For Christopher Trikilis, the history of the instruments he plays can be as rich as the sounds they make.
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One of the country's leading organists, he was in Ballarat on Tuesday to discover more about the instrument he will play for the Organs of the Ballarat Goldfields festival next month.
As the pipes echoed with his playing at St Paul's Anglican Church, he was clearly excited about the prospect at performing on the church's historic organ.
"Seven generations will have heard this organ so far, from the 1860s to today," he told The Courier, pausing his playing.
"Each one of these instruments, they are so unique."
A pianist will sit at an almost identical instrument anywhere they go around the world but each of these pipe organs has its own unique character
- Christopher Trikilis, organist
The historic Walker organ that he was trying for the first time clearly impressed him.
"It's a lovely sound, it's a warm tone, it's got all the colours and effects. People in Ballarat are very lucky."
Built in the 1860s, and still with its original facade and intricate pipework intact - although the keys were changed and the instrument was electrified in the 1950s - the organ is a far cry from Mr Trikilis's usual perch.
He is the director of music at Camberwell's Lady of Victories Basilica, where he plays a "much younger" instrument from Ireland that works in "a very different way".
The journey from Melbourne's eastern suburbs to the Bakery Hill church was designed to allow him to figure out some of the idiosyncrasies.
With more than 800 pipes and more than 5,000 moving parts, Mr Trikilis says its a question of working out how it all fits together.
"Each of them has some very common elements, but some very unique little things that make it particular. It is [about] finding those differences."
Having played in cathedrals, big churches and town halls around the world, he is still relishing the chance of playing in the more intimate surroundings of St Paul's, the third venue he will have played at for the festival.
"It's something very different to the modern concert hall instruments where you sit so far away from the instrument you don't get to feel up close what it's actually doing," he said.
We hope it keeps working another 150 odd years beyond this. It's a lovely tone, it just works in this space
- Christoper Trikilis will be playing the Walker organ at St Paul's Anglican Church on Humffray Street South at 11am on Wednesday January 15 with a recital including music from Mendelssohn and Manz among others. See www.ballaratorgans.com.au for full details.
- Organs of the Ballarat Goldfields 2020 moves to St Alipus' for opening night
THE COURIER'S COVERAGE OF THE 2019 YEAR FESTIVAL
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