Blog - From The Organ Bench

Blog - From the Organ Bench

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Pipe Organs vs. Electronic Organs: 3 of 4

We have learned that electronic organs transmit sound through loudspeakers. Electronic organ sound is inferior because it is forced...

Pipe Organs vs. Electronic Organs: 2 of 4

Previously it was pointed out that the St. Joseph Church architecture, building materials, windows, chapels, and adornments, cry out for...

Pipe Organs vs. Electronic Organs: 1 of 4

Pipe organs have been used in Catholic liturgy since the 8th century. Today, Church documents related to music and liturgy continue to...

History of the St. Joseph Organs 2 of 2

Although plans were underway in 1979 to replace the failing 1949 Moller organ, those plans changed suddenly. Fthr. Kamler died and was...

History of the St. Joseph Organs 1 of 2

Before there was St. Joseph parish, there was St. Frances de Sales Mission (affectionally referred to as Cardboard Cathedral). The...

History of the Pipe Organ: American Colonies to the Present

Several months ago, a series of From the Organ Bench articles outlined the history of the pipe organ beginning with the first organ used...

Cardinal Newman Organ Academy

Now some bragging about Cardinal Newman Organ Academy stats… At the end of this school year, we will have completed four years of...

Music During Lent

You may have noticed the absence of an organ prelude and postlude beginning Ash Wednesday and through the third Sunday of Lent. This is...

Cardinal Newman Organ Academy Report

We have three Organ Academy students who will graduate from High School at the end of this school year. It pleases me to announce to our...

Why do you leave out that measure in Here I Am Lord?

I was introduced to Here I Am Lord when an organist in the Presbyterian Church USA. It is one of my favorite songs. However, the...

Highs and Lows

In the last From the Organ Bench, we learned that the organist does not follow punctuation in the hymn text you are singing because the...

Something that’s been bothering me for three years...

A good organist reads the text of each hymn verse when the congregation is singing and breathes with the people when there is a comma or...

“Every favorite hymn was once a new and unfamiliar hymn!”

Our Cardinal Newman Organ Academy student who was scheduled to play the Kyrie, Sanctus, Mystery of Faith, Great Amen, Agnus Dei, final...

History of the Pipe Organ 6 of 6: American Colonies to Present

Because of the association of the American colonies with Britain, early American organ building came under the influence of British organ...

History of the Pipe Organ 5 of 6: Aristide Cavaillé-Coll

French Catholic organ builder, Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (1811-1899), pioneered innovations in the art and science of organ building that...

History of the Pipe Organ 4 of 6: 1500 - 1800 AD

The 16th and 17th centuries brought remarkable advances in organ building. Mechanisms called stops were invented making it possible for...

History of the Pipe Organ 3 of 6: 1000 - 1400 AD

We know that pipe organs had been introduced into the church by the 900s. There are records of the “mighty organ” at Winchester Cathedral...

History of the Pipe Organ 2 of 6: 800 - 1000 AD

In a previous article we learned about the 250 BC ύδραυλις (hydraulis) οργανον (organon), precursor to our modern-day pipe organ. These...

History of the Pipe Organ 1 of 6: 250 BC - 800 AD

The forerunner of what we call a pipe organ today was invented by a physicist, mathematician, and inventor named Ktesibios who lived...

Holy Mass and the Organ: They Grew Up Together

In the Latin Church, the pipe organ is to be held in high esteem, for it is the traditional musical instrument which adds a wonderful...

Reconnaissance Mission

Thank you, Janet Marks, for substituting at the organ the past two weeks. Readers of From the Organ Bench will remember we talked about...

Welcome, Janet!

Welcome, Janet Marks to the organ bench at our Sunday Masses this weekend and next, Aug. 15. I will be in Camden at Our Lady of Perpetual...

Jump In!

In case you haven’t noticed... we’ve slipped a couple of curveballs your way recently! Most people have caught on, but not all. So,...

New Songs

Thank you! to the brave souls who ventured out and attempted to sing a new 20th Century Communion song we introduced last Sunday. Y'all...