All posts by Lana Krakovskiy

Sights and Sounds

Sebastian M. Glück Opus 8 — Pictures and sounds

gluckorgan_1
Dr. William F. Entriken, Organist and Choirmaster of First Presbyterian Church (l) and Sebastian M. Glück (r) after dedicatory recital of Opus 8 last Fall
The Sebastian M. Glück Opus 8 was inaugurated in the Fall of 2003. A new CD, “A Small Wonder: Music from Alexander Chapel” has just been released and is available for purchase through First Presbyterian Church. Recorded by Dr. William F. Entriken and produced by Dr. Entriken and Mr. Glück, this CD highlights the many wonderful features of the exquisite instrument now gracing the Alexander Chapel.

Listen to samples (MP3):

From the CD notes and Glück New York Website: The jewel-box Tudor chapel comfortably seats about fifty people, its gilded plaster ceiling, oak-paneled walls, and slate floor providing a visual feast.Designed and tonally finished by Sebastian M. Glück, this amazing instrument occupies a footprint of only 34 x 120 inches. The pipework is fashioned of red oak, poplar, walnut, planed 50% tin, and flamed copper for the basses of the 8′ Dulciana which flank the main soundboard. The 16′ Double Dulciana utilizes free reeds in the manner of a 19th century French harmonium, with a seamless transition to the bottom octave. An unusual tonal feature is the 4/5′ Choral Bass, which when drawn with the 4′ and 2′ flutes, provides a horn-like, reedy cantus firmus voice. The organ’s pipework is unenclosed, but the keydesk features a balanced expression pedal for practice purposes.

CD is $15 and is available at the church office,
or you may call (212) 675-6150 to order your copy.
The First Presbyterian Church in the City of New York 
12 West 12th Street
New York, New York 10011
Telephone: (212) 675-6150
Fax: (212) 675-8674

 gluckorgan_5
Close-up of the flamed copper 8′ Dulciana
gluckorgan_0   gluckorgan_6
Courtesy of Sebastian M. Glück

gluckorgan_2
Dr. William F. Entriken at the console

gluckorgan_3

gluckorgan_4
Further Links
Glück New York Website
Dr. William F. Entriken
First Presbyterian Church
Sights and Sounds

AGO 2002 Convention Displays

The exhibits at the convention were comprised of music dealers, organ builders, artist representatives and (too many) electronic organ companies. I hung around while everyone was setting up their displays. (This was not unlike any number of the techie conventions in Javits Center, just less noisy and a little less crowded).

Since size and weight would make it difficult to bring an entire pipe organ in for the show, most builders resorted to a display of a few pipes for demonstration purposes. One Canadian company (Casavant Freres) created a little model of a church:
casavantmodel_lg
 Others raffled off pipes painted by Pennsylvania Dutch folk artists:
paintedpipes_lg

But the German company Oberlinger Orgelbau brought an entire organ to the show! They put it together on the spot.