Comments on: The king of instruments: Scary or sleepy? http://blog.oup.com/2012/08/pipe-organ-king-instruments-sleep-scare/ Academic insights for the thinking world. Sat, 25 May 2013 23:50:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: Meg Wilhoite http://blog.oup.com/2012/08/pipe-organ-king-instruments-sleep-scare/#comment-288644 Meg Wilhoite Tue, 21 Aug 2012 15:50:44 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=27992#comment-288644 Thanks for the thought-provoking comment, Duncan! My first organ experience was also with a small electronic organ owned by my grandmother, which she gave to me as a child so I could learn to play. It would be nice to see more of these types of instruments (or even just small pipe organs) in smaller/more secular venues. Thanks for the thought-provoking comment, Duncan! My first organ experience was also with a small electronic organ owned by my grandmother, which she gave to me as a child so I could learn to play. It would be nice to see more of these types of instruments (or even just small pipe organs) in smaller/more secular venues.

]]> By: Duncan Vinson http://blog.oup.com/2012/08/pipe-organ-king-instruments-sleep-scare/#comment-288628 Duncan Vinson Tue, 21 Aug 2012 13:25:04 +0000 http://blog.oup.com/?p=27992#comment-288628 Thank you for a thoughtful post. I think the phenomenon you describe (wildly different associations among audience members) is not limited to organ music. For example, it gets my hackles up when a radio station plays an intricate work of Baroque music, and then a somnolent announcer tells us that the station provides "tracks to relax". It goes to show that the meaning of music is very dependent on context. I think it would be a shame if the organ were relegated only to the most "somber" religious venues. A hundred years ago, the culture of the organ was found in small spaces as well as grand, secular as well as sacred, and vulgar as well as refined. Perhaps with digital approximations of the pipe organ we can continue this multiplicity of venues for hearing organ music. I had my first experience of organ playing on a Conn theater organ (with one octave of pedals, drum machine, and banjo stop) in my grandmother's living room, but I fear today's young musicians and audiences do not have such humble introductions to the culture of the organ. Thank you for a thoughtful post. I think the phenomenon you describe (wildly different associations among audience members) is not limited to organ music. For example, it gets my hackles up when a radio station plays an intricate work of Baroque music, and then a somnolent announcer tells us that the station provides “tracks to relax”. It goes to show that the meaning of music is very dependent on context.

I think it would be a shame if the organ were relegated only to the most “somber” religious venues. A hundred years ago, the culture of the organ was found in small spaces as well as grand, secular as well as sacred, and vulgar as well as refined. Perhaps with digital approximations of the pipe organ we can continue this multiplicity of venues for hearing organ music. I had my first experience of organ playing on a Conn theater organ (with one octave of pedals, drum machine, and banjo stop) in my grandmother’s living room, but I fear today’s young musicians and audiences do not have such humble introductions to the culture of the organ.

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