C.B. Fisk
Encyclopedia
C.B. Fisk, Inc. is a company that designs and builds mechanical action pipe organs
located in Gloucester
, Massachusetts
, USA
. It was founded in 1961 by Charles Brenton Fisk (1925-1983) the first American organbuilder to build significant tracker organs in the 20th century. His study of early American and European instruments led him to return to mechanical action, and to set a new course for American organbuilding. He modeled his shop on collaborative enterprise, launching the careers of four other North American organbuilders and providing the foundation for those who carry on the company he founded.
was Choirmaster. Charles showed such intelligence as a young man that when he was drafted during WWII, he was sent to Los Alamos where he worked for Robert Oppenheimer on the Manhattan Project
. He was 18 years old. After the war he attended Harvard and Stanford, majoring in Nuclear Physics, and worked briefly at Brookhaven National Laboratories, but during his Stanford years decided to pursue a career in organbuilding.
He apprenticed himself first with John Swinford in Redwood City, California, and then with Walter Holtkamp, Sr.
in Cleveland, Ohio, who was at the time the most avant garde of American organbuilders. He went on to become a partner and later sole owner of the Andover Organ Company. In 1961 he established C. B. Fisk near his childhood summer home on Cape Ann
in Massachusetts.
Charles Fisk's style of leadership, modeled after the team of scientists he worked with on the Manhattan Project, involved his co-workers in the day-to-day decisions about the concepts and construction of the instruments. The same people who were drawn by Charles Fisk's ideas carry on his work and share their insight and experience with another generation of organbuilders after his death in 1983.
in 1967 (moved in 2009 to a Presbyterian church in Austin, Texas), then again at House of Hope Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1979.
The company has also built a number of instruments based on historical organs, among them one at Wellesley College, patterned after North German organs of the early 17th century, one at the University of Michigan in the manner of the Saxon builder Gottfried Silbermann
, and a three-manual instrument at Rice University modeled on the work of the 19th century French master builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll
. The large four-manual dual-temperament instrument at Stanford University's Memorial Church
uses modern technology to combine many different aspects of historical organ styles. The firm built concert hall organs for the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, Minato Mirai Concert Hall in Yokohama, and Benaroya Hall
in Seattle. In 2003 C. B. Fisk built a five-manual organ for the Cathedral in Lausanne
, Switzerland, the first American organ to be made for a European cathedral.
In its fifty years C.B. Fisk, Inc. has completed over 90 instruments in 23 U.S. states, in Lausanne, Switzerland
, and in Japan
.
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
located in Gloucester
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Gloucester is a city on Cape Ann in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is part of Massachusetts' North Shore. The population was 28,789 at the 2010 U.S. Census...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was founded in 1961 by Charles Brenton Fisk (1925-1983) the first American organbuilder to build significant tracker organs in the 20th century. His study of early American and European instruments led him to return to mechanical action, and to set a new course for American organbuilding. He modeled his shop on collaborative enterprise, launching the careers of four other North American organbuilders and providing the foundation for those who carry on the company he founded.
About Charles Brenton Fisk
Born in Cambridge Mass, Fisk loved music and grew up tinkering with hi-fi equipment. He was a chorister at Christ Church on Cambridge Common where E. Power BiggsE. Power Biggs
Edward George Power Biggs , more familiarly known as E. Power Biggs, was a British-born American concert organist and recording artist.-Biography:...
was Choirmaster. Charles showed such intelligence as a young man that when he was drafted during WWII, he was sent to Los Alamos where he worked for Robert Oppenheimer on the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
. He was 18 years old. After the war he attended Harvard and Stanford, majoring in Nuclear Physics, and worked briefly at Brookhaven National Laboratories, but during his Stanford years decided to pursue a career in organbuilding.
He apprenticed himself first with John Swinford in Redwood City, California, and then with Walter Holtkamp, Sr.
Holtkamp Organ Company
The Holtkamp Organ Company of Cleveland, Ohio is one of America's oldest builders of pipe organs. Founded in 1855 by G.F. Votteler, the company was passed on to the Holtkamps in 1931...
in Cleveland, Ohio, who was at the time the most avant garde of American organbuilders. He went on to become a partner and later sole owner of the Andover Organ Company. In 1961 he established C. B. Fisk near his childhood summer home on Cape Ann
Cape Ann
Cape Ann is a rocky cape in northeastern Massachusetts on the Atlantic Ocean. The cape is located approximately 30 miles northeast of Boston and forms the northern edge of Massachusetts Bay. Cape Ann includes the city of Gloucester, and the towns of Essex, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and...
in Massachusetts.
Charles Fisk's style of leadership, modeled after the team of scientists he worked with on the Manhattan Project, involved his co-workers in the day-to-day decisions about the concepts and construction of the instruments. The same people who were drawn by Charles Fisk's ideas carry on his work and share their insight and experience with another generation of organbuilders after his death in 1983.
About the company
The workshop attracted young co-workers who combined their talents in music, art, engineering, and cabinet making to build organs that redefined modern American organbuilding. Always experimenting, C. B. Fisk was the first modern American organbuilder to abandon the electro-pneumatic action of the early twentieth century and return to the mechanical (tracker) key and stop action of historical European and early American instruments. The Fisk firm went on to construct what were at the time the largest four-manual mechanical action instruments built in America in this century, first at Harvard University's churchMemorial Church of Harvard University
The Memorial Church of Harvard University, more commonly known as the Harvard Memorial Church is a building on the campus of Harvard University.-Predecessors:...
in 1967 (moved in 2009 to a Presbyterian church in Austin, Texas), then again at House of Hope Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1979.
The company has also built a number of instruments based on historical organs, among them one at Wellesley College, patterned after North German organs of the early 17th century, one at the University of Michigan in the manner of the Saxon builder Gottfried Silbermann
Gottfried Silbermann
Gottfried Silbermann was an influential German constructor of keyboard instruments. He built harpsichords, clavichords, organs, and fortepianos; his modern reputation rests mainly on the latter two.-Life:...
, and a three-manual instrument at Rice University modeled on the work of the 19th century French master builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll
Aristide Cavaillé-Coll
Aristide Cavaillé-Coll was a French organ builder. He is considered by many to be the greatest organ builder of the 19th century because he combined both science and art to make his instruments...
. The large four-manual dual-temperament instrument at Stanford University's Memorial Church
Stanford Memorial Church
Stanford Memorial Church is located at the center of the Stanford University campus in Stanford, California, United States. It was built during the American Renaissance by Jane Stanford as a memorial to her husband Leland. Designed by architect Charles A...
uses modern technology to combine many different aspects of historical organ styles. The firm built concert hall organs for the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, Minato Mirai Concert Hall in Yokohama, and Benaroya Hall
Benaroya Hall
Benaroya Hall is the home of the Seattle Symphony in Downtown Seattle, Washington, USA. It features two auditoria, the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium, a 2500-seat performance venue, as well as the Nordstrom Recital Hall, which seats roughly 500...
in Seattle. In 2003 C. B. Fisk built a five-manual organ for the Cathedral in Lausanne
Lausanne Cathedral
The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Lausanne was built between 1170 and 1240 in the gothic style, with the western portal completed later in the flamboyant style....
, Switzerland, the first American organ to be made for a European cathedral.
In its fifty years C.B. Fisk, Inc. has completed over 90 instruments in 23 U.S. states, in Lausanne, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, and in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.