| To glorify God with all that we are. To minister to our fellows that Christ be glorified in their worship lives. To be supportive in our common liturgical experience. To open the minds of our fellow parishioners to musical expressions of greater vision and depth.
|
 |
The Noack Organ, Opus 99 The Noack Organ, Opus 99, built for the Episcopal Church of the Epiphany by Fritz Noack, was dedicated in the summer of 1983. Fritz Noack was born in Germany in 1935. During his high-school years, he was an active musician and studied organ building and cabinet making. He began his apprenticeship with the noted organ builder, Rudolph van Beckerath, and later worked with Klaus Becker and Ahrend & Brunzema. After coming to the United States in 1959, he worked with Charles Fisk and, in 1960, organized The Noack Organ Company. Mr. Noack has taught organ construction and organ building at the New England Conservatory. He is a board member of the International Society of Organ Builders and served two years as president of the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America. |
"Designing the organ for the Church of the Epiphany presented special problems and opportunities. I hope that, in years hence, it will be found that we solved the problems and took full advantage of the opportunities. Clovis Heimsath's striking design of this church at first had me stumped: There is no existing style of organ design that "matches" this free-form environment. Although many attempts have been made to create such "matching" organs, I could not feel comfortable about any of them. The organ is an instrument with a distinct heritage of its own, successful only if true to this heritage and obedient to its rules. It also was soon apparent that no really fine organ could properly be installed in the church balcony. The necessary crowding in that location would prevent the sound projection we expect of a fine musical instrument. The location we chose promised to give us the best projection into the entire room, as well as enough "elbow room" to prevent the organ from unduly upsetting the architectural balance of the building.So I found that an organ of essentially classical shape and proportion would be fitting -- as long as it was not burdened with excessive traditional detail, such as moldings and the usual carved pipe shades. The tonal design tries, first of all, to respond to practical needs: to have enough dynamic variety to accompany a full congregation as well as a small choir of children. At the same time, we tried to avoid too loud an organ since the reverberation characteristics of this church make for a fair amount of sound reinforcement. I also have tried to reflect modern tonal thoughts: After a period of wholesale commitment to the organ traditions of the 18th century, more of the romantic traditions of the 19th century are recognized today. In this organ, the strings on the Swell -- as well as the rather full-bodied voicing -- answer that wish. A gentle touch of visual integration comes from the pipe shades: flocks of birds in flight, happily singing God's praises. Here James Lohman's design is inspired by the shapes in the adjacent colored glass windows." In the program for the Clyde Holloway recital, October 16, 1983, Wendy Wentland, Epiphany's organist/choirmaster, stated: "Vibrant, well-defined tones will now support our liturgical celebration, encouraging greater participation in that act. The organ's palette will spread a wonderful array of colors, lending authenticity and integrity to the various periods of music in our worship. Fine craftsmanship marks this instrument. Caring attention to detail is evidenced in the precision tooling of the organ's inherent parts, the finishing of the casework both inside and out, the carving of the doves expressive of the soaring spirit. This lovely addition to The Church of the Epiphany cannot help but bless us in our life of praise. Blessed by God for granting us something outside ourselves, something through which we may catch a glimpse of Himself.". Wendy L. Wentland Organist/Choirmaster, Music Liturgist Choir Directors Epiphany Choir - Robert Brewer, Organist/Choirmaster Canticlers - Robert Brewer, Organist/Choirmaster Choristers - Robert Brewer, Organist/Choirmaster Celebration Choir - LaRue Howard, Director Epiphany Ringers - LaRue Howard, Director |
Home