August 2025

J. F. Nordlie Company, Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary, Ambler, Pennsylvania, Opus 15

In February of 2023 I received a message from the Very Reverend Ward Simpson, dean of Calvary Episcopal Cathedral of Sioux Falls, on behalf of the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota. He mentioned a Nordlie pipe organ in Sioux Falls at the Church of the Holy Apostles, that the building and property were to be sold, and wondered whether we could help him find a home for the organ.

Nicolas Kynaston, 83, died March 26, 2025, in London, UK. Born in Devon, UK, December 10, 1941, he was the son of a painter and a violinist, and his father was an Anglican priest who converted to Catholicism. Kynaston was a boy chorister at Westminster Cathedral Choir School, London, where he began organ studies with George Malcolm, continuing at Downside School in Somerset. At the age of fifteen, he became a student of Fernando Germani on scholarship at the Accademia Musicale Chigiana and then at the Rome Conservatorio in Italy.

Some thoughts on owning pipe organs

The organ has been sitting in the rear gallery for a hundred years. The organist climbs the stairs every week, turns on the blower, and starts to play. The tuner comes a couple times a year, otherwise no one thinks much about it. It sounds great, but many assume it is part of the woodwork, part of the fabric of the building. They have no idea how complex it is or how delicate its components can be, but when something goes wrong with it, it can become a hot issue in a hurry.

The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America 2025 Congress in Lawrence, Kansas

The Guild of Carillonneurs in North America (GCNA) held its annual congress at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, June 10–14. Elizabeth Berghout, carillonist and associate professor of music at the university, along with a dedicated team of volunteers, were gracious hosts.

The harpsichord: an introduction, part 3—Glossary

For the past several columns, I have been writing an introduction to the harpsichord. This month, I aim to provide a concise glossary of terms, which in turn will make it easier to be clear as we move forward. For thoroughness I include some terms that I have discussed already. I also include some that seem intuitively obvious, again for thoroughness and easy reference.

1) Large, solid components

Pierre Cogen