Praise to the Lord, the Almighty (West Point Cadet Chapel Organ)

[@SternDrive]

I am a veteran trucker. I think this organist looks more like a trucker than an organist. He's got thick trucker hands, and a heavy duty body. Perfect for driving a Peterbilt truck. BUT this guy can really play. And he's not even using notes. I heal and toe my truck, but this guy has it down to a science. Never judge an organist by his looks. Excellent work man!

[@kupferdulzian16]

We had an associate organ curator (full-time person tuning and maintaining the organ) who drove trucks, also. He was pretty solid, too. I never drove a truck, though I did have to learn driving as a teen on a manual transmission, and still drive a 5-speed standard. 😉

[@SternDrive]

A man after my own heart. I have never owned an automatic. I don't like a machine to tell me what to do. I now drive a six speed manual. Love your manual organ playing too! @@kupferdulzian16

[@LectronCircuits]

That's trucking awesome. Cheers! Amen.

[@OutaSimon-j7v]

Because of the hymns I like the Anglican Church

[@LectronCircuits]

Good Lord. Almighty inspiring. Cheers! Amen.

[@kupferdulzian16]

Thank you for listening!

[@danieltelfort981]

Beautiful! Praise to the Lord!

[@kupferdulzian16]

Thank you for listening!

[@hoorooblu]

Lovely performance and a great tribute to the work of Catherine Winkworth, who translated this and many other German hymns into English, making them known to millions more people. Between her work on music and her work enabling women's education, she left a great legacy that resounds even now at places as unexpcted as the Chapel at West Point.

[@kupferdulzian16]

Thank you for your kind words! I agree that Winkworth was highly instrumental in bringing German hymnody first to Victorian England and then to the United States. A great legacy indeed!

[@michaelkirchhof2020]

Grandios vorgetragen, die Seele berührend ❤❤❤

[@kupferdulzian16]

Vielen Dank fürs Zuhören.

[@janebarsumian2585]

The power and splendor of this brought me to tears!

[@kupferdulzian16]

@@janebarsumian2585 You are so kind, Jane. Thank you!

[@danielclooney6248]

Goosebumps!

[@kupferdulzian16]

Thank you for listening.

[@michaelvilleneuve194]

Beautiful.

[@kupferdulzian16]

Thank you for listening.

[@keithnelson725]

Awesomely done!!! Beautiful!

[@kupferdulzian16]

Thank you!

[@emmanuelkofiboakyeansah]

This is beautiful

[@kupferdulzian16]

Thank you very much.

[@louisglen1653]

Another great hymn! Thanks! Very nice arrangement!

[@kupferdulzian16]

Thank you, Louis. It was fun being able to improvise on this a bit.

[@OrganistProTemp]

Way to go, Craig! Thank you!

[@kupferdulzian16]

Thank you very much!

[@geriatricyclist1950]

grand and inspiring, loving it

[@kupferdulzian16]

Thank you very much!

[@lilsil4361]

Love it. 🎉

[@kupferdulzian16]

Thank you for listening!

[@rorianneschrade]

wonderful!

[@kupferdulzian16]

Thank you, Rori! It has been fun listening to each other's social media efforts.

[@stevenjoyal6565]

Very nicely played, Craig!

[@kupferdulzian16]

Thank you very much, Steven!

[@tandyedwarddix3668]

Scrolling through KZbin and here’s my buddy, Krug!!! Great to see you, wild man!

[@kupferdulzian16]

@@tandyedwarddix3668 Great to hear from you, Ted. I hope all is well!

[@DIYerGuy]

Wow... that was Great (no pun intended) Craig and the best I've heard this hymn...the organ sounds wonderful! I must come visit to hear it live one day!

[@kupferdulzian16]

Thank you! Right now we have one of the blowers being refurbished, so about 40% of the organ is currently offline. But what we still have is very strong for congregational singing.

[@DIYerGuy]

I look forward to hearing the organ when the work is completed Craig. Perhaps you'll be able to put together a program to showcase the organ at that time which would be super.

[@Inexor]

A personal favorite! I love verse 2: "Praise to the Lord, who o’er all things so wondrously reigneth, Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!" Is this your arrangement? It's lovely! The gentle reharmonization on the last verse is just enough to add sparkle but keep it singable. Thanks for another delightful hymn!

[@kupferdulzian16]

Thank you very much! I wrote out an arrangement of this hymn for a student, which I played yesterday to open the morning service. However, today I decided to do something different and record more of an improvisation. The hallmark of a great hymn is how much flexibility one may enjoy when interpreting it!

[@julievanderleest]

This sounds amazing. Such a beautiful old hymn. I am curious about the foot keys. Sounded like they were more of the bass? I’m not that familiar with the organ.

[@leonardeast3389]

You're correct. The pedalboard is just another keyboard, played with the feet. In a hymn, the bass line is usually played on the pedal. It is an independent division of the organ, just as each keyboard (known as a "manual" in organ speak) is an independent division, with each division having its own unique voices (called "stops"). The pedal division has the deep bass stops of the organ, which sound an octave below the note being played, though it also has stops that can play the melody as well (some organ music actually puts the melody line in the pedal). A very large instrument like this one has some stops that sound 2 octaves below unison pitch, which can really "shake the floor." It was that sound, which you can actually feel, that made me want to start learning the organ when I was a teenager.

[@StoreeDenson]

Beautiful arrangement of Lobe De Herren. I did hear that part of the organ is silenced. Is the Transept Division and North Choir of the Organ still working those are my favorite divisions on this organ.

[@kupferdulzian16]

The West blower is offline, as the motor is being replaced and the rest refurbished - and a new static bellows provided. This means there is no wind to the Swell, Choir, Harmonic, or Chancel Great divisions. The German Great (Hauptwerk) is also on the west but is being provided wind by an auxiliary Laukhuff blower. The Positive is also being winded by an auxiliary blower. The Dutch Great division is working, winded by the East blower now fully refurbished and in operation.

[@HiringAPtAdvocate]

Loved the lush harmonies! G Major ! Is that an Orchestral division reed? 40%, so that's about 150 ranks out? When is it anticipated they'll come back on line? Monday we had two in our Library with West Point connections.

[@kupferdulzian16]

Thank you, Bob. I am using Orchestral reeds as manual ensemble and in the pedal. The big reed heard here is the Chamade. Right now, we aren't using the Swell, Choir, Chancel Great, or Harmonic divisions. All the West... We are still using the German Hauptwerk in the west balcony, along with the 32' Ophicleide bottom octave under that balcony, which are all winded (albeit insufficiently) from an auxiliary blower placed under that balcony.

[@Yaledmot]

Craig, is the reed on the 4th manual the en chamade in the back? As always, very nice. Thanks for posting this. Another favorite hymn!

[@kupferdulzian16]

Yes. With the Solo division down since the lightning strike in 2008 (dreams deferred but still active!) and now the Harmonic reeds down, because of the West blower being offline, the Chamade is really the only thing going now in the "heroic reed" department. Hopefully, we will have the Harmonic division back up by the fall - with some improvements. And I would like to think the Solo will be up and running again before I retire. Thank you always for listening, Tom.

[@charlesreuben1155]

Craig would you please share what chord you are playing on the last verse- Let the Amen-what is the chord on men? is it Emaj? I will be conducting a handbell arrangement and I would like, if possible to incorporate that chord. So glorious!

[@kupferdulzian16]

I'm supposed to give away all my secrets??! 😅 Well, actually Charles, you are almost right! It is an E Major chord, but it is over the D Pedal - giving it a bit of a dominant seventh inverted sound. When I move through the circle of fifths from that E chord back to the D suspended, that is all over D in the bass - which gives a powerful sustain through the whole sequence.

[@charlesreuben1155]

your secret is safe with me! 😂 thank you for sharing, It is so powerful. Looking forward to hearing/seeing all your uploads. (And perhaps in person again soon!)

[@SweetSarahnadeMusic]

Hello, where can I find the sheet music for the intro?