Thomas Dressler
New member
Hi Giovanni,
Oh yes, those Hook and Hastings in Boston are just incredible instruments! I heard the one at Immaculate Conception live a couple times and it was just unbelievably wonderful!
Tannenberg was an impeccable workman, and he generally used the absolute best materials available to him at the time. The more you get to know his work, the more amazed you become at his workmanship. Not only did he use good materials, but he was very skilled with the tools he used. To give an example, the alloy he used for his metal pipes has a melting point that is very close to the solder he used to put them together. Therefore, there was little room for error in the temperature of his soldering iron. And remember, he didn't have a computer controlled soldering iron! He had to heat it in a fire and get it to the proper temperature. . .
The reeds on the Hook and Hastings I play seem to be quite good. There are two--a Trumpet on the Great and an Oboe on the Swell. The Trumpet was restored about 25 years ago, and it sound pretty amazing, though sometimes choked with dirt. The Oboe is greatly in need of a restoration, so it is difficult to asses its tone. The pitch of the organ is somewhat more sharp than originally and I believe the Oboe was messed with so it is really difficult to know how it should sound without having an expert work on it. This is something we are planning to have done--we're working towards a complete restoration of the instrument.
I have never heard an intact Jardine, but they intrigue me. I worked in a church that originally had one, but it had been completely rebuilt by Austin around 1911 into a very different instrument. I have read about them and I am curious about them, but have yet to hear one or play one.
What kind of organ do you have for your weddings?
BTW, on Christmas I decided to play an abridged version of the Buxtehude Prelude, Fugue and Chaconne in C. It turned out to be the Fugue and Chaconne without the interlude.
It was very well received and fit the occasion very well I thought.
And blessings and peace to you, too!
Tom
Oh yes, those Hook and Hastings in Boston are just incredible instruments! I heard the one at Immaculate Conception live a couple times and it was just unbelievably wonderful!
Tannenberg was an impeccable workman, and he generally used the absolute best materials available to him at the time. The more you get to know his work, the more amazed you become at his workmanship. Not only did he use good materials, but he was very skilled with the tools he used. To give an example, the alloy he used for his metal pipes has a melting point that is very close to the solder he used to put them together. Therefore, there was little room for error in the temperature of his soldering iron. And remember, he didn't have a computer controlled soldering iron! He had to heat it in a fire and get it to the proper temperature. . .
The reeds on the Hook and Hastings I play seem to be quite good. There are two--a Trumpet on the Great and an Oboe on the Swell. The Trumpet was restored about 25 years ago, and it sound pretty amazing, though sometimes choked with dirt. The Oboe is greatly in need of a restoration, so it is difficult to asses its tone. The pitch of the organ is somewhat more sharp than originally and I believe the Oboe was messed with so it is really difficult to know how it should sound without having an expert work on it. This is something we are planning to have done--we're working towards a complete restoration of the instrument.
I have never heard an intact Jardine, but they intrigue me. I worked in a church that originally had one, but it had been completely rebuilt by Austin around 1911 into a very different instrument. I have read about them and I am curious about them, but have yet to hear one or play one.
What kind of organ do you have for your weddings?
BTW, on Christmas I decided to play an abridged version of the Buxtehude Prelude, Fugue and Chaconne in C. It turned out to be the Fugue and Chaconne without the interlude.
And blessings and peace to you, too!
Tom