Famous Organists: Jimmy Smith
In the next installation of our Famous Organists blog series, we will be discussing the legendary Jimmy Smith, a jazz organist who is ubiquitously recognized as the musician who popularized and legitimized the tonewheel organ. A Musical Background James (Jimmy) Smith was born December 8, 1925 (or possibly 1928, reports vary) in Norristown, Pennsylvania, […]
Famous Organists: Marie-Claire Alain
In the next installment of our Famous Organists blog series, we will be taking a look at the incredible Marie-Claire Alain. A Family of Organists On August 10, 1926, Marie-Claire Alain was born near Paris, France, into a prodigious family of organists and musicians. Her father, Albert Alain, composed for the organ, built organs, and […]
Pulling Out All Of The Stops
After a particularly impressive effort at work or on the playing field, or at the most climactic point in a film, you might have heard someone mention that “they pulled out all of the stops.” In common use, it’s considered high praise, but for church organ players, the phrase has a very different meaning. Viscount […]
The Church Organ In Film
While many organists likely think of the instrument in the context of great performance halls or church settings, for the average listener, the church organ is distinctly tied to the soundtracks of popular media. In particular, film has shaped many people’s understanding of the instrument and its use to convey drama, tension, and fear. While […]
The Wanamaker Organ
The pipe organ is referred to the King of Instruments for many reasons, and size is, of course, one of them. Pipe Organs are well known for their grandiose size and incredible range of tones and voices. But despite many organs filling entire churches or buildings, one pipe organ, in particular, can claim the title […]
The World’s Oldest Playable Pipe Organ
The pipe organ is an ancient instrument. Indeed, many agree that the first pipe organ was created by a Greek engineer in the 3rd Century BCE. While the appearance and the means by which it is powered has changed dramatically in the thousands of years since then, in many ways it still functions in the […]
Updating Your Pipe Organ
Viscount Organs has been making premium-quality organs for more than a century. In that time, we’ve proven ourselves to be innovators in the field of the digital organ. We offer our incredible hybrid organs to those who are looking to update their existing pipe or church organs. But when is the right time to, and […]
Famous Organists: Charles-Marie Widor
The church organ has a long and storied history, going back for hundreds of years. During that time, countless accomplished musicians have sat at the bench and played stirring music of all kinds for innumerable audiences. But during the tenure of this King of Instruments, there have been some musicians that have stood out as […]
Famous Organists: Ethel Smith
For over 100 years, Viscount Organs has been producing organs of unparalleled quality. In that time, countless musicians have sat behind the pedals and keys of our organs and played everything from timid first notes to entire concertos. We’re glad that we’ve been a part of the music community for so long, and we’re always […]
Famous Organists: Marcel Dupré
Viscount Organs has been around for a while, over a century in fact. During that time, we’ve seen countless players perform masterpieces on our fine organs. We believe that even a novice player is an accomplished musician, as playing the organ is an impressive feat in-and-of-itself. But throughout the long and storied history of the […]