Cover Feature

Quimby Pipe Organs, 

Warrensburg, Missouri

Two organs in North Carolina

In 2017, Quimby Pipe Organs (QPO) completed the installation of two small-to-medium sized instruments in North Carolina. Both projects incorporated pipework or mechanics from the churches’ preceding instruments, as the work would not have been feasible in either case given all-new construction. However, both projects resulted in organs that function mechanically as if they are all new, and both have entirely new tonal identities that align with modern QPO practice. Accordingly, both have been given QPO opus numbers, and each is, in its own way, an exploration of what should constitute a modern-day American multum in parvo organ, where comparatively few ranks of pipes yield surprising results: instruments that are flexible, musical, and artistically satisfying. Each organ plays with the authority of a much larger instrument than its size would suggest.

 

Opus 73

All Saints Episcopal Church

Southern Shores, North Carolina

We were invited to visit All Saints Episcopal Church by Organist and Director of Music Steve Blackstock because we had previously worked with him to relocate an 1878 Marshall Brothers organ, which was electrified and rebuilt by Ernest M. Skinner in 1912 and is now situated in a new case on QPO electro-pneumatic slider windchests at Holy Redeemer-by-the-Sea in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Blackstock asked us to assess All Saints’ 1948 M. P. Möller organ, Opus 7721. Originally five unified ranks, the organ had grown to nine, enclosed in a freestanding case in the rear corner of the room. There were some pleasant sounds in the instrument—particularly the stopped wood flute—but the disposition of these voices at various pitches over two manuals and pedal was not entirely successful; there was a lack of flexible, contrasting ensembles.

Several options were investigated, including either the relocation of a mid-nineteenth-century Hook tracker or a mid-twentieth-century Austin. But the ideas that resonated most with Steve were those which Michael Quimby and I developed for the expansion and radical rebuilding of the existing Möller.  

The approach was straightforward: the existing enclosed mechanical chassis would become the Swell, and a new unenclosed Great division would be added on a new Quimby-Blackinton electro-pneumatic slider chest. The best of the existing pipework would be retained, and after careful restoration, rescaling, and revoicing, would find a place in the new tonal concept, though not always at the same pitches or divisions as before. One independent Pedal rank was added—a Pedal Octave that plays at 8′ and 4′.

Although the existing Möller unit windchests were retained in the new Swell, having been releathered recently, efforts were made to provide more of a “straight” ensemble in the Swell, with unification judiciously used for added color and flexibility, rather than to create ensemble.

Not one new pipe was constructed for the project. Rather, ranks were carefully selected from our extensive inventory of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American pipework for integration into the ensemble. The end result is not a patchwork of individual voices, as one might expect, but rather, a cohesive, flexible ensemble. This is not only due to the quality of the vintage pipework, but also to the unique facility of Michael Quimby to identify which ranks will work to achieve the intended result, and also to the ability of Head Voicer Eric Johnson and staff voicers Samantha Koch and Christopher Soer to carry out the work. Also essential is our fully functional pipe shop, where cleaning, restoration, modification, and repair can happen as required alongside construction of new pipes.

Several church members participated in passing pipes into the organ. One couple, key donors to the project, also assisted, and knowing that there were no new pipes in the organ, inquired as to the provenance of the pipes. In response, I told her that the pipe she had in her hand came from an organ formerly at a church in St. Louis, Missouri. She was stunned. She had attended there as a young lady, and it was, in fact, where she had met her husband, who was also helping to pass pipes. We quickly figured out that we were installing pipes that had played at the time that she would have heard the organ—a happy coincidence that added dramatically to the significance of the instrument for these two.

New casework was designed by QPO and constructed by members of the church to expand and complement the existing enclosure. The new casework is intentionally somewhat transparent, and the pipes of the Great division are visible at different times during the day when overhead light passes down from skylights overhead. The façade pipes are vintage zinc basses, here painted with pearlescent white bodies and rose gold mouths, which complement the open, light-filled character of the church. The existing console was rebuilt and placed on a moveable platform dolly.  

The existing 8′ Trumpet was extensively revoiced and extended to play at 16′ and 4′. It is at once brilliant and foundational and forms a grand underpinning for the full ensemble. A pair of early-twentieth-century strings yield characteristic, lush string tone in the Swell, and the unison rank extends down to 16′. The 16′ Contra Viola is surprisingly versatile: in addition to making an effective double to the new Great Diapason chorus, it is soft enough to serve as a whisper bass (with the Swell box closed) under the 8′ Dulciana, yet harmonically intense enough to combine with the 16′ Gedeckt and synthesize a 16′ Diapason.

The organ was completed in September 2017 and was dedicated on Sunday, October 1. On Sunday, October 15, Dorothy Papadakos accompanied the 1920 silent film, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

 

Opus 74

Central United Methodist Church

Concord, North Carolina

Susan Renz Theodos, director of music at Central United Methodist Church in Concord, North Carolina, contacted us regarding a project for a possible new organ because of her previous experience playing our Opus 34, of three manuals and thirty-three ranks at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, Litchfield, Connecticut (1992). Developed in tandem with then organist Thomas Brown, Opus 34 is a QPO multum in parvo instrument dating from before our work had shifted into the mature Quimby tonal style.  

In working together with Susan after her visit to a more recent project at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Roanoke, Virginia (Opus 66, 2010), we developed a proposal for an equally effective three-manual organ, slightly expanded, which would have the same versatility and nuance as Opus 34, but expressed according to a more Romantic approach: with heroically scaled chorus work and characteristic, harmonically developed individual voices that lock together into seamless, coherent ensembles.

The resulting instrument makes use of select existing pipework from the church’s former 1973 Casavant (Opus 3179), new pipework constructed by Quimby, and select vintage ranks from QPO inventory. New electro-pneumatic slider windchests were constructed for all straight manual ranks and electro-pneumatic unit ranks for all pedal and extended ranks. The winding system and interior structure of the organ are all new. In order to help make the project more cost-effective, we refurbished and rebuilt a three-manual console, constructed by another builder in 2000, for an organ that is now redundant. With new mahogany interior, console lid, and bench top, the refinished console is a splendid match for the church’s neo-Classical interior.

The use of existing Casavant pipework in combination with our own inventory was attractive to the church, not only because it was fiscally responsible, but because they understood it to be environmentally responsible when compared with new construction, and therefore, good stewardship in several senses. The transformation to the carefully selected principals, flutes, strings, and mutations is stunning; none of the reused ranks bears any resemblance to what existed before. The previous instrument was weak in the unison range, and top-heavy with piercing upperwork. Individual foundation voices were bland and blended poorly, with little support for choral accompaniment or even congregational song. The transformed ranks, having been recomposed, rescaled, and radically revoiced, now form colorful, expressive Diapason ensembles at a wide range of dynamic levels.  

Our approach to rescaling and revoicing old ranks of pipes that came from the church’s previous organ is conceptually similar to the practice of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll in nineteenth-century France. His organs at Notre Dame de Paris and Saint-Sulpice incorporate significant percentages of eighteenth-century Clicquot pipework, but those old ranks of pipes were successfully transformed to contribute to a new tonal aesthetic by Cavaillé-Coll.  

New and vintage reeds were provided, custom voiced in-house; these range from the throaty Cromorne in the Solo-Choir, to the lyrical Oboe and fiery Trumpet in the Swell, to the brilliant Harmonic Trumpet in the Solo-Choir, and finally, the dominating, spectacular Tuba in the Great. The Harmonic Trumpet, available at 16′, 8′, and 4′ on manuals and pedal, can serve in the Great as chorus reeds with the box closed, as a soft or loud 16′ reed in the Pedal, and with the box open as an exciting climax to full organ at all three pitches. The Tuba is intended strictly for solo use and is voiced on 12 inches wind pressure so that individual notes can be heard over full organ.

Also of note are the variety of 8′ and 4′ flutes, several of which are vintage, and which contrast and combine with each other effectively. The Swell strings are revoiced Casavant pipework and contrast a more broadly voiced Viola Pomposa and Celeste in the Solo-Choir.  Together with the Swell Spitzflute and Celeste, a wide range of undulants is provided, which can be combined in surprising ways.

The organ was completed in November 2017 and was dedicated by Bradley Hunter Welch on Sunday morning, April 15, 2018, with a recital following the same afternoon.

—T. Daniel Hancock, A.I.A., President

Quimby Pipe Organs, Inc.

 

Quimby Pipe Organs, Opus 73

GREAT (unenclosed)

16′ Contra Viola (Swell)

8′ Open Diapason, 49 pipes, 1–12 common with Pedal 8′ Octave

8′ Hohl Flute, 55 pipes, 1–6 common with Swell 8′ Gedeckt

8′ Gedeckt (Swell)

8′ Viola (Swell)

8′ Dulciana, 61 pipes

4′ Octave, 61 pipes

4′ Spitzflute (Swell), 1–12 Swell 8' Gedeckt; 13–61 2′ Flageolet

2′ Fifteenth, 61 pipes

11⁄3′ Mixture III, 183 pipes

16′ Contra Trumpet (Swell)

8′ Trumpet (Swell)

8′ Oboe (Swell)

Zimbelstern

SWELL (enclosed)

16′ Gedeckt, 97 pipes

8′ Gedeckt (ext)

8′ Viola, 85 pipes

8′ Voix Celeste, TC, 49 pipes

4′ Principal, 73 pipes

4′ Stopped Flute (ext)

4′ Viola (ext)

22⁄3′ Nazard, 49 pipes, 1–12 common with Swell 8′ Gedeckt

2′ Octave (ext)

2′ Flageolet, 61 pipes

13⁄5′ Tierce, TC, 37 pipes, top octave repeats

16′ Contra Oboe, TC, 61 pipes

8′ Trumpet, 85 pipes

8′ Oboe (ext)

4′ Clarion (ext)

Tremulant

PEDAL

32′ Resultant (fr 16′ Bourdon)

16′ Bourdon (Swell) 

16′ Contra Viola (ext Swell 8′ Viola) 

8′ Octave, 44 pipes, 1–17 in façade

8′ Gedeckt (Swell) 

8′ Viola (Swell)

4′ Super Octave (ext)

16′ Trombone (Swell)

8′ Trumpet (Swell) 

8′ Oboe (Swell)

4′ Clarion (Swell) 

4′ Oboe Clarion (Swell)

 

Two manuals, 18 ranks, 1,111 pipes

Builder’s website: 

https://quimbypipeorgans.com

Church website: http://allsaintsobx.org

 

Quimby Pipe Organs, Opus 74

Muller Pipe Organ Company, Croton, Ohio

Saint Paul the Apostle Parish, Westerville, Ohio

The highlight of Muller Pipe Organ Company’s ninety-fifth anniversary year was the completion of the new pipe organ for Saint Paul the Apostle Parish of Westerville, Ohio, the largest congregation in the Catholic Diocese of Columbus. Our relationship with the parish began as the new building was being designed, and we enjoyed working collaboratively to create a space that would be effective for both worship and music. The result is a handsome brick edifice seating approximately 1,500 parishioners in an acoustically reverberant and visually arresting space. 

John Bryan, music director at St. Paul, and Paul Thornock, then diocesan organ consultant, worked with us as tonal ideas were developed. These conversations produced an eclectic instrument that supports the diverse liturgies of the parish, boldly leads major diocesan events, and accommodates a wide variety of organ repertoire.

Saint Paul boasts an active choral program to match the size of the parish and space. To ensure ample room for these singers, we placed the Positive on the railing, where it is reminiscent of a Rückpositv both in location and sound. The other divisions are in the large main case at the back of the spacious gallery.

Our tonal philosophy dictates a broad, warm sound for the Great division; this was readily accomplished at Saint Paul by a location in the main case. This division’s broadly scaled and boldly voiced principal chorus is the cornerstone of the entire instrument. The smaller-scaled Violone was designed primarily as a 16′ stop, but plays at 8′ pitch and functions as the secondary principal, being both brighter and more articulate. The Tromba is the darkest of the manual trumpets and employs English shallots and harmonic resonators beginning in the middle octave. Because the division is expressive, the Great includes ranks that would be expected in a Choir division: a throaty Clarinet and a pair of tapered Gemshorns.

The Swell is the workhorse of the organ and balances the Great division. A secondary principal chorus with a low-pitched mixture, an independent flute chorus, and broadly scaled Viole strings provide a solid platform for choral accompaniment. The Trompette and Clairon create a fiery French effect. The Hautbois, with its open shallots, also has a bright French quality or nasality. 

The Positive contains the most articulate and colorful stops of the organ. Its location on the gallery rail allowed us to contrast its voice with the Great by means of smaller scaling, lower wind pressure, and gentler voicing. The somewhat unconventional Quintadena provides a lovely solo voice and offers an alternative to the eloquent Gedeckt. The Positive Trompet is a median between the Great and Swell trumpets. These shallots were designed for effective tone on light wind pressure, providing plenty of power with ample fundamental tone.   

The pipes of the Pedal division are divided into C and C-sharp sections on either side of the main case. It boasts a powerful Trombone as well as a reclaimed 16′ Open Wood Diapason. Like each manual division, the Pedal has a complete and independent principal chorus, culminating with a four-rank mixture. To provide flexibility, the Pedal division includes judicious borrowing from the manual divisions.  

The visually and aurally commanding Pontifical Trumpet is mounted horizontally on the main case and is constructed of brass with flared resonators. This stop is powerful enough to speak over fuller combinations, yet does so with a refined, even tone.  

The cases were conceived to visually harmonize with the Romanesque features of the building. From the choir seating in the balcony, the outline of the Positive pipework mirrors the architecture of the ceiling and mural while drawing one’s focus directly to the liturgy at the front of the church. The casework and the console were fabricated by craftsmen at the Muller shop. The cases of quarter-sawn red oak were handcrafted using traditional joinery, as was the raised panel console. The console is movable and features interior accents of solid walnut with inlays of ebony and maple. 

We are especially grateful for the support of A. R. Schopp’s Sons, Inc., David R. Beck, Paul Thornock, and countless others in the industry for their counsel and wisdom. However, the instrument would not exist without the heroic efforts of John Bryan, the Reverend Charles Klinger, pastor, and the parishioners of Saint Paul the Apostle. We thank them all for honoring us with the opportunity to build this lasting testimony to their faithfulness.

—Luke Tegtmeier, Tonal Associate

Muller Pipe Organ Company

 

GREAT - Main case, enclosed

16′ Violone 73 

8′ Principal 61

8′ Violone (ext 16′)

8′ Rohrflöte 61

8′ Gemshorn 61

8′ Gemshorn Celeste (TC) 49

4′ Octave 61

4′ Koppelflöte 61

2′ Super Octave 61

11⁄3′ Fourniture IV 244

16′ Bass Clarinet (ext 8 ′)

8′ Trompet (Pos)

8′ Tromba 61

8′ Clarinet 73

8′ Pontifical Trumpet 61

Tremolo

SWELL – Main case, enclosed

16′ Bourdon 73

8′ Principal 61

8′ Bourdon (ext 16′)

8′ Viole 61

8′ Viole Celéste  61

4′ Octave 61

4′ Harmonic Flute 61

22⁄3′ Nazard 61

2′ Blockflöte 61

13⁄5′ Tierce 61

2′ Plein Jeu IV 244

16′ Basson-Hautbois 73

8′ Trompette 61

8′ Hautbois (ext 16′)

4′ Clairon 61

Tremolo 

8′ Pontifical Trumpet (Gt)

POSITIVE – Railing, unenclosed

8′ Principal 61

8′ Holz Gedeckt 61

8′ Quintadena 61

4′ Octave 61

4′ Waldflöte 61

22⁄3′ Quint 61

2′ Super Octave 61

2′ Flautina 61

13⁄5′ Tierce 61

11⁄3′ Larigot 61

1′ Mixture III 183

8′ Trompet 61

Tremolo

8′ Clarinet (Gt)

8′ Tromba (Gt)

8′ Pontifical Trumpet (Gt)

PEDAL – Main case, unenclosed

32′ Diapason (resultant, 16′ Open)

32′ Bourdon (resultant, 16′ Subbass)  

16′ Open Wood Diapason 32

16′ Violone (Gt)

16′ Subbass 56

16′ Bourdon (Sw)

8′ Octave 32

8′ Subbass (ext 16′)

8′ Bourdon (Sw)

4′ Choral Bass 32

4′ Subbass (ext 16′)

22⁄3′ Mixture IV 128

32′ Trombone 56

16′ Trombone (ext 32′)

16′ Basson-Hautbois (Sw)

16′ Bass Clarinet (Gt)

8′ Trombone (ext 32′)

8′ Hautbois (Sw)

4′ Clarinet (Gt)

8′ Pontifical Trumpet (Gt)

 

Wind pressures

Great – 51⁄2″

Swell and Pedal – 5″

Swell reeds – 41⁄2″

Positive – 3″

Pontifical Trumpet – 6″

32′ Trombone (1–24) – 8″

 

Full complement of couplers

Electro-pneumatic pitman chest action

Peterson ICS 4000

 

Three manuals, 54 ranks, 3,117 pipes

The Reuter Organ Company 

Lawrence, Kansas

 

A profile of three recent 

projects honoring the 

company’s centennial 

In April 1917, a short article appeared in The Diapason announcing the founding of the Reuter Organ Company. Adolph Reuter, with years of experience gained from his employment at several North American organ builders, had assembled a team of workers to start his own company in Trenton, Illinois, and to begin building organs “second to none.” By November, the first organ had been installed at Trinity Episcopal Church, in Mattoon, Illinois, where it continues to be in regular use and to enhance the life of the parish and community.

We are pleased to mark our centennial year with this Diapason cover feature, which illustrates three of our recent projects as described in detail by our clients. Although each story is unique, each also has a recurring theme—the challenge of taking an existing instrument in need of renewal and with a complex history of previous work and additions, carefully evaluating its existing resources in conjunction with the needs of the church, and then renovating its best elements and incorporating them with custom-designed pipework and components to create a new musical instrument.

After one hundred years, our files are full of similar stories about both new and renovated organs at churches, universities, concert halls, and residences throughout the United States and beyond. We are so grateful for our clients and their support over the years. We believe that there will always be a place for the King of Instruments, and we renew our commitment to continue to build pipe organs that are “second to none” for another century!

—Ronald Krebs

Vice President

Reuter Organ Company

 

Trinity Lutheran Church

Houston, Texas

By the summer of 2014, it had become evident that the Holtkamp organ at Trinity Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas, was in desperate need of refurbishment. The organ was installed with the building of a new sanctuary in 1954 and had been a continual part of the music program of the downtown congregation.

The three-manual, 40-stop organ was typical of the period, as well as the tonal philosophy of the people responsible for its design. Mostly unenclosed, and with many independent principal and flue voices on low pressure, it was best at playing contrapuntal organ literature with clarity.

In 1978, extensive altering of mixture stops and preparations for additions were made by a local Houston firm, which also provided the church with a new console. However, many of the altered stops proved unusable in the ensemble, the console was unreliable, and the wind system was drawing in unconditioned outside air, which took its toll on the instrument.

A team of people including Mary Voigt (director of music and worship), Carla Barrows (principal organist), Vince Parks (consultant), and myself, along with a committee of lay people from the congregation, solicited proposals for work on the organ. While a number of proposals were received for the project, none approached the project with an eye toward a comprehensive musical enhancement. Our team at Trinity Downtown was focused on a vision of a superior musical instrument that could offer a wider color palette, more possibilities for accompanying the choir, greater power throughout the length of the nave, and reliability that would serve the congregation well for another 50 years or more.

After discarding various partial approaches that the congregation had been considering, three organbuilders of national reputation were asked to provide creative proposals. Following a thorough examination of the proposals, the Reuter Organ Company was entrusted with the work.

As enthusiasm and support for the project grew within the congregation, Trinity’s leadership ultimately decided on a renovation plan that would significantly enhance the original instrument. The plans for the new instrument envisioned the organ as primarily an inspiring leader of congregational singing and a useful accompaniment for all periods of choral repertoire. The new organ would be expected to have an expanded dynamic range with effective expression, fundamental tone that would energize the room, and sufficient color to capture the interest of every listener. It would need to render literature with integrity, but more importantly, this would be an organ for worship!

Trinity signed the contract with Reuter in June 2015. Four weeks later, the organ was completely removed with the goal of having it returned and ready for Christmas. This was an aggressive undertaking, as the work would include the installation of an antiphonal division in the chancel area that had not been part of the original organ. The Reuter Company delivered. The organ was dedicated on December 24, 2015. The congregation celebrated this special gift to herald the birth of Jesus Christ with a commanding new Trompette en Chamade.

The refurbished and enhanced Trinity Downtown organ is now a 50-rank, three-manual and pedal organ. The striking flamed copper façade pipes of the new instrument add to the beauty of the sanctuary that is graced by huge stained-glass windows and wood accents. Today, the organ continues to bless the congregation with wonderful music. The creativity, artistry, and craftsmanship of J. R. Neutel and the fine team from Reuter have exceeded our expectations.

—Michael Dorn

Senior Pastor

 

Trinity Lutheran Church

Houston, Texas

3 manuals, 50 ranks (2015)

GREAT

16′ Prestant** (1–12 existing, 13–61 Sw)

8′ Diapason* 61 pipes

8′ Harmonic Flute* 49 pipes

    (1–12 Pos Spitzflute)

8′ Singend Gedeckt 61 pipes

4′ Octave* 61 pipes

4′ Spillflute* 61 pipes

2′ Super Octave* 61 pipes

IV Mixture* 244 pipes

8′ Trumpet* 61 pipes 

8′ Oboe (Sw)

8′ Trompette en Chamade* 61 pipes

Tremolo

Chimes (console prep)

Mohnke Carillon (25 bells in tower)

Mohnke Cymbelstern (6 bells)

MIDI

SWELL (enclosed)

16′ Lieblich Flute 61 pipes

8′ Prestant** 61 pipes

8′ Rohrflute 61 pipes

8′ Gambe 61 pipes

8′ Gambe Celeste (low F) 56 pipes

4′ Principal** 61 pipes

4′ Nachthorn 61 pipes

4′ Lieblich Flute** (ext 16′) 24 pipes

22⁄3′ Nazard** 61 pipes

2′ Blockflute** 61 pipes

13⁄5′ Tierce** 61 pipes

III Plein Jeu* 183 pipes

16′ Oboe (TC, from 8′)

8′ Trompette* 61 pipes

8′ Oboe* 61 pipes

Tremolo

MIDI

POSITIV

16′ Lieblich Flute (Sw)

8′ Prestant (Sw)

8′ Copula 61 pipes

8′ Spitzflute** 61 pipes

4′ Principal** 61 pipes

4′ Harmonic Flute* 61 pipes

2′ Doublette 61 pipes

11⁄3′ Quinte** 61 pipes

II Sesquialtera** 122 pipes

8′ Cromorne* 61 pipes

8′ Oboe (Sw)

16′ Trompette en Chamade (TC, Gt)

8′ Trompette en Chamade (Gt)

Tremolo

MIDI

PEDAL

32′ Resultant

16′ Principal* 32 pipes

16′ Prestant (Gt)

16′ Subbass 32 pipes

16′ Lieblich Flute (Sw)

8′ Octave** 32 pipes

8′ Prestant (Sw)

8′ Bourdon 32 pipes

8′ Spitzflute (Pos)

8′ Lieblich Flute (Sw)

4′ Choral Bass 32 pipes

4′ Rohrflute** 32 pipes

4′ Spitzflute (Pos)

16′ Double Trumpet (ext Gt)* 12 pipes

8′ Trumpet 32 pipes

8′ Oboe (Sw)

4′ Schalmey 32 pipes

8′ Trompette en Chamade (Gt)

MIDI

KRAKOSKY ANTIPHONAL (enclosed)

8′ Principal* 61 pipes

8′ Gedeckt* 61 pipes

8′ Gemshorn* 61 pipes

8′ Gemshorn Celeste (TC)* 49 pipes

4′ Spitz Principal* 61 pipes

4′ Gedeckt (ext 8′)* 12 pipes

22⁄3′ Quinte* 61 pipes

2′ Spitz Principal (ext 4′) 12 pipes

11⁄3′ Quinte (ext 22⁄3′, top repeats)

8′ Fagotto* 61 pipes

Tremolo

ANTIPHONAL PEDAL

16′ Gedeckt (ext Ant 8′)* 12 pipes

8′ Principal (Ant)

8′ Gedeckt (Ant)

4′ Octave (Ant 8′)

16′ Fagotto (ext Ant 8′)* 12 pipes

 

*New pipework

**Repurposed pipework

 

Central United Methodist Church

Traverse City, Michigan

Organ music and robust congregational singing has been a defining characteristic of worship at Central United Methodist Church (CUMC) for generations, largely due to the talent, charisma, and dedication of Robert Murphy, organist and music director from 1963 until his death in 2001. He left a sizable part of his estate to CUMC for the continued improvement of the organ. Mr. Murphy’s gift had been left largely untouched for 15 years during a time marked by transition, most notably the establishment of a praise band service as a primary part of the church’s identity. During this time, the congregation was aware that organ repairs were needed—there was damage from water leaks and falling plaster, failing leather, and collapsed bass pipes—but waited for direction from me. I wanted to improve the sound of the organ, not just fix broken items, so I advised that we hold tight while we figured out the best course of action.

As background, in 1969 the church remodeled its chancel area to its current configuration and purchased a new Möller organ, Opus 10419. This organ had 26 ranks of pipes distributed over three manuals and pedal. Very much a product of its time, the organ was small scaled by today’s standards, with an abundance of upperwork. (The only 8′ Principal, located on the Great, was particularly thin, with 2/9 mouth widths.) The organ underwent many alterations over its life, presumably to make it more flexible for worship. Two sets of celestes were added, along with three color reeds. The Great was re-scaled, which ultimately gave the chorus a flutey character. The most recent modification was the replacement of the three-manual console with a refurbished four-manual console and solid-state control system. Though taken individually, these alterations were arguably successful and well received by the congregation; yet I found the overall sound of the organ to be hollow and anemic, lacking vibrant, eight-foot tone. There were parts of the organ I did like, however—the Swell reeds and the effective swell boxes, in particular.

In 2016, we were finally ready to act! We put together a collaboration to repair the pipe chambers, design and implement an HVAC system to maintain a constant temperature in the chambers, replace aging leather, and expand and improve the sound of the organ. Because our funds were limited and we wanted to honor as much of the previous stewardship as possible, we kept the console, control system, chests, and much of the existing engineering. Swem Organ Company of Grand Rapids releathered all of the reservoirs, swell motors, and octave shifters locally.

We selected Reuter to fashion a new tonal scheme for the organ. This is my second project with Reuter. Interlochen Center for the Arts, where I am the organ instructor and assistant director of music, chose Reuter to build its concert instrument, Opus 2227, using as much of the existing Aeolian-Skinner organ as possible. This project was remarkably successful and gave me confidence to go to the well a second time for the CUMC project. I like Reuter because they are willing to take risks in reusing and reworking existing components, and they stand behind their promises. For example, the Trompette en Chamade, completely renovated with new tongues and shallots, playing on new chest action with increased wind pressure, is just one of the stops totally transformed at the Reuter shop. It is now a stately, heralding voice that truly crowns the whole ensemble. I was also eager to work with Bill Klimas again. I trust his ears and like his taste in voicing.

The results are absolutely stunning. I am thrilled, as is our congregation.

—Thomas Bara

Organist

 

Central United Methodist Church

Traverse City, Michigan

4 manuals, 42 ranks (2017)

GREAT

16′ Geigen (Sw) (1–12 Sw Rohrflute)

16′ Rohrflute (Sw)

8′ Diapason* 61 pipes

8′ Harmonic Flute* 61 pipes

8′ Bourdon** 61 pipes

4′ Octave* 61 pipes

4′ Spillflute* 61 pipes

2′ Fifteenth* 61 pipes

IV Fourniture* 244 pipes

8′ Tromba (Ch)

Chimes (21 tubes)

Tremolo

SWELL

16′ Rohrflute* (1–24 wood) 61 pipes

8′ Geigen* 61 pipes

8′ Rohrflute (ext 16′)* 12 pipes

8′ Viole 61 pipes

8′ Viole Celeste (TC) 49 pipes

8′ Salicional 61 pipes

8′ Voix Celeste (TC) 49 pipes

4′ Geigen Octave (ext 8′) 12 pipes

4′ Waldflute* 61 pipes

22⁄3′ Nazard* 61 pipes

2′ Piccolo 61 pipes

13⁄5′ Tierce* (TC) 49 pipes

III Plein Jeu* 183 pipes

16′ Bombarde 61 pipes

8′ Trompette (ext 16′) 12 pipes

8′ Oboe 61 pipes

4′ Clarion (ext 16′) 12 pipes

Tremolo

CHOIR

8′ Principal** 61 pipes

8′ Gedeckt 61 pipes

8′ Gemshorn Celeste II 110 pipes

4′ Octave* 61 pipes

4′ Koppel Flute (ext Gedeckt) 12 pipes

2′ Super Octave 61 pipes

11⁄3′ Larigot 61 pipes

II Sesquialtera** 122 pipes

16′ English Horn 73 pipes

8′ Corno di Bassetto 61 pipes

8′ Tromba* 61 pipes

16′ Trumpet en Chamade (Solo)

8′ Trumpet en Chamade (Solo)

Tremolo (flues)

SOLO

16′ Rohrflute (Sw)

8′ Geigen (Sw)

8′ Harmonic Flute (Gt)

8′ Rohrflute (Sw)

16′ Trombone (Ch)

8′ Tromba (Ch)

8′ Corno di Bassetto (Ch)

8′ English Horn (Ch)

16′ Trumpet en Chamade (TC)

8′ Trumpet en Chamade 61 pipes

Tremolo (Choir reeds)

CELESTIAL 

Swell stops designated “Celestial” include:

8′ Salicional

8′ Voix Celeste

8′ Viole

8′ Viole Celeste

22⁄3′ Nazard

13⁄5′ Tierce

Zimbelstern (5 bells)

Swell Celestial Off

Celestial on Choir

Celestial on Great

PEDAL

32′ Bourdon (ext Sw 16′ Rohrflute, 

    1–12 electronic)

16′ Contrabass 32 pipes

16′ Subbass* (ext 8′ Subbass, 

    1–12 electronic)

16′ Rohrflute (Sw)

8′ Principal (ext Contrabass) 12 pipes

8′ Subbass** 32 pipes

8′ Rohrflute (Sw)

8′ Open Flute (Gt)

4′ Choral Bass (ext Contrabass) 12 pipes

4′ Subbass (ext 8′) 12 pipes

II Mixture  64 pipes

16′ Trombone (ext Ch Tromba) 12 pipes

16′ Bombarde (Sw)

16′ English Horn (Ch)

8′ Tromba (Gt)

8′ Trompette (Sw)

4′ Clarion (Sw)

4′ English Horn (Ch)

8′ Trumpet en Chamade (So)

 

*New pipework

**Repurposed pipework

 

St. John’s United Church of Christ

Lansdale, Pennsylvania

St. John’s United Church of Christ was founded in 1876, and the church’s current spacious Norman Gothic sanctuary was built in 1952. The sanctuary’s first pipe organ was installed in 1977 by the Fritzsche Organ Company. Because the congregation desired an economical initial purchase price, they obtained a used Aeolian-Skinner console from Holy Trinity Lutheran Church on Central Park West in New York City. Thirty-three ranks of Skinner, Aeolian-Skinner, and new Stinkens pipes were assembled with used chests in the existing pipe chamber to create an organ that was functional for worship. The warm acoustic of the 500-seat worship space gave the organ a satisfyingly sweet and mellow sound.

When I began my tenure as St. John’s United Church of Christ’s minister of music in 1987, it was clear that music had long been a vital part of the worship life of the congregation. Since that time, the music ministry has expanded in its diversity, with the organ always at the core of its leadership. St. John’s Artist Series included numerous performances by guest organists until 2010 when the console’s gradual deterioration limited the flexibility of the organ for performing organ repertoire.

The limitations of the console were the initial reasons for considering a renovation project. While a new state-of-the-art console would solve many issues, the need to address tonal and design issues became an equally important aspect of the project. In 2011, the church’s organ committee, chaired by Steven Hendricks, began serious conversations with four organ companies. Bill Klimas, artistic director of the Reuter Organ Company, dialogued with us in detail about his clear vision for the organ’s future, agreeing to incorporate the vast majority of existing pipes, revoiced, along with several new ranks of pipes in a totally redesigned pipe chamber. Reuter proposed a tonal concept that would appropriately fill the room and complement its beautiful architecture and acoustics. The design included a new tone opening for the pipe chamber with grillework custom made to match the existing tone openings.

Once the contract with Reuter was signed, things happened very quickly. Within two months the entire organ was removed and on its way to the Reuter shop in Lawrence, Kansas. One of Reuter’s design engineers, John Deahl, carefully worked out a detailed plan for the arrangement of the pipes in the chamber, maximizing egress of sound from the new tone opening along with the existing openings. Three and a half months after its removal, the newly renovated organ arrived at St. John’s Church. Several weeks later, the organ was voiced and tuned, ready for its debut!

Musicians and non-musicians alike have been excited about the new sounds of the organ. Most noticeable is the fuller base of support for congregational singing. The new tone opening greatly benefits the choir’s ability to hear the organ for accompaniment of anthems. The new state-of-the-art moveable console provides the opportunity to host organ concerts once again, beginning with the dedication concert in November played by Nathan Laube. Generations to come will enjoy the music provided by this very successful organ installation.

—David L. Furniss

Minister of Music

 

St. John’s United Church of Christ

Lansdale, Pennsylvania

3 manuals, 40 ranks (2017)

GREAT

16′ Geigen (Sw) (1–12 Sw Rohrflute)

8′ Principal* 61 pipes

8′ Harmonic Flute* 49 pipes

    (1–12 Choir Open Flute)

8′ Bourdon 61 pipes

4′ Octave* 61 pipes

4′ Koppelflute** 61 pipes

2′ Super Octave* 61 pipes

IV Fourniture* 244 pipes

16′ Oboe (Sw)

8′ Tromba*** 61 pipes

    (1–32 existing, 33–61 new)

Chimes (21 tubes)

Tower Chimes (amplified in tower)

Tremolo 

SWELL

16′ Rohrflute*** 61 pipes

    (1–24 existing, 25–73 new)

8′ Geigen* 61 pipes

8′ Viole 61 pipes

8′ Viole Celeste 61 pipes

8′ Rohrflute (ext 16′) 12 pipes

4′ Geigen Octave* 61 pipes

4′ Hohlflute*** 61 pipes

    (1–20 existing, 21–61 new)

22⁄3′ Nazard** 61 pipes

2′ Blockflute** 61 pipes

13⁄5′ Tierce** 61 pipes

III–IV Plein Jeu**  231 pipes

16′ Oboe (ext 8′)*** 12 pipes

8′ Trumpet 61 pipes

8′ Oboe 61 pipes

Tremolo

CHOIR

8′ Prestant** 61 pipes

8′ Open Flute** 61 pipes

8′ Gedeckt** 61 pipes

8′ Erzahler 61 pipes

8′ Erzahler Celeste (TC) 49 pipes

4′ Principal** 61 pipes

4′ Mystical Flute** 61 pipes

4′ Open Flute (ext 8′) 12 pipes

2′ Doublette** 61 pipes

11⁄3′ Quinte** 61 pipes

8′ Fagotto* 61 pipes

8′ Krummhorn 61 pipes

Tremolo 

PEDAL

32′ Resultant

16′ Open Wood 32 pipes

16′ Subbass 32 pipes

16′ Geigen (Gt)

16′ Rohrflute (Sw)

8′ Octave* 32 pipes

8′ Subbass (ext 16′) 12 pipes

8′ Geigen (Sw)

8′ Rohrflute (Sw)

8′ Open Flute (Ch)

4′ Super Octave (ext 8′) 12 pipes

4′ Subbass (ext 16′) 12 pipes

4′ Open Flute (Ch)

16′ Trombone 32 pipes

    (1–12 existing, 13–32 Gt Tromba) 

16′ Oboe (Sw)

8′ Tromba (Gt)

8′ Oboe (Sw)

4′ Oboe (Sw)

4′ Krummhorn (Ch)

*New pipework

**Repurposed pipework

***Combination of both

 

Reuter Organ Company website: 

www.reuterorgan.com

Trinity Lutheran Church, Houston, Texas, website: www.trinitydt.org

Central United Methodist Church, Traverse City, Michigan, website: 

www.tccentralumc.org

St. John’s United Church of Christ, Lansdale, Pennsylvania, website:

http://st-johns-ucc.org

Glück Pipe Organs,

New York, New York

Saint Patrick Catholic Church,

Huntington, New York

 

Roosevelt Organ No. 408

In 2003, I purchased Frank Roosevelt’s three-manual, thirty-six rank Organ No. 408 before the wrecking ball struck Brooklyn’s Schermerhorn Street Evangelical Lutheran Church. The Roosevelt organ, contracted for in 1888, begun in 1889, and completed the following year, enjoyed renown while Franz Liszt’s student, Hugo Troetschel, presented 250 bi-weekly recitals during his 52-year tenure as organist. As the Roosevelt organ was being dismantled, a project was initiated for it to be reconstituted in its historic configuration for Princeton University under the aegis of the late David Messineo, university organist. Dr. Messineo’s vision was to install it within the 1916 Aeolian organ case in Proctor Hall, which had been designed by Ralph Adams Cram as the elegant graduate dining hall of the campus. The Aeolian was supplanted by a Gress-Miles organ in 1968, but we felt that bringing the Roosevelt there, with a replica of its original console and limited combination system, would give students an accurate idea of what an untouched Roosevelt sounded like, and more importantly, how it would have to be played without modern solid-state equipment. Upon Dr. Messineo’s death in June 2004, the project abruptly was ended, so I reserved the material within our company’s selection of heritage pipework until such time as a suitable home could be found for it. 

A decade after saving the Roosevelt from the landfill, it became obvious that it would take a very special type of church, synagogue, homeowner, or school to take the leap of faith to historically reconstruct a heritage cultural property that they could not hear or see. I was left with little choice but to market the Roosevelt as the core of a new instrument, but did not wish to disperse it rank-by-rank, the fate of so many antique instruments. With the understanding that its genes had to carry on in a different way, I knew it was unlikely that all of it could be used, and some contemporary tonal elements might be included to make it viable for modern musical ministry. The goal was to keep its spirit alive.

 

The opportunity presents itself

Saint Patrick Catholic Church is a vast, lofty, reverberant building constructed in 1962 and equipped with M. P. Möller’s Opus 9751 from the start. That gallery organ was the unfortunate product of the joint influence of the firm’s “special tonal consultant,” Ernest White, and their tonal director, John Hose. Too small for the room and voiced barely to energize the pipes, it was from its inception frustratingly inadequate for liturgical use. Sparse allocation of the organ’s twenty-one ranks among three manuals and pedal forced the elimination of essential voices in what likely should have been a well-appointed two-manual instrument. Subsequent alterations to the stoplist accomplished nothing, and the organ was still suffering mechanically after technical work was executed. Upon careful examination, I determined that insurmountable scaling irregularities precluded it from forming an effective core for a new instrument, and that the parish would accrue no benefit from retaining any of its mechanical infrastructure.

I entered into a situation for which ideas already had been presented, so as an architect, organist, and organbuilder, I had to make my case with clarity as the last man “at bat,” and had to risk proposing something so different that it would either be rejected or embraced. I proposed that the Roosevelt organ be incorporated into two new organs at either end of the building, controlled by twin mobile consoles that emphasized the elegant richness of natural materials so that the organs would not be seen as utilities. A single aggressive organ blasting from one end of the very long room would be less effective than two more elegantly voiced instruments dividing the task. With no substantive literature written for an “antiphonal” division, I chose a modified continental model. The labor is divided between the two organs, but the use of assisted rather than mechanical action would make them playable separately, together, or simultaneously by musicians at either end of the building.

Countless volunteer consultants offered their strong opinions about tonal design, builders, and the merits of pipeless sounds, with a nebulous consensus that the Möller organ should be rebuilt, supplemented by an “antiphonal” division, real or artificial. The prevailing notion that circuits and speaker cabinets could fill the artistic gaps with a shrug of the shoulders was proclaimed the path of least resistance. Swimming with vigor against that tide, I proposed two complete all-pipe organs of contrasting character, albeit constitutive elements of a grander whole.

There is always room for a pipe organ, even if there is not the willingness. Each house of prayer holds only so many people and will accommodate the appropriate number of pipes to accompany their voices. Despite the absence of sanctuary chambers and the cries of “no room for pipes,” I proposed the centuries-old practice of suspending the chancel cases from the sheer walls of the building, and designed the large gallery case to embrace the rose window. The organs’ cases complement the architecture without distracting from liturgical proceedings, and the chancel cases are located high enough to remain in tune with the gallery organ.

I am grateful to have worked with and for composer, conductor, organist, and tenor Matthew Koraus, FAGO, director of music, whose enormous talent, vision, commitment, and patience helped bring two new organs to the parish.

 

The new instruments

Roosevelt’s standard wind pressure of 31⁄2 inches determined the wind pressure used for the Saint Patrick instruments. The Roosevelt pipes, once cleaned and winded, would dictate to me the tonal direction of the organ’s new stops. Roosevelt’s work after the first few years deliberately followed a template from which the firm rarely deviated, so even the presumption of “what would the company produce today?” was treading on thin ice. The historical material was a point of departure in a new venture.

Visually, my mission was to design three organ cases that acknowledged the modernity of the church building but would bear my stamp as an architectural classicist. Following half a century of blank white walls, the size and depth of the cases, particularly those that flank the sanctuary, presented “the shock of the new” to some parishioners. With choirs, orchestras, and congregation surrounded and coordinated by sound, the new arrangement has been fully embraced. With a sumptuous mobile console at each end of the building, the liturgical and musical flexibility, and the ability for two musicians to play simultaneously, have fostered a new understanding of the organist’s duties in the parish.

The Gallery Great is anchored by a 16′ Violone, which was rebuilt from the Möller Pedal 16′ Principal. This gives the reader a good idea of just how under-scaled the Möller instrument was. The Roman-mouthed Roosevelt Great 16′ Double Open Diapason—gilded, stenciled, and sand painted—had to be abandoned with the magnificent case in Brooklyn, and sadly went down with the building. Soaring harmonic flutes stand alongside Roosevelt’s signature double-mouthed flute, as well as his wonderful 8′ Trumpet with tin-rich resonators and schiffschen shallots. 

The Great Chorus Mixture is composed slightly lower than most and voiced with some restraint. The original Roosevelt tierce mixture could not be retained as a second mixture for budgetary reasons, and with only one mixture in the division, I opted for a new quint mixture for clarity. The Roosevelt Great tierce mixture has found a new home; it is being included in our firm’s reconstruction of Roosevelt Organ No. 4 of 1873, his earliest surviving effort, at The College of Mount Saint Vincent, overlooking the Hudson River. The Great Mixture had been stolen from that organ in 1969, and the Brooklyn stop will sing again among its siblings. 

The Swell harbors the largest concentration of original tone with nine Roosevelt ranks. The warm 8′ Diapason, often absent from the American Swell, supplants the ubiquitous addiction to the 16′ Bourdon. The new Plein Jeu lends clarity to the Pedal when coupled, with no break from its 15-19-22 composition until G#33. With space and budget for only one Cornet combination, it was placed in the Swell, where it is under expression, can be folded into the reeds, and can enter into dialogue with either the Corno di Bassetto or Clarinet. The Swell reeds are rich and warm for anthem work, a balance made possible by the more brilliant manual reeds elsewhere in the organ.

The Choir division is cast with a nod toward traditional structure, without taking it too far into the neo-Classical realm.  The new muted undulant is completely uncharacteristic of Roosevelt’s work; both brothers preferred a second Choir 8′ string of contrasting character, and the Unda Maris appeared in a mere one percent of their 538-instrument output. Tenor C of the Dulciana is marked #400 408 ECHO Choir DULCET G. MACK JULY 1889; this rank was originally built as the 4′ Dulcet for Roosevelt’s 1892 four-manual, 109-rank magnum opus No. 400 for the Chicago Auditorium Theatre, the pipes for which were in production at the same time. The division’s flute choir and subtle Carillon are joined by a notably bold 8′ Corno di Bassetto. Two commanding Trumpets, one enclosed and one not, play from the Choir manual but are not necessarily of the Choir. The new Herald Trumpet, voiced on six inches wind pressure, is in the expression enclosure, and the 8′ Tromba is the former Swell 8′ Cornopean. At six-inch scale with harmonic spotted metal resonators, it was incorporated into the Saint Patrick Pedal as an 8′ and 4′ unit, with the top 17 pipes retained for its use as a powerful manual Trumpet for processions and fanfares and to cap the full organ without standing apart.

The Gallery Pedal is a stack of independent flue ranks, with Roosevelt’s seismic 16′ Open Wood Bass sitting beneath purely tuned 102⁄3′, 62⁄5′, and 44⁄7′ pitches in the bass to reinforce the 32′ line. The magnificently brassy, rolling 16′ Trombone, with its wooden shallots and blocks and sleeved zinc resonators, is so powerful that it triggered burglar alarms and summoned police during the tonal finishing phase of the project. 

The partially unified organ flanking the sanctuary supports and encourages congregational singing by helping to maintain coordination, tempo, and pitch. The front organ is of a lighter and gentler character than the main organ because of its use in more intimate services and its proximity to the parishioners and clergy, yet it is still large enough to use for the performance of a sizable segment of the concert literature.

The sparkling Great and Positiv inhabit the Gospel case and the mellower Swell, with its Skinner-style Flügel Horn, is in the Epistle case. Roosevelt’s splendid Clarinet takes up residence in the Positiv, and the three 16′ Pedal stops (string, flute, and warm reed) keep the bottom from dropping out. The instrument enjoys its own personality, with the resources to enhance liturgy and to acquit a respectable body of the literature. The two cases are widely spaced. There is directional distinction and balances must be heard in the room, yet the acoustic brings them together in the nave.

The combined organs easily lead large choral forces, support full congregational singing, and contain gentle, accompanimental voices at both ends of the building to provide subtle, evocative, and meditative effects for life cycle events and introspective portions of the Mass. Over the centuries, organbuilders and composers have established particular conventions regarding which stops and combinations of stops must “live” in particular divisions, and if these rules are set aside, many works cannot be played as intended. I have tried to honor those requirements in the design of this dual instrument.

Pipe organ building is an interdisciplinary craft, and every instrument, traditionally the vision of the tonal director, is a group effort. In addition to our significant suppliers (OSI, A. R. Schopp’s Sons, and Peterson Electro-Musical Products), these instruments were made possible by the capable staff of Glück Pipe Organs: Albert Jensen-Moulton, general manager; and technicians Joseph di Salle, Dominic Inferrera, Dan Perina, the late Peter Jensen-Moulton, and Robert Rast.

—Sebastian Matthäus Glück

 

Builder’s website:

www.gluckpipeorgans.com

 

Church websites:

stpatrickchurchhunt.org

stpatrickhuntingtonmusic.weebly.com

 

GALLERY GREAT – Manual II

16′ Violone 61 m

8′ Open Diapason 61 m

8′ Violoncello (ext 16′) 12 m

8′ Concert Flute [a]

8′ Doppelflöte 61 w R

4′ Principal 61 m

4′ Flauto Traverso (harm.) 61 w&m

2′ Fifteenth 61 m

IV Chorus Mixture 244 m

8′ Trumpet 61 m R

Zimbelstern

8′ Herald Trumpet (Choir)

GALLERY SWELL – Manual III

8′ Diapason 61 m R

8′ Cor de Nuit 61 w R

8′ Salicional 61 m R

8′ Voix Céleste 61 m R

4′ Principal 61 m R

4′ Flûte Harmonique 61 m R

22⁄3′ Nazard 61 m

2′ Octavin (tapered, harm.) 61 m R

13⁄5′ Tierce 61 m

III–IV Plein Jeu 212 m

16′ Bassoon (ext 8′ Hautboy) 12 m

8′ Trumpet 61 m

8′ Hautboy 61 m R

8′ Vox Humana 61 m R

Tremulant

GALLERY CHOIR – Manual I

8′ Violoncello (Great)

8′ Dulciana 61 m R

8′ Unda Maris (TC) 49 m

8′ Gedeckt 61 w R

4′ Gemshorn (cylindrical) 61 m R

4′ Flûte d’Amour 61 w R

2′ Blockflöte 61 m

II Carillon 122 m

8′ Corno di Bassetto 61 m

Tremulant

16′ Herald Trumpet (TC, fr 8′)

8′ Herald Trumpet 61 m

8′ Tromba [b] 17 m R

GALLERY PEDAL

32′ Double Diapason [c] 12 w

16′ Open Wood Bass 32 w R

16′ Violone (Great)

16′ Subbass 32 w R

16′ Lieblich Gedeckt 12 w R

    (ext Choir 8′ Gedeckt)

8′ Principal 32 m

8′ Violoncello (Great)

8′ Bass Flute (ext 16′) 12 w R

8′ Gedeckt (Choir)

4′ Fifteenth 32 m R

4′ Gedeckt (Choir)

2′ Bauernflöte 32 m

32′ Harmonics [d] 38 m

16′ Trombone (maple shallots)

32 m R

16′ Bassoon (Swell)

8′ Trumpet 32 m R

8′ Bassoon (Swell)

4′ Clarion (ext 8′) 12 m R

CHANCEL GREAT– Manual II

8′ Open Diapason 61 m

8′ Spitzflöte 61 m

4′ Principal 61 m

2′ Fifteenth (ext 8′ Open) 24 m

IV Mixture 244 m

CHANCEL POSITIV – Manual I

8′ Rohrgedeckt 61 w&m

4′ Offenflöte (ext Gt 8′ Spitz) 12 m

2′ Nachthorn (ext 8′ Rohr) 24 m

11⁄3′ Quintflöte 49 m

    (top octave repeats)

1′ Zimbelpfeife (8′ Rohr)

8′ Clarinet 61 m R

Tremulant

CHANCEL SWELL – Manual III

8′ Viola 61 m

8′ Viola Céleste (TC) 49 m

8′ Holzgedeckt 61 w

4′ Fugara (ext 8′ Viola) 12 m

4′ Koppelflöte 52 m

      (C1–G#9 Gedeckt)

2′ Piccolo (ext 8′ Holzged) 24 m

8′ Flügel Horn 61 m

Tremulant

CHANCEL PEDAL

16′ Contrabasso (ext Sw Viola) 12 m

16′ Sub Bass (ext Pos Rohr) 12 w

8′ Principal 32 m

8′ Spitzflöte (Great)

8′ Viola (Sw)

8′ Rohrbordun (Positiv)

4′ Choral Bass (ext 8′ Princ) 12 m

4′ Offenflöte (Positiv)

16′ Waldhorn (ext Flügel Hn) 12 m

8′ Flügel Horn (Swell)

4′ Clarinet (Positiv)

 

 

 

 

[a] C1–B12 common with Doppelflöte, C13–C61 from Flauto Traverso

[b] Unenclosed; extension of Pedal 8′ Tromba

[c] Independent 102⁄3′ stoppered pipes play with 16′ Open Wood for C1–B12; breaks to 32′ Open Wood at C13

[d] 102⁄3′ wood + 62⁄5′ metal + 44⁄7′ metal (with internal chimneys); composition changes as it ascends the scale, with mutations dropping out

m = metal

w = wood

R = Roosevelt

 

Chancel Organ: Opus 16 (16 ranks, 1,058 pipes)

Gallery Organ: Opus 17 (46 ranks, 2,564 pipes)

Dedicated September 14, 2014

Gallery: Blackinton slider chests; chancel: electric valve chests with reeds in electropneumatic pouch chests.

A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company, Lithonia, Georgia

The First Baptist Church of Christ, Macon, Georgia

“Nurture. Love. Serve. ALL.” is the succinct version of the vision statement of the First Baptist Church of Christ, Macon, Georgia. For a congregation whose ministry spans nearly two centuries, including all of God’s children in ministry and leadership is a natural outgrowth of its character and a testament to its commitment to following the leading of God’s Spirit. The First Baptist Church of Christ has a history of committing itself to including all, in worship, discipleship, and service, from including women on the pastoral staff in the 1950s to ordaining women as deacons and Gospel ministers in the 1980s. This commitment is a reflection of the members of the congregation but also of the church’s connection to Mercer University, a leading and growing research and service-oriented institution of higher education.

One of the deep connections between Mercer University and First Baptist is the relationship of Mercer’s leadership to the congregation. From Mercer’s founding in 1833, First Baptist has been an ardent supporter of the school and, since the university moved to Macon in 1871, every president of Mercer except one has been an active member of First Baptist. The longest-tenured president of Mercer, R. Kirby Godsey, is no exception. Dr. Godsey and his family joined First Baptist in the late 1970s when he came to Mercer, and they have been a constant presence in the pew, on committees, leading in worship, and actively supporting the church since. Dr. Godsey’s wife Joan is an accomplished and recognized musician who has served as organist, choirmaster, Sunday School teacher, and deacon. Her deep devotion to the music ministry of First Baptist, combined with her encouragement of music and music education throughout the Macon community, is one of many reasons that her family’s generous gift of the A. E. Schlueter organ is dedicated in her honor. With the proximity of the church to Mercer University and the historic ties that it has had with the school, it is anticipated that the organ will be used regularly by the university and its students.

This project came about when I was approached by the Godsey family to discuss the existing organ and how we could improve the music for worship at the First Baptist Church of Christ. This instrument had been built in the 1980s and followed the general stoplist design and tonal style of the majority of the instruments that were built by American builders at that time. It retained the 1949 console and several sets of pipes from the older instrument. It had 35 ranks of pipework, and, while it was a good, basic service instrument, it did not have the depth of resources to fully support the music program as it has evolved at the church.

Our discussions led to the design of a new instrument that would follow the precepts of American eclectic tonal design. We wanted to support some of the great organ works by luminaries such as Widor, Vierne, Bach, Buxtehude, and Scheidt, while also celebrating the offering of a Lemare orchestral transcription with equal aplomb. Admittedly this is a heady task and one that can be fraught with the danger of an instrument that is too focused for one style or lacking any focus at all. We steadfastly worked to avoid this trap.

Early in our discussions I recommended, where possible, reuse of pipework from the existing instrument. The pipework was generally well scaled and had low cut-ups and little nicking. This meant it was highly malleable for revoicing in the new instrument with the requisite rescaling and repitching and still allowing us a blank canvas with which to work. This reuse of resources along with the changes we have made to these pipes have allowed us to reuse material from the previous instrument in a positive, cohesive manner and still create an instrument that stands under our name and within our tonal design.

To house the organ, we planned a new case situated forward of the chamber. The design of the new case pays homage to the architecture of the 1887 sanctuary. With the baptistry offset to the right and the organ chamber centered above the choir, it allowed consideration for a classical organ case design on the central axis of the room. The case is built of white oak and finished to match the church furnishings. The case and pipes rise over 30 feet from the raised choir loft for a commanding visual and tonal location in this worship space. The case is a rich brocade of carvings and custom moldings that harken to other ecclesiastical elements within the church. We designed open grilles into the organ case side returns to allow more diffusion of sound for the pipework behind the façade, along with a freer exchange of air for tuning stability. 

The new casework is a blending of old world and new world technologies. The case drawing was conceived by hand and then drawn to dimension with Computer Assisted Design (CAD). We then rendered it in 3-D to allow the organ to be viewed in the sanctuary prior to its building. This level of visualization was unknown years ago and allows the design of the organ to be fine-tuned for the worship space. 

Technology found its place in the design of the carvings, which were designed by hand, redrawn in the computer, and converted into machine code to begin the initial process of carving with our computer numeric controlled (CNC) router in oak blanks. These were finished by hand. This resulted in carvings and pipe shades that maintain strict, repeatable tolerances but still have the look and feel of the work executed solely by traditional hand carving. The use of modern drawing and building techniques made it possible to build this type of casement at a reasonable cost quotient without having to rob stops from the specification to lower costs, as is often necessary to provide this level of carving and molding.

The façade pipes of polished aluminum are taken from the Great and Pedal divisions. In addition to the beauty provided by the polished metal, we find that this material has speech characteristics that are very favorable and rival some other traditional pipe building materials for certain voicing styles. The added rigidity of the material and its resistance to surface oxidation made it an ideal choice for this installation. The polished surfaces reflect and refract light in such a way that the façade takes on the natural lighting in soft, even hues. 

The new instrument contains 51 ranks of windblown pipes divided over three manual divisions and pedal. It is an instrument conceived first and foremost to solidly support the choir and congregation in worship while also allowing the varied repertoire that has been written for the organ across the span of time to flourish. 

The organ is designed with a solid 8′ tonal center with independent Principal choruses in each division that, while separate, are relatable and act as a foil one to another. The upperwork in the organ is designed to fold within and reinforce the chorus and not to sit above it. We very much wanted the chorus registration to be a hand-in-glove fit.

The pipework makes use of varied scales, a mix of shapes (open, slotted, tapered, harmonic, stoppered, chimneys), and materials to influence the color and weight differences in the organ flue stops. We were also careful in the placement of ranks in the chamber so that they had the best advantage for speech.

As with most of the instruments we have built, we consider the strings and their companion celestes important for their sheer beauty and emotive quotient (and yes . . . there should be more than one set!). This organ has sets of string ranks divided between the Swell and Choir divisions that can be compounded via couplers. Along with the color reeds, these stops support the romantic sound qualities that were designed into this instrument. 

The large solo reed in the organ is the 8′ Tromba Heroique. It is on high pressure and located in the Choir expression box to allow control of this powerful sound. As it relates to the pipework, the expression fronts are carried the full width and height of the expression boxes and can fully open to 90 degrees. Our expression boxes are built extra thick and feature overlapping felted edges. This treatment allows focus of a division’s resources when fully open and full containment and taming of the resources when closed. Even the commanding solo reed can be used as an ensemble voice when the box is closed.

The organ’s main manual windchests are electro-pneumatic slider chests. They are patterned after the Blackinton-style chests and include double pallets with independent primaries to provide more wind supply to the bass registers in the chest. The duplex stops and large bass pipes utilize electro-pneumatic action. The façade pipes are remotely fed with transmission tubes from electro-pneumatic blow box actions. 

The winding system makes use of a combination traditional spring and weight ribbed regulators along with floating lid reservoirs where appropriate. The tremulants are electro-mechanical to provide a quiet, gentle, even undulation to the wind when engaged. The reeds are placed on their own reservoirs to allow differential wind pressures and independent tremulants.

To ameliorate tuning issues, all of the manual and pedal divisions are located on the same elevation to allow a common thermocline. We engineered air returns in the Swell and Choir divisions to assist in drawing the ambient air in the sanctuary into the organ space. The Great is positioned forward of the enclosed divisions but is shielded by the façade and case to minimize rapid changes in temperature as the air and heat cycles in the room. We also enclosed the blower room in the basement, which previously did not have any environmental controls, and provided it with a return air intake to take it off the untempered basement air.

The traditional drawknob console is built of oak with an interior paneled in mahogany and ebony. The keycheeks and piston slips are of ebonized mahogany. The thumb pistons are in the Skinner style. The manual key surfaces are of faux bone and ebony and are fitted with tracker touch via toggle springs. To assist the ergonomics of playing, the organ bench is adjustable, as is the music rack (in/out and up/down).

The combination system and relays are the Syndyne 8400 system. All of the features that one comes to expect on a modern console control system are present and include multiple memories, programmable crescendos, programmable sforzandos, blind checks, transposer, etc. One can use an external USB drive to save or import combination memories. This provides infinite options to the performer. 

The system allows a single centralized control for the combination system, playback/record, and MIDI into a single integrated touch screen. This same screen and USB interface allows testing, system configuration, and upgrades for the builder without the need for an external computer.

From a personal standpoint, I was humbled and honored to work with the church and the Godsey family in the design of the new instrument. Many of these discussions were ably led by Hunter Godsey, who with never-failing grace discussed the myriad of details that go into an organ design both tonally and visually. Not only is he an accomplished organist, he was a continuous champion for the instrument we were designing, and I value him and his family as friends.

As a way of saying thank you for this commission, several stops in the instrument were donated from the Schlueter family to the church. These included several sets of strings and the woodwind class reeds including the orchestral Skinner Bell Clarinet we restored for this instrument.

When my wife and I attended Mercer University, the president of the university was Kirby Godsey. I did not know at that time that, 30 years later, I would be able to have a “homecoming” and an opportunity to build a new instrument for this venerable church. When we were chosen to build the new instrument, you could not imagine how honored I was to be speaking to the same man who nearly three decades ago handed me my diploma and told me to go out and do my part to make the world a more beautiful place. It was a great pleasure in telling this kind man that I had taken what he told me to heart, that it is what I had sought to do, and, importantly, I was able to thank him for his governance of the university that had such an impact on who I am today. In a wonderful turn of the page, just as a new instrument was being installed in the First Baptist Church of Christ as I moved to Macon to start college, my eldest daughter has now started studies at my alma mater and will able to be part of the new organ installation and history.

I thank the church’s ministerial staff including:

Rev. Scott Dickison, pastor

Rev. Julie W. Long, associate pastor, minister of children and families

Dr. Stanley L. Roberts, minister of music

Dr. Jody Long, minister of missions and students

Anne Armstrong, organist

Joe Johnson, church administrator

The building of any instrument demands the efforts of a talented and dedicated team. Our team includes the efforts of: Arthur E. Schlueter, Jr., Arthur E. Schlueter, III, Mary Schlueter, Sarah Schlueter, John Tanner, Marc Conley, Patrick Hodges, Rob Black, Jeremiah Hodges, Peter Duys, James (Bud) Taylor, Jr., Bob Weaver, Kerry Bunn, Al Schroer, Shan Dalton-Bowen, Barbara Sedlacek, Michael DeSimone, Dallas Wood, Clifton Frierson, Ruth Lopez, Kelvin Cheatham, James Sowell, Tim Brown, Marshal Foxworthy, and Carl Morawetz.

A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company can be reached at [email protected] or by writing P. O. Box 838, Lithonia, Georgia 30058.

—Arthur E. Schlueter, III

Visual and Tonal Direction

A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company

 

GREAT – Manual II

16′ Violone*

16′ Lieblich Gedeckt (Sw)

8′ Diapason (ext Ped) 29 pipes 

8′ Principal 61 pipes

8′ Violone 61 pipes

8′ Harmonic Flute 49 pipes 

    (1–12 common bass)

8′ Bourdon 61 pipes

8′ Erzahler Celeste II (Ch)

4′ Octave 61 pipes

4′ Rohr Flute 61 pipes

22⁄3′ Twelfth (TC) 49 pipes

2′ Super Octave 61 pipes

13⁄5′ Seventeenth (TC) 49 pipes

IV Fourniture 244 pipes

8′ Trumpet 61 pipes

Tremulant

16′ Contre Trompette (Sw)

8′ Bell Clarinet (Ch)

8′ English Horn (Ch)

Great to Great 4

8′ Tromba Heroique (Ch, non-coupling)

CHOIR – Manual I (enclosed) 

16′ Erzahler*

8′ Weit Principal 61 pipes

8′ Holzgedeckt 61 pipes

8′ Erzahler 61 pipes

8′ Erzahler Celeste  (TC) 49 pipes

4′ Principal 61 pipes

4′ Nachthorn 61 pipes

4′ Erzahler Celeste II (ext) 24 pipes

22⁄3′ Nasat (TC) 49 pipes

2′ Schweigel (ext Erzahler) 12 pipes 

13⁄5′ Terz (TC) 49 pipes

11⁄3′ Quint (ext 22⁄3′) 12 pipes

1′ Sifflote (from Erzahler)

II Carillon (from mutations)

III Klein Mixture 183 pipes

16′ English Horn (TC, fr 8′)

8′ Bell Clarinet 61 pipes

8′ English Horn 61 pipes 

4′ Regal (ext 8′ Eng Horn) 12 pipes

Choir to Choir 16

Choir Unison Off

Choir to Choir 4

8′ Tromba Heroique 61 pipes 

    (non-coupling)

Tremulant

SWELL – Manual III (enclosed)

16′ Lieblich Gedeckt (ext 8′) 12 pipes

8′ Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Rohr Flute 61 pipes

8′ Viole de Gambe 61 pipes

8′ Viole Celeste (TC) 49 pipes

8′ Muted Violes II 110 pipes

4′ Principal 61 pipes

4′ Spindle Flute 61 pipes

22⁄3′ Nazard (TC) 49 pipes

2′ Flageolet (ext 8′ Rohr Fl) 24 pipes

13⁄5′ Tierce (TC) 49 pipes

11⁄3′ Quint (ext 22⁄3′) 12 pipes

IV Plein Jeu 244 pipes

16′ Basson-Hautbois* 

8′ Trompette 61 pipes

8′ Hautbois 61 pipes

4′ Clairon (ext 8′) 12 pipes

8′ Vox Humana 61 pipes

Tremulant

Swell to Swell 16

Swell Unison Off

Swell to Swell 4

PEDAL

32′ Violone*

32′ Bourdon*

16′ Sub Principal 32 pipes

16′ Contra Bass*

16′ Violone (Gt)

16′ Erzahler (Ch)

16′ Bourdon 32 pipes

16′ Lieblich Gedeckt (Sw)

8′ Diapason 32 pipes

8′ Principal 32 pipes

8′ Bourdon (ext 16′) 12 pipes

8′ Rohr Flute (Sw)

4′ Choral Bass 32 pipes

4′ Cantus Flute (Gt 8′ Har Fl)

III Mixture (wired)

32′ Posaune*

32′ Harmonics (wired Cornet series)

16′ Trombone 32 pipes

16′ Contre Trompette (ext Sw) 12 pipes

16′ Basson-Hautbois (Sw)

8′ Trumpet (Gt)

4′ Clarion (Gt)

4′ Bell Clarinet (Ch)

8′ Tromba (Ch)

 

* Indicates digital extension

 

 

Percussion

Chimes 32 notes (Pedal)

Chimes 32 notes (Great)

Harp 49 notes (Choir)

Zimbelstern (multiple bells)

 

MIDI (available as preset stops)

MIDI on Pedal

MIDI on Great

MIDI on Choir

MIDI on Swell 

 

Coupler Rail

Great to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 4

Choir to Pedal 8

Choir to Pedal 4

 

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 8

Swell to Great 4

Choir to Great 16

Choir to Great 8

Choir to Great 4

 

Swell to Choir 16

Swell to Choir 8

Swell to Choir 4

 

Great/Choir Transfer

 

COMBINATION SYSTEM

Syndyne 8400 with 5,000 levels of memory

10 General pistons (thumb and toe)

5 pistons affecting Great (thumb)

5 pistons affecting Swell (thumb)

5 pistons affecting Choir (thumb)

5 pistons affecting Pedal (toe)

General Cancel (thumb)

Next and Previous (thumb and toe, piston sequencer)

Set piston (thumb)

Great to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe)

Swell to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe)

Choir to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe)

Sforzando (thumb and toe, programmable)

32′ Reversibles (thumb and toe)

Crescendo Pedal (programmable)

 

Three manuals, 51 ranks

 

Organbuilder’s website:

http://pipe-organ.com

 

Church website:

www.fbcxmacon.org

Kegg Pipe Organ Builders, Hartville, Ohio

Christ the King Chapel, 

St. John Vianney Theological Seminary, Denver, Colorado

Every new pipe organ project, large or small, has a unique sense of importance. Rarely are we afforded the opportunity to build an instrument that will inspire generations of clergy to high ideals. Our new organ at St. John Vianney Theological Seminary is a true honor for an organbuilder.

Each of our pipe organs is custom designed for the space it occupies and the musical task it must perform. During the design process, the organ evolves. Sometimes the stop list has additions made as funds become available, or unknown building impediments are discovered that require us to adjust. This new organ of course went through this process, but through it all, the goal we shared with associate professor of sacred music, Dr. Mark Lawlor, did not. The goal was to build an instrument suited primarily to the multiple daily Masses of the seminarians.

The failing electronic organ from 20 years ago had “replaced” the original 1931 Kilgen pipe organ. Heavily damaged first by modifications to the stop list with foreign pipes installed by lesser hands, then with loud speakers among and largely on the pipes, the original pipe organ was assumed destroyed. When Kegg sales representative Dwayne Short first crawled into the crowded, dark, and dirty space, he made his way into the furthest reaches where few had ventured in years, to discover that many of the Kilgen Swell stops had survived in reasonable condition. These, along with one Pedal stop and an orphan Great Clarinet, gave us some original pipes to consider retaining in the new organ.

Christ the King Chapel is a handsome room built in 1931. Beautiful to look at with masonry walls and terrazzo floors, it is a child of its time, apparent when one looks up. The coffered ceiling panels are beautifully painted acoustic tile, rendering only about one second of reverberation when the room is empty. The organ is at the rear of the room, in a shallow chamber over the main door. The robust all-male congregation is mostly at the front of the nave and in the crossing. All these elements dictate a rich, strong, and dark organ to meet the voices at their pitch and location. There is an Antiphonal division that is prepared in the console. Until it is installed, the main organ will have to fill the room from the rear with the singers up front.

Dr. Lawlor specifically requested that all manual divisions be enclosed to afford him and future musicians maximum musical flexibility. Most organists prefer a three-manual organ to two, which we frequently offer in organs of this size. The new organ is 19 stops and 25 ranks dispersed over three manuals and pedal. The only unenclosed stops are the Pedal 16′ Principal, from which the façade pipes are drawn, and the horizontal Pontifical Trumpet, in polished brass with flared bells. This last stop was also a specific request. Because the room is not excessively large, these pipes are placed as high as possible. The large scale, tapered shallots and 7-inch wind pressure give these pipes a round, Tuba-like quality that is commanding and attractive.

The Great/Choir and Swell are enclosed in separate expression boxes. The stop list is not unusual, but the execution of the Principal choruses is. Both choruses have Mixtures based at 2′. This allows them to couple to the Pedal without a noticeable pitch gap in the bottom octave sometimes heard with 11⁄3′ Mixtures. The breaks of these two Mixtures are different. The Swell Mixture breaks before the Great, bringing in the 22⁄3′ pitch early. This gives the Swell Mixture a rich texture, particularly helpful in choral work. Emphasis in finishing is on unison and octave pitches when present. The first break in the Great Mixture is at C#26 and from C#14 is one pitch higher than the Swell, making it relatively normal. For the Great Mixture, the upper pitches are given more prominence during finishing. The two choruses complement and contrast well in this intimate space, without excessive brightness.

Many of the flutes and strings were retained from the original Kilgen organ. With some attention in the voicing room, these work well within the Kegg tonal family. Having heard other examples of our work, there was a keen desire by Dr. Lawlor for a new Kegg Harmonic Flute. To make this happen within the budget and space available, we used an existing wood Kilgen 8′ Concert Flute for notes 1–32. At note 33, this stop changes to new Kegg harmonic pipes. The stop increases in volume dramatically as it ascends the scale. Available at 8′ and 4′ on both the Great and Choir manuals, the 8′ stop is nicely textured and mezzo-forte. The treble of the 4′ morphs into a soaring forte voice, made even more alluring by the tremulant.

With the exception of the Clarinet, all reeds are new Kegg stops and typical of our work. The Trumpet has a bright treble and a darker, larger bass extending into the Pedal at 16′. The Oboe is capped and modeled after a Skinner Flügelhorn. The lovely Kilgen Clarinet fits nicely into the Kegg design.

The Pedal has the foundation needed for the organ. The 16′ Principal unit of 56 pipes provides stops at 16′, 8′, and 4′. This is the only flue stop that is not under expression. It grows in volume as you ascend the scale and does so more than its manual counterparts. Because of this, it is easy to have the Pedal be independent and prominent when needed for polyphonic music. This stop joins the Great Principal and Octave, all playing at 8′ pitch, to make the 8′ Solo Diapason III, a Kegg exclusive. With three 8′ diapasons at one time, it is similar in effect to a First Open for both solo and chorus work where a firm 8′ line is required.

The console provides all the features expected in a first-class instrument today including unlimited combination memory, multiple Next/Previous pistons, bone and rosewood keys and, of course, the Kegg signature pencil drawer and cup holder. 

The original 1931 organ was covered by a gray painted wood and cloth grill. The new organ façade design was inspired by the building age and funds, but mostly by the significant stone door that dominates the rear wall. This is not a formal case, but it is more than a simple fence row. The stone door is massive and will always be visually dominating, so it is natural to acknowledge it and build from it. The center façade section pipe toes sit atop the lintel with the tops dipping down to mirror the brick arch above, making space for the Pontifical Trumpet to seemingly float. The center section sits 5 inches behind the side bass sections, giving more depth to the visual effect. Viewing the façade from any angle other than head-on, it becomes sculptural.  

This was an exceptionally exciting and enjoyable project for us. The enthusiasm, interest, and complete cooperation from the seminarians and staff were a daily spiritual boost for the entire Kegg team. This organ was installed in nine days, ready to be voiced, due largely to the excellent working conditions. Many thanks to James Cardinal Stafford, Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila, Dr. Mark Lawlor, and all our new friends at St. John Vianney.

—Charles Kegg

President and Artistic Director

 

The Kegg team:

Philip Brown

Michael Carden

Cameron Couch

Joyce Harper

Charles Kegg  

Philip Laakso 

Bruce Schutrum

Ben Schreckengost

Dwayne Short

 

GREAT (manual II, enclosed)

8′ Solo Diapason III (fr Gt 8′, 4′, Ped 8′)

8′ Principal (61 pipes)

8′ Concert Flute (1–32 existing, 33–73 

    new pipes)

8′ Dulciana (61 existing pipes)

8′ Unda Maris (TC, 49 pipes)

4′ Octave (73 pipes)

4′ Harmonic Flute (ext 8′)

2′ Fifteenth (ext 4′ Octave)

IV Mixture (2′, 244 pipes)

8′ Clarinet (61 existing pipes)

Tremulant

8′ Trumpet (Sw)

8′ Pontifical Trumpet (TC, 39 pipes, 

    C13–D51, polished brass, flared 

    bells, high pressure)

Chimes (console preparation)

Great 16

Great Unison Off

Great 4

8 stops, 11 ranks, 661 pipes

SWELL (manual III, enclosed)

16′ Gedeckt (73 existing pipes)

8′ Diapason (73 existing pipes)

8′ Gedeckt (ext 8′)

8′ Salicional (61 existing pipes)

8′ Voix Céleste (TC, 49 existing pipes)

4′ Principal (ext 8′)

4′ Harmonic Flute (73 existing pipes)

22⁄3′ Nazard (TC, 49 existing pipes)

2′ Flute (ext 4′)

13⁄5′ Tierce (TC, console preparation)

11⁄3′ Larigot (fr 22⁄3′)

IV Mixture (244 pipes)

16′ Trumpet (85 pipes)

8′ Trumpet (ext 16′)

8′ Oboe (61 pipes)

4′ Clarion (ext 16′)

Tremulant

Swell 16

Swell Unison Off

Swell 4

9 stops, 12 ranks, 768 pipes

CHOIR (manual I, enclosed with Great)

8′ Concert Flute (Gt)

8′ Dulciana (Gt)

8′ Unda Maris (TC, Gt)

4′ Principal (Gt 4′)

4′ Flute (fr Gt 8′)

2′ Octave (fr Gt 4′ Octave)

8′ Oboe (Sw)

8′ Clarinet (Gt)

Tremulant

8′ Pontifical Trumpet (Gt)

Choir 16

Choir Unison Off

Choir 4

PEDAL

32′ Resultant (derived)

16′ Principal (56 pipes)

16′ Subbass (44 existing pipes)

16′ Gedeckt (Sw)

8′ Octave (ext 16′)

8′ Subbass (ext 16′)

8′ Gedeckt (Sw)

4′ Choral Bass (ext 16′)

32′ Harmonics (derived)

16′ Trumpet (Sw)

8′ Trumpet (Sw)

4′ Clarinet (Gt)

2 stops, 2 ranks, 100 pipes

 

INTER-DIVISIONAL COUPLERS

Great to Pedal 8

Great to Pedal 4

Swell to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 4

Choir to Pedal 8

Choir to Pedal 4

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 8

Swell to Great 4

Choir to Great 16

Choir to Great 8

Choir to Great 4

Swell to Choir 16

Swell to Choir 8

Swell to Choir 4

Great/Choir Transfer

 

ADJUSTABLE COMBINATIONS

14 General pistons (1–14 thumb, 1–10 toe)

6 Great pistons (thumb)

6 Swell pistons (thumb)

6 Choir pistons (thumb)

4 Pedal pistons (toe)

General Cancel (thumb)

Set (thumb)

Range (thumb)

Undo (thumb)

Clear (thumb)

Next (General piston sequencer, 4 thumb, 1 toe)

Previous (2 thumb)

30 memories per User, unlimited Users

 

REVERSIBLES

Great to Pedal (thumb and toe)

Swell to Pedal (thumb)

Choir to Pedal (thumb)

Full Organ (thumb and toe)

32′ Harmonics (toe)

 

ACCESSORIES

Balanced Swell expression pedal

Balanced Great/Choir expression pedal

Balanced Crescendo pedal (2 memory adjustable, with numeric indicator)

Full Organ indicator

Transposer

Concave and radiating pedal clavier

Adjustable bench

 

TONAL RESOURCES

19 Stops, 25 Ranks, 1,529 Pipes

 

Organbuilder website: www.keggorgan.com

 

Seminary website: http://sjvdenver.edu