Fisk Opus 148

The name of Marthe Bracquemond is little known in the musical world, yet she was a pioneer as one of the first female organists to break with established expectations in musical training. Additionally, she was the busiest organ performer on the airwaves of France between 1931 and 1939. She appeared more regularly than any other organist, male or female, on the Transmission sans fil (TSF) broadcasts aired by Radio-Paris P. T. T.

Retired from his duties as titulaire of the Grand Organ at St. Sulpice Church, Paris, France

Main organ, four manuals and pedal, 62 stops, 84 ranks, 4,492 pipes
Choir organ, two manuals and pedal, 14 stops, 16 ranks, 867 pipes.

Parsons Pipe Organ Builders, Canandaigua, New York; Saint Benedict Cathedral, Evansville, Indiana

Given the opportunity for a major instrument in a large Catholic cathedral with superb acoustics, most builders might be forgiven for playing to type. These acoustics and this liturgy implies something French in nature, no? We know the great legacy the French have given to music and Catholicism; surely one thing follows another. And yet our Opus 52 for Saint Benedict Cathedral in Evansville, Indiana, had a different genesis and, in the end, a result well apart from the above pattern.