Yeah, I was just making it up. It's hard to hear my final 2 octave downward scale in the left hand while I hold the suspension in the right hand, due to the limitations of the camera's mic, but I got that particular idea from a recording of William Porter. Thanks for watching!
I attended Palmer Church lots decades ago living in Houston. I knew the late Meg Flowers, organist at Palmer. She had played the Wicks there, and I'll always remember the day she revealed the church was getting a new Fisk. Before the Wicks, there may have been a Pilcher, but never heard anyone say so.
The posh parish is soooo upper class Houston, and even started out as the chapel of posh Rice University across the street.
I would assume that the choir was originally in the chancel with the organ. Episcopal churches typically keep the choirs in the chancel, its very rare for it to be otherwise.
@semmsh It was nice seeing the interior of Palmer Church again. I was there in the early 70s, at which time the organ was a Wicks 2m (not sure of the size, but about 20-25 ranks. And as a mild criticism... when demonstrating stops, it is very helpful if you play slowly giving time to "judge" the stop. Thanks for the demo.
I still LOVE to have that harmonic flute and the trommeten, those are Great sounding stops. The Ruckpositiv doesn't look large enough for 16' pipes, how do they fit the 16' dulcian in there?
Those ARE wonderful stops on this organ!! The Trommeten is so warm and rich. Of course, the Trommeten's main function is as a German Trompete, for Bach and whatnot. The Dulcian is a cylindrical rank, so the longest pipe would only be about 8' long. Cylindrical reed pipes are only half as long as conical reed pipes of the same pitch, just like stopped flue pipes are only half as long as open flue pipes of the same pitch.
Oh, I agree! The fact that Fisk often includes both French AND German reeds within their Great and Positiv divisions makes their instruments so versatile!
Yeah; this kind of stop is mainly for Baroque pieces (Bach et al) where the reeds simply enhance the principals, but the principals need to still dominate. The French-style reeds, on the other hand, like the Trompette, really dominate the principals, which is what you need for the big French literature. I wish more organs had both types!
The dulcian (dulzian) is of the Krumhorn class. And are half length. Some cylindrical reeds are 1/4 length. Resonator length and shape is a function of tone color and design and really shouldn't be compared to stopped or open pipes. Apples to oranges there. Let's also not forget pipes can be mitered.
This organ has both French and German reeds, and I think I pretty well demonstrated the full German sound in the video where I play the beginning of Mendelssohn's Sonata III. I didn't have any big French pieces under my fingers at the time, or I might've showed off a big French sound with the dominating French reeds. One *could* pull French and German reeds together on this organ, but I don't know when you'd do that.
omg thank you my last name is fisk im not kidding thats why i searched it up omg soooooooo awesome and thx your nice:) my first name is ******** and middle name michelle hahaha sooooo awesome:)
True, I must not have been listening before! The Fisks I've heard have had a just slightly bigger sound than what I'm hearing in this video, however they were newer instruments than this organ.
I sure wish there was a good Fisk somewhere near me!
I've heard from many people, including Manuel Rosales himself, that this Fisk was originally rather harsh and bright, so he toned down the mixtures and did some things to the reeds and even the strings.
I love the historic sounds of this organ. The case work is just as marvelous. Fisk is a very exceptional organ builder. I hope your church takes good care of this instrument.
I agree with your comments. However, I'm not the organist there; I was just visiting Houston that week and wanted to see that organ. I wish I could preside over an organ like that!! I don't understand why this church is the ONLY church in all of Texas that has a Fisk organ built specifically for it. I hear that the Harvard Memorial Church Fisk (Op.46) is being moved to a Presbyterian Church in Austin, TX.
According to the Fisk website, this organ has 62 ranks. You can view more information about it, including the stoplist, at cbfisk *dot com* , and after the *dot com*, paste the following: /do/DisplayInstrument/instId/99
There are a couple of errors on that stoplist; the Great has an 8' string, but they left that off of the stoplist, and the stoplist shows two celestes in the Swell, but there is really only one celeste.
Good grief! I found even more errors on the stoplist on the Fisk website. "Choir" should be spelled "Chaire", and should say "Manual II" next to it; the Great should say "Manual I", and the Swell should say "Manual III". I can't imagine why they'd make so many mistakes typing that up!!
Great video!
Is that your own improvisation at 4:27?
Fundamentis 6 months ago
@Fundamentis
Yeah, I was just making it up. It's hard to hear my final 2 octave downward scale in the left hand while I hold the suspension in the right hand, due to the limitations of the camera's mic, but I got that particular idea from a recording of William Porter. Thanks for watching!
organist1982 6 months ago
Excuse me, what's the fugue that starts around 7:00?
VoceCorale 9 months ago
@VoceCorale
It's the fugue from the Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543. Thanks for watching!
organist1982 9 months ago
@organist1982 Thank you. This organ sounds fabulous, and you did a great job showing all its different sounds.
VoceCorale 9 months ago
I attended Palmer Church lots decades ago living in Houston. I knew the late Meg Flowers, organist at Palmer. She had played the Wicks there, and I'll always remember the day she revealed the church was getting a new Fisk. Before the Wicks, there may have been a Pilcher, but never heard anyone say so.
The posh parish is soooo upper class Houston, and even started out as the chapel of posh Rice University across the street.
errj1945 1 year ago
I would assume that the choir was originally in the chancel with the organ. Episcopal churches typically keep the choirs in the chancel, its very rare for it to be otherwise.
semmsh 1 year ago
Just FYI the old organ that the Fisk replaced is a Pilcher that's now located at a baptist church in Houston.
semmsh 1 year ago
@semmsh
Thank you for the info! Do you know if the choir at Palmer originally sang from the front of the church, since that's where the Pilcher was located?
organist1982 1 year ago
@organist1982 I believe that we always sang from the back. But I'm not sure
ajones363 1 year ago
@semmsh It was nice seeing the interior of Palmer Church again. I was there in the early 70s, at which time the organ was a Wicks 2m (not sure of the size, but about 20-25 ranks. And as a mild criticism... when demonstrating stops, it is very helpful if you play slowly giving time to "judge" the stop. Thanks for the demo.
pipedog 9 months ago
The beginning of the Fugue in A Minor sounds perfect for this instrument. You should record it at some point, if you get the chance.
speaks3703 1 year ago
Recently got into the sound of Fisk organs, so much more exiting than some of the organs we have over here ! Shame there isn't a Fisk in the UK.
LanchesterEarlyMusic 1 year ago
I still LOVE to have that harmonic flute and the trommeten, those are Great sounding stops. The Ruckpositiv doesn't look large enough for 16' pipes, how do they fit the 16' dulcian in there?
organist99x 2 years ago 2
Those ARE wonderful stops on this organ!! The Trommeten is so warm and rich. Of course, the Trommeten's main function is as a German Trompete, for Bach and whatnot. The Dulcian is a cylindrical rank, so the longest pipe would only be about 8' long. Cylindrical reed pipes are only half as long as conical reed pipes of the same pitch, just like stopped flue pipes are only half as long as open flue pipes of the same pitch.
organist1982 2 years ago
Yes, the Trommeten is very warm and rich, but at the same time its nice to have the bright French reeds on the same organ.
organist99x 2 years ago
Oh, I agree! The fact that Fisk often includes both French AND German reeds within their Great and Positiv divisions makes their instruments so versatile!
organist1982 2 years ago
I never knew that! thanks for the info. I like how the trompette is less overbearing than some organ trumpets.
PipeOrganistSC 2 years ago
Yeah; this kind of stop is mainly for Baroque pieces (Bach et al) where the reeds simply enhance the principals, but the principals need to still dominate. The French-style reeds, on the other hand, like the Trompette, really dominate the principals, which is what you need for the big French literature. I wish more organs had both types!
organist1982 2 years ago
The dulcian (dulzian) is of the Krumhorn class. And are half length. Some cylindrical reeds are 1/4 length. Resonator length and shape is a function of tone color and design and really shouldn't be compared to stopped or open pipes. Apples to oranges there. Let's also not forget pipes can be mitered.
praestant8 2 years ago
It is not actually not 16 feet long... Dulcians are Fractional length reeds... I think they are 1/4 length so the bottom pipe is on 4 feet tall
Bachlives2 2 years ago
HOW ELEGANT! Wonderful!
davbear221 2 years ago
i would have loved to hear it on full!!
BassPedal2009 2 years ago
This organ has both French and German reeds, and I think I pretty well demonstrated the full German sound in the video where I play the beginning of Mendelssohn's Sonata III. I didn't have any big French pieces under my fingers at the time, or I might've showed off a big French sound with the dominating French reeds. One *could* pull French and German reeds together on this organ, but I don't know when you'd do that.
organist1982 2 years ago
srry im stupid arent i hahaha
bubblegumweirdo 2 years ago
Oh that's an awesome organ! Fisk is such an awesome company! One of my favorites!
codeman2008 2 years ago
omg thank you my last name is fisk im not kidding thats why i searched it up omg soooooooo awesome and thx your nice:) my first name is ******** and middle name michelle hahaha sooooo awesome:)
bubblegumweirdo 2 years ago
????
codeman2008 2 years ago
the organ was completely revoiced by Manuel Rosales in 2003-2004
CoulterOrganbuilder 2 years ago
Great. Fisk is still a great company.
codeman2008 2 years ago
agreed, but this instrument no longer sounds like a Fisk....
CoulterOrganbuilder 2 years ago
True, I must not have been listening before! The Fisks I've heard have had a just slightly bigger sound than what I'm hearing in this video, however they were newer instruments than this organ.
I sure wish there was a good Fisk somewhere near me!
codeman2008 2 years ago
Was it really? Why?
organist99x 2 years ago
I've heard from many people, including Manuel Rosales himself, that this Fisk was originally rather harsh and bright, so he toned down the mixtures and did some things to the reeds and even the strings.
organist1982 2 years ago
Interesting, it sounds very nice now
organist99x 2 years ago
beautiful organ
quinn244 2 years ago
That sounds like an awsome organ! Seems like its i good hands to!
tyuru2 3 years ago 3
how old is this organ it is too bad you cant see the organ behind all that in the choir loft
Heyde1979 3 years ago
I love the historic sounds of this organ. The case work is just as marvelous. Fisk is a very exceptional organ builder. I hope your church takes good care of this instrument.
tamiasthechipmunk 3 years ago 4
I agree with your comments. However, I'm not the organist there; I was just visiting Houston that week and wanted to see that organ. I wish I could preside over an organ like that!! I don't understand why this church is the ONLY church in all of Texas that has a Fisk organ built specifically for it. I hear that the Harvard Memorial Church Fisk (Op.46) is being moved to a Presbyterian Church in Austin, TX.
organist1982 3 years ago
Great Demonstration! This looks like a really nice organ. How many ranks?
organist99x 3 years ago
According to the Fisk website, this organ has 62 ranks. You can view more information about it, including the stoplist, at cbfisk *dot com* , and after the *dot com*, paste the following: /do/DisplayInstrument/instId/99
There are a couple of errors on that stoplist; the Great has an 8' string, but they left that off of the stoplist, and the stoplist shows two celestes in the Swell, but there is really only one celeste.
organist1982 3 years ago
there shouldn't be a space between the two 9's for the website; not sure where that space came from.
organist1982 3 years ago
Good grief! I found even more errors on the stoplist on the Fisk website. "Choir" should be spelled "Chaire", and should say "Manual II" next to it; the Great should say "Manual I", and the Swell should say "Manual III". I can't imagine why they'd make so many mistakes typing that up!!
organist1982 3 years ago
Regardless of the stoplist mistakes, it's still a nice organ. Would love to hear more of it when you get a chance!
organist99x 3 years ago 2
Great demonstration!
moller11739 3 years ago 2
Very nice organ!
accousticdecay 3 years ago 2