Organ Safari

Join intrepid organists Leah and Simon as they wander the wilds of Europe seeking out Pipe Organs in their natural habitat.

Episode 025 — Lucerne 10/05/2017

Episode 025 — Lucerne Of all the big beasts on the Savannah, there is none larger than the Subcontra C of the principal 32’ of the Hofkirche St. Leodegar Organ in Lucerne. Join intrepid explorers Leah and Simon, and their guide Wolfgang Sieber, as they track down the world's largest organ pipe — a pipe that could swallow you whole. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/5812089

Episode 024 — The Cinema Organ 06/28/2017

Episode 024 — The Cinema Organ Perhaps we should have called the episode "The Theatre Organ", because the specimens we examine are all American. Pith helmets girded tight, safariers Leah and Simon venture into the wilds of California to study this little-understood animal. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/5488148

Episode 023 — Brother Georg's Organs 06/20/2017

Episode 023 — Brother Georg's Organs In our many years of safariing, this is the craziest piece of pipe organ DIY we have ever come across. Brother Jorge's Organ San Patricio contains parts of dozens of other instruments and has been a lifetime in the making. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/5463919

Episode 022 — Sion 06/01/2017

Episode 022 — Sion His stupefying single-mindedness yet again on display, Simon brings us another contender for the world's oldest organ—this time from the wilds of a Swiss mountaintop. Oldest or not, the organ at the Valère Basilia in Sion, Switzerland is a singularly fascinating beast. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/5409527

Episode 021 — Fratelli Ruffatti 03/25/2017

Episode 021 — Fratelli Ruffatti Simon rolls a natural twenty on his charisma check to explain to Leah his visit to the wondrous workshop of the Fratelli Ruffatti, prominent international organ builders. In addition to the D&Desque forges and foundries, we learned about the Ruffatti-Canada connection and some inside stories from the Crystal Cathedral. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/5203131

Episode 020 — The Spreckels Organ 02/17/2017

Episode 020 — The Spreckels Organ We examine a New World species, whose natural habitat is not a cathedral or a hockey arena, but rather it makes its home in the out of doors. The Spreckels Organ in San Diego is the world's largest outdoor organ, and playing and maintaining it can be quite tricky. Come and visit this American landmark with us. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/5095617

Episode 019 — The Organ Café 12/04/2016

Episode 019 — The Organ Café Our safari takes us to a church that is keeping the organ popular, and an organ that epitomizes the Reform Movement. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/4884818

Episode 018—Orgelbaumuseum 09/23/2016

Episode 018—Orgelbaumuseum The Norrlanda organ, currently in a museum in Stockholm, is reckoned to be the oldest surviving organ fragments in the world. There is a working replica at the Orgelbaumuseum in Ostheim, Germany—a paradisiacal museum dedicated to the building of organs. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/4691319

Episode 017—Schmalkalden 08/11/2016

Episode 017—Schmalkalden We investigate the beautiful Renaissance Klangfarbe of a historic instrument in the Wilhelmsburg Castle at Schmaaaaalkalden. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/4582334

Episode 016 — The Europaorgel 07/21/2016

Episode 016 — The Europaorgel Of all the weird species spotted on this safari, there is none stranger than the Europaorgel—a crazy chimera of sounds from all the countries of Europe. Plus some outlandish mutations. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/4531846

Episode 015 — Haarlem 07/19/2016

Episode 015 — Haarlem All the beasts of the veldt, or so it seems, have gathered at the Sint Bavo waterhole in Haarlem for the International Organ Festival. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/4526068

Episode 014 — St. Andreas 07/17/2016

Episode 014 — St. Andreas In an attempt satisfy his Captain-Ahab-esque obsession with finding the oldest organ in the world, Simon journeys to the St Andreas church in Ostönnen. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/4520887

Episode 013 — Jacobikirche 11/13/2014

Episode 013 — Jacobikirche In the last episode involving our experienced wilderness tracker Ed, we visit the Schnitger organ in Hamburg's Jacobikirche. In the words of Albert Schweitzer: "This organ will become the pilgrimage destination of all organists of the old and the new world." Well, it has for at least one lucky Canadian. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/3178470

Episode 012 - The Famous Mr. Walcker 11/11/2014

Episode 012 - The Famous Mr. Walcker Simon spends a day in the bush with the reknowned Walcker tribe, and learns much from their oral history. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/3173646

Episode 011 - Lubeck.mp3 10/31/2014

Episode 011 - Lubeck.mp3 Buxtehude and Bach, bombs and beautiful organs, and a blend of blood-curdling artwork—just in time for Halloween. Join safarist Simon and our guest, the mad trapper Edward Ocampo-Gooding as they visit the churches and organs of Lubeck, Germany. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/3153593

Episode 010 - Nieuwe Kerk 10/21/2014

Episode 010 - Nieuwe Kerk After having disappeared for a month, Simon wanders out of the jungle with exciting tales of savage Dutch organs. Featuring the lovely Bernard Winsemius. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/3132671

Episode 009 - ASLSP 08/20/2014

Episode 009 - ASLSP Simon's friend Edward has flown in to the veld to be our guide for the very wild ASLSP project in Halberstadt. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/3021296

Episode 008 - Saint-Denis 08/13/2014

Episode 008 - Saint-Denis The 800-pound gorilla of the organ-building world, Cavaillé-Coll, built his first organ in Saint-Denis in 1841. To see it in the wild, Simon and Leah have to brave the harshest region yet on the safari: downtown Paris. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/3010530

Episode 007 - Poitiers 08/06/2014

Episode 007 - Poitiers We have spoored a magnificent specimen of an endangered species, the French classical organ, in the cathedral of Poitiers. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/2997279

Episode 006 - Organ Music in Iberia 08/01/2014

Episode 006 - Organ Music in Iberia Two weary travelers look back on a month in the Iberian Peninsula: its deserts, its organs and its misadventures. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/2988728

Episode 005 - El Escorial 07/23/2014

Episode 005 - El Escorial Simon finds an obstinacy of organs at the San Lorenzo Basilica of El Escorial. Featuring mad Dutchmen, Spanish gold, and potential for fire—in short, something for everyone. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/2963933

Episode 004 — Toledo 07/08/2014

Episode 004 — Toledo Leah and Simon cross vast wildernesses to track down the Emperor's organ in Toledo, but have trouble picking it out from the ten pipe organs in the cathedral. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/2932607

Episode 003 - Evora Cathedral 06/24/2014

Episode 003 - Evora Cathedral Simon and Leah get within a football field of the oldest working pipe organ in Portugal, at the Evora Cathedral. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/2906959

Episode 002 — Sao Vicente de Fora 06/22/2014

Episode 002 — Sao Vicente de Fora Simon and Leah feel bad about the long wait for the Evora Cathedral episode, and so publish a mini-episode for appeasement purposes. The organ at the church of São Vicente de Fora is a big instrument with a personality to match. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/2903651

Episode 001 - Mafra, Portugal 06/09/2014

Episode 001 - Mafra, Portugal Leah and Simon journey deep into the mountains north of Lisbon to track down the colony of organs of Mafra. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/2880315

Organ Safari 000 05/28/2014

Organ Safari 000 Simon and Leah introduce their new podcast. /episode/index/show/organsafari/id/2861078

Organ Safari

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