The McLaughlin Estate Organ: A Historical Event

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1 Newsletter for the Toronto Centre of the Royal Canadian College of Organists September 2015 The first event of the RCCO calendar is a tour to Oshawa s Parkwood National Historic Site, built in In the course of our tour of the Heritage Estate of R. S. McGlaughlin, we will be able to hear and play one of the last remaining residence organs of the rich and famous. Installed in 1917 by Aeolian of New York, this instrument is entirely unchanged and will receive an RCCO Historic Organ Citation during the opening gathering at 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 19. Construction of the 50-room mansion began in 1916 and organ chambers were built for the main hall and basement. Whereas in 1917, before the days of radio, many homes had wind-up Victrolas and player pianos, Mr. McGlaughlin had a pipe organ and a Concertola 10-roll player. He could sit in the sunroom, pick up a controller, start the organ blowers, choose any of the 10 selections already mounted in the cabinet in the main hall, and listen to the one selection or press Program and listen for hours to all ten pieces. His cabinet of rolls included some Bach and Handel, but mostly transcriptions of orchestral and operatic pieces. A very special paper-roll mechanism has an expandable brass bar with 176 tiny rectangular ports. The invention of electro-pneumatic pipe organ action made this all possible. The Aeolian company built many Concertolacontrolled organs, and the coat of arms for a half-dozen princes and kings are displayed in the front of the Parkwood cabinet. If you would like to be a part of this RCCO event, please contact David Weind (dweind@hotmail.com) or Alan Jackson (atj1@rogers.com). ~ Alan Jackson The McLaughlin Estate Organ: A Historical Event In this issue: The President s Voice Page 2 RCCO Toronto Upcoming Events Page 3 Recitals & Concerts Page 4 Organ for sale Page 5

2 The President s Voice The Legends of Sound Through Thomas Edison s invention of the phonograph, the 20th century brought the world into the era of recorded sound. Along with wax cylinder recording, the organ/piano world developed mechanisms which utilised punched paper rolls, and were sophisticated enough to adjust the attack on the key. Some of these paper roll recordings with Sergei Rachmaninoff playing are about as realistic as you can get. Later in this edition of The Bulletin, Alan Jackson describes an Aeolian Organ which is an original example of these automated mechanisms, at the Parkwood Estate of Sam McLaughin. Sam was one of the founders of General Motors with the McLaughin Buick. We will visit Parkwood in Oshawa on Saturday, September 19th and I hope many of you can make the trip. This advent of recorded sound changed the way we listen to music forever. One of the remarkable effects was that long-forgotten composers were seemingly brought back to life. One example I remember is Vivaldi. His discovery seemed to cause Bach s place in the musical/celestial stock exchange to drop a little, but once the world got over the shock, Bach returned to his rightful place and Vivaldi was established. Not to mention that Glen Gould s landmark recording of the Goldberg Variations certainly gave Bach s music an extra burst of popularity; Gould carried his obsession with recordings almost to the total exclusion of live performances. However there are others, besides Edison, who have contributed to this sound revolution. At Electronics Trade Shows I met Ray Dolby, who invented Dolby 301 Noise Reduction for tape recording, and more recently, 5.1 Surround Sound. I also met Amar Bose whom many of you will recognize as the inventor of the Bose Wave Radio. These men founded businesses that are flourishing today. (Continued on Page 3) Donald Charles Bell passed away on August 4th in the Markham Stoufville Hospital. He was 78 years old. Donald has been a longtime member of the Toronto Centre. For many years he was the Organist and Choir Director at Knox United Church in Scarborough. After his retirement from Knox he was a supply organist and played at St Andrew's United Church in Markham on Sunday, August 2nd. Donald was predeceased by his wife Barbara Joan in 2011 and leaves behind a stepson and several grandchildren. A private memorial service was planned for August 30th. He will be missed by his friends and colleagues in the Toronto Centre and by the ministers and congregations at the Churches in the North end of the GTA, where he often supplied. + MAY HE REST IN PEACE + 2

3 The Toronto Centre has planned a fantastic season of concerts and events. Here s what s happening in the next few months: September 19: Organ tour at Parkwood Estate, Oshawa October 30, 9:00 PM: Phantoms of the Organ at Metropolitan United. **Note the new start time** November 6: Stefan Engels recital at Metropolitan United November 7: Stefan Engels Masterclass at Metropolitan United January 15, 2016, 6:30 PM: New Year s Banquet, with special guest Mary Lou Fallis Look for more information on 2016 events in upcoming issues of the Bulletin The President s Voice The Legends of Sound (Continued) The most unforgettable character was Paul W. Klipsch. In 1948 he invented the corner horn loudspeaker which became known as the Klipschorn. This same speaker design is being produced today along with many of its offshoots. Paul founded his business in Hope, Arkansas (where Bill Clinton grew up) and it is still being operated by a nephew. He was well -rounded in technology, as he graduated in Electrical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. Klipsch was also a lover of the organ, so much so that he left the Methodist Church and joined the Presbyterians because they had better organs. Later in his life he joined the local Episcopal Church and donated a large pipe organ. Irascible and cantankerous, Klipsch did not suffer fools easily. As an example, he would have two cards pinned to the insides of his suit jacket. The one on the right would say Bull and the one on the left S---. He would show these whenever he thought he was receiving some. A deeply religious man, he would take notes during the sermon to discuss with the pastor later. And here is one of his many humorous sayings on religion: They say that The Salvation Army will pick up a man out of the gutter and turn him over to the Methodist Church. They will dry him out and get him a job and then he meets some nice friends in the Presbyterian Church and they invite him to come over and visit. And he does, and he joins. And the same thing happens at the Anglican (Episcopal) Church and when they get through with him, he s ready for the gutter again. Ray, Amar and Paul are no longer with us, and we are thankful to have their contributions to our musical heritage. But as impressive as recorded sound can be, I still prefer live music in a good acoustic space. ~David Weind 3

4 Recitals & Concerts Thursday, September 10 12:15 pm Simon Walker, organ Metropolitan United Church Thursday, September 17 12:15 pm Richard Spotts, organ Metropolitan United Church Thursday, September 24 12:15 pm Thomas Gonder, organ Metropolitan United Church Thursday, October 1 12:15 pm Wilbert Ward, baritone Metropolitan United Church Thursday, October 8 12:15 pm Emily Chiang, piano; Mara Plotkin, clarinet Metropolitan United Church Sunday, October 18 2:30 pm Creating New Hymns for the Joy of Singing with Rev. David McKane and Ruth Watson Henderson. David and Ruth will engage and involve you in the process of hymn writing and matching text with music. Sponsored by the Southern Ontario Chapter of the Hymn Society in North America. Church of the Holy Trinity, 10 Trinity Square Free event, includes refreshments. Saturday, October 31 3:00 pm The Latvian Guild of Organists of North America presents: organist Vita Kalnciema from Riga, Latvia Works by J.S. Bach, J.G. Muthel, F. Lizst, A Kalejs, R. Dubra, J. Sibelius, Z. Gardonyi, and R. Wagner St. Thomas's Anglican Church, 383 Huron St. Tickets $20. $15. students Vita Kalnciema was born in Riga, Latvia in She is organist at the Jesus Lutheran Church in Riga. She has studied with Guy Bovet, Lionel Rogg, Ludger Lohmann and Hans-Ola Ericsson. Vita has taken prizes in various international competitions: in Ukraine (1989), Poland(1989) C. Franck competition in Haarlem the Netherlands (1994). Sunday, November 1 2:00pm The Latvian Guild of Organists of North America Festival Service and Concert. Performances by Vita Kalnciema (Latvia), Dr. Ingrida Gutberga (USA) and Latvian choirs St. Barnabas Anglican Church, 361 Danforth Ave. Admission by freewill offering. Friday, October 30, 9:00 pm Phantoms of the Organ Our annual 'Spooktacular' in benefit of the Toronto Centre student fund **Please note the earlier start time** Metropolitan United Church Admission by freewill offering If you want to see your concert listing in the RCCO Bulletin, the Editor at: mwhitfi3@gmail.com 4

5 Organs of Toronto Would you like to know more about any of the organs mentioned in this issue of the Bulletin? If so, consider purchasing Organs of Toronto, a comprehensive guide to Toronto s pipe organs. The Organs of Toronto CD, an accompaniment to Alan Jackson & James Bailey s book Organs of Toronto, is a compilation of fourteen instruments contained within the book. The book is available for $40, and the CD for $10. Buy your copy at: Opus II music store, Kitchener Remenyi House of Music, Toronto Roy Thomson Hall, Toronto. Bulletin Information The Editor of the Bulletin is Matthew Whitfield, Organist & Director of Music at St. John the Baptist, Norway Anglican Church. The submission deadline for the October issue of the Bulletin is: Friday, October 2nd. To make a submission, please the editor at: mwhitfi3@gmail.com For more information and to see upcoming events, please visit the RCCO Toronto website, Membership Matters Dexter Roberts has reinstated his membership in the RCCO as a Regular member of the Toronto Centre. roberdex@hotmail.com Marianne Gast has joined the RCCO as a Senior member of the Toronto Centre. mariannegast@hotmail.com David B Meanwell has transferred his membership from the Hamilton Centre to the Toronto Centre. david.meanwell@icloud.com Brian L Turnbull has transferred his membership from the Hamilton Centre to the Toronto Centre. pipeorgn@hotmail.com Alan Wiseman has reinstated his membership in the RCCO as a Regular member of the Toronto Centre. alan@wiseman.ca 5