St. Paul's Epistle - October 2010 ECMAEF Article
East Carolina Musical Arts Education Foundation
"Fisk Tuning"
Dear People of St. Paul’s,
Those members of the congregation who attend worship on Sunday mornings at 10:30, or at any of the other special worship services we offer, find that our celebration of Christ’s saving Grace is aided and enhanced by the sounds of our Fisk Organ. The organ is one of the oldest instruments of the church, associated with music in worship since before the year 1300. In fact, the oldest playable church organ (built mid 14th c.) is still in use in a mountain top village in Sion, Switzerland. The unique ability of the pipe organ, by way of its myriad colors and resources, to express the whole realm and depth of human emotion is one of the reasons why it is so suitable to the worship of almighty God. The average parishioner in our pews on Sundays hears the organ and sings hymns by its accompaniment in praise of God, but may not have considered that its ability to function depends on routine care by a highly skilled technician. Realizing this, I’ve asked our organ curator, Mr. Norman Ryan of Edenton, to contribute the following article to introduce himself, and to help everyone understand the care that our Fisk organ receives several times annually. Enjoy!
Andrew Scanlon
From the Organ Curator:
As a kid I was curious about how things worked. If I couldn't figure out a particular problem on my own, I'd read up on it at our branch library. By the time I became a teenager I had learned how a radio, television and car engine work. Sitting in church trying to figure out the organ, I was stumped, having found nothing at the library. I asked the organist if she could point me to something that would satisfy my curiosity. he lent me an organ exercise book that had a brief illustrated description of an organ mechanism. I was truly fascinated and by age 19 had found my vocation. I began work at AEolian-Skinner in my hometown, Boston, which led to a career that literally took me around the world. Some of you at St. Paul's also must wonder how those sounds are produced and controlled. There are 3,119 pipes in this organ on four floor levels. The playing mechanism is pure mechanical in that the organist has total control over the keyboard touch: a note is pressed and a direct mechanical linkage guides the motion to a valve in its note channel. The stops are controlled electro-mechanically, enabling combinations of stops to be changed instantly.
Tuning is a necessary and recurring process. Fortunately, most of the pipework needs infrequent attention. This applies to the flues which have no moving parts and can hold their tune for years. The reeds require more frequent attention and can be gone over in just two to three hours. We usually check them before major concerts or services. The mechanism here is very well engineered and requires only occasional adjustment. All of this work requires skill, good judgment and careful attention to detail. I feel I have done my job well if I am the last person anyone thinks about at the end of a well-played service or concert. It's when things go awry that one thinks of me. Thankfully, that happens very rarely!
Norman Ryan
To view St. Paul's entire October 2010 Epistle, click here!
Those members of the congregation who attend worship on Sunday mornings at 10:30, or at any of the other special worship services we offer, find that our celebration of Christ’s saving Grace is aided and enhanced by the sounds of our Fisk Organ. The organ is one of the oldest instruments of the church, associated with music in worship since before the year 1300. In fact, the oldest playable church organ (built mid 14th c.) is still in use in a mountain top village in Sion, Switzerland. The unique ability of the pipe organ, by way of its myriad colors and resources, to express the whole realm and depth of human emotion is one of the reasons why it is so suitable to the worship of almighty God. The average parishioner in our pews on Sundays hears the organ and sings hymns by its accompaniment in praise of God, but may not have considered that its ability to function depends on routine care by a highly skilled technician. Realizing this, I’ve asked our organ curator, Mr. Norman Ryan of Edenton, to contribute the following article to introduce himself, and to help everyone understand the care that our Fisk organ receives several times annually. Enjoy!
Andrew Scanlon
From the Organ Curator:
As a kid I was curious about how things worked. If I couldn't figure out a particular problem on my own, I'd read up on it at our branch library. By the time I became a teenager I had learned how a radio, television and car engine work. Sitting in church trying to figure out the organ, I was stumped, having found nothing at the library. I asked the organist if she could point me to something that would satisfy my curiosity. he lent me an organ exercise book that had a brief illustrated description of an organ mechanism. I was truly fascinated and by age 19 had found my vocation. I began work at AEolian-Skinner in my hometown, Boston, which led to a career that literally took me around the world. Some of you at St. Paul's also must wonder how those sounds are produced and controlled. There are 3,119 pipes in this organ on four floor levels. The playing mechanism is pure mechanical in that the organist has total control over the keyboard touch: a note is pressed and a direct mechanical linkage guides the motion to a valve in its note channel. The stops are controlled electro-mechanically, enabling combinations of stops to be changed instantly.
Tuning is a necessary and recurring process. Fortunately, most of the pipework needs infrequent attention. This applies to the flues which have no moving parts and can hold their tune for years. The reeds require more frequent attention and can be gone over in just two to three hours. We usually check them before major concerts or services. The mechanism here is very well engineered and requires only occasional adjustment. All of this work requires skill, good judgment and careful attention to detail. I feel I have done my job well if I am the last person anyone thinks about at the end of a well-played service or concert. It's when things go awry that one thinks of me. Thankfully, that happens very rarely!
Norman Ryan
To view St. Paul's entire October 2010 Epistle, click here!
