1770 Tannenberg at Zion Lutheran Church, Moselem Springs, PA to be restored

Raymond J. Brunner founded R. J. Brunner & Co. in 1981. He is a graduate of Lehigh University and a member of the American Institute of Organbuilders and the Organ Historical Society.

Restoration of the 1770 Tannenberg  organ at Zion Moselem Lutheran Church, Moselem Springs, Pennsylvania, was completed in September 2011 by R. J. Brunner & Co. of Silver Spring, Pennsylvania. The earliest of the nine extant David Tannenberg organs, it predates the Revolutionary War and is perhaps the oldest surviving organ built in the American colonies. As such, it is of great historic importance, and its restoration allows us to learn more about 18th-century organbuilding as practiced by Tannenberg and other German immigrants to Pennsylvania.

Tannenberg was a Moravian and built many organs for Moravian congregations in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. He also supplied organs to Lutheran, German Reformed, and Catholic congregations. His instruments ranged in size from four-stop positive organs for Moravian use to a large three-manual, 34-stop organ for Zion Lutheran Church in Philadelphia. Tannenberg’s Moravian organs had a predominance of unison-pitch stops, since those organs were generally used in conjunction with other instruments. His Lutheran organs had more developed choruses that might include mutation and mixture stops, as well as reeds. The Moselem organ has eight stops on one manual, with a total of nine ranks. Built early in Tannenberg’s career, it provides an opportunity to learn more about the evolution of his organbuilding. It is the only surviving example of his organs with a walnut case.   

The Moselem organ was completed in 1770 and installed in the stone Zion Lutheran Church building, where it was located in a small gallery. This building was replaced by a new brick structure in 1894, at which time the organ was moved and rebuilt by Samuel Bohler of Reading, Pennsylvania. Bohler replaced the original bellows with an internal winding system and replaced the keydesk and keyboard. He altered the stop action and also removed the Terz and Mixtur stops, replacing them with lower-pitched unison stops. By then the walnut casework had been painted over. The casework was eventually painted white, imitating the appearance of other Tannenberg organs.  

In 2010, R. J. Brunner & Co. was chosen to undertake a historic restoration of the organ. Organbuilder Raymond Brunner was in charge of the project, and his previous research and restoration experience with several other Tannenberg organs was a valuable asset to determining how the work should be done. It was decided to restore the organ to its original form, including replacement of the two missing original stops and construction of an authentic winding system. Fortunately, the unaltered 8-stop Tannenberg organ at Hebron Lutheran Church in Madison, Virginia provided many of the answers. Although built 32 years later, it has an original pair of wedge bellows that could be copied for the restoration. Another fortunate event was that Brunner was able to obtain parts of two different period wedge bellows sets, once used on Pennsylvania German organs that are no longer extant. Using these historic fragments from other organs enabled the recreation of an authentic set of bellows like the original winding of the organ. An electric blower provides an alternate source of wind.

Twenty-five pipes of the Principal 8′ and ten pipes of the Principal Octav 4′ are in the façade. The Flaut Major 8′ and Flaut Minor 4′ are identical open wood ranks made primarily from pine and walnut. The rack board for the Terz shows that this rank did not contain a break. 

The restoration required making a new keydesk and stop action, as well as a new keyboard. The keyboard was copied from the Madison instrument, with the natural keys covered with ebony, while the walnut sharps are capped with reclaimed ivory from old keyboards. Removal of several layers of paint revealed the beauty of the walnut casework and the fine quality of this master organbuilder’s work. The façade pipes were restored to their original appearance by removal of ears that had been applied when Bohler rebuilt the organ. A metallurgical analysis of the pipe metal was done to determine the proportions of lead and tin, as well as the amount of impurities in the metal. New Terz and Mixtur pipes were made for the organ by the Paul Fritts shop in Tacoma, Washington. Restoration of the original pipes and voicing of the new pipes was done by Hans Herr in the Brunner shop.   

The organ was re-dedicated on October 2, 2011 with a concert played by Philip T. D. Cooper; it was hand pumped for the entire concert. Mr. Cooper also assisted in historical research for the restoration and was instrumental in encouraging the church to undertake the project. The fine sound of the organ delighted the large crowd in attendance, and Zion’s organist Nancy Keller has been using the organ on a regular basis. This instrument should serve the congregation of Zion Moselem Lutheran Church well for many more years, and the organ can be heard once again as David Tannenberg intended.

Michael Gailit received his musical and academic training at the University of Music in Vienna, Austria, studying piano with Hilde Langer-Rühl and Alexander Jenner, and organ with Herbert Tachezi. At age 20 he received his performance degree in organ, and took first prize in the competition “Jugend musiziert.” He subsequently earned degrees in piano and organ pedagogy. From 1993–2008 Michael Gailit was organist at St. Augustine‘s Church, which has the largest music program in Vienna, including recitals and orchestra concerts throughout the year. In 1995, Gailit was asked to take over an organ performance class at the Vienna Conservatory of Music. There he initiated a series of seminars and workshops on performance practices in organ music of all periods. Gailit has been a member of the piano faculty of the University of Music in Vienna since 1980. He has given courses, masterclasses and lectures in Europe and North America, and has performed in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, United Kingdom, Slovenia, Slovakia, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Finland, Estonia, Canada, Russia, and Mexico. Since 1984, he regularly has toured the United States giving recitals and masterclasses. In a series of six recitals in Vienna, Gailit played the six Mendelssohn Sonatas, the six Bach Trio Sonatas, and the six Vierne Symphonies within three weeks. Gailit has released seven solo CDs, among them piano and organ music of W. A. Mozart (the first interpretation of the organ pieces after the original open scores) and selections of rarely played French romantic organ music. In addition to several articles in music magazines, he has published the first comprehensive book on the Liszt pupil Reubke (Julius Reubke—Life And Works) in 1995.

Prologue
For some, musicology can offer captivating moments. What has happened at a certain place during a certain time? Changes in organs remind us sometimes of CSI. Who really knew what was going on? The pastor might be not the best guess, and the lead has intelligent ways to tell everybody how to look at things—2556 pipes in an organ it’s not worth it, with 1001 pipes you get even more!

Wagner and St. Mary
Let us imagine a visit to St. Mary’s Church in Berlin at the beginning of the 19th century. Our reason is the celebration last year of the 200th anniversary of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809–1847). During the period 1820–21, the ingenious multi-talent received organ lessons at St. Mary’s and composed his first organ pieces. Mendelssohn’s organ teacher August Wilhelm Bach (1796–1869)—not related to the Thuringian family of musicians—had at his post in St. Mary’s an organ by Joachim Wagner at his disposal. The instrument, Wagner’s first masterpiece from 1719–23, established his fame as the “Berlin Silbermann.” As Uwe Pape has pointed out,1 there are resemblances in the original stoplist of St. Mary’s Wagner organ to the first masterpiece of the famous Saxon organ builder Gottfried Silbermann at the Freiberg cathedral from 1714:

St. Mary’s Church, Berlin

Hauptmanual
(I; CD–c3; 12 stops)
16′ Bordun
8′ Principal
8′ Rohrflöt
8′ Viole di Gamba
4′ Octav
4′ Spitzflöt
3′ Quinta
2′ Octav
[8′] Cornet V (c1–c3)
11⁄2′ Scharf V
1′ Cimbel [III]
8′ Trompet

Oberwerk (II; CD–c3; 11 stops)
16′ Quintadena
8′ Principal
8′ Gedackt
4′ Octav
4′ Fugara
3′ Nassat
2′ Octav
2′ Tertie
1′ Siefflöt
11⁄2′ Mixtur IV
8′ Vox humana

Hinterwerk (III; CD–c3; 9 stops)
8′ Gedackt
8′ Quintadena
4′ Octav
4′ Rohrflöt
2′ Octav
2′ Waldflöt
11⁄2′ Quinta
1′ Cimbel
[8′] Echo V [c1–c3]

Pedal (CD–d1; 8 stops)
16′ Principal-Baß
16′ Violon
8′ Gembßhorn
6′ Quinta
4′ Octav
2′ Mixtur VI
16′ Posaune
8′ Trompet

Accessories
2 tremulants
Zimbelstern
4 ventil stops (one for each division)
2 manual couplers
1 pedal coupler

Freiberg Cathedral

Hauptwerk (I; CD–c3; 13 stops)
16′ Bourdon
8′ Principal
8′ Rohrflöte
8′ Viola da Gamba
4′ Octava
3′ Quinta
2′ Super-Octava
13⁄5′ Tertia
8′ Cornet V (c1–c3)
2′ Mixtur IV
11⁄3′ Cimbeln III
8′ Trompete
4′ Clarin

Oberwerk (II; CD–c3; 13 stops)
16′ Quintaden
8′ Principal
8′ Gedackt
8′ Quintaden
4′ Octava
4′ Spitzflöte
2′ Super-Octava
1′ Flaschflöt
11⁄3′ Mixtur III
1′ Cimbeln II
8′ Krummhorn
8′ Vox humana
8′ Echo V (c1–c3)

Brustwerk (III; CD–c3; 9 stops)
8′ Gedackt
4′ Principal
4′ Rohrflöte
3′ Nasat
2′ Octava
13⁄5′ Tertia
11⁄2′ Quinta
1′ Sifflöt
1′ Mixtur III

Pedal (CD–c1; 10 stops)
32′ Untersatz
16′ PrincipalBaß
16′ OctavBaß
16′ SubBaß
8′ OctavBaß
4′ OctavBaß
22⁄3′ Pedalmixtur VI
16′ PosaunenBaß
8′ TrompetenBaß
4′ ClarinBaß

Accessories
2 tremulants
2 ventil stops (HW/BW, OW)
2 manual couplers (OW/HW, BW/HW)
1 pedal coupler (HW/P)

Simply Vogler
When A. W. Bach was appointed to St. Mary’s, the organ was no longer in its original state. The history also of this organ was influenced by a man whose name has survived today mainly in treatises on organ building. The priest Georg Joseph Vogler (1749–1814), often addressed as “Abbé Vogler,”2 shouted at his contemporaries:
Wake up, you parrots, you philistines of Liliput, from your lethargic slumber!
Listen (to the music)! Look (at scores)! Feel (the effects)! And think!3
Vogler sought to make the organ a more vivid instrument, both by performance style and through certain construction components. The sound was to be based on lower registers, which he achieved through the acoustic phenomenon of combination tones. The Italian violinist Giuseppe Tartini, when developing the double-stop technique, had found that if a consonant interval were played as purely as possible, a third, lower tone could be heard as a result of the addition of the vibrations. Describing the effect in his Trattato di musica secondo la vera scienza dell’armonia of 1754, Tartini was regarded as the discoverer of the combination tones, which were later even named Tartini tones. The German organist Andreas Sorge (1703–1778), however, had already described the effect in his treatise Vorgemach der musik-alischen Komposition of 1745. He had noticed that when a fifth is played on a flute stop, the note of the lower octave can be heard.
Vogler used this phenomenon to build a low-pitch stop from two ranks of smaller pipes in the octave and the fifth. His Simplifikationssystem comprised also the removal of mutation stops and mixtures. He achieved dynamic flexibility through the use of free reeds, which could respond to variable wind pressure without change of pitch, and through swell boxes that enclosed not only one division, but the entire organ. The first musical instrument with free reeds seems to be the Cheng, a Chinese pumpkin instrument equipped with a mouthpiece and bamboo tubes containing thin metal plates. This technical idea developed eventually into an organ pipe rank shortly before 1800, with the exotic attempt to build a speaking machine. The Cheng is also regarded as the common ancestor of the other free reed instruments, such as the accordion or the harmonium.4
No matter where, in the Swedish capital Stockholm or the Austrian capital Vienna, Vogler convinced authorities to improve the organs in their churches. In the Prussian capital, Berlin, he arranged the conversion of the Wagner organ at St. Mary’s in 1800–01, carried out by local organ builder Johann Friedrich Falckenhagen (1752–1823). The 40 stops were reduced to 26, and reports tell that from 2556 pipes only 1001 remained in the organ.5 On November 28, 1801, at 5 pm, Vogler presented the converted organ to an obviously enthusiastic, but not completely converted, crowd in an inauguration recital with a memorable program:

1st Part
1. Prelude and fugue with full organ, using 3 octave stops, 3 fifths, 2 thirds and 4 reeds, with a total of only 498 pipes
2. Terrace song of the Africans stamping limestone, to surface their terraces, always one choir resting and singing, the other one stamping
3. Double concerto of a flute and a basson, with clear distinction of four manuals:
I. [manual] for the flute
II. [manual] for the bassoon
III. [manual] for the full orchestra
IV. [manual] for the gentle instrumental accompaniment
Allegro. Andante. Rondo.

2nd Part
4. The Mahomedanian [sic] Creed: There is only one God and Mahomed is his prophet, which is sung during funerals alternately with 2 choirs in the front and in the back of the corpse, performed with an Adagio
5. The boat ride on the Rhine, interrupted by a thunder storm
6. The Chorale: O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden, with a Basso continuo, in contrapuntal and canonic manner
NB. The terrace song, the Mahomedanian song, and the boat ride have been specially requested by music lovers.6

In an extended review, the Leipziger Allgemeine Zeitung preserved the terrace song theme for posterity (Example 1). As seriously as possible, the author makes fun of the limestone stamping choirs, wondering if they are familiar with the European canon form (Example 2).
The pastor of the church later complained that Vogler had taken out the best pipes, selling them to St. Hedwig’s Church and the Catholics, and replacing them with pipes of lesser quality.7 Other sources claim that Vogler used the now superfluous pipes in a new organ at St. Hedwig’s. We can even read that he received money from the king to build the organ at St. Hedwig’s, that he completed it at his own expense, or even donated the whole instrument.8 Time for CSI.

Questions and questioning
First: Are the numbers 2556 and 1001 correct? Did the original Wagner organ have 2556 pipes, and did only 1001 really remain in the instrument? Provided that in the Hinterwerk the Cimbel consisted of three ranks and the Echo Cornet had the same compass as the Hauptwerk Cornet, the total number of 2556 Wagner pipes appears correct (Table 1).
The more difficult task is to find out what happened in the course of the conversion. (An “after” stoplist is shown in Table 13.) After all these pipe relocations, would we get a total of 1001 remaining pipes? At first, the report tells us which ranks stayed, which were removed, and which were partly or wholly relocated. For a whole new rank or stop in another pitch, Vogler needed to take out pipes from two ranks, one rank providing the majority of pipes for the upper octaves, and another rank at least for the lowest octave. The conversions can be described as follows. Sometimes there is more than one solution—in this case, only one is given.

Conversion 1
To achieve a 32′ sound, Vogler created a new Groß-Nasat 102⁄3′ on the Hauptwerk. He took the bottom octave from the Pedal Quinte 51⁄3′ and had it stopped to transpose the pitch an octave lower. The Hauptwerk Gamba 8′ supplied the rest of the rank. Since the lowest octave was taken from the same range, the missing C# did not cause a problem (Table 2).

Conversion 2
For a new discant stop, it was sufficient to take the corresponding section from one old stop. In this manner, part of the Spitzflöte 4′ became a new Terzflöte 31⁄5′ to support the 16′ sound at the Hauptwerk (Table 3).

Conversion 3
To ascertain the number of both remaining and removed pipes, one must keep in mind that the key for C-sharp did not exist. If a section of a rank were relocated to the bottom octave, then the pipe that would take the place of the bottom C-sharp must be included in the number of removed pipes. When creating the Klein-Nasat 51⁄3′ for the support of the 16′ sound of the Hauptwerk, the bottom G-sharp from the Gedackt 8′ of the Oberwerk was superfluous. Vogler took the rest of the rank from the Hinterwerk Oktav 2′ (Table 4).

Conversion 4
Except for the bottom octave, the Oberwerk Nasat 22⁄3′ provided the pipes for the new Hinterwerk Terz 31⁄5′. The bottom octave came from the Rohrflöte of the Hauptwerk; the pipe for the note f° became superfluous due to the non-existing key for the bottom C-sharp (Table 5).

Conversion 5
According to David and his sources, the new Vox humana 16′ started at tenor C. It is more plausible that it had the compass c1–c3. First, in order to meet 1001 as the total number of used pipes, all five discant stops could have comprised only two octaves or 25 keys each. Second, to change the Vox humana 8′ to a 16-foot stop, Vogler would have had the problem of a gap in the tenor octave caused by the missing C-sharp (Table 6).

Conversion 6
The conversion of the Hauptwerk Quintade 8′ to the Pedal Quintatön 4′ caused one superfluous pipe because of the missing C-sharp key (Table 7).

Conversion 7
There are a limited number of possiblities of how Vogler could have changed the Echo cornet of the Hinterwerk into the two pedal stops Nachthorn 2′ and Blockflöte 1′. This given solution takes the pipes only from the octave ranks. The actual conversion depended on the scaling of the rank (Table 8).

Conversion 8
To convert the Pedal Trompete 8′ into a Dulcian 32′ for the Hinterwerk, Vogler probably did not build a new pipe for the missing C-sharp. He could have shifted all pipes above C and tuned them a half tone lower. This is supported by the given number of pipes, otherwise there would be a difference of one pipe in the total numbers before and after the conversion (Table 9).

Conversion 9
While David names precisely from his sources the stops that were used in the other conversions, the creation of the Oberwerk Quinte 22⁄3′ is described only as “taken from the Hinterwerk.” This is logical because not one single stop remained in the Hinterwerk to put together a complete discant stop. Fitting to the Octave 4′, Vogler could have used the rest of the Octave 2′ (Table 10).

Conversion completed
An overview of all conversions shows the complete deforestation (Table 11). Diagonal arrows indicate direct relocation, straight and edged lines stand for relocations where pipes were taken from more than one stop. 535 pipes evaded relocation (white bars), 466 pipes changed into another division (grey bars); therefore a total number of 1001 pipes remained. Ranks and those parts that were not used anymore appear as free space.

Stories and Tellers
The overview (Table 12) shows the stops that were partially used or completely unused. The question of their whereabouts will probably never be settled. The Catholic priest Vogler donated, according to David, the pipes to the Catholic Church St. Hedwig. The Catholics were a minority, and their church was in need of spiritual and financial support. Consecrated in 1773, the edifice was completed only in 1887. Today having the status of a cathedral, St. Hedwig was the only Catholic church in Berlin until 1844.
Sieling has pointed out that a preacher named Rütschel complained that Vogler had cheated St. Mary’s out of the beautiful organ, taking out the best pipes, selling them to St. Hedwig, and replacing them with pipes of lesser quality.9 The priest was Dr. Georg Carl Benjamin Ritschl (1783–1858), who held the position of a preacher at St. Mary’s at that time.10 Ritschl poured his heart out to Julius Beer, the nephew of the famous opera composer Giacomo Meyerbeer. Beer in turn told the story to his uncle in a letter as a warning against Vogler. Ritschl had noticed the difference in sound, but not known what had actually happened. As shown above, Vogler either removed pipes or kept pipes in the instrument.
In 1888, Karl Emil von Schafhäutl, an engineer by profession and organ expert by avocation, tells again something different.11 Vogler reportedly used the superfluous pipes to erect a new organ in St. Hedwig, completing the instrument at his own expense. Schafhäutl, a declared supporter of Vogler and his ideas, obviously exaggerated in his account in order to combat the rumor that Vogler, according to Schafhäutl being the envy of many, had been accused of stealing the removed pipes.
Another source also mentions that the organ at St. Hedwig’s had been enlarged and rebuilt at the expense of the renowned Abbé Vogler.12 On the contrary, A. W. Bach, organist at St. Mary’s, opined that Vogler had, through his machinations, built several organs, among them the instrument of St. Hedwig, at the expense of no less than the Prussian king himself.13 Pape mentions that St. Hedwig, formerly equipped with an organ of only 10 stops, got a new instrument in 1801.14 In this year, the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung reports that the Prussian king had commissioned Vogler to built a new organ in Neu-Ruppin (probably providing the mentioned 20,000 Prussian Taler for this purpose), while Vogler had been successful in establishing a budget for a new organ at St. Hedwig’s through the support of the Berlin people, acquiring 1600 pipes from the organ at St. Mary’s.15

Restoration
Usually a reliable source in his reports about organs, Schafhäutl tends to deviate from the facts as far as Vogler and his significance is concerned. The instrument at St. Mary’s did not remain as an example of Vogler’s ideas without major changes until 1888, as Schafhäutl wants us to believe. The insufficient condition of the instrument was constantly an issue and an example of Vogler’s questionable activities. Already before 1830, a rebuild was carried through by the Berlin organ building company Buchholz. While David gives April 18, 1829 as the date of the contract and quotes Carl August Buchholz (1796–1884) as contract partner,16 Sieling has pointed out that the Prussian organ expert A. W. Bach mentioned Johann Simon Buchholz as party to the contract who, however, died in February 24, 1825.17 Thus, the rebuild could have been taken place even earlier. Pape has been successful in discovering hints to three receipts in files of the Berlin municipal office. According to notifications on overdue fees, the organ builder Johann Simon Buchholz received three major payments in 1814 and 1815. Pape assumes that the organ had already been restored almost back to its original state when, in 1829, Carl August Buchholz carried out some work, not only cleaning and repair, but also changing some stops.18
Following is a comparison of the stoplists of the Wagner organ, the Vogler organ, and the state of the instrument after the work of the Buchholz company.19 Asterisks mark those restored stops that are said to have been given to St. Hedwig. The spelling of the stops is according to Seidel, who quotes A. W. Bach himself as his source (Table 13).
There were a few changes by Buchholz compared to the original Wagner organ. The rebuild must have been larger in the Unterwerk and Pedal due to space requirements of the lower stops.

Hauptmanual
All stops remained or were installed according to the original stoplist

Oberwerk
Mixtur IV — split in bass and discant, omitting the Terz
Vox humana 8′ — Fagott-Hautbois, split in bass and discant

Unterwerk
Waldflöte 2′ — Gemshorn 8′
Quinte 11⁄3′ — Salizional 8′
Cimbel 1′ — Liebliche Flöte 4′
Echo 5r. — Nassard 22⁄3′

Pedal
Mixtur VI — Subbaß 16′
Quinta 6′ — Groß-Nassard 102⁄3′
Baßflöte 8’ (from Vogler’s
Hauptmanual?)
Trompete 8′ — Posaune 32′

What actually happened in the course of the conversion and restoration will probably never be discovered due to the sparse and divergent evidence in the sources. At any rate, the pipes and ranks at St. Mary’s that became superfluous fall into two groups. As listed above, there were the remains of the ranks from which Vogler created new stops, and then there were 12 completely unused stops. Even a thirteenth stop could be added: If conversion 7 had been carried through as assumed, a discant Sesquialtera II would have remained from the Echo cornet on the Hinterwerk. Except for the Pedal Mixture, the stoplist of the restored organ shows again all these stops taken out by Vogler. It could be correct that those ranks were moved back to St. Mary. Why, however, should they have come back when they had been sold or donated in order to serve in a new organ at St. Hedwig?
The identical names of the restored stops do not necessarily mean that original Wagner pipes took their accustomed place. After further rebuilds in 1892/93 and during the 20th century, it had to be realized during the organ restoration in 2001 that there was not one stop that consisted only of Wagner pipes. The company Daniel Kern Manufactures d’Orgues finally built a new instrument into the renovated organ case with the incorporation of all Wagner pipes according to their scaling.20 On the one hand, pipes might have come back from St. Hedwig’s. Today we find in some of the completely removed or dismantled stops historical Wagner pipes:
Hauptwerk: Rohrflöte 8′, Cornet V, Scharf V, Cimbel III
Oberwerk: Octav 2′
Hinterwerk: Quintadena 8′, Octav 4′, Echo V
Pedal: Octav 4′, Mixtur VI

On the other hand, pipes might have never come back from St. Hedwig’s. The total number of Wagner pipes today is 823, that is, 178 pipes less than the 1001-pipe organ after Vogler’s simplification. Maybe the truth is somewhere in the middle. Among the removed pipes there was certainly a surplus of high-pitch ranks, and probably not all of them were used at St. Hedwig’s. The Hauptwerk Scharf seems to be a candidate for this possibility. All its 240 pipes were given away; today it contains 149 (~62%) old pipes.

Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809–1847) composed all of his early works between 1820 and 1823, during the tenure of his organ teacher A. W. Bach at the Vogler organ of St. Mary’s. In Bach’s organ works we find dynamic markings for both a swell and a stop crescendo as special effects. A stop crescendo is described for the first time 1798 in the organ method of Justin Heinrich Knecht (1752–1817). Swell devices for dynamic flexibility were new in Germany and an issue in music and instrument periodicals. In February 1799 of the first volume of the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung, an article explains Vogler’s Simplifikationssystem and the various existing swell systems. Besides those working with shutters in the front and on the roof of the swell box, the wind swell and the progression swell are explained, the former working with variable wind pressure, the latter meaning a stop crescendo device. Other articles followed in 1821 and 1823, for example Ueber die Crescendo- und Diminuendo-Züge in Orgeln by the music director and organ expert Friedrich Wilke. Readers were informed about the invention of the dynamically flexible free reeds, which remain stable in pitch despite changing wind pressure.21
In all of Mendelssohn’s organ works the designation crescendo appears only once22—at the beginning of his first completed organ work, the Prelude in D Minor. Was the opening inspired by Vogler’s swell in the organ of St. Mary’s? First bars played on the Hinterwerk, opening the swell during the crescendo, manual change at the mezzoforte (apart from other possibilities with a registrant)? Rich foundational sound, which would have pleased Vogler, was achieved by doubling the chords (Example 3).

Coda
Whoever gets hold of Vogler should cross-examine him asking a few awkward questions. Did the Catholic priest launch the simplification of the Wagner organ at St. Mary’s Lutheran in order to harvest pipes for a new Catholic organ? If the pipes were sold, who received the money? Why did the Catholics pay money for the pipes when others considered Vogler as their donor? And why was he considered as a donor when the pipes belonged to St. Mary’s? Maybe we can negotiate getting at least names from him. Did the Lutherans know in advance that 60% of their organ pipes would go to the Catholics? Quite some questions, but musically not relevant. So we leave possible answers to others and return to the inspiring music scores of Mendelssohn.

Nolte Organ Building, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, Kenosha, Wisconsin
What can you do with a late 1920s Kilgen organ that has a host of problems? That is the question the organ committee at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Kenosha, Wisconsin, asked us when we first met with them. They had already rejected both the idea of replacing the instrument with a new organ, and a lower-quality rebuild that would replace the electro-pneumatic action with an electro-mechanical action. Based on our preliminary look at the organ, we agreed to design a rebuilt instrument that would be visually attractive, mechanically reliable, and tonally more complete. Because of the reasonable but limited budget, we would use as much of the old instrument as possible, and some additions would have to be left as “prepared for.”
The worship space is a very modern room with good acoustics for music and the spoken word. The interior decoration is modern, tasteful, and quite plain. Stained glass windows depicting biblical scenes are located in the clerestory on either side of the sanctuary. They feature various shades of blue, purple, and brown. Stations of the cross are painted on the upper walls in shades of brown and gold. The lower walls form an elliptical footprint and feature mosaic art behind the two side altars. The baldachin is a free-form plaster and mosaic arch over the tabernacle, illuminated with an oculus in a sunburst of beams in the chancel ceiling. The reredos consists of simple paintings on the wall and two statues. In sharp contrast, the original organ, located in the balcony, was quite ugly.
The tonal resources of the organ consisted of three stopped 16' ranks, eight 8' ranks, and one 4' rank distributed over three manuals and pedal. The only reed was the Vox Humana. Through the former organist, the church had acquired several more ranks of pipes that were being stored in the balcony: a 32' Subbass, a 16' Open Diapason, a 16' manual Bourdon, and a capped 8' Oboe.
The console shell was in poor condition, and its style was not appropriate for the room. The three keyboards with ivory naturals and ebony sharps were in moderately good condition. The electrical switching system in the console and relay was the source of numerous dead notes in the stops and couplers.
The blower still worked, but would not last indefinitely. For budgetary reasons it would not be replaced. (The blower failed a few months after the organ was playing, and had to be replaced.) Two large regulators needed restoration. The two Swell boxes and their shutters were not serviceable. Because of the extensive unification of the organ, all of the chests were unit chests. The original chest leather, dating from 1928, was still in excellent condition and would provide many more years of reliable service.
The pipework had suffered some minor damage, and some pipes did not speak properly. The Great 8' Diapason was overly large and loud. Tonal improvements in the Principal chorus were the highest priority, especially since congregational singing has become more important than it had been when the organ was originally installed.
For the visual design of the organ, we began with a CAD drawing of a façade that would emphasize the vertical line of the organ, even though it was installed in a low, wide space measuring 12 feet by 29 feet. This drawing was further refined with an artist’s rendering, and finally a scale model was used to determine sight lines and other details. The façade includes narrow side towers and an arch to reflect elements in the chancel. To further emphasize the vertical line, the wood 16' Open was put into the façade, and a “V” was cut into the center of the wall in front of the organ to expose more length of the longest pipes. The toes of the treble pipes follow the line of the “V.” As the smaller pipes rise higher and higher, they seem to fade into the background like a perspective drawing. Shading the smaller pipes darker and darker enhances the illusion. The maple and purpleheart grilles that support the pipes also taper to the vanishing points that are located high on either side of the façade. The side towers and the arch are made of walnut and maple. The wall cap is walnut.
Tonal improvements were limited to the Principal chorus and the substitution of an Oboe for the Vox Humana. The Trumpet, Mixture, mutations and other stops to straighten the specification are dependent on the prosperity of the organ fund. The 30-note Open Wood has been extended with new pipes to play at 16', 8', and 4' in the Pedal. These pipes were painted and placed in the façade. The 8' Open Diapason in the Great was discarded, except for the bottom octave of open wood pipes. These were reconditioned and revoiced with the flues shimmed outward so beards are no longer necessary for good speech. Ten of these pipes are in the side towers of the façade. The original 4' Octave became the rest of the 8' Diapason, and new ranks were added at 4', 22⁄3', and 2' pitches. Because all of the stops are on unit chests, and the new relay and switching system utilizes a multiplex system, several stops are currently being played at additional pitches for greater flexibility in registrations. For example, the Choir Melodia has been wired to play at 22⁄3' and 13⁄5' just by adding a stop action and one wire.
While a new solid state switching system and multi-level combination system were always part of the design, originally we planned to renovate the old console because of the limited budget. We planned to save the keyboards and to repair and refinish the console shell. During the project, the organ fund did quite well, the 32' Subbass pipes were sold, and we gave the church a very good price on replacing the console shell. When the church agreed to add the new console, it exceeded the production budget and schedule, but we think the results are worth it.
The design calls for a very low profile three-manual console so that the organist can also direct the choir. The elliptical footprint of the sanctuary is carried over to the console footprint, and to the elliptical etched glass music rack. The music rack casts an elliptical purpleheart shadow onto the console top, and from the purple ellipse, there is a solid maple elliptical sunburst pattern to the console rim. The outside of the console is made from birdseye maple. The gorgeous grain patterns were book matched around the perimeter by carefully selecting and re-sawing the individual boards. The interior woodwork of the console is purpleheart, a South American tropical wood. The key cheeks, stop boards, knee panel, pedalboard, and sharps are all made of purpleheart. The same material is used in the upper part of the grille behind the façade pipes.
The original ivory and ebony keyboards were saved for the new console. The keyboards in the new console are adjustable so that the lowest manual can be set for any distance from 71⁄" to 10" of overhang in front of the pedal sharps. This covers the full range in the AGO console specifications, and allows each organist to adjust the keyboards to the most comfortable position. A pencil tray above the top manual slides in and out with the keys under the music rack so that the key tails remain covered when the keys are moved. Knobs under the keydesk lock the keyboards in place.
The organ committee and parish were a pleasure to work with. Some of the circumstances were a little unusual. The organ project began when there was no organist at the parish. During the project, the interim music director, whose expertise was piano and vocal music, preferred to have no input into decisions on the project. Also, several months after the contract was signed, the pastor, Rev. John Richetta, retired. We were able to have the organ playing for his retirement, although the project was far from complete. Special thanks are due to the parish secretary, Peggy Dixon. Through her efforts, even with significant changes in the parish staff, communication continued seamlessly. The new pastor is Rev. Dominic Thomas, and the new music director is Rita Torcaso.
John M. Nolte established Nolte Organ Building & Supply, Inc. in 1986. The firm currently employs five full-time and several part-time workers in their well-equipped shop. They are known internationally for their expertise in wood pipe making and voicing. They are also known for their innovative and creative designs. Benjamin Nolte assisted with the design of the façade and was responsible for building and installing it. Jeremy Nolte assisted with the design and building of the console.
The firm is currently building a three-manual and pedal mechanical-action practice organ. All of the pipes in this instrument are made of maple and walnut.
For more information and pictures, see <www.nolteorgans.com&gt;.
—John Nolte

Cover photo by Benjamin Nolte; other photos by Benjamin Nolte and John Nolte.

Original Kilgen stoplist

GREAT
8' Open Diapason
8' Doppelflute
8' Gamba
8' Melodia
8' Dulciana
4' Octave
4' Flute
Chimes

SWELL
16' Bourdon
8' Violin Diapason
8' Stopped Diapason
8' Quintadena
8' Salicional
8' Vox Celeste
4' Flute d’Amour
4' Salicet
2' Flautino
8' Vox Humana
Tremolo

CHOIR
16' Dulciana T.C.
8' Violone Cello
8' Melodia
8' Dolce
4' Flute
2' Piccolo
8' Synthetic Oboe
Tremolo

PEDAL
16' Subbass
16' Bourdon
16' Lieblich Gedeckt
8' Cello
8' Flauto Dolce

19 couplers

New Nolte stoplist

GREAT
16' Bourdon
8' Open Diapason
8' Doppelflute (ext Bourdon)
8' Gamba
4' Octave
22⁄3' Quint
2' Octave
IV Mixture (prepared)
8' Trumpet (prepared)
Chimes

SWELL
16' Lieblich Gedeckt
8' Violin Diapason
8' Stopped Diapason (ext)
8' Salicional
8' Vox Celeste
4' Violin Diapason (ext)
4' Flute d’Amour (ext)
4' Salicet (ext)
2' Flautino (ext)
8' Oboe
Tremolo

CHOIR
16' Dulciana (ext, 1–12 Lieb Ged)
8' Gamba
8' Melodia
8' Dulciana
4' Gamba (ext)
4' Flute (ext)
4' Dulcet (ext)
22⁄3' Nazard (ext)
2' Flute (ext)
13⁄5' Tierce (ext)
8' Clarinet (prepared)

PEDAL
16' Open Diapason (façade)
16' Subbass
16' Lieblich Gedeckt (Sw)
8' Open Diapason (ext)
8' Bourdon (Sw)
4' Choral Bass (ext)
16' Trumpet (prepared)
8' Trumpet (prepared)
4' Oboe (Sw)

10 couplers
32-level combination system
Transposer

Hupalo & Repasky Pipe Organs, LLC, San Leandro, California
Zion Lutheran Church,
Piedmont, California

Church history
The Zion Lutheran congregation established itself in Oakland in 1882 and by 1886 had purchased their first house of worship. From the beginning, education and music have been important elements of the church’s mission. To this day, the church provides Christian education for kindergarten through the eighth grade, with music being a large part of the educational program at Zion Lutheran School.
During the 1920s, the congregation renewed their Victorian facilities in Oakland with a new parsonage, parish hall, school, and worship facility. It is here, in the church’s second worship facility, that in 1930 M. P. Möller built their opus 5769. This two-manual organ contained thirty-one registers.
In 2007, Piedmont was named “Best Place to Live” in the United States by Forbes. It was in this residential area surrounded by Oakland that the congregation of Zion Lutheran Church dedicated their most recent site on April 4, 1954. The current church complex is situated atop a high bluff, with a background of stone hills with pockets of dense shrubs and trees. Attached to the Mediterranean-style church is a bell tower, offices, school classrooms, meeting rooms, kitchen, barbeque area, library, and gymnasium. The church edifice is designed to accommodate 350 persons.

The church’s 1930 Möller pipe organ
Möller’s opus 5769 was brought from the parish’s second church in Oakland, relocated to their present site, and placed in two chambers with separate expression in the rear balcony behind the terraced choir seating area. As there was no façade, the choir “enjoyed” watching the two sets of vertical shades open and close. From the congregation’s vantage point, the organ looked like two rather large jalousie windows caged by wooden framing.
As with many organs of the 1950s and ’60s, Zion’s Möller organ was enlarged with several high-pitched ranks, and some of the original ranks were replaced with neo-Baroque substitutes. With actions and console parts failing, by 2005 plans were underway to provide Zion Lutheran Church with a new and reliable instrument. As part of this plan, many of the ranks of the extant organ were to be incorporated into their new instrument. The 1930 Möller organ with its additions served the parish until it was removed by us in July 2006. With the organ removed, we loaned the church our large seven-rank continuo organ.

Another Möller organ
Also, as part of the plans for Zion’s new organ, the pipework and offset chests were removed from the 1946 Möller organ, opus 7370, at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in San Francisco. This organ became available because of the retrofitting of the church and plans by the parish to purchase a new Taylor & Boody organ. It was noted that Richard Purvis was the organist at St. Mark’s during the time this three-manual organ of twenty-four ranks was installed. It is with these two instruments (the augmented Möller opus 5769 and opus 7370) that Hupalo & Repasky Pipe Organs rebuilt, rescaled, and revoiced pipework that provided the new organ for Zion Lutheran Church.

Tonal design of the new instrument
Our concerns were to provide the church with a tonally versatile and cohesive musical instrument, which would have a visual presence in the room, and would be reliable and serviceable. Using many ranks from Möller’s opus 5769 and opus 7370, the original conception for Zion’s new pipe organ envisioned a three-manual organ of forty ranks. This organ would have included a Rückpositiv. However, the organ committee decided instead to plan for a large two-manual instrument.
In working with the organist, David Babbitt, it was decided that the new organ would have a Pedal based on a 16′ Principal. The Great would have a 16′ plenum, the Swell an 8′ plenum, and there would be an assortment of unison tone. There would be a wide variety of flute tone (stopped, chimneyed, open, harmonic) represented. Also included in the tonal design was a selection of wide and narrow strings. Mutation ranks would be drawn from the flute and principal families. This two-manual organ would boast five 16′ ranks. Benefiting the Great plenum, a new German-style Trumpet would be built. For the Swell, a harmonic-rich French-style Trumpet would be provided.
Unfortunately, Mr. Babbitt passed away during the planning stages of the organ. This was a great loss not only to Zion, but also to the musical community in the Bay Area. The church soon found an admirable organist/choir director, Dr. David Hunsberger. It was his opinion that the Cornet Composée in the Swell should be a little stronger. Recalling how he enjoyed the sound of the Cornet on the Silbermann-style organ at the University of Michigan, it was decided to change the ranks to the larger scales used by the Fisk company. So, with the help of Stephen Kowalyshyn, we replaced the Swell mutation ranks with pipes based on Mr. Kowalyshyn’s information.
During the installation it was decided that the beautiful Clarinet from opus 7370 was too similar in volume to the Oboe. So, a full-throated Cromorne replaced the Clarinet. John Hupalo also decided to use French “tear drop” shallots in the new Cromorne. The generous inclusion of four reed voices in the Swell division of this moderate-sized two-manual organ provides both variety in color and a progression in volume.
Physical layout
The previous organ at Zion was installed in two non-communicating chambers. With the removal of opus 5769, the in-between area was opened up to allow placement for the Pedal ranks and to allow pitch transfer from one division to the other during tuning. This was virtually impossible on the previous organ. To aid tonal projection, the chambers were lined with two layers of 5/8″ sheetrock and then painted. The Swell chamber was placed in the left, the unenclosed Great in the right chamber, and the Pedal ranks placed in the center area.

Temperament
Another suggestion of Dr. Hunsberger was that the organ should be tuned in a well temperament. The Thomas Young temperament was chosen for its purer major thirds and playability in all keys. Like a good choral ensemble, this tuning helps the organ lock pitch in the more common keys.

Pipework
It was evident from the first that much of the Möller pipework was of excellent quality, especially the pre-World War II zinc pipes. The wooden pipes were cleaned and refinished. The stopped pipes were releathered. The Great 8′, 4′, 22⁄3′, and 2′ plenum ranks were rescaled as appropriate to the tonal scheme of the organ. The Great principals also received new languids. The removal of the old languids had the advantage of lowering the cut-ups, allowing us to revoice the Great plenum. This turned the old Möller diapasons into clear-toned principals. To provide a tonal contrast to the Great principals, the Swell diapasons are voiced and scaled towards a more neo-Romantic sound. The neo-Baroque 8′ Principal from opus 5769 was rescaled and made into the Great 8′ Gamba. Length and slotting were added to these pipes patterned after the Gambas of Cavaillé-Coll. Besides the two manual trumpets, Cromorne, and the Swell Nazard and Tierce, the other newly made stops for this organ include the Great Harmonic Flute and the Swell mixture.

Chests
Both the new Great and Swell main chests are slider chests with magnet pull-downs. It is our philosophy that these traditional-style chests provide a noticeable ensemble for the pipework. Even Ernest Skinner later in his life recognized the benefits of slider chests, with each note sharing a common channel of wind.
Many of the electro-pneumatic bass offset chests from opus 7370 were releathered and incorporated into the new organ. Given the large size of the pallets, they provide a lightning-fast response for the lower notes of the organ.

Façade
To match the architectural style of the church, it was decided to fashion the façade in the American Craftsman style. The center five-pipe flat is flanked on both sides by three flats of five pipes each. The styles, rails, toe boards, and corbels are of quarter-sawn white oak proportioned in the Craftsman manner. The styles are punctuated with medallions. The molding is highlighted by areas of crimson red.
Starting with low F-sharp of the Pedal 16′ Principal, the façade incorporates the lowest pipes of the Pedal 16′ and Great 8′ Principal. To provide visual uniformity, these zinc pipes were mottled in a terra cotta color, with the upper and lower lips in painted verdigris.

Console and control system
The console is our standard terraced-style, roll-top design, with three rows of drawknobs on either side of the keyboards. The shell is made of quarter-sawn white oak, with French polished European pearwood used in the stop jamb and nameboard area. The drawknobs are of ebony, as are the sharps. The manual key covers are of bone. The console is placed in a fixed central position in the choir loft to provide the organist with space for conducting both choir and instrumentalists.
A computerized system controls the combination action, memory, and the complex switching system of the organ. It provides the organist with a transposer, 99 levels of memory, a piston sequencer, and MIDI In and Out, as well as many programmable features.

Personnel
The following craftsmen assisted in the construction of our opus 3: Mark Dahlberg (technical designer), Robin Fox, John Haskey, Robert Hoffmann, John Hupalo, Bruno Largarce, Gerard Montana, Steve Repasky, Bob Schertle, Lawrence Strohm, William Visscher, Shayne Ward, and David H. Zechman.

Organ dedication
The organ was dedicated to a full house in a solo recital on Sunday afternoon, January 25, 2009 by Stanford University Organist Robert Huw Morgan.
Dedication program:
Dialogue, L. Marchand
Fantasia in f, K. 608, W. A. Mozart
Homage to Handel, S. Karg-Elert
Prelude in E-flat, S. 552, J. S. Bach
An Wasserflüssen Babylon, S. 653, Bach
Sonata V in C, S. 529, Bach
Fugue in E-flat, S. 552, Bach
—Steve Repasky

Hupalo & Repasky Pipe Organs, LLC, 2008, 35 stops, 33 ranks

GREAT
16′ Hohl Flute 61 pipes
8′ Principal 61 pipes
8′ Harmonic Flute 49 pipes
8′ Gamba 61 pipes
4′ Octave 61 pipes
4′ Röhr Flute 61 pipes
22⁄3′ Twelfth 61 pipes
2′ Fifteenth 61 pipes
13⁄5′ Seventeenth 61 pipes
Mixture IV 244 pipes
8′ Trumpet 61 pipes
Chimes 25 tubes

SWELL
8′ Diapason 61 pipes
8′ Stopt Diapason 61 pipes
8′ Salicional 61 pipes
8′ Celeste 61 pipes
4′ Principal 61 pipes
4′ Flute 61 pipes
22⁄3′ Nazard 61 pipes
2′ Piccolo 61 pipes
13⁄5′ Tierce 61 pipes
Plein Jeu III 183 pipes
16′ Fagot 61 pipes
8′ Trompette 61 pipes
8′ Oboe 61 pipes
8′ Cromorne 61 pipes
Tremolo

PEDAL
16′ Principal 32 pipes
16′ Bourdon 32 pipes
8′ Octave 12 pipes
8′ Bourdon 12 pipes
4′ Choral Bass 12 pipes
4′ Bourdon 12 pipes
16′ Posaune 32 pipes
16′ Fagot Swell
8′ Trumpet 12 pipes
4′ Schalmei Fagot

Couplers
Unison, sub, and super couplers provided on tilting tablets

Accessories
6 general thumb pistons and toe studs
5 divisional thumb pistons for each of the three divisions
Setter and general cancel thumb pistons
Up and down thumb pistons
3 reversible thumb and toe pistons for unison couplers
Reversible thumb and toe pistons for full organ
Crescendo pedal
Zimbelstern: 8 bells

Tuning
Thomas Young

Photo credit: John Hupalo

Hupalo & Repasky Pipe Organs
510/483-6905
www.hupalorepasky.com

Hupalo & Repasky Pipe Organs, LLC, San Leandro, California

St. Maria Goretti Parish, Scottsdale, Arizona

Hupalo & Repasky Pipe Organs bring Möller Opus 10,731 into the 21st century
Located due east of Phoenix, the Scottsdale parish of St. Maria Goretti today boasts a healthy membership of 1,200 families. Established in 1967, by 1971 the parish had constructed its present church building based on the floor plan of a Greek cross. Going up from the cross arms of the floor are four hyperbolic arches, which meet to form a center dome rising to a height of 70 feet. In 1973 M. P. Möller, Inc. completed its Opus 10,731 for St. Maria Goretti parish consisting of 39 ranks in five divisions.

Visually the Möller design at St. Maria Goretti is reminiscent of the Cadet Chapel organ in Colorado Springs. At St. Maria Goretti, the Great, Choir, Swell, and Pedal are installed in a gallery over the north transept. Speaking from a balcony in the west transept is the Nave division. The large four-manual console was placed in the choir area between the main part of the organ and the sanctuary.

Unfortunately, the organ was installed without service lights in the organ chambers. Any service person walking into the organ was not only faced with the formidable task of tuning a multi-layered organ, but also with attempting to fix numerous note failures. Without proper lighting, these undertakings would have overwhelmed even the most seasoned organ technician. The increasing inability to properly maintain the organ coupled with the popularity of guitar and piano accompaniments led the organ down a path toward oblivion. Its salvation lay in the organ’s stunning visual design (a constant reminder to the parishioners that they actually had a pipe organ) and the vision of a handful of people.
Inspired by the new guidelines on music for the Roman Catholic Church, Ann Weiss, director of music and liturgy for the church, decided to take action. With the help and support of the pastor, Fr. Greg Schlarb, Weiss formed a plan to save the organ. A generous benefactor was found within the parish who provided the funds for a restoration and had the forethought to include provisions for future maintenance. With the blessings of Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, the project to renovate the organ took shape.

In April of 2005, Hupalo & Repasky Pipe Organs (H&RPO) were contacted to evaluate the organ’s condition. It was found that the Nave division, bearing the full brunt of the late afternoon sun, had suffered the most leather deterioration. The remainder of the organ, located in the north transept, was not far behind in this respect. The church is cooled by a large swamp cooler. Normally, an air-conditioning system reduces humidity in a building, but the swamp cooler does the opposite. This added humidity in the room caused severe corrosion on the metal tuners and the surface of the exposed pipework. The large four-manual console also exhibited typical leather failure, worn bushings, and corroded contacts.

By May of 2005, the church had decided to retain and restore the original Möller chest actions and layout without alterations. The console, however, was another matter. Due to its size, there was no sight line for the organist to any spot in the church. A four-manual drawknob console is not easy to see over. The bulky console also hindered the pianist’s view to the sanctuary.

Ann Weiss asked if we could build a smaller console yet have all the controls of the old Möller console. The new console would also need to be easily movable. Now for the question that may have been the deal breaker. Could we finish releathering the entire instrument and provide a new console by September 1, 2005? The answer was no. A compromise was therefore in order. We could releather the organ and have it playing by September. The new low-profile solid-state console would by ready for the rededication on December 1. An agreement was reached, and we started the work in May.

The project began with the removal of the numerous reservoirs; there were at least three per division. The term “impacted molar” took on an entirely new meaning. The intricate web of wind trunks was then removed. Next, all bottom boards came down. All pipes were taken out for cleaning and fitted with new stainless steel tuning slides. Washing of the pipes was begun outside the church. As soon as the temperature reached 115°, Fr. Greg, acting like a good shepherd, moved us into a more comfortable air-conditioned space in the parish hall.

By the end of the very hot summer of 2005, all the cleaned pipes with their new tuners were placed back in the organ after service lights were installed and all the toe and rack boards were vacuumed and cleaned. Before the releathered pouch boards were installed, all the pitman valves and retainers were replaced. Next, the numerous releathered regulators were put in place and wind lines reattached. The organ was then made (minimally) playable to the old four-manual console.

As far as the new console was concerned, everyone at H&RPO agreed a terraced drawknob console would solve the sight line problems. A maximum height of 48" was our goal. Mark Dahlberg, our design/engineer, was given the job of designing the console. He developed a plan incorporating casters directly inside the console thus eliminating the need for a rolling platform. For the new console, it was decided to eliminate the top Nave manual and make it a floating division. When completed, the new three-manual console measured 47" from floor to the top of the console lid. We installed a solid-state switching and combination system in conjunction with optical key sensing.

The cabinetry of the console incorporated the finest quality materials. They were selected not only to match the case of the existing instrument, but also to blend with the details of the environment. The console shell is made from quarter-sawn white oak with a tung oil finish. A six-sided marquetry design taken from the church’s cast bronze doors was incorporated into the upper side and back panels. The jambs and nameboard are European pear wood with a French polish. To accentuate the connection between the organist’s fingers and the keys, we prefer to use organic materials for key coverings. The natural keys therefore were made of polished bone. The sharps are made of the darkest ebony known (diospyros mollis, often used in black dyes). Rosewood key cheeks were chosen to contrast with the pear wood. Ebony was used for the hand-turned stop knobs. To distinguish the MIDI stops, mesquite, a native tree of the Southwest, was selected. The console connects the organist with the pipes in order to create music. Because of this, it is necessary for the console to be a pleasing and well-planned tactile environment for the musician. The music rack, stop faces, pedalboard, and the adjustable bench must be all carefully and ergonomically located in order to work together and assist the organist’s ability to communicate through the instrument.

By November, the new console was in Scottsdale ready to be connected and by the first of December it was ready for its debut. Dr. Robert Huw Morgan, Stanford University Organist, was chosen to be the rededication recitalist.

The following personnel and suppliers were involved in this successful project: Rick Celestino, Mark Dahlberg, John N. Hupalo, Bill Klinger, Joe Lamberina, Steve Repasky, Samuel Rohas, Jan Rowland, William Visscher, Shayne Ward, Classic Organ Works, F. Booth & Son, Ltd., P&S Supply Company, and Organ Supply Industries.

—John Hupalo & Steve Repasky




Blessing and Program, December 1, 2005

St. Maria Goretti Parish, Scottsdale, Arizona

Bishop Thomas Olmsted

Fr. Greg Schlarb, V.P., pastor

St. Maria Goretti Music Ministry Choir, Ann Weiss, director; David McDaniel, accompanist

Robert Huw Morgan, organ recitalist



Blessing Service

Let Us Go Rejoicing, B. Hurd

Psalm 66—Let All The Earth, M. Haugen

Gloria, A. Vivaldi




Organ Recital

Marcia from Symphony No. 3, C. M. Widor

Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, D. Buxtehude

Fantasia in F minor, W. A. Mozart

Fantasia and Fugue on ‘Ad nos ad salutarem undam’, F. Liszt




GREAT

8’ Principal

8’ Bourdon

8’ Gemshorn

4’ Octave

2’ Waldflöte

IV Mixture

Chimes

MIDI


CHOIR

8’ Holz Gedeckt

8’ Dulciana

8’ Unda Maris

4’ Koppelflöte

2’ Flöten Principal

11⁄3’ Larigot

8 Zajic Regal

8 Trompette en Chamade

Tremolo

MIDI


SWELL

16’ Flute Conique (ext)

8’ Flute Conique

8’ Viole d’Gambe

8’ Viole Celeste

4’ Geigen Octave

4’ Flute Triangular

22⁄3’ Nazard

2’ Harmonic Flute

13⁄5’ Tierce

III Plein Jeu

8’ Trompette

4’ Clarion (ext)

Tremolo

MIDI


NAVE

16’ Quintaten (prep)

8’ Montre

8’ Bourdon

8’ Erzähler & Celeste

4’ Italian Principal

2’ Flachflöte

III Cymbale (prep)

MIDI


PEDAL

32’ Untersatz (digital)

16’ Violone

16’ Bourdon

16’ Flute Conique (Sw)

8’ Octave Violone (ext)

8’ Major Flute (ext)

8’ Conique Flute (Sw)

4’ Spitz Principal

2’ Spitz Principal (ext)

16’ Contra Trompet (ext, Sw)

16’ Zajic Regal (ext, Ch)

8’ Trompet (Sw)

4’ Clarion (Sw)

MIDI


NAVE PEDAL

16’ Montre (ext)

16’ Subbass (main Ped Bourdon)

16’ Quintaton (prep)

8’ Octave Bass (manual)
4’ Super Octave (manual)

MIDI