My visit to Brick Presbyterian Church

Well, this summer I managed to get at least one organ crawl in.  August 17^th 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!