I was told they will use the Taylor & Boody that is in the gallery . It is 2 manual 32 ranks.
That is the latest news that I have.
Perhaps they will rent an electronic as well.
Has the specification of this organ changed? I thought it was going to be a larger instrument than what is listed on the web-site. Notice too, they are re-using some of the existing ranks.
Maybe they couldn't come up with the $10 million that the original proposal was going to cost.
Thanks, Michael... would never have thought to look at the Dobson site. Interesting spec...more interesting to see that they have an acoustics expert onboard. Perhaps those Guastavino (sp?) tiles will get sealed like Riverside did.
Arie-- wasn't it 8 million $?? But then, at NY prices, what's a couple million... :-)
R, Bill Miller
Phila. PA
Not to disagree about this particular organ being replaced; however. sometimes the implication of the expression 'rebuilt' is that an organ is worse after than before. Perhaps in some cases yes. But NOT always.Some organs are rebuilt to advantage. An 'original' installation by any builder is not always the best.It may be better after a rebuild.Thus 'rebuild' need not be assumed always to imply a worse instrument than previously.
As to this particular organ it appears at least so far that a more suitable organ will be forthcoming for the kind of music being performed and used here.Only 4 ranks are marked as being retained from the present organ.The visual renderings seem stunning.Very likely the tonal results will be such that the hefty price tag of 8 or 9 million dollars will be well worth the expense.The Aeolian-Skinner was to have been 180 ranks had it been completed as planned. It appears that only 162 ranks were ever installed.
I was told they will use the Taylor & Boody that is in the gallery . It is 2 manual 32 ranks.
That is the latest news that I have.
Perhaps they will rent an electronic as well.
Jerry
They have an Allen electronic at the Choir School that they have used in the past when the Chancel organ is out of commission, so I wouldn't be surprised if they use that or something similar with the choir, and use the Taylor & Boody for everything else.
Not to disagree about this particular organ being replaced; however. sometimes the implication of the expression 'rebuilt' is that an organ is worse after than before. Perhaps in some cases yes. But NOT always.Some organs are rebuilt to advantage. An 'original' installation by any builder is not always the best.It may be better after a rebuild.Thus 'rebuild' need not be assumed always to imply a worse instrument than previously.
As to this particular organ it appears at least so far that a more suitable organ will be forthcoming for the kind of music being performed and used here.Only 4 ranks are marked as being retained from the present organ.The visual renderings seem stunning.Very likely the tonal results will be such that the hefty price tag of 8 or 9 million dollars will be well worth the expense.The Aeolian-Skinner was to have been 180 ranks had it been completed as planned. It appears that only 162 ranks were ever installed.
The first (and most controversial) rebuild of the Harrison scheme by Adams in the 60's was part necessity, part the desire on William Self's part for a more french neo-classic organ along the lines of perhaps Clicquot or early Cavaille-Coll, in keeping with the tonal design vogue of the day. The rebuilt Skinner chests from the original organ were already beginning to fail, and damage in the chambers from construction next door at the Museum of Modern Art necessitated rebuilding only a decade after the Harrison rebuild.
Harrison's design was at the end of the dominance of the archetypal American Classic movement (idealized by A-S), and at the beginning of the dominance of the Organ Reform movement in the mainstream. Thus, the work required by the mechanical failings and damage to the instrument presented a prime opportunity to advance these principles, which led to the slider chests, Vorwerk, deletion of the enclosed Choir/Positif, and much revoicing.
Certainly, these idea led the organ away from traditional Anglican choral norms even more. Ironically, the original Harrison 1956 organ or even the last Skinner rebuilds are far closer to the Dobson in tonal scheme. One wonders what might have happened if the Skinner chests had been replaced in 1956, the MOMA damage hadn't happened and, such as at St. Mary The Virgin or St. Bartholomew's, the organ had been largely left alone tonally between 1956 and the present.
I don't want to make generalizations, but my impressions of Adams' work is that, at least in that period, it was something less than mechanically reliable, and thus, less than 15 years later, it was time for yet another rebuild, which brings us to the present incarnation of the instrument. Mann, Trupiano, and Bufano, being former Aeolian-Skinner workers, brought the organ back a bit to the tonal center.
I was at St. Thomas a couple weeks ago. The existing chancel organ still sounds quite thrilling, but with the Vorwerk and other portions dead and the ongoing maintenance challenges, I'm sure a cursory listen doesn't expose the half of it.
The bass response at St. Thomas is nothing less than thrilling. It's hard to tell from the specs, but I'm wondering if they're re-using the 3 32' stops that are existing. It looks like it.
The scheme is 100 stops 124 ranks: exactly the size of the largest Dobson to date namely Verizon Hall in Philadelphia. Only 4 stops are identified as existing. No mention of 32s etc being retained. I feel that much Skinner and Aeolian-Skinner work can be successfully retained. The craze for all new minus 4 existing stops seems to me possibly part of an agenda to promote the builder. ALL of the un-reused existing pipework will become theirs. The website says that it will cost 1 million dollars to remove the present tonal material and other 'debris'. Where will all of this stuff go? Undoubtedly to the Dobson works for re-use in other future projects thus validating that it COULD have been retained but an existing agenda on the part of the consultant,builder and authorities favors a clean sweep all new approach. I think Skinner and Aeolian-Skinner materials should be retained for historical and aesthetic reasons.
Anyone who appreciates a Skinner Vox Humana would probably agree that they are quite excellent tonally.How much better will a Dobson Vox Humana sound? Likewise there are no short-length manual reeds in the tonal scheme, save a solitary Cromorne on the Positif. None of the lesser strings save the Solo Gambas seem inspired by the orchestral variety except a single Gamba on the Great.
The manual mutations are rather comprehensive. However nowhere is there a manual 5-1/3' to add grit to the Great 16ft plenum.The pedal 5th Mutation is a borrow from the Great Bourdon.All of the above are in the present organ.The present Grand-Choeur is a super Great with an well-developed principal chorus. The Dobson Solo is a well-developed scheme of solo flutes, strings and orchestral reeds. There are also a family of chorus reeds.A tierce mixture or harmonics with flat 21st and 23rd would add a 'splash' of fire to that chorus.rather than dwell on what can be, it is good that a sensitive tonal scheme has been developed that will adequately provide textures in varying degrees that will enhance the music that is characteristic of this particular ecclesiastical setting.
The above are my honest observations and are NOT a critical commentary. The intent here is to stimulate intelligent discussion among forum participants and my views have no greater force, merit or validity than that of anybody else.
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