Well, this summer I managed to get at least one organ crawl
in. August 17th was not
just your typical Friday afternoon.
My good friend and colleague, Ed Gattsek, has a varied network of
people. Well, he cashed in a
goodie for me that day. I had the
honor to meet one of New York City’s premier organists, Mr. Keith Tóth. He is the Minster of Music of Brick
Presbyterian Church and plays the magnificent sanctuary organ built by Casavant
Frères of Saint-Hyacinthe, Canada.
The only way I can sum up the afternoon in one word—breathtaking! This instrument certainly proves that
the legend of the great organ builder, Cavaillé-Coll, can be recreated note for
note in today’s modern instrument.
If you would like to read more about this great instrument, please click
your mouse here.
Mr. Tóth was gracious enough to spend the afternoon with us
demonstrating the instrument, it’s vast tonal resources and other stories that
give the instrument more character than just pieces of wood and metal put
together. The organ has a soul and
the organ at Brick Church will certainly tell you her story through her diverse
palate of sound. From the
mightiest roar to the most delicate hush, Mr. Tóth is certainly one of the
luckiest organists in New York City.
Whenever you go on a crawl, you always end up bring more
music that you will actually need.
I made sure that I had some French and German Romantic literature
available. This is a Cavaillé-Coll
inspired instrument and I was not going to miss out on this opportunity…. not
by a long shot! Since I was the
first player at bat after our organ demonstration, I decided to warm-up a
little by doing an improvisation on the hymn tune Lasst uns erfreuen (All creatures of our God and King and other
various English titles that accompany this tune). This instrument has every from A to Z and I was humbled when
Mr. Tóth stood next to me and encouraged me to push the organ further in its
sound. I was beyond happy—I was
like a kid in a candy store!
After a glorious afternoon of playing for each other, we had
to part ways. I am very humbled to
have wonderful friends and even more gracious to Keith Tóth for hosting us that
Friday afternoon. I hope to visit
this grand instrument again in the future and hear more stories about its place
in the realm of church music.
Keith has a gem of an instrument.
This year, he will celebrate his twentieth year as the Minister of Music
of Brick Presbyterian Church. May
he enjoy another twenty more years with his marvelous French icon in New York
City!
Cheers!
