Opus 139: To Hear the Music
Opus 139: To Hear the Music will tell the story of Charles Brenton Fisk, a brilliant Massachusetts nuclear physicist who turned away from the militaristic developments in his field during World War II in order to pursue his passion for music.
Leaving his early involvement in the Manhattan Project and a graduate program at Stanford University, Fisk returned to coastal Gloucester, Massachusetts to pursue organ building. Over the next 50 years, the C.B.Fisk Pipe Organ Company has become a premier American builder of mechanical action pipe organs, combining exacting physics and mechanical engineering with acoustic artistry to produce the largest of musical instruments.
Now, Charles Fisk’s legacy of collegial problem solving is continued by dedicated artists and craftspeople, who will undertake the design and construction of a very special instrument: Opus 139 in Harvard University’s Memorial Church. To suit the changing needs of the University’s worship space, the new organ will require renovation to the Church’s second floor gallery and a design that will allow it to sing with the congregation and grace a landmark of Boston history and architecture.
Trained by Charles Fisk and passionately dedicated to his principles and working method, the modern day guild of artisans at C.B.Fisk, Inc. will strive to help future generations of visitors to Harvard hear the music that entranced their founder.
