Cover Feature: A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company 50th anniversary

A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company, Lithonia, Georgia; Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Fort Pierce, Florida

As I contemplated writing this article about the new pipe organ for Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Fort Pierce, Florida, many things came to mind, several of them cathartic and all of them personally important. Fort Pierce is a location where, as they say, I have “roots.” I was born in the Fort Pierce area in 1967, and was baptized at the First United Methodist Church. In the ensuing years, my family would continue to come back to this community to visit, to rest, and for recreation. It was an important enough location to me that when I got married in the early 1990s, I brought my young wife to one of the barrier islands near Fort Pierce for our honeymoon. This area was special to me, and I wanted to share it.

Moving forward to 2022 and a country still in the grip of Covid, I am glad that, in light of the pandemic, the building of this instrument occurred at a time and place that is familiar, and that I was working for a congregation and clergy that are some of the finest people on this planet. One cannot have endured the last couple of years without considering the pandemic and its effects on the world, our houses of worship, and on many of us personally. This church and its people buoyed us. They have offered unyielding prayer, support, and an unbridled excitement for the completion of this project.

The commission to build this instrument started out in a world that was Covid-free. By the time we were taking out the old organ, we were in masks, with travel and work restrictions and navigating a brave new world. In the meantime, we continued our work with a myriad of social, business, and personal interaction changes.

Along with the personal challenges (and losses) that have been endured, we also have had to deal with supply chain and vendor issues. There have been several suppliers and major vendors that were not able to weather this disruptive period and ceased operations. We have been fortunate with our depth of resources, the excellence of our staff, and full order books, that we have been able to navigate this period in a way that not all have been able to do. This is and has been a very real blessing. As I write this, I am hoping that we are in the waning period of the pandemic, but we are still in masks, and there are still many in the hospital from this malady.

How it started

When we were approached to evaluate the original organ at Saint Andrew’s, we arrived to find an instrument that was in a failing condition. We made a detailed study of the entire instrument with its mechanical condition, scaling, and tonality, balanced with the church’s musical needs. We also looked at the organ layout, the chamber spaces, and the acoustics.

The former organ was an electric-action, open-toe instrument that was built in the late 1970s. The organ did have some nice moments and some good materials, but, as a whole, with its stoplist and tonal design, it was not well suited to support the choral and congregational needs of this Episcopal church. In its later years, the organ had been damaged in a hurricane and endured some unfortunate attempts by others to repair, augment, and change it. The organ had a number of older relay components along with a console that had been rebuilt by others with a used solid-state combination system of various ages of materials. Its condition had been further exacerbated by lightning strikes to its systems. The console and relays were not reliable and could not be made so without heroic work that simply could not be justified.

The layout of the original instrument caused multiple tuning and tonal issues. This was due to a Choir division that was double stacked with the main air return of the church in front of this division, the Great division located four feet above the choir loft floor, directly behind the choristers and below a stained-glass window, and the Swell division in a freestanding box in an organ chamber fronted with a fabric grille. All of this conspired to create major tuning issues inter- and intra-divisionally, as well as a lack of tonal focus.

Our plan

We proposed to work with a clean sheet in design that would fully support worship along with a new façade and case to provide visual enhancements to the chancel. With the proximity of the church to the coastline, we chose a façade design that was evocative of the billowed boat sails that one sees in the waters around the church. The center of the case includes quatrefoils and moulding details found in the stained-glass windows from the original church building. The center case features an open top to allow the central window to be seen with minimal occlusion. The façade pipes are built of polished aluminum and include 16′ and 8′ bass pipes of the Pedal and Great divisions.

The design of the new organ moved the divisions and the return ducts, placed a roof over the center division to mitigate the effects of the central stained-glass window, and generally has placed the pipework on a similar thermocline. There are openings behind the façade pipes to allow a free exchange of heat and air to the chamber spaces.

The church and its contractor must be commended for their revisioning of the chancel and renovation of the worship center of the church. Notably, this included the removal of carpet and the installation of marble in the altar area. The choir area was finished with custom tile and individual chairs replacing fixed pews. Not only is the area more functional, it is visually beautiful and aurally supportive to the organ and the choir. This church acoustic gives back to the listener, and it has gotten even better.

The new stoplist was envisioned first and foremost to support the musical needs of this church and its English choral tradition. There has always been a hope to use the music ministry for community outreach, so while focused on the choral and congregational worship needs of the organ, the stoplist is purposely eclectic in design, allowing it to support many different schools of organ and choral music.

As we designed the new organ, we did look at some of the existing pipes. The pipework contained in the old organ was generally of high quality with low cut-ups and an absence of nicks and other voicing techniques that were permanent to the pipes. It was, in a way, raw media waiting to be voiced. As a company, we have never shied away from evaluation of extant pipework for consideration. Equally important is that one should never—I emphasize, never—design an organ around the pipes that are present with this being the only consideration. It was clear to us that some of the pipework, for purposes of stewardship, could and should be considered for reuse as long as it did not compromise the overall tonal design. It was also clear that some pipework would not, and indeed should not, find a home in the new instrument. Our approach was to design the specification and scaling that should be at the church, and only then did we look afresh at the existing pipework to see if it could be recast. The pipes that were reused were revoiced, rescaled, and/or repitched for their new role. Many of these allowed the fiduciary luxury of additional pedal resources and mutations.

The specification is designed around a Great division with a well-developed, leading principal chorus. The design includes a second 8′ Geigen Principal to allow a differing root structure in the chorus or doubling of the 8′ pitch line. The flutes are designed to fold hand in glove with the chorus while maintaining an individual identity and voice for melodic solo lines. The reeds of the Choir-Positiv and Swell are duplexed to the Great.

The Great division is located at the cantilevered façade level of the organ case, which allows the sound to bloom forward of the choir. To help focus the Great division, the Bourdon chest and upper walkboard act as a canopy above the Great to project this division.

The Choir-Positiv division sits in the former central location of the old Great division, and was conceived as a diminutive, dual-natured division. Its design supports text painting under the choir while also supporting the literature bias of an unenclosed Positiv division. With a secondary principal chorus rooted with the 8′ Holzgedeckt and 8′ Erzahler, it acts as a counter chorus voice to the Great and Swell divisions. The 2′ Schweigel and 1-1⁄3′ Quint allow the chorus to have “mixture texture” that is unweighted and some of the first upperwork available in building the organ to its full voice.

The 8′ Erzahler was chosen because it allows a voice that is at one time a diminutive string while at another time a soft accompanimental voice that can be broadened with the 8′ flute line. It is given an 8′ celeste of similar scale and construction, and becomes one of the voices in the ether of the church acoustics.

The flutes of the Choir-Positiv include the 8′ Holzgedeckt and 4′ Gedeckt-Pommer that are voiced to retain a degree of chiff and puckishness while still folding in with their string and principal neighbors. The Choir-Positiv mutations and 2′ Schweigel are stops that walk the line between principal and flute. As hybrid voices, the 2-2⁄3′ Nasat, 2′ Schweigel, 1-3⁄5′ Terz, and 1-1⁄3′ Quint allow for a great deal of color, building of multiple solo stops, and upperwork support for chorus registers.

The color reed in the Choir-Positiv is an 8′ Cromorne with parallel shallots and lift lids. It supports a generous vowel cavity that allows it to be a chameleon stop: it can be a piquant solo voice that easily is broadened into the woodwind timbre of a Clarinet when compounded with the Holzgedeckt or drawn into the Great as a weightless ensemble reed to add color and complexity to the principal chorus.

The Swell division is designed with a secondary principal chorus that is harmonically rich and complements the leading voices of the Great. The Swell Mixture III is pitched at 2′ to allow for the logical completion of its principal chorus. As a lower-pitch enclosed mixture, it is the first mixture that can be drawn in building a seamless crescendo. As with the Choir-Positiv, the Swell was designed with a flute chorus of differing voices that allows color and a multiplicity of compound registers.

The Swell reeds have English shallots and are unified to develop the 16′-8′-8′-4′ reed chorus. For the desired color and tuning stability, all of the reeds are on an individual winding system to allow higher pressures and tremolos separate from the flue voices.

The Pedal division is grounded with an independent 16′-8′-4′ principal chorus and independent and duplex flute registers at multiple pitches. The Pedal reed is an independent 16′ Posaune that can be combined with the duplex registers of the Swell and Choir-Positiv reeds.

To provide 32′ weight in the Pedal we included the discrete use of some custom digital voices to allow for this pitch register where there was not space to accommodate the pipes. With the “genie out of the bottle” we opted to also include the color of several additional companion strings and celestes along with the ubiquitous 8′ Vox Humana to allow the building of a string organ within the Swell division. Please note that we have allowed the physical space in the Swell chamber for these pipe additions, minimizing the compromise.

The 8′ Festival Trumpet is one of several stops gifted from the Schlueter family to the church. This particular stop is given in honor of my wife, Stephanie Schlueter, whom I brought to Florida for our honeymoon so many years ago and who has personally supported me in the building of instruments for over thirty years. It is located in the Choir-Positiv expression box and includes console controls to allow it to independently float to all manual divisions and the Pedal. Being enclosed in the box provides for wide dynamic control that allows this reed to be used as an ensemble voice with the expression box closed. It is my hope that this signature stop is used often in the coming years to support weddings and festive occasions with church worship.

Much of the emotive quality of an instrument is not only the quality of the voices but also how they project from the organ chamber and their reaction to enclosure in an expression box. The expression boxes were carefully designed to be as sonically transparent as possible when open and to fully contain the divisions when closed. We also functionally use the expression shades to direct sound when they are open. In the Choir-Positiv we used horizontal expression shades on the front and on top of the expression box to direct the pipe speech up and forward of the choristers and, importantly, out to the congregation. In a like but disparate fashion, the Swell division with its off-axis location was designed with a very large two-story shade front that opens bi-directionally. This evenly focuses the voices of the Swell to the choir and congregation along the center core of the church.

The windchests on the organ are electro-pneumatic slider and electro-pneumatic unit action. The winding system is our normal combination of spring and weighted reservoirs with independent concussion bellows on the windchests. This church’s generous acoustic allowed us to use moderate wind pressures on the organ ranging from 2½ to 4 inches.

To control the instrument, we built a three-manual console with terraced drawknobs. It was constructed of sapele mahogany with drawknobs custom turned from African blackwood. With its low profile, it allows excellent sightlines to the choristers, and the inbuilt castors permit it to be moved as needed. For a control system, the console features the Syndyne 8400 system, which supports a large number of functions.

As I started this article, I mentioned that building this instrument was a cathartic exercise. One year prior to this, I was at Saint Simons Island Presbyterian Church finishing an instrument and received the imposition of ashes on my forehead for Ash Wednesday. At that time, I was still recovering from a bout of Covid that saw me hospitalized just prior to that installation. I was well reminded about my mortality. One year later, I was in Fort Pierce working on the completion of this instrument—again, on Ash Wednesday. When one is an organ builder, it is invariable that the church becomes the worksite. It was therefore my good fortune to have an opportunity for worship where I entered the church as a congregant. I was able to sit contemplatively in the church and see an image of Christ in the center window framed and focused by the new organ façade. I heard the music of the church. I heard the recitations of the members of the church mixed with my own voice. Again, I received the imposition of ashes on my forehead from a congregation that has adopted me as their own. This was followed by the communion and the bounty of grace it represents. On this day the instrument’s voice began to come alive to support the worship of this ministry. As pipe organ builders, the work that all of us do is to design and build instruments that will outlive us as they support worship and praise in the church. On this particular Ash Wednesday, it was personally brought home to me how welcome it is to see the sign of the Cross on my forehead and realize how truly fortunate I am as a father, husband, organ builder, and a Christian.

As always there are too many people to thank with a project like this one. First and foremost I would like to thank the Reverend Canon Ellis E. Brust, rector; Mr. Peter Charles and Mr. Andrew Hemmer, senior wardens; Mrs. Karen Kozac and Mr. Chris Kasten, organ committee chairs; Mr. Larry Clancey and Mr. Richard Stable, treasurers; Dr. Jerry Davidson, organist/choir director; and Kirk Carlson, general contractor.

I would also like to extend a thank you to our staff: Arthur E. Schlueter, Jr., Arthur E. Schlueter III, John Tanner, Marc Conley, Patrick Hodges, Jeremiah Hodges, Marshall Foxworthy, Peter Duys, Kerry Bunn, Shan Dalton-Bowen, Michael DeSimone, Al Schroer, Dallas Wood, Josse Davis, Bob Weaver, Preston Wilson, Clifton Frierson, Kelvin Cheatham, Ruth Lopez, Elio Lopez, Chad Sartin, Sara Cruz, Ruth Gomez, Yolanda Sandoval, Kymoni Colbourne, Juan Hardin, Demitrius Hardin, Rico Hardin, and Angie Lindsey.

Visit www.pipe-organ.com for more information or to contact A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company.

—Arthur E. Schlueter III, Visual and Tonal Direction, A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Co.

 

GREAT (manual II)

16′ Sub Principal (1–12 Ped 16′ Sub Princ, 13–61 Gt 8′ Geigen Princ)

8′ Principal 61 pipes

8′ Geigen Principal 49 pipes (1–12 Ped 8′ Octave)

8′ Bourdon 61 pipes

4′ Octave 61 pipes

4′ Hohlflöte 61 pipes

2′ Super Octave 61 pipes

V Cornet TC*

1-1⁄3′ Mixture IV 244 pipes

16′ Contra Oboe (Sw)

8′ Trumpet (Sw)

8′ Oboe (Sw)

8′ Cromorne (Ch)

CHOIR-POSITIV (manual I, enclosed)

8′ Holzgedeckt 61 pipes

8′ Erzahler 61 pipes

8′ Erzahler Celeste (TC) 49 pipes

8′ Schwebung II*

4′ Prinzipal 61 pipes

4′ Gedeckt Pommer 61 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Nasat (from G1) 54 pipes

2′ Schweigel 61 pipes

1-3⁄5′ Terz (from G1) 54 pipes

1-1⁄3′ Quint 61 pipes

8′ Cromorne 61 pipes

Tremolo

Zimbelstern (multiple bells)

Chimes

SWELL (manual III, enclosed)

16′ Lieblich Gedeckt 12 pipes (ext 8′ Rohr Flute)

16′ Flauto Dolce*

8′ Viola Pomposa 61 pipes

8′ Viola Celeste II 49 pipes (draws Viola Pomposa)

8′ Muted Violes II*

8′ Aeoline Celeste II*

8′ Rohr Flute 61 pipes

4′ Principal 61 pipes

4′ Spindle Flute 61 pipes

4′ Unda Maris II*

2-2⁄3′ Nazard (TC) 49 pipes

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

1-3⁄5′ Tierce (TC) 49 pipes

2′ Mixture III 183 pipes

16′ Contra Oboe (TC, from 8′)

8′ Trumpet 61 pipes

8′ Oboe 61 pipes

4′ Oboe (ext 8′ Oboe) 12 pipes

8′ Vox Humana*

Tremolo (Vox)

Tremolo (Main)

FANFARE (floating division)

16′ Festival Trumpet (TC) 49 notes

8′ Festival Trumpet 61 pipes

4′ Festival Trumpet 49 notes

Fanfare On Pedal

Fanfare On Great

Fanfare On Swell

Fanfare Off Choir-Positiv

PEDAL

32′ Untersatz*

16′ Sub Principal 32 pipes

16′ Bourdon 32 pipes

16′ Lieblich Gedeckt (Sw)

8′ Octave 32 pipes

8′ Bourdon 32 pipes

8′ Gedeckt (Sw)

4′ Choral Bass (Gt)

4′ Gedeckt (Sw)

2′ Gedeckt (Sw)

32′ Bombarde*

16′ Posaune 32 pipes

8′ Trumpet (Sw)

4′ Oboe Clarion (Sw)

* Digital stop/prepared for pipe additions

Couplers

Great to Pedal 8

Great to Pedal 4

Swell to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 4

Choir-Positiv to Pedal 8

Choir-Positiv to Pedal 4

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 8

Swell to Great 4

Choir-Positiv to Great 16

Choir-Positiv to Great 8

Choir-Positiv to Great 4

Choir-Positiv to Choir-Positiv 16

Choir-Positiv Unison Off

Choir-Positiv to Choir-Positiv 4

Swell to Choir-Positiv 16

Swell to Choir-Positiv 8

Swell to Choir-Positiv 4

Swell to Swell 16

Swell Unison Off

Swell to Swell 4

MIDI (as preset stops)

MIDI on Pedal

MIDI on Great

MIDI on Swell

MIDI on Choir-Positiv

60 stops, 38 ranks, 2,147 pipes

Builder’s website: www.pipe-organ.com

Church’s website: www.mystandrews.org/

 

Cover photo: Arthur E. Schlueter III; article photos contributed by the Reverend Canon Ellis E. Brust and the staff of A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company

A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Co., Lithonia, Georgia; St. Simons Island Presbyterian Church, St. Simons Island, Georgia

Arthur E. Schlueter, III, Visual and Tonal Direction, A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Co.

St. Simons Island is a coastal community with roots that include coastal Indian tribes, the Spanish occupation, pre-Revolutionary War America as part of the original American colonies, and John and Charles Wesley preaching on this island under the majestic oak trees. In more recent years it has developed into a coastal retreat that is known colloquially as part of the Golden Isles. As a point of reference, this part of Georgia has been a place of retreat and reflection for the Schlueter family for years.

It is in this setting that our work with St. Simons Island Presbyterian Church began several years ago. The original organ, built in 1984, was a modest 23 ranks in size divided up into a three-manual specification. It was prepared for a number of additions that had not been completed. Unfortunately, the environment of an island location can prove difficult on mechanical systems, and the console was failing. With its condition and reliability in question, the church sent out a query about replacing it with a new console and replacement of its electrical system and relays.

As we met with the church about the organ, we discussed their current needs as well as future plans and aspirations. Central to their planning was a major architectural change and enlargement of the church. While this would possibly be years in the offing, we knew that future needs had to be framed into our design of a replacement console.

We built a three-manual terraced console that would be able to control the then-present specification but also would be prepared for a new future instrument and enhanced specification. Its low profile allowed an easy sightline to the choir and congregation, which the former console never had, and portability with inbuilt castors. The console was built of mahogany with oblique drawknobs turned out of African blackwood. The control system we used allowed us to support the former specification, and could easily be programmed to support a larger and differing specification in the future.

It would be several years between the installation of the new console and the rebuilding of the church, but with the passage of time this became a reality. Our staff worked with the church architect to redesign the center organ space for a larger, more complete instrument.

When the church moved forward to renovate and enlarge their sanctuary, the future plans that we considered when the new console was built proved fruitful as a guide to the design of the new organ in its specification and space requirements.

The design of the new church sanctuary sought to use the basic shell and core of the church while providing a much more expansive chancel and wider transepts. This was achieved with additional seating while keeping a worship space that feels intimate.

The former instrument did not have any visible pipes and was behind a grille. Early on it was decided that there would be a visual element in the new organ with the inclusion of speaking façade pipes.

The visual design of the organ was two-fold; the lower portion of the organ case was to act as a rear wall to focus the choir, the upper portion of the case has a cantilever that not only breaks up the flat planes of the organ case but allows us a slight shelf to sonically project the organ forward of the choir, clergy, and cele-brants. The people in the chancel can hear the organ, but importantly do not have to take the brunt of the organ during large congregational registrations.

The ceiling height in the church did not allow for 16′ pipes. We designed the pipes to be overlength and back-slotted to give the 8′ Principal and 8′ Octave more loft than the façade otherwise would have had. The organ case pipes are built of polished aluminum and follow the fall of the ceiling. The varying-length toes of the façade pipes provide a gentle reinforcement to the other arcs in the sanctuary. The polished pipes do not act like mirrors; rather, they take on and subtly reinforce the natural lighting hues of the church. The end result of design is a pipe façade and case that not only is acoustically functional for the organ but also one that forms an elegant visual backdrop for the suspended cross.

To support tuning stability, the interior layout of the organ was designed to place the majority of the pipework on the same thermocline. The divisions’ orientation has the Swell on the left, the Great in the center with the Choir behind it, and the Pedal on the right. The expression boxes were designed to allow the organist to hear the entire range of degrees of expression through bi-directional use of the expression shades with multiple expression motors. This allows the organist to hear the organ in the same fashion it is heard by the congregant in the pews.

The new specification we designed was to have more tonal resources for choral and congregational accompaniment, more specification weight around an 8′ pitch center, and additional palettes of color. For use with choir and soloist, we envisioned an instrument with a large number of resources under expression. This allows even large registrations to be fully contained when text painting under the choir.

We knew that the church would use the instrument in outreach through public concerts with choir and organ. While the organ is fundamentally designed to support the music needs of the church service, the island that this church sits on supports a population with a rich arts community. In addition to the sacred use of the organ, we sought an enhanced ability to support a wider body of organ repertoire of many different periods and styles.

The new organ incorporates pipes from the previous instrument. This is an important consideration that we give gravity to in all of our work. Consider the gifts required to build an instrument. The generous people who give these gifts should have every hope and wish that their gifts continue to be honored. We cannot say it enough, stewardship is important.

Accordingly, in studying the previous instrument, we found that through divisional shifting of resources, along with revoicing, repitching, and/or rescaling, that much of the pipework could and should be retained. In all about one-third of the resources in the previous organ were able to find a home in the new instrument. The final specification is 38 ranks with resources and colors that eclipse the previous instrument.

The Great division was designed with a well-developed principal chorus with the 8′ and 4′ flute registers as thickening agents. The 4′ Hohlflöte in the Great is a chameleon that can take its place in the ensemble or be very effective as a solo device with the appropriate treble ascendance. The reeds of the Great are duplexed from the Swell. In this acoustic we chose English shallots with their “ah” vowel cavity that proves very friendly in this acoustic. The Swell division features side opening shades into the Great to provide equanimity of speech between the Great chorus and added reeds when used together. The Great has a second 8′ principal (Geigen Principal) that can be added for larger registrations to support robust congregational singing.

An unusual feature in the organ is the number of mutations. As discussed previously, we knew color to be important. The rich 2-2⁄3′, 1-3⁄5′, and 1-1⁄3′ pitches allow the large number of registers differing accents and solo devices with their use. Importantly, the parallel borrows of the 1-1⁄3′ pitches from the 2-2⁄3′ in the Swell and Choir provide the building of “mixture texture” in the Swell and Choir without aggression. The ability to fold in unweighted treble ascendance prior to registering the chorus mixtures allows a more seamless buildup of the organ crescendo.

The strings in the Swell and the Choir individually provide the necessary ether when required and when coupled together and drawing in the 8′ Muted Violes and the 8′ Vox Humana make an effective enclosed string organ. Again, in tipping our hat to a duality in stop design, the scale of the strings in both divisions allows them to act as small anchoring principals to the enclosed division choruses when drawn and thickened with the 8′ flute registers.

The Pedal has several independent registers to support the independent contrapuntal voice. We also provided a number of manual-to-pedal duplexes to provide additional grounding to the pedal. Because of space requirements, we utilized custom digital voices for 1–12 of the 32′ registers and for 1–12 of the 16′ Principal. These digital stops are voiced to seamlessly fold into the pipe resources.

While we did save some pipework, our experience with the organ, guided by the current organ curator, convinced us that a new chassis should be considered. The church sits on an island with extremes of humidity, and there had been seasonal problems with the organ chassis in conjunction with the regular environmental changes. The new chassis included all new electro-pneumatic slider windchests, new unit windchests, a new winding system, new support structure, and new expression boxes and swell shades. The aforementioned console and relays built by our firm were recast for the new specification.

Just as we prepared for growth when we built a new console years ago, there are plans for additional growth. The console has controls for a Fanfare division that will provide additional foundation for congregational support and allow the addition of a solo reed. While not only visually dramatic, the solo reed, when added, will provide the appropriate “sending” for the numerous weddings hosted at this church.

The organ was built and installed during the pandemic. I know that all of us have differing trials that occurred during this period of time. We were fortunate to have such a supportive church to work with along with supportive family and staff. We simply could not have accomplished the building and installation of this instrument without the help of so many. Their thoughts, prayers, and aspirations sustained and supported us. In the midst of the organ installation we were onsite during Ash Wednesday. With the fresh imposition of ashes on our foreheads, we were reminded that we come from dust and to dust we will return. It was comforting to know that as we take our place in history, our work will outlive us and continue to support the ministry, music, and worship at this church.

The members of this community of faith are to be commended for their dedicated and hard work. They sought to both preserve a worship space that was known while recasting it into a fundamentally new church. They diligently worked to provide a space that acoustically supports music and spoken word. In their work they excelled brilliantly. Accordingly, in addition to my family and staff, I want to single out: Rev. Alan Dyer, pastor; Rhonda Hambright, director of music; Amy Bishop, organist; James Freeman, instrument curator; Tom Baltzell, chair, building committee; Matt Hodgdon, building committee; Karen Schmidt, building committee; Robert Ussery, Ussery-Rule Architects; Cory Rule, Ussery-Rule Architects; Joe Combs, project manager, Ussery-Rule Architects; Tracy Morelan, design architect, Ussery-Rule Architects; Dee Davis, decorator; Ryan and Rand Tyson, owners, Tyson Construction Company; Chuck Miller, superintendent, Tyson Construction Company; members and friends of St. Simons Island Presbyterian Church.

The building of any instrument demands the efforts of a talented and dedicated team. Our team includes: Arthur E. Schlueter, Jr., Arthur E. Schlueter, III, John Tanner, Marc Conley, Patrick Hodges, Jeremiah Hodges, Marshall Foxworthy, Peter Duys, Bob Weaver, Kerry Bunn, Al Schroer, Shan Dalton-Bowen, Michael DeSimone, Dallas Wood, Josey Davis, Preston Wilson, Clifton Frierson, Kelvin Cheatham, Ruth Lopez, Sara Cruz, Ruth Gomez, and Yolanda Sandoval.

Visit www.pipe-organ.com for more information or to contact A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company.

Photo credit: Harlan Hambright

GREAT (Manual II)

16′ Pommer (Choir)

8′ Principal 61 pipes

8′ Geigen Principal 49 pipes (1–12 Pedal Principal)

8′ Bourdon 61 pipes

4′ Octave 61 pipes

4′ Hohlflöte 61 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Twelfth (TC) 49 pipes

2′ Super Octave 61 pipes

1-3⁄5′ Seventeenth (TC) 49 pipes

1-1⁄3′ Mixture III–V 281 pipes

Tremulant

16′ Contra Fagotto (Swell)

8′ Trumpet (Swell)

Chimes (Choir)

Zimbelstern

CHOIR (Manual I, enclosed)

16′ Pommer 61 pipes

8′ Holzgedeckt 61 pipes

8′ Erzahler 61 pipes

8′ Erzahler Celeste (TC) 49 pipes

4′ Weit Principal 61 pipes

4′ Gedeckt Pommer (ext 16′) 24 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Nasat (TC) 49 pipes

2′ Klein Octave 61 pipes

1-3⁄5′ Terz (TC) 49 pipes

1-1⁄3′ Quint (ext Nasat) 12 pipes

1′ Sifflöte (ext 16′ Pommer 12 pipes (top octave repeats)

II Carillon (from 1-1⁄3′ and 1-3⁄5′)

8′ Krummhorn 61 pipes

Tremulant

SWELL (Manual III, enclosed)

16′ Contra Viola (TC, from 8′ Viola)

8′ Viola da Gamba 61 pipes

8′ Viola Celeste (TC) 49 pipes

8′ Muted Violes II (digital)

8′ Rohrflöte 61 pipes

4′ Principal 61 pipes

4′ Koppelflöte 61 pipes

4′ Unda Maris II (digital)

2-2⁄3′ Nazard (TC) 49 pipes

2′ Flageolet 61 pipes

1-3⁄5′ Tierce 61 pipes

1-1⁄3′ Quint (ext Nazard) 12 pipes

2′ Plein Jeu III–IV 232 pipes

16′ Fagotto 61 pipes

8′ Trumpet 61 pipes

8′ Fagotto (ext 16′ Fagotto) 12 pipes

4′ Fagotto Clarion (ext 16′) 12 pipes

8′ Vox Humana (digital)

Tremulant

FANFARE (digital, prepared for pipes)

8′ Principal

8′ Flute Celeste II

4′ Octave

2′ Doublette

8′ Trompette en Chamade

Fanfare On Great

Fanfare Off Choir

PEDAL

32′ Untersatz (digital)

16′ Principal (digital)

16′ Subbass 32 pipes

16′ Pommer (Choir)

8′ Principal 32 pipes

8′ Subbass (ext 16′ Subbass) 12 pipes

4′ Choral Bass (ext 8′ Princ) 12 pipes

4′ Gedeckt Pommer (Choir)

32′ Contra Fagotto (digital)

16′ Posaune (ext, Sw 8′ Tpt) 12 pipes

16′ Fagotto (Swell)

8′ Trumpet (Swell)

4′ Clarion (Swell)

4′ Fagotto Clarion (Swell)

Couplers

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 8

Swell to Great 4

Choir to Great 16

Choir to Great 8

Choir to Great 4

Choir to Choir 16

Choir Unison Off

Choir to Choir 4

Swell to Choir 16

Swell to Choir 8

Swell to Choir 4

Swell to Swell 16

Swell Unison Off

Swell to Swell 4

Choir to Swell 8

MIDI to Pedal

MIDI to Great

MIDI to Swell

MIDI to Choir

38 ranks, 2,248 pipes

Paul Fritts & Company Organ Builders, Tacoma, Washington; Saint Thomas Episcopal Church, Terrace Park, Ohio

From the builder

More than a decade ago the people of Saint Thomas Episcopal Church in Terrace Park, Ohio, began planning for a renovation of their sanctuary. This led to the formation of an organ committee, which then secured the well-organized guidance of consultant Paul Thornock. Their previous organ’s shortcomings, large in number, had become obvious, and there was a desire to explore the numerous possibilities commissioning a new organ encompasses. We were first contacted about an organ project in 2014, and the project came full circle some nine years later with the arrival of the organ and installation at the church on September 10, 2023.

Budgets rarely enable an organ builder to do what they would really like to do in a given situation. This has a positive impact on our work because, among other things, it imposes the discipline of working efficiently without compromising high standards. Proficiency goes hand in hand with finding ways to maximize a budget’s “bang for the buck.” One theme of this project was to have the resources that meet the needs of the program thus pushing the budget higher than possible. We proposed repeating a previously built organ that would fit the church with little compromise, thus saving a great deal of design work. The organs we build are unique to their homes and are precisely engineered throughout with all aspects ideally coordinated for the best outcome. Utilizing an existing concept with minor modifications could save more than a thousand hours of design time. Labor is the leading cost building organs in a workshop where virtually every part of an organ is crafted from raw materials, so this time savings is significant, plus familiarity with the concept by the organbuilding team saves additional time.

Providing space on the windchests for pipes to be added at some future time also reduces the initial budget, but the expense of preparing for these pipes in an organ generally means building all the infrastructure except for the pipes. The downside of this is the uncertainty of when and if these stops will ever be funded. Despite this, the initial contract, signed in 2015, describes a twenty-five-stop instrument with Great, Swell, and Pedal divisions and seven preparations. All the preparations involved expensive reed stops except for one, which was a Mixture of six ranks bringing the organ to a total of thirty-two stops. Reed stops are a good choice for preparations due to their high cost and the fact that they can later be easily accessed at the rear of the windchests.

Throughout this project’s long delay, five other projects were moved ahead in the production schedule and the Saint Thomas people had additional time to fundraise. Over this period of time I made the decision to design an entirely new and unique concept for the organ. We have but one opportunity to push the boundaries of creativity with each project, and a new concept expanded what could be done despite the added cost to us. We always adhere to our contract obligations, and with this decision our ongoing policy of delivering more than promised continues. The decision was met with great enthusiasm by the church, and we moved forward with all of the stop preparations fully funded for a thirty-five-stop, two-manual and pedal organ. The organ contract was signed in 2015, but renovation planning and related fundraising progressed over many years until the actual organ building by our team of eight began early in 2022.

The new design is inspired by the so-called “Wide Hamburg Case,” which provides a good solution for this single-cased organ. Versions of this concept are relatively common throughout the Northern parts of Germany and the Netherlands, and we have experience building these relatively complicated cases. It features three protruding, segmented towers and two pointed towers with large pipes and a series of major-third-arranged treble pipe flats between. This theme is duplicated with a few modifications for the upper center section of the case, behind which stands the swell box.

The appearance appropriately gives a face to the tonal qualities of specific sixteenth- and seventeenth-century European instruments considered to showcase a high point of organ sound. In significant ways, these gorgeous and lasting sound qualities provide inspiration for our work. Despite these lofty goals, what the cooks end up creating is what counts, and this organ meets our goals. All who study the organ must be mindful that it is a workshop’s culture that determines the outcome of any organ, and more specifically, it is the workshop culture during the time of construction that determines the outcome of a specific organ.

At the risk of describing sound quality with words, I will say that the sound of the individual pipes is full, warm, sweet, unforced, and colorful. This combined with quick and subtle speech characteristics provide qualities that are remarkably useful, foremost in terms of individual beauty, but they also enable superior blending with other stops and adapt easily to a wide variety of acoustical environments and musical styles. If we are to achieve these goals, other aspects of the organ must be in place throughout the concept. These include a free-standing case within the space with tightly grouped façade pipes and three-dimensional carvings, compact, customized chest layouts, relatively low wind pressure, pallets (valves) opened by means of a direct mechanical key action, a robust wind system, and more. A three-sided swell box, string stops, an authentic French Symphonic Hautbois, and a modern combination system (combined with the mechanical stop action) broaden the overall concept.

The pipes and their voicing are the most important contributors to the success of an organ. All the metal pipes are made in our workshop from tin-lead sheets of various alloys, exclusively cast on a tightly packed and flat sand bed. The very rapid cooling of the pipe metal on this sand surface (compared to a relatively long cooling period on a cloth-covered stone table) produces metal sheets with a smaller crystalline structure. This has a discernable benefit to the sound and speech of the pipes. Beyond this advantage, the details of the pipe construction and voicing contribute substantially to the final tonal result.

The Saint Thomas case is made of ammonia fumed and oiled, solid white oak. Fuming accelerates the natural darkening of white oak for a rich, stain-free look. We were fortunate to find a supplier who imports from Germany sawn logs that have been kept together after drying. Generally, the wood from one log is similar in color and texture throughout. In this case, one log yielded enough material to build the entire case front, guaranteeing a remarkable consistency of appearance throughout. The carvings are also of white oak and were carved by Christiane Sandler.

I am grateful to work with a great team of craftsmen and contributors here at the Fritts workshop: Greg Bahnsen, Zane Boothby, Rain Daley, Raphi Giangiulio, Erik McLeod, Andreas Schonger, Bruce Shull, Ben Wooley, and our bookkeeper, Marlon Ventura. All of us share a deep appreciation for the continued support and enthusiasm of the Saint Thomas Episcopal Church community.

—Paul Fritts

From the associate director of music and organist

The decade-long journey that led to the completion of the new Paul Fritts & Company organ at Saint Thomas Episcopal Church in Terrace Park, Ohio, likely echoes most of the stories we read in these journals about acquiring new instruments. Though I could rightfully boast about the excellence of our committee, our superb consultant, and the absolute joy it was to traverse the path together that led to this marvelous accomplishment, the immediate impact of this organ in the life of Saint Thomas and its role in realizing the vision of the role of music and beauty at this church is much more impactful.

The mission of music at Saint Thomas is to change lives by bringing people closer to our Heavenly Father through the divine gift of music both in and beyond our church. We seek to do this through inspiring traditional worship, enriching the artistic life of our community through the supporting of the offering of sacred music at the highest and most profound levels, and sharing the profundity and beauty of our worship tradition to new generations. We seek to fulfill this mission and vision with all the diligence we can muster. Our fully capable Parish Choir (comprising mostly volunteers, with just a few singers invited to lead our sections) and our monthly series of Bach Vespers, in which we seek to present the cantatas of Bach in their original context as a part of worship, earnestly and capably endeavor to fulfill our mission.

To fulfill the mission of music at Saint Thomas, church leadership and the organ committee sought that the result of our renovated chancel and new organ would be of utmost beauty, for “beauty is an ultimate value—something that we pursue for its own sake, and for the pursuit of which no further reason need be given. Beauty should therefore be compared to truth and goodness, one member of a trio of ultimate values.”¹ We sought that this beauty would, both aurally and visually, serve the mission of our music program.

We feel that we have succeeded beyond our wildest imaginations. Paul Fritts & Company Opus 43 is the realization of utmost aural and visual beauty. I cannot walk into the church without my eyes drawn heavenward as they fall on this magnificent instrument. All too quickly, as I go to practice and utilize this organ in its intended role of enriching life and drawing people closer to our Heavenly Father through the power of the highest quality of sacred music, it is evident that this instrument some would argue is built rigidly in one style of organbuilding is absolutely worthy of magnificently presenting all of the literature in the realization of the mission of music at Saint Thomas.

In a time where we forsake timeless traditions and philosophies that have guided us to where we are today, it is our hope and desire that the time-honored tradition of presenting music of the highest quality will edify, inspire, and uplift all who come to partake of the music and worship offerings at Saint Thomas, that the excellence we strive for will find a home in the hearts of those who enter our doors and provide guidance, comfort, and cheer, leading to a greater relationship with our Heavenly Father.

This magnificent organ is the perfect vehicle for us as we seek to perpetuate this goal. We warmly invite and welcome all who wish to come and see!

—Jason M. Gunnell

 

www.stthomasepiscopal.org

www.bachensemble.org

 

The Rev. Darren R. S. Elin, rector

Dr. Carlton Monroe, director of music

Dr. Jason M. Gunnell, associate director of music and organist

 

The Saint Thomas Organ Committee

Vern Thomas, chairman

The Rev. Daniel Grossoehme

Jason M. Gunnell

Mary Malotke

Gerry Michaud

Carlton Monroe

Brian Rau

The Rev. Robert E. Reynolds

Paul Thornock, consultant

1. Roger Scruton, Beauty: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011), 2.

 

GREAT (Manual I)

16′ Bourdon

8′ Principal

8′ Rohrflöte

4′ Octave

4′ Spitzflöte

3′ Quint

2′ Octave

1-3⁄5′ Tierce

Mixture IV–VI

8′ Trompet

8′ Dulcian

 

SWELL (Manual II)

8′ Praestant (façade)

8′ Principal

8′ Gedeckt

8′ Violdigamba

8′ Voix celeste

4′ Octave

4′ Rohrflöte

3′ Nasat

2′ Octave

2′ Blockflöte

1-3⁄5′ Terz

1-1⁄3′ Larigot

Mixture IV–V

16′ Fagott

8′ Trompet

8′ Hautbois

 

PEDAL

16′ Subbaß

8′ Principal

8′ Bourdon (ext Subbaß)

4′ Octave

2′ Nachthorn

16′ Posaune

8′ Trompet

4′ Trompet

 

Couplers

Swell to Great

Great to Pedal

Swell to Pedal

 

Compass

Manual: 58 notes

Pedal: 30 notes

 

Other

Polished tin front pipes

Solid wood casework with carved pipe shades

Suspended, direct mechanical key action

Mechanical stop action

Multi-level combination system with divisionals, generals, and sequencer

Tremulant

Wind Stabilizer

Zimbelstern

 

35 stops, 43 ranks, 2,223 pipes

Peragallo Pipe Organ Company, Patterson, New Jersey; Saint Malachy Catholic Church, Brownsburg, Indiana

From the builder

When you arrive at a church for the first look and are greeted by the entire staff, you are off to a good start! That was the case with Saint Malachy. Hector Salcedo, the music minister, was joined by the pastor, Father Sean Danda, and the associate pastor, Father Michael Clawson, the business manager, John Kiefer, and the facility manager, Doug Tapscott, and finally the technical wizard, Michael Jasiak, as we walked through the door. This collegial team listened as we discussed everything from acoustics, organ location and casework design, tonal specifications, funding the instrument, and of course—where the best Italian trattoria in the area would be found.

This parish is so welcoming, with a generous gathering space with warm greeters flanked by social areas before entering the nave. You can feel that this place is built and operates well beyond just “Sunday Mass” and provides its parishioners with a full offering of social gatherings. All throughout the installation we were surprised with community events the church would host such as the county fair and hog roast! Approaching the church from the corn fields, one is taken with the free-standing bell tower and the church leaping high into the sky.

This nave is grand, with a seating capacity of over 1,200 and a very unconventional 270-degree in-the-round floor plan. The challenge quickly became how to situate an organ that could cover the full breath of floor space. The acoustical environment was perfectly bright and semi-reverberant, with plenty of height and lots of hard surfaces.

The first order of business was the tonal design. The back and forth with Hector was great—with many late-night conversations. The resulting instrument grew to “cathedral” proportions with a French design controlled from our low-profile terraced four-manual console. The console is movable, as the parish concert series is most active. Within minutes of completion, before the tools were even packed, Hector combined forces with the Diocesan Cathedral Choir and director Andrew Motyka, and accompanied a performance of the Duruflé Requiem as part of a parish Mass.

Frank Peragallo and John Peragallo IV designed a stepped, angled casework to project the tone of the instrument around the church. This proved most effective, and the ceiling’s reflectiveness added to the success of the full tonal coverage. Finally, the addition of a Celestial division, positioned high in the center of the room, offers the organist another tool in accompanying congregational hymnody and moving the solo colors around the room.

The repurposed Reuter pipes were reworked and placed on a new chassis, with the only “new” rank of pipes being the Trompette en Chamade with flared resonator bells. Rather than it being a true commander, it tops the chorus nicely and can be pulled in smoothly for big endings. We left the “party horn” for the Celestial organ where the Walker digitally sampled Tuba Magna offers a powerful yet comfortable alternative to the pipe “chamade.”

The tonal specification provides complete divisions in typical French style. There are three expressive divisions to properly accompany choral singing. A variety of celestes, solo reeds, and percussion are available. The tonal finishing was performed by John Peragallo III with Anthony Peragallo, a fourth-generation organ builder; they were able to successfully blend the repurposed pipework into a true bouquet of sound.

The Solo division, which lives on the fourth clavier, allows the organist to access a variety of stops from various divisions—such as the Great Cornet décomposé, the Positif 8′ Cromorne, and 16′ Clarinette playing at 8′ pitch. The Trompette en Chamade is also available at 16′, 8′, and 4′ pitches non-coupling for easy access. Hector’s skills at improvisation are evident as he employs these stops without concern for the plenum of the other divisions. The Solo is also home to an additional principal chorus of large scale and fiery chorus reeds.

As mentioned, the heavenly Celestial division floats down from on high, offering a nice alternative with a full complement of flutes, strings, reeds, and an additional principal chorus and a tower carillon.

Considerable thought, design, and engineering was put into the planning of this beautiful instrument, so that three important functions of a church organ would be achieved: the leading of worship in song, satisfying the performance requirements of the major musical compositions written for “The King of Instruments,” and finally, enhancing the architectural magnificence of the building. We firmly believe these goals have been fulfilled with the new Peragallo organ at Saint Malachy Church. Since its installation the organ has supported an ambitious concert series and weekly liturgies, taking the music to a new level of inspirational praise.

Many thanks to all at Saint Malachy who assisted in this noble project including Reverend Sean Danda, pastor, Mr. Hector Salcedo, director of music, John Kiefer, business manager, Michael Jasiak, videographer, who documented the entire project; and finally, the talented staff of the Peragallo Organ Company.

—John Peragallo III

From the music director

Saint Malachy Catholic Church in Brownsburg, Indiana, has a history dating back more than 150 years. It was founded by natives of Ireland who immigrated to America in the late 1840s. In 2014 the parish relocated to a site outside town in the beautiful countryside. The parishioners insisted on building a bigger church, and after much effort, our current magnificent structure became a reality. Since the project’s inception, the possibility of having a pipe organ was considered.

In 2017 I was hired as music director of the parish, and I had the dream of fulfilling the task of seeing a pipe organ installed in our church. Of course, purchasing a pipe organ is not an easy task. I first subscribed to an email list to receive notifications of any second-hand pipe organs for sale.

In May 2019 I received an email announcing the sale, at an affordable price, of Reuter Opus 1368 (1962), three manuals, 33 ranks, at the Northminster Presbyterian Church, located in Indianapolis. What a great opportunity to be able to play the organ before buying it, and even better, to take my pastor to listen to it! He was so enthusiastic that after a month he signed the contract. Goulding & Wood removed the instrument, and we put the organ in storage until we were able to raise the necessary funds.

The organ was originally built in 1958 for the American Guild of Organists convention in Houston, Texas. It then had two manuals, 25 ranks. In 2006 Schantz built a new three-manual console; following that, Goulding & Wood added the 16′ Principal extension to the Pedal.

After making a short list of organbuilders, we interviewed three of them, and decided that Peragallo was the best option for us. Their unique approach as well as their quality workmanship were just what we were looking for. John Peragallo III is also an organist, so he knows what an organist needs. We had many conversations about the tonal palette and the best option to enlarge it. We wanted an organ to support the liturgy by accompanying the congregation, choir, and cantors, while also providing sufficient tonal resources for organ literature. We decided to expand the organ with more pipes and with digital stops from Walker Technical Company. There was no doubt that the French style would cover all our needs. We also needed a moveable console for the different activities we have in our parish, and thus decided to build a new console.

Frank Peragallo inspected the organ in storage and pointed out major defects and other concerns. After many conversations, we decided to build a completely new chassis, keeping only the pipes.

Our church has a semicircular shape where the sides open a little more at an angle. This meant that if we built an organ parallel to the wall, the sound would be projected in a direction other than the center of our church. We decided to angle the casework in such a way that near the chancel it would be narrower, and it would widen as you move away from it. Frank Peragallo created the design, and we loved it from the first sketch. He used visual elements from our own church to make the organ look like it had always been there. Even the music rack is reminiscent of the railing that surrounds the sanctuary.

This pipe organ was built in a short period of time thanks to our many generous donors and the incredible crew of the Peragallo Pipe Organ Company. It was amazing to see how many people were eager to have a pipe organ in our parish.

—Hector Salcedo

Hector Salcedo studied composition, organ, and improvisation at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome. He was an assistant organist in the Vatican and a member of the Cappella Giulia and the Choir of the Vicariato della Basilica di S. Pietro.

Photo credit: Michael Harker

 

Builder’s website: www.peragallo.com

Church’s website: stmalachy.org

GRAND ORGUE  (manual I)

16′ Violone 61 wps

8′ Montre I 61 wps

8′ Montre II 61 pipes

8′ Violoncelle 61 wps

8′ Flûte Harmonique* 49 pipes

8′ Bourdon 61 pipes

8′ Cor de Nuit (Récit)

8′ Cor de Chamois Celeste II (Positif)

4′ Prestant 61 pipes

4′ Flûte Fuseau 61 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Quinte 61 wps

2′ Doublette 61 pipes

2′ Flûte à Bec (ext) 12 pipes

1-3⁄5′ Tierce  61 wps

III Fourniture 183 pipes

IV Cymbale 244 wps

16′ Contre Trompette 61 wps

8′ Trompette 61 wps

4′ Clairon 61 wps

8′ Trompette en Chamade (Solo)

16′ G.O.

  G.O.Unison

  4′ G.O.

Chimes

G. O. Midi 1

  G. O. Midi 2

POSITIF (expressive, manual II)

16′ Quintaton 61 wps

8′ Montre 61 wps

8′ Flûte à Cheminée 61 pipes

8′ Viola Pomposa 61 wps

8′ Viola Celéste 61 wps

8′ Cor de Chamois 61 pipes

8′ Cor de Chamois Celéste (TC) 49 pipes

4′ Principal 61 pipes

4′ Flûte Traversière 61 pipes

4′ Unda Maris II (composite)

2′ Octavin 61 pipes

1-1⁄3′ Larigot 61 pipes

1′ Sifflet 61 pipes

III Fourniture 183 wps

III Scharf 183 pipes

16′ Clarinette 61 wps

8′ Trompette Doux 61 wps

8′ Cromorne 61 pipes

Tremulant

8′ Tuba Mirabilis (Celestial)

16′ Positif

Positif Unison

4′ Positif

Positif Midi 1

Positif Midi 2

RECIT (expressive, manual III)

16′ Bourdon Doux 61 wps

8′ Montre 61 pipes

8′ Flûte Bouchée 61 pipes

8′ Viole de Gambe 61 pipes

8′ Voix Celéste (TC) 49 pipes

8′ Flauto Celeste II 122 wps

4′ Prestant 61 pipes

4′ Flûte Ouverte 61 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Nasard 61 pipes

2′ Doublette (ext) 12 pipes

2′ Flûte à Bec 61 pipes

1-3⁄5′ Tierce 61 pipes

III–IV Plein Jeu 244 wps

16′ Basson 61 pipes

8′ Trompette 61 pipes

8′ Hautbois  61 wps

8′ Voix Humaine 61 wps

4′ Clarion (ext) 12 pipes

Tremulant

8′ Trompette en Chamade (Solo)

16′ Récit

Récit Unison

4′ Récit

Récit Midi 1

Récit Midi 2

SOLO (manual IV)

16′ Montre (G.O.)

8′ Montre 61 wps

8′ Flûte Majeure 61 wps

8′ Bourdon (G.O.)

4′ Octav 61 wps

4′ Flûte Octaviante (G.O.)

2-2⁄3′ Quinte (G.O.)

2′ Octavin (G.O.)

1-3⁄5′ Tierce (G.O.)

V Fourniture Harmonique 305 wps

III Tierce Cymbale 183 wps

16′ Bombarde Harmonique 61 wps

8′ Trompette Harmonique 61 wps

4′ Clairon Harmonique 61 wps

8′ Cor Anglais 61 wps

8′ Cromorne (Positif)

8′ Clarinette (Positif)

16′ Trompette en Chamade (G.O.)

8′ Trompette en Chamade* 49 pipes

Tremulant

Solo Unison

Chimes

CELESITAL (floating)

8′ Principal 61 wps

8′ Flûte à Pavillon 61 wps

8′ Viole Sordone 61 wps

8′ Viole Celéste 61 wps

4′ Octav 61 wps

4′ Flûte Amabile 61 wps

2-2⁄3′ Nasat 61 wps

2′ Octavin 61 wps

1-3⁄5′ Tierce 61 wps

V Fourniture 305 wps

8′ Tuba Mirabilis 61 wps

8′ Corno di Bassetto 61 wps

Tremulant

16′ Celestial

Celestial Unison

4′ Celestial

PÉDALE

32′ Contre Basse 32 wps

32′ Contre Bourdon 32 wps

16′ Flûte Ouverte 32 wps

16′ Montre 32 pipes

16′ Violone (G.O.)

16′ Bourdon 32 wps

16′ Bourdon Doux (Récit)

8′ Octav Basse 32 pipes

8′ Bourdon (ext 16′) 12 wps

8′ Flûte Doux (Récit)

8′ Cor de Chamois (Positif)

4′ Doublette 32 pipes

4′ Flûte Ouverte (G.O.)

IV Fourniture 128 pipes

32′ Contre Bombarde 32 wps

16′ Bombarde 32 wps

16′ Contre Trompette (G.O.)

16′ Basson (Récit)

8′ Trompette (G.O.)

4′ Cromorne (Positif)

8′ Trompette en Chamade (Solo)

Tower Carillon

wps = Walker pipe sampled

* 1–12 wps

 

Couplers

Grand Orgue à Pédale 8, 4

Recit à Pédale 8, 4

Positif à Pédale 8, 4

Solo à Pédale 8, 4

Celestial à Pédale, 8

Récit à Grand Orgue 16, 8, 4

Positif à Grand Orgue 16, 8, 4

Solo à Grand Orgue 8

Celestial sur Grand Orgue 8

Récit à Positif 16, 8, 4

Solo à Positif 8

Celestial sur Positif 8

Grand Orgue à Positif 8

Celestial sur Récit 8

Solo à Récit 8

Celestial sur Solo 8

Manual Transfer G.O./Positif

 

Pedal Movements

Celestial / Solo

Positif

Récit

Crescendo

 

Combination System

General 1–12 thumb and toe

Récit 1–6 thumb

G.O. 1–6 thumb

Positif 1–6 thumb

Solo 1–6 thumb

Celestial 1–4 thumb

Pédale 1–5 toe

Cancel

Grand Orgue à Pédale thumb and toe

Récit à Pédale  thumb and toe

Positif à Pédale thumb and toe

Récit à Grand Orgue thumb

Positif à Grand Orgue thumb

Solo a Grand Orgue thumb

Recit a Positif

Etoile Sonore toe

Tûtti thumb and toe

Next and Previous thumb and toe

Contre Basse 32 toe

Contre Bourdon 32 toe

Contre Bombarde 32 toe

Ipad Page Back thumb and toe

Ipad Page Forward thumb and toe

All Récit à Récit thumb

Bass Coupler thumb

G.O. Melody Coupler thumb

 

40 ranks / 50 Walker pipe sampled

Joyce Johnson Robinson

Joyce Johnson Robinson is a past editor of The Diapason.

The Diapason’s 20 under 30 winners represent leaders not only in performance (organ, harpsichord, carillon, and church music), but also those who build, restore, and maintain instruments. In our first interview with a young builder, we find out more about Nicholas Wallace, of The Diapason’s inaugural 20 under 30 Class in 2015.

Nicholas Wallace holds a bachelor’s degree in classical guitar performance, graduating with honors from the Osher School of Music at the University of Southern Maine, Portland. Though he grew up in the organ business, it was after graduating from college that Nick joined David E. Wallace & Co. full time. As the junior partner, Nick now runs many aspects of the business, but focuses on visual and mechanical design, shop production, and general project management.

Leading Wallace & Co. of Gorham, Maine, into a new generation, Nick has expanded the shop’s capability to build new mechanical-action organs alongside the detailed restorations of nineteenth-century tracker organs that Wallace & Co. has built a reputation for over the last four decades. Nick is a member of the Organ Historical Society and is a board member of the American Institute of Organbuilders.

Nick, you grew up within organbuilding. Did your father inspire you to work as an organbuilder? How did your father get you started?

My grandparents were musicians and my great-grandmother was a church organist her whole life. That had a considerable influence on my dad when he was growing up. Like many kids back then, he took piano lessons, which eventually turned into organ lessons. Dad and my uncle attended concerts with my grandfather on the famous Kotzschmar Organ in Portland City Hall in the 1960s. Having the opportunity to see this major instrument inside and out was a considerable inspiration for Dad. While he was in college, he apprenticed with a Boston-area organ shop and began to learn the details of organ restoration and new organ construction.

One story Dad likes to tell is that when he was eleven years old, my great-grandmother asked him to go with her to the New Gloucester, Maine, Congregational church to play a memorial service for a friend. At that time in 1961 the George Stevens organ was still hand-pumped, which became Dad’s task for the service. This Stevens organ has had a definite influence on me and the tonal direction for Wallace & Co. Its modest scaling and colorful voicing paired with its historic unequal temperament make for a very charming instrument. The restorative work in both 1999 and 2020 along with the documentation of this Stevens organ serve as inspiration to the physical and tonal design of our new organs, in particular our Opus 78 in Ancaster, Ontario. (See “New Organs,” November 2020, page 13.)

During the 2023 pre-Christmas tuning season I had the pleasure of tuning dozens of organs that I have known my entire life. As I was up in the organs tuning rank after rank I could remember back to times when I was young enough that Dad would have to reach over to the end of the chest to pull a slider because the stop knob was too high on the stop jamb for me to reach.

Your degree is in classical guitar performance. Tell us about that.

I grew up in the classical music and organ music worlds, but studying classical guitar in college helped refine my musicality. While in college I focused on the music of South American composers like Heitor Villa-Lobos, Agustín Barrios, and Astor Piazzolla, no doubt a rebellion against the European music I had always known! Like the other plucked string instruments, as soon as you strike a note on the guitar the sound starts to fade. To deal with this issue I spent many guitar lessons discussing articulation and dynamics to best shape phrases. Midway through college I began organ lessons as well. Once again, these same ideas were front and center. Studying the two instruments simultaneously was very beneficial in this respect even though the two instruments are otherwise very different.

An important lesson that I learned from the guitar is the power of playing softly. Because of the size of the guitar and the immediate decay of the notes, even at its loudest the guitar is a quiet instrument. I am quick to notice during any performance how quiet the audience becomes and how carefully they tend to listen. I always remember this influence when designing an organ. Louder and more colorful stops are indispensable for leading singing and playing repertoire, but the more delicately voiced stops are of great importance, particularly in smaller instruments.

Did your organ study with Harold Stover and Ray Cornils influence your work in organbuilding and restoration? In what way?

Absolutely. Reading through and practicing a little of the repertoire, some hymns, and discussing the basics of playing has come in handy on a near-daily basis. It’s always helpful to get more insight into what organists need and why.

E. & G. G. Hook & Hastings Opus 845, a single-manual, two-rank instrument from 1876, resided in your family’s home for some years. Did this spur your interest in pipe organ construction?

I see this organ every day in the shop. It is interesting in that it was built by E. & G. G. Hook & Hastings as a sort of “portable” organ as it disassembles into several large pieces. Subsequently, I have had the chance to move this organ into several locations. I believe this design helped to influence Dad when he built the educational “Kotzschmar Jr.” organ for the Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ. Kotzschmar Jr. comes apart into four major sections and can fit in a minivan.1 Also inspired by this “portable” construction is my design for Wallace & Co. Opus 73. This organ is the performance counterpart to Kotzschmar Jr. and has a little more variety than Hook Opus 845 with three-and-a-half stops.

You worked with C. B. Fisk, Inc., during your college years on the installation of their Opus 130 in Costa Mesa, California—a much larger instrument than Hook Opus 845! What did you learn from this experience?

Working with Fisk was a great experience, and there was much to learn. Fisk Opus 130 is a very large instrument, but even by that time, I had spent years with the Kotzschmar Organ in Merrill Auditorium. I spent three weeks out in California for that installation, and the very last thing that I did was install the Great and Positive keyboards. That installation was my first experience with carbon fiber trackers. To this day Wallace & Co. is still making our own wooden trackers, but with some larger projects on the horizon, perhaps we will join in all the fun soon. Someday I will have to go visit Fisk Opus 130 to see what it is like.

Do you have a library of books on organbuilding? Which ones do you consult?

In recent years I have done my best to add to the library in the organ shop. On most days if we are looking something up, given the nature of our work we will likely reach for Audsley or Dom Bédos. Years ago, we took over the contents of a colleague’s shop and ended up with piles of past publications from the International Society of Organbuilders. There is a wealth of informative articles about every aspect of organ building in these journals written by different organ builders from around the world.

In recent years I have made a point to document the old organs that Wallace & Co. has restored. This usually amounts to careful measurements of the pipework and notes about the key action and any other interesting information. The data from all this documentation work is also something that we regularly reference.  In 2021 Nami Hamada (now the tonal director at C. B. Fisk) and I began the ongoing documentation of E. & G. G. Hook Opus 288 at Saint John’s Catholic Church in Bangor, Maine.

You designed an organ for Saint Paul’s Anglican Church in Brockton, Massachusetts, at a rather young age. What was that experience like, and what did you learn from it?

I had to go back and check, but yes, twenty-four is young for that sort of responsibility these days. When we started Opus 66 in 2010, I had been working in the shop for ten years. Most aspects of this project were not new to me. For years I had been making and restoring wind systems, key and stop actions, and slider windchests. In 2009 I built my first case for Wallace & Co. Opus 62, for the Congregational Meetinghouse of Perry, Maine. Looking back, I can see that all the work prior to 2010 was a natural progression to the design and construction of my first complete instrument.

In the process of designing and building I was certainly not alone. Mechanically and structurally the organ bears a great resemblance to the smaller organs of Hook & Hastings. The two-division, single-grid slider chest, the simple backfall design of the key action, and the double-rise reservoir are all directly inspired by several small Hook & Hastings organs that I had worked on. Tonally the organ takes cues from the work of George Stevens in the 1850s with the scaling of the Great 8′ Chimney Flute and the 4′ and 2′ principals mirroring the 1857 George Stevens organ that I mentioned earlier. I also had my dad in the shop and other colleagues with whom to discuss certain design elements. Opus 66 has served well for the past thirteen years, and the organ has been a pleasure to visit for semi-annual tunings.

Wallace & Co. has done several international projects. What brought you to doing international projects, and did you find the experience rewarding?

Two of my favorite projects have been Wallace & Co. Opus 78 for the Ancaster Canadian Reformed Church in Ancaster, Ontario, and the restoration and relocation of E. & G. G. Hook Opus 173 for the Church of Our Lady and Saint Rochus in Boom, Belgium. These international experiences were rewarding and career broadening in ways that I’m still discovering to this day. My first international project was the restoration and installation of Hook Opus 173 in Boom, Belgium. The late Gerard Pels, a Belgian organbuilder, was working as a consultant for the church when he saw our listing of the Hook organ for sale. The 1854 date of the organ and its Gothic-style case matched the date and architecture of the church perfectly. Pels asked if we would be willing to restore and then install the organ in Boom. After a little research, we agreed to do the project. I worked all summer and then took a semester off from the university to join the crew for the installation. During the first week of installation the Pels crew assisted us with unloading the shipping container and the beginning of the installation. Even with our limited Dutch and their limited English, we all had a great first week sharing our organ stories over lunch or while assembling parts of the organ.

The other international venture was Wallace & Co. Opus 78 for the Canadian Reformed Church in Ancaster, Ontario, where the project involved building a new two-manual, twenty-seven-rank organ for the church. To date, this is the largest new organ designed and constructed by Wallace & Co. Just like our Opus 66 in Brockton, Massachusetts, so many of my previous projects led to the design of this unique organ. As has been typical, my design for this organ leaned towards the more traditional in its appearance, its actions, and its sound. All mechanical systems within the organ, the key action, stop action, and wind system draw inspiration from historical designs with some modern materials used. The project was very successful and has brought great support to the church’s worship services. We consider that the project was one of our most successful for the design and construction of a new organ.

Working with the church leaders, musicians, and organbuilding colleagues in different countries was a great experience, and I learned a lot. It is no surprise that any church that adds a pipe organ to their music program and worship experience is the same, no matter how many borders you cross. They want a top-quality instrument that meets or surpasses their musical needs now and well into the future.

Do you prefer to create new instruments or do restorations?

I enjoy both new and old instruments. I do not think that it is necessary for organbuilders to only do one or the other. In fact, I find it quite beneficial to do both. The attention to detail, knowledge of mechanics, and the organizational skills required to build new organs greatly improves a restoration. Likewise, the historical knowledge and respect for past building methods gives greater depth to the design of a new organ. The study of older organs can also serve as a wonderful source of inspiration in new organ designs.

What are your recent projects?

The last few projects have been a series of Hook & Hastings organs. In March of 2023 we finished the installation of Hook & Hastings Opus 1192 at Saint Alban’s Episcopal Church in Staten Island, New York. This was a top-to-bottom restoration where we carefully cleaned and restored all parts of the organ. The wind system received new feeder bellows and a new hand pump mechanism. The new hand pump system, which was designed based on the documentation of other period instruments, provides a smooth and quiet alternative to the blower, which can also be used.

At the end of May 2024 we completed  the restoration of Hook & Hastings Opus 1763 for Saint James Episcopal Church in Prouts Neck, Maine. This project required more re-creation than other projects as most of the original Hook pipework had been discarded in the 1970s. Based on the remaining original pipework we were able to scale new pipework to return the organ to its original voice.

How did the Saint James restoration turn out?

Opus 1763 is now done and in use for their summer 2024 season. It has been a real pleasure to return this organ to its original specification and scale. Saint James is a coastal summer chapel, with picturesque views of the Maine coast and is just across the road from the Winslow Homer Museum. Members at Saint James have begun planning a series of events featuring the organ.

And the latest project?

On June 3, we began our next major project, which is the complete restoration of Hook & Hastings Opus 1487 at Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C. Thanks to good stewardship and some great restorative work in the 1980s by George Bozeman, this Hook organ is in near original form. Like our other recent restorations, we will carefully restore each piece of the organ and bring it to like-new condition. This organ will also receive a renovated hand pumping system and a new 16′ Posaune in the Pedal modeled after period Hook pipework.

I am also excited to share the news that Wallace & Co. has signed a contract for our Opus 81 with Saint Stanislaus Catholic Church of Nashua, New Hampshire. The new mechanical-action organ will feature thirty-two stops over two manuals and pedal. We are looking forward to beginning work on Opus 81 in mid-2025.

What do you like best about the work you do?

I like that no two projects are alike. Of course, there are a lot of similar things; we do our fair share of Hook restorations. But even within that portion of the business, there is great variety. And then there is all kinds of fun in designing a new instrument. The freedom to take inspiration from past work and incorporate it into something new is always a thrill.

Thank you, Nicholas.

Notes

1. See thediapason.com/friends-kotzschmar-organ-launches-kotzschmar-kids. Accessed on February 9, 2024.