Cover Feature: Pasi Pipe Organ Builders Opus 28

Pasi Opus 28, Saint George’s Episcopal Church, Arlington, Virginia

Dr. Benjamin J. Keseley demonstrates the new Pasi organ, offering a narrated tour through the stops. And Kola Owolabi plays the dedication recital, February 11, 2022.

The organ comprises 33 stops, 39 ranks, and 1,996 pipes over two manuals and pedal, and features a freestanding case in solid hardwood, with detached console; hand-carved pipe shades; mechanical suspended key action; electric stop action with combination system by Pipe Organ Control/Matters; foot-pumped winding system with three bellows in addition to the blower-fed bellows (75mm of wind on water column); well-tempered tuning; balanced Swell pedal; and slightly concave pedalboard.

The organ is featured on the cover of the April issue of The Diapason: https://www.thediapason.com/content/cover-feature-pasi-pipe-organ-build…

Ben Keseley is minister of music at St. George’s.

For information: pasiorgans.com 
saintgeorgeschurch.org

Richards, Fowkes & Co., Ooltewah, Tennessee; Christ Church Cathedral, Cincinnati, Ohio

Background

While some organ projects come together quickly, most usually take longer. And some, such as our recently completed Opus 24 for Christ Church Cathedral in Cincinnati, seem to require almost a micro-generation to fulfill. For those who are patient, this duration can pay dividends. After all, relationships take time to build, not merely between people or groups, but also between the creative act itself and the space in which it has been asked to flourish. Christ Church is a complicated space with an involved history; our becoming part of it was never likely to be straightforward.

Christ Church was founded in 1817 and soon settled into an 1835 building that would last through World War II. The Gothic revival Centennial Chapel, added in 1917, has its own organ history, which has culminated in C. B. Fisk’s Opus 148 in an Italian style, completed in 2018 (see The Diapason August 2018 cover feature). Although by the 1930s the main church was thought to be in need of replacement, World War II paused any rebuilding effort. After a proposed design by Eliel and Eero Saarinen was rejected, Ohio architect David Briggs Maxfield’s modern design was chosen, and the new building was dedicated in 1957. In 1993, Christ Church was consecrated as Cathedral of the Diocese of Southern Ohio.

Walter Holtkamp, Sr.’s three-manual, 54-stop organ was a logical fit for this new mid-century modern building. His daring unencased sculptural design fit perfectly with the building’s architectural aesthetic. Holtkamp’s clean, “classic” voicing style won many admirers, and this organ helped launch Gerre Hancock’s early career as well as being a central part of Christ Church’s annual Boar’s Head and Yule Log Festival.

While the Holtkamp was well regarded, musicians struggled with certain aspects of the organ’s personality. Over the years, consultants attempted to diagnose the situation and offer suggestions. The consensus was that the organ’s location was a key detriment. Located in a shallow open gallery on the left, the Holtkamp spoke across the chancel and engaged the acoustic in such a way as to generate a confusing flutter echo.

In the early 1980s, the church was renovated and largely stripped of decoration. The stone east-facing altar was replaced by a wooden table, and other surfaces altered to help absorb troubling reflections. Unfortunately, these alterations exacerbated rather than alleviated the acoustical issues. In less than a decade, another renovation was in the works, this time to warm up the room visually and suggest more of a traditional aesthetic. Wooden galleries were added to the organ loft, together with pilasters and wooden coffer beams to break up and articulate the walls and ceiling. The climax of this effort was a wood-and-glass chancel screen directly behind the choir. Although successful from a liturgical standpoint, the new wall tended to swallow up the organ’s modest bass (as well as that of the choir), further altering the balance of the Holtkamp.

The effect on choral singing was detrimental. While the choir was now front and center, ostensibly a good thing, the location put the singers farther than ever from the Holtkamp’s enclosed divisions. Without any nearby surfaces for early reflections, singers struggled to hear not only each other but the organ. A common accompanimental conundrum ensued: if the organist could hear the instrument, it almost always meant the organ was too loud to balance the choir. After much discussion about the merits of moving divisions, and possibly revoicing, it was concluded that any such radical changes would spoil the Holtkamp. For an organ to succeed, it needed a central placement, engaging the room not side to side, but fully down the length of the nave.

Process

The cathedral first contacted us in July 2008. James Diamond, the cathedral’s former and now late dean, had called a committee (himself, Robert Clark, Roberta Gary, Thom Miles) to assess the Holtkamp and make recommendations either for its rebuilding or replacement. In retrospect, this was merely the first of what would turn out to be this project’s three phases.

When this first committee finished its work, the assumption was that the dean would accept the committee’s recommendation, seek funding, and sign a contract. But July 2008 became September 2008. The ensuing financial crisis and Great Recession caused the project to be shelved.

When Stephan Casurella was appointed director of music in 2009, he was asked to begin the process anew with the current music committee chaired by cathedral member and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra violinist Harold Byers. Dean Diamond did suggest, however, that Stephan visit our organs at Pinnacle Presbyterian Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, and Church of the Transfiguration in Dallas, Texas. In time, we were again selected again to build a new organ. In 2010, the new interim dean and the music committee took the project to the vestry, led by senior warden Mary Hagner, a chorister since childhood; but the timing was still not right.

In 2013, with the arrival of a new dean, Gail Greenwell, all of the factors were finally in place for a successful outcome. After five years of planning and education they were ready to sign a contract.

The case for Deco

Designing a beautiful and sensible case proved formidable. The twice-rebuilt church now had an identity issue: well thought out and tasteful, yes, but not necessarily in any strong style. Focus on both altar and cross seemed diffuse. We believed that the right organ design could tie everything together, but how?

Our first two designs were in a classic style. We soon came to see that this incongruity—which has worked for us elsewhere—would not be the answer here. Eventually, Ralph Richards and Trent Buhr started working with the arch curve at the front of the nave. Using this motif, they outlined the overall organ and its undulating cross section. The arch was then scaled, flipped, and stacked to subdivide the compartments. As the instrument began to emerge, Trent observed that the design was taking on Art Deco elements. After many hours of study, trial and error, and, to everyone’s surprise, exploring Art Deco as a style allowed us to fuse the room and the case into a single concept. In a nod to fractal theory even the decoration contains the same hockey stick motif applied to the six Hebrew letters of the word Hallelujah. An unintended consequence is an addition to the prominent legacy of Art Deco in Cincinnati.

The tonal landscape

Ralph and I started building organs in the 1970s, when the early music movement and historic tradition were just coming into bloom in the United States. Over the last thirty-three years, our team of eleven artisans has built organs using all of the knowledge that has come from the last century of organ methodology. Thus begins a litany that may seem familiar from builders of our general type but is far from a list of “features” to us. Wherever our tonal style may take us, certain fundamentals remain resolute. Our instruments are built in cases made from solid wood using traditional joinery methods and finishes. Suspended mechanical key actions provide the most intimate connection we can offer between the keys and the pipes. Wooden wind systems with large wedge bellows (in this instrument, five 4′ x 8′ bellows) and generous wind trunks allow a system that breathes as should a real wind instrument.

Pipe making is our point of pride. Our metal pipes are handmade from sheets cast using historically informed metal alloys. The sheets are then hand-planed to taper the thickness of every pipe. This allows the foot and mouth area to be made thickest, for strength, with the bodies lessening in thickness towards the top of the pipe, to ensure that the weight of pipes will not lead to collapse at mouth or toe. We make every pipe in our shop.

Most of our instruments are based in the classic North German and Dutch traditions, noted for exceptionally colorful instruments that excel at leading congregations. But, over those thirty-three years, it has become clearer to us that we live neither in Germany nor Holland, nor in some other century. We are building American organs for American churches of the twenty-first century. The people of today, even when they share our love of the old instruments and music, have ideas about singing and accompaniment that lie well away from any Germanic centrality, and which our organs cannot consider mere inconveniences if they are to succeed. Episcopalians ourselves, we are more and more wanting our organs to reflect this blended landscape.

When we were selected at St. George’s Hanover Square in London, the musician Simon Williams asked for an organ that could accompany an English choir yet still play Buxtehude authentically. Frankly, we felt we had begun to do just that in our Scottsdale instrument, not by tempering the ensemble, but rather by filling out the organ’s quiet end with open flutes and strings. At the same time, we wanted those quieter voices to have plenty of color and personality. Better expression played its part. Double paneling in the swell boxes, combined with thick shutters, provides a wider dynamic range. As time has gone on, we have made other decisions about how much articulation is appropriate, or even musically helpful. Voicing our pipes a little slower relaxes the speech and helps them blend better. London was also our first organ with two enclosed divisions. Since then we have built one other large organ with a second enclosed manual, further exploring this quiet, but hopefully alluring, sound world.

When J. S. Bach was advising Zacharias Hildebrandt for the organ at Saint Wenzel in Naumburg, he recommended that all flutes of a particular construction exist on the same keyboard, so that one could immediately tell the difference between different manuals. At Christ Church, we have done likewise. The Positive flutes are all built from open, tapered pipes, as are the quieter flutes and strings. The Great flutes are open, while the Swell flutes are stopped. (True, the Swell’s 4′ Flöht traverse lives here and is voiced to blend and act in a generally nineteenth-century manner.)

Throughout, the strings are of Germanic inspiration. Voiced with less garlic than French strings, the German type have a light, bright tone that allows them to work effectively in many styles of literature. (When voicing these strings, we are not doctrinaire and happily use modern roller beards to stabilize speech.) The Great Salicional is the largest in scale and finds its double in the Pedal Violonbaß. The Swell strings are a medium scale, voiced in the brightest manner, thinking again of how nineteenth- and twentieth-century literature expects that kind of effect in that location. The Positive’s are the smallest, tapered and of 90% tin, voiced chastely. As a result, they have an ethereal edge and lack of body that, with the 4′ Viol, make psalm accompaniment an organist’s dream.

An unusual feature is that at eighteen stops, the Positive division is the largest of the three. The 8′ Principal and Trompette-en-Chamade are unenclosed, the latter located horizontally above the Positive box for easy dialogue with Swell or Great. With this division low in the case, the Positive has proven to be the accompaniment workhorse, especially during Covid when only eight singers were allowed.

Like the strings, the reeds are mostly of German origin. The Pedal and Great reeds are patterned after Schnitger, while the Swell Trompet and Oboe are influenced by central German stops, which, like French reeds, employ cylindrical shallots. We use our own bass shallot pattern here, with tin-plated tapered forms, which helps to keep the basses from outshouting the trebles. The Chamade has French-type parallel shallots, which are wonderfully flexible and permit voicing on the round side. (After all, we wouldn’t want the French stop to feel as if it were being occupied by the Germans.) Also Germanic, in a way, is the completely independent Pedal, from 32′ to mixture. Six independent 16′ stops (four flue and two reed stops) provide variety and foundation for infinite gradations of color and volume.

Organ builders usually wince when we read in the magazines, “We were given the task to build an organ that would play all of the organ literature authentically and accompany 400 years of choral anthems seamlessly.” The unity of this organ, we hope, comes from the fact that we are, yes, historically informed about the different schools and eras of organ building. But our evolving confidence about those schools has made us freer to meld those ideas into a voice of our thoughts, our tastes, and our sensibilities—and, hopefully, of our time.

Richards, Fowkes & Co.

Jakob Barger

Trent Buhr

Patrick Fischer

Bruce Fowkes

Karla Fowkes

Nathan Govig

Alex Haas

Joshua Knight

Richard Mcusic

Brian Miscio

Jesse Mozzini

Ralph Richards

Richard Schulze

Patrick Spiesser

Dean Wilson

Andy Wishart

 

Stephan Casurella, Canon Precentor & Director of Music

Shiloh Roby, Associate Director of Music

 

Organ Committee Chair: Julie Kline

Music Committee Chair: Harold Byers/Drew Abbott

 

Builder’s website:

https://www.richardsfowkes.com/

Church’s website:

https://cincinnaticathedral.com/

 

GREAT (manual II)

16′ Principal (in façade) 58 pipes

8′ Octave 58 pipes

8′ Spielflöht 58 pipes

8′ Salicional 58 pipes

4′ Octave 58 pipes

4′ Flöht 58 pipes

3′ Quint 58 pipes

2′ Octave 58 pipes

Cornet IV (Tenor A, 4′, 3′, 2′, 1-3⁄5′) 141 pipes

1-1⁄3′ Mixture 264/324 pipes

16′ Trompet 58 pipes

8′ Trompet 58 pipes

POSITIVE (manual I, enclosed)

8′ Principal (façade) 58 pipes

8′ Hohlflöht 58 pipes

8′ Quintadena 58 pipes

8′ Flöht dolce 58 pipes

8′ Flöht celeste (TC) 46 pipes

8′ Dulcet 58 pipes

8′ Dulcet celeste (TC) 46 pipes

4′ Octave 58 pipes

4′ Viol 58 pipes

4′ Spitzflöht 58 pipes

3′ Nasat 58 pipes

2′ Octave 58 pipes

Sesquialtera II 109 pipes

1-1⁄3′ Scharff 204/300 pipes

8′ Krummhorn 58 pipes

8′ Vox humana 58 pipes

4′ Schalmey 58 pipes

8′ Chamade (52–58, 8′ + 3′) 65 pipes

SWELL (manual III, enclosed)

16′ Bourdon 58 pipes

8′ Principal 58 pipes

8′ Gamba 58 pipes

8′ Celeste (TC) 46 pipes

8′ Rohrflöht 58 pipes

4′ Octave 58 pipes

4′ Traverse flöht 58 pipes

3′ Nasat 58 pipes

2′ Waldflöht 58 pipes

1-3⁄5′ Tertia (1–51) 51 pipes

Mixture 232 pipes

16′ Basson 58 pipes

8′ Trompet 58 pipes

8′ Oboe 58 pipes

PEDAL

32′ Subbaß (ext 16′) 12 pipes

16′ Principalbaß 30 pipes

16′ Subbaß 30 pipes

16′ Bourdon (Sw)

16′ Violonbaß 30 pipes

8′ Octave 30 pipes

8′ Spitzflöht 30 pipes

8′ Gedackt (Sw)

4′ Octave 30 pipes

2′ Mixture 120/150 pipes

32′ Posaune (ext 16′) 12 pipes

16′ Posaune 30 pipes

16′ Fagott 30 pipes

8′ Trompet 30 pipes

8′ Trompette (Pos Chamade)

4′ Trompet 30 pipes

Normal couplers

Tremulant to the entire organ

Stable/Flexible Wind switch

Mixture + to add additional high-pitched ranks

Cimbelstern

Vogelgesang

Temperament: Neidhardt for a small city 1732

 

59 stops

78 ranks (depends on count of compound stops)

3,806 total pipes

When each mixture stop is pulled it turns on the “normal” ranks indicated in black. When the Mixture + knob is pulled it turns on the additional ranks indicated in red in all mixtures. This allows the mixtures to function as “normal” mixtures or as North German mixtures.

 

Paul Fritts & Company Organ Builders, Tacoma, Washington; Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan

From the builder

Paul Fritts & Company Organ Builders has recently completed the last of two new significant organs, the firm’s Opus 44 and Opus 45, for Christ Chapel at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan. The chapel was completed in 2019 and provides seating for 1,350 within the 27,500-square-foot building. Designed by architect Duncan Stroik, the interior of the classically inspired chapel is modeled after St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London and Christ Church, Philadelphia. The 64-foot-high barrel vault ceiling, stone columns, wooden pews, and polished marble floors provide the space with excellent acoustics, especially in the elevated chancel at the front of the nave. In addition to regular services, the chapel provides space for college ceremonies and concerts. Consultant for the organ projects Dr. Paul Thornock and the builder worked extensively together with the architects throughout all phases of the project to insure the best possible musical and logistical results.

The design phase for these two projects was extensive. Never before were we tasked with building cases designed by the architect of the building where they stand. This requires a unique collaboration due to the tonal and structural requirements of an organ often unfamiliar to architects. The work ended well, problems were solved, and we are proud of the collaboration and how it has expanded our design scope.

Early on when the building was being designed it was determined that rather than making one very large organ, the needs of the program would be better served by two organs. Opus 44, completed concurrently with the new building in 2019, is conceived as a “choir” organ and speaks from the side of the chancel where it is in close proximity to small and large ensembles. Its 30 stops are divided between three divisions: the Great at impost level, the Swell above, and the Pedal divided on either side. The organ case is made of sapele mahogany to match all of the woodwork throughout the chapel. Its musical resources are designed to support a wide variety of service music and organ repertoire. The organ serves admirably as a solo and concert instrument in its own right, and it was dedicated with a concert by Nathan Laube on April 15, 2021.

To provide support for singing for a full congregation and to serve as a concert instrument, the Gallery Organ, Opus 45, has three manuals and pedal. Installation and tonal finishing were recently completed in October 2022. It, too, is housed in a sapele mahogany case with a large “broken” pediment, columns, and architectural capitals. The polished tin façade pipes are the lowest notes of the Great and Pedal Principal 16′ stops, both of which are independent. The en fenêtre keydesks of both organs are in the front center of the cases.

Both organs feature suspended mechanical key actions providing a light but easily controlled touch while sending tactile feedback to the player. Stop actions are mechanical with the inclusion of “intelligent” solenoids and 999-memory-level combination actions. General and divisional pistons, coupler and 32′ reversible toe studs, and a sequencer with multiple “forward” pistons and studs are part of both combination systems.

The stoplists were drawn up by the consultant and the builder. Both organs have substantial principal choruses on each of their divisions along with a variety of flute and string stops and are capped with a generous array of reed stops. The Gallery Organ includes both a large-scale 32′ Subbaß and an independent 32′ Posaune. Both French and German Trompets at 8′ reside in the Great, and a French-style 8′ Cromorne in the Positive as well as a Cavaillé-Coll inspired 8′ Hautbois in the Swell and 8′ Flûte Harmonique in the Great. There is also a Renaissance-style 8′ Trompet with duck-billed shallots included in the Swell. All are voiced with full-length resonators for a full yet colorful sound that blends appropriately with the overall organization of voicing style and related pipe design throughout. Compact design with reasonable access was important for space reasons and focus of the sound.

The Gallery Organ is similar in its layout to the Choir Organ, with the organ’s three manual divisions triple decked in the center with the Positive at the lowest (impost) level, the Great above, and the Swell at the top of the 38-foot-tall case. The Pedal division is divided on either side of the manual divisions. The 32′ Subbaß bass octave is placed on two windchests (C and C-sharp) at floor level at the rear of the case. Directly in front of the large Subbaß pipes, the 32′ Posaune stands on two windchests at floor level, the tallest of the tin resonators reaching to the top of the case.

The large pipes in the center façade are the lowest nine pipes (C to G-sharp) of the Great 16′ Principal. The largest four pipes of the Pedal 16′ Principal (C to D-sharp) are wooden, made of sugar pine, mounted inside the case. The Pedal façade pipes begin at E and continue to tenor f. The four smaller façade pipes in the outer fields and closest to the center field continue the Great 16′ Principal up to tenor e.

The pipes for both organs were made entirely in the Fritts workshop, the metal ones constructed of two alloys—high lead and high tin—that have been cast on sand. The process dates to ancient times and was the method used for the pipe making of Gothic and Renaissance organs and continued in some instances well into the Baroque period. The very rapid cooling of the pipe metal on the sand bed (compared to a relatively long cooling period on a cloth-covered table) produces material with a smaller crystalline structure, which has discernible benefits to the sound of the pipes. The speech of the pipes is enhanced with the pipes reaching their steady-state tone seemingly more quickly with less fuss, and with less obtrusive harshness and speech noise. Windways can be generous and pipe toes open encouraging a free, colorful, and unforced sound on relatively low wind pressures. The overall impact of the organs can then be determined by wind pressure and to a lesser degree pipe scales.

The Gallery Organ has five wedge-shaped bellows, all positioned within the case. The Great and Positive divisions share two bellows that have been carefully balanced to work together for good support of these divisions. The Pedal division makes use of one similarly sized bellows for the C and C-sharp sides and the Swell has its own bellows. The bass octave pipes of the 32′ Subbass are directly winded from the blower’s static pressure windline, which provides them with 120 mm (4¾ inches) of wind pressure. The Great and Positive divisions are winded at 74 mm, the Swell on 70 mm and the Pedal division on 76 mm.

The two organs are pitched identically at 440hz @ 70°F. Both utilize Kellner’s “Bach” temperament.

The Gallery Organ is provided with a dedicated air conditioning system that was planned at the outset and built as a part of the chapel construction. During summertime, air-conditioned air is circulated throughout the organ case and is regulated by a thermostat high in the Swell. During the heating season, air will continue to circulate throughout the case to control temperature stratification. Experience with similar systems in our organs has shown this to be critical for keeping vertically separated divisions in tune with one another.

The success of an organ project, or in this case, two projects, depends upon a great number of contributing factors. Chief among them is installing the organs in advantageous locations in a great space. A well-developed design and tonal plan along with meticulous craftsmanship and expert voicing and tonal finishing lead to outstanding results. The melding of the countless and seemingly disparate elements into a cohesive whole that is greater than the sum of its parts is the special alchemy that is superb organ building.

Special thanks go to the administration of Hillsdale College for their foresight and vision in commissioning these instruments and to project advisor, Dr. Paul Thornock. Thanks and appreciation also go to the staff of Paul Fritts & Company: Greg Bahnsen, Zane Boothby, Rain Daley, Paul Fritts, Raphi Giangiulio, Erik McLeod, Andreas Schonger, Bruce Shull, Ben Wooley, and to our bookkeepers and business managers, Robyn Ellis and Marlon Ventura. Carving work was provided by Dimitrios Klitsas. 

The completion of the Gallery Organ will be celebrated with an inaugural concert by Nathan Laube on April 13, 2023.

—Paul Fritts

From the consultant

The Hillsdale organ project began with a phone call from the architect who expressed the desire for a new organ to be as special and specialized as the building itself. The desire for mechanical action was in place before the consultant was hired.

An organ in the new Christ Chapel would be required to do many things, including playing for academic ceremonies, accompanying the college’s choirs and orchestras, playing repertoire, and serving as a teaching instrument. Hillsdale College President, Dr. Larry P. Arnn, believes that, “To elevate the hearts and minds of the faithful, Christ Chapel must be a home for musical beauty of the highest order.” Further, his desire to create a regularly sung evensong in the chapel was given considerable weight. The college’s large symphony orchestra also had to fit in the chancel.

The available space in the chancel precluded building a single large instrument in the front of the building that would completely fulfill the musical mission. Further, there was no appetite for placing an organ on the main axis at the front of the building. The only solution was two organs of complementary but distinct characters.

This visionary project was truly an “if you build it, they will come” affair. The college wished to build a sacred music program, and the administration understood that the infrastructure had to be in place to do it. Therefore, an organ professor was not yet in place during the design phase. The committee, which consisted of the architect, consultant, and various administrators, traveled throughout the Midwest to see and hear dozens of instruments by six of North America’s distinguished builders. It is fascinating how committees often have an “Aha!” moment in visiting a particular organ; this moment happened when they visited the Fritts organ at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center at the University of Notre Dame. 

The result is a workhorse two-manual organ in the chancel with an efficient but developed Swell division that enables the organist to render choral accompaniments convincingly and to play the many liturgical events in the chapel, including evensong. The instrument also has sufficient power to pair with the orchestra. The Gallery Organ is the heroic instrument the college desired for large convocations and concerts.

Dr. Arnn’s ideals are borne out in these examples of the organ art: “There never has been a great university unconcerned with the question of the Divine. More than one-third of our students are involved in music—an invaluable gift that helps us to contemplate beauty, harmony, and meaning. To that same end, our splendid organs will help point man’s thoughts toward God.”

—Paul Thornock

From the architect

Christ Chapel at Hillsdale College, Michigan, is the first freestanding chapel in the college’s 175-year history. Located on the main axis of campus and forming a new quadrangle, the classical brick and limestone exterior features a domed circular entrance portico with Doric columns. Three concave entry doors lead into an elegant barrel-vaulted nave with limestone columns and mahogany side balconies. Large arched windows fill the space with natural light. 

The Choir Organ is located along the side wall of the chancel and framed by a limestone arch and Doric columns engaged to the wall. The case is 24 feet tall by 13 feet wide. Carved mahogany Corinthian columns divide the façade of the organ case into a taller central section and two side wings. This architectural motif (called a “Serliana”) is found throughout the chapel, such as on the second level of the main exterior façade, and the window above the altar in the chancel. A gold leaf inscription in the frieze of the entablature of the organ case reads: Laudate eum in Chordis et Organo (“Praise him with strings and pipes,” Psalm 150). Carved mahogany laurel wreaths punctuate the pedestal of the organ. Limestone relief panels in the chancel show a harp, trumpets, cymbals, and floral swags, visually depicting the praise of God called for in the psalm.

The Gallery Organ case harmonizes with the Choir Organ but is much larger, 30 feet tall by 30 feet wide. Its overall shape is also a Serliana motif. It has four 15-foot-tall fluted composite columns. An elaborate entablature and broken pediment with a receding apex are above. It also has an inscription across the pulvinated frieze: Cantate Domino Canticum, Novum Quoniam Mirabilia Fecit (“Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done great wonders,” Psalm 98). 

While there are some examples of college chapels with two organs in the United States, there are few examples of the organs being conceived together. The architect has designed five other cases in the United States for both new and historic organs, and was inspired by the Saint-Sulpice grand orgue case by the architect Jean-François Chalgrin. The two new organs will be the centerpieces of Hillsdale’s expanding music program.  

—Duncan G. Stroik 

 

Builder’s website: www.frittsorgan.com

Architect’s website: www.stroik.com

College website: www.hillsdale.edu

 

Choir Organ, Opus 44

GREAT (Manual I)

16′ Bourdon

8′ Principal

8′ Salicional

8′ Rohrflöte

4′ Octave

4′ Spitzflöte

2-2⁄3′ Quinte

2′ Octave

Mixture IV

8′ Trompet

4′ Trompet

SWELL (Manual II)

8′ Principal

8′ Gamba

8′ Voix celeste

8′ Gedackt

4′ Octave

4′ Rohrflöte

2-2⁄3′ Nasard

2′ Gemshorn

1-3⁄5′ Tierce

Mixture III–IV

16′ Fagott

8′ Trompet

8′ Basson/Hautbois

PEDAL

16′ Subbass

8′ Principal

8′ Bourdon*

4′ Octave*

16′ Posaune

8′ Trompet

*Some pipes transmitted from other stops

Couplers

Swell to Great, Great to Pedal, Swell to Pedal

 

Polished tin front pipes

Suspended, direct mechanical key action

Mechanical stop action with electric pre-set system

Tremulant

Compass: Manual 58 notes; Pedal: 30 notes

Gallery Organ, Opus 45

GREAT (Manual I)

16′ Principal

8′ Octave

8′ Salicional

8′ Rohrflöte

8′ Flûte Harmonique

4′ Octave

4′ Spitzflöte

3′ Quinte

2′ Octave

Mixture VI–VIII

Cornet V

16′ Trompet

8′ Trompet

8′ Trompette

SWELL (Manual III)

8′ Principal

8′ Gedackt

8′ Baarpijp

8′ Violdigamba

8′ Voix celeste

4′ Octave

4′ Koppelflöte

2-2⁄3′ Nasat

2′ Octave

2′ Blockflöte

1-3⁄5′ Terz

Mixture V–VI

16′ Trompet

8′ Trompet

8′ Hautbois

8′ Vox Humana

POSITIVE (Manual II)

8′ Principal

8′ Gedackt

8′ Quintadena

4′ Octave

4′ Rohrflöte

2-2⁄3′ Nasat

2′ Octave

2′ Waldflöte

1-1⁄3′ Larigot

Sesquialtera II

Mixture VI–VII

16′ Dulcian

8′ Trompet

8′ Cromorne

PEDAL

32′ Subbaß*

16′ Principal

16′ Subbaß

8′ Octave

8′ Bourdon*

4′ Octave

4′ Nachthorn

Mixture VI–VII

32′ Posaune

16′ Posaune

8′ Trompet

4′ Trompet

2′ Cornet

*Some pipes transmitted from other stops

Couplers

Swell to Great

Positive to Great

Swell to Positive

Great to Pedal

Swell to Pedal

Positive to Pedal

 

Polished tin front pipes

Suspended, direct mechanical key action

Mechanical stop action with electric pre-set system

Swell Tremulant

Great & Positive Tremulant

Wind Stabilizer

Compass: Manual 58 notes; Pedal: 30 notes

 

 

Opus 44 Choir Organ: 

30 stops; 38 ranks; 1,854 pipes

Opus 45 Gallery Organ: 

57 stops; 85 ranks; 4,115 pipes

Buzard Pipe Organ Builders, Champaign, Illinois; Saint George’s Episcopal Church, Nashville, Tennessee

From the builder

Saint George’s Episcopal Church is a vibrant, multi-generational Christian community. The parish ministers to 4,000 members, approximately 1,000 of whom attend one of the five worship services offered every Sunday. It boasts the largest Episcopal kindergarten in the United States, a phenomenal staff of dedicated clergy and laity, and a growth pattern which is a shining light of hope to the wider Church.

The new organ is the final component of a comprehensive visual and acoustical renovation of the primary worship space, which was the capstone of a multi-million-dollar general construction project to serve their growing congregation. The church’s formerly harsh top-heavy acoustics were masterfully transformed by Riedel & Associates to become a beautiful tonal environment: buoyant, lively, clear, and evenly responsive, with a warmth that embraces the most delicate musical nuances. Sound originating in the chancel projects effortlessly to the entire nave. 

The chancel’s former configuration forced the choir to sing from a position behind and below a centrally located baldachin. The result was that the choir could neither be heard clearly nor seen by the congregation, and the organist was challenged to find stops soft enough to accompany them. The parish knew something had to be done, and the leadership realized a new organ would be required because of the planned new physical configuration and projected acoustical improvement. The building committee included an organ committee, which auditioned the work of North American and English builders. The Buzard team was selected to build the new instrument because of our well-known passion for sensitive musical expression in the liturgy and how successfully our instruments fulfill both accompanimental and soloistic roles. 

It was a joy to develop the unique specification, which includes a great degree of expression. The instrument currently consists of 55 stops/65 ranks. Preparations for planned future additions include six stops in the main organ, and a ten-stop Antiphonal/Ethereal division. Architecturally, the façade was designed in conjunction with architect Baird Dixon, who had envisioned a curved colonnade to outline the apse. The organ’s façade incorporates elements of this concept.

Former rector, the Reverend Dr. Leigh Spruill, commented: 

Saint George’s is honored and excited to contract with John-Paul Buzard Pipe Organ Builders for the construction of a magnificent new instrument. The decision for a new organ . . . flows from a strong ongoing commitment to our traditional Anglican liturgical and musical heritage. We are confident a new organ in this space will enhance our experience of worship and are grateful for the privilege of working with Buzard on this project. Worship is our highest priority as Christians, and I give thanks to God again for the generosity of our parishioners who have made possible these dramatic improvements to Saint George’s liturgical life for the future.

In closing, I gratefully acknowledge and thank my team from the bottom of my heart for their tireless efforts, enthusiasm, and beautiful work. This organ’s installation was prolonged by many challenges. Our entire staff (and their spouses back home) accepted and met them with grace and extraordinary patience and effort. I am extremely proud of their outstanding accomplishments in every aspect of this instrument: from the planning and engineering, through the construction, installation, and voicing.

The instrument was first used in worship on Christmas Eve 2022 and first heard in public at a hymn festival led by Robert McCormick on January 27, 2023. The final dedicatory event featuring the Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra was presented on May 9. 

—John-Paul Buzard

From the tonal director

The Buzard team always welcomes the opportunity to design and build an organ for institutions that lean heavily toward the performance of English cathedral/collegiate chapel repertoire. In reality, it is perhaps far more accurate to alter that term to “the American interpretation of English Cathedral repertoire.” When some United States choirs are generously welcomed to the UK for week-long residencies in those hallowed spaces that inspired the repertoire, they fall ever more deeply in love with it and strive to bring the mountain-top experience back to their home church completely intact.

The integrity of the repertoire remains constant, but nothing else is the same! The shapes, construction methods, and acoustics of the rooms are vastly different. Worship styles, though always being adapted on both sides of the Atlantic, are fed by very different traditions and heritage. Organbuilders apply their art in a variety of ways to help bridge the gap and let the music live in the new environment. Sometimes it is a virtual reproduction of a much-admired stoplist. Sometimes it is a detailed documentation and copy of the scaling of a particular stop, or even incorporating one or more ranks from an historic organ that has been removed from service.

The Buzard approach, particularly in this organ for Saint George’s, takes some of those techniques into account, but does not stop there. In multiple discussions with Woosug Kang and Gerry Senechal, the outstanding directors of music, we studied specific examples of pieces that highlight their choices of music on a regular basis. Rather than identifying individual stops that would be needed, we concentrated on issues of balance, tone color, composition of critically important accompaniment ensembles, blending, and above all, flexibility. 

It has been a rare treat to voice an organ in a revised acoustic environment like Saint George’s. Scott Riedel’s recommendations have provided a room that, without excessive reverberation time, responds with extraordinary evenness throughout the frequency range. This has allowed us to voice the organ with clarity at its softest, building smoothly to a thrilling full-organ sound, without ever needing to exaggerate anything in order to fill the room. We have deliberately concentrated our efforts in shaping the blending characteristics of stops in the mezzo-piano to mezzo-forte range, making choral accompaniment a real joy. Having three separate divisions enclosed and expressive enhances the experience!

The sound of any organ is always the result of many people who have contributed to its design, construction, installation, voicing, and ongoing maintenance. I have often said that our ears are able to detect sounds that have been loved into existence. Along with my colleagues of the Buzard team, we are honored and proud to offer you this gift. Come and hear it for yourself!

—Fredrick Bahr

From the director of music ministries

“Sing ye to the Lord,” from one of the most beloved Easter anthems by the English composer, Edward Bairstow, was the theme of our organ dedication series in the spring of 2023. It reflects our vision of creating an instrument that sings and encourages our choir and congregation to sing whole-heartedly. When Saint George’s Episcopal Church launched its capital campaign several years ago, there was an emphasis on the renovation of the acoustics inside the church and the placement of the choir, because the previous setup presented visual difficulties as well as unbalanced choral sound throughout the room. It also made it difficult for the choir to lead congregational singing. We learned quickly through research that it was in the best interest for the church and the Nashville community to invest in a brand-new organ—it would lead to the most artistically assuring and satisfying result, and it was the most fiscally responsible action for the long-term future.

The organ search committee was quickly formed, with our consultant Scott Riedel supporting us along the way. This was one of the most exhilarating, challenging, and joyful tasks, as we played numerous organs around the country, giving fair evaluations while seeking what we desired. Our mission was to find an organ that would give us the outstanding quality and vast range of expression that would inspire us for generations. I enjoyed working with our search committee, and I am thrilled we chose Buzard Pipe Organ Builders. We have been fulfilling the vision of “Sing ye to the Lord” since our first dedication concert, a hymn festival with guest organist Robert McCormick, and guest speaker Jeremy Begbie. Opus 48 by Buzard, combined with our newly enhanced acoustic, is encouraging our congregation to sing more, and our choir is connected to our congregation while the organ supports them with colorful expressions. We hear the reaction of our congregation, even some who were skeptical of the need for a new organ, vocally responding to us positively about the impact it is making even before the full completion of the organ. 

Opus 48 is capable of a wide range of colors and vast range of expression, and I enjoyed showing that in my solo recital in our dedication series in March. The soft and varied flue stops, the fiery reeds that brought music of French Romantic repertoire alive, and the incredible build-up of the organ in music of Herbert Howells all excited me. The softer stops are my favorites on this organ, as the acoustical adjustments now allow the sounds to be distributed evenly, and the individual delicate stops of Opus 48 share many different colors that are unique to their own. I find myself registering for hymns differently Sunday to Sunday as I learn and grow with this new organ, which is a wonderful teacher.

My role here at Saint George’s is to continue to develop the musical legacy I inherited and build an even stronger foundation that future generations of musicians can continue to build on. I believe Buzard Opus 48 is one of the crowning realizations of that vision, along with the acoustical enhancement and the new place for the choir, and I am deeply humbled by this process. I know this organ will serve Saint George’s, its community, and our region with its outstanding craftmanship and artistry for future generations. As I told my choristers, “Some of you will get married with this organ!,” and their smiles as they sing with our new Opus 48 prove that the future is bright. 

—Woosug Kang

From the organist

As long as I live, I will never forget the first Sunday we were permitted to use the new organ in worship; though only half the pipework of Opus 48 was installed and voiced at the time, the good people of Buzard correctly judged that there would be enough to support worship. That morning I not only had the opportunity to play but also to sing a bit, and as Woosug concluded the hymn introduction, I became keenly aware that the organ’s sound had involuntarily drawn me toward it in such a way that I absolutely had no choice but to burst into the first stanza. The warmth and support of the organ was like gravity; if I didn’t begin to sing, the rocks themselves may well have! What an incredible, unprecedented feeling.  

I was not alone. I immediately noticed that the entire congregation was indeed singing; the contrast from the previous Sunday was night and day! I had expected there to be a great, though surely gradual, increase in congregational song, but I could never have imagined that it would happen in the space of a single hymn introduction. The organ has transformed every hymn it has accompanied since; I have never had a more supported, enabling, and satisfying hymn-singing experience in my life.

In that glorious first moment that morning, the organ fulfilled the aspirations of its design; from the very beginning, the chief purpose of the instrument has been to support Anglican musical worship. The measure of success of any Anglican organ lies in its ability to accompany both the choir and congregation; Opus 48 not only does both beautifully but brings to bear an astonishing array of color—and at any volume. The Swell division features strings at 16′, 8′, and 4′, the Great includes three 8′ Open Diapasons (as the 8′ Dulciana is of Willis disposition, essentially serving as a Third Open), and even the 8′ Clarinet and 16′ English Horn of the Enclosed Great work beautifully in chorus roles. The Pedal 32′ Contra Trombone is both full-length and fully enclosed, allowing it to tastefully reinforce the final chord of a Gloria at Evensong, but can also thunder at full voice at the end of a closing voluntary.

The organ accompanies splendidly but is no retiring wallflower; in addition to the 8′ Cornopean in the Swell, there is also an 8′ Trompette Harmonique that gives white-hot fire to French literature and allows for powerful text-painting in hymns. The splendid Solo Tuba Mirabilis becomes the Ophicleide 16′ in the Pedal, ensuring that there is never a lack of foundation. The Pedal Trombone is playable on the Great as Trombas 16′, 8′, and 4′, all under very effective expression. There are seven 16′ ranks in the manuals alone. The 16′ First Open Diapason in the Pedal lies on its side beneath the rose window, and to quote Fred Bahr, it “owns the real estate.” Even full organ becomes noticeably fuller and more grounded when the Pedal First Open is added! The sound of full organ fills every corner of the room; even in the back pew, one’s entire body senses the pervading warmth and embrace of the organ.

Opus 48 has fundamentally changed how we are able to worship at Saint George’s. I could never adequately express my gratitude for the genius, skill, and love of John-Paul Buzard, Fred Bahr, Felix Franken, Shane Rhoades, Scott Riedel, and Clay Jackson, among many others.

We are happy to welcome any visitors to come play this glorious instrument; please don’t hesitate to be in touch when you are next in Nashville!

—Gerry Senechal

 

Builder’s website: buzardorgans.com

Church website: www.stgeorgesnashville.org

Photo credit: John-Paul Buzard, except as noted otherwise

MANUAL I – Coupling Manual

GREAT – Manual II

* Enclosed stops

Enclosed Great couples to Manual I at all pitches.

16′ Double Open Diapason (polished tin in façade towers)

16′ Double Dulciana (polished tin in nave-facing façade flats)

16′ Lieblich Gedeckt (wood) *

8′ Open Diapason No. 1 (polished tin in façade)

8′ Open Diapason No. 2 (polished tin in façade)

8′ Dulciana (polished tin in façade) 

8′ Bourdon *

8′ Gedeckt Flute (ext Lieblich 16′) *

8′ Flûte Harmonique *

8′ Viola da Gamba *

8′ Viola Celeste (CC) *

4′ Principal

4′ Open Flute *

2-2⁄3′ Twelfth *

2′ Fifteenth

2′ Flauto *

1-3⁄5′ Seventeenth *

1-1⁄3′ Larigot *

1′ Twenty-second *

2′ Fourniture V

1′ Sharp Mixture III *

16′ English Horn *

8′ Trumpet *

8′ Clarinet *

Tremulant *

Tremulant

Cymbalstern

16′ Trombone (Pedal)

8′ Tromba (ext, Pedal)

4′ Tromba Clarion (ext, Pedal)

8′ Tuba Mirabilis (Solo)

8′ Festival Trumpets (horizontal, copper) (preparation)

SWELL – Manual III – Enclosed  

16′ Violone (Haskelled)

8′ English Open Diapason

8′ Flauto Traverso (open and harmonic length)

8′ Stopped Diapason (wood and metal)

8′ Salicional

8′ Voix Celeste (CC)

4′ Principal

4′ Harmonic Flute

4′ Violina (ext 16′ Violone)

2-2⁄3′ Nazard

2′ Fifteenth

1-3⁄5′ Tierce

2-2⁄3′ Grave Mixture II

1′ Plein Jeu III

16′ Bassoon (full length)

8′ Trompette Harmonique (Haskelled basses, harmonic at C 25)

8′ Cornopean (English construction)

8′ Oboe (English style, scrolls and lift-lids)

8′ Vox Humana

4′ Clarion (ext 16′ Bassoon)

Tremulant

16′ Trombone (Pedal)

8′ Tromba (ext, Pedal)

4′ Tromba Clarion (ext, Pedal)

8′ Tuba Mirabilis (Solo)

8′ Festival Trumpets (Great, prep)

SOLO – Manual IV – Enclosed  

16′ Lieblich Gedeckt (Great)

8′ Grand Open Diapason (double mouths in treble)

8′ Claribel Flute (wood and metal)

8′ Gedeckt Flute (Great)

8′ Viola Pomposa (inverted taper, E. M. Skinner style)

8′ Viola Celeste (CC)

8′ Flûte Cœlestis II (double pipes, single bodies)

8′ Corno di Bassetto (prepared)

8′ Orchestral Oboe (prepared)

8′ Flügel Horn (prepared)

8′ French Horn (prep, high pressure)

8′ Tuba Mirabilis (high pressure)

Tremulant

16′ Trombone (Pedal)

8′ Tromba (ext, Pedal)

4′ Tromba Clarion (ext, Pedal)

8′ Festival Trumpets (Great, prep)

PEDAL

Partially enclosed; in façade and their respective divisions’ boxes

32′ Double Open Diapason (Walker Digital)

32′ Subbass (Walker Digital)

32′ Lieblich Gedeckt (Walker Digital)

32′ Contra Violone (Walker Digital)

16′ Open Diapason No. 1 (wood, large scale)

16′ Open Diapason No. 2 (polished tin, in façade towers) (Great)

16′ Dulciana (Great)

16′ Bourdon (wood)

16′ Violone (Swell)

16′ Lieblich Gedeckt (Great)

8′ Principal (polished tin in façade)

8′ Bass Flute (ext 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Gedeckt Flute (Great)

8′ Salicional (Swell)

8′ Dulcet (Great)

4′ Choral Bass (ext Principal 8′)

4′ Open Flute (ext Bass Flute 8′)

4′ Claribel Flute (Solo)

32′ Contra Trombone (wood and metal, in Great box)

16′ Ophicleide (Solo)

16 Trombone (ext 32′, in Great box)

16 Bassoon (Swell)

16 English Horn (Great)

8 Tromba (ext Trombone 16′)

8 Trumpet

4 Tromba Clarion (ext Trombone 16′)

8 Tuba Mirabilis (Solo)

8 Festival Trumpets (Great, prep)

4 Festival Clarions (Great, prep)

ANTIPHONAL – Floating Enclosed in gallery (prepared) 

ANTIPHONAL PEDAL Enclosed (prepared)

(The tonal personality of the Antiphonal is currently under discussion. Ten stops are prepared for, and blank drawknobs have been provided for the speaking stops and couplers.)

Couplers as drawknobs in their respective divisions:

Great to Great 16

Great Unison Off

Great to Great 4

Swell to Swell 16

Swell Unison Off

Swell to Swell 4

Great to Great 16  *

Great Unison Off *

Great to Great 4 *

Solo to Solo 16

Solo Unison Off

Solo to Solo 4

Couplers as tilting tablets, centered in the nameboard, from left to right:

Great to Pedal 8

Great to Pedal 8 *

Swell to Pedal 8

Solo to Pedal 8

Great to Pedal 4

Great to Pedal 4 *

Swell to Pedal 4

Solo to Pedal 4

Swell to Great 8

Solo to Great 8

Solo to Swell 8

Great to Man I 8 *

Swell to Man I 8

Solo to Man I 8

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 4

Solo to Great 16

Solo to Great 4

Great to Man I 16 *

Great to Man I 4 *

Swell to Man I 16

Swell to Man I 4

* Couplers for Enclosed Great

Divisional Pistons to Pedal Stops (This tab allows divisional pistons to also operate Pedal stops)

Great as Choir 8. This coupler would transfer the Enclosed Great to Manual I and leave it there to act like a Choir division.  It would also turn on the Great Unison Off coupler in the stop jamb so the Enclosed Great does not play on the Great keyboard, creating the semblance of a straight four-manual organ.

Couplers as drawknobs with Antiphonal Speaking Stops

Antiphonal on Man I

Antiphonal on Great

Antiphonal on Swell

Antiphonal on Solo

Antiphonal on Pedal

M. P. Rathke, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio; Grace Episcopal Church, Carthage, Missouri

From the builder

When Father Steven Wilson, rector of Grace Church, first invited us to submit a proposal for a new pipe organ, he had my undivided attention from the start. Father Steve spoke of a historic 1869 Episcopal church with a distinguished tradition of liturgy and music, as well as a longtime focus on drama and the visual arts. Subsequent conversations led to the commissioning of our Opus 12, whose future arrival both church and organ builder looked forward to with fine enthusiasm.

First, though, we were challenged with designing a successful organ for a dry acoustic, in a space as compact and intimate as it is beautiful, and likely utilizing a somewhat unorthodox placement. Father Steve quipped that our reputation for engineering 10 lbs. to fit the proverbial 5-lb. bag would surely be tested here, and his words were to prove prescient.

Precisely where the organ would go was our first decision. The existing instrument, a decaying pipe/electronic combination whose metal pipework was nonetheless of extraordinary quality, if not voiced to its full potential, included a set of deep flower box-style windchests hung from the end wall of a shallow transept (see photo: “Removing pipework”). This singular arrangement did locate pipework high in the room, thus engaging the ceiling and helping carry sound out into the nave; it also created rather a claustrophobic atmosphere, looming darkly over choristers below, blocking light from a trio of high windows above, and literally overshadowing the transept. My first reaction—which some might consider unusual for an organbuilder—was “Father Steve, whatever we do, we’ve got to uncover those windows and get those pipes down off the wall.” Easily enough said, of course, but then where could they go, with floor space already at a premium?

The building helped make that decision for us. There was really only one location suitable for the choir in this small church: the transept, where the choir already sat. And the organ clearly needed to be close to the choir, not only for musical reasons, but also so that organist/choirmaster Peter Frost could continue to conduct from the console. Father Steve, himself a talented chorister, saw potential benefits in my suggestion that the main organ case be located per Sketch A, with the attached keydesk oriented as shown.

This is admittedly an unusual blind-corner placement for any significant portion of a pipe organ, let alone the sole two manual divisions, whose resources generally speak to better advantage directly into the main body of the church. But in this case, because the room is quite dry and because we had no opportunity to place manual pipework behind a façade fronting the swell shades—there simply wasn’t enough available depth without crowding the window—we were keen to obtain maximum blend by any legitimate means. It occurred to me that if we allowed sound to mix first in the transept, then reflect once off the front wall, both blend and projection might be served. And that’s exactly what happened. Early listening during finish voicing disclosed the uncanny illusion that all sound was actually emanating from the front walls (somehow!), producing a clarity and presence in the nave that both puzzled and pleased us.

Grace Church’s lack of acoustical resonance also informed Opus 12’s size and specification, for this is certainly a good-sized organ for a relatively small room. Although sound generally gets around well enough, music doesn’t really bloom, and appreciable reverberation is basically nonexistent. Never having previously designed and voiced for a space like this, I went back to the stately Hook & Hastings instruments I knew, played, and admired during my apprenticeship with C. B. Fisk, Inc.
H & H’s general approach, which greatly informed our work at Grace Church, was to saturate the space with plenty of rich fundamental tone, undergirded by manual doubles (here, one in each department) and supported by a generously scaled and winded Pedal. Reeds would almost invariably be on the smoother side, upperwork colorful but by no means aggressive.

Guided by Dr. Susan Marchant of nearby Pittsburg State University, the church settled on a two-manual, 24-stop specification with suspended mechanical key action, apart from the largest bass pipes, which are winded via conventional electro-pneumatic chests. Most of these large pipes reside in the so-called “Attic Pedal” division behind a speaking tin façade fronting a shallow chamber with limited headroom. Most interior Attic Pedal pipes are thus placed horizontally, as are notes #1–19 of the Great 16′ Bourdon, the latter located beneath the choir platform. The full-length 16′ Double Trumpet stands within the main case.

The pipework has truly eclectic origins. From the previous instrument we retained six choice ranks of 30% tin, superbly crafted by Stinkens, the renowned Dutch pipemaking firm. (The original voicers having really done no meaningful voicing, we were able to start essentially from scratch with fresh, unvoiced pipes.) Several lovely stops of pine, poplar, and oak were acquired from a church that was set to be demolished in a neighboring town. The remainder of Opus 12’s pipework is new.

Casework design was the result of a close and lengthy collaborative effort between Father Steve and me. Happily, both of us wished the organ to look as if it had always been there. The results reflect Father Steve’s and my firm conviction that, where possible, an organ’s casework and ornamentation should be in congenial dialogue with the room’s architecture and appointments.

Carvings were designed and executed by noted Boston-area sculptor Morgan Faulds Pike, who wrote the following in preparation for the organ’s dedication:

The carved white oak panels—above the console, above the swell shades, and in the attic pedal case—represent flora and fauna which symbolically resonate with the church interior, the city of Carthage, and, most endearingly, Father Steven Wilson’s specific requests for a carefully camouflaged “sparrow and her nest” (Psalm 84:3) and “somewhere, a little mouse.” Our design process was a stimulating collaboration from which Father Steve’s wishes and my design drawings produced something more like a working friendship than a design challenge.

The Alpha and Omega shades on the Attic Pedal directly relate to other A & Ω carvings in the room. The maple and oak leaf designs are representative of Carthage, Missouri (“The Maple Leaf City”) and the organ’s quartered oak casework, respectively. Above the console two panels, one depicting a Marian rose, the other the ancient Holly and Ivy of pre-Christian ritual, echo motifs that appear in more simplified forms elsewhere in the church. The designs evolved in keeping with Father Steve’s desire for the case to have everything to do with the church interior and the greater community; I must say here that they also reflect his own remarkable and unselfconscious aura of holiness. He wished the sparrow and her nest to be discretely perched within one of the swell façade shades, to be discovered only after some study. We based the sparrow on a North American song sparrow that was nesting at the time in a bush beneath Father Steve’s window. Her beautiful song might just allude to the choir singing beneath her perch above the swell louvres. The mouse, “a creature of great personal valor,” is a cheeky surprise, clinging to the lower frame of an otherwise-smooth front pipe shade.

This organ has been at once the most difficult and most rewarding we’ve ever undertaken, owing partly to the fact that so much of it is densely woven into the fabric of this lovely historic structure, one where nothing is truly level, plumb, or square. We thank the parishioners and staff of Grace Church for their unswerving support, friendship, and patience during installation and finish voicing. We sincerely hope our Opus 12 will serve this remarkable church for years to come.

—Michael Rathke

Builders of the organ

Saskia Croé

Rebecca Madison

Lauren McAllister

Stella O’Neill

Michael Rathke

Caleb Ringwald

Jefimija Zlatanovic

 

We are deeply grateful to the following individuals and organizations:

†The Reverend Steven Wilson (project leadership)

Dr. Susan Marchant (consultation)

Brad White (technical assistance)

Peter Frost (onsite voicing assistance)

Paige Rhymer (onsite voicing assistance)

A. J. Rhymer (onsite voicing assistance)

Will Endicott (onsite voicing assistance)

Jerin Kelley (onsite voicing assistance)

Chris Church (onsite voicing assistance)

Morgan Faulds Pike (carvings)

Nami Hamada (tonal finisher)

Casey Dunaway (tonal finisher)

Vladimir Vaculik (solid state installation)

Patrick J. Murphy & Associates (casework)

 

Diagram and photo credits

All photographs by Regina Newport except as noted:

Sketch A – Michael Rathke

Removing pipework – John Hacker, The Joplin Globe (used by permission)

 

From the organist/choirmaster

It was my great fortune to accept the position of organist/choirmaster at Grace Episcopal Church in 2017, just as the organ committee was reviewing proposals for a new instrument. Happily, the group needed little persuasion to select M. P. Rathke, Inc., to build their new organ. (By coincidence, I had just completed a summer internship in the Rathke workshop.) We worked with the builder to create a stoplist to fulfill a variety of needs: accompanying the choir, supporting congregational singing, and convincingly playing the repertoire, all while occupying a decidedly small space.

In addition, the 1890s nave would undergo significant cosmetic changes that, while uncovering original details of the building, might potentially be jarring for parishioners. Melinda Wilson, a gifted artist, fashioned an elaborate and clever gingerbread organ and choir layout based on the contract drawings so church-goers had an early 3-D explanation of the new look they could expect as the instrument took shape. The late Reverend Steven C. Wilson motivated the parish to fund the continuation of a well-established tradition of Anglican music. In signature Father Steve jest, threats of an “Organ Donor Dinner,” at which would be served the internal organs of various critters, resulted in many generous donations. The Reverend Joseph Pierjok expertly followed in the footsteps of his predecessor, continuing to support the construction of Opus 12 and bolstering the legacy of traditional worship at Grace.

Upon completion of Opus 12, the congregation immediately became less cautious singers, now being supported by the organ, rather than drowned in electronic sound. The choir enjoys improved acoustics: where they’d previously been tucked under imposing “flower boxes” that both stifled their sound and covered original stained glass, the transept is now open all the way to the ceiling. Voices now fill the space with ease, and the design of the case blends seamlessly into the architecture of the building.

Opus 12 is a welcome addition to the shrinking inventory of traditional instruments in southwest Missouri. It has been a great joy to help create an organ that will be an integral part of worship at Grace Church for generations to come.

—Peter Frost

GREAT (expressive, Manual I)

16′ Bourdon white pine & red oak 58 pipes

8′ Principal zinc & 50% tin 58 pipes

8′ Chimney Flute 30% tin 58 pipes

4′ Octave 50% tin 58 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Twelfth 50% tin 58 pipes

2′ Fifteenth 30% tin 58 pipes

1-3⁄5′ Seventeenth 30% tin 54 pipes

2′ Mixture III 50% tin 174 pipes

Zimbelstern

SWELL (expressive, Manual II)

8′ Dulciana (1–11 façade) zinc & 50% tin 58 pipes

8′ Celeste (TC) 50% tin 46 pipes

8′ Stopped Diapason white oak 58 pipes

4′ Principal 50% tin 58 pipes

4′ Open Flute 30% tin 58 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Quinte 30% tin 58 pipes

2′ Doublette 30% tin 58 pipes

16′ Bass Clarinet zinc & 50% tin 58 pipes

8′ Trumpet zinc & antimonial lead 58 pipes

PEDAL (unenclosed)

16′ Subbass poplar and 50% tin 30 pipes

16′ Bourdon (Great)

8′ Open Diapason (12–30 façade) pine & 70% tin 30 pipes

8′ Bass Flute (ext Subbass) 12 pipes

4′ Octave (ext Open Diapason) 12 pipes

16′ Double Trumpet (ext Swell) zinc & 30% tin 12 pipes

8′ Trumpet (Swell)

 

Three unison couplers

General tremulant

Direct mechanical key action apart from certain large bass pipes

Electric stop action with solid-state combination action

24 stops, 21 ranks, 1,182 pipes

 

Builder’s website: www.rathkepipeorgans.com

 

Church’s website: gracecarthage1869.org/