{"id":69,"date":"2020-01-09T00:03:54","date_gmt":"2020-01-09T05:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/ravenmag\/?post_type=cu-stories&p=69"},"modified":"2020-01-30T11:36:39","modified_gmt":"2020-01-30T16:36:39","slug":"pipe-dreams-organ-next-chapter","status":"publish","type":"cu-stories","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/ravenmag\/story\/pipe-dreams-organ-next-chapter\/","title":{"rendered":"Pipe Dreams"},"content":{"rendered":"

Praised by Mozart as \u201cthe king of the instruments,\u201d the pipe organ reigns over church sanctuaries and has become a stalwart symbol of ecclesiastical tradition. But at the 杏吧原创 Dominion Chalmers Centre<\/a> (CDCC), the university\u2019s arts, performance and learning hub in downtown Ottawa, the recently-restored, seven-storey, 5,179-pipe organ<\/a> tells a surprising story of innovation and transition.<\/p>\n

\"PipeThe instrument\u2019s roots pre-date the amalgamation<\/a> of Dominion United Church and Chalmers United Church. In 1955, smoke and humidity during a fire at Chalmers significantly damaged the organ. \u201cPlaying in chords,\u201d the music director at the time, William France, said about the fire\u2019s impact, \u201chas taken on the sound of marching armies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cost of restoration was prohibitively expensive, so the instrument remained unattended until after the 1961 fire that destroyed the Dominion church and led to the union of the two congregations. Enriched by the insurance payout funds received by Dominion, the newly amalgamated church chose the battered organ as its first major project.<\/p>\n

Two established firms submitted bids: Quebec-based Casavant Fre\u0300res<\/a> (which had built the original Chalmers organ in 1928) and England\u2019s William Hill & Son & Norman & Beard Limited. While the English manufacturer recommended a restoration, Casavant proposed a complete replacement.<\/p>\n

Faced with two costly options, the church sought advice. A Royal Conservatory of Music organist thundered that the Hill, Norman and Beard organ he had recently played was \u201cthe worst instrument I have ever experienced.\u201d A musician in Kingston called Casavant\u2019s building techniques \u201cwasteful\u201d and \u201csinful.\u201d<\/p>\n

France was outspoken about his preference: \u201cFrankly I mistrust a rebuild on an organ that has been tried by fire and water. There is the parallel of rebuilding a 1928 car!\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These passionate responses provide a snapshot of the organ reform movement, which started in early 20th-century Germany. Both the construction and timbre of organs had radically changed in the previous decades in concert with technological developments and musical taste, transforming a predominantly ecclesiastical instrument into an imitator of the orchestra within theatres and fairs.<\/p>\n

Musicians and builders in the 1920s sought to re-create organs capable of playing the contrapuntal masterpieces of the past, and this \u201cneo- classical\u201d aesthetic spread to North America after World War II, when organists on duty with military forces had visited the historic organs of Europe.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

\"Pipe<\/div>
\n

杏吧原创 Dominion-Chalmers Centre Goes Back to the Future<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

By the time Dominion-Chalmers began its search, the new approach to organ building was at its climax, with firms like Casavant returning to classic principles of mechanical action, wind systems and casework.<\/p>\n

Convinced that Casavant\u2019s organs were among the best in the world, Dominion-Chalmers chose the Canadian manufacturer in 1963. Established in 1879, Casavant is Canada\u2019s oldest organ building firm still in operation, and the organ built and installed in Dominion-Chalmers represents a unique intersection in the history of both the company and Canada.<\/p>\n

During the organ\u2019s construction, the neo-classical clarity of sound was already established as the desired tonal palette, but the transition back to classical construction practices had not been completely implemented. It was during the years of Dominion- Chalmers\u2019 organ construction that Casavant made the switch away from electro-pneumatic action \u2014 which uses electric current to send signals from the console to the wind chest \u2014 back to tracker action.<\/p>\n

Rather than installing a series of mechanical linkages to the organ console as they would with future organs, Casavant used a total of six miles of copper wire to meticulously attach each of the organ console\u2019s keys to the wind chests. Thus, the organ was built with the timbral qualities of French and German organ music of the Baroque and classical renaissance but retained 20th<\/sup>-century technology.<\/p>\n

The installation of a new Casavant Fre\u0300res organ in 1965 paved the way for a flourishing of music activities, and today the CDCC is repeating history. Like the Dominion-Chalmers congregation 60 years ago, one of the first projects undertaken by 杏吧原创 upon its purchase of the church was a full restoration of the 1965 organ.<\/p>\n

In the same way that Casavant blended tonal tradition with modern improvements, the repairs to the organ completed last year significantly updated the attachments running between the console and the rest of the organ body: organ technician Sylvain Brisson replaced the massive cable of 500 copper wires with a single cord.<\/p>\n

With this alteration, the organ console has become completely mobile, creating a more versatile space and opening the door to musical growth in the centre for students, community groups and the congregation to cherish for decades to come.<\/p>\n

Meredith Boerchers is a graduate student in 杏吧原创\u2019s <\/em>Curatorial Studies diploma program<\/em><\/a> who researches and retells stories from the CDCC\u2019s past on digital platforms.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

\"Pipe<\/div>
\n

—
\nRaven Magazine<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Praised by Mozart as \u201cthe king of the instruments,\u201d the pipe organ reigns over church sanctuaries and has become a stalwart symbol of ecclesiastical tradition. But at the 杏吧原创 Dominion Chalmers Centre (CDCC), the university\u2019s arts, performance and learning hub in downtown Ottawa, the recently-restored, seven-storey, 5,179-pipe organ tells a surprising story of innovation and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"story-topics":[13],"yoast_head":"\nPipe Dreams | Raven Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The recently restored pipe organ at the 杏吧原创 Dominion-Chalmers Centre tells a surprising story of innovation and transition. 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