In a message dated 1/22/04 9:10:00 PM, [log in to unmask] writes:


> Here in Charlotte, there are three:
> 
> In 1960, Schlicker rebuilt an 1895 Johnson organ of 2 manuals, formerly
> of St. Mark's Lutheran (Charlotte) and moved to the chapel of Covenant
> Pres, a very dry room. They kept some pipes and the manuals and action.
> It became a neo-Baroque instrument, very unlike its original self.
> Barbara Owen highly criticized it back then.
> 
> In 1961, they built a mostly new organ of 3 manuals from an 1899 Farrand
> and Votey (First Pres., Charlotte), keeping some pipes, chests, and
> facade. This is one of the most unpleasant organs that I know, since it
> is a very bright organ in a very dead acoustic.
> 
> In 1975, they rebuilt the Covenant Pres. A-Sk in Charlotte (1952) with a
> new console with new stop names (it has very recently been replaced with
> a new Harris console with reversal of tonal revision to come by Stewart
> Goodwin, as well as some acoustical renovation). Schlicker revoiced the
> Great and some other stops. Unfortunately, all of this was due to
> mediocre acoustics and trying to make the organ compensate for that.
> 
> The two musicians at these churches were greatly influenced by the
> Neo-Baroque movement of the 50's and early 60's. They thought that a
> bright organ would be great!! But they did not think about how it would
> sound in a DEAD acoustic.
> 
> I always thought that the Noehren recordings did not sound good, as it
> was in a dead room. I believe that these recordings did NOT help the
> preservation of older organs. It is not a BEAUTIFUL sound, just VERY
> clear!
> 
> But the Schlicker in the chapel at Concordia, Ann Arbor, sounds great to
> its now reverberant acoustic, which it did not have from 1967 (when the
> organ was built) to about 1980 when acoustical treatment was removed.
> 
> Again, acoustics make or break any organ. (Have you heard the Hammond on
> the Virgil Fox recording [NYC] or the Mario Salvador recording [Mexico
> City cathedral]? It even sounds pretty good!)
> --
> Cheers!
> John Apple
> --
> MICHAEL'S  MUSIC  SERVICE   || 4146 Sheridan Drive, Charlotte, NC 28205
> Free Reference & Referrals  || 704-567-1066 Telephone
> "Organ Music Our Specialty" || http://michaelsmusicservice.com
> 

What became of the Schlicker tracker in the Gallery of Covenant Pres? I was 
there for several recitals   1975-76 and I do recall something about the other 
work to the Aeolian-Skinner.   David Craighead played a recital on the 
Schlicker and it was my introduction to his playing. 
I vividly recall the elegance of his playing and the fact that the organ was 
underwhelming.

Carl Schwartz

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