What Makes Pipe Organs and their Music Unique?

Because of its location high up in the loft at the back of the church, many of us have never actually seen our organist playing the instrument. That is really unfortunate, because the performer is like a musical magician, switching between two or more keyboards for the hands while simultaneously playing another part of the music with his/her feet. Wait! There’s more! The organ has many sounds, which can be combined or played separately, and this is accomplished by pulling stop knobs and tapping toe pistons to select the desired combination. All these options create complexity, allowing a pipe organist to play music from different countries, time periods, styles and for different occasions. The range of sound is equally impressive, because as long as a note is held, the organ sounds without diminishing in volume, so the listener might hear a powerful blast of sound or a soft, intimate melody.

Another interesting fact about pipe organs is that every one of them is custom-built for the room in which they live. They are not portable. No two organs are exactly alike, so the organist must understand the characteristics of that particular instrument in order to play music that is appropriate and inspirational, and which, above all, enhances our corporate worship. When our organ renovation is complete, we will have an instrument that is well-positioned to play any literature, past or future, with integrity and beauty of sound.

-Philana