Cover Feature: Ruffatti, Notre Dame Seminary, New Orleans

Christ Cathedral, Garden Grove, California;

Fratelli Ruffatti, Padua, Italy

Frederick Swann

Frederick Swann was Director of Music and Organist of the Crystal Cathedral 1982–1998. Upon retirement he was designated Director of Music and Organist Emeritus, and the Aeolian Skinner organ he had been instrumental in securing for the Arboretum was named The Fred Swann Organ.

Resurgam

Few pipe organs in history have received as much attention as has the iconic Fratelli Ruffatti instrument dedicated in May 1982 in the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. For many years it was seen and heard weekly by millions of people via television throughout the United States and in over 130 foreign countries on The Hour of Power with Dr. Robert Schuller. In addition to recordings, tens of thousands experienced it live for over three decades in religious services, solo recitals, and a variety of musical presentations.

It is generally known that the plan for this instrument was made by Virgil Fox, who died prior to the installation. The 1977 Ruffatti organ in the former worship space of the congregation was combined with the 1966 Aeolian-Skinner from Philharmonic Hall in New York. The Ruffatti firm added several new divisions, all controlled by what was, at the time, the largest drawknob console in the world—five manuals, 363 drawknobs, 68 coupler tablets, and a myriad of control assists. The organ was an instant success. Many carefully considered changes and additions were made in the early years. The stoplist accompanying this article is the final result. No changes were made during the present renovation.

Over the years the organ was used on a daily basis. It was beautifully maintained by curators John Wilson, Guy Henderson, and Brian Sawyers. Mr. Sawyers continued the work with various helpers for many years after the death of Mr. Wilson and the debilitating illness of Mr. Henderson. The lack of heating and air conditioning in the building resulted in many large windows being open for twenty-four hours most days throughout the year. The accumulated dirt from blowing winds and visits of birds and insects, plus drastic variations in temperature and humidity, took a heavy toll on the organ. Portions ultimately became unusable despite the dedicated efforts of the curators.

In October 2010 Crystal Cathedral Ministries filed for bankruptcy. In February 2012 the entire campus of architecturally stunning buildings—including the 78,000-square-foot Philip Johnson glass cathedral and the original church (now known as The Arboretum)—was purchased by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, California.

You can perhaps imagine the joy felt when the diocese announced that the Hazel Wright Ruffatti in the Cathedral and the Fred Swann Aeolian-Skinner in the Arboretum would be retained, and the cathedral organ would undergo a thorough restoration. Thankfully, both Bishop Kevin Vann and Cathedral Rector Fr. Christopher Smith are organists and realized the significant part the organs could play in the planned dynamic music program of the cathedral. It was soon announced that this would be under the direction of Dr. John Romeri and organist David Ball. A truly significant music ministry has been established by these gentlemen and staff.

In 2012 a committee of diocesan organists and clergy was formed under the direction of Monsignor Art Holquin. After due investigation and consideration, the decision was made to entrust the renovation of the organ to Fratelli Ruffatti. I was asked to be advisor and consultant throughout the several-year project, and I have been honored to accept these duties.

All pipes were cleaned and repaired as necessary, and the chests restored. As mentioned, no changes were made in the specification.

The organ was removed from its chambers starting in December 2013. The work, supervised by Piero Ruffatti, was accomplished by six workers from the Ruffatti factory plus cathedral organ curators Brian Sawyers and Scott Clowes. The assistance of four riggers was required. The pipes were all carefully laid out rank by rank covering the empty floor of the cathedral—an impressive sight—before being carefully packed for shipping.

The console, chests, and most pipes were shipped by sea to the Ruffatti factory in Padua, Italy. The Ruffatti company subcontracted Brian Sawyers to work on some of their pipes plus most of the Aeolian-Skinner pipes and some chest actions in his shop not far from the church. Major cleaning and all necessary repairs were finished by all on schedule, but could not be returned to the cathedral due to unexpected major repairs needed on the 10,000-plus windows. Meanwhile it was decided to keep the five-manual gallery console (M. P. Möller, 1990), and it was sent to Italy where it received an amazing transformation by Ruffatti.

Consequently it was necessary for the entire organ to be placed in a climate-controlled warehouse in May 2016. The organ was finally taken to the cathedral, and re-installation began in January 2019. This was largely completed five months later. However, the enormous amount of wiring and careful detailing continued for months.

Although the entire organ remains in place as before, all visible woodwork portions have been painted a beautiful white color to blend with changes in the cathedral interior. Most exposed wooden pipes were also painted white.

When the organ was first tested we were all shocked. Due to the physical changes made in the cathedral interior, the organ sounded as if it had been designed for another building, which in reality it had been. The new acoustic was excellent, but the organ was much too bold a sound for the space. This necessitated the revoicing of almost every one of the more than 16,000 pipes. This enormous task was accomplished by Francesco Ruffatti and three assistants from the factory working two eleven-hour shifts each weekday for almost three months. The cathedral was closed to visitors except on weekends so that the work could be done in quiet. The flue revoicing was accomplished by the end of November 2019, and the reeds were started in December and continued in February 2020.

The Ruffattis have given unstintingly in every way to assure the success of the entire renovation project.

The remodeled Christ Cathedral was dedicated in mid-July 2019. A large Walker Technical Company digital organ has accompanied all Masses and programs and will be used until Easter 2020. The Walker voices that had been installed in the Ruffatti organ for bona fide reasons and used successfully for years are being replaced with the latest technology.

It is planned that the completed organ will be blessed before the end of Lent and used for the first time during Easter Masses.

A new book, Let everything that has breath praise the Lord—The story of the Hazel Wright Pipe Organ, by Dr. David Crean, will be available for purchase during the dedication weekend events, and may be ordered at a later date. It will consist of the history of other organs over the years in the buildings of the Crystal Cathedral congregation, with major and detailed emphasis on the Hazel Wright organ in the cathedral.

Finally, a bit about the most frequently asked question over the years. Many have wondered about the problems associated with the tuning of the organ. Keeping the organ sounding well was a challenge ever since the initial installation. The tuning was always done in evening hours. The tuning held well, but on warm mornings it was not possible to couple unenclosed and enclosed divisions. I always hoped for cloudy or overcast Sunday mornings, as coupling was then possible. By most afternoons, heat rendered the organ almost unusable. But, as soon as the sun went down the tuning quickly settled in perfectly.

This is why recitals were always played in the evening. When it was announced that all windows in the remodeled building would be sealed and air conditioning installed, we became very hopeful. But, since the organ is located at such a variety of heights and locations in the building, it has so far been impossible for the air conditioning to reach them all. Consequently, the same challenges still exist of having all divisions maintain the same pitch at all times. This will continue to be worked on; meanwhile, learned knowledge and experience will be helpful for the most effective use of the organ.

Since the publishing of this article, the schedule for dedication has been postponed. For up-to-date information: www.christcathedralmusic.org or www.hazelsback.org or call 714/620-7912.

CHANCEL (North) ORGAN includes:

Great, Swell, Choir, Positiv, Solo, Bombarde, Percussions (partial), Pedal

GALLERY (South) ORGAN includes:

Gallery Great, Celestial, String, Percussions (partial), Gallery Pedal

EAST ORGAN includes: Gospel

WEST ORGAN includes: Epistle

GREAT (Manual II, unenclosed)

16′ Montre

16′ Kontra Geigen

16′ Bourdon

8′ Diapason

8′ Principal Major

8′ Principal

8′ Flûte Harmonique (TC)

8′ Spitzflöte

8′ Spitz Celeste

8′ Holz Gedeckt

51⁄3′ Gross Quinte (TC)

4′ Oktav

4′ Octave

4′ Flûte Ouverte

4′ Flûte à cheminée

3-1⁄5′ Gross Tierce

2-2⁄3′ Quinte

2-2⁄3′ Sesquialtera II

2-2⁄3′ Jeu de Tierce II

2′ Fifteenth

2′ Super Octave

2′ Blockflöte

1-1⁄3′ Mixture IV–VI

1-1⁄3′ Ripieno IV

2⁄3′ Cimbalo IV

1⁄2′ Zimbel IV

16′ Contre Trompette

16′ Posaune (ext 8′ Trompete)

8′ Trompette

8′ Trompete

8′ Herald Trumpet (Bombarde)

4′ Clairon

Tremulant

Sub

Unison off

Super

GALLERY GREAT (Manual II, unenclosed)

8′ Grand Montre

8′ Principal

8′ Holzgedeckt

4′ Octave

4′ Koppelflöte

2′ Fifteenth

1-1⁄3′ Nineteenth

1′ Twenty-second

1-1⁄3′ Fourniture V

1⁄2′ Zimbel IV

16′ Sub Trumpet (ext 8′ Trumpet)

8′ Trumpet

8′ Millenial Trumpet

8′ Herald Trumpet (Bombarde)

4′ Clairon (ext 8′ Trumpet)

Gallery Great on Choir

Gallery Great on Swell

Gallery Great on Solo

Gallery Great on Celestial

Gallery Great off II

Tremulant

Sub

Unison off

Super

SWELL (Manual III, enclosed)

32′ Contre Gambe *

16′ Gambe *

16′ Flûte Courte

16′ Quintaton

8′ Montre

8′ Principal

8′ Bourdon

8′ Flûte Couverte

8′ Viole de Gambe

8′ Gambe Celeste

8′ Salicional

8′ Voix Celeste

8′ Erzähler

8′ Erzähler Celeste

4′ Prestant

4′ Octave

4′ Cor de Nuit

4′ Flûte à Pavillon

2-2⁄3′ Nazard

2′ Doublette

2′ Flûte à bec

1-3⁄5′ Tierce

1-1⁄3′ Larigot

1-1⁄7′ Septième **

1′ Piccolo

8⁄9′ Neuf

2′ Plein Jeu III

1-1⁄3′ Mixture V

2⁄3′ Cymbale III

8′ Cornet de Récit V (wired)

16′ Bombarde

16′ Contre Trompette (ext 2ème Tpt)

16′ Basson

8′ Première Trompette

8′ Deuxième Trompette

8′ Voix Humaine

8′ Hautbois

8′ Hautbois d’Orchestre

4′ Premier Clairon

4′ Deuxième Clairon

Tremulant

Sub

Unison off

Super

2 drawkobs prepared

CHOIR (Manual I, enclosed)

16′ Gemshorn

8′ Viola Pomposa

8′ Viola Celeste

8′ Flauto Dolce

8′ Flauto Celeste

8′ Cor de Nuit

4′ Prinzipal

4′ Koppelflöte

2-2⁄3′ Rohrnazat

2′ Prinzipal

2′ Zauberflöte

1-3⁄5′ Tierce

1-1⁄3′ Larigot

2⁄3′ Scharff IV

16′ Fagotto

8′ Petite Trompette

8′ Millenial Trumpet (Gallery)

8′ Clarinet

4′ Fagotto (ext 16′ Fagotto)

Tremulant

Sub

Unison off

Super

Great–Choir Transfer

POSITIV (Manual V, unenclosed)

16′ Bourdon (Great)

8′ Prinzipal

8′ Rohrflöte

4′ Prinzipal

4′ Spillflöte

2′ Oktav

1-1⁄3′ Larigot

1′ Sifflöte

1′ Scharff IV

1⁄4′ Terz Zimbel III

16′ Fagotto (Choir)

8′ Krummhorn

8′ Tuba Mirabilis (Bombarde)

4′ Rohrschalmei

Tremulant

Sub

Unison off

Super

SOLO (Manual IV, enclosed)

8′ Gambe

8′ Gambe Celeste

8′ Doppelflöte

8′ Major Flute (TC) (Gallery)

4′ Orchestral Flute

2-2⁄3′ Quintflöte (TC)

2′ Fife

8′ French Horn

8′ English Horn

8′ Corno di Bassetto

8′ Cor de Bassett (Gallery)

Tremulant

Gallery Flute Trem

Sub

Super

BORSTWERK

6 drawknobs prepared

BOMBARDE (Manual IV, unenclosed)

8′ Flûte d’Arvella (TC, Ped 4′ Spillflöte)

16′ Tuba Profunda (TC, 8′ T. Mirabilis)

8′ Tuba Mirabilis

8′ Herald Trumpet

8′ Millenial Trumpet (Gallery Great)

4′ Tuba Clairon (ext 8′ Tuba Mirabilis)

BOMBARDE (Manual IV, enclosed with Solo)

4′ Major Octave

1-1⁄3′ Harmonics VI

1-1⁄3′ Fourniture III

1⁄2′ Cymbel IV

16′ English Post Horn (ext 8′)

8′ English Post Horn

8′ Trompette Harmonique

4′ Clairon Harmonique

Unison off

CELESTIAL (Manual V, enclosed)

16′ Bourdon Doux (ext 8′ Fl à cheminée)

8′ Principal

8′ Flûte à cheminée

8′ Viola Pomposa

8′ Viola Celeste

8′ Flauto Dolce

8′ Dolce Celeste (TC)

4′ Principal

4′ Italian Principal

4′ Flûte Traversière

2-2⁄3′ Sesquialtera II (TC)

2′ Doublette

2′ Octavin

1-1⁄3′ Plein Jeu V

2⁄3′ Cymbale IV

4⁄5′ Jeu de Clochette II

16′ Contre Trompette (ext 8′ Trompette)

16′ Ranquette

8′ Trompette

8′ Cor Anglais

8′ Cromorne

4′ Clairon

4′ Chalumeau

Tremulant

8′ Harpe *

Sub

Unison off

Super

Positiv Off

1 drawknob prepared

STRING (Manual I, enclosed)

16′ Viola

16′ Viola Celeste

8′ Dulciana

8′ Unda Maris

8′ Salicional

8′ Voix Celeste

8′ Dulcet

8′ Dulcet Celeste

8′ Muted Viole I

8′ Muted Viole Celeste I

8′ Muted Viole II

8′ Muted Viole Celeste II

8′ Violoncello

8′ Cello Celeste

8′ Rohrpfeife

4′ Nachthorn

8′ Voix Humaine

Tremulant

Sub

Unison off

Super

String Off I

String on Great

String on Swell

String on Solo

String on Celestial

String Tutti

1 drawknob prepared

ECHO (floating, expressive)

8′ Violes Forte II *

8′ Fernflute *

8′ Vox Amorosa II *

4′ Divinare *

8′ Vox Seraphique II *

2-2⁄3′ Rohr Nazat *

8′ Anthropoglossa *

8′ Oboe d’Amore *

Tremulant

Sub

Super

Echo on V

Echo on IV

Echo off III

Echo on II

Echo on I

Echo to Pedal

EPISTLE (floating)

8′ Principal *

4′ Octave *

2′ Mixture IV–V *

8′ Mounted Cornet V

16′ Trompette en chamade

8′ Trompette en chamade

4′ Trompette en chamade

2′ Trompette en chamade

16′ Pedal Principal *

Sub

Epistle on Choir

Epistle on Great

Epistle on Swell

Epistle on Solo

Epistle on Celestial

GOSPEL (floating)

8′ Principal *

4′ Octave 4 *

2′ Super Octave *

1-1⁄3′ Mixture IV *

16′ Trompette en chamade

8′ Trompette en chamade

4′ Trompette en chamade

16′ Pedal Principal *

Sub

Gospel on Choir

Gospel on Great

Gospel on Swell

Gospel on Solo

Gospel on Celestial

PERCUSSIONS

Bells on IV *

Bells on Pedal *

Rossignol

Etoile de Grand matin

Glockenstern

Celestial Cloches

8′ Choir Harp *

4′ Choir Celesta *

Great Chimes *

Carillon on Pedal (bell tower)

Carillon I (bell tower)

Carillon IV (bell tower)

PEDAL

64′ La Force (resultant)

32′ Double Diapason

32′ Kontra Geigen (ext 16′ Geigen)

32′ Contre Gambe (Swell) *

32′ Contra Bourdon *

32′ Grand Cornet IV (wired)

21-1⁄3′ Diapente Grave (ext 16′ Geigen)

16′ Contre Basse

16′ Diapason (ext 32′ Double Diapason)

16′ Principal

16′ Montre (Great)

16′ Geigen (Great)

16′ Gambe (Swell) *

16′ Subbasso

16′ Bourdon

16′ Flûte Courte (Swell)

16′ Quintaton (Swell)

16′ Gemshorn (Choir)

10-2⁄3′ Quinte

8′ Principal

8′ Octave

8′ Principal (Positiv)

8′ Violone

8′ Geigen (Great)

8′ Bourdon (ext 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Bordone

8′ Spitzflöte

8′ Flûte Courte (Swell)

8′ Gemshorn (Choir)

5-1⁄3′ Octave quinte (ext 10-2⁄3′ Quint)

4′ Octave

4′ Choralbass

4′ Principal (Positiv)

4′ Spireflöte

4′ Spillflöte

2′ Octave

2′ Spindleflöte (ext 4′ Spillflöte)

5-1⁄3′ Fourniture IV

2-2⁄3′ Ripieno VI

1-1⁄3′ Acuta II

32′ Contre Bombarde *

32′ Kontra Posaune

32′ Contra Fagotto *

16′ Posaune (ext 32′ Kontra Posuane)

16′ English Post Horn (Bombarde)

16′ Contre Trompette (Great)

16′ Bombarde (Swell)

16′ Basson (Swell)

16′ Fagotto (Choir)

8′ Trompette

8′ Trompete

8′ Herald Trumpet (Bombarde)

8′ Fagotto (Choir)

8′ Krummhorn (Positiv)

4′ Trompette (ext 8′ Trompette)

4′ Klarine (ext 8′ Trompete)

4′ Krummhorn (Positiv)

4′ Rohrschalmei (Positiv)

Pedal FFF (tutti)

1 drawknob prepared

GALLERY PEDAL

32′ Untersatz *

32′ Contre Basse *

32′ Grand Harmoniques IV (wired)

16′ Open Wood

16′ Montre La Tour (ext Gallery Great Grand Montre)

16′ Bourdon

16′ Bourdon Doux (Celestial)

16′ Viola (String)

16′ Viola Celeste (String)

16′ Gemshorn *

8′ Viola (String)

8′ Viola Celeste (String)

8′ Prestant (Gallery Great)

8′ Bourdon (ext 16′ Bourdon)

4′ Basse de Chorale (Gallery Great)

2-2⁄3′ Mixture V (ext Gallery Gt Fourn V)

32′ Contre Bombarde *

16′ Bombarde

16′ Contre Trompette (Celestial)

16′ Sub Trumpet (Great)

16′ Ranquette (Celestial)

8′ Trompette (ext 16′ Bombarde)

8′ Millenial Trumpet (Gallery Great)

4′ Clairon (ext 16′ Bombarde)

COUPLERS

Great to Pedal 8 – 4

Swell to Pedal 8 – 4

Choir to Pedal 8 – 4

Solo to Pedal 8 – 4

Positiv to Pedal 8 – 4

Gallery Great to Pedal 8 – 4

Celestial to Pedal 8 – 4

String to Pedal 8 – 4

Epistle to Pedal 8

Gospel to Pedal 8

Swell to Great 16 – 8 – 4

Choir to Great 16 – 8 – 4

Solo to Great 16 – 8 – 4

Positiv to Great 8

Celestial to Great 16 – 8 – 4

Pedal to Great 8

Great to Choir 8

Swell to Choir 16 – 8 – 4

Solo to Choir 16 – 8 – 4

Positiv to Choir 8

Celestial to Choir 16 – 8 – 4

Choir to Swell 16 – 8 - 4

Solo to Swell 16 – 8 – 4

Positiv to Swell 8

Celestial to Swell 16 – 8 – 4

Positiv to Solo 8

Celestial to Solo 16 – 8 – 4

Great on Solo 8

Selected accessories

Pedal divide

Echo Expression to Solo

Full Organ

String Expression on Celestial

String Expression on Choir

String Expression on Swell

String Expression on Solo

All Swells to Swell

21 Generals, divisionals, reversibles, silencers, silencer cancel

Gallery in Control / Split / Chancel in Control

Tutti

Chancel Tutti

Digital stops marked with *

Stop preparations marked with **

*Digital stops were added over the years to help support congregational singing in the distant East and West galleries, and also to reinforce the Pedal due to the poor acoustics for bass frequencies. Those digital voices have now been replaced with the latest technology, under a separate contract not involving Fratelli Ruffatti.

263 pipe stops, 265 pipe ranks, 16,000 pipes

Builder’s website: www.ruffatti.com

Cathedral website: https://christcathedralcalifornia.org

Cathedral music website: http://christcathedralmusic.org

Cathedral organ website: http://hazelsback.org

Gerhard Grenzing

Born in Insterburg, Germany, Gerhard Grenzing trained in organbuilding with Rudolf von Beckerath in Hamburg, and gained further qualification by working with several other European workshops, mainly in Austria and Switzerland.

Beginning in 1967, he restored several organs in Majorca. In 1972, he set up his own workshop in El Papiol, near Barcelona, Spain. Approximately 250 new and restored organs have left the Grenzing workshop for Spain, France, Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Italy, Sweden, Japan, South Korea, Bogotá, Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico, and Russia.

Since its founding in 1975 Radio France has remained the sole public radio broadcaster in France. The sprawling premises in the 16th arrondissement, occupied by the station from its inception, have been enhanced by a new 1,461-seat concert hall. However, in the design by the Parisian architectural bureau AS Architecture-Studio with acoustic consulting by the renowned firm of Nagata Acoustics from Japan, no organ was foreseen at the outset.

Only with a spirited campaign by dozens of leading figures in organ circles and the music world at large did the authorities eventually become convinced that in an organ city the likes of Paris and in a room like this one, a one-of-a-kind concert-hall organ must not be lacking. The attention that was aroused in this way spurred Radio France to have the organ project overseen by a committee of six organists, made up of Michel Bouvard, Thierry Escaich, François Espinasse, Bernard Foccroulle, Olivier Latry, and Jean-Pierre Leguay.

Once our firm had been awarded the contract for building the organ, and subsequent to an international call for tenders, we were actively supported and stimulated by the committee during the total of six years that the design phase, execution, and finishing were to last. The intense dialogue that came about among us as organbuilders and these experienced specialists was extraordinarily enriching and has already become a significant basis for future offshoot projects.

When I began to build organs in Barcelona, Spain, in the 1970s my work was quickly noticed in France and acknowledged with important contracts there. The company leadership in the Grenzing firm has meanwhile been transferred to my daughter Natalie Grenzing, seconded by the German master-organbuilder Andreas Fuchs. My sixty years’ knowledge is always appreciated. Our particular responsibility for the realization of the Radio France concert hall organ was shared by our entire team, consisting of twenty seasoned collaborators from seven nations.

Hallmarks of an organ for a concert venue

How, then, does a concert hall organ differ from its sibling in a church? It needs to feature a formal and coloristic relationship to all the tone colors of our instrumental and vocal musical culture. From a wafting pianissimo to the most massive fortissimo it should accompany, enhance, and provide the foundation for soloists, choirs, a chamber orchestra, and the large symphony orchestra. It should be capable of fulfilling its role in the orchestral literature and serve in the various styles of organ repertory. Finally, composers and improvisers should construe such an organ as an inspiring and subtly appointed medium for new works.

In May 2010, following the awarding of the contract, a meeting was held with the committee, in which, with the participation of six collaborators from our team, the technical and especially the tonal conceptions as well as the design of the consoles and accessories were discussed and voted on. It was only in this meeting that, through creative interplay among all those participating, the definitive specification and the technical details of the organ were determined; some among them were decidedly innovative. Several registers are located on an auxiliary windchest, so that they can be used in the Grand-Orgue as well as in the Pedal.

In many aspects of designing this organ we broke new ground tonally and technically. To our knowledge, for example, there exists no other instrument that may be played simultaneously from an electric console with proportional action and from a mechanical console. Our idea of a three-rank Gamba chorus with 4′ extension was accepted. For this we envisioned a bright tone color, almost as a preliminary stage leading up to the use of high mutations or mixtures.

Our wish to have variety in the area of reeds was received favorably as well. Thus not only was a chamade instituted but also a high-pressure division with tubas, which—enhanced by high-pressure flutes—sets the instrument off against the orchestra or, with its “broad shoulders,” underpins the same. Similarly, the Cor anglais in the Solo division, for example, was developed with a particular color for solo work.

We understand that French ears have a predilection for the sound of the indigenous French reed stops. As a result of our studies we are constantly aware in what country and for what ears we are creating (or, even more important, restoring) sounds. Hence a careful distinction was made between reed stops in the German style—which, versatile in their combination possibilities and together with the flues yielding various vowel sounds, can be used polyphonically—and the reed stops usual in French organs. The names of these stops make them recognizable by the wording, such as Trompete as opposed to Trompette.

The organ casework was designed by the architect of the hall, taking our technical/stylistic specifications into account. The instrument is thus so integrated into the hall that it comes across not so much as a distinct body but above all by virtue of the huge, 12 meter by 12 meter organ façade.

Our technical designer succeeded in fitting the eighty-seven registers with their 5,230 pipes into a depth of only some 3.84 meters, yet with a sense of order and clarity. In the foremost row of the façade stand the 8′ and 4′ pipes of the Grand-Orgue and Pedal, then just behind them the corresponding 16′ pipes, which fill up the entire space of the central case image.

The austere basic outline is relieved by the array of pipe ranks in a free play of pipe sizes and foot lengths. The swell shades framing the façade symbolize in three levels the enclosed divisions of the first, third, and fourth manuals, which opens up on a glimpse of the pipes standing behind. The effect, further enhanced by lighting setups, lends a dynamic visual dimension to the organist’s playing. This lighting function may of course be turned off.

The case pipes, in typical Spanish fashion, are polished with a scraper applied perpendicular to the pipe body. Together with the multi-faceted artificial illumination an enlivening effect of subtle contrast with the pipe bodies is achieved, which in neutral light is transformed into a gossamer sheen.

The main façade is formed by pipes. Next to it are found the visible swell shades, and to the outside on either side the pedal, which is masked by acoustically transparent fabric.

The console arrangements

The mechanical-action attached console features a visual link to the conductor via a screen and a mirror. Both can be slid into the case. Special functions of the console include:

• four adjustable crescendos that may be assigned to any of the swell pedals;

• a cumulative device for all enclosed divisions (“All Swells”);

• for the manual couplers, mechanical or electric action may be selected;

• a MIDI replay and tuning system;

• freely adjustable interval couplers (prepared for; you can chose any interval—for example a third, fifth, ninth, or any other “strange” interval—for coupling to any manual and thus enrich the color of registration);

• freely adjustable divided pedal couplers (prepared for).

The mobile console on the orchestra plateau is equipped with proportional electric action (sensitive touch).

A tracker organ with refined touch-sensitive action enables the organist to control the crucial attack and release parameters of the pipe speech, the only way the potential for musical expressivity can be realized by means of the corresponding reaction of the wind. With a normal electric action this is not possible, since only an on/off contact is involved. On the other hand, proportional electric action accurately conveys the movement of the fingers to the pallets in the windchest. Even a pedal tone, which the organist has such a hard time controlling at a large instrument, can henceforth be given a surprisingly slow sound decay.

Particular features of the mobile console include:

• transparent design, with no pedestal of its own, thereby being extremely low-lying and easily movable;

• all divisions can be assigned to various keyboards, meaning an inversion between Grand-Orgue/Positif and Récit/Solo, e.g., Grand-Orgue on the first manual, the Positif on the second or vice-versa;

• the “point of contact,” that is the exact place within the keydrop at which the note sounds or cuts off, can be adjusted;

• the lateral position of the pedalboard can be variously adjusted, for example C2 under manual C3 or D2 under manual C3.

Features common to both consoles:

• both consoles have four 61-note manual keyboards that are capped with bone and ebony. The pedalboards with 32 keys are made of oak. Via the touchscreen the organist can store personal files or, for example, adjust the speed of the tremolos;

• the key sostenuto functions either as an addition (that is, all depressed keys continue to sound) or as a substitution (the previously depressed keys are cancelled when new keys are depressed). When one of the two functions is activated, it is cancelled by activation of the other function;

• both consoles can be played simultaneously. Priority for the respective registration can be assigned at will to the mechanical or to the electric console.

Further particularities:

• there is a sequencer with wireless remote control for the assistant, so that the organist is not inconvenienced;

• USB memory sticks can be used for personal data;

• via a decimal keyboard (like a telephone keyboard) and a touchscreen the combination action in its versatile modes of utilization is memorized. Thousands of combinations can be called forth. Various combinations and levels are accessible only by means of a code. Organists can rest assured that they will truly have their combinations available to them.

Tonal considerations

We exchanged views extensively with composers, conductors, and organists (especially with organist-conductors) over tonal conceptions and once again express our thanks for the patient exchange of debate on this important subject. Often the remark was made that conductors ask organists to reduce the registration more and more, as the organ is one way or another too intrusive. We believe that this intrusiveness may be attributed in the pianissimo realm to the attack, the transient speech process (Einschwingvorgang) of each pipe, and in the forte realm mainly to the “organ-typical strident” tone of the mixtures, being too set apart from the tone color of the orchestra.

For a long time now we have felt confident in having recognized the solution in the most thoroughly refined attack behavior of each pipe. Despite its initial emission, at once quick and gentle, each tone should develop freely and in an unforced way. Thereby a certain “merging” into the sound of the orchestra can be furthered. Olivier Latry expressed the same idea in the symposium (see Appendix: A symposium on the concert hall organ).

Typical organ tone is to a very significant extent produced by mixtures and their quint ranks. For this reason we set the unison ranks in the Grand-Orgue mixture apart. The quints are then available via a separate register.

As a contrasting function there is in the Grand-Orgue a Cymbal with freely adjustable intervals. The sound can thereby be registered in the most varied colors as well as in the manner of actual Cymbals, but particularly as Ninths and Septièmes, whereby the organ, even in the midst of a triple forte in the orchestra, remains audibly distinct.

The instrument is divided into seven tonal groups in all that can either correspond with each other or be set off soloistically: Grand-orgue, Récit expressif, Positif expressif, Solo expressif, Solo Haute Pression [high-pressure] expressif, Chamade, and Pedal.

As an unusual tonal effect, in the Positif a wind pressure is available that is progressively modifiable by means of a separate swell pedal. As opposed to the standard wind cutoff this has the advantage that the manipulated pipe tone of all stops in this division remains less out-of-tune and better supplied, as not the quantity but only the pressure of the wind flow is changed.

From November 7 to 9, 2013, there was an initial, in-depth examination by the commission of the almost fully set up organ in our generously proportioned erecting room. For the first time in the large room with its 17 meters height and acoustics acclaimed for their high quality, the experts were able to play the instrument, exploring its features and discussing it with us. It thus seemed appropriate to organize the first concerts on the next day, followed by a symposium entitled “Organs in Concert Halls.” The members of the commission offered the concert, allowing as well the possibility of a discussion among some eighty specialists we had invited from throughout Europe (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw1D5i_luFA; www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtagKK0VALo; and the summary of the discussion in the appendix).

Installation of the organ in Paris and its tonal characteristics

Following erection of the organ and the first on-site tests, the instrument was optimally adjusted to the room. We were eager, as a challenge from the outset, to take on the dauntingly dry acoustic of the hall. Once again, the instrument had to be adjusted to the tonal power of the orchestra, without relinquishing the tonal poetry and subtleties of the various colors and dynamic levels. We were most grateful indeed for the close collaboration and numerous instructive and supportive moments spent with the organists of the commission, in particular Olivier Latry.

From May 7 to 9, 2016, Radio France hosted dedication concerts with fifteen organists whose programs ranged from family concerts, a “Poetry and Organ” program, and one of improvised Andalusian-Arab music, to the avant-garde. The performers were Pascale Rouet, Coralie Amedjkane, David Cassan, Guillaume Nussbaum, Freddy Eichelberger, Juan de la Rubia, Lionel Avot, and Els Biesemans. The crowning final concert featured organists Michel Bouvard, Thierry Escaich, François Espinasse, Olivier Latry, Shin-Young Lee, and Jean-Pierre Leguay on May 9. You can hear the program on the internet at https://www.youtube.com/user/GerhardGrenzing.

Radio France intends to put the newly created instrument to use in highly multifarious ways. A campaign has been undertaken for the founding of a circle of patrons and donors committed to future activities focusing on this organ. The idea has been broached for workshops and study trips, public masterclasses, promotion of young titular organists, organ and cinema, a cycle of radio plays with France Culture, as well as a composition contest. Since Radio France records all its concerts, thorough maintenance of our instrument is important: it is carried out by our Parisian colleague Michel Goussu.

My heartfelt thanks for the confidence and the patient, consistently professional collaboration goes out to the six organists of the Radio France organ commission, the construction director Nadim Callabe, the conservator (or curator) of the organ Jean-Michel Mainguy, and most particularly the twenty collaborators on my staff.

I have in gratitude dedicated the success of the project to my master teacher Rudolf von Beckerath, who came as an apprentice to Paris and went away seven years later with knowledge to impart, and to our collaborator and friend Andreas Mühlhoff, who departed from us in sorrowful circumstances.

Perspectives

Following completion of the instrument one is beset with many thoughts: wherefore this effort? In the course of the last turn of the century the question was often asked: What will become of the organ in the future? Aware that the organ is the most evolution-prone of instruments, one could answer the question about its future development that the organ adapts to the needs and the spirit of the society of its time. Or, better put, it expresses it as a kind of mirror. But what is indeed our Zeitgeist of today?

Perhaps this: more and more we are determined by today’s technology. Our entire doings must occur ever faster. We want to have everything that can possibly be had. Even acknowledging that what seems modern today will already be outdated the day after tomorrow, we cannot simply exit this cycle. As was remarked at the end of the symposium, it seems to me that observance of musical ethics provides guidance in value boundaries.

In our shop we give full rein to the most novel technical developments and further enhance them. We are nevertheless very careful not to let ourselves be distracted, cultivating or incorporating noble, time-tested musical values.

Appendix: A symposium on the concert hall organ

We value any opportunity for enhancing the exchange of ideas. The Barcelona airport is located only twenty-five minutes away from our shop. Our slogan, “We are not far away, but rather neighbors,” was once again confirmed. On November 8, 2013, a symposium on concert hall organs was held in our shop. The impetus came from the new organ for Radio France, which at that time was nearly completed and set up in the shop. Thanks to the spontaneous initiative of our collaborators, the space occupied by our restoration division was converted into a standing buffet restaurant. The symposium was followed by two further days with public children’s concerts, a jam session, and a concluding silent film with Juan de la Rubia as improvising organist.

Summary of the symposium on November 8, 2013, in El Papiol

Bernard Foccroulle opened the symposium and noted the lack of organs in concert halls in France. The new instrument should serve the needs of Radio France and the two orchestras that perform there.

Olivier Latry expressed his regret that, for the most part, organs in concert halls do not live up to the expectations of musicians, orchestras, and conductors. The reason: the organs are often designed in the style of a special era or in the particular style of a given organbuilder. An example thereof is the wonderful organ in Taiwan with its sixty stops. Playing it requires two assistants, and very little literature is playable on the tracker instrument.

An instrument of lesser beauty will seldom be played. A few organs have been restored and brought up to date (for example, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig), and are played thirty-five to forty times each year.

In the Radio France complex an all-encompassing project needed to take in not only the organ but also the hall, the construction in general, and the acoustics. An organ cannot sound good in just any acoustic. Hence the need for the collaboration of an acoustician.

What are the particularities of a concert hall organ? Conductors often blame the organ either for being too loud (thereby overpowering the orchestra) or too soft (thus being covered up by the orchestra). The organ must possess a wide dynamic range. The multiplicity of sounds and transient attack parameters of the orchestral instruments bring about synchronization problems with the organ. Hence the necessity of a sound with cautious attack that can thereby come about with a kind of inertia. The sound of the organ must be capable of entering more or less slowly. The Radio France instrument meets this criterion; to this are added dynamic enclosed divisions, mechanical action, as well as the proportional electric action.

Olivier Latry emphasized that the collaboration of all the organists involved in the project was highly useful. Michel Bouvard noted that the comprehension of the various authorities at Radio France made it possible to enlarge the specification, such that the organ can serve not only as an organ for orchestra (and accompaniment for choir and children’s choir), but also as a solo instrument.

Gerhard Grenzing explained that the new organ is not an orchestral organ but should be an organ for the orchestra. This implies a refined voicing style and individually cultivated attack of each pipe. He emphasized the dynamics of the swell boxes, of the very soft stops for the accompaniment of the room-filling soloists, and of the very loud stops that—without succumbing to vulgarity—are meant to give the instrument “broad shoulders.” This makes it possible to respond to the orchestra without lording over it.

This is the result of many considerations shared among conductors and organists, for which Grenzing expressed his gratitude once again, as well as of the work of his team that contributed its sensitivity, perseverance, and soul to the cause, without which success would not have been possible.

Michel Bouvard shared his experience as director of the Toulouse les Orgues festival. In Toulouse a considerable richness in organs is available, but even if the ten best organists in the world had been invited that would not have been enough; in ten years the audience would have become weary of the same basic fare, and so numerous innovative programs and activities enriched the festival offerings. The high level of the concerts was maintained. Bouvard holds great hope for the same success at Radio France.

The organ must be brought “out of the chapel” in order to create momentum for a new public; a new place in music history must be found to lend it a new role of its own, and not only as a church instrument. It is important to gain a young audience through educational endeavors, for which models exist in the world, for example the Philharmonie in Budapest. Another possibility would be to organize “cinema concerts.”

Olivier Latry underscored Bouvard’s suggestion and reported on his experience in Manchester. There he was asked, as a prelude to Mahler’s Eighth Symphony, to improvise for twenty minutes on Veni Creator. To many who had never heard an organ, this came as a revelation.

François Espinasse suggested developing initiatives with schools and universities. In this way public relations work and scientific research would be brought together in fruitful collaboration.

It is also among the organist’s tasks to turn to composers, since the latter often seem to be wary of the instrument. It is to be hoped that the organ of Radio France will enable a dialogue with them.

Jean-Pierre Leguay recalled his experience with the composers of the 1960s and 1970s, which was a very good time for the development of contemporary music. It was discovered that the organ is an unbelievable generator of tone colors. However, for many organists, above all those who were not composers, the organ was “slumbering, back there in the organ loft, hidden away and dusty.”

Study of orchestration at the conservatory changed the composers’ way of hearing and revealed the organ’s countless possibilities for tone colors. Working together with composers is of crucial importance. It is important to show them that the organ is just as rich and expressively potent an instrument as others. A concert hall organ is ultimately an element of this musical laboratory, an opportunity for composers to expand their resources through experimentation. The public should not consider the organ as a purely liturgical instrument.

Michel Bouvard recalled an anecdote concerning Pierre Boulez. To the question of why he had not composed anything for the organ he answered: “The organ has no relation to my musical ideas, since it functions for large masses of sound such as crescendo-decrescendo, whereas I seek the gentle substance of a flute or an oboe.” (A symptomatic answer from the lips of such an eminent composer.)

Christian Dépange noted that this new organ that we are now getting to know must be a kind of combative element of conviction and pedagogy for the public.

Yves Rechsteiner, successor to Michel Bouvard with Toulouse les Orgues, asked, can the pipe organ open up musical aesthetics other than classical music? How does the role of the pipe organ stand up to that of the electronic organ, which offers a much broader variety of sounds?

Bernard Foccroulle noted two applications of technology: on one hand that of the image in the service of information and publicity that could be used to make the organ more accessible, more comprehensible, and on the other hand that of making modification of the sound possible, thereby producing new sounds. Foccroulle encouraged Olivier Latry to report on his experience in digital production and the relationship between synthesizer and organ. Latry told of his experiences in Hollywood with a system in which the synthesizer was a part of the organ, opening up many perspectives. Seen in this light, the question is perhaps the possibility of an eventual addition of such a system to this organ. “I’m thinking for example of the possibility to capture the tone of the organ with swell shades closed, then projecting it via loudspeakers into the room.” Gerhard Grenzing noted in conclusion, “In this race with technology that makes nearly everything possible, I would like to recall that the nature of the organ emerging out of inner necessity is the conveying of musical emotions based on acknowledgement of ethics.”

Documentation of the symposium may be reviewed on the internet at: http://grenzing.com/RadioFrance/.

This article is a free translation by Kurt Lueders of Gerhard Grenzing’s updated text in German, used with kind permission of the original publisher, the review Ars Organi.

Builder’s website: www.grenzing.com

Radio France website: www.radiofrance.fr

Listen to the organ here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR0gTDZmRR8

 

2016 Gerhard Grenzing organ

GRAND-ORGUE

16′ Montre (61 pipes)

16′ Bourdon (61 pipes)

8′ Montre (61 pipes)

8′ Suavial (61 pipes)

8′ Flûte harmonique (12 basses from Bourdon, 49 pipes)

8′ Bourdon à cheminée (61 pipes)

51⁄3′ Grosse Quinte (61 pipes)

4′ Prestant (61 pipes)

4′ Flûte conique (61 pipes)

31⁄5′ Grosse Tierce (61 pipes)

22⁄3′ Quinte (61 pipes)

2′ Doublette (61 pipes)

II Sesquialtera (122 pipes)

II–V Grand Cornet (305 pipes)

III–IV [Mixtur] Octaves (207 pipes)

II–III [Mixtur] Quintes (183 pipes)

III–IV Cymbal (220 pipes)

16′ Trompete (61 pipes)

8′ Trompete (61 pipes)

Positif Expressif

16′ Quintaton (61 pipes)

8′ Principal (61 pipes)

8′ Salicional (61 pipes)

8′ Meditation (TC, celeste, 49 pipes)

8′ Bourdon (61 pipes)

4′ Prestant (61 pipes)

4′ Flûte douce (61 pipes)

22⁄3′ Nasard (61 pipes)

2′ Doublette (61 pipes)

13⁄5′ Tierce (61 pipes)

11⁄3′ Larigot (61 pipes)

11⁄7′ Septime (61 pipes)

1′ Sifflet (61 pipes)

IV Mixture (244 pipes)

16′ Basson (61 pipes)

8′ Trompette (61 pipes)

8′ Clarinette (61 pipes)

Tremblant

Récit Expressif

16′ Principal (6 basses fr Bdn, 54 pipes)

16′ Bourdon (61 pipes)

16′ Gambe (6 basses fr Bdn, 54 pipes)

8′ Principal (32 basses fr 16′ Principal, 29 pipes)

8′ Gambe (32 basses fr 16′ Gambe, 29 pipes)

8′ Voix céleste (TC, 49 pipes)

8′ Flûte harmonique (61 pipes)

8′ Cor de nuit (32 pipes fr 16′ Bourdon, 29 pipes)

4′ Octave (61 pipes)

4′ Flûte octaviante (61 pipes)

22⁄3′ Nazard (61 pipes)

2′ Octavin (61 pipes)

13⁄5′ Tierce (61 pipes)

IV Plein jeu (244 pipes)

16′ Bombarde (61 pipes)

8′ Trompette harmonique (61 pipes)

8′ Hautbois (61 pipes)

8′ Voix humaine (61 pipes)

4′ Clairon (61 pipes)

Tremblant

Solo Expressif

8′ Choeur de cordes (I–III, 147 pipes)

8′ Voix céleste (TC, 49 pipes)

8′ Flûte traversière (61 pipes)

4′ Choeur de cordes (ext 8′, 36 pipes)

4′ Flûte traversière (ext 8′, 12 pipes)

2′ Flûte (ext 8′, 12 pipes)

8′ Cor anglais (61 pipes)

Solo Haute Pression

8′ Flûte (61 pipes)

4′ Flûte (ext 8′, 12 pipes)

16′ Tuba (61 pipes)

8′ Tuba (ext 16′, 12 pipes)

4′ Tuba (ext 16′, 12 pipes)

Chamade

16′ Chamade (fr 8′)

8′ Chamade B (25 pipes)

8′ Chamade D (36 pipes)

Pédale

32′ Bourdon (ext 16′, 12 pipes)

16′ Principal (32 pipes)

16′ Soubasse (32 pipes)

16′ Contrebasse (32 pipes)

16′ Montre (G.-O.)

16′ Bourdon (Réc.)

102⁄3′ Quinte (32 pipes)

8′ Principal (ext 16′, 12 pipes)

8′ Bourdon (ext 16′, 12 pipes)

8′ Violoncelle (32 pipes)

8 Flûte (Solo)

62⁄5′ Tierce impériale (ext 31⁄5′, 12 pipes)

51⁄3′ Quinte (ext 102⁄3′, 12 pipes)

4′ Octave (32 pipes)

31⁄5′ Grosse Tierce (32 pipes)

32′ Posaune (32 pipes)

16′ Posaune (ext 32′, 12 pipes)

16′ Basson (32 pipes)

8′ Trompete (32 pipes)

8′ Basson (ext 16′, 12 pipes)

4′ Clairon (ext 8′, 12 pipes)

8′ Chamade (fr Chamade)

4′ Chamade (fr Chamade)

Couplers

G.-O–Ped.

Pos.–Ped.

Réc.–Ped.

Solo–Ped.

G.-O 4′–Ped.

Pos. 4′–Ped.

Réc. 4′–Ped.

Solo 4′–Ped.

 

G.-O. 16′–G.-O.

Pos. 16′–G.-O.

Pos.–G.-O.

Recit 16′–G.-O.

Récit–G.-O.

Solo 16′–G.-O.

Solo–G.-O.

Ped.–G.-O.

 

Pos. 16′–Pos.

Récit 16′–Pos.

Récit–Pos.

Solo–Pos.

 

Récit 16′–Récit

Solo–Récit

 

Tuba–G.-O.

Tuba–Pos.

Tuba–Récit

Tuba–Solo

Tuba–Pédale

 

Chamade–G.-O.

Chamade–Pos.

Chamade–Récit

Chamade–Solo

 

93 stops, 93 ranks, 5,308 pipes

Manual compass: 61 notes (C–C)

Pedal compass: 32 notes (C–G)

a1=442 Hz at 22 degress Celsius

Photo credit: Christophe Abramowitz.

Michał Szostak

Michał Szostak, Polish organist, researcher, and author, completed a doctorate degree in organ performance in February 2019. He studied organ performance at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw with Andrzej Chorosiński, as well as organ improvisation at the Pontificio Istituto Ambrosiano di Musica Sacra in Milan with Davide Paleari. He regularly performs organ recitals in Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, and the United States, and has recorded three CDs. His organological research is regularly published by Polish and international organ magazines. From 2011–2018 he was the music director and principal organist of the Basilica in Licheń Stary. For further information: www.michalszostak.org.

Between 2002 and 2007, in Licheń Stary, near the geographical center of Poland, the Polish organbuilder Zakłady Organowe Zych built a monumental instrument of 157 stops. Designed by Andrzej Chorosiński, the instrument is now the largest organ in Poland and is controlled by a six-manual console.

Licheń Stary has a population of approximately 1,500 people. After World War II, priests of the order of the Marian Fathers promoted the devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary here, centered around a small seventeenth-century oil painting of the Blessed Virgin. The ever-increasing number of pilgrims visiting the village could not be accommodated in the small local church housing the painting.

The Marian Fathers decided to build a new and larger church for the painting and pilgrims, an edifice that would become a minor basilica and consequently the largest church edifice in Poland. Construction began in 1992, and Pope Saint John Paul II blessed the building in 1999, though construction continued into 2002. The size of the basilica is 3,237,000 cubic feet, and the usable area is 247,600 square feet. The length of the nave is approximately 456 feet, while the width of the transept with uneven shoulder lengths is approximately 472 feet.¹ With the completion of construction there was a need to equip the interior with liturgical elements, including a pipe organ.

The motivator of the pipe organ project was Reverend Eugeniusz Makulski, MIC, a great lover of organ music and the person most responsible for the construction of the shrine. In mid-2002, when construction of the basilica was nearly complete, Father Makulski finalized the plans that would lead to the construction of a pipe organ to adorn the monumental interior. He decided the organ must be exceptional and worthy of the largest church in Poland; it would have at least 100 stops with a beautiful and noble sound and visual appearance. The other stipulation was that at least some of the instrument had to be playable by June 14, 2003.²

After analyzing various organbuilders’ bids, the Marian Fathers entrusted the project to the firm of Zakłady Organowe Zych. The signing of the contract for the construction of the first part of the organ, the instrument for the west gallery, took place on August 21, 2002.

The organ firm, headed by Dariusz Zych, had to rely on acoustical plans for the instrument concept to avoid disappointments and surprises at the final stage of this work. The starting point for the development of the whole specification by Andrzej Chorosiński was the unrealized project by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll for Saint Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City.³ Based on the measured analysis of the acoustic parameters of the basilica, Chorosiński began to develop the specification of the organ and the composition of stops. The fact that the Licheń Basilica has five galleries (one in the main nave, two in the west and east aisles, and two galleries in the sanctuary), gave rise to the concept of creating a spatial sound unit composed of five elements. The great organ of the basilica has been placed in the southern, western, and eastern parts of the church. The project was completed with two Chancel Positives on two small balconies at both presbytery gables, where the apse connects to the main nave. The scales of the stops, as well as the compositions of composite stops (mixtures, etc.), were individually developed by Chorosiński.

Zakłady Organowe Zych accomplished all design work, construction of organ cases, windchests, key and stop actions, wooden ranks and wooden resonators of reeds, as well as assembly of all elements, voicing, and tuning. Subcontractor companies that were commissioned to carry out specific assignments included: KOART Krzysztof Cieplak (structures made of stainless steel), Otto Heuss GmbH from Lich, Germany (consoles, electronics, Zimbelstern, tubular bells), Aug. Laukhuff GmbH & Co. KG from Weikersheim, Germany (West Organ façade pipes), Jacques Stinkens
Orgelpijpenmakers BV from Zeist, the Netherlands (façade pipes for the South Organ), Süddeutsche Orgelpfeifenfabrik Roland Killinger GmbH from Freiberg on the River Neckar, Germany (reeds for West Organ, East and West Positives), Orguian Lda. from Avidos, Portugal (reeds for the South Organ), and Ryszard Chacinski from Kobylka near Warsaw (metal labial stops). Decorative elements adorning the organ cases were carved in wood by Janusz Regulski and Tomasz Kusnierz from Sochaczew near Warsaw, and then gilded in the goldsmith’s workshop of Henryk Kwiatkowski from Poznań.

All assembly, voicing, and tuning were completed before July 2, 2006, so that during the solemn Mass that day, when the famous painting of Our Lady of Licheń was introduced to the basilica, a fully prepared instrument could be heard. Thousands of pilgrims from all over the world took part in the ceremony of transferring the image to its new home.

One month later, on August 1, 2006, there was a technical and artistic reception of the completed organ made by a commission consisting of representatives of the Marian Fathers, organbuilders, organists, and musicologists, who were all very pleased with the work. The acceptance protocol was signed by members of the commission composed of Rev. Wiktor Gumienny, MIC, Father Superior of the Licheń Shrine; Professor Urlich Grosser, German conductor and organist; Professor Roberto Padoin, organist and professor at the Conservatory B. Marcello in Venice; Reverend Dr. Jacek Paczkowski, chairman of the church music committee of the Diocese of Kalisz; Reverend Dr. Mariusz Klimek, director of the Church Music Study of the Diocese of Torun; Siegfried Sauer, organbuilder from Germany; Adam Klarecki, organist of the Wloclawek cathedral; Jacek Łukasik and Robert Grudzien, organists; and Jaroslaw Adamiak, then organist of the Licheń Shrine. Artistic decoration of the cases took nearly another year, and the dedication of the organ took place on the first anniversary of the transfer to the basilica of the famous painting of Our Lady of Licheń on July 2, 2007, during a Mass celebrated by Bishop Wieslaw Alojzy Mering.

Description of the organ

The organ of the Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń comprises 157 stops, 12,323 pipes, and five “organs” (in the chronology of construction): the West Organ, the South Organ (located in three organ cases on the same gallery above the main entrance), the East Organ, the East Chancel Positive, and the West Chancel Positive. The South Organ and the West Organ are fully independent instruments and have their own consoles. The East Organ and both Chancel Positives do not have their own consoles and can be played only from the main console. An organist playing from the main console has eleven independent divisions from which to choose. The key action is mechanical-electric, while the stop action is electric; windchests are slider and pallet, and the alloys of pipe metals contain tin up to 85–90%. All divisions of the instrument have a manual compass of C–c4 and pedal compass of C–g1. The layout of all parts of the organ throughout the basilica is presented in Figure 1.

The South Organ

The core of the whole organ of the Licheń Basilica is the South Organ, which contains the principal divisions of the instrument. The South Organ is the second in chronological order of construction, built between mid-2003 and 2005. This eighty-one-stop instrument with four manuals has a typical sound arrangement for the nineteenth-century French Romantic period: Grand-Orgue, Positif, Récit-expressif, and Pédale. In addition there is a high-pressure Solo division placed on Manual IV. In each division one finds a full set of basic stops (Jeux de Fonds) in the form of principals, flutes, and strings, as well as stops—according to Aristide Cavaillé-Coll’s nomenclature—available (Jeux de Combinaisons) in the form of mutations, mixtures, cornets, and reeds.

The console is placed centrally in the organ case and on a multi-stage elevation. Registers are placed on either side of the keydesk: on the left side for the Pédale and Grand-Orgue, on the right side for the Positif, Récit-expressif, and the Solo division. The stop action is electric, while the key action is mechanical (for the majority of the Grand-Orgue, Positif, Récit-expressif, and Pédale windchests) and electric (for the entire Solo division, as well as selected portions of the Grand-Orgue, Positif, Récit-expressif, Pédale windchests, and double pallets for bass notes). The Récit-expressif section is enclosed in a swell box controlled by a balanced shoe with electric action; next to the expression shoe is a crescendo roller, which allows seamless dynamic changes. The player sits with his back to the main altar, and the console has a solid-state combination action system with an extensive storage capacity.

The South Organ consists of three separate organ cases placed on the same gallery on the axes of the main and side naves and is anchored on a twenty-ton steel structure. Architecturally, the cases are inspired by the organ case built between 1999 and 2003 by Schoenstein & Co. for the Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the United States. A great majority of the façade pipes are speaking pipes. The main case contains the Grand-Orgue, Positif, Récit-expressif, Solo, and most of the Pédale division. In the side cases there are windchests for several Pédale stops (divided on C and C-sharp sides).

Each side case has its own small blower and a separate wind system. The wind system of the main South Organ’s section is fed by three electric blowers: the first blower feeds the Grand-Orgue, Positif, and Pédale, the second feeds the Récit-expressif, and the third feeds the high-pressure Solo division.

The South Organ contains the tallest open wood pipes of the whole organ, which belong to the Pédale 32′ Subcontrabasse, a principal stop. In this section there is also a second 32′ stop, the Contrabombard, the tallest reed resonators in the organ. The instrument also contains the largest tin pipes of the Licheń organ, located in the central organ case. The largest has a length of 25-1⁄2 feet, a diameter of one foot, and weighs 330 pounds.

The West Organ

The West Organ, placed on the gallery above the left transept of the basilica above the Pieta Porch, was built between August 2002 and June 2003. This two-manual instrument includes 51 stops enhanced with Zimbelstern and Tympan imitating the sound of a storm (Pédale d’Orage). Registers are placed at either side of the keydesk: on the left for the Pedal and the Hauptwerk sections, on the right side for the Schwellwerk division and additional devices. The instrument contains both mechanical and electric-action chests, double pallets for low keys, and electric stop action. All couplers are electric. As in the South Organ, the Schwellwerk is enclosed in a box managed by a balanced expression shoe with electric action, in addition to a crescendo roller. The console, slightly elevated, is centrally integrated into the organ case. The player sits with his back to the main altar, and the console features an extensive solid-state combination action.

The specification of the West Organ is slightly non-standard, divided between two manuals and pedal. Initially, it was planned that this instrument would have three manuals, however, due to the constraints imposed by basilica architect, Barbara Bielecka, on the dimensions of the organ case, it was decided to limit the number of manual divisions while maintaining a wealth of stops. In each section there is a full range of principals (in the Hauptwerk based at 16′, in the Schwellwerk at 8′, in the Pedal at 16′), enriched with flute stops of all types, strings, and reeds. In the Pedal section there is one 32′ stop, a stopped wood Bourdon. All divisions have mutation stops (2-2⁄3′, 1-3⁄5′, 1-1⁄3′, 8⁄9′) and at least one mixture (in the Hauptwerk there are two mixtures and a cornet). This instrument was conceived for performing Baroque pieces; however, thanks to a large number of foundation stops (as many as eleven manual stops, i.e., 30%, are at 8′), Romantic and symphonic pieces also work well. In the West Organ are also placed tubular bells with a compass from g to g2.

The placement of pipe flats in the organ case reflects the arrangement of the divisions inside the instrument. In the central part of the case (three double flats, each crowned with a group of small pipes) we see the Hauptwerk, the Schwellwerk above it (another three double flats, each crowned with a group of small pipes, the wooden shutters of the swell box located just behind the façade), and two symmetrical pedal towers—left side C, right side C-sharp. The façade pipes belong to the 16′ Principal from the Hauptwerk and the independent 16′ Principal from the Pedal. The organ weighs a total of thirty tons.

The blessing and dedication of the West Organ took place on June 14, 2003, by Bishop Roman Andrzejewski, while the inaugural concert was performed by Andrzej Chorosiński. The event, which was very popular with the media, attracted many outstanding guests from around the world.

The East Organ

The East Organ, built between September 2005 and 2006, is housed in twin towers with trapezoidal bases placed between high windows on the east gallery, which crowns the right transept of the basilica over the Four Evangelists’ Porch. The instrument has eight stops; the key and stop action are electric, and the windchests are slider and pallet. Looking from the center of the basilica, the left tower contains two windchests, placed one above the other, with C side pipes, while the right tower is similar with C-sharp side pipes.

The external structure of the organ cases reflects the internal arrangement of windchests for flue pipes. Each case has two main pipe flats separated by horizontal resonators of the Trumpets (16′, 8′, and 4′) and one small set of pipes at the very top, which are dummy pipes. Both towers are supplied by one blower that is placed in the left tower; the channel supplying air to the right tower runs along the gallery floor. The whole instrument is supplied with air under high pressure. As a result of this treatment, the volume of the eight stops of the East Organ is equivalent to the sound of fifty-one stops along with the super-octave couplers of the West Organ. This instrument can only be played from the main console and may be assigned to any of the six keyboards and pedalboard.

The West Chancel Positive

Built in 2006, the West Chancel Positive, with seven stops (plus Nachtigall), has electric key and stop action. Everything, including the blower, is enclosed in a single case, a mirror image of the East Chancel Positive. This instrument does not have a separate console, but rather is played from the main console only, as a floating division. This section, richly equipped with string stops, perfectly matches the ethereal voices of the Récit-expressif section of the South Organ. With proper registration, it surrounds the listener with the impression of “heavenly voices” (Vox Coelestis).

The East Chancel Positive

The East Chancel Positive was completed in 2006 and features eight stops constructed with early Baroque scaling and electric key and stop action. The whole instrument is enclosed in a single case like the West Chancel Positive. This division also does not have a separate console, but is a floating division of the main console. The disposition of this instrument was inspired by early Baroque Flemish organs and pairs well with the West Organ. With proper registration and manual changes, the East Chancel Positive and the West Organ can produce dialogue effects, concertino and tutti, in a manner characteristic of instrumental concertos of the Baroque era.

Where are the largest pipe organs in Europe?

On the basis of the criterion of organ classification in terms of size (i.e., number of ranks and auxiliary devices managed from one console) published by the author in 2017 in Polish⁴ and English⁵ literature on the subject, the organ of the Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń is the largest instrument in Poland, the fourth largest in Europe, and the thirteenth largest in the world. Among ecclesiastical organs, it is the tenth largest instrument and has one of the largest consoles in the world. The console of the Licheń organ is also the largest console among Polish organs and is one of the largest consoles in Europe.

The organist playing from the main console has a total of eleven fully independent divisions: nine manual divisions and two pedal divisions. Most divisions can be assigned at will on the six manuals and pedalboard, allowing ultimate flexibility.

The monumental main console is located in the sanctuary of the basilica. The lowest manual keyboard has the deepest key movement, while the top keyboard, the shallowest. The manual keyboards, moving from the lowest to the highest, are inclined at increasing angles. The main console is connected to all sections by a wired computer network and MIDI system. For each of the main console’s keyboards and pedalboard, it is possible to assign each section of the West Organ, the East Organ, the West Chancel Positive, the East Chancel Positive, and Manual IV of the South Organ. The Grand-Orgue, Positif, Récit-expressif, and Pédale from the South Organ can be assigned only to manuals I, II, III, and pedalboard on the main console (plus standard section couplers within the South Organ).

The console is equipped with two balanced expression pedals to control two swell boxes (right, Schwellwerk of the West Organ; left, Récit-expressif of the South Organ). On the left side of the expressive pedals, there is a crescendo roller with two pre-programmed crescendos (smooth or stepwise). The console is equipped with a separate solid-state memory system; it has a cut-out switch for all reeds, as well as Tutti and General Tutti switches and General Cancel. The console was made in the workshop of Otto Heuss GmbH and is a work of art.

Conclusion

The course of history is surprising when considering a proposal for a project in 1875 by one of the greatest organbuilders of all times intended for the largest Catholic church in the world inspires the creation of a new organ 130 years later in the largest basilica of Poland, a country that did not even exist on the maps of Europe when Aristide Cavaillé-Coll lived. Though Cavaillé-Coll invited many great personalities from the world of politics, the Vatican authorities did not manage to materialize the project at Saint Peter’s Basilica; yet a priest in a relatively poor country with the support of countless pilgrims offering their small donations for this purpose did. Really, history can be amazing!

Several compact discs of organ music have been recorded so far on the organ of the Licheń Basilica. In 2003, Andrzej Chorosiński recorded organ literature, which was the first recording of the West Organ. In 2007, a Belgian organist of Polish descent, Karol Golebiowski, recorded a second album with the entire organ. In September 2017 the author recorded the third album, Ave Regina Caelorum, including improvisations on Gregorian and Polish Marian themes in two Romantic cyclic forms: organ symphony and symphonic poem on the South Organ. In June 2018 he recorded the fourth album, French Inspirations: the Second Half of the 19th Century, including literature of Franck, Lefébure-Wély, Lemmens, Guilmant, and an improvised five-movement organ symphony. (These last two discs can be found on eBay.)

I cordially invite you to Licheń Stary, where one can hear and see the largest organ in the largest ecclesiastical interior of Poland.

Notes

1. Krzysztof Jedrzejewski, Przewodnik po Sanktuarium Lichenskimm (Licheń Stary, Zaklad Gospodarczy “Dom Pielgrzyma,” 2014), p. 181.

2. Organy Licheński (Licheń Stary, Zaklad Gospodarczy “Dom Pielgrzyma,” 2007), p. 22.

3. For more information on this organ proposal, see Ronald Ebrecht’s book, Cavaillé-Coll’s Monumental Organ Project for Saint Peter’s, Rome: Bigger than Them All (Lanham, Maryland, Lexington Books, 2011).

4. Michal Szostak, “Wielkie organy Bazyliki w Licheniu w zestawieniu z najwiekszymi organami swiata,” Wokol nowych organow w kosciele NSPJ w Tarnowie, ed. Pawl Pasternak (Tarnów, Poland, Biblos, 2017, ISBN 978-83-7793-504-0), and Michal Szostak, Lichenskie organy na tle najwiekszych instrumentow Polski, Europy i swiata (Licheń Stary, Zaklad Gospodarczy “Dom Pielgrzyma,” 2017, ISBN 978-83-64126-14-7).

5. Michal Szostak, “The World’s Largest Organs,” The Organ, No. 382, November 2017–January 2018, ISSN 0030-4883, pp. 12–28.

Specification of the organ:

South Organ

GRAND-ORGUE (Manual I)

16′ Montre

16′ Bourdon

8′ Montre

8′ Flûte Harmonique

8′ Gamba

8′ Kopula

8′ Dolce

5-1⁄3′ Quinte

4′ Prestant

4′ Flute

4′ Salicet

2-2⁄3′ Quinte

2′ Doublette

1-3⁄5′ Tierce

IV Gr. Fourniture

IV Mixtur

V Gr. Cymbel

IV Cymbel

16′ Bombarde

16′ Fagot

8′ Trompet

8′ Hautbois

4′ Clairon

IV–I

III–I

II–I

POSITIF (Manual II)

16′ Violon

8′ Diapason

8′ Flûte Harmonique

8′ Salicional

4′ Prestant

4′ Flûte

4′ Viole

2-2⁄3′ Quinte

2′ Piccolo

III Sesquialtera

V Plein Jeu

III Scharf

16′ Dulcjan

8′ Cromorne

8′ Clarinette

8′ Jannhorn

Tremolo

IV–II

III–II

Recit-expressif (Manual III, enclosed)

16′ Bourdon

8′ Montre

8′ Flûte Traversiere

8′ Rurflet

8′ Gamba

8′ Voix Celeste

4′ Prestant

4′ Flûte Traversiere

4′ Viola

2-2⁄3′ Nazard

2′ Doublette

V Cornet

IV–V Fourniture

16′ Basson

8′ Trompet

8′ Hautbois

8′ Vox Humana

4′ Clairon Harm.

Tremolo

IV–III

SOLO (Manual IV, enclosed)

8′ Flauto Major

8′ Gamba

8′ Keraulophon

V Cornet

8′ Tuba Mirabilis

Pedale

32′ Subcontrabasse

16′ Contrabasse

16′ Violonbasse

16′ Subbass

10-2⁄3′ Quintbass

8′ Octavbass

8′ Flûte

8′ Flûtebass

8′ Cello

4′ Choral

2′ Ocarina

III Sesquialtera

V Hintersatz

IV Mixtur

32′ Contrabombard

16′ Bombard

10-2⁄3′ Quinttrompet

8′ Trompet

4′ Clairon

IV–P

III–P

II–P

I–P

West Organ

HAUPTWERK (Manual I)

16′ Prinzipal

8′ Octave

8′ Holzflöte

8′ Bourdon

8′ Gamba

8′ Gemshorn

4′ Oktave

4′ Szpicflet

4′ Viola

2-2⁄3′ Quinte

2′ Superoctave

1′ Flageolet

V Cornet

V Mixtur

IV Mixtur

16′ Trompet

8′ Trompet

4′ Trompet

II–I

Super I

SCHWELLWERK (Manual II, enclosed)

16′ Quintadena

8′ Prinzipal

8′ Rohrflöte

8′ Salicet

4′ Prestant

4′ Traversflöte

4′ Gemshorn

2-2⁄3′ Nazard

2′ Oktave

2′ Piccolo

1-3⁄5′ Terz

1-1⁄3′ Larigot

8⁄9′ None

V Scharf

16′ Dulcian

8′ Krummhorn

8′ Clarinette

Tremolo

Tubular Bells

PEDAL

32′ Bourdon

16′ Prinzipal

16′ Subbass

16′ Violonbass

8′ Oktavbass

8′ Fletbass

8′ Cello

4′ Choral

4′ Bourdon

II Sesquialtera

IV Mixtur

16′ Bombard

16′ Fagott

8′ Trompet

4′ Clairon

II–P

Super I–P

I–P

Zimbelstern

Tympan

East Organ

8′ Diapason

8′ Gedeckt

4′ Prestant

2′ Oktave

III–IV Cymbel

16′ Tuba Magna

8′ Tuba Mirabilis

4′ Clairon

West Chancel Positive

8′ Vox Humana (labial, 2 ranks)

8′ Gamba

8′ Aeolina

8′ Vox coelestis

4′ Prinzipal

4′ Fugara

III Harmonia Aeth.

Nachtigall (nightingale)

Tremolo

East Chancel Positive

8′ Gedeckt

4′ Prinzipal

4′ Hohlfloete

4′ Quintade

2′ Dezchen

III Zimbel

8′ Regal

4′ Zink

Tremolo

Juget-Sinclair Organbuilders, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Christ Church, Episcopal, Pelham, New York

The making of Opus 51

Designing pipe organs has always been a big challenge. The large organs can only be the result of teamwork and are, in a way, a collective work. The point is also that church organs are among the only instruments not to be for private use, but for community use. The process of acquiring an organ is also far from the ordinary procedure of buying a good or a service, it is rather a human experience dotted with twists and turns that ultimately has a positive impact on an entire community.

It is with this in mind that we approached the project for Christ Church, Pelham. Although the beginnings of the project go back more than ten years, the winning conditions were met in 2017, and we consider ourselves privileged to have been given the mission of designing and manufacturing this instrument. As soon as we visited, we received the request to design a casework façade inspired by the motifs present in the church and to respect the Gothic Revival style, typical of the churches of this time, to create a symbiosis between the organ and the church.

The visual and technical concept

The main challenge in the visual design of the instrument was to emphasize verticality. This is why the five main pipes of the Pédale 16′ Principal (7–11) form the backbone of the concept. On each side, the subdivision of the pipe flats arouses visual excitement, as much by the use of small pipes as by the density of decorations and molding. The lateral pipe flats, whose starting point is lower, reinforce the central element, thus creating verticality within the whole. The zimbelstern star, gilded with 23-karat gold leaf, illuminates the façade by referring to the stained-glass window by William Jay Bolton, The Adoration of the Magi (1843). Although the space allocated to the organ is rather limited considering the requested stoplist, we were able to position the divisions without compromising access to the various components of the organ.

Choral music is very important in Pelham, and one of the mandates was to leave space for more than twenty singers between the console and the casework. The detached console has been positioned to leave as much space as possible for the singers while allowing the organist to conduct while accompanying. Finally, the constraints of depth and height guided the positioning of the windchests: The Pédale is on the ground, the Grand-Orgue on the first level aligned with the impost of the casework, and the Récit expressif on the second level, centered above the Grand-Orgue.

At ground level, the electric windchests of the large Pédale 16′ pipes (Principals 16′-8′, Soubasse 16′-8′, Trombone 16′-8′, and the first octave of the 8′ Violoncelle) are placed at the back and occupy the entire width of the church, the large pipes passing on each side of the swell box. The mechanical windchest, which includes the trebles of all the stops and the entire 4′ Flûte, is located under the Grand-Orgue, sharing the space with the three wedge bellows. On the first level, the Grand-Orgue is divided into two windchests, and the basses of the 8′ stops also stand on each side of the swell box. The five-rank Cornet is mounted over the Grand-Orgue pipes, just behind the façade. The Récit expressif occupies the second level above the Grand-Orgue and the Pédale. It is divided into two windchests, and the ceiling of the swell box follows the design of the façade to make it invisible.

The casework and console are in quarter-sawn white oak, stained and oiled. The music rack is made with myrtle veneer enhanced with ebony inlays. The keyboards are covered with bone, and the sharps are in solid ebony. The stop knobs are turned in black walnut, and the stop labels are in porcelain. According to our practice, the large wooden pipes, the frames, bellows, and windchests are mostly made of poplar and white oak. The 16′ and 8′ stopped pipes and the 4′ Pédale Flûte are made of white pine and cherry. Most of the mechanical parts are in beech, and the trackers are in carbon fiber. The metal pipes are made using three different alloys: the stopped pipes and flute mutations are 98% lead; all the reeds and the Récit principals are 52% tin; while the front pipes, the Grand-Orgue plenum, the gambas, and salicionals are 82% tin.

The tonal concept

From the beginning of the project, the committee’s choice centered on a French aesthetic, adapted to the North American context. Though this choice may seem unusual to support a liturgy inherited from the British tradition, the diversity of color and power of the foundations, the variety in mutations and reeds, combined with the efficiency of the swell box make it a very effective and versatile accompaniment instrument for the Episcopal liturgy.

Generally speaking, as voicers we are looking for refinement in sound colors and balance between each stop rather than power. At Christ Church, we used the progressive entailles de timbre (tuning slots) for the bass, tenor, and alto and cut-to-length trebles for the principals. The gambas are voiced with tuning slots only, while the harmonic flutes are cut to length. The windpressures are 90 mm for Grand-Orgue and Récit and 105 mm for the Pédale. The organ is tuned in equal temperament.

The Grand-Orgue division

The Grand-Orgue division is built on a 16′ Plein-jeu. If an 8′ plenum is registered, the low rank of the Fourniture V (22⁄3′–51⁄3′) will be automatically removed. The breaks in the Fourniture are on the C’s to favor clarity in polyphonic music. The Grand-Orgue has the four typical 8′ foundation stops of the French symphonic organ. These four stops are complementary in strength and timbre and can blend with each other. The Montre is rich and generous, and the trebles do not lose their intensity. The Flûte harmonique is the most ascending stop of the organ; it is a self-accompanying stop. The delicate Salicional brings richness when mixed with other 8′ stops while the Bourdon brings depth. The 16′ and 8′ Bourdons and the 4′ Flûte douce have chimneys. The Cornet V has two main roles: it can be considered a solo stop, and in the tutti, it compensates for the natural loss of power of the reed stops in the trebles. The Grand-Orgue 8′ Trompette is uninhibited without being vulgar and brings power to the whole organ. The Cromorne is in the French tradition, but in the fashion of the nineteenth century; it is rounder and warmer than its eighteenth-century predecessor. This therefore makes it a fairly versatile stop that can be used in Baroque, Romantic, and contemporary music. The Trompette is constructed with Bertounèche-type shallots and the Cromorne with slightly conical shallots in the bass and cylindrical shallots in the trebles.

The Récit expressif division

The Récit expressif is a great 16′ symphonic swell and has some of the most colorful stops of the organ. A secondary 8′ plenum is present to be able to dialogue with the Grand-Orgue. The breaks of the swell Plein-jeu are on the second, third, and fourth F so as not to coincide with those of the Grand-Orgue. The gambas have the narrowest scales of the organ. They bring clarity to the foundations of the whole organ and allow the Voix-céleste to be sparkling. The mutations are cylindrical and fluty according to French tradition. The Trompette and Clairon have harmonic trebles, which favors their presence in the church. Bertounèche reeds were used for Trompette and Clairon and tear-drop shallots for Bassons. The swell shades system we use allows the box to be opened completely, giving the most presence to the sound. This opening system also provides greater control and a better dynamic range between open and closed box. The full swell can literally disappear completely behind the Grand-Orgue foundations when the box is closed.

The Pédale division

Based on a 16′ Principal, the Pédale division has a variety of foundations covering the principal, flute, and gamba families. The 8′ Violoncelle is a chameleon stop that blends with the Principal as well as with the Bourdon. The 4′ Flûte is strong enough to allow it to be played solo. German-style plated shallots have been used for the 16′ Trombone and 8′ Trompette to allow these stops to be more versatile than typical French reeds. Although the Trombone is powerful enough to support the whole organ, it is much rounder than a Bombarde, and it is balanced with the large plenum and full swell to support the accompaniment of large hymns. The 8′ Trompette can be easily included in a Germanic plenum to reinforce the contrapuntal lines.

Project completion

The instrument-making process required nearly 18,000 man-hours of work from summer 2018 to fall 2019. Installation of the instrument was from October to November 2019, and the end of the voicing coincided with American Thanksgiving. The assembly of the casework and the mechanical action took place over two weeks, and voicing over seven weeks. During this period, we were able to establish close relationships with the community of Pelham, in particular with the main actors of the project, without whom all of this would not have been possible. We warmly thank the members of the organ committee who put trust in us: Martin A. Nash, Margaret Young (chairman), Jeffrey Hoffman, Father Matthew Mead, Kari Black, Jeff Bodenmann, and Kim De Beaumont, as well as all our hosts and collaborators in this project.

Robin Côté, President, Juget-Sinclair Organbuilders

The team of Juget-Sinclair organ builders

Robin Côté

François Couture

Dean Eckmann

Jean-Dominique Felx

Denis Juget

Michal Michalik

Alexander Ross

Stephen Sinclair

Mathieu Thomas-Guy

Philipp Windmöller

 

GRAND-ORGUE (Manual I)

16′ Bourdon

8′ Montre

8′ Bourdon

8′ Salicional

8′ Flûte harmonique (1–17 fr 8′ Bdn)

4′ Prestant

4′ Flûte douce

2′ Doublette

Fourniture V (V with 16′)

Cornet V (fr tenor F)

8′ Trompette

8′ Cromorne

Tremblant

II/I

RÉCIT EXPRESSIF (Manual II)

8′ Principal Amabile

8′ Bourdon

8′ Viole de gambe

8′ Voix-céleste

4′ Principal

4′ Flûte octaviante

2-2⁄3′ Nazard

2′ Piccolo

1-3⁄5′ Tierce

2′ Plein-jeu IV

16′ Basson

8′ Trompette

8′ Basson-Hautbois

4′ Clairon

Tremblant

PÉDALE

16′ Principal

16′ Soubasse

8′ Principal (ext 16′ Principal)

8′ Bourdon (ext 16′ Soubasse)

8′ Violoncelle

4′ Prestant (ext 16′ Principal)

4′ Flûte

16′ Trombone

8′ Trompette (ext 16′ Trombone)

I/P

II/P

General specification

61-note keyboards

32-note AGO pedalboard

Equal temperament

Multi-level electronic combination action

400 memory levels

10 general pistons

6 divisional pistons per division

Sequencer

 

Builder’s website

Church website

 

35 stops, 42 ranks, 2,351 pipes

 

Read about another Juget-Sinclair project here.

Stephen Schnurr

Stephen Schnurr is editorial director and publisher of The Diapason, director of music for Saint Paul Catholic Church, Valparaiso, Indiana, and adjunct instructor in organ for Valparaiso University.

As one travels the John F. Kennedy Expressway on the north side of downtown Chicago, one can count the towers of five impressive church edifices that comprise the principal history of Chicago’s Polish Catholics. The heart of Chicago’s “Polonia,” the neighborhoods nearby, has been home to a large number of immigrants who came to the United States from Poland or are of Polish descent. In 1950, Chicago had the largest Polish population outside the city of Warsaw. Today, Polish is the third most frequently heard language in this city, behind English and Spanish.

This is a tale of a church founded for success with large numbers of faithful, only two generations later experiencing alarming decline. Scheduled to close, the parish managed to turn itself around and is now thriving once again, a jewel box of sacred art and architecture, a model of traditional liturgy, and a home for the performing arts, sacred and secular. While many churches have removed their organs or cannot afford to maintain them, here is a parish with no fewer than four pipe organs, all in regular use, for ritual or for concert, or both! Indeed, one could have an “organ crawl” at one address.

Saint John Cantius Catholic Church was founded in 1893 to relieve the overcrowded parish of Saint Stanislaus Kostka and other Polish parishes in this area of the city. Saint Stanislaus had become the largest parish in the world in 1892, and, thus, a division of the parish of 8,000 families had become necessary.  The mother parish was located approximately one mile away in its Patrick C. Keely-designed edifice constructed between 1877 and 1881 and housing Johnson & Son opus 553, a two-manual, thirty-three-rank organ.

The Reverend John Kasprzycki, C.R. (Congregation of the Resurrection), was appointed first pastor of Saint John Cantius, a congregation with an immediate roster of 2,000 families. In acquiring the present property on North Carpenter Street between West Fry and Chicago Avenues, some twenty residences were demolished for the new parish campus. The cornerstone of the church was laid by Archbishop Patrick A. Feehan on September 4, 1893. A crowd of an estimated 25,000 attended the event, with music provided by twenty-seven Polish singing societies. By November, the parish school was opened in the basement section of the building. The rectory, located at the corner of Carpenter and Fry, was blessed on December 20. The lower church was blessed by Feehan on Christmas Eve, and the first Mass was celebrated the following day, the traditional founding date of the parish. The upper church was completed and blessed by Archbishop Feehan on December 11, 1898. Construction cost was $130,000. The Romanesque edifice was designed by Adolphus Druiding. A German native then living in Chicago, Druiding designed Saint George and Saint Hedwig Catholic Churches in Chicago, as well. Seating 2,000 persons, Saint John Cantius Church measured 230 feet long, 107 feet wide.

Father Eugene Sedlaczek, C.R., was named second pastor of Saint John Cantius in 1899. Within two years, he oversaw the interior decoration of the church.

The Reverend Stanislaus Rogalski, C.R., was named fourth pastor in 1902. The following year, construction for the present school building commenced, completed in November. The school and the rectory were designed by Henry Schlacks of Chicago. A clock and bells were installed in the 130-foot tower and the church interior painted. Father John Kosinski, C.R., became fifth pastor in 1909. Under his leadership, magnificent stained-glass windows were installed in the church. The Reverend Stanislaus Siatka, C.R., became pastor in 1915. New concrete stairs of monumental proportions were created in front of the church, the basement was remodeled to become an auditorium, and a convent constructed. (At one point, the convent housed forty-seven School Sisters of Notre Dame.) By the parish silver jubilee on December 25, 1918, membership climbed to 23,000 persons, with 2,000 children enrolled in the school.

In the 1950s, numerous neighborhood homes were demolished to make way for what would become known as the Kennedy Expressway, a project that drastically changed the parish environs. Parish membership, which had been in decline, would drop even more drastically. The school closed in 1967. At one point, the parish itself was to be shuttered.

The decline of the parish was reversed in the late 1980s with the appointment of the Reverend C. Frank Phillips, C. R., as pastor, and the parish was soon vibrant and growing, with membership coming from great distances. The Canons Regular of Saint John Cantius, a religious community of men, was founded in the parish in 1998, and this organization now administers the parish. The church interior has been thoroughly restored and enhanced, complemented with countless religious artworks now on display throughout the entire parish campus.

The first organ of record in Saint John Cantius Church was A. B. Felgemaker & Son Opus 723, installed in the choir gallery (the upper of two balconies) in the rear of the nave in 1900.

1900 A. B. Felgemaker & Son Opus 723

GREAT (Manual I)

16′ Double Open Diapason 61 pipes (metal)

8′ Open Diapason (metal) 61 pipes

8′ Doppel Floete (wood) 61 pipes

8′ Viola da Gamba (metal) 61 pipes

8′ Dulciana (metal) 61 pipes

4′ Octave (metal) 61 pipes

4′ Flute d’Amour 61 pipes (wood & metal)

3′ Octave Quinte (metal) 61 pipes

2′ Super Octave (metal) 61 pipes

III Mixture (metal) 183 pipes

8′ Trumpet (metal) 61 pipes

SWELL (Manual II, enclosed)

16′ Bourdon 61 pipes (treble and bass, wood)

8′ Open Diapason 61 pipes (wood & metal)

8′ Stopped Diapason (wood) 61 pipes

8′ Salicional (metal) 61 pipes

8′ Aeolina (metal) 61 pipes

4′ Gemshorn (metal) 61 pipes

4′ Flute Harmonique 61 pipes (metal)

2′ Flageolet (metal) 61 pipes

III Dolce Cornet (metal) 183 pipes

8′ Oboe & Bassoon (metal) 61 pipes

PEDAL

16′ Double Open Diapason 30 pipes (wood)

16′ Bourdon (wood) 30 pipes

8′ Violoncello (metal) 30 pipes

8′ Floete (wood) 30 pipes

Couplers

Great to Pedal

Swell to Pedal

Swell to Great in Sub-Octave

Swell to Great

Swell to Great in Super Octave

Accessories

Forte Combination Great and Pedal Stops

Piano Combination Great and Pedal Stops

Forte Combination Swell and Pedal Stops

Piano Combination Swell and Pedal Stops

Tremolo

Great to Pedal Reversible

Balanced Swell Pedal

Balanced Crescendo Pedal

Bellows Signal

Wind Indicator

The January 1, 1919, issue of The Diapason noted that a W. W. Kimball Company organ was dedicated at Saint John Cantius in December of 1918. Further information on this instrument has not come to light, and it may not have been installed in the church. It is possible that it was placed in the lower church-auditorium or elsewhere.

In 1922, Geo. Kilgen & Son of Saint Louis, Missouri, installed a new three-manual organ in the upper balcony of the church, Opus 3118. In 1927, the builder added an Echo division, placed behind the main altar, as their Opus 3932.

1922/1927 Geo. Kilgen & Son Opus 3118/3932

GREAT (Manual II, enclosed?)

8′ First Open Diapason

8′ Second Open Diapason

8′ Gross Flute

8′ Doppel Flute

8′ Gamba

4′ Octave

4′ Harmonic Flute

2′ Octave

8′ Tuba

Great to Great 16

Great Unison Off

Great to Great 4

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 8

Swell to Great 4

Choir to Great 16

Choir to Great 8

Choir to Great 4

Echo to Great 8

SWELL (Manual III, enclosed)

16′ Lieblich Gedeckt

8′ Open Diapason

8′ Stopped Flute (ext 16′ Lieb Ged)

8′ Salicional

8′ Voix Celeste

8′ Muted Viole

4′ Violina

4′ Flute

16′ Fagotto

8′ Cornopean

8′ Fagotto (ext 16′ Fagotto)

8′ Vox Humana

Tremolo

Swell to Swell 16

Swell Unison Off

Swell to Swell 4

Echo to Swell 8

CHOIR (Manual I, enclosed)

16′ Quintadena

8′ Violin Diapason

8′ Melodia

8′ Quintadena (ext 16′ Quintadena)

8′ Dulciana

4′ Flute d’Amore

2′ Piccolo

8′ Clarinet

Tremolo

Choir to Choir 16

Choir Unison Off

Choir to Choir 4

Swell to Choir 16

Swell to Choir 8

Swell to Choir 4

Echo to Choir 8

ECHO (Manual IV, enclosed)

16′ Bourdon

8′ Open Diapason

8′ Bourdon (ext 16′ Bourdon)

8′ String

8′ Celeste (TC)

4′ Flute

2′ Zart Flute (ext 4′ Flute)

8′ Vox Humana

Tremolo

Chimes

PEDAL

32′ Resultant

16′ Open Diapason (wood)

16′ Open Diapason (metal)

16′ Bourdon

16′ Lieblich Gedeckt (Sw 16′ Lieb Ged)

8′ Gamba (Gt 8′ Gamba)

8′ Bass Flute (ext 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Dolce Flute (Sw 16′ Lieb Ged)

16′ Trombone

16′ Fagotto (Sw 16′ Fagotto)

8′ Fagotto (Sw 16′ Fagotto)

Great to Pedal 8

Great to Pedal 4

Swell to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 4

Choir to Pedal 8

Choir to Pedal 4

Echo to Pedal 8

By the early 1990s, a one-manual, mechanical-action organ was relocated to the left balcony of the nave. The builder of this instrument was never ascertained, though interior evidence leads one to believe it was likely built around 1881 and perhaps in the New York City area. The organ has since been removed from the church and is now in storage at the retreat facility of the Canons Regular of Saint John Cantius in Lawton, Michigan. It has a 55-note compass (C–G, no high F#) and a Pedal compass of 27 notes (C–D).

MANUAL

8′ Principal

8′ Gamba

8′ Melodia

4′ Flute

2′ Open

PEDAL

16′ Subbass

Manual to Pedal Coupler

About 1996, the Kilgen organ in the rear gallery of the nave was rebuilt by Daniel Bogue and Associates of Downers Grove, Illinois, which closed in 1989. Some pipework was incorporated from an organ formerly in Alvernia High School of Chicago. This organ was removed in late 2011.

1996 Daniel Bogue and Associates organ

GREAT (Manual II, enclosed with Choir, south side)

8′ Principal

8′ Flute (stopped)

4′ Octave (5 basses in façade)

4′ Flute (harmonic from middle C)

2′ Principal (ext 4′ Octave)

IV Fourniture (1′)

8′ Trompette (harmonic from B3)

4′ Clarion (ext 8′ Trompette)

2 blank tabs

Great to Great 16

Great Unison Off

Great to Great 4

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 8

Swell to Great 4

Choir to Great 16

Choir to Great 8

Choir to Great 4

Echo to Great 8

SWELL (Manual III, enclosed, north side)

16′ Bourdon (wood)

8′ Principal

8′ Bourdon (ext 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Gamba

8′ Gamba Celeste (TC)

4′ Principal (ext 8′ Principal)

4′ Flute (open wood, harmonic from middle C)

2-2⁄3′ Nazard

2′ Principal

1-3⁄5′ Tierce

IV Plein Jeu

16′ Fagotto (1–12 half-length)

8′ Trumpet

8′ Fagotto (ext 16′ Fagotto)

4′ Clarion (ext 8′ Trumpet)

Tremolo

Swell to Swell 16

Swell Unison Off

Swell to Swell 4

Echo to Swell 8

CHOIR (Manual I, enclosed with Great, south side)

16′ Gemshorn (12 Quintaton basses)

8′ Violin Diapason

8′ Hohl Flute (wood, 12 stopped basses, remainder open)

8′ Gemshorn (ext 16′ Gemshorn)

8′ Gemshorn Celeste (TC)

4′ Principal (ext 8′ Violin Diapason)

4′ Gedeckt (wood)

2′ Flute (harmonic from tenor C)

1-1⁄3′ Larigot (ext 4′ Gedeckt)

III Cymbel

8′ Cromorne

Tremolo

1 blank tab

Choir to Choir 16

Choir Unison Off

Choir to Choir 4

Swell to Choir 16

Swell to Choir 8

Swell to Choir 4

Echo to Choir 8

ECHO (Enclosed, floating)

8′ Bourdon

8′ String

8′ Celeste (TC)

4′ Flute (ext 8′ Bourdon)

2′ Flute (ext 8′ Bourdon)

8′ Vox Humana

1 blank tablet

Tremolo

Chimes

PEDAL

32′ Resultant (fr 16′ Bourdon)

16′ Double Open Diapason (wood, north side)

16′ Contra Bass (E1–E4 in façade, south side)

16′ Bourdon (north side)

16′ Lieblich Gedeckt (Sw 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Octave (ext 16′ Contra Bass)

8′ Bass Flute (ext 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Gedeckt (Sw 16′ Bourdon)

4′ Choral Bass (ext 16′ Contra Bass)

4′ Flute (Sw 16′ Bourdon)

2′ Octavin (ext 16′ Contra Bass)

16′ Contra Trumpet (ext Great 8′ Trompette, full-length)

16′ Contra Fagotto (Sw 16′ Fagotto)

8′ Trumpet (Gt 8′ Trompette)

4′ Clarion (Gt 8′ Trompette)

Great to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 8

Choir to Pedal 8

Echo to Pedal 8

ECHO PEDAL (enclosed with Echo)

16′ Bourdon (ext Echo 8′ Bourdon)

8′ Bourdon (fr Echo 8′ Bourdon)

Accessories

10 General Pistons (thumb)

6 Great Pistons and Cancel (thumb)

6 Swell Pistons and Cancel (thumb)

6 Choir Pistons and Cancel (thumb)

6 Echo Pistons and Cancel (thumb)

6 Pedal Pistons and Cancel (thumb)

General Cancel (thumb)

Great to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe)

Swell to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe)

Choir to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe)

Balanced Swell expression shoe

Balanced Great/Choir expression shoe

Balanced Crescendo shoe (with indicator light)

Combination Lock (key)

Sforzando Reversible (thumb and toe, with indicator light)

Wind Indicator

In 2005, Saint John Cantius Church commissioned one of the last organs built by Oberlinger Orgelbau of Windesheim, Germany. The one-manual, mechanical-action instrument resides on the main floor of the nave. Manual compass is 51 notes (C–D). A lever transposes the organ one half-step down (A=415 Hz). The instrument was blessed on May 14, 2005, by the Most Reverend Basil Meeking, Bishop Emeritus of Christchurch, New Zealand.

2005 Oberlinger organ

MANUAL

8′ Traversflöte (tenor B, wood)

8′ Copula (stopped wood)

4′ Gedackt (30 basses stopped wood, remainder open metal)

2′ Principalflöte (18 capped metal basses, remainder open metal)

1-1⁄3′ Quinte (24 capped metal basses, remainder open metal)

1–2f Cymbel (1⁄2′)

Accessory

H–C (transposer)

In August 2008, a two-manual, mechanical-action organ built in 1991 by Alfred Wild of Gottenhouse, France, was installed in the sanctuary of the church. It was on loan to the parish by a nearby resident who was a friend of Father Phillips. The stopknobs are unlabeled. Temperament is Kirnberger. Manual compass is 56 notes (C–G). In October 2015, the organ was moved to the lower balcony at the rear of the church, so that it could be used with the choir or instrumentalists when a small organ is desirable. In 2017 the instrument was returned to its owner.

1991 Alfred Wild organ

MANUAL I

8′ Gedackt (wood)

4′ Chimney Flute

2′ Principal

MANUAL II

8′ Gedackt (fr Manual I 8′ Gedackt)

8′ Regal

Couplers

Manual I to Pedal

Manual II to Pedal

Manual II to Manual I

The lower balcony at the rear of the nave housed an organ installed in January 2007. The instrument was built by Allyn Hoverland for his residence and sold to the church in December 2006. Wind pressure is 21⁄2 inches. The console is recycled from an M. P. Möller organ. The organ was blessed by Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki on Sunday, February 11, 2007. When the upper gallery organ was removed in preparation for the restored Casavant organ described below, this instrument was the primary organ in the church for several years. This instrument was sold to Saint Mary Catholic Church, Iron Mountain, Michigan, and moved there in late 2014 by
J. L. Weiler, Inc., of Chicago.

Specification of the Allyn Hoverland organ

MANUAL I

8′ Principal (B)

8′ Stopped Flute (A, 1–49; E, 50–61)

8′ Chimney Flute (A, 1–12; C, 13–61)

4′ Principal (B)

4′ Block Flute (A, 1–12; E, 13–61)

2-2⁄3′ Quinte (D)

2′ Block Flute (E)

III Mixture (D, F)

II Mixture (F)

MANUAL II

8′ Block Flute (A, 1–24; E, 25–61)

8′ Chimney Flute (A, 1–12; C, 13–61)

4′ Chimney Flute (C)

2′ Principal (B, 1–49; E, 50–61)

1-1⁄3′ Quinte (D)

PEDAL

16′ Bourdon (A, 1–24; C, 25–32)

10-2⁄3′ Quint Flute (A, 1–17; C, 18–32)

8′ Principal (B)

8′ Chimney Flute (A, 1–12; C, 13–32)

5-1⁄3′ Quinte (A, 1–5; C, 6–12; D, 13–32)

4′ Principal (B)

4′ Chimney Flute (C)

2-2⁄3′ Quinte (D)

2′ Block Flute (E)

Mixture III [sic] (F)

Accessories

10 General pistons (1–10, thumb; 1–5, toe)

5 Manual I pistons (thumb and toe)

5 Manual II pistons (thumb)

General Cancel (thumb)

Analysis

A=16′ Bourdon, c. 1890, builder unknown, 61 pipes

B=8′ Principal, 12 basses c. 1980 M. P. Möller, remainder 1978 Casavant, 73 pipes

C=4′ Chimney Flute, c. 1870, builder unknown, 61 pipes

D=2-2⁄3′ Quinte, builder unknown, 61 pipes

E=2′ Block Flute, 1978 Casavant, 61 pipes

F=II Mixture (1′), 1978 Casavant, 122 pipes

The lower auditorium of the church building houses a 1927 Wurlitzer organ that was installed by Century Pipe Organs of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Wurlitzer was built for the Terrace Theatre of New York City and, in 1935, moved by the builder to the studios of radio station WOR of the Mutual Broadcasting System in New York City. At Saint John Cantius, the two-manual, seven-rank, electro-pneumatic-action organ (Style “E”) was placed in a special chamber built on the stage of the auditorium. Manual compass is 61 notes (C–C); Pedal compass (concave, radiating pedalboard) is 32 notes (C–G). The project was completed in 2013.

The console has stop-tongue control, with the following colors: reeds in red; strings in mottled yellow; flues in white; couplers in black. Originally, the Tibia, Vox Humana, and Trumpet ranks were in a separate expression box, though the entire organ is now in one enclosure. There are today still two expression shoes.

In 2015, J. L. Weiler, Inc., of Chicago carried out work on the console, improving its overall appearance, fine-tuning the key regulation and response, revising atypical nomenclature as it applies to console controls, and tidying the wiring in the console. The existing solid-state control system was upgraded to its latest version.

1927 Wurlitzer Opus 1818

Analysis

8′ Tibia Clausa 85 pipes

16′ Bourdon/Concert Flute 97 pipes

16′ Diaphone/Diaphonic Diapason 85 pipes

8′ Trumpet 61 pipes

8′ Violin 73 pipes

8′ Violin Celeste 73 pipes

8′ Vox Humana 61 pipes

ACCOMPANIMENT (Manual I)

8′ Trumpet

8′ Diaphonic Diapason

8′ Tibia Clausa

8′ Violin (Violin and Celeste)

8′ Concert Flute

8′ Vox Humana

4′ Octave

4′ Piccolo (Tibia Clausa)

4′ Viol (Violin and Celeste)

4′ Flute

4′ Vox Humana

2-2⁄3′ Twelfth (Bourdon)

2′ Piccolo (Bourdon)

Accompaniment Octave

Chrysoglott (G1–G5)

Snare Drum (reiterates)

Tambourine (reiterates)

Castanets (reiterates)

Chinese Block

Tom Tom

Jazz Cymbal

Triangle

Sleigh Bells

Accompaniment Second Touch

8′ Trumpet

8′ Open Diapason

8′ Tibia Clausa

4′ Piccolo (Tibia)

Chrysoglott

Glockenspiel

Cathedral Chimes

Accomp Traps

SOLO (Manual II)

16′ Trumpet (TC)

16′ Diaphone

16′ Tibia Clausa (TC)

16′ Violone (TC, two ranks)

16′ Bourdon

16′ Vox Humana (TC)

8′ Trumpet

8′ Diaphonic Diapason

8′ Tibia Clausa

8′ Violin (Violin and Celeste)

8′ Concert Flute

8′ Vox Humana

5-1⁄3′ Fifth (Tibia Clausa)

4′ Octave

4′ Piccolo (Tibia Clausa)

4′ Viol (Violin and Celeste)

4′ Flute

2-2⁄3′ Twelfth (Tibia Clausa)

2′ Piccolo (Tibia Clausa)

2′ Fifteenth (Violin)

2′ Piccolo (Bourdon)

1-3⁄5′ Tierce (Tibia Clausa)

1′ Fife (Bourdon)

Solo Sub Octave

Solo Octave

Xylophone (C2–C5)

Glockenspiel (G2–C5)

Chrysoglott (G1–G5)

Sleigh Bells (C2–C4, tuned, reiterates)

Chimes (G2–C4) 18 tubes

PEDAL

16′ Diaphone

16′ Bourdon

8′ Trumpet

8′ Diaphonic Diapason

8′ Tibia Clausa

8′ Cello

8′ Flute

Accomp to Pedal

Bass Drum

Kettle Drum (reiterates)

Tap Cymbal

Crash Cymbal

Tremulants

Tibia Clausa Trem

Solo Tremulant

Main Tremulant

Vox Humana Trem

Accessories

5 Accompaniment pistons (thumb), usable as divisionals or generals

5 Solo pistons (thumb), usable as divisionals or generals

Celestes Off

Accomp Perc/Pedal

Bell (right Accompaniment keycheeck)

Balanced Main expression shoe

Balanced Solo expression shoe

Balanced Crescendo shoe

Range

Set

Unlabeled toe studs for effects: Bird, Auto Horn, Train Whistle, Horses Hooves, Fire Gong

The former convent, now known as the Canonry, has a chapel named for Saint Joseph housing a two-manual, three-rank, electro-pneumatic-action Casavant organ, built for the chapel of the Servantes de Jesus Marie, Rimouski, Québec, Canada. This instrument was installed at Saint John Cantius in Autumn 2010 by Jeff Weiler and Associates of Chicago. The console of the organ is located in a balcony, while the pipework is in a free-standing case on the floor. Manual compass is 61 notes (C–C); Pedal compass (concave, radiating pedalboard) is 32 notes (C–G). The entire organ is enclosed.

1957 Casavant Opus 2403

GRAND ORGUE (Manual I)

16′ Bourdon 85 pipes

8′ Principal (TC, 12 basses 61 pipes from 8′ Flute at 8′ and 4′ pitches)

8′ Bourdon (ext 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Dulciane (TC, 12 basses 73 pipes from 8′ Flute)

4′ Violina (ext 8′ Principal)

4′ Dulcet (ext 8′ Dulciane)

4′ Flute d’Amour (ext 16′ Bourdon)

2-2⁄3′ Nazard (ext 8′ Dulciane)

2′ Doublette (ext 8′ Dulciane)

Recit au Grand Orgue

RECIT (Manual II)

8′ Principal (G.O. 8′ Principal)

8′ Bourdon (G.O. 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Quintaton (synthetic, Flute at 8′, Dulciane at 2-2⁄3′)

8′ Dulciane (G.O. 8′ Dulciane)

4′ Violina (G.O. 8′ Principal)

4′ Flute (G.O. 16′ Bourdon)

4′ Dulcet (G.O. 8′ Dulciane)

8′ Hautbois (synthetic, Principal at 8′, Flute at 2-2⁄3′, 12 basses from Flute at 8′ and 4′)

Tremolo

PEDALE

16′ Bourdon (G.O. 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Bourdon (G.O. 16′ Bourdon)

4′ Principal (G.O. 8′ Principal)

4′ Flute (G.O. 16′ Bourdon)

4′ Dulcet (G.O. 8′ Dulciane)

Gr. Orgue a la Pedale

Recit a la Pedale

Accessories

3 Grand Orgue and Pedale pistons (thumb)

3 Recit pistons (thumb)

Balanced expression shoe

Balanced Crescendo shoe (with rotating indicator dial)

On Sunday, October 20, 2013, a historic pipe organ that has been part of Chicago’s history for more than three-quarters of a century was dedicated in its new home, Saint John Cantius Church. The afternoon and evening activities commenced with a blessing of the organ by His Eminence, the late Francis Cardinal George, OMI, Archbishop of Chicago, followed by a Pontifical Latin High Mass, celebrated by the Most Reverend Joseph N. Perry, Auxiliary Bishop of Chicago. Choral and organ works by Louis Vierne, Healey Willan, Charles-Marie Widor, and Marcel Dupré filled the nave with sound. An over-capacity crowd filled the church, including its side balconies, with additional faithful standing in the aisles. Following a dinner catered in the church’s lower level, the evening was capped with a dedicatory recital.

The event was the conclusion of a three-year restoration and relocation project for Casavant Frères opus 1130, built for Saint James Methodist Episcopal Church of the Kenwood neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. Saint James, founded in 1896, was once attended by several of Chicago’s great commerce giants, including the Swift and Harris families of meatpacking and banking fame. In 1915, Gustavus F. Swift donated a four-manual Casavant organ built in the company’s South Haven, Michigan, plant. The Victorian Gothic church and its organ burned in 1924. The congregation commissioned Chicago’s Tallmadge & Watson to design an expansive new building, again in the Gothic style, completed in 1926. For this edifice, Tina Mae Haines, arguably Chicago’s finest female organist, lobbied the church’s leaders for a new, four-manual Casavant organ, despite pressure to purchase a Skinner organ, like many other wealthy churches. Miss Haines won her argument, and Opus 1130 was built to her specification, the funds again donated by the Swift family, $28,890. (M. P. Möller installed its Opus 4605, a two-manual, ten-rank organ costing $5,100 in the chapel.) The Casavant would be one of the South Side’s finest church and concert organs. Marcel Dupré gave a memorable program at Saint James in 1937 to a capacity crowd.

Sadly, Saint James United Methodist Church closed Sunday, December 26, 2010. The author was honored to be the last person to play the Casavant organ publicly in its original home, for an impromptu hymn festival at the conclusion of the church’s final service. Andrew Szymanski, a friend who had informed me of the church’s impending closure, joined church members as we all sang, concluding with “Abide with Me” and George Frederick Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus.” It was the first time the organ had been used in many years. Several congregants present at Saint James’s closing were present for the rededication of their organ at Saint John Cantius.

That fateful phone call from my friend informing me the church was closing made the relocation of the organ possible. If not for that, the church would have silently ended its existence; instead, I was able to make phone calls that made the connections happen for the organ to be removed.

Then followed a restoration project for Opus 1130, carried out by J. L. Weiler, Inc., of Chicago, and the organ’s builder, Casavant, in Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada. The console of the organ is located in the lower west balcony, while the remainder of the main organ is in the upper west balcony with the Echo division in the north balcony (in a transept). Nearly ninety years after its initial installation, the organ began a new era of promise. It is fondly known as “Tina Mae.”

1926 Casavant FrПres, Limitée, Opus 1130

GREAT (Manual II, 4-inch wind pressure)

16′ Double Open (metal) 73 pipes

8′ I Open Diapason (metal) 73 pipes

8′ II Open Diapason (metal) 73 pipes

8′ Doppelflöte 73 pipes (wood and metal)

8′ Gemshorn (metal) 73 pipes

4′ Octave (metal) 73 pipes

4′ Harmonic Flute (metal) 73 pipes

Mixture IV (metal) 244 pipes

8′ Trumpet (metal) 73 pipes

Chimes (from Echo)

SWELL (Manual III, enclosed, 41Џ2-inch and 7-inch wind
pressures)

16′ Bourdon (wood) 73 pipes

8′ Open Diapason (metal)* 73 pipes

8′ Violin Diapason (metal) 73 pipes

8′ Stopped Diapason 73 pipes (wood and metal)

8′ Salicional (metal) 73 pipes

8′ Viola di Gamba (metal) 73 pipes

8′ Aeoline (metal) 73 pipes

8′ II Voix Celeste (metal) 134 pipes

4′ Violina (metal) 73 pipes

4′ Flauto Trav. 73 pipes (wood and metal)*

2′ Piccolo (metal) 61 pipes

Dolce Cornet III (metal) 183 pipes

16′ Double Trumpet (metal)* 73 pipes

8′ Cornopean (metal)* 73 pipes

8′ Oboe (metal) 73 pipes

8′ Vox Humana (metal) 73 pipes

4′ Clarion (metal)* 73 pipes

Tremulant

Chimes (from Echo)

* 7-inch wind pressure

CHOIR (Manual I, enclosed, 6-inch wind pressure)

16′ Gamba (metal) 73 pipes

8′ Open Diapason (metal) 73 pipes

8′ Concert Flute 73 pipes (wood and metal)

8′ Dulciana (metal) 73 pipes

8′ Unda Maris (metal) 73 pipes

4′ Flute d’Amour 73 pipes (wood and metal)

2-2⁄3′ Nazard (metal) 73 pipes

2′ Flageolet (metal) 61 pipes

8′ Clarinet (metal) 73 pipes

8′ Cor Anglais (metal) 73 pipes

Tremulant

Celesta 61 bars

Celesta Sub (from Celesta)

SOLO (Manual IV, enclosed, 12-inch wind pressure)

8′ Stentorphone (metal) 73 pipes

8′ Gross Flute 73 pipes (wood and metal)

8′ Viole d’Orchestre (metal) 73 pipes

8′ Viole Celeste (metal) 73 pipes

8′ Tuba (metal) 73 pipes

Tremulant

ECHO (Floating, enclosed, 3-1/2-inch wind pressure)

8′ Echo Diapason (metal) 73 pipes

8′ Cor de Nuit 73 pipes (wood and metal)

4′ Fern Flöte (metal) 73 pipes

8′ Musette (metal) 73 pipes

Tremulant

Chimes (from tenor G) 25 tubes

PEDAL

32′ Double Open 12 pipes (resultant, 16′ Open Diapason, with independent quints)

16′ Open Diapason (wood) 44 pipes

16′ Bourdon (wood) 44 pipes

16′ Contra Gamba (Ch 16′ Con Gamba)

16′ Lieblich Gedeckt (Sw 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Flute (ext 16′ Open Diapason)

8′ Stopped Flute (ext 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Cello (metal) 32 pipes

16′ Trombone (metal) 32 pipes

Chimes (from Echo)

Couplers

Great to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 4

Choir to Pedal 8

Solo to Pedal 8

Solo to Pedal 4

Echo to Pedal 8

Great to Great 4

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 8

Swell to Great 4

Choir to Great 16

Choir to Great 8

Choir to Great 4

Solo to Great 16

Solo to Great 8

Solo to Great 4

Echo to Great 16

Echo to Great 8

Echo to Great 4

Echo On/Great Off

Choir to Choir 16

Choir to Choir 4

Swell to Choir 16

Swell to Choir 8

Swell to Choir 4

Solo to Choir 16

Solo to Choir 8

Solo to Choir 4

Swell to Swell 16

Swell to Swell 4

Solo to Swell 8

Solo to Solo 16

Solo to Solo 4

Great to Solo 8

Swell to Solo 8

Echo to Solo 16

Echo to Solo 8

Echo to Solo 4

Echo On/Solo Off

All Swells to Swell Pedal

Accessories

10 General pistons (thumb and toe, originally 5, toe)

5 Great pistons (thumb)

7 Swell pistons (thumb)

5 Choir pistons (thumb)

3 Solo pistons (thumb)

3 Echo pistons (thumb)

5 Pedal pistons (thumb)

Sequencer Up (4 thumb, 1 toe)/Down (1 thumb)

300 memory levels

Memory + Up/ - Down (thumb, under Manual IV)

Great to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe)

Swell to Pedal reversible (toe)

Choir to Pedal reversible (thumb)

Solo to Pedal reversible (thumb)

Echo to Pedal reversible (thumb)

Swell to Great reversible (thumb)

Choir to Great reversible (thumb)

Solo to Great reversible (thumb)

Swell to Choir reversible (thumb)

Manual 16′ On/Off (thumb, with indicator)

Manual 2′ On/Off (thumb, with indicator)

General Cancellor (thumb)

Combination Adjustor (thumb)

Balanced Swell Expression Shoe

Balanced Choir Expression Shoe

Balanced Solo and Echo Expression Shoe

Balanced Crescendo Shoe (with indicator dial)

Full Organ Reversible (toe, with indicator)

Generator Indicator

Wind Indicator

The Casavant organ can be heard on a compact disc recorded by Andrew Schaeffer, St. John Cantius Presents The Nutcracker, available from Amazon and other resources. The disc includes movements from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker Suite, along with selections of music appropriate for Christmas. Also available is St. John Cantius Presents Jonathan Rudy: Epic Music for Organ, similarly available from Amazon and other resources.

This year, a 32′ Contra Trombone extension of twelve full-length pipes will be added to the Pedal 16′ Trombone. A 16′ Bourdon of thirty-two pipes will be added to the Echo division to function as a pedal stop. The Bourdon pipes come from the Casavant organ that was built for Saint Paul of the Cross Catholic Church in Park Ridge, Illinois. Casavant will build the new components, and J. L. Weiler, Inc., will install everything onsite. Work is expected to be completed by August.

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Saint John Cantius Catholic Church is once again the spiritual home to many Catholic families, most of whom drive a considerable distance on the same expressway that enticed so many parishioners to leave the parish a generation ago. The regenerated parish’s investment in music is exemplary, with multiple choirs presenting an auspicious schedule of selections. A full calendar of concert performances provides quality music to the community. Concert and theater organ programs are frequently presented. With over a century of record, the parish is poised for many more years serving the spiritual and cultural needs of the Chicago metropolitan community.

Sources

Koenig, Rev. Msgr. Harry C., STD, ed. A History of the Parishes of the Archdiocese of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, Archdiocese of Chicago, 1980, volume 1, pp. 487–491.

Lindberg, William Edward. The Pipe Organs of A. B. Felgemaker, Late Nineteenth Century American Organ Builder, dissertation, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1976, p. 262.

McNamara, Denis R. Heavenly City: The Architectural Tradition of Catholic Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, Liturgical Training Publications, 2005, pp. 50–52.

Saint John Cantius: 1893–1993, Chicago, Illinois, Saint John Cantius Catholic Church, 1993.

Schnurr, Stephen J., and Dennis E. Northway. Pipe Organs of Chicago, Oak Park, Illinois, Chauncey Park Press, 2005, volume 1, pp. 116–118.

For further information: cantius.org/sacredmusic