Hot Pipes Podcast 157 – m4a – Celebrating the Artistry of Lyn Larsen

Sorry to hear quite a number of listeners disapproved the last broadcast which – sacrilage! featured the sacred theatre organ blasphemously sounding IN CONCERT with other instruments!
It seems there are too many fanatical stuck-in-the-mud, head-in-the-sand fanatics in T.O. land.

Maybe that’s why the theatre organ keeps dying! Most T.O. club sites I ever read complain of lack of interest outside its own tiny circle.

Look at the growing interest in concert organs all over the world and all the new and hugely expensive installations being undertaken. That is because the concert organ, while often heard solo, is just as often heard IN CONCERT! People who would never attend an organ recital are happy enough to attend a musical event which features an organ playing in concert.

I was fortunate enough to attend a Radio City Christmas concert where the organ was part of the musical ensemble, a part important enough to demand the use of both consoles and two top organists. WHAT a musical and visual treat! Needless to say, the whole season was a sell-out and we were lucky to get tickets.

I was also fortunate enough to be on the music staff of a school which, as a whole-school project, transferred a Compton theatre organ from the theatre (which was being demolished about it) to the school. It played a major part in the musical life of the school, featuring in every school show, concert, assembly and even being broadcast by the BBC. Sadly, a 16 year old arsonist destroyed it and the building housing it, thus depriving generations of students the thrill of playing and hearing an instrument which had given pleasure to countless audiences since its installation in 1934.

But — IT WAS PLAYED IN CONCERT as often as it played solo.

Most other instruments sound great when played in concert so why not the theatre organ with its wonderful sound palette?

We T.O. lovers need to learn the lesson.

We need to put aside the glory days of the cinema and silent movies and move into the 21st century.

As the Good Book says, “Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead…” Phil. 3.13 NLT

Just been listening to the current show with Lyn and it’s superb. Sadly, although I heard many top American theatre organists on my visits to the USA, Lyn was not one of them. What a player!

Another great show. An assemblage of melodious, toe-tapping and at times stirring selections from pipes superstar Lyn Larsen, enhanced by the always authoritative and informative biographical information provided by Steve Ashley.

Alan – I have another GW Special coming up in August, remembering the 95th anniversary of his birth, and it’s mostly unpublished and non-CD material. As for that guy Steve Ashley… what a mess he got you into!!

Stan – they are indeed. Robert Carson rented the house and studio after Joe Kearns died. For some reason, the organ specs changed at times between recordings: possibly, there were ranks swapped in and out depending on what was required at the time. And apologies for the confusing notes… I must correct these sometime!