1875 E. & G.G. Hook & Hastings organ, Opus 794, at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, Chicago, Illinois

Our travels take us to Chicago this week, and the shores of Lake Michigan where American organbuilding traditions come alive on instruments from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Bill Aylesworth showcases the oldest surviving of its kind in Chicago, built by the Hook Brothers of Boston for the Scottish Rite Cathedral. Contrast it with any of the organs listed below, and you’ll realize just how varied organ music can be. Tune in and you might get so excited you’ll want to visit the place for some exploration on your own. Nostalgic zephyr and blasts from the past as we audition instruments from as early as 1875. Bill Aylesworth, Mary Gifford, Wolfgang Rübsam and others respirate the past, as we explore Windy City History, antique organs in Chicago, this week on Pipedreams.

Sounds of some noteworthy and historic instruments in and around Chicago, as prelude to upcoming national conventions of the American Guild of Organists and Organ Historical Society.

…intriguing pipe organs revive the aura of past centuries while making beautiful sounds in the Windy City for the Organ Historical Society.

Featuring recordings of 19th-century instruments from the archives of the Organ Historical Society, with comments from its Executive Director William Van Pelt.