Stephen Tharp plays the Skinner Organ at Rosary Cathedral

The Organ at Our Lady Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral was built by the Skinner Organ Company of Boston in 1931 as their Opus 820 and dedicated with great fanfare with a recital by Professor Palmer Christian of the University of Michigan, and a performance of Elgar's Dream of Gerontius. Ernest Skinner designed and oversaw the construction and installation of the organ at the Cathedral during his final years at the company he founded in 1901 before being forced out in 1936.
It is remarkable to think of all of the Skinner Organs that once were to be found in Toledo. However, with time and changing fashions, some people wanted to try to improve Skinner organs, but only managed to compromise their integrity. Mr. Skinner's organs are like the string instruments of Stradivarius; no improvements are needed! In the city of Toledo, after a time many of the "improved" and renovated organs were removed, leaving only two original Skinner Organs; the one at Rosary Cathedral and the newly restored organ at the Toledo Art Museum, Opus 603.

I first recorded Stuart Forster at Rosary Cathedral in 1998, and then later Todd Wilson and Ken Cowan. This organ is always a joy to visit, and the staff and clergy of the Cathedral are a joy to work with. This is a short video I made of Stephen Tharp recording the Rosary Cathedral organ on the night of August 31, 2006. The resulting CD will be a collection of much-loved hymns played on this organ. I hope you enjoy these video samples of the CD that will be issued in the winter of 2007. I'm certain that you will agree with me that this organ is truly an American treasure.

You will note better sound on these videos. I took the audio files from the sound I recorded for the CD and synchronized it with the video. I think you will appreciate the improvement. If you, my loyal and valued patrons, buy more of my Cds, this will allow me to buy a better camera and some lighting! I genuinely enjoy making these videos, especially for those of you who cannot share in the hair-raising thrill of hearing these spectacular instruments in person.




I am a firm believer in the majesty and beauty of the world's greatest pipe organs, and in the need to preserve and document them, as well as promote the incredibly gifted performers who know how to play them so effectively. These instruments and players deserve to be recognized, and I am pleased to serve as their advocate. With your help, we can assure the future of the great pipe organs of the world. My thanks to you for your continued support!




Visit the JAV Webstore at www.pipeorgancds.com; there you will find over 70 different titles of organ recordings from around the world

Now get ready to enjoy my latest video!

Joe Vitacco - JAV Recordings, Inc.
http://www.pipeorgancds.com
----------------
From the organist:

Tonight I finished a CD recording of hymns, both familiar and unfamiliar, at Holy Rosary Cathedral, Toledo, Ohio. This is the first full-length hymn disc that I have done, and having the opportunity to bring it into fruition on this particular Skinner organ made for an incredibly artistic result and a most memorable experience.

On this video, I play Comfort, comfort Ye my People and The Strife is O'er. The sound from the recording session itself is matched up here with the video made during actual takes. This will be my fourth disc for JAV Recordings, and my thirteenth CD recording-to-date. I am very grateful to Joe Vitacco and JAV for asking me to make this recording on such a rare, beautiful and noteworthy instrument.

Stephen Tharp.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• pipe organ
• organ music
• hymns
• Toledo Ohio
• Stephen Tharp

[cincy3waychili]

Is the CD out yet? Thanks also for showing the magnificent interior of Most Holy Rosary Cathedral. I have seen all of the Ohio Catholic Cathedrals and this is the most stunning of them all!

[JV68]

Sorry running a bit behind with this. I have much cooking right now. Just issued 6 CDs this is coming

[iamrepete]

Holy Toledo! This is how an organ should sound...no improvements are needed indeed. Thank you,Joe.

[54spiritedwill54]

Brilliant renditions of the hymns. Enjoyed it tremendously!

[OrganNLou]

@alamirande2001 This is what couplers are for, and there are many of them to choose from! Also understand these instruments were designed to have a warm "blended" quality to them. Why "brighten" a perfectly round and inviting sound?

[sluke77]

I use to work near the Cathedral and would play this awesome instrument during my lunch hour. It truly is a treasure.

The great Skinner organ with some fifty-five hundred organ pipes and seventy-eight ranks has undergone refurbishing to restore and preserve its priceless quality>

[unkastacky]

Bought the CD; marvelous. I appreciate the discussion above about organ design. My tastes have traditionally run more to the baroque organ, but I'm coming to appreciate what Skinner accomplished. It's easy to be critical; but we must be cautious not to pass a summary judgment on matters of taste. Lots of things now appreciated and beloved were at one time horribly out of fashion. E.M. Skinner could attest to this firsthand.

[Octavkoppel1]

Hallo,

das orgelspielen ist einfach klasse.

Davon könnten sich so einige Kantoren echt mal eine Scheibe abschneiden.

Wirklich Toll

[LuCkY20O8]

The best passage is between:  5:45 and 6:20

[codeman2008]

One of the best Skinners around!

[Gene4310]

What a terrific gem !!!!

[jpwsml]

I was able to play this organ for a few minutes this last winter. An absolutely beautiful organ and setting. His playing is much better than mine though!

[sjf3772]

My grandfather, Norbert E. Fox, was the organist when it was installed in '31. He was there until about 1952. My father, Valerian Fox, also played there, as did his brothers Robert, Marcellian and Gregory. I got a chance to see it yesterday and play it for a couple minutes. Great fun!

[obxemt]

Exactly. The biography makes that uncomfortably clear!