MARTIN PASI:OpusXIX
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,365
    This evening (Friday, 8 October) at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston David Higgs from the Eastman School of Music performed the dedicatory recital of the new $2m organ built by Martin Pasi, of Roy, Washington. A truly splendid instrument with an outstanding 103 rank werk-prinzip specification featuring both flues and reeds from 16' up in all four manuals, and two each of both flue and reed 32's in the pedal. The organ is unquestionably among Houston's top half-dozen instruments and was played to an audience of close to capacity (+-2,000). It is also, I believe, now one of the nation's most important organs and will undoubtedly be much played at the 2016 AGO Convention in Houston. The program, played completely from memory (except for the Arvo Part), was as follows -
    Widor --- Allegro from Symphonie in G-minor, Op. 42
    Daquin --- Noel: Grand jeu et duo
    Bach --- Passacaglia in C-minor
    Karg-Elert --- Harmonies du soir, Op. 72, No. 1
    Franck --- Piece heroique
    Part --- Annum per annum
    Reubke --- Ninety-fourth Psalm

    Other recitals scheduled soon -
    Phillippe Lefebvre (Notre Dame de Paris) --- 29 October
    Robert Bates (University of Houston) --- 7 December
    Crista Miller (Co-Cathedral Organist) --- 18 January
    James O'Donnell (Westminster Abbey) --- 1 March
    Chris Popelka (Co-Cathedral Music Director) --- 26 April

    This is a major contribution to Houston church music, and a great advance for Catholic church music.
    (Temperament: Mark Brombaugh Mild.)
    More about the instrument and the co-cathdral may be found by going on the internet to Opus XIX
  • BruceL
    Posts: 1,072
    How did the Reubke and K-E work? I know this is one of his more eclectic instruments, but I'm just wondering...

    Yes, between this, Oakland cathedral, and St. Cecilia in Omaha, it's nice to see cathedrals getting better instruments. I hope it's a positive trend toward parishes, too.
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,365
    Bruce - the Reubke and K-E (as well as the Franck) worked just fine. I have often been surprised at how well romantic and XX. century repertory can be made to sound on instruments that are basically more 'historical' in their specifications - for example Fisk, or Fritz, etc. I would far prefer to adjust later literature to such an organ than to try to play Bach half decently on romantic or post-romantic stops. This is an absurd and frustrating task, and it's nice to have the tables turned. Of course, the 'in thing' now is the romantic revival with lots of diapasons, etc. - the kind of organ that Schoenstein builds - but it is a bitter disappointment to try to play XVIII. century or earlier literature on them.
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,933
    No, I plan to stay Byzantine, since my spirituality is eastern. The east is probably where my desire for doing things by the book comes from. I would enjoy working for an AU parish, if a position were available.

    Our little organ has the following stops.

    Great: Open Diapason 8, Octave 4, Principal 2, Mixture III, with two flute stops from the Swell, and couplers Great 16, 8, 4 and Swell to Great 16, 8, and 4
    Swell: Viola 8, Bourdon 8, Spitzflote 8, Octave 4, Flute 4, Flute 2, Nazaard 2 2/3, Trumpet 8 and couplers 16, 8, & 4
    Pedal: Two 8' flute stops from the Swell, Subbass 16, Bourdon 16, Open Flute 8, and couplers from the manuals
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