Pipe organ the pride and joy of Faith Lutheran - Carthage, MO - Carthage Press:
CARTHAGE, Mo. —
If you ask Tim and Sarah Buelow to count the 2011 blessings for them and their church, the Faith Lutheran pastor and his wife would undoubtedly list pipe organ among them.
Although delivery of the two-story Bosch Pipe Organ was made to the Carthage church last September and fine tuning continues to take place, excitement over the new addition has yet to fade.
“There are 1,300 pipes and each pipe has to be individually voiced with a couple of adjustments,” the Rev. Buelow said. “The man making the adjustments was called back to his electrical engineering job at Michigan State University, so he comes back when he can.”
Very few people are qualified to do the fine tuning.
“Up until the end of the 19th century, a pipe organ like this was the most advanced piece of engineering that man had invented,” Buelow said. “When you think about all these connections and interwoven pieces, it is just an engineering marvel.”
Sarah Buelow, who serves as the church organist, agrees.
“It is like having a live orchestra instead of just an electronic one like we have had,” she said. “The pipe organ is much more inspiring. It is like getting live feedback, whereas with the electronic organ I don’t get any feedback and don’t know what my audience is hearing. I can hear the pipes talking to me.”
She added that while most churches are going away from organs, there has been a bit of a renaissance with pipe organs.
“We have suggested that the Carthage Chamber of Commerce put this on its list of local destinations because as a tracker organ this is unique,” she said.
Faith Lutheran bought the organ from Redeemer Lutheran Church in Flint, Mich.
To say the Buelows were overjoyed at getting such a musical marvel would be a huge understatement.
“The pastor at that Michigan church said the organ had been on their insurance policy for $750,000 and all we had to pay was $25,000 for the organ and $25,000 to have it moved and installed,” the Rev. Buelow said.
The organ was made in Kassel, Germany, in 1971 and bought directly from that site by Redeemer Lutheran parishioners, who were looking for the best quality German-made organ they could find.
“Organs can last 300-plus years and this one is only about 40 years old,” Buelow said. “When you combine this engineering marvel of all of these wonderful things that God gave us in creation and the agility that God gave the human mind, you have something to give praise back to God.”
Although delivery of the two-story Bosch Pipe Organ was made to the Carthage church last September and fine tuning continues to take place, excitement over the new addition has yet to fade.
“There are 1,300 pipes and each pipe has to be individually voiced with a couple of adjustments,” the Rev. Buelow said. “The man making the adjustments was called back to his electrical engineering job at Michigan State University, so he comes back when he can.”
Very few people are qualified to do the fine tuning.
“Up until the end of the 19th century, a pipe organ like this was the most advanced piece of engineering that man had invented,” Buelow said. “When you think about all these connections and interwoven pieces, it is just an engineering marvel.”
Sarah Buelow, who serves as the church organist, agrees.
“It is like having a live orchestra instead of just an electronic one like we have had,” she said. “The pipe organ is much more inspiring. It is like getting live feedback, whereas with the electronic organ I don’t get any feedback and don’t know what my audience is hearing. I can hear the pipes talking to me.”
She added that while most churches are going away from organs, there has been a bit of a renaissance with pipe organs.
“We have suggested that the Carthage Chamber of Commerce put this on its list of local destinations because as a tracker organ this is unique,” she said.
Faith Lutheran bought the organ from Redeemer Lutheran Church in Flint, Mich.
To say the Buelows were overjoyed at getting such a musical marvel would be a huge understatement.
“The pastor at that Michigan church said the organ had been on their insurance policy for $750,000 and all we had to pay was $25,000 for the organ and $25,000 to have it moved and installed,” the Rev. Buelow said.
The organ was made in Kassel, Germany, in 1971 and bought directly from that site by Redeemer Lutheran parishioners, who were looking for the best quality German-made organ they could find.
“Organs can last 300-plus years and this one is only about 40 years old,” Buelow said. “When you combine this engineering marvel of all of these wonderful things that God gave us in creation and the agility that God gave the human mind, you have something to give praise back to God.”
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raklatt (http://raklatt.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Pipe organ the pride and joy of Faith Lutheran - C...":
The biggest concern might be the difference in climate between Flint, MI, and Carthage, MO. Once the tracker mechanism adjusts to the differences and the fellow from MSU finishes tweaking, Faith should have a fine instrument.
Trackers do give feedback to the organist though they may require a bit more effort than electrical keyboard systems. Pushing down a key operates the mechanical linkage that opens the valve at the foot of a pipe along with others if couplers are in use. The leverage of the linkage is such that some strength is required.
The system is very similar to that which must have been in use in Luther's time.
A good organ is the best instrument to lead a congregation in song.
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GJ - Yes, an organ is ideal for the support of hymns. That is why the Emergents want a rock band instead. An organist must have talent, training, and experience. A rock band just makes noise with percussion instruments. My college students conceded that orchestra musicians can play rock - and some do. But very few rock stars would last five minutes in an orchestra. To demonstrate, I screamed and did a loud TWANG on my air guitar. I said, "How much talent does that take?" The students loved it and asked for a repeat.
Next week I had Mr. Bose play them Pachebel's Canon. They were transfixed and wrote down the name of the piece.
