Friday, April 29, was a perfect day for a pipe organ crawl. On this sunny and comfortable day, organists and other members of the Wisconsin Chapter of the Organ Historical Society gathered at the unusual, saucer-shaped Mount Pleasant Lutheran Church in Racine to socialize and share their common interest in pipe organs.
So what do you actually do at an organ crawl? An organ crawl moves from one church to another. At each church, a presentation is made to introduce the instrument (the pipe organ) followed by a featured organist "putting the organ through its paces" by playing marvelous melodic music. Beyond that, other organists may "experience" the organ if they so choose (and often do). Sometimes the chamber (I hope that is the proper term) which houses the pipes and other necessary equipment needed to create the glorious sound, is opened for inspection. Three churches in the morning, a break for lunch, three churches in the afternoon, a break for dinner, and a pipe organ concert presented by a Carthage senior, Mark Paisar, completed the astonishing day.
The world of pipe organs (as you would suspect) has its own jargon. Ranks, great, swell, solo, pedal, manual mechanical action instrument, electropneumatic action instrument, diapason, trumpets, etc. were among the terms bantered about amongst the experts attending the event. Due to the patience and willingness of my friend, Corey (a gifted organist in his own right), I was able to absorb some of this new information. Not only was I in awe of the talent surrounding me, but the beauty of the organs and churches took my breath away. Thank you, Corey, for a truly perfect day.
Here are a few pictures of the day:
Buzard organ Opus 34 at the Mount Pleasant Lutheran Chuch
Hutchings-Votey op 1518 organ at the Olympia Brown Unitarian-Universalist Church
Olympia Brown
Unitarian-Universalist Church
Stained glass window in this church
Organ console at the First Presbyterian Church
