Hi,
I've been playing the organ for quite some time, I'd call myself decent in harmonising the hymns and bearable in improvisation, but I have a feeling there's still a lot to do, and improvising is where I'd like to improve, as that inevitably comes with improving the harmony too. Now, I've always admired the type of harmony that I've never seen in any "classic" books - clashing chords, or chords that sound out of place but actually fit well, even changing the scale - my main issue is that I was never able to properly name this style which prevented me from doing any research on it - i called it "modern" in the post's title, but I don't know if it's as modern as for example Messaien's improvisations. Either way, I'd appreciate any help or resources, so thank you in advance!

An example of what I mean: https://youtu.be/JUxBzAfmLiM (namely the improvised parts)

I can find video when I look it up but not where I can find the music?

Hello everyone!

I’m thrilled (and a bit nervous) to be playing the organ at a Christmas Eve service this December 24th. This is my first time playing for such a big event, and while I have some experience, I’m still building my repertoire.

I’m looking for suggestions for an easy-to-learn prelude that sounds grand and festive, fitting for the occasion. Ideally, something I can practice and polish within a few weeks. I’m comfortable with the pedals, so I don’t mind incorporating them.

Any ideas or recommendations for pieces that would impress the congregation while being beginner-friendly?

Thank you in advance for your help!

Day 2 of the Evanston trip started like the first, with a green line train to the loop, and then a purple line all the way up to Evanston. It's always nice to be headed the opposite direction of traffic on trips like these.

I visited First Presbyterian earlier in the summer during the Great Lakes Regional AGO convention. Vincent Dubois played the closing recital on this organ. It's a visually stunning organ, although I wished that the acoustics in the church could have been a little better. There's lots of padding and carpet in the room.

The organist there is a teacher and so wasn't available to play the organ for us. Fortunately Andrea Handley was available. She is a former organist of First Presbyterian, and happens to live right across the street. We were on a little bit of a time restriction because there was a funeral happening there in the afternoon.

We got the tour of the organ done, and some performances, and then had to clear out. We used that time to go record the Austin organ in the chapel, the video of which came out after this one. After that it was lunchtime, and I grabbed a Metra train to the next stop where I found food, but also went back to First United Methodist to get a little more footage of that building. I think I walked back to First Pres to finish up there and to kill time waiting for the funeral to finish.

Once there I did the walkthrough of the organ. It's all very easy to get into, and feels much like a typical Aeolian-Skinner. The sound of the organ is big and impressive, and really begs for a better acoustic. But otherwise, a worthwhile and interesting stop on the trip. The whole video is here: https://youtu.be/0gRKwWSZY68

There is a a BIS short, about the upcoming Bach recital. And I don't recognize the 3rd piece in this trailer:

Letting people loose on the BIS Organ!

Could someone help me with that? (This few seconds suggests a great performance, so it caught me instantly. And I feel this is the kind of Bach I love the most.)

Person 1: You interested in music?

Person 2: Yes! I love music.

1: Cool! Do you play an instrument?

2: Yes, I do.

1: What instrument do you play?

2: What instrument do I play? Why, I play the pipe organ, the king of instruments.

1: Why would you want to play something so complicated?

2: Well, who wouldn't want to say that they play an entire building? I mean think about it. Think of the sheer power you feel, stepping up to that console, knowing that at your fingertips was an instrument as old as time, as massive as a building, as powerful as an entire orchestra, and as versatile as a piano! Its keys are armies, its pipes are a castle, its wind, a hurricane! Think of it! You have the power to rattle the ground, blast music so loud everyone can hear it and feel its sheer supremacy over all other musical instruments! NO OTHER INSTRUMENT CAN COMPARE TO THE POWER OF THE KING!!! *maniacal laughing with ominous organ music in the background*

https://preview.redd.it/nqzrn4jnhc4e1.jpg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=70228c59ee64c6c58f2a5d9a9d5469ced1555e3f

We saved a few of the wooden pipes from my late Father in Law’s workshop and we were able to turn one into the mantel at my MIL’s new house. Will be a great way to remember him and the work he did for most of his life.

I'm in my freshman year of college and I'm taking organ lessons next semester. Do I need the OrganMaster shoes or would suede bottomed ballroom shoes work? TIA!

Hey so I can make my own GO samplesets, where do I get royalty-free recordings of pipe organs from?

Hello,

My Grandfather has recently passed away, and we would like to donate his organ to a charity or youth organisation, but can't find any/no one is coming back to us.

Just wondered if anyone had any suggestions? I don't know specifically what make it is, so just looking for some more general guidance!

Thank you! :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOwwgJzc1xc

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, the son of Johann Sebastian Bach, wrote many keyboard works and some organ works. His organ sonatas are well known. In my digital sheet music archives I found this setting on the hymn 'Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten'. I couldn't find the source of the piece, I probably found it in the free domain years ago. At first glance it was very 'J.S. Bach' like, but different. Maybe an hommage of C.P.E. to J.S.?

I tried several ways to play this piece. Only manual, one manual & pedal, cantus firmus on a second manual (which didn't work, because of the big stretches for my left hand). The tempo was also an issue. Fast or slow, both possible. That's the fun with lesser known pieces, you can go different ways without foreknowledge.

If you like this video, make sure to subscribe to this channel. Thanks!

You are brought into the loft/room with someone you have never met before. You know nothing about them, other than that they are very skeptical of the organ but don't know anything about it. You have one chance to convince them it is truly the king of instruments. You can play any piece at any organ (anywhere).

What do you play, where, and why?

For me, either Virgil Fox's arrangement of Come Sweet Death on the Wanamaker, or Jonathan Scott's arrangement of the finale from Saint-Saens 3rd on the Tabernacle Choir Aeolian-Skinner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiRYYegS6NE

Tambourin (2015) was written for the birthday of organ builder Paul Fritts. It is a contemporary interpretation of the old Provençal dance form.

Pipeloops is working on a new sample set of the neobaroque Klais organ (1965) of the Aegidienkirche, Braunschweig (Germany). This recording is done with the beta test version. I used a minimal but powerful French classical inspired registration, fitting for this Tambourin.

Hi everyone,

Not sure if this is allowed here but I'm reaching out because I work for a pipe organ building company in Oregon. We removed a Wicks organ (see info here: https://pipeorgandatabase.org/instruments/25484) and we now have it in our possession.

This might be a HUGE longshot but figured I would give it a shot because we are looking to sell the organ and so far, we have no leads from our current clients.

Anyone have a church or organization that might be interested? Or any resources of possible places we could reach out to?

I appreciate any responses, thank you very much!

I got this Electronic Organ from a friend and since it was stored for more than 20 years it needs some maintenance. I want to disassemble it for that but would surely need the owner's manual not to unnecessarily damage the components and get a sense of how it's built. Also, the current Bontempi website just sells products for kids and doesn't have vintage products' manuals.

https://preview.redd.it/epz78gyzkh3e1.jpg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=831cb1876db67563b8a889d70a5b497a5e6c2c9a

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZHRym821Wg

Hans van Nieuwkoop (1948) studied organ with Albert de Klerk at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. In 1974 he received the Prix d'Excellence. He also studied musicology at the University of Utrecht. He published several articles on varying subjects and wrote his thesis about 'Haarlemse Orgelkunst van 1400 tot heden'. He also acts as an advisery person in regard to organ restoration and building of new organs. Hans van Nieuwkoop teached organ at the Sweelinck Conservatory of Amsterdam. He was organist of the St. Laurens' Church of Alkmaar.

I recorded this beautiful neobaroque partita on Psalm 61 of the Genevan Psalter. This piece was published in the 1980 edition of the music bundle of the Vereniging Organisten Gereformeerde Gemeenten. Thanks to the VOGG for the permission to share both the recording and the sheet music in this video!

Im trying to get a manual of my organ (An Thomas californian 281), does anyone have a copy?

there’s a glitch in my angelus thats happening where the pitch is sharpened by four semitones and the pipe wind for the viole Celeste, flute 8, and flute 4 is. Way louder that usual. can anyone help?

note:the remote is broken sadly

Hi everyone! I need help buying a digital or virtual organ for my church. The church is relatively small, and this will be our first organ (we use a two manual and pedal harmonium). The budget is thight, but we need a good instrument. We thought about a johannus opus 260. Do you know any hauptwerk or digital organ, that would be appropriate? Thanks for your time!

I’m about to move just down the road and I’m worried that it won’t survive the move. It was received for free and is a Yamaha BK-7. Not very desirable or works but I use it with all kinds of effects and sampled its drum sounds to make my own drum patterns and I love it. The last time I tried to move it I moved it across the room and it was quite wobbly and felt like the bottom was going to fall out

Hello everyone.

I'm the organist of a parish that owns an electro-pneumatic Walcker organ from 1938. During summer the organ works excellently, but as with many organs, when cold and wet weather arrives, ciphers begin to appear. Originally the organ was fully pneumatic, but the console had to be rebuilt and the transmission got electrified. Now the console activates electric valves, which in turn activate the old pneumatic valves. The problem appears when current is no longer applied and the electric valves are unable to return to their resting position, so the pipes and stops get stuck. If I manually move them with my finger they return to their position with almost no effort. I've already tried to spray their axles with lubricant, but that doesn't seem to fix it. We need to have the organ operational for the Midnight Mass (I know there's still some time, but I don't want to rush later). I've been told to change the springs of the malfunctioning valves, but I'm afraid that's not the way to solve the problem, since the organ works properly during dry weather, and I don't think that should affect the springs.

I've attached a photo of the valves to make it easier to visualize the issue.

Thanks in advance, and excuse my English. I'm from Spain.

The electric valves.

I realize that the title of this post could be misconstrued as the human organ trade on the black market... but I know that you know what I'm talking about!

My grandfather has played the church organ for more than half a century. He was a music teacher in NYC. He played for many, many churches. In his younger years, he owned a business building church organs. He eventually retired and moved out to New Mexico. A few years ago he decided to get back into playing the organ and decided he would purchase a Johannus Rembrandt 397. I'm not sure what he was thinking when he decided to make such a big purchase, but C'est la vie. He is now having health issues and financial issues, and the organ has to go. I'm not exactly sure what the best approach would be to selling it, so I'm hoping some good people have some experience selling their organs. The organ is located in Rio Rancho, NM and we would appreciate someplace local(ish) to avoid any gargantuan shipping charges.

Any tips or leads would be appreciated! :)