PREMIERE PRAISE: PIPE ORGAN RESTORATION CULMINATES IN RECITAL

Dr. Gary Miller played on the rebuilt organ console at Trinity Lutheran Church in preparation for a rededication concert of the organ Aug. 8.

Sometimes older is just better.

Particularly when it comes to pipe organs.

After a nearly three-year restoration project, Trinity Lutheran Church will hold a pipe organ concert Aug. 8 at 3 p.m. Dr. Gary Miller, who was a consultant for the project, will be the guest at the recital.

Miller, a music professor at Southeast Missouri State University, is sort of a local organ expert. He has studied the instrument since high school and played many of the world's oldest organs found in Europe.

"The organ is an instrument that has existed through the ages," Miller said. "It has such a grandiose sound."

Pipe organs, though expensive to initially install, can last for hundreds of years or more if properly maintained. Organs have been played since the 1400s.

"It is the perfect instrument for the church," Miller said. "It is the premiere instrument for the praise of God."

When musical instruments were introduced in congregational worship, pipe organs were a natural choice. It is an instrument that can project sound in many directions, without detracting from the focus of worship. For that reason, many pipe organs are situated in the rear of the church sanctuary.

Organ popularity has waned and then surged over the centuries. It lost some appeal during the time of Mozart, whose compositions were played on piano.

But with the return of Romanticism, organ music reappeared stronger than ever. As worship styles have changed in recent years, the organ's attraction has diminished for some. Blended worship styles that rely on more contemporary instruments rely even less on organs.

Even though musical styles change, Miller said, the organ has never been completely cast aside. "The pipe organ has a unique sound that cannot truly be duplicated."

Churches are realizing that the instrument can't just be cast aside. Not only is its sound unique, it is also one of the most complicated instruments ever devised by mankind, Miller said.

That is what makes a restoration project like the one at Trinity such a challenge. When considering such a project, congregations have to decide how much they want to commit to restoring.

Miller said there is always a standard set of questions congregations ask:

-- How do we keep what we have and continue to play?

-- Should we throw out what we have and get an electronic organ?

-- What can we do to save it and make the sound better?

The answers Miller gives as a consultant vary for each instrument. But he has to give an honest assessment to each congregation, even if it is something they don't want to hear. He tries to consider what direction the church is taking philosophically, also.

Sometimes he tells the churches the project can be completed in stages so that the church can decide and designate funds for the work.

Organ restoration work can easily reach in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Trinity knew it wanted to keep the organ sound, but the church also knew it was a big task to restore it. Most of the pipe leathers, which control wind sound, had dried up and lost electrical contact with the keyboard.

"What you have is keys that either play when you don't want them to or just dead notes," Miller said.

The church began its restoration in 1997 by replacing the "guts" of the organ. Chests where the pipes rested were replaced; the keyboard and console were replaced.

But nearly 95 percent of the pipes remained. Miller likes to retain as much of the organ instrument as possible. In this instance, that meant keeping nearly 900 pipes.

But the church also wanted a "new" sound for its organ. So it added pipes to nearly double the size of the instrument. In all there are 2.038 pipes that comprise the organ. The pipes were made to specific dimensions by a St. Louis organ company. The instrument was refurbished and used for worship Easter Sunday.

In addition to the new pipes, the organ can also play pre-programmed sounds much like you'd hear on electronic organs.

Miller said the work was one of the most significant projects in the region. He is also offering advice to a church in Osceola, Ark., which is considering a pipe organ restoration.

Pipe organ sounds have crossed denominational barriers, Miller said. There are some denominations that never use the instrument in worship, but others like Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists and Mormons have enjoyed the sound for years.

"There are so many aficionados who love the organ but might not play," Miller said. Finding music lovers is often easier than recruiting organists. The organ is a hard instrument to play. It requires all four limbs to play the keyboard and pedals.

Most organists first learned to play the piano -- and some consider piano their first love. Others enjoy organs so much they want to play every piece of literature written. And since the instrument was played as far back as the 1400s and 1500s, exhausting all the music would be hard.

For Miller, that's the best part of completing a restoration project -- playing the instrument. He enjoys seeing the work in progress and then getting to play when its completed. "You know what you had before and what you have now," he said.

The recital will include works by Buxtehude, J.S. Bach, and Lutheran composer Paul Manz. A closed-circuit video system will project Miller's image to a screen at the front of the church so the audience can see and hear organist and organ.