Johannus Sampleset Greeley for Live III  

The moment you touch the manuals of the Casavant organ in the Trinity Episcopal Church in Greeley (Colorado, USA), you can hear the sound of three cultures issuing forth.

First of all, of course, the American culture: the church, institutionalized in the 1870s, harbors decades of faith, hope and love; a tradition that inevitably resonates through the sounds of the organ. 

Then the Canadian culture: organ builder Casavant Frères is based in Quebec. Since 1879, roughly when the Trinity Episcopal Church laid the foundations for its first place of worship in Greeley, the organ company has delivered more than 3,900 organs. So by the time they built the organ in Greeley in 1967, they had a considerable number of flying hours to their credit. 

And while we’re on the subject of the organ builders, the brothers Joseph-Claver (1855-1933) and Samuel-Marie (1859-1929), who founded the company, were extensively inspired by the West European organ tradition before settling in Canada. A noteworthy detail: the organ they built in Greeley is a typical example of the American Eclectic style. ‘Eclectic’ means that you combine the best of a range of traditions, methods or convictions to create a new style. That all comes together in Greeley. However, it’s only when the organ plays that ‘it’ actually happens.