(1) ALBERT SCHWEITZER , PART III: ORGANS AND ORGAN BUILDING; (2) FRANK MENTO: THE RESTORATION OF THE CAVAILLE-COLL, ST. JEAN DE MONTMARTRE
February 24, 2009 © by Susan Burkhalter
NOTE: All the quotations, with page numbers, given in this blog are from the book, “Albert Schweitzer, the Man and His Mind” by George Seaver, pub. Harper & Brothers, NY, 1947, 1955.
Dr. Schweitzer liked to save old pipe organs, believing that the organ was a sacred instrument. He believed that the old organ-builders knew the best shapes and sizes for their pipes and “used only the best wood and the best tin . . .” He found factory organs to be somewhat inferior. He preferred the tone of the old wind-chest to that of the “new.” He thought the electrical windchests drove out the wind at “too high a pressure”. [p. 30] He liked the pneumatic system better than the “modern cheap electrical system” because it required less maintenance and was more reliable, in his opinion.
Dr. Schweitzer (A.S.) thought modern organs had too many string-sounding pipes. He would rather have more flutes. He was particular about the position of the organ in the church and believed “The best position, if the nave is not too long, is above the entrance opposite the chancel. . .” “Further, ‘an organ standing on the ground never produces the same effect as one which delivers its sound from a height, especially if the church is full.’”[p. 30, “Albert Schweitzer, the Man and His Mind” by George Seaver] Dr. Schweitzer regarded the peak period in organ building as that between 1850 and 1880 because at that time organ builders were still influenced by the ideals of Silbermann and others from the 18th century. [p. 31] On p. 34 he spoke about old English organs, “[they] are very fine indeed. They are not loud and they are mellow . . .” A.S. believed that organs in churches sounded better than those in concert halls, “ . . . partly because an essential requisite for organ music is ‘the material presence of stone.’”
A.S. considered the organ of St. Sulpice in Paris, completed in 1862, as the finest in the world and his next favorite was Notre Dame’s, both Cavaillé-Col’s. Cavaillé-Col, whom Dr. Schweitzer knew, had a “maxim: ‘An organ sounds best when there is so much space between the pipes that a man can get round each one.’” [p. 32] Dr. Schweitzer found the Netherlanders to be good caretakers of organs, since “they appreciated the value and beauty of old organs. {they} refrained from sacrificing magnificence of tone to securing the abolition of technical defects. . .” In 1909 at the International Musical Society’s congress in Vienna, A.S. “and members who shared his views joined him in drawing up a set of INTERNATIONAL REGULATIONS FOR ORGAN-BUILDING. [p. 32]
Dr. Schweitzer visited many organs between 1906 and 1927 and sometimes spent hours cleaning grime off the pipes. He wrote hundreds of letters to people saying “. . . they ought to restore their fine old organs instead of replacing them by new ones . . .” His efforts were often in vain, as “[they] decided finally for the factory organ . . .” Also the first organ that A.S. rescued was “Silbermann’s fine instrument at St. Thomas’s, Strasburg . . .” [p. 33]
Finally, a description of Dr. Schweitzer at the organ was given on p. 35: “As professor Kurth of Berne has written: ‘The impression of tremendous energy that he creates accords with his outward appearance: a tall, broad-shouldered, robust figure, to which it is easy to ascribe intellectual as well as physical heroism; it is an unforgettable sight to see this tall, powerful man approach the organ, put on his glasses, and bend lovingly over the keys of the instrument in devoted service to his great master Bach. To see him thus is to see him suddenly transformed into the simple earnest organist of bygone times.’ “ [a quote by the author George Seaver from Oskar Kraus in “Albert Schweitzer: His Work and Philosophy”, pp. 55-56]
In the next blog I hope to report on “The Music of J.S. Bach”, a chapter from George Seaver’s book about Albert Schweitzer. George Seaver’s book also included chapters on “The Gospel” and “Africa”, but I didn’t have time to read those portions.
While reading this chapter about Dr. Schweitzer’s experiences with pipe organs, I concluded that were he living today, he would be horrified with the proliferation of digital organs in our churches—talk about “factory-built organs”!
In addition, there was another interesting book which I did not read: “Albert Schweitzer: Out of my Life and Thought”, with a postcript by Ernest Skillings, published 1933 and 1949 by Henry Holt & Co.
(2) FRANK MENTO: THE RESTORATION OF THE CAVAILLE-COLL, ST. JEAN DE MONTMARTRE
You may recall that Frank Mento was mentioned in my May 16th, 2008 blog, about catching up with BACHorgan.com community members. He is also profiled on the website under “Our Stories.” Frank is originally from Campbell, Ohio and for years has been Titular Organist at Saint Jean de Montmartre Church in Paris, France.
The organ at Frank’s church is a Cavaillé-Coll. Frank reports that the organ is finally undergoing restoration, which has been needed for years. Frank says the French government pays for restoration when the organ is property of the city or State in a building that was built before the separation of Church and State in 1904. The organ is part of the inventory of the City of Paris. He says the funds are obtained after the pastor and organist contact City Hall and write a letter to the Assistant Mayor in charge of Cultural Affairs.
I asked Frank if he were allowed to choose the organ repair company that does the work. “No,” he said, “not when you receive government or municipal funding. After receiving the letter from the pastor and organist requesting funds for the organ restoration, the State or the city launches a ‘call for tender’, which is a call for companies to submit competitive bids for the job. The call for tender is published by the state agencies. Then a contract will be awarded to the winning company.” Frank said that once the procedure has begun, it may take years to finally accomplish the restoration.
I don’t believe that the federal or state governments in the United States would ever fund the renovation of a historic organ. Frank said that Catholicism is no longer a state religion in France and also informed me that churches in France pay taxes on their employees. Organists in France receive national health insurance, retirement, unemployment compensation, and transportation benefits.
In closing, I read in the WASHINGTON POST on January 8th that Betty Freeman, 87, a Los Angeles philanthropist for American composers and painters such as composers Harry Partch Elliot Carter, and John Cage, died. To read this most fascinating article, here is the link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/07/