SOPP301: Do organ builders have online databases with specs on every instrument they’ve built?

Vidas: Hello guys, this is Vidas.
 
Ausra: And Ausra.
 
V: Let’s start episode 301 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Dan, and he writes:

Hi Vidas, back in June, i’d tried out a small Casavant organ, in a place which is used for people to stay at, they do corporate events there, and other stuff,  and the owner of the place, doesn’t really play the organ. She wants me to play it on a couple dates in November. It’s a 1929 Casavant organ, and it’s their opus 1375.

​When I’d tried  the instrument, I was mainly using the crescendo pedal to control it.  Those can give you sometimes less than desirable results. I’d asked her if she could provide me with a stop list for the organ, so I could know what it has on it, so I can have finer control over the instrument.  Her response was that she doesn’t play the organ, and that we’d have to get somebody in to help. Does Casavant, or any other organ builder for that matter, have an online database with specs on every instrument they’ve built that I could access?  OR would it be worth contacting Casavant about this? Secondly, the instrument hasn’t been looked at as far as tuning and maintenance for at least a year or two, and they don’t seem to have a regular contract with an organ technician. I suggested that they at least get one in, to tune the instrument, as when I’d tried it, it really needed it in my opinion.  Any advice in this situation would be appreciated. Thanks. Dan
 
V: So, it looks like Dan encountered a historical instrument by Casavant, and he wants to know what the stop lists are, right?
 
A: Yes.
 
V: So the easiest way would be to take a picture of the stops when you are there, and you won’t need any databases, then.
 
A: True. Especially, because he already has played this instrument, as I understood.
 
V: But, some of our subscribers are blind, actually, so if this would be the case, then taking a picture, for Dan, wouldn’t work, right, if he can not see? So, I guess every respectable organ builder has its own database online, so you can just google Casavant and Archives and, I guess, they would find it.
 
A: True.
 
V: And the second question would be about the instrument tuning and maintenance. And Dan suggested they get a technician to look at it. Is that a good idea, Ausra?
 
A: Sure. Definitely. I would do it in his case, because I think any instrument needs at least once a year to have a look.
 
V: Twice even. Every season change, right?
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: But at least once. And it doesn’t have to be an overseas expert from another continent or even another country, it can have a local organ technician come in and help the tuning and the regulation of the instrument. Sometimes you need it not only to be tuned, but sometimes you need to regulate the mechanics of the instrument. Maybe there are some ciphers, you have to fix that. Maybe the couplers need to get adjusted if it’s a mechanical instrument. What else, Ausra?
 
A: Well, it might be almost anything. You never know what might happen, so you need to check it.
 
V: For example, yesterday, I checked an organ in Vilnius University St. Johns’s’ church. The chapel, where they have everyday weekday masses, and the reason I checked and fixed it a little bit, two keys, is that today, Ausra is going to teach organ on that instrument, right?
 
A: Yes.
 
V: Would you like to share with us what the occasion was?
 
A: Well, in Vilnius today, we are actually starting a school for church organists.
 
V: The National Association of Organists is organizing….they call it organ school, or maybe church music school of Gregory. St. Gregory, right?
 
A: Yes.
 
V: And Ausra has been invited as an organ and harmony teacher.
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: So, how many students will you have?
 
A: I’ll have two organ students and everybody else as harmony students.
 
V: Group lessons.
 
A: Yes. I think in total there will be about 14 students.
 
V: So, for organists today on that chapel organ, you will have an introductory lesson, right?
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: What are you planning to do?
 
A: I’m planning to introduce myself and get acquainted to see what level they are, and to bring them some repertoire.
 
V: It’s hard to plan beforehand, before you know what they can do or not.
 
A: That’s right. I selected some pieces, but I don’t know if they will work, because I don’t know  how technically advanced they are.
 
V: Have you selected the pieces in various levels of difficulty?
 
A: Yes, sure. Some are easier, some are more difficult.
 
V: So, I guess they will find something.
 
A: Yes, something will work, and for the next lesson, I’ll bring more music.
 
V: And, you also will have in the future some harmony classes, right?
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: What’s your first class about?
 
A: About how chords are made.
 
V: Right. How to put the three notes together.
 
A: Yes, actually four notes.
 
V: Four!
 
A: Because it’s usually four notes. And about closed and open position.
 
V: Mhm.
 
A: And about all the basic stuff.
 
V: Interesting. We will be looking forward to know your feedback from the organ classes and harmony classes that you teach, and I guess our students from other countries will also benefit from that.
 
A: Well, you know, I don’t know how I will teach harmony in four sessions!
 
V: Just four sessions?
 
A: Yes, before the midterm. And then there will be six sessions before the final exam.
 
V: Four midterm, and then six, and then final.
 
A: Yes. So can you teach, you know, harmony in ten sessions?
 
V: Basics, maybe.
 
A: Basics, yes, for some people, not for everybody.
 
V: Sort of level 1, right?
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: Remember we have this course, “Harmony for Organists, Level 1,” so until the dominant seventh chord or a little bit more, but you know better than I.
 
A: Okay, let’s go back to Dan’s questions about about that Casavant organ. It’s interesting, for instance, that in Lincoln, USA, we have also played Casavant at Grace Lutheran Church, and it was a nice instrument. I really enjoyed playing it.
 
V: It had reverberant acoustics!
 
A: Yes! For the United States, yes, something like two seconds.
 
V: Wonderful. So I’m looking now at the Casavant organ building Website, and let’s see what they have….do they have instrument’s specifications….recent instruments. Obviously it’s not recent in Dan’s case, but let’s see. They build so many, right, and…
 
A: Yes
 
V: The latest opus is 3,794. Wow. But, they have actually an email on that page. You can contact Casavant, and maybe they can provide the stop list of your desired opus. You know, you just specify the location and opus number, and maybe they can send it to you.
 
A: I hope they keep such kind of data.
 
V: Obviously, they do. You can, if not online.
 
A: I think they started to put them online when the Internet began.
 
V: Right, and that was obviously before the time of the Internet. So, it’s nice that Dan travels to try out other instruments, right?
 
A: I think it’s important for every organist to try new instruments and a new environment.
 
V: It gives new perspectives, and if you try a variety of instruments—mechanical, pneumatic, electro-pneumatic, electric—all kinds of action types, you get sort of very broad perspective of what can be done, what sounds better than in other locations, and you learn more from just visiting those instruments.
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: Thank you guys, we hope this was useful to you. Please send us more of your questions; we love helping you grow. This was Vidas,
 
A: And Ausra,
 
V: And remember, when you practice,
 
A: Miracles happen.