This pipeline keeps organ music f lowing
The weekend of Nov. 11-12 was a good one for classical music lovers with two excellent concerts of music for orchestra, chorus and organ. As the glow of these satisfying listening experiences began to fade, it occurred to me that at both events digital organs were used, even though pipe organs are already in place in the respective venues. This led to some inquiries and also a survey of where audiences can find organ recitals in the Capital Region.
Benjamin Britten’s massive War Requiem, performed by the Albany Symphony on Nov. 10 at Proctors, actually calls for two organs – there was one on stage and another in the balcony with the boy choir. But the console of the house instrument, a 1926 Wurlitzer fondly known as Goldie, would have taken up too much space on the stage, which had to accommodate two orchestras, a chorus, and three soloists, not to mention conductor David Alan Miller.
It was Goldie that ostensibly drew the ASO back to Proctors last April. The group’s first Proctors appearance in some 30 years featured Saint Saens’ Symphony No. 3 “Organ” with soloist James Harp. The ASO’S executive director, Anna Kuwabara, said after the show it seems likely the ASO will continue appearing at Proctors at least once a season.
On Sunday afternoon Nov.
11, the action was at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall where the Troy Chromatics drew a sizable audience for a performance by the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and Tallinn Chamber Orchestra. One of the guest musicians played organ in music by Bach and utilized the same instrument for a celesta effect in a selection by Arvo Part. Meanwhile, right above the stage there was a massive facade of pipes.
According to the Music Hall’s executive director, Jon Elbaum, the iconic pipe organ, built in 1882 by the Odell Company, is in disrepair and has not been used in performance in years. Barbara Musial played it a few years ago during the Victorian Stroll but that’s the last time anyone can recall. The only time I remember hearing it was during a concert of the Empire Brass in 2007.
In June 2006, the Organ Historical Society held its 50th anniversary convention in our region and toured 21 instruments, from Richfield Springs to Manchester, Vermont, and everywhere in between. (That’s known in the trade as an “organ crawl.”) A number of local organ technicians pitched in to get the Music Hall’s organ into serviceable shape for that one-off occasion.
As for the future of the instrument, Elbaum says he could easily foresee organ music in the hall’s regular concerts and educational events, but a refurbishment of the instrument would be a major financial and logistical undertaking.
Bradley M. Day, proprietor of Allen Organ Studios in Delmar, estimates a full-scale rebuild of the iconic organ in Troy would run $1 million. “It’s in its original state in its original venue, but it’s barely working,” says Day.
Selling organs is a going concern for Day, with his business coming 90 percent from churches and 10 percent from private individuals and other institutions. He’s also the local source for rentals. In any given year, he’ll typically have half a dozen rentals for special concerts. So