"A foolish man giveth his wife a grand piano... A wise man giveth his wife an upright organ."
Through the marvels of modern technology, some bubblegum and spit, and more than just a little dumb luck... you should be listening to Johann Sebastion Bach's "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring". This well known composition from Bach's Cantata #147 is often recognized today as the "Ode To Joy".
The pipe organ has often been called the "King of Instruments" and for obvious reasons. It's also been mostly associated with religious or sacred music. This can be very mis-leading as some of the greatest symphonies of all time have been written exclusively for pipe organ. To add to this common mis-conception, most of the world's largest pipe organs are found in houses of worship. For example:
The famous organ (11,623 pipes) found in the Mormon Tabernacle on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, Utah...
While both the Tabernacle and Opera House instruments are used regularly for public performances and recitals, sadly, the Boston church organ is used primarily for church services and is rarely heard in concert by the general public.
During My travels I've had the pleasure of hearing all three of the instruments mentioned above, and even had the joy of performing on one of them.
But the best was yet to come...
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DAMN!!! 10 months later, the counter decides it's going to work. AWESOME!
What you should be hearing here, and on the following page, is a slight improvisation on the original tune, "Lovingly" and (somewhat) "Masterfully"(?) performed by yours truly (insert small bow here), on the chancel organ of Christ Church Anglican (Episcopal) Cathedral in Vancouver, British Columbia.
I'd like to take this opportunity of saying "thank you" to the Dean of Christ Church, for the generous use of his organ.
...as well as the 13,595 pipe organ in the domed extention of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts. Both these instruments were built by the Aeolian-Skinner Company of Boston and while not necessarily the largest, they are said to be among the finest in North America, if not the world.
On the other hand, the Sydney Opera House located just off Circular Quay in Sydney, New South Wales boasts the largest tracker (mechanical action) pipe organ ever built (10,500 pipes). It was built by Casavant Freres of St Hyacinthe, Quebec.
Blow into one of the pipes...
since February 14, 1998