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To hear audio samples of either
instrument, you may proceed to the recordings
page.
To go directly to information about the
recent organ rebuild, scroll down on the stoplist
page.
Organ
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Facility |
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Culver has a very fine pipe organ in the
Chapel, with admirable acoustics. It is particularly
effective for Romantic literature and orchestral
transcriptions, but has the necessary resources to handle
nearly any organ literature. It was originally built in
1951 by the M.P. Möller company of Hagerstown, Maryland.
It has undergone several tonal modifications over the
years, but work done since 1980 has been directed toward
making the instrument an effective reflection of its
original romantic character (but without attempting to
copy it exactly). Since 1978, the organ has been under the
able care of Fabry, Inc. of Antioch, Illinois. In the early 1980s, Chimes and a Harp stop were
added to the organ, as were two Zimbelsterns. Over the
summer and early fall of 2006, major work will be
undertaken on the organ (carried out by Fabry,
Inc.), including re-leathering
internal chest action parts. The deteriorating
switching and stop action system was recently replaced
with a Peterson ICS-4000 system
("Integrated Control System"), which
offers multiple memory levels, and numerous other
features. Three new ranks of pipes were added also, bringing the total number of ranks to 57, and
the number of pipes to 3,552. Details of the
renovation may be found on the stoplist
page. |
The overall
specification at present may be summarized as follows:
- Eleven 8’ Flues (Diapason, Flutes,
Strings) on the manuals, plus four celestes
- Four Mixture stops (one in the Swell,
two on the Great, and one on the Pedal)
- Nine reed ranks
- Eight ranks extend down to 16’ CC, and
of those, five are full-length.
- There is also an independent open 10 2/3’ Quint stop in the Pedal.
Click here for full stoplist. |
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Organ
Lessons |
| Because of the complexity of the organ
itself, prior piano instruction is a require pre-requisite
for taking organ lessons. Students must have a minimum of
four years' piano lessons and be able to play on at least a
FIFTH-YEAR LEVEL to be accepted for organ study. Students
must obtain permission to enroll in organ lessons directly
from Mr. Gouwens. Most of the first year is devoted to
technique fundamentals, taken from the Method of Organ
Playing by Harold Gleason. Early teaching
literature is also taken from the contents of that book.
As soon as is practical, hymn playing - with an emphasis
on leading congregational singing - is included. |
Other literature used for teaching purposes, depending
on the background and abilities of the student, includes:
- Bach: "Eight Little Preludes and Fugues" and
the "Orgelbüchlein" ("Liturgical
Year")
- Louis Vierne: "24 Pieces in Free Style"
- Various chorale preludes by Pachelbel and Buxtehude
- Assorted shorter pieces by Langlais, Gigout, and
Messiaen
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Carillon |
| The carillon in the tower of the Memorial Chapel
consists of 51 bells, ranging in weight from 11 1/2 pounds
(pitch=d4) to 6,459 pounds (B). The instrument transposes
down one semitone (key of B). This carillon was the last
North American carillon installation by the Gillett and Johnston foundry of Croydon, England. A matching practice console is
situated in the tower as well. The carillon has undergone
restoration work by the John Taylor Bellfoundry of
Loughborough, England in 1982 and 1998. Annual maintenance
is carried out on the instrument directly by John
Gouwens. |
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Facility |
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The carillon is played after Sunday morning services in
the Chapel and in recitals throughout the warmer months of the year. Culver Academies
hosted annual congresses of the Guild of Carillonneurs in
North America in 1953, 1961, and 1985.
A distinguished
roster of international artists have played guest recitals
on the Culver carillon over the years, representing
Belgium, Canada, France, and The Netherlands, as well as
many noted American carillonneurs. John Gouwens, Carillonneur of the Academies since 1980,
is well-known in the carillon field, having performed in
recital at nine congresses of the Guild of Carillonneurs
in North America, and at a congress of the World Carillon
Federation. He returned this fall from his fifth European concert
tour, in August of 2001, playing recitals in Belgium, The
Netherlands, and Germany. Mr. Gouwens has also produced two recordings of the
Organ and Carillon of Culver, available on Compact Disk
and Cassette. (A third one is now in preparation.) Click here the link to see more about the recordings. |
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In June of 2004, Culver was the host institution
for the annual Congress of the Guild
of Carillonneurs in North America
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Carillon
Lessons
As with organ, a solid piano background is essential
for carillon study. (This especially true as the
instrument is heard all over campus!) Students work from
"Playing the Carillon: An Introductory Method"
by Mr. Gouwens, which is published by the Guild of
Carillonneurs in North America. This book is at present
the only carillon method book in print! To see excerpts
from the book, please follow this link: Method
Book Examples
Beginning students
are introduced to the instrument through simpler
literature, such as some of Handel's pieces for musical
clocks, the Etude by Gary White, Slow Dance
by Roy Hamlin Johnson, and several didactic works Mr.
Gouwens wrote expressly for the
book. The book presents literature in a progression by
difficulty level, including Sarabande by Ronald
Barnes, Pastel in Bronze by Albert Gerken, Arabesque
by Emilien Allard, Air and Lullaby by Jean
Miller, Prayer by Leen 't Hart, and several pieces
for musical clockworks by Franz Joseph Haydn.
The practice console is a good one for learning the
notes of music, but a particular advantage in the Culver
situation is that there are very few restrictions on when
the carillon itself may be played. Students are
encouraged to work out the musical details of a
performance on the bells just as soon as the notes and
rhythm are learned well.
As with all instructors at Culver, Mr. Gouwens
has developed and codified a system of assessment
for tracking progress and determining grades. For
detailed information, on that, please see the
separate listing under assessment
system. |
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Recordings
| About
John Gouwens
| Performance Calendar | Email
2004
GCNA Congress at Culver | GCNA
Carillon Composition Competition |
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This Page was created and
is maintained by: John
Gouwens. Last update:
01/02/08 |
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