With my first blog post I would like to say hello to you all. I am thrilled to be a part of this community! It will take me some time to get to know you all, but know that I am putting an effort into remembering your faces and names. I am eager to learn your stories, so please share them with me. And thank you for your warm welcome - I felt at home on the very first Sunday!
It was over a decade ago when, in the first month after my move to Phoenix, I went out to North Scottsdale to see the Richards, Fowkes opus 14 at Pinnacle Presbyterian Church. I was awestruck when I played it for the first time, and until this day I love every minute I get to spend at this organ. In my view, there are not many pipe organs in Arizona that match the quality of this instrument.
What makes it so special? Ralph Richards and Bruce Fowkes put a lot of effort into studying the craftsmanship of old European masters, especially the Dutch. They traveled to see and hear many of the existing 17th and 18th century instruments, took measurements, photos and sound samples. Richards and Fowkes, as well as other pioneers in this style of organ building, went back to the basics and applied some of the older techniques in their workshops. It involved copying historical measurements, material composition and scaling of pipes, less use of machines and more manual labor. All to deliver higher quality of pipework and thus sound. The outcome is such that every pipe and every stop has a uniquely beautiful quality, and altogether they blend into a powerful instrument that is capable of touching the Sublime.
Another reason which makes this organ so special is its tracker action. Tracker action means that every key has an instant physical connection with a pipe through a wooden tracker. Depending how a key is pressed and released, it will affect how a pipe is going to open to speak and how the sound will end. It takes years of practice to make any organ breathe and phrase as if it was a human voice. With precise finger control on a tracker action a trained organist can make the sound edgy or round, lighter or heavier, softer or louder. This is almost impossible to achieve on a typical 20th-century pipe organ with an electric action, where a key is connected with a pipe through a wire. In this case there are only two options of opening and closing the pipe: 0 and 1, on or off, and nothing in between.
I take pride in being the organist of Richards, Fowkes opus 14, and a member of the well-established music program at Pinnacle. I am excited to share my passion and energy for performing, directing and teaching, and I cannot wait for what is ahead!
