Organ Recital - Syracuse AGO

The Syracuse Chapter of The American Guild of Organists

Presents

Colin MacKnight Organist In Recital on Skinner Organ Co. Opus 579 (1926)

Westminster Presbyterian Church 17 William Street, Auburn, NY 13021

Friday, May 20, 2022, 7:30pm

P RO G R A M Louis Vierne (1870-1937) Final from Symphonie No. 1, Op. 14

Louis Vierne Adagio from Symphonie No. 3, Op. 28

William Henry Harris (1883-1973) Flourish for an Occasion

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Fantasia and Fugue in G minor, BWV 542 Intermission Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) Variations on ‘Vater unser im Himmelreich’ from Sonata No. 6, Op. 65

Frank Bridge (1879-1941) Adagio in E Major

Charles Hubert Hastings Parry (1848-1918) Fantasia and Fugue in G, Op. 188

Photography / Recording of this concert is prohibited Without written permission from management.

Karen McFarlane Artists, Inc. 33563 Seneca Dr. Cleveland, OH 44139 TOLL FREE (866) 721-9095 FAX 440-542-1890 www.concertorganists.com

Colin MacKnight Biography Colin MacKnight, called “a stunning player of exceptional ability” by composer and conductor Bob Chilcott, is Director of Music at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Little Rock, AR. At Trinity, he oversees a vibrant music program which includes among its offerings weekly choral evensongs, a concert series, and a chorister program. Prior to Trinity, Colin was Associate Organist at Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City, Long Island; Assistant Organist and Music Theory Teacher at St. Thomas Fifth Avenue, NYC; and Assistant Organist at Church of the Resurrection, NYC. Colin received his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from The Juilliard School, studying organ performance with Paul Jacobs. For his doctoral dissertation “Ex Uno Plures: A Proposed Completion of Bach’s Art of Fugue,” Colin received the Richard F. French Doctoral Prize.

A frequent competition prizewinner, Colin’s first prizes and scholarships include the 2019 Paris Music Competition, 2017 West Chester University International Organ Competition, 2016 Albert Schweitzer Organ Competition, 2016 Arthur Poister Scholarship Competition, M. Louise Miller Scholarship from the Greater Bridgeport Chapter of the American Guild of Organists (AGO), the 2013 Rodgers North American Classical Organ Competition, and the Ruth and Paul Manz Organ Scholarship. He also won the New York City AGO Competition and advanced to the Northeast Regional Competition and won first place, which led to a “Rising Star” recital at the 2016 AGO National Convention in Houston. Colin was also a laureate in the 2016 and 2019 Longwood Gardens International Organ Competitions.

In December of 2016, Colin and composer Jon Cziner were selected for an AGO Student Commissioning Project grant, resulting in Jon’s Fantasy Chorale which Colin premiered in 2017.

Colin has also received the Fellow and Choirmaster Certifications from the AGO, receiving the prize for top Choirmaster score, and was named one of the top “20 Under 30” eminent young organists

by The Diapason magazine in 2019. Colin has performed at venues such as St. Patrick’s Cathedral, NYC; The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, NYC; St. Paul’s Chapel of Trinity Wall Street, NYC; The National Cathedral, Washington, DC; Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church, Montreal; Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Kingston, Jamaica; Cathedral of the Incarnation, Baltimore; and Grace Cathedral, Topeka.

For more information, media, and a calendar of performances, please visit colinmacknight.com.

Revised July 2021

Karen McFarlane Artists, Inc. 33563 Seneca Dr. Cleveland, OH 44139 TOLL FREE (866) 721-9095 FAX 440-542-1890 www.concertorganists.com

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH ORGAN RESTORATION PROJECT The folks at Second Presbyterian Church in Auburn made a wise decision back in 1925 or so, to contract with the Skinner Organ Company of Boston, Massachusetts. Recognized at that time as one of the preeminent pipe organ builders, the Skinner instruments were known for their beautiful tone and first rate mechanical construction.

The instrument’s tonal design emphasizes broad sounds with a prevalence of 8’ unison stops. Variety of sound was accomplished by combining the various timbres of these unison stops, along with a few 4’ stops (sounding an octave higher). Thus a wide variety of solo and accompaniment sounds were available, and seven sets of reed pipes added considerable color. Upperwork—the higher pitched voices were few in number, but their presence provided brilliance to the fuller organ combinations.

The inclusion of tuned percussion sounds (chimes and harp) provided further variety. This was the type of sound that Skinner wanted from his organs.

Unfortunately, times change and so do tastes. Not long after Skinner’s best work was being done, interest in historical instruments (in particular those of North Germany) and their tonal designs began to prevail. A much brighter organ sound became popular, and the tonal ideals of Skinner were set aside. Many Skinner instruments were tonally altered or replaced. The Skinner at Auburn was not immune to these trends. Luckily, the tonal changes made to the organ were fairly minor and it was possible to reverse these changes.

Our company became involved with the pipe organ here at Westminster back in the early 1980s. We have tuned the instrument and made repairs as needed since then. In our experience, the church leadership has always been supportive of the organ and eager to keep it in the best possible condition.

They hired Tom Murray of Yale University (an acknowledged expert on Skinner instruments) to make his recommendations in the early 1990s. As a result, the organ’s reed pipes were sent to a reed expert to be rebuilt and revoiced in the appropriate Skinner style.

By the early years of this century, the organ was beginning to show signs of its age. There were dead notes and other problems showing up which were more than could be addressed with our scheduled tuning and maintenance visit.

As it happened, Kerner & Merchant had just completed a full restoration of a Skinner instrument and relocated it to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Syracuse, NY. Of the same vintage as your instrument, it was a great learning experience, which resulted in one of the finest sounding and working pipe organs in Syracuse.

We were contacted by Mr. George Hiza and invited to provide a cost estimate for a complete historic restoration of the instrument. We were very happy to learn that we were, in fact, chosen to be the ones to do this important work.

And so we set to work. We dismantled and removed the instrument from its case, and brought most of it back to our shop. Every piece of leather used in the organ was replaced. Everything was cleaned and refurbished. The organ console (an incredibly complicated machine) was thoroughly restored. After returning the restored instrument to its home, each pipe was carefully voiced to ensure consistency in speech, timbre, and volume. The unique tone and timbre for which Skinner was famous can be again heard.

We present it with pride.

Kerner & Merchant Pipe Organ Builders

Skinner Organ Co., Opus 579 originally installed in its present location, 1926 built in the Westfield, Massachusetts plant

Kerner & Merchant Pipe Organ Builders historically restored to original specifications, 2021-2022

ORGAN SPECIFICATION 3 manuals, 30 ranks, 2,069 pipes, 20 chimes Great (61 note chest compass) (wind pressure 61/2”) 16’ 8’ 8’ 8’ 8’ 4’ 4’

Bourdon [PED.] Diapason Claribel Flute Wald Flute Flute Celeste [SW.] Octave Flute Chimes A-E (In Swell box)

17 pipes 61 pipes 61 pipes 61 pipes 61 notes 61 pipes 61 pipes 20 tubes

Swell (73 note chest compass) Enclosed (wind pressure 6”) 16’ 8’ 8’ 8’ 8’ 8’ 8’ 4’ 2’ 2’ 16’ 8’ 8’ 8’

Bourdon Diapason Gedeckt Salicional Voix Celeste Flauto Dolce Flute Celeste Flute Flautino Mixture (III ranks) Fagotto Cornopean Corno d’ Amour Vox Humana Tremolo

73 pipes 73 pipes 73 pipes 73 pipes 73 pipes 73 pipes 61 pipes 73 pipes 61 pipes 183 pipes 73 pipes 73 pipes 73 pipes 73 pipes

Choir (73 note chest compass) Enclosed (wind pressure 71/2”) 8’ 8’ 4’ 2’ 8’ 8’ 8’ 4’

Concert Flute Dulciana Flute Piccolo French Horn Clarinet Harp (from tenor C) Celeste (from low C) Tremolo

73 pipes 73 pipes 73 pipes 61 pipes 73 pipes 73 pipes 61 bars

Pedal (32 note compass) | wind pressure: 16’ Diapason 5” 16’ Bourdon 51/2” 16’ Trombone 71/2” 16’ 16’ 16’ 8’ 8’ 8’ 16’ 8’

Diapason Bourdon Echo Bourdon [SW.] Octave (ext. of 16’ Diapason) Gedeckt (ext. of 16’ Bourdon) Still Gedeckt [SW.] Trombone (bass ext. of 8’ Tromba) Tromba Chimes A-E (In Swell box)

Couplers (listed as on the coupler rail) Pedal:

Swell to Pedal, Great to Pedal, Choir to Pedal Swell to Pedal 4 Unison: Swell to Great, Choir to Great, Swell to Choir Octave: Swell 16, Swell 4, Swell to Great 16, Swell to Great 4 Swell to Choir 16, Swell to Choir 4, Choir 16, Choir 4 Choir to Great 16, Choir to Great 4, Great 4

Reversibles Thumb Buttons and Toe Levers: Great to Pedal and Sforzando

Combinations No General settings Great: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (thumb) Choir: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (thumb) Swell: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (thumb) Pedal: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (toe studs) Pedal divisional settings can be controlled by the Great and Swell divisional thumb buttons via “on” and “off” controls.

Three control pedals (left to right): Choir Expression | Swell Expression | Crescendo

32 pipes 32 pipes 32 notes 12 pipes 12 pipes 32 notes 12 pipes 32 pipes

Colin MacKnight Organist