AGO Members Recital

My first time playing on a mechanical organ was for the American Guild of Organist's member recital. I played the G minor prelude and fugue from Bach's Eight Little Preludes and Fugues.

When I came to practice on the organ before the recital, I was surprised at the weight on the keys. Electric action organs have almost no weight but mechanicals have more weight for every stop and coupler that are turned on. It's similar to an electric piano verses an acoustic piano.

After I overcame the different weight so that every note could actually be heard because I was pushing down hard enough, the connection between me and the organ felt more real than with an electric action organ.

Also, since my head was right below the swell box, I could feel the music like someone was playing a saxophone right by my head. It was LOUD! The music vibrated in my chest and make me check to see if my ears were still there after I was done playing.

Overall, playing on the tracker organ was exhilarating and I would love to play on another one very soon.

After I played, the master of ceremonies interviewed me to let the other AGO members get to know me. I wasn't told what type of questions I would be asked until right before the concert started, so I had to think on my feet. I'm pretty sure it went well though. :)

The whole organ is in that box

My view

The program

The sanctuary was gorgeous with great acoustics!

My performance

First time Leading a Church Service's Worship

The normal organist was going on vacation and needed a stand-in. I was volunteered to help out and the rest is history.

It was a sleepy congregation. Or maybe I just couldn't hear them because I was boxed in by the facade. I also accompanied a soloist on the piano, it was a beautiful hymn and the soloist was a very confidant, congenial singer.

I don't know the exact stops and ranks because the church is somewhat in the the dark-ages of technology and doesn't have a website. It had a delay in the pedals but not in the manuals. The delay took a bit of getting used to, but once that was overcome, the organ had a raw, powerful sound that completely enveloped me.

The organ has some stops that generate electrical sounds, and some stops that activate pipes. The pipes' tuning varies with the weather. Cool vs. warm temperatures or damp vs. humid conditions will change the way the pipes play. Since the electrical stops don't vary with weather, they had to be tuned to the pipes. I had to pull one electric stop and one pipe stop, then play a key and adjust the tuning knob till the edge vibrations of the two pipes's notes were moving at the same rate. It was pretty neat to tune such a large instrument. :)

The main facade

The view from the bench

Your's truly and the view form the choir loft