chimney Flute.
In addition to all of the above paraphenalia, a pipe organ also has a pedalboard, a keyboard played by the feet.
So, it takes a fine musician merely to play such an instrument. Last week, I was fortunate enough to hear (and see) the Kimmel Center organ, also located in Philadelphia, played in concert by an extraordinary musician, Paul Jacobs.
Paul is the head of the Organ Department at Julliard, a position he has held since the tender age of 24. He is an organ virtuoso, who has committed to memory thousands of organ works. On the 250th anniversary of Bach's death, he played Bach's entire organ works in an 18-hour marathon concert.
That may not seem like such a physically difficult task, unless you have seen Paul play. Both hands and feet are going at almost all times. He probably would have made a fine tap-dancer to see the fluidity of his footwork. In the Kimmel Center concert on May 8, Paul played Max Reger's Second Sonata in D Minor, a fiendishly dynamic work that Paul presented with such abandon that I swore at one point he had more than ten fingers, and an additional foot. Another work, by composer Wayne Oquin, was given its Philadelphia premiere at the concert; it lived up to its name "Reverie" in the dreamy tranquility of Paul's interpretation. Between pieces he spoke about what he was going to play; his passion for the instrument and his engaging, informative commentary added a great deal to the concert.
The Kimmel Center organ, also known as the Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ, is practically brand-new, built in 2006, and is the largest concert hall organ in the US. Paul sat at the console in the center of the stage, with large monitors positioned so that cameras could adequately convey what he was doing. The result was two hours of music so visually and aurally mesmerizing that it passed by in a blink. When the concert ended, the audience lept to its feet. It was one of the most memorable concerts I have ever attended.
Paul is not just an incredible musician, but a really nice man. He has played for the Valley Forge Choir of Men and Boys, a labor of love for him. Norm, Spence and I got to know him when we all travelled to England with the group, and we heard him play while standing underneath the huge pipe organ in Carlisle Cathedral. He remains a great friend.
In Paul's own words, "music is not just about playing neatly and accurately. It should be played in a manner that stirs the soul." (The New York Times).
Gentle Reader, Paul plays concerts all over the world. Check out this website for his performing schedule, and see him if you can. Your life will be enriched, and your view of the pipe organ will never be the same.
Here is Paul playing Bach's Fantasy and Fugue in G Minor, from the recording Paul Jacobs Plays Bach. Enjoy!
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