Reconstructing the Oldest Pipe-Organ in the World

Via Aleteia, here’s another very interesting thing on the musical front. At the beginning of the 20th-century, archeologists working at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem discovered a set of organ pipes and a bell carillion. They have since been kept at the Holy Land Musuem run by the Franciscan custody. According to the musicologist who is working on them, Dr David Catalunya, they had been brought to the Holy Land by the crusaders in the early 12th century, and then hidden for safe-keeping during a Muslim invasion. They are in a very good state of preservation; Dr Catalunya is now engaged in a five-year long project to rebuild the organ in such a way that it will be playable again.

The next oldest playable organ is more than 300 years younger, an instrument in the church of Notre-Dame de Valère in Sion, Switzerland, which has 12 of its original pipes.

How Do I Get From the Piano to the Organ?

Dr. Crista Miller tackles this question in the latest bonus episode of Square Notes. After discussing some basic differences in finger technique between the two instruments, she talks about pedaling, registration, and good repertoire for the pianist learning the organ.

For those pianists interested in learning to play the organ, check out Dr. Miller’s class that she’ll be teaching online August 3 to 7 through St. Joseph’s Seminary. 

And if you’re looking for a short list of books that would be helpful in the transition, check out the one she’s provided here.

You can catch us on our website, YouTube, iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. Please note that we have discontinued publishing on SoundCloud.

The Organs at Notre Dame: An Update Almost One Year After the Fire

The latest episode of Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast has just been released.

Our guest for this episode is the fantastic titular organist of Notre Dame, Olivier Latry, who gives us an assessment of the damage and what to look for in the road ahead. He also discusses the development of the instrument and its role in the sacred liturgy, and the development of the organ repertoire.

For more information about Olivier Latry, please click here: www.concertorganists.com/artists/Olivier-Latry/.

For more information about the Introduction to the Organ for Pianists class this summer at St. Joseph’s Seminary, click here: www.dunwoodie.edu/dunwoodie-music-classes.



You can catch us on our website, YouTube, iTunes, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast app. Please note that we have discontinued publishing on SoundCloud.

“An Incredible Organ for an Incredible Church”

NLM received the following contribution from the St. Francis de Sales Oratory in St. Louis.

An Incredible Organ for an Incredible Church

Steven Ball

Recently, St. Francis de Sales Oratory, an apostolate of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, with the blessing of the Archbishop of St. Louis, was pleased to announce the signing of the contract for Karl Wilhelm Opus 123, a three-manual and pedal, 58-rank freestanding mechanical action organ.

This is the third instrument to be installed in this remarkable and often photographed structure. St. Francis de Sales is the largest Gothic Revival building in the city of St. Louis and was recently named most beautiful church in the nation according to a recent online poll conducted by "Art & Liturgy". Having the 6th tallest church spire in the country, it is also the largest church structure on Historic Route 66--quite a unique set of distinctions for a church already known to readers of NLM as being the exclusive home for the Extraordinary Form of the Mass and an important hub for Institute activities in the Midwest.

The Wilhelm organ replaces a III/22 rank Wicks organ from 1924. The Wicks organ had been in failing health for some years and had experienced several alterations, including removal of some of the original pipework. It was itself a replacement of the original  II/15 organ by J. G. Pheffer & Sons from 1897 which had been relocated to St. Mary's Church in Altus, AK, where it is still preserved today.

Director of Sacred Music Steven Ball, an experienced organ consultant, led the search for the right instrument throughout North America and Europe. After studying dozens of possible transplant organs , four were selected as finalists. Several considerations led the investigation in the direction of the Wilhelm instrument, including the exquisite detail of the casework, extremely traditional methods of construction and voicing, and the overall tonal design which hearkens back to the original German ancestry of the parish. The instrument is well suited, in particular, for Baroque music, the accurate performance of which is central to the musical needs of the Oratory.

The fact that master organ builder Karl Wilhelm agreed to come out of retirement to personally oversee the installation and voicing of this instrument as his last major project played a tremendously important role in the organ’s selection. Raised in Weikersheim, Germany, he apprenticed with August Laukhuff of Weikersheim, Germany, and with W.  E. Renkeutz of Nehren bei Tübingen, Germany. After briefly working with Metzler & Söhne of Dietikon, Switzerland, and later with North America’s oldest organ-building firm, Casavant Frères of St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, he founded Karl Wilhelm, Inc. of St. Hyacinthe. In 1966 he relocated the firm to Mont St.-Hilaire, Quebec, where the shop remained active building organs until the early 2000s. The firm has built hundreds of organs, not only across the United States, but also in Europe and Asia.

On a technical level, the new instrument of 58 ranks is considerably larger than either of the previous organs and of a very different tonal and mechanical design. Drawing on influences from both the German and French schools, the instrument has a specification described by Mr. Wilhelm as “classical” and is one of his largest organs. Using a suspended mechanical key action, the solid white oak cases house a carefully engineered system which is both elegant and rugged. Windchests are constructed of mahogany and the interior is designed to be easily accessible for maintenance. Stop actions are also completely mechanical.

At this point in the construction process, the casework is largely assembled, the action installed, the winding finished, and some of the first of the 2,670 pipes have been installed—including those that make up the highly polished tin facade. Many more months of work are anticipated for the careful tonal finishing of the organ for the famously magical acoustics of the Oratory.

In June 2019, the Oratory launched a fundraising effort for $400,000. In addition to the actual purchase of the instrument, there are further costs to correct substantial existing problems with the infrastructure. This fundraising effort includes the necessary updates to the electrical and lighting in the gallery, restoration and extensive repairs to the original 1908 choir loft floor, and other improvements to the existing infrastructure which the removal of the existing organ will make possible.

For supporters of the traditional liturgy, this is a very special and highly visible opportunity to place an extraordinary piece of art directly at the service of one of our nation’s most important centers of liturgical culture. Already the instrument has drawn extraordinary regional interest and attention to the liturgical and musical life of the Oratory.

A healthy portion of the resources needed to complete the project have been secured, but more will be necessary for its completion.  Interested readers hoping for an opportunity to evangelize through beauty may check in for regular updates concerning this unique project at traditionfortomorrow.org and desalesheritagefoundation.org.

New Organ Recording: Influences, by Jonathan Ryan

This article by Janet Gorbitz is cross-posted from The Chant Café.

CMAA Board Member and Colloquium Faculty member Jonathan Ryan announces the release of a new solo organ recording available now!

Recorded on a specifically chosen European pipe organ famous for its brilliant fusion of German, French, and English Romantic styles, the repertoire centers around music with significant influences from another style or nationality, and which additionally makes strong connections between North America and Europe.

Included are major works by Healey Willan and Marcel Dupre: the German-inspired Introduction, Passacaglia, and Fugue, Op. 149 and Gregorian-chant based Symphonie-Passion, Op. 23 respectively.

Also featured is a commissioned piece by renowned English composer Philip Moore, and the recording premiere of Ride in a High Speed Train by contemporary Dutch composer Ad Wammes.

Colloquium attendees heard two of these works in Jonathan’s 2015 Colloquium recital at St. Paul Cathedral in Pittsburgh, PA.

For more information about purchasing, visit Jonathan’s website.

In addition, a special Recording Release and CD Signing Reception is to be held Tuesday, December 22, 2015 at 7:30 pm at Christ Church (Episcopal) in Greenwich, CT. Special guest, renowned English composer Philip Moore: Featuring the premiere performance of his commissioned piece. (map).

Organ Accompaniments to Fr. Weber’s Proper of the Mass Now Available

For those who are devotees of Gregorian chant and especially vernacular adaptations of it, surely Fr. Samuel F. Weber’s Proper of the Mass needs no introduction. (But just in case you haven’t heard about it, here is my review of it.)

When the book first appeared, naturally questions arose: Will organ accompaniments for the chants be provided? Will there be choral verses? Will there be a modern-notation version of the chants?

I am happy to say that Fr. Weber, in collaboration with Ignatius Press, has been making available, for free, organ accompaniments and choral doxologies and verses at his own website. You can find there, for instance, scores to cover the entirety of the Advent season, and more will be posted at regular intervals. (To peruse a wider selection of scores, drop the keyword “organpropers”and simply explore the site. It’s a treasure trove!)

Fr. Weber also informed me that he is working on the English Propers for Christ the King right now and that they will soon be posted.

All Saints’ Day Concert Featuring Rare Organ Program in

On November 1, at 6:00 pm organist Richard Spotts will appear at the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Lewiston, Maine, to perform excerpts from the seminal work L’Orgue Mystique, by French composer Charles Tournemire (1870-1939). He will be joined by the Saints Peter and Paul Schola Cantorum.

The concert, a musical Pilgrim’s Progress, will depict the life of a saint. Themes of divine love, redemption, grace, transformation, and rejoicing will be presented through the sounds of the Basilica’s magnificent Casavant organ, the largest church organ in the state of Maine.

L’Orgue Mystique, considered to be Tournemire’s magnum opus, was written over a 5 year period beginning in 1927. It consists of 253 movements and represents the fifty-one Sundays and feasts of the Roman Catholic liturgical year. Based on over 300 Gregorian chants, the piece is considered a pivotal movement in the history of organ music, bringing the ancient instrument’s sound into modernity. Unfortunately, because the work was written during the chaotic period following the devastation of World War I, followed by the Great Depression and World War II, this magnificent piece has been forgotten.

Acclaimed organist Richard Spotts, a native of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and a graduate of Westminster Choir College in Princeton, has performed excerpts from L'Orgue Mystique​ throughout the United States and Canada. He is currently writing a book on the subject.

 The concert is free and open to the public; it will begin at 6:00 p.m.

Fr Kyle Doustou, a priest of the diocese of Portland who sent us this information, writes: “Additionally I would like to note that the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul (pictured below) is really an epicenter in the Diocese of Portland, Maine for the dignified celebration of the Liturgy. In addition to Mass in the Extraordinary Form, which is offered every Sunday and Holy Day, the Basilica boasts of beautiful and reverent liturgies celebrated in Latin, English, French, and Spanish on a weekly basis, all of which are celebrated in the spirit of the new liturgical movement. The principal Mass on Sundays - which is the Usus Recentior celebrated in English and Latin - draws hundreds of people from around the state, including many young families.”