THE SWELL SHOE. Opus 21, No 2 Issue 451, October Organ Historical Society, New Orleans Chapter

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1 Page 1 of 6 THE SWELL SHOE Opus 21, No 2 Issue 451, October 2011 Organ Historical Society, New Orleans Chapter 1010 Nashville Avenue, New Orleans, Louisiana 70115; (504) O.H.S. National Headquarters: P. O. Box 26811, Richmond, Virginia Robert Zanca, President; Dr Carolyn Clawson, Secretary; Fred Lawson, Treasurer; Travers Koerner, Newsletter Editor From the President s Pen Are we there yet? No, of course not, but we're still on the journey. Some steps along the way so far this year include the repurposing of the Hammann/Hoppe continuo organ to St. Alphonsus Parish (more on this later), and the relocation of a significant neo-baroque organ to an area residence. The Hook & Hastings formerly in Felicity UMC has been completely restored and is fervently seeking a new home, near (preferably) or far. Activities, described in detail elsewhere in this issue, will include several organ crawls in an around New Orleans, a members' recital, and a favorite guest artist at a favorite, most dependable venue. As always, there are some "work days" in the works, of course when the weather cools off. It has been said that the American organ is never finished, so the work, and the fun go on. Robert Zanca A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION The New Orleans Chapter of OHS and Parker Memorial United Methodist Church, 1130 Nashville Ave, will present Peter Picerno, organist, in recital on Sunday, October 23rd at 3:00 pm. The c Kilgen tracker organ at Parker is the oldest pipe organ in the city in continuous service since its installation. Of twelve stops, the organ has never been restored, but has had considerable renovation by Roy Redman with volunteers from both our local OHS chapter as well as members of the church. The organ was dismantled, all pipes washed and cleaned, the reservoir re-leathered in the church by the late Sharon Redmon. Pipes were repaired and revoiced by Phil Poff of the Redman Organ Co. The hand pump mechanism was also restored. To further embellish the organ, Sharon Redman re-stenciled the pipes. Small though it is, this organ was well received at the 1989 national OHS convention and again at the Organ Odyssey. Following Peter Picerno s recital, a reception will be held in the Common Room of the church. As well, all readers of this newsletter are invited to a Dutch Treat dinner at the Maple Street Café at 6:00 pm. Call Rachelen Lien at or her at Rachelen@Bellsouth.net.

2 Page 2 of 6 Peter V. Picerno holds degrees in organ performance and musicology from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, the University of Oregon, and the University of Kansas. Dr. Picerno also spent a year of study in Italy as a Fulbright scholar. He has held positions as music director and organist at churches in Rhode Island, Ohio, Italy (at the American Episcopal Church in Rome), Kansas, Tennessee, and Florida where he is currently Director of Music at S Bernard de Clairvaux Episcopal Church (also known as The Ancient Spanish Monastery since the building was originally completed in Spain in about 1133 before being disassembled and moved to the USA). He has performed recitals at meetings of the American Guild of Organists, the Organ Historical Society, and at the University of Kansas Summer Institute for Church Music. He has served as an officer for many AGO chapters as well as a founding member of the Memphis Chapter of the Organ Historical Society. His program on Sunday afternoon, October 23rd, will include the music of Vincent Lubeck, J S Bach, Louis Vierne, and Sir Edward Elgar. St Matthew United Church of Christ Organ Celebration On Sunday, November 20th at 3:00 pm, St. Matthew United Church of Christ will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the acquisition of their historic 1905 Hook & Hasting tracker organ. It was rebuilt and installed in 1981 by organbuilder, Roy Redman. St. Matthew dedicated it at a special service followed by a dedicatory recital by Robert Anderson of Southern Methodist University. For this anniversary celebration, St Matthew s has invited several organists to play including Rachelen Lien, who was the organist there for 32 years until her retirement. Special tribute will be paid to the builder and members of the church who made this beautiful organ possible. OHS NATIONAL CONVENTION OHS Goes to Washington---- The organs and performances at this summer's OHS National Convention were as varied as the lands and people whose government seat is situated there. There was a one-manual, five stop Jacob Hilbus at St. John's Episcopal Church, Broad Creek and a five-manual and nearly 100 stop Skinner/Moller at National City Christian Church. The builders spanned from sea (Skinner, Moller and Erben) to shining sea (Schoenstein) and beyond (Reiger and Schudi). Due to the proximity of the Moller factory, and its position as the most prolific builder in the history of our Republic, there were more than a handful of electropneumatic instruments typical of those that saturated mid-america in the 20th century. The Convention hotel was conveniently located near the Metro, and the usual exhibits and store were again highlights. Additionally, this year featured a book release/signing with a number of interesting new releases. Everything you want to know (and more!) about the organs is in the 2011 Organ Atlas, and the recordings are anxiously awaited... Robert Zanca A LETTER FROM JIM HAMMON

3 Page 3 of 6 Dear New Orleans OHS Friends, On May 22nd, after a wonderful send-off by my church family at The Chapel of the Holy Comforter, the little caravan of a U-Haul truck, and my truck and trailer left New Orleans for my new home here in Iowa Falls, Iowa. Three years ago I had purchased a Lustron Home here and made the decision to spend my retirement life in this community. It has been a busy, but relaxed, summer getting my things unpacked, practicing for a recital on the series at the Dominican Motherhouse in Sinsinawa, Wisconsin, and working on my antique cars. While I miss my New Orleans friends a great deal, the weather has been ideal, with days in the 80 s and nights in the 60 s. I know that winter will be a different story, but probably you will hear all about that. Robert Zanca came to visit me in June, and James Kibbie stopped by for a visit at the beginning of August. I am playing for a small Lutheran congregation every other week in the neighboring town of Hampton, and for St. Matthew s Episcopal here in Iowa Falls. My little three rank house organ is set up and playing, the apple trees that I planted two summers ago have produced enough apples for a pie, and the neighbors are selling fresh corn from their garden. I go out for quiet evening rides in the Model T to check on the progress of the corn and soy beans on the farms that surround my little town. An added benefit to this location is that Iowa Public Radio carries Pipedreams, and so my Sunday evenings are spent with Michael Barrone and the great organs of the world. Please feel free to come visit anytime that you might be coming to the area. I am sure that the dead of winter will find me visiting old friends in New Orleans. My best wishes go to the New Orleans OHS chapter. Work Day St Joseph Church, Tulane Avenue Our chapter has long wanted to get access to see what might be done with the Jardine organ at St Joseph s Church on Tulane Avenue. We have decided to put this project on hold for a while. There has been a change in the pastorship there, and a new priest is due soon. We will try again later and let you know what access we can get. Keep your fingers crossed. We d hate to lose this important organ. Dedicatory Recital St Aloysius Church, Baton Rouge The appearance of an actual organ with pipes is a rare enough occasion these days that our little band of organ music lovers rejoices whenever it happens. Given the dreadful economy as well as the labor-intensive increase in costs for a pipe organ, we were particularly excited to hear of a new Casavant tracker organ being built for St Aloysius Catholic Church in Baton Rouge. As the anticipation gave way to actual fruition, a group of New Orleans Chapter OHS members were wowed at the dedicatory recital by Craig Cramer, Professor of Organ at the University of Notre Dame. Cramer has performed for both AGO conventions as well as AGO chapters across the country. Reading the program, his preference appears to be for mechanical action organs, and he certainly was completely at home on Casavant Freres, Opus 3890 in Baton Rouge. Compared to some of the mammoth pipe organ installations of 100 stops or more as well as the promises of electronic builders of hundreds of stops, the St Aloysius organ of 33 ranks might initially seem, well, puny. This was hardly the case. Though St Aloysius's building, a striking contemporary church, is quite large, Jacquelin Rochette, the Casavant Tonal Director for this organ, seems to

4 Page 4 of 6 have done magic to create an organ in which a few ethereal stops can be heard and then built up to an amazing full organ including an 8' Dessus de Chamade. The organ seems completely at home in the room and seems neither too small nor overvoiced. For those who are complete purists, it might be pointed out that the Pedale division seems entirely successful to me despite what is generally called "judicious borrowing" from the manuals. The casework for the organ as well as its console are works of architectural design beauty and greatly enhance the nave of St Aloysius. Craig Cramer's dedicatory recital, a memorial to Gail Walton, put this organ through its paces, and as best I could tell, it is capable of all of the organ literature - on 33 ranks, thank you very much! This organ oozed with quality, not quantity. Nothing on it seemed worthless or superfluous. Cramer started the evening's recital with the Gigout Grand Choeur Dialogue, ended the first half before the intermission with a beautifully performed Bach Passacaglia, and ended the entire evening with the Vierne Carillon de Westminster. The New Orleans Chapter of OHS is planning an Organ Crawl visit to this organ as well as to the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Joseph in the spring. Having heard the St Aloysius organ once, I would unhesitatingly recommend that all readers of this newsletter mark your calendars and plan on going. Travers Koerner Hosting an Organ Crawl for our Jackson Friends Sometime this spring, we will have another organ crawl here in New Orleans. We are inviting our friends from Jackson, Mississippi and Baton Rouge to join us. We are presently working on deciding which organs we can access which would be noteworthy and/or historic. As soon as we have made arrangements, we will let you know the date and itinerary.

5 Page 5 of New Orleans Chapter, The Organ Historical Society Dues Subscription Notice Name: Address City State Zip Telephone: Home Cell Office Renewal New Member Please check here if you are a member of the national Organ Historical Society

6 Page 6 of 6 Make $25.00 check payable to New Orleans Chapter, Organ Historical Society Return to: New Orleans Chapter 1010 Nashville Avenue New Orleans, LA 70115