Knoxville Cathedral Unveils Completed Organ Installation

 

Six years after the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus opened its doors, its pipe organ is now complete.

Glenn Kahler, the Cathedral’s Director of Music and Liturgy, spearheaded the project in collaboration with Casavant Frères, the Rolls Royce of organ makers and installers. “When the Cathedral was built,” said Kahler, “it simply wasn’t feasible to fund a complete pipe organ. We finished the first stage for the Cathedral’s dedication in 2018. Now, through a generous gift from Sir Alan and Dame Sally Sefton, the organ is complete.” Further, the Seftons provided a gift to ensure the instrument’s perpetual care and maintenance.

Officially titled the Casavant Frères Pipe Organ, Opus 3927, the organ will be dedicated on April 12 in a concert open to the public.

The Organ Dedication Concert will feature the Cathedral’s own organist Byongsuk Moon. Dr. Moon, who concertizes on an international level, is also a medalist in multiple prestigious competitions, including the Dom Zu Speyer International Organ Competition (2nd place), Wiesbaden Bach Preis International Organ Competition (2nd place), and Magdeburg International Organ Competition Diploma. 

Dr. Moon will perform music by J.S. Bach, Aaron Copland, and Modest Mussorgsky, among others. The repertoire was selected to showcase the instrument’s 3,281 individual pipes, 71 stops (a sound replicating a specific group of instruments), and over 58 ranks (a collection of pipes that make up each stop). 

In an ingenious move, the organ has two consoles, one in the choir loft and another movable console for performances from the front of the sanctuary. Audience members who attend the concert will be able to watch Dr. Moon’s facile hands and intricate pedal work, an unusual experience since most organs have only one console in the loft, away from the audiences’ eyes.

Kahler summed up the grandeur of this remarkable instrument. “The pipe organ is a fascinating instrument, as much science and physics as it is art and culture. It’s the most complex instrument humanity has ever created, and subsequently the most challenging to play well.” 

It is also one of the most thrilling to hear.