Posted by M.M. Carrasco on February 22, 2003 at 23:30:24:
In Reply to: Re: Tubas and Pipe Organs posted by Rick Denney on February 22, 2003 at 20:42:23:
Rick, just for the record: perhaps you were referring to Doug Major? He has been the titular organist at the Washington Cathedral for quite a few years now. I had some experiance with that instrument many years ago while employed in the DC area. At the time that organ had been "releathered" with the latest miracle material and was in need of having the work re-done after a very short period. Unfortunately, that instrument has had many fingers in it and many would argue that it wasn't one of Mr. Skinners best efforts to start with. Fortunately, in that acoustic just about anything would sound glorius. Luckily DC has many great instruments - if one were to take a tour, the two Schudi organs at the National Shrine crypt and St. Vincent's chapel at Catholic U. are really fine instruments (ahem, if I do say so myself!). There's also an interesting Riegger at All Souls Unitarian and then the gentile, charming Flentrop at St. Columba's. All these organs are mechanical action but my fav electric action was Calvary Baptist in Chinatown (1 block north of the Nat'l Portrait Gallery). That Möller had a wood open 32' that felt like a California tremor....... a little known fact: all around the DC area there are Masonic and OES lodges. The founders of the company where I apprenticed with were both freemasons. Therefore, their organs are peppered around the area in some neat old buildings. The coolest is the National Order of the 33 degree on 16th Street. Most folks think that the building is the Egyptian Embassy because of the matched set of sphinxes on either side of the massive staircase. The Kimball organ sits in the ceiling on a ledge about 80 feet up. When one crawls to edge to look down, you can see purple velvet swags and jaboes, massive dark quartered oak thrones in the chamber which looks looks like a set from a Cecil B. DeMille movie. My jaw dropped.......
Moises Carrasco