One of the Largest Organs in the World. St. Steven's Cathedral in Passau, Germany

[nelsonjrbrcrz]

IT IS CD PLAYING

[Alleghenymike1]

C B Fisk - best instruments currently being produced hands down - clarity rules over anything else in my world. What is size if the sound turns into a total sonic wash? All that hard work to play all that fun french stuff - hell why not just hold all the notes in each measure down in a cluster and punch out the melody?? In piano poor technique can be covered up by holding the pedal (well, sorta haha) - reverb wash has the same effect on the organ - but you wont get that on a Fisk

[lee1984yate]

I don't want to sound too much like a patriot (as this is apparently not acceptable these days), but English pipe organs are the finest - regardless of size.......Having said that, French ones too - Cavaille-Coll in particular!

[sbergman27]

22 people were searching for porn.

[xxxxfantaxxxx]

dummes geklimper!! zu viel hall!!

[Mrphilharmonic]

A Carillon means 'bells'. What a great sounding instrument. Someday I'm going to play this - AND Wannamakers!

Was this guy playing "Happy Birthday" at one point? (0:48") Ha ha! A little 'pastiche'.

Great sound though. Nice one!

[omahas9000]

notredameswarriror1---Sorry, I can't remember what I thought was funny, maybe fact you seem unable to use proper capitalization and so on. Other than that, I agree with you. I simply got a giggle out of your post. Other than that, you're totally correct and I don't care how large some of these others are, especially the Wanamaker organ, they can't touch the great European organs....they can't, they don't have the "building"....the accoustics, the voicing.

[Peilai2]

carillons are bell stop but instead of wind, they use cast bronze bells like handbells

[Baldgol4]

Actually it is the 4th largest working pipe organ in the world. Nothing beats the Wanamaker organ in Philadelphia, Pa.

[notredameswarrior1]

@Baldgol4 I like the wanamaker organ for it's orchestral sounds. But to me. St. Ouen is better.

[MyFreddy68]

ONE of the largest, not THE largest.

[omahas9000]

LOL!!!---"st. ouen over in france. has only about 4,060 pipes around there i know its in the 4000. well it sounds better than this and any organ in america and im from america and i live in america. but st. ouen has over 22,000 less pipes then the wanamaker organ and it sounds ten times better. true organs are in europe. yes i like american organs but cavielle colls are probaly the best. just saying. if you want to see real organs go to germany or france."

[notredameswarrior1]

@omahas9000 whats so funny about that? its true.

[BeatsByWeight]

Too bad all the synagogues got destroyed.

[kevmul16]

This piece is Paean by John Marsh

[notredameswarrior1]

st. ouen over in france. has only about 4,060 pipes around there i know its in the 4000. well it sounds better than this and any organ in america and im from america and i live in america. but st. ouen has over 22,000 less pipes then the wanamaker organ and it sounds ten times better. true organs are in europe. yes i like american organs but cavielle colls are probaly the best. just saying. if you want to see real organs go to germany or france.

[ebenasire]

I lived in Passau 1957-59 before they did their big restoration. The Cathedral organ has an extra group of pipes known as the Heilege Geist (Holy Ghost) group which plays through a hole in the ceiling. "Heilige Geist" is important in Passau - There is a great restaurant with the same name!

[rohrgedackt8]

For an explanation of a carillon, search YouTube for "What is a carillon"

[Zircemerald]

What song was that?

[tambrosia]

I believe West Point is 21,000 pipies and another in LA is 21,000 pipes.

I believe the original Wannamaker organ in Phila PA is over 25,000 pipes.

Never the Less ONE GREAT ORGAN OF MANY IN THE WORLD AND WELL PLAYED.

THANK YOU

[steelersfanhawaii]

OK, you guys why are you getting into a 'pissing contest' to see who has the largest pipe organ in the world. Some organs have tons of mixtures which jack up the rank count and appear on paper to be enourmous, yet they are 'screamers' and thin sounding, while others may have fewer (maybe 50 or 60) yet have the big 16's 8's and some 32's yet sound robust and full. Largest sounding organ for its environment I heard was the (only 70 ranks) 4m Austin previously in St Vibianna's Cathedral in LA.

[TonyWRO]

this isn't largest organ in the world, atlantic city convention hall organ is the largest

[magicthunder666]

WHERE IS THE FUCKING ORGAN!

[Baldgol4]

The Wanamaker organ has over 28,000 pipes so how can the St. Steven's organ be the largest in the world??

[vanislemozartfan]

@Baldgol4 It does say ONE of the largest organs in the world

[KE5RHD]

Largest cathedral organ outside of the USA. Several cathedrals in the USA have larger instruments.

[cptexas1]

Not the largest. Sorry. Not even close.

[BalooBear2007]

Well, and where is the organ? I only see that beautifull paints in the top.

[EdwinRywalt]

It's called the Wannamaker Organ and it's in Philadelphia, folks, not Germany.

[edolch]

@EdwinRywalt Even larger than the Wanamaker is the good ol' Midmer-Losh at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

[GogglePlex101]

I really must go and hear this organ in my lifetime, it sounds FANTASTIC here so it must be even better live! My favourite part is at around 0:56 when there is the big crescendo where more stops are activated, it made me jump when I heard it!

[notredameswarrior1]

this isnt the largest organ in the world.....the largest organ in the world beats this organ by over 14000 pipes atleast and its in atlantic city in the u.s.

[ajwplanet]

@notredameswarrior1

I prefer European quality over US the biggest quantity.

[notredameswarrior1]

@ajwplanet organs in the u.s. have quality. there are a lot of great organs over hear. yea european stuff is nice but we got better ones

[EccentricRichard]

@notredameswarrior1 - You have bigger organs in the US, sure, and many of them are stunningly good... but there is no better organ in the world than the mere 64-stop Cavaillé-Coll in the Abbey of Saint Ouen, Rouen, nor an instrument more powerful.

[notredameswarrior1]

@EccentricRichard i heard that organ you mentioned. that organ is something else i will agree. i would love to hear it in person. i really like the widor recordings they have on it up on youtube here. i like european organs. some american organs i cant stand. and they are starting to use digital organs now. pipe organ factories are going away over here.

[EccentricRichard]

@notredameswarrior1 - digital organs (or 'toasters', as they are known over here, due to early examples' propensity to generate a lot of heat) are a disease spreading everywhere! Minor organbuilders in the UK are struggling, several have closed down, but the major organbuilders are doing well, here, on the continent and in the US and Canada. Fisk, Dobson, Casavant... all seem to be doing very well.

[notredameswarrior1]

@EccentricRichard well digital/toaster organs are not that bad sounding. but it still dosnt replace a pipe organ. same over here for major organ builders.

[freshbongwater]

@EccentricRichard

It'd b nice if the thing got tuned, every decade, or so . . .

[orgel005]

This is the largest organ in europe !

[calijesusfreak]

all nice, but there was no veiwing of the actual organ...???

[hatstalker]

WRONG!!

the largest organ in the world is in macey's mall in the USA it has over 22,000 pipes.

This is not the biggest in the world at all, take your lies off the internet!

[edolch]

@hatstalker WRONG!! The largest organ in the world is in Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ. 449 ranks of pipes in 8 huge chambers throughout the largest space that an organ plays into in the entire world. All controlled from the huge 1,235 stop 7 manual console or it's smaller "mobile" 5 manual console.

[hatstalker]

@edolch If that is the case I apologise, this still does not prevent the fact that this video's claim is incorrect.

[califdad4]

the Congregation Church of Los Angeles Ca. pipe organ is bigger, its called the biggest Church Pipe Organ, St Stephens is right behind it

[dwarrren9]

What is the name of the piece that is playing?

[jrag74]

The organ is rather hidden above behind the pews, plus look how strictly seated we were. It's Germany; they have an over healthy respect for order there. The sound was enough for me to realize it was pretty damn big.

[666crackhure666]

@jrag74 "over healthy respect for order", yeah, nah, you're a cunt.

[ChalieChaplin]

why didn't you film the organ!!! :(

[fourstar7]

when the Atlantic City pipe organ gets fully restored, it will be awesome.

[ny1news]

@fourstar7 Like that will ever happen

[strong1235]

I guess you could call the Macy's Wanamaker organ a church organ? They do call the place a "Cathedral to Commerce" sometimes. And people do pray for lower prices and the right sized shoes!

The Convention center organ is still under repair but I understand that the pace of work is picking up. An organ in that huge empty space probably sounds best when the room is full of people to damp down the acoustics a bit!

[3dwurli]

@strong1235 The reverb in the atlantic city convention hall was around 7-10 seconds. When the refurbishment and restoration was carried out in 1998 (the same refurbishment that put the organ out of action) the reverb was cut down to around 4 seconds, so it will speak with much more clarity now.

[edolch]

@3dwurli Actually the refurbishment of the building did not put the organ out of action. The same amount that worked before the refurbishment still works today...only the Great, Great-Solo, Solo, and Pedal Right. The relay for the left stage chamber (which hosts the Swell, Swell-Choir, unenclosed Choir, Pedal Left, etc.) was removed during the refurbishment and now resides in the organ shop, but this chamber already was dead. The other 6 chambers were also already dead before the refurbishment.

[3dwurli]

@edolch The refurbishment of the building DID put the organ out of action. Up untill work started in the building, the right stage chamber was working. From then on until 2008/2009 the Right stage chamber was unusable. There were pipes trampled on, knocked over, concrete dust etc in the chambers.

7 of the 8 chambers were -dead- before the hall renovation, only the right stage chamber had been working in 1998 at the time the recordings were made.

[edolch]

@3dwurli Wrong. You are probably one of those people who reads little updates online. I work at Boardwalk Hall on the restoration and have played it quite a bit. I spend a good portion of my week crawling through it and putting it back together. The right stage chamber was never unusable. It was not supposed to be used because of an asbestos "risk." The two stage chambers were eventually cleared of this threat, but only the right stage currently works...and at that, it's note by note.

[edolch]

@3dwurli At the time of the recordings in 1998 more of the right stage chamber worked than it does now. That is only because the relay has sat for so long without really being played. If you go and turn it on right now you will have a ton of dead notes and things that are sluggish, but after a few hours of fighting with it, the chamber starts to come back to life. Also, the right forward chamber (which holds the brass chorus) can theoretically play, but it is still an asbestos "threat."

[3dwurli]

@edolch

The ACCHOS are telling us a pack of lies then?

The chambers were all tested for the presence of asbestos. There is none present, all of the organ is accessable.

[edolch]

@3dwurli Yet again, wrong. Don't argue the state of the instrument with somebody who is there rebuilding it. I am in and out of it all the time. The walls are built with asbestos. Much of it has been removed and even more has been "contained" (painted over), but there is asbestos all over the place. Now the claim from the asbestos removal company is that there is asbestos particles settled inside of pipes. 6 of the 8 chambers are off limits to the public due to asbestos "threat." It's bull tho.

[MrBertus1980]

mooie kerk mooi orgelspel

[cr250rthor]

yes, strong1235 is correct. i have played both and had a personal tour of the atlantic city one.

[xpedrito]

Aucun interêt. On ne voit même pas l'instrument... :-((

[ceemosp]

Does bigger automatically equate to better? How about tonal qualities?

[beboos1]

It never ceases to amaze me that everyone thinks they know the "largest" organ in the world! I've heard they are all over the place; surely ONE is larger or smaller than the other--lol--

[penschek]

@beboos1 Brilliant, Einstein!

[andonesdt]

Liebe Grüße aus Passau :)

[radketim]

Umm, in Europe, not the world. There are several organs in North America with over 300 ranks.

[locke11216]

The largest documented organ in the world is the midmer losh organ in atlantic city new jersey and also still holds the record for the loudest organ stop in existence.

the Grand Ophiclede. it is still in the guiness book ofrecords to this day and is still operational to this day.

[bull912000]

@locke11216

Well, the GO is operational for the time being, but I think it was out before they started the restoration.

[codeman2008]

I think the Passau organ is a far greater organ than the First Congregational Church organ in LA. The acoustics are far, FAR superior as well.

[eelgar1857]

Since I've never heard 1st Congregational in L.A., I was making no "quality" comparison. I HAVE heard the Passau organs twice, and was very impressed, not only by the power of the tutti, but also the refinement of many of the softer stops, and combinations. It's unfortunate that so few people get to try the organs, even on pre-arranged tours, due to very restrictive "church policies".

[codeman2008]

@eelgar1857 Oh don't get me wrong, they're both incredible instruments (or instrumental collections! haha). Both are gorgeous instruments.

[proctor94]

theres a bigger pipe organ in a shopping mall in america with 28,400 pipes

[eelgar1857]

When the Passau people say it's "the largest church organ in the world", what they mean is that is that it's the largest one in a PROPER church, meaning catholic. They're still celebrating the counter-reformation there. And the organ is really ca. 5 seperate instruments, with their own consoles, built at different times, and linked to one "master" console. Not quite the same thing as a huge American organ like 1st Congregational.

[codeman2008]

@eelgar1857 Even still, 1st Congregational is 2 totally different organs linked together.

[navy7700]

jrag74 wrote:

"and 4 carillons (whatever they are)"

Percussive bell stops, or compound pipe stops tuned to sound like bells..

[jrag74]

Yes, you are both right. They now claim to be the largest cathedral organ in the world.  All the same, the pipes along with the lavish baroque architecture made for a wonderful experience.

[chwidder]

Note that even the frequent claim that "Passau is the largest *church* organ in the world" is no longer true: First Congregational Church in Los Angeles is definitely larger.

Anyway, that doesn't take away the fact that Passau is a damn fine organ!

[strong1235]

Not even close to the largest! Maybe largest in Europe but check out the organ in the Macys store in Philadelphia and the one in the Convention center in Atlantic City. Both are much larger, 30,000 plus pipes.

[speaks3703]

The one in Atlantic city would be the largest in terms of number of manuals and number of stops if it were fully playable, which it is not. However, in terms of number of ranks and number of stops, even if the Convention Hall organ were fully functional, the organ at Macy's (originally Wanamaker's) is larger. This organ was the largest church organ in the world until the organ at FCCLA was enlarged further. This organ is certainly one of the finest and the largest church organ in Europe.

[bmhall100]

The atlantic city organ is only smaller than the wanamaker organ in terms of numbers of ranks. In speaking stops and number of pipes and manuals the atlantic city organ is larger.

[JuRo986]

@strong1235 It does't matter that american organ are bigger or have more stops. If you take a look at this church and organ, you are much more impressed. Organ were always known for both - their sound and the ''architecture''. This one has both!

[alexeitje]

@strong1235 it means in the real world, not in America.

[c0string]

@strong1235 Atlantic city organ WAS the largest, since the fact that it isn't a functioning organ it cant be counted. Wanamaker organ - I share with Peter Conte - isn't fully operational either, if speaking size of pipes neither of them is the largest, sydney town hall organ, the only functioning organ with a natural 64' (foot) stop.

[ebocious]

@c0string: You're right about the Wanamaker Organ, but it isn't billed as the world's largest fully operational organ, just the world's largest playable organ. Understand that the instrument at Boardwalk Hall was badly damaged by weather, and further wrecked by outright disregard and abuse during renovations; you can't play music on it, and that's why the Wanamaker Organ currently holds the title. I wonder if they've installed the pipes for the ethereal division yet? Any idea?

[edolch]

@c0string Atlantic City does have about 150 ranks playing right now including the 64' Dulzian...so no, Sydney Town Hall is not the only one working.

[c0string]

@edolch no it doesnt function correctly, i spend a lot of time around that organ and in it... so Sydney is the only FULLY functional including 64'

[edolch]

@c0string Unless your name is Carl, Buddy, or Dennis...you do not spend much time at Boardwalk Hall. I work there several days a week and am constantly inside both the 449 rank Midmer-Losh and the 55 rank Kimball in the ballroom. I've played the Midmer-Losh more in the pas couple of months than anybody probably and once the relay has had a few hours to work itself up, the 64' does pretty much function "correctly." There are dead notes here and there on a bad day, but it's okay for now.

[MelosAntropon]

@strong1235: Properly, it is not billed as the "largest organ in the world". It is billed as the largest CHURCH organ in the world. And that changes on a yearly basis, as it is in constant competition with the organ of First Presbyterian in Los Angeles. The two organs have exchanged that title many times. That is a fact, though I am not certain which is currently the "leader". The Atlantic City organ is much larger, of course, but not fully operational at this time.

[JohnnyNW]

@strong1235 NOT MACY'S........IT WILL ALWAYS BE WANAMAKERS TO ME!

[sgiovangelo47]

@JohnnyNW Amen to that! I was just back in Philly three weeks ago to see family and went to hear the court organ at Wanamaker's. To hell with Macy's! Awesome sound.

[silverstartrucker]

@JohnnyNW - I agree with you.