Dual-temperament Fisk Op. 85 Organ at Stanford University

[@KravchenkoAudioPerth]

I love it when the camera is shaking to the beating of the big reeds. Thanks for sharing the virtual tour Balint.

[@jofido]

Really enjoyed this. # 85 is a gem. Charles Fisk’s last organ he worked on. Well placed in a teaching institution. Thank you so much for introducing us to this and to all the people who made this happen.

[@timstoffel4799]

Even without the dual temperment feature, that is an amazing instrument!

[@RT-tn3pu]

I really enjoyed the organ, the church & campus when my sister was married at that church in 1995. Only alumni can be married in that church. Just a beautiful time.

[@bachkirche]

I really appreciate your listing the stops in each of your musical examples. It is very educational. I met the builders as they were installing the instrument. It was shortly after Charles Fisk had passed away and they were sad about that. Charles Fisk was a Stanford physics major when he fell in love with the organ and decided to study organ playing. But he quickly realized he did not have the talent for it so he decided to build them instead.

[@sallyjohansson6045]

bachkirche Herb Nanny let me play this organ while having lessons with him 1985 on the smaller three manual. It had just been installed. I recall it was kind of intimidating at the time!

[@kuiperroerdink1670]

that 16’ principal on the great is one of the most beautiful organ stops i’ve ever heard 😢

[@billstewartbill]

When it was newly-built there was an LP that was well-tempered on one side and mean-tone on the other, and I think there was a piece by Bruhns on both sides. If you ever get back there, it would be great to hear the two tunings closely compared.

[@adamhinkle7982]

The Cromorne on the Rückpositiv sounds like it is voiced like the Isnard stop. Nice presentation of this neat organ. I didn't know about the double tuning.

[@marcelobrunorodrigues7630]

You are right: I remember I listened to a recording done in St. Maximin's instrument and one of the demonstrations was the Cromorne. Very beautiful timbre conception!

[@xenolalia]

A really special instrument, that. And always a delight to hear Robert talk about it!

[@markaustin4370]

I maintained this organ for a decade . Some of the reeds and facade pipes actually run on electric action. Charlie thought the reeds liked the pop of the Peterson valves

[@bkarosi]

Oh really? That is disappointing

[@chrisrose6200]

Now there is a beautiful sounding organ with incredible versatility of sounds and each very distinct from the other.

[@Tom-Lahaye]

Seems to be a complicated organ, but I like the wide array of stops on it, it's the organ when you like reed sounds, and those 32' s shook the camera.

[@stylusfantasticus]

Not complicated but complex. Regards.-

[@puciak89]

Great presentation, as always.

[@michaelmiller1215]

Wonderful! Look forward to future posts!

[@bhigdaddymark]

Bach is well suited for this organ for sure! Bravo to Fisk, I've only played one of their instruments in NYC (and I believe it's the only Fisk in NYC, or definitely Manhattan) at Church of the Transfiguration 'The Little Church Around the Corner' has a III/50 Fisk organ. Thanks so much for this absolutely wonderful demonstration!

[@markaustin4370]

This is actually considered a perfect Buxtehude organ

[@davidhall7455]

Organs built by Gerhard Brunzema at Casavant in the 1970s and under his own name in the 1980s often have a Schwebung stop which is a principal tuned sharp throughout to be combined with the Flute 8 to make a celeste type wavering sound. I suspect that is what the Schwiegel is here (Seitenwerk around 12' mark). I could sort of hear some wavering sound when you added the 4' but normally you should build the chorus on the Rohrflute alone and use the Flute-Schwiegel pair for a solo sound. It is also useful for chromatic interlude sections in Buxtehude and Bach g- Prelude where he modulates through all keys to check tuning. This was also the sound of the vox umana in Italian organs.

[@andreacosta74]

With a “fifth” italianate keyboard (meantone) also chained to four horizontal spanish reed stops, and a french “Bombarde” stop at the Hauptorgan ever to the pedalboard as a Resonnance...this instrument should be perfect and really historically “eclectic” informated.

[@gammafoxlore2981]

That has to be exciting to play.

[@zorgitron]

I love those keys. They look like a pleasure to play on. Trying to build something similar, but it seems an act of futility in an apartment with a hand saw and some sand paper. I don't know why overly flat, smooth, white plasticy keys became the normal.

[@dbadagna]

Very interesting! Could you please make it clear which tuning(s) we are hearing by adding a few words to the video description above?

[@califdad4]

The Stanford's were Episcopal, so I see that chapel would do a Episcopal service well

[@KennyCnotG]

Seems like it would be more privy to a Lutheran service with a decidely baroque instrument- all the 'high' Episcopal churches I've seen are very much more in the romantic vain music wise.

[@xenolalia]

@@KennyCnotG There are, in fact, no fewer than five organs in that church! Besides the Fisk-Nanney, the other big instrument is the Murray Harris, which is great for more romantic repertoire. Three manuals, 57 stops.

[@KennyCnotG]

@@xenolalia oh how spoiled those musicians are there! Hahaha, a man can dream. Glad they have an instrument that will really do justice to a good Anglican chant.

[@piter_sk]

4:43 is really the camera vibrating? :D wow!

[@thomante]

Temperment comparison?

[@adamdonovan5633]

Good video, but could have been much more satisfying to let the viewer know which tuning is engaged when. Some of us who love the sound of the organ don't know what the difference is between the two tunings. Would be valuable to have you comment on what you "hear" when you switch tunings.

[@pardelluchs4460]

He's playing mostly in the well-tempered tuning, he explained that engaging meantone results in a short lower octave in the three large manuals, lowering the keys for C sharp/D flat and D sharp/E flat, whereas engaging well-tempered raises them. You can see those two keys are raised throughout the video, so it's the well-tempered organ

[@fburton8]

Was this organ known to be haunted before you tried the Violon 8?

[@stevenbergstrom4360]

That’s funny, because there are places on campus that are said to be haunted. The Stanford mausoleum is supposed to be haunted by Mrs Stanford, her son died as a child and the university is named after him. She scares off the students who sit on the steps of the crypt and make out

[@rekkinregen]

the site about the organ does not work

[@agogobell28]

My favourites by far are the French stops.

[@PM_ME_MESSIAEN_PICS]

15:40 I hear that inspiration from BWV 682 :o

[@Nicolas-zb9uw]

Thank you for the display of the stops but I thought the main purpose of the video was to shoe us the Dual -temperament ......

[@jonliinason3]

Very very inspirational, thank You Balint! :)

[@marcussfebruary9104]

The beginning sounds like Praetorious' Est ist ein ros entsprungen 😄❤️

[@pwagner650]

When playing the brustpositive, which is always meantone, you should switch the rest of the instrument to meantone to match. The brust is terribly out of tune itself, but it doesn't help to mix and match!

[@rekkinregen]

is see broken front pipes :(( sound is beautiful

[@lesbsocal9107]

That superoctava -- Salsa!

[@rowanlidbury]

Wow.

[@theosophicalwatermelons8181]

This is what Ratboy Genius does in his spare time.

[@denovadiddeldorf8324]

Geez Luiz, Just decide what temperament to have installed and go with it.

[@19shea85]

"Bright" thirds. Apparently I've been mispronouncing "wildly out of tune" all this time.

[@raphaelhedges2741]

In meantone, a lot of the thirds are pure thirds, which those were, it's the fifths that are out of tune.

[@95tupolev]

Are you talking about equal tempered 3rds?

[@edifyguy]

Most people have never heard a keyboard instrument that was remotely IN tune with true physics. This instrument doesn't use the physics-defying equal temperament we are accustomed to hearing. It uses temperaments which respect the physics of harmony much more, at least in certain keys. Keyboard instrument temperament is a fascinating subject. Do research it.

[@joshuamiller-le753]

Scream machine lol

[@19shea85]

This organ is a hard pass for me!

[@WAX6428]

.................reeks of the pretentious.............................."just fabulous really".......................................................................................and we wonder why the organ is falling out of favor...................

[@robertbangkok]

So why no demonstration of pieces played in two different temperaments? That's why I watched this. Complete waste of time.

[@edifyguy]

I half agree. I came to see the temperament, but he explained that only the chromatics change with the temperament; the diatonics are always meantone. As he was mostly using diatonics, it wouldn't have changed much in what he was playing. That's not to say he couldn't have used a different selection to demonstrate the difference in temperament. Personally I was fascinated by the variety of sounds this instrument can create, and enjoyed that demonstration. As someone who already knows quite a bit about temperaments but hasn't really studied organ much, this was a thrilling look into the intricacies of a truly fine instrument and well worth the time it took.

[@nutmegct]

What work(s) are being played during the demonstration? Thanks.