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 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 […]
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 […]
The King Of Instruments
The church organ is an iconic instrument. It’s nearly impossible not to imagine an organ inside of any of the great churches or basilicas of the world. The two are almost perfectly interlinked. The grand size and imposing sounds of the church organ have earned it the title of “King of Instruments” from many. But […]
Viscount to install their largest organ in North America
After an expansive search, and consultation with multiple pipe and digital organ firms, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church (OLMC) in Altoona, PA has contracted with Viscount to produce a custom 4 manual organ powered by their Physis® (Physical Modeling) Technology. The project will include the reworking of their existing Estey Pipe Organ […]
Organs At The Front Lines
When we think about the music of the Second World War, often we think of ragtime, and big band jazz, and of course, thumping marching band music. It’s hard not to have Glenn Miller’s “American Patrol” playing along in your head when you think about the service members of WWII. But for many soldiers and […]
Overcoming Your Nerves Before Performance
Right before you go on stage, you are probably going through what you will do once you are finally in front of everyone. Hopefully, you are imagining things going well! We know that there can be a lot of pressure when playing the church organ in front of a large group, especially if there are […]
Re-Learning an Instrument in Adulthood
How many people take music lessons at a young age, only to drop the instrument and focus more on careers or family in adulthood? The answer is, quite a lot! If this is the case for you, and you’ve found yourself wanting to get back into the instrument, we have some things for you to […]
Interesting Facts About the Organ – Part 3
The church organ hasn’t always been a part of organized religion. Originally the organ was the center of all culturally significant events such as banquets, games, and celebrations. The organ only made its way into the church 1100 years after the organ came to be. History shows that the organ in its earliest forms may […]
Viscount Organs: Tradition, Passion, and Technology Combined
Church organs are unique instruments. Not only are they centuries old – or, if their origin instruments are considered, millennia old – but they also have endured through western culture ever since their introduction. Organs were and still are central to many churches’ worship services and found their way into secular culture and music, as […]