The Auditorium Organ (Encore of #1044) #2232
…a celebration of the iconic 1959 Aeolian-Skinner instrument in the Auditorium of the Community of Christ in Independence, Missouri, with comments from Jan Kraybill and the late John Obetz.
Hour 1
HENRY PURCELL: Trumpet Tune & Bell Symphony –John Obetz; RBWCD-010
HENRY PURCELL: Fanfare –Jan Kraybill; Kraybill 2009
MARCEL DUPRÉ: Prelude & Fugue in g, Opus 7, number 3. JEAN LANGLAIS: Dialogue for the Mixtures. JOSÉ LIDÓN: Sonata on the 1st Tone –Catharine Crozier; Fleur de Lis FL0601
SEARLE WRIGHT: Prelude on Greensleeves –John Obetz; RBWCD-002
JEHAN ALAIN: Dances of Agni Yavishta –John Obetz; RBWCD-010
GERALD KEMNER: 2 Pieces: Rosa Mystica; Gloria –John Obetz; RBWCD-002
LEO SOWERBY: Passacaglia, from Symphony in G –Jan Kraybill; JK 401
Filler – DUPRÉ (see above)
Hour 2
LEO SOWERBY: Fantasy for Flute Stops –Catharine Crozier
HEINZ WERNER ZIMMERMANN: Four Psalms –John Obetz; Celebre 1970
RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS: Hymn-prelude, Rhosymedre –John Obetz; RBWCD-010
HERMAN BERLINSKI: The Burning Bush –Catharine Crozier; Fleur de Lis FL0601
MAX REGER: Fantasy on Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, Op. 52, No. 2 –John Obetz; RBWCD-010
Filler – WRIGHT (see above)
A superb example of the American Classic tonal ideal of the mid twentieth century, the Auditorium Organ was built by Aeolian-Skinner in 1959, and it remains perhaps the most prominent of the firm’s installations from that period. Aeolian-Skinner President Joseph Whiteford, working with an initial design and specification from his predecessor, the late G. Donald Harrison, evolved the instrument’s final 113-rank specification with 6,334 individual pipes in consultation with prominent pedagogues Harold Gleason and Catharine Crozier. The organ is famous for its dramatic visual presence, with a dynamic display of exposed pipework including a towering 32′ pedal register and the powerful antiphonal trompette en chamade. Recordings used: Crozier (Fleur de Lis 0601); Obetz (RBW 01, 02, 10); Kraybill (JK 401)
Check out these two more recent programs from the American Guild of Organist’s 2018 Convention, featuring Rising Stars (#2006 and #2007) in a PIPEDREAMS LIVE! context.
PIPEDREAMS is supported in memory of Mr. & Mrs. Wesley C. Dudley by their family, by grants from Walter McCarthy, Clara Ueland, and the Greystone Foundation, the Art and Martha Kaemmer Fund of the HRK Foundation, by Jan and Steve Kirchner, and by listener-contributors to this public radio station. Additional support comes from Solid State Organ Systems of Alexandria, VA, and Syndyne Corporation of Vancouver, WA, members of APOBA, the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America, a collaborative of designers, creators, and maintainers of pipe organs found in religious and educational institutions, concert halls, and residences throughout the United States and beyond. A resource guide and member prospectus is available at APOBA.COM.
