Dora Poteet Barclay, organist, plays Reubke Fugue (from Sonata on the 94th Psalm)

Legendary concert organist Dora Poteet Barclay is heard here in a rare recording of a 1952 live performance on the landmark 1949 Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ at First Presbyterian Church in Kilgore, Texas, a G. Donald Harrison "signature" organ, and the organ that had the first Trompette-en-Chamade in the United States. Dora Poteet Barclay was a disciple of Marcel Dupre and taught organ for many years at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. This track is taken from the CD set "The Aeolian-Skinner Legacy, Volume IV," which also features organists Neal Campbell, James Lynn Culp, Stephen Farrow, Roy Perry (who designed and tonally finished the organ, and was organist at this church for 40 years), William Teague, William Watkins, and the Choir of Austin College, available at www.vermontorganacademy.com.

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• Dora Poteet Barclay
• Reubke
• Pipe Organ
• Aeolian-Skinner
• Roy Perry
• G. Donald Harrison
• Klgore Texas

[CoutureOrganiste]

I realize that it was mentioned that it was "The first Chamade installed in the US by ANY builder", but we also have to remember that a lot of times nomenclature gets in the way.  Jardine just didn't call his reeds chamade, but they were/are in fact Chamades. Wasn't trying to step on anyones toes. It's still a great post and I did rate it 5 stars.

[VermontOrganAcademy]

No offense taken here, and thank you for the nice rating. It is, however, our understanding that "en-Chamade" indicates the reed is placed horizontally, and not vertically.

[CoutureOrganiste]

Nice to hear these vintage recordings that so often get lost and/or destroyed. One correction, this was not the first organ in the US to have a Chamade reed.

[VermontOrganAcademy]

Well, please do enlighten us! Both The Diapason and The American Organist magazines from 1949 announcing Opus 1173, and all literature published by Aeolian-Skinner, state that it was the first organ in this country to have a Trompette-en-Chamade. The old Austin at Intercession in NYC had what appeared to be chamades in its facade, but they were only fake resonators.

[mrstevecbournias]

The Fanfare division at Atlantic City has a 4ft Clarion en-chamade inside the grilles pointing horizontally outward and BOLTED to the chest as it is on 50'' of wind and that was in 1930-31 18 years before Kilgore's chamade.

[MrBooker39]

Really spectacular playing! And great organ sound, too! It doesn't sound as though there's much reverberation in this space...or is that because of the recording?

Anyway...thanks for a great post!

[Blockedify]

Re the dust-up over the "en chamade" thing: If one looks carefully at pictures of the Jardines which allegedly had "en chamade" reeds, they appear to be "fanned" or radiating, NOT "en chamade." NOT the same thing.

[Blockedify]

To hear Miss Dora play this fugue just about brings tears to my eyes because I realize how FAR, FAR from any sort of musicality or, indeed, musical sensibility most organists are. Mrs. Barclay became my "organ godess" when I first heard the recording of her Park Cities Baptist Church concert in the mid-sixties. An utterly STUNNING concert like one hears only a few times in one's own lifetime.

This is about the only performance of this piece that I've ever heard that makes "sense."

[OrganNLou]

Terrific Organist!

[32SERPENT1]

@CoutureOrganiste

If we want to be totally pedantic, horizontal reeds were fashionable in the UK long before America, and Gray & Davison were pioneers. (Leeds Town Hall) Jardine, of Manchester, were greatly influenced by the brother of Jules the physicist, a resident of Manchester, who brought French influence to bear on 19th century English organs. Jardine were active both sides of the pond, and that's how America got them, while we here in the UK largely forgot about them unfortunately.

[bstct]

At last: an organist who maintains a rock-solid rhythm and tempo at 2:01.

[Diapasonic]

Thanks so much for making the magnificent artistry of Mrs. Barclay available once again.