A history of the organs of Saint John Cantius Catholic Church, Chicago, Illinois

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.

This article is the final installment of a series in the August 2015, June 2016, July 2017, February 2018, June 2018, March 2021, and May 2021 issues of The Diapason. The information was delivered as a lecture for the Midwinter Pipe Organ Conclave on January 19, 2015, in La Grange, Illinois. The research for this project provides a history of a number of pipe organs in the village, but not all. For instance, organs in residences and theaters are not surveyed.

Grace Lutheran Church of La Grange was organized on April 14, 1887, as the Swedish Lutheran Church, the sixth congregation founded in the village. The lot at the southeast corner of Ogden and South Kensington Avenues was purchased the next month for $600. In June, an architect’s plan for a church measuring twenty feet by fifty feet was accepted, and ground was broken. The basement portion of the church was dedicated on September 25, 1887. The remainder of the structure was completed for dedication on October 8, 1895. This church was served by a reed organ.

Reverend Alfred Ostrom was called as first resident pastor in 1897 at a salary of $600 per year, plus a Christmas Day collection. A musician, he served as an editor of the first English hymnal of the Augustana Synod in 1901. In 1904, the congregation took the name Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Emmaus Church of La Grange. Reflecting the change of language for services from Swedish to English, the congregation became known as Emmaus Evangelical Lutheran Church in 1922.

In 1926, a committee was formed to plan for much-needed larger facilities, to be built on newly acquired property across Ogden Avenue. That year, the congregation became known as Grace English Lutheran Church, though “English” was dropped in 1927.

On the church’s fortieth anniversary in April 1927, a campaign was announced for the new structure. Ground was broken in October 1928, with the cornerstone laid the following month for a redbrick Gothic edifice with stone trim. Architects were Harry K. Culver and Walter C. Eden, the latter a member of the church. The nave seated 350 persons, and sliding doors to the adjoining hall provided overflow for an additional 125. Dedication occurred on June 2, 1929, with three services. Additions were made to the building in 1950 and 1966. The sanctuary was renovated to its present configuration in preparation for the congregation’s 125th anniversary celebration in 2012.

The original church still stands and was for some time home to another congregation, Grace and Truth Gospel Chapel. It has since been converted into a private residence.

For the present sanctuary, M. P. Möller of Hagerstown, Maryland, provided its opus 5522 costing $4,200. The contract was dated January 30, 1929, with completion set for June 1 of that year. An addition was typed onto the standard Möller contract stating that the builder “guarantees the workmanship, material, and tone qualities of this organ to be equal or superior to any organ built.” Wind pressure was five inches. The Echo division, never installed, was to be in a chamber provided near the rear of the nave, at second-floor level. A second tonal opening was located in the ceiling of an adjoining dining room. The organ was dedicated in service on June 4, 1929, two days after the church itself.

1929 M. P. Möller Opus 5522

GREAT (Manual I, enclosed)

8′ Open Diapason 73 pipes (scale 40, wood bass)

8′ Concert Flute 73 pipes

8′ Dulciana (scale 56) 73 pipes

4′ Solo Flute (ext 8′ Concert Flute)

4′ Dulcet (ext 8′ Dulciana)

Tremulant

Chimes (“Silent stop”)

SWELL (Manual II, enclosed)

16′ Bourdon 97 pipes

8′ Stopped Diapason (ext 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Salicional (scale 60) 73 pipes

8′ Voix Celeste (TC, scale 62) 61 pipes

4′ Flute d’Amour (ext 16′ Bourdon)

4′ Violina (ext 8′ Salicional)

2-2⁄3′ Nazard (ext 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Cornopean (“Small scale”) 73 pipes

8′ Vox Humana 61 pipes (scale 40, wood bass)

Tremulant

ECHO (Manual I, prepared at console)

8′ Echo Flute 73 pipes

8′ Muted Viole 61 pipes

8′ Vox Angelica 61 pipes

4′ Wahl [sic] Flute (ext 8′ Echo Flute)

Tremulant

PEDAL

16′ Sub Bass 44 pipes

16′ Lieblich Gedeckt (Swell, 16′ Bdn.)

8′ Bass Flute (ext 16′ Sub Bass)

Couplers

Great to Pedal

Swell to Pedal

Great to Great 16

Great Unison Off

Great to Great 4

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 8

Swell to Great 4

Swell to Swell 16

Swell Unison Off

Swell to Swell 4

Echo to Great

Echo On/Great Off

Adjustable Combinations

3 Full Organ

4 Great and Pedal and Cancel

4 Swell and Pedal and Cancel

3 Echo Organ

Accessories

Great to Pedal reversible (toe)

Balanced Swell expression shoe

Balanced Great expression shoe

Balanced Crescendo shoe (with indicator light)

Sforzando reversible (toe)

The congregation began to consider rebuilding and enlarging the organ or replacing it entirely in early 1957. A committee focused on proposals from the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Co., Casavant Frères, Limitée, and M. P. Möller, Inc. The initial concept was to expand the existing organ chambers to either side of the chancel, involving small additions to the building. An initial proposal from Möller, June 7, 1957, called for a modest instrument with Great, Swell I, Swell II, Antiphonal, Pedal, and Antiphonal Pedal divisions, showing the influence of Ernest White’s tonal direction. The Aeolian-Skinner, Casavant, and Möller proposals were sent (without builder identification) to several Chicago area organ experts, with opinions and comparisons received from Edward Eigenschenk (American Conservatory and Second Presbyterian Church), Heinrich Fleischer (University of Chicago and DePaul University), Austin Lovelace (First Methodist Church and Northwestern University, Evanston), and Stanley Martin (Emmanuel Episcopal Church, La Grange, and the Chicago Sunday Evening Club). The overwhelming response was in favor of the Möller proposal, though several had caveats.

A revised Möller proposal dated February 24, 1958, abandons the divided Swell plan and enlarged the Antiphonal division, so that it would be more useful in leading the congregation from the rear of the nave. An 8′ Principal was also added to the Great specification. By May of that year, Grace Church was contemplating placing most of the organ in the rear gallery. With this change of focus, the chambers in the chancel would be reused for an antiphonal organ for the gallery instrument.

A contract dated September 11, 1958, was signed for Möller Opus 9325, in the amount of $45,400, with completion set for December 1, 1959. Perhaps recalling a certain condition of the 1929 contract, this one stated, “The organ shall be a distinctive work of the builder, a product of his factory, and in no way an assembled instrument.” A three-manual gallery organ was provided, and the old organ was rebuilt as a two-manual chancel instrument, played from the gallery console. The church’s choirs moved from the chancel to the gallery. For the gallery organ, wind pressures were three-and-a-half inches for the Great, four inches for the Swell, Choir, and Pedal.

1959 M. P. Möler opus 9325

GREAT (Manual II)

16′ Quintade 73 pipes (scale 46, 24 zinc basses, remainder spotted metal)

8′ Principal 61 pipes (scale 46, 24 zinc basses, remainder spotted metal)

8′ Holzgedackt 61 pipes (“Reg. Stopped Flute Bass & Treble,” wood and metal)

8′ Quintaton (ext 16′ Quintade)

4′ Octave 61 pipes (scale 58, spotted metal)

2′ Waldflöte 61 pipes (scale 68, 3⁄4 taper, spotted metal)

III Rks. Fourniture 183 pipes (spotted metal)

Tremolo

Chimes 20 tubes (“present Antiphonal,” from tenor A)

SWELL (Manual III, enclosed)

8′ Rohrpfeife 61 pipes (scale 56, 12 zinc basses, remainder spotted metal)

8′ Viola 61 pipes (scale 52, 12 zinc basses, remainder spotted metal)

8′ Viola Celeste 54 pipes (from low G, scale 54, 5 zinc basses, remainder spotted metal)

4′ Suavial 61 pipes (scale 60, spotted metal)

2′ Zauberflöte 61 pipes (scale 62, spotted metal)

III Rks. Plein Jeu 183 pipes (spotted metal)

16′ Cor Anglais 61 pipes (half length, 4″ scale, “English Horn Pattern”)

8′ Trompette 61 pipes (12 basses half length)

4′ Hautbois 61 pipes (3″ scale, “Reg. Oboe Full Length”)

Tremolo

CHOIR (Manual I, enclosed)

16′ Gemshorn 73 pipes (scale 40, 1⁄3 taper, 24 zinc basses, remainder spotted metal)

8′ Bordon 61 pipes (scale 56, 12 zinc basses, remainder spotted metal)

8′ Gemshorn (ext 16′ Gemshorn)

4′ Koppelflöte 61 pipes (scale 64, spotted metal)

2′ Doublette 61 pipes (scale 72, spotted metal)

II Rks. Sesquialtera 122 pipes (spotted metal)

8′ Krummhorn 61 pipes (1″ scale, “Brass Treble”)

Tremolo

PEDAL

16′ Sub Bass  32 pipes (“Large Pedal Bdn., Low Lip, Large Ears”)

16′ Quintade (Great, 16′ Quintade)

16′ Gemshorn (Choir, 16′ Gemshorn)

8′ Geigen 44 pipes (scale 45, 17 zinc basses, remainder spotted metal)

8′ Quintaton (Great, 16′ Quintaton)

8′ Gemshorn (Choir, 16′ Gemshorn)

4′ Oktav (ext 8′ Geigen)

4′ Quintaton (Great 16′ Quintaton)

II Rks. Grave Mixture 88 pipes (5 zinc basses, remainder spotted metal)

II Rks. Rauschquinte (ext II Rks. Grave Mixture)

CHANCEL GREAT (Enclosed)

8′ Harfenprinzipal 73 pipes (new pipes, old action, scale 50, 12 zinc basses, remainder spotted metal)

8′ Concert Flute 73 pipes (old pipes and action, “Reg. Concert FLT,” wood and metal)

4′ Octave (ext 8′ Harfenprinzipal)

4′ Flute (ext 8′ Concert Flute)

III Rks. Mixture 183 pipes (new pipes, old Diapason action, spotted metal)

CHANCEL SWELL (Enclosed)

16′ Gedeckt 85 pipes (old pipes and action, “Reg. Man. Bdn.”)

8′ Gedeckt (ext 16′ Gedeckt)

8′ Salicional 61 pipes (old pipes and action, scale 60, 12 zinc basses, remainder spotted metal)

4′ Spitzprinzipal 73 pipes (new pipes, old action, scale 60, 3⁄4 taper, spotted metal)

4′ Gedeckt (ext 16′ Gedeckt)

2′ Octavin (ext 4′ Spitzprinzipal)

1-1⁄3′ Nasat 61 pipes (new pipes, old Vox Humana action, scale 80, 2⁄3 taper, spotted metal)

8′ Fagotto 61 pipes (new pipes, old Cornopean action, 2-1⁄4′′ scale, half length, “Open Oboe”)

Tremolo

CHANCEL PEDAL

16′ Bourdon 44 pipes (old pipes and action, “Reg. Ped. Bdn.”)

16′ Gedeckt (Chancel Swell, 16′ Gedeckt)

8′ Bourdon (ext 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Gedeckt (Chancel Swell, 16′ Gedeckt)

4′ Gedeckt (Chancel Swell, 16′ Gedeckt)

Couplers

Great to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 4

Choir to Pedal 8

Choir to Pedal 4

Chancel Great to Pedal 8

Chancel Swell to Pedal 8

Chancel Swell to Pedal 4

Great Unison Off

Swell to Great 8

Swell to Great 4

Choir to Great 8

Choir to Great 4

Chancel Swell to Great 8

Chancel Swell to Great 4

Choir to Choir 16

Choir Unison Off

Choir to Choir 4

Great to Choir 8

Swell to Choir 8

Swell to Choir 4

Swell to Swell 16

Swell Unison Off

Swell to Swell 4

Chancel Swell Unison Off

Chancel Swell 4 to Swell 4

Adjustable Combinations

8 General pistons (thumb, 5–8 toe)

6 Great Organ pistons (thumb)

3 Chancel Great Organ pistons (thumb)

6 Swell Organ pistons (thumb)

3 Chancel Swell Organ pistons (thumb)

6 Choir Organ pistons (thumb)

6 Pedal and Chancel Pedal pistons (toe)

General Cancel (thumb)

Combination adjustor (thumb)

Accessories

Great to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe)

Swell to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe)

Choir to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe)

Balanced Swell and Chancel Swell expression shoe

Balanced Choir expression shoe

Balanced Chancel Great expression shoe

Balanced Crescendo shoe (with 3 indicator lights)

Gallery-Both-Chancel thumb pistons

Chancel Swell to Chancel Great expression shoe reversible (with indicator light)

Tutti reversible (thumb and toe, with indicator light)

Cancel tabs over stop groups

In 1993, the Möller organ was thoroughly rebuilt by Dan Vaughan of Phoenix, Arizona. The organ’s action was converted to all-electric. Much of the Möller pipework was retained for the new instrument. In 2001, Ericksen, Christian, and Associates of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, replaced the Great 8′ Principal, 4′ Octave, and 2′ Fifteenth with new pipes supplied by Rieger-Kloss of the Czech Republic.

1993 Dan Vaughan organ

GREAT (Manual II)

16′ Quintaten 61 pipes

8′ Principal 61 pipes

8′ Holz Gedeckt 73 pipes

4′ Octave 61 pipes

4′ Gedeckt (ext 8′ Holz Gedeckt)

2′ Fifteenth 61 pipes

III Fourniture 183 pipes

8′ Trompette 61 pipes

Chimes (tenor A) 21 tubes

Zimbelstern

SWELL (Manual III, enclosed)

8′ Principal 61 pipes

8′ Rohr Flute 73 pipes

8′ Viola 61 pipes

8′ Viole Celeste (low G) 54 pipes

4′ Octave 61 pipes

4′ Rohr Gedeckt (ext 8′ Rohr Flute)

2′ Flautina 61 pipes

III Plein Jeu 183 pipes

16′ Cor Anglais 73 pipes

8′ Trumpet 61 pipes

8′ Trompette (Great, 8′ Trompette)

8′ Hautbois (ext 16′ Cor Anglais)

4′ Clarion 61 pipes

Tremolo

CHOIR (Manual I, enclosed)

8′ Bourdon 61 pipes

8′ Gemshorn 61 pipes

4′ Koppelflote 61 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Nazard 61 pipes

2′ Principal 61 pipes

1-3⁄5′ Tierce 61 pipes

1′ Twenty-Second (fr 2′ Principal)

8′ Krummhorn 61 pipes

Tremolo

Choir Unison

Choir to Choir 4

PEDAL

32′ Resultant (fr 16′ Bourdon)

16′ Principal 56 pipes

16′ Sub Bass 32 pipes

16′ Bourdon 12 pipes (ext Choir 8′ Bourdon)

16′ Gedeckt (Chancel Swell, 16′ Bourdon)

16′ Gemshorn 12 pipes (ext Choir 8′ Gemshorn)

8′ Principal (ext 16′ Principal)

8′ Bourdon (Choir 8′ Bourdon)

8′ Gedeckt (Chancel Sw 16′ Gedeckt)

4′ Octave (ext 16′ Principal)

4′ Bourdon (Choir 4′ Koppel Flote)

2′ Super Octave (fr Great 4′ Octave)

III Cornet 96 pipes

16′ Bombarde (Swell 16′ Trumpet)

8′ Trumpet (Swell, 8′ Trumpet)

4′ Hautbois (Swell, 8′ Hautbois)

CHANCEL GREAT (Manual II)

8′ Bauerflote 85 pipes

4′ Lieblich Flote (ext 8′ Bauerflote)

2′ Bauerflote (ext 8′ Bauerflote)

1′ Lieblich Flote (fr 8′ Bauerflote)

III Cymbal 183 pipes

CHANCEL SWELL (Manual III, enclosed)

16′ Gedeckt 97 pipes

8′ Gedeckt (ext 16′ Gedeckt)

8′ Salicional 61 pipes

4′ Spitz Principal 73 pipes

4′ Gedeckt (ext 16′ Gedeckt)

2-2⁄3′ Nazard (ext 16′ Gedeckt)

2′ Flute (ext 16′ Gedeckt)

1-1⁄3′ Larigot (ext 4′ Spitz Principal)

8′ Fagotto 61 pipes

Tremolo

Swell to Swell 4

Inter-divisional Couplers

Great to Pedal 8

Great to Pedal 4

Swell to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 4

Choir to Pedal 8

Choir to Pedal 4

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 8

Swell to Great 4

Choir to Great 16

Choir to Great 8

Choir to Great 4

Swell to Choir 16

Swell to Choir 8

Swell to Choir 4

Accessories

8 Full Organ pistons (thumb), 1–4 and 8 (toe)

6 Great pistons (thumb)

6 Swell pistons (thumb)

6 Choir pistons (thumb)

3 Chancel Great pistons (thumb)

3 Chancel Swell pistons (thumb)

2 Pedal pistons (toe)

General Cancel (thumb)

Comb. Adjuster (thumb)

Midi 1–8

Great to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe)

Swell to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe)

Choir to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe)

Gallery/Chancel/Both (thumb)

Balanced Swell expression shoe

Balanced Choir expression shoe

Balanced Chancel Swell expression shoe

Balanced Crescendo shoe (with three green indicator lights)

Tutti reversible (thumb and toe, with red indicator light)

Wind indicator (white)

Memory Level/Show/Player/Gt.-Ch. Rev./Transp. Up/Transp. Down (thumb)

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

Editor’s note: the information in this article was delivered as a lecture for the Ernest M. Skinner Sesquicentennial Conference on April 25, 2016, in Evanston, Illinois. The conference was sponsored by the Chicago, North Shore, and Fox Valley Chapters of the American Guild of Organists, the Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the Organ Historical Society, the Music Institute of Chicago, and The Diapason.

Ernest M. Skinner was a busy organbuilder from the time he first organized his own firm in 1901 in South Boston, Massachusetts. Most of the first 100 instruments were built for East Coast clients, though occasionally an organ would make its way further afield. In the Midwest United States, within a few years, Skinner organs would be sent to locations in Ohio, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Indiana; however, it would take more than a decade before the first contract for a Skinner organ was inked for a destination in Illinois.

By the turn of the twentieth century, Chicago had fully recovered from the devastating fire of October 8–10, 1871. The city hosted the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, centered where one now finds Jackson Park. Everything was new in Chicago, with resplendent churches, large fraternal lodges, educational institutions, and residences that drove a healthy, modern market for acquiring pipe organs of all sizes in the most up-to-date designs.

Breaking into the Chicago organ purchasing market must have become a priority for Skinner, for in 1913 a sudden flurry of four contracts was signed in quick succession in Chicago and Evanston for opuses 207, 208, 210, and 211. This breakthrough for the Skinner firm likely came with the assistance of the young and rising-star organist, Palmer Christian. Born in 1885 in nearby Kankakee, Illinois, Christian studied at Chicago’s American Conservatory of Music with Clarence Dickinson before traveling abroad to study with Karl Straube in Leipzig and Alexandre Guilmant in Paris. Upon his return to the United States in 1911, Palmer became organist of Kenwood Evangelical Church in the fashionable Chicago South Side neighborhood of Kenwood.

Kenwood Evangelical Church, Chicago

The city block bounded by 46th and 47th Streets and Greenwood and Ellis Avenues contains three monumental churches of significant architectural quality, all constructed between 1887 and 1926: the former Saint James United Methodist Church (46th Street and Ellis Avenue), Kenwood United Church of Christ (46th Street and Greenwood Avenue, just across the alleyway from Saint James), and Saint Ambrose Catholic Church (47th Street and Ellis Avenue). When these buildings were erected, Kenwood was a neighborhood of high society, as the likes of John G. Shedd of Marshall Field & Company fame belonged to Kenwood Evangelical Church. The Swift family of the meatpacking industry and the Harris family of banking belonged to Saint James Methodist Episcopal Church.

Kenwood Evangelical Church was organized on November 17, 1885, having grown from a Sunday school formed earlier that year. On November 26, 1887, the cornerstone of the present church was laid. The Romanesque Revival building was designed by William W. Boyington in association with H. B. Wheelock and dedicated November 18, 1888. (Boyington designed many important Chicago landmarks, most of which, like the old Chicago Board of Trade Building, are gone. His 1869 Chicago Water Tower and Pumping Station remain.) The edifice and the lot cost $65,423.92. The church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1888, Steere & Turner of Massachusetts installed its Opus 263, a two-manual, twenty-three-rank, mechanical-action organ costing $3,250. Portions of the gumwood case and the façade, including pipes from the Great 8′ Open Diapason, were retained to hide the new Skinner organ.

As mentioned above, in 1911 Palmer Christian was appointed organist to Kenwood Church. He soon led efforts to replace the Steere & Turner organ, and he specifically worked to have the contract awarded to the Ernest M. Skinner Company. This was to be the first Skinner contract in Illinois.

A specification was drawn for a three-manual organ in January 1913, and the contract was announced in the March issue of The Diapason. This was to be Opus 207, followed closely by three other Chicago-area contracts: Opus 208, First Church of Christ, Scientist, Evanston; Opus 210, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago; and Opus 211, Hyde Park Baptist Church, Chicago.

Several changes would be made to the specification by the time the organ was installed the following year. On May 22, Christian wrote authorizing addition of the Great 8′ Philomela, extended from the Pedal 16′ Diapason, for an additional $150. Already, Christian and Skinner were at odds on just when the organ would be finished: 

Regarding the matter of time, I have only this to say, that, inasmuch as our church was the first to get you out here—and, if I must say it, this was entirely due to my “plugging” for you—we most certainly hope that you can make a special effort in our case, if need be, to be ready according to schedule.

On July 14, 1913, the church treasurer, John B. Lord, wrote to Skinner, authorizing several changes to the specification: elimination of the Choir 8′ English Horn and casework; addition of the Choir two-rank 8′ Dulcet; 8′ Posaune, 8′ Salicional, and 4′ Octave borrows from the Swell to the Great; addition of Chimes for $500; and a six-rank Echo division on a fourth manual for $1,800. The church could now claim it was to have a four-manual organ, not three, as another Chicago church had since signed a contract for a four-manual Skinner organ, Fourth Presbyterian Church.

Christian wrote Skinner on December 19, 1913, reminding him that he wanted Swell and Choir Unison Off couplers, five pistons for each manual except Echo (there were no General pistons), Swell to Pedal reversible, and a Choir to Pedal 4′ coupler. The old organ had been removed from the church, and Christian was complaining about the delay in completing the new organ, noting he had lost $100 in wedding fees, as there was no organ to play for the ceremonies. He asked if Skinner would be able to keep a February 1, 1914, completion date, as he wanted his former teacher Clarence Dickinson to play the dedicatory recital soon thereafter when he was in Chicago.

Dickinson did not play the dedicatory recital during this visit. The May 1, 1914, issue of The Diapason notes that Christian himself played the opening recital on April 16. Apparently, Mr. Skinner was present for the program. This was the first Skinner organ to be completed in Illinois, but not for long.

The Great, Swell, Choir, and Pedal divisions are housed behind the old Steere façade above the pulpit and choir loft at the front of the nave. The Echo division and Chimes are in a room located off the second-floor rear balcony. The console sits in the choir loft at the far right. The manual compass is 61 notes (C–C); pedal compass is 32 notes (C–G). (Opus 208 would have a 30-note pedalboard.) The unaltered organ has been unplayable for several decades.

The congregation is now known as Kenwood United Church of Christ. The church has experienced a renewal in numbers over the last several decades, mostly due to the leadership of Reverend Dr. Leroy Sanders.

First Church of Christ, Scientist, Evanston

Evanston’s First Church of Christ, Scientist, was founded in January 1895. The first worship site was probably a residence located on the present property, which was converted for use as a church. This building burned in 1897, and the members of the congregation set about building a new church costing $25,000.

Construction for the present church seating 900 commenced in 1912 and was completed the following year. It is an excellent example of Neo-Classical architecture that has been revered by Christian Scientists everywhere and by the denomination’s founder, Mary Baker Eddy. Mrs. Eddy became interested in this style of architecture while attending the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. Many of the exhibition buildings reflected this influence, including the Parliament of World Religions. First Church of Christ, Scientist, Chicago, now home to Grant Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Church, was among the first buildings of this type. The architect of First Church, Evanston, Solon Spencer Beman, also served as architect for First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Churches of Christ, Scientist, Chicago. He designed the mansion of the W. W. Kimball family on South Prairie Avenue, Chicago, as well as the entire “town” of Pullman on the South Side of Chicago. Beman became a personal friend of Mrs. Eddy, became a Christian Scientist, and served as a consulting architect for construction of the Mother Church Extension in Boston. First Church, Evanston, was Beman’s final commission, as he died the following year at the age of sixty-one. The church reportedly cost $100,000 to build.

The first organ that the congregation owned was apparently a reed organ built by Leonard Peloubet & Co. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1902, Lyon & Healy of Chicago built their Opus 105 (factory number 1357) for the congregation. This two-manual organ had mechanical key and stop action. When the present building was constructed, the Lyon & Healy was retained and installed in the Sunday school room of the lower level. In the 1990s, the then small congregation, unable to retain the organ, turned it over to the Organ Clearing House for eventual sale.

The organ in the new church auditorium, built by the Ernest M. Skinner Company, was completed on June 1, 1914, as Opus 208. The contract was signed in 1913. It is the oldest functioning Skinner organ in the state of Illinois. The Diapason announced the organ in July 1914:

The organ chamber is at the rear of the readers’ platform, and the tone comes into the auditorium through open ornamental lattice work, which conceals the pipes. The console is at the north (right) end of the platform, at the left of the readers.

Within the organ, the Great is centrally located with the Swell behind. The Choir and three Great additions are to the right. Interestingly, the pedal compass is 30 notes (C–F). During construction, the 4′ Octave was added to the Swell division, on its own chest with channel jumpers. Wind pressure was six inches throughout. The late Roy Kehl of Evanston has noted that Opus 208 was nearly identical to Opus 204, installed in Synod Hall of the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, New York, New York.

At a later date, three ranks were added to the Great. Additional tilting tablets above the Swell manual were added for these stops, which were not controlled by the combination action. This work is believed to have been carried out by La Marche of Chicago.

The congregation was served by several excellent organists. Rossetter Gleason Cole was appointed organist in 1909 and served through 1929. Cole was born in 1866. After study at the University of Michigan and in Berlin, he returned to the United States, settling in the Chicago area in 1902. For over fifty years, he served on the faculty of the Cosmopolitan Music School, and for a time served as dean of the school. He was twice dean of the Illinois (now Chicago) Chapter of the American Guild of Organists (1913–1914 and 1928–1930). On January 1, 1930, he became organist to Second Church of Christ, Scientist, Chicago. During his lifetime, over ninety of his compositions were published in many different forms. He died in 1952, at Hilltop, near Lake Bluff, Illinois.

One of the oldest community music schools in the state, the Music Institute of Chicago was founded in 1931 and has campuses in Downers Grove, Evanston, Highland Park, Lake Forest, Lincolnshire, Northbrook, and Winnetka. In 2001, Music Institute purchased its second Evanston campus, the former First Church of Christ, Scientist. First Church had recently merged with Second Church of Christ, Scientist, Evanston, moving to that congregation’s worship space.

First Church vacated its building in 2001, and renovations for the Music Institute began the following year. The building is registered on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2003, when renovations were complete, the prestigious Richard H. Driehaus Award was presented to the Music Institute for its creative reuse of this historic building. For the organ’s ninetieth birthday celebration, the Organ Historical Society presented its Historic Organ Citation #312 on June 13, 2004, during a recital by James Russell Brown.

Between 2005 and 2007, the organ received a historic restoration by J. L. Weiler, Inc., of Chicago. At the conclusion of this project, the organ was reinaugurated in recital by Thomas Murray on September 28, 2007.

Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago

The Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago is the merger of North Presbyterian Church (founded in 1848) and Westminster Presbyterian Church (founded in 1855); Fourth Church was formally organized February 12, 1871, thus celebrating its sesquicentennial in 2021. According to the church’s website: “The name ‘Fourth’ was selected not because it was the fourth Presbyterian church to be founded in Chicago, but because Fourth was the lowest number then not in use.”

Fourth Church refurbished the North Church building at the southeast corner of Wabash and Grand Avenues and dedicated it on October 8, 1871. Within a day, the church burned in the Great Fire of Chicago. North Church housed 1865 Pilcher Bros. & Chant Opus 65, which burned with the church.

The congregation built a new stone building at the northwest corner of Rush and Superior Streets and dedicated it in February of 1874. This building housed Johnson & Son Opus 436, a three-manual organ.

The cornerstone of the present building was laid on September 17, 1912. The English and French Gothic edifice was designed by Ralph Adams Cram, while the accompanying buildings were built to the designs of Chicago’s Howard Van Doren Shaw. This part of what is now North Michigan Avenue was then known as Lincoln Parkway.

The building was dedicated in May 1914. In the ensuing years, the sanctuary was adorned with stained glass windows by Charles J. Connick. At its dedication, it also featured a new, four-manual organ built by the Ernest M. Skinner Company, Opus 210. In the church archives, there is a letter from Ernest M. Skinner to Mrs. Emmons Blaine, 101 Erie Street, Chicago, dated February 13, 1913. Mrs. Blaine was the donor of the organ. Apparently, Skinner had come to the church during its construction, met with Mrs. Blaine, took measurements, and drew a preliminary specification for an organ while at her house. There must have been disappointment with what was perceived to be the size of the organ that could fit into the small main chamber. In the end, the chamber’s exceptionally large height allowed Skinner to stack the organ, providing a much larger instrument to be built. Skinner probably overdid it in this letter by stating:

When I say I am pleased with the result, I mean that the tone will have a perfect outlet, that the organ is not crowded in any way, that it is roomy and convenient of access for the tuners, and that it is a very large complete instrument, second to none in this country; that while there are several stops appearing in the Cathedral organ in New York that I did not put here, I did get in one or two stops that are not in the Cathedral organ, because they were not in existence when that was built. I have invented a new stop through my study over this case.

I wanted to put in a Flute Celeste of which I am very fond. It takes up considerable room, and I set about finding a way to take less. I wanted to make the stop softer than usual, so I had some pipes made to small scale from the model of my Erzahler. The result is a most beautiful combination. I think the most beautiful soft effect I have heard.

It is easy to make a soft tone. It is not easy to make a soft tone and fill it with significance. The sheer beauty of this stop gives me a very great asset and adds another to my list of original stops. I call it “Kleine Erzahler,” which means “little story tellers.” Erzahler means story-teller, it is a german [sic] word and is a stop I designed seven or eight years ago. The stop is so talkative, I have always said it named itself. This new one is a smaller scale of the same family and it takes two pipes to each note, and so becomes plural. They speak with a vibration, as a Violin. I feel very happy over it . . . .

I say without reservation, I am better pleased with this specifications [sic] than any other I have drawn. It is a fine church organ and besides has a wealth of orchestral color and it does not contain a stop of doubtful value. I have always hoped I should land in Chicago with a big one.

While Palmer Christian may have given Ernest Skinner his first organ in Chicago, and even a four-manual organ, it was Mrs. Blane who gave Skinner his first four-manual organ in Chicago that would definitively sow the seeds for more large contracts.

The first mention of Opus 210 in The Diapason occurred in the February 1, 1913, issue on the front page:

Ernest M. Skinner has been commissioned by the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago to build for it a four-manual organ which will be one of the largest and most noteworthy instruments in the country. The organ is to be installed in the new edifice under construction by that church on the north side of the city. This will be probably the largest Presbyterian church in Chicago and the music here, which has always been of the best, is to continue so when the new building is occupied . . . . Expense is not to be spared, and Mr. Skinner is to incorporate every feature that could be of advantage when the size of the building is considered . . . . Mr. Skinner closed the deal when in Chicago about the middle of January. There was no competition for the contract.

The article also mentioned J. Lawrence Erb had been hired as the new organist for the church. The May issue provided the organ’s specification.

The June 1, 1914, issue of The Diapason noted the organ was played at the opening of the church on May 10, and that afternoon a recital was given by Eric DeLamarter, who by then had become the church’s new organist. The article noted the work on the organ had yet to be finished, and Mr. Skinner had made several visits to Chicago during installation. Voicing was done at night, “when the noises of the city were nearly enough stilled to permit them to get in their artistic touches.” Walter Binkemeyer and T. Cecil Lewis were assisting with voicing.

In 1946, Aeolian-Skinner would make some tonal revisions to the organ, adding six ranks. This project was paid for again by Mrs. Blaine. In 1971, the organ was rebuilt/replaced by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Co. with its Opus 1516, among the last organs completed by the firm, with four manuals, 125 ranks. Goulding & Wood of Indianapolis, Indiana, renovated the organ in 1994 with slight alterations. In 2015, Quimby Pipe Organs completed for this church its Opus 71, the largest organ in Chicago, with five manuals, 142 ranks.

Hyde Park Baptist Church, Chicago

On May 9, 1874, the First Baptist Church of Hyde Park was founded. Hyde Park was a township annexed by Chicago in 1889. With the opening of the University of Chicago nearby on October 1, 1892, the congregation grew rapidly in membership. One of the congregation’s new members was Dr. William R. Harper, president of the new university. Under Harper’s influence, the church began discussions about a new plant in 1893. A new chapel-sized building was finished on the present property in 1896.

In November 1897, ideas about completion of the main church and the acquisition of a pipe organ took form. In 1901 the congregation received a generous gift in the amount of $15,000 from John D. Rockefeller, Jr., who was instrumental in the building of the nearby University of Chicago. Architect James Gamble was commissioned to design the church of Romanesque influence, seating some six hundred persons. In 1904, the congregation changed its name to Hyde Park Baptist Church. The new church was dedicated on January 7, 1906. The exterior is of red sandstone with limestone trim. Original plans called for construction entirely of stone, but this proved too costly. The interior is constructed of limestone, brick, and dark oak, crowned with massive cross beams. A brochure printed by the church notes that “the peaked ceiling is as high as the center aisle is long (some 76 feet).” A small pipe organ acquired a few years earlier at a cost of $1,000 was moved from the chapel to the new church, but it proved inadequate.

In 1914, a new organ was installed by the Ernest M. Skinner Company. The contract was dated January 31, 1913, at a cost of $8,000.00. By April 30, it was decided by mail to move the Swell 8′ French Horn preparation (knob only) to the Choir. It was stipulated: “Both kinds of Vox Humana pipes to be sent for the church to decide which it wants.”

Construction of the organ commenced in May 1914, and it was dedicated on October 22 of that year. This project corresponded with a general decoration of the church interior, designed by James R. M. Morrison. The three-manual, electro-pneumatic action organ, Opus 211, consisted of thirty-one stops, twenty-one ranks, with a total of 1,281 pipes. The console had a manual compass of 61 notes (C–C) and a pedal compass of 30 notes (C–F). The organ was powered by a 71⁄2-horsepower Spencer Orgoblo turbine. Several years later, a set of chimes was added in memory of T. B. Merrill.

This organ was rebuilt by M. P. Möller of Hagerstown, Maryland, in 1956, and is now a thirty-rank organ. The project retained seven ranks of Skinner pipework as well as most of the chests. A new three-manual, drawknob console with 32-note pedalboard was installed. The existing blower was reused. In 1965, the congregation again changed its name, becoming the Hyde Park Union Church, reflecting its affiliation with both the American Baptist Church and the United Church of Christ.

§

The year 1914 became an important and busy year for Skinner in Chicago. Opus 207 (Kenwood Evangelical) and Opus 210 (Fourth Presbyterian) had their first recitals within a month of each other (April 16 and May 10, respectively), and the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Evanston, organ (Opus 208) was finished the following month (June 1). Dedication for Opus 211 at Hyde Park Baptist was not that far behind (October 22). Once these instruments became known to organists of the region, the Skinner and Aeolian-Skinner firms would proceed to build dozens of additional organs for the area, continuing through to the end of the company’s work.

Kenwood Evangelical Church, Chicago

Specification of 1914 Ernest M. Skinner Organ Company Opus 207

GREAT (Manual II, 6″ wind pressure)

16′ Bourdon 61 pipes

8′ First Diapason (scale 42) 61 pipes

8′ Second Diapason (scale 45) 61 pipes

8′ Philomela 73 pipes

8′ Waldflote 61 pipes

8′ Salicional (fr Sw 8′ Salicional)

8′ Erzahler (“com”) 61 pipes

4′ Octave (fr Sw 4′ Octave)

4′ Flute (“Har #2”) 61 pipes

8′ Posaune (fr Sw 8′ Posaune)

Chimes (fr Echo)

SWELL (Manual III, enclosed, 7-1/2″ wind pressure)

16′ Bourdon (“#2”) 73 pipes

8′ Diapason (scale 44) 73 pipes

8′ Gedackt (“com”) 73 pipes

8′ Salicional (scale 64) 73 pipes

8′ Voix Celestes (scale 64) 73 pipes

8′ Aeoline (scale 60) 73 pipes

8′ Unda Maris (TC, scale 60) 61 pipes

4′ Octave 61 pipes

4′ Flute (“#2”) 61 pipes

2′ Piccolo (“com”) 61 pipes

[III] Mixture (“1 break”) 183 pipes

16′ Contra Posaune (“cc 4-1⁄2”) 73 pipes

8′ Posaune (“cc 4-1⁄2”) 73 pipes

8′ Oboe (“com”) 73 pipes

8′ Vox Humana (“com”) 73 pipes

Tremolo

CHOIR (Manual I, enclosed, 6″ wind pressure)

8′ Diapason (scale 50) 61 pipes

8′ Concert Flute 61 pipes

8′ Dulciana (scale 56) 61 pipes

8′ Dulcet 122 pipes

4′ Flauto Traverso (“#2”) 61 pipes

8′ Clarinet (“com”) 61 pipes

8′ French Horn (“com”) 61 pipes

8′ Orchestral Oboe (“com”) 61 pipes

Tremolo

Celesta

ECHO (Manual IV, enclosed, 5″ wind pressure)

8′ Rohrflöte 73 pipes

8′ Quintadena 61 pipes

8′ Unda Maris (2nd rank TC) 110 pipes

4′ Flute 61 pipes

8′ Vox Humana 61 pipes

Tremolo

Cathedral Chimes 25 tubes

PEDAL

16′ Diapason (ext Gt 8′ Philomela)

16′ First Bourdon (Gt)

16′ Second Bourdon (Sw)

16′ Echo Bourdon (ext Echo 8′ Rohrfl)

10-2⁄3′ Quinte (fr Gt 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Octave (fr Gt 8′ Philomela)

8′ Gedackt (fr Gt 16′ Bourdon)

16′ Ophicleide (fr Sw 16′ Contra Pos)

COUPLERS

Great to Pedal

Swell to Pedal

Swell to Pedal 4

Choir to Pedal

Choir to Pedal 4

Echo to Pedal

Swell to Great

Choir to Great

Echo to Great

Swell to Choir

Great to Great 4

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 4

Choir to Choir 16

Choir to Choir 4

Swell to Swell 16

Swell to Swell 4

ACCESSORIES

5 Great Pistons (thumb)

5 Swell Pistons (thumb and toe)

5 Choir Pistons (thumb)

3 Echo Pistons (thumb)

5 Pedal Pistons (toe)

Combination Setter (thumb)

Pedal to Great Combination On/Off (thumb)

Pedal to Swell Combination On/Off (thumb)

Pedal to Choir Combination On/Off (thumb)

Pedal to Echo Combination On/Off (thumb)

Great Unison On/Off (thumb, left key cheek)

Swell Unison On/Off (thumb, left key cheek)

Choir Unison On/Off (thumb, left key cheek)

Balanced Swell expression shoe

Balanced Choir expression shoe

Balanced Crescendo shoe

Sforzando Reversible (toe, hitch-down)

First Church of Christ, Scientist, Evanston

Specification of 1914 Ernest M. Skinner Company Opus 208:

GREAT (Manual II)

16′ Bourdon (49 stopped wood, 12 open metal trebles) 61 pipes

8′ Diapason (leathered lips, metal) 68 pipes

8′ Philomela (wood) 80 pipes

8′ Erzähler (metal) 68 pipes

8′ Gedackt (fr Sw 8′ Gedackt)

8′ Dulciana (fr Sw 8′ Aeoline)

4′ Flute (fr Sw 4′ Flute)

8′ Cornopean (fr Sw 8′ Cornopean)

4′ Octave (addition, metal) 61 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Twelfth (addition, metal) 61 pipes

2′ Fifteenth (addition, metal) 61 pipes

SWELL (Manual III, enclosed)

16′ Bourdon (wood) 68 pipes

8′ Diapason (metal) 68 pipes

8′ Gedackt (wood) 68 pipes

8′ Salicional (metal) 68 pipes

8′ Voix Celestes (metal) 68 pipes

8′ Aeoline (metal) 68 pipes

8′ Unda Maris (TC, metal) 56 pipes

4′ Octave (metal) 68 pipes

4′ Flute (metal) 68 pipes

2′ Flautino (metal) 61 pipes

16′ Posaune (metal) 68 pipes

8′ Cornopean (metal) 68 pipes

8′ Flügel Horn (metal) 68 pipes

8′ Vox Humana (metal) 68 pipes

Tremolo

CHOIR (Manual I, enclosed)

8′ Geigen Principal (metal) 61 pipes

8′ Concert Flute (12 stopped wood basses, 25 open wood, 24 open metal trebles) 61 pipes

4′ Flute (metal) 61 pipes

8′ Clarinet (metal) 61 pipes

Tremolo

PEDAL

16′ Diapason (ext Gt 8′ Philomela)

16′ First Bourdon (Gt)

16′ Second Bourdon (Sw)

8′ Octave (fr Gt 8′ Philomela)

8′ Still Gedackt (fr Sw 16′ Bourdon)

16′ Posaune (Sw)

COUPLERS

Great to Pedal

Swell to Pedal

Swell to Pedal 4

Choir to Pedal

Great to Great 4

Swell to Great

Choir to Great

Swell to Choir

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 4

Choir to Great 16

Swell to Swell 16

Swell to Swell 4

ACCESSORIES

4 Great Pistons (thumb)

5 Swell Pistons (thumb)

4 Choir Pistons (thumb)

4 Pedal Pistons (toe)

Great to Pedal Reversible (toe)

Pedals to Great Combinations on/off (thumb)

Pedals to Swell Combinations on/off (thumb)

Pedals to Choir Combinations on/off (thumb)

Combination Setter (thumb)

Balanced Swell Expression Shoe

Balanced Choir Expression Shoe

Balanced Crescendo Shoe

Sforzando Reversible (toe)

Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago

Specification of 1914 Ernest M. Skinner Company Opus 210:

GREAT (Manual II, 6″ wind pressure, 16′ Diapason on 5″)

16′ Diapason 73 pipes

16′ Bourdon 61 pipes

8′ First Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Second Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Third Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Philomela 73 pipes

8′ Waldflöte 61 pipes

8′ Erzähler 61 pipes

4′ Octave 61 pipes

4′ Flute 61 pipes

2′ Fifteenth 61 pipes

16′ Ophicleide (10′′ wind pressure) 97 pipes

8′ Tromba (ext 16′ Ophicleide)

4′ Clarion (ext 16′ Ophicleide)

SWELL (Manual III, 7-1/2″ wind pressure, enclosed)

16′ Bourdon 73 pipes

16′ Dulciana 73 pipes

8′ Diapason 73 pipes

8′ Clarabella 73 pipes

8′ Gedeckt 73 pipes

8′ Spitzflöte 73 pipes

8′ Salicional 73 pipes

8′ Voix Celestes 73 pipes

8′ Aeoline 73 pipes

8′ Unda Maris (TC) 61 pipes

4′ Octave 73 pipes

4′ Flute 73 pipes

2′ Flautino 61 pipes

III Mixture (12-15-17) 183 pipes

16′ Contra Posaune 73 pipes

8′ Cornopean 73 pipes

8′ Oboe 73 pipes

8′ Vox Humana 73 pipes

4′ Clarion 73 pipes

Tremolo

CHOIR (Manual I, enclosed, 6″ wind pressure)

16′ Gamba 73 pipes

8′ Geigen Principal 73 pipes

8′ Concert Flute 73 pipes

8′ Quintadena 73 pipes

8′ Kleine Erzähler (2nd rank TC) 110 pipes

8′ Dulcet II 122 pipes

4′ Flute 73 pipes

2′ Piccolo 61 pipes

16′ English Horn 73 pipes

16′ Fagotto (So) 

8′ Clarinet 73 pipes

8′ Orchestral Oboe (So)

8′ Flügel Horn (So)

Tremolo

Celesta (61 bars)

SOLO (Manual IV, enclosed, 10″ wind pressure)

8′ Philomela (Gt)

8′ Gamba 73 pipes

8′ Gamba Celeste 73 pipes

16′ Fagotto 73 pipes

8′ Tuba Mirabilis (15′′ wind pressure) 73 pipes

8′ French Horn 73 pipes

8′ Flügel Horn 73 pipes

8′ Orchestral Oboe 73 pipes

Tremolo

ECHO (6″ wind pressure, enclosed)

8′ Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Gedeckt 61 pipes

4′ Flute 61 pipes

8′ Vox Humana 61 pipes

Tremolo (by Solo Tremolo knob)

PEDAL (5″ and 6″ wind pressure)

32′ Contra Violone 56 pipes

16′ Diapason (ext Gt 8′ Philomela)

16′ Violone (ext 32′)

16′ First Bourdon (Gt)

16′ Second Bourdon (Sw)

16′ Gamba (Ch)

16′ Dulciana (Sw)

8′ Octave (fr Gt 8′ Philomela)

8′ Gedeckt (fr Gt 16′ First Bourdon)

8′ Still Gedeckt (fr Sw 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Cello (So)

32′ Bombarde (ext Gt 16′ Ophicleide)

16′ Ophicleide (fr Gt 16′ Ophicleide)

16′ Posaune (Sw)

8′ Tromba (fr Gt 16′ Ophicleide)

4′ Tromba (fr Gt 16′ Ophicleide)

COUPLERS

Great to Pedal

Swell to Pedal

Swell to Pedal 4

Choir to Pedal

Choir to Pedal 4

Solo to Pedal

Swell to Great

Choir to Great

Solo to Great

Swell to Choir

Choir Sub

Choir Super 

Swell Sub *

Swell Super *

Solo Sub *

Solo Super *

Echo to Solo

* “transferred to Great with Swell to Great”

ACCESSORIES

3 Full pistons (draw manual and pedal combinations 5, 6, and 7, does not affect couplers)

7 Great pistons (thumb)

7 Swell pistons (thumb and toe)

7 Choir pistons (thumb)

7 Solo and Echo pistons (thumb)

7 Pedal pistons (toe)

Pedal to Swell Combinations on/off

Pedal to Great Combinations on/off (Great and Pedal combinations effect the other)

Pedal to Choir Combinations on/off

Pedal to Solo Combinations on/off

Combination adjuster (thumb)

Great to Pedal reversible (toe)

Balanced Swell expression shoe

Balanced Choir and Solo expression shoe

Balanced Crescendo shoe

Sforzando reversible (toe, hitch-down)

Hyde Park Baptist Church, Chicago

Specification of 1914 Ernest M. Skinner Company Opus 211:

GREAT (Manual II)

16′ Bourdon 61 pipes

8′ Diapason (17 basses in façade) 61 pipes

8′ Philomela 73 pipes

8′ Erzähler 61 pipes

8′ Gedackt (Sw)

8 Dulciana (Sw)

4 Flute (Sw)

8 Cornopean (Sw)

SWELL (Manual III, enclosed)

16′ Bourdon 61 pipes

8′ Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Gedackt 61 pipes

8′ Salicional 61 pipes

8′ Voix Celeste 61 pipes

8′ Dulciana 61 pipes

8′ Unda Maris (TC) 49 pipes

4′ Violin (knob only)

4′ Flute 61 pipes

2′ Piccolo 61 pipes

8′ Cornopean 61 pipes

8′ Flügel Horn 61 pipes

8′ Vox Humana 61 pipes

Tremolo

CHOIR (Manual I, enclosed)

8′ Geigen Principal 61 pipes

8′ Concert Flute 61 pipes

4′ Flauto Traverso 61 pipes

8′ Clarinet 61 pipes

8′ Orchestral Oboe 61 pipes

8′ French Horn (“knob only”)

Tremolo

PEDAL

16′ Diapason (ext Gt 8′ Philomela)

16′ First Bourdon (Gt)

16′ Second Bourdon (Sw)

8′ Octave (fr Gt 8′ Philomela)

8′ Gedackt (fr Gt 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Still Gedackt (fr Sw 16′ Bourdon)

COUPLERS

Great to Pedal

Swell to Pedal

Choir to Pedal

Swell to Great

Choir to Great

Swell to Choir

Great 4

Choir to Great 16

Choir to Great 4

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 4

Choir 4

Choir 16

Swell 4

Swell 16

ACCESSORIES

3 General Pistons (toe)

5 Great Pistons and Cancel (thumb)

5 Swell Pistons and Cancel (thumb)

5 Choir Pistons and Cancel (thumb)

5 Pedal Pistons (thumb)

Pedal to Great Combinations on/off (thumb)

Pedal to Swell Combinations on/off (thumb)

Pedal to Choir Combinations on/off (thumb)

Great to Pedal Reversible (thumb and toe)

Swell to Pedal Reversible (toe)

Choir to Pedal Reversible (toe)

Balanced Swell Expression Shoe

Balanced Choir Expression Shoe

Balanced Crescendo Shoe (with indicator)

Sforzando Reversible (toe)

Part 6: Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church

Stephen Schnurr, a resident of Gary, Indiana, is editorial director and publisher of The Diapason, director of music for Saint Paul Catholic Church, Valparaiso, Indiana, and adjunct instructor of organ for Valparaiso University. His most recent book, Organs of Oberlin, was published in 2013 by Chauncey Park Press. He has authored several other books and numerous journal articles, principally on pipe organ history in the Great Lakes region.

Part 6: Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church

This article is a continuation of a series in the August 2015, June 2016, July 2017, February 2018, and June 2018 issues of The Diapason. The information was delivered as a lecture for the Midwinter Pipe Organ Conclave on January 19, 2015, in La Grange, Illinois. The research for this project provides a history of a number of pipe organs in the village, but not all. For instance, organs in residences and theaters are not surveyed.

The mother church of Catholic parishes in La Grange, Saint Francis Xavier, was founded in 1890. The first Mass was said on All Saints’ Day, November 1. Franklin Dwight Cossitt, the real estate developer who founded La Grange, donated property for the new congregation. A frame Gothic church, designed by Chicago architect Alphonse Druiding, was built at a cost of $10,000. The church was dedicated on September 5, 1892.

The cornerstone of the present church was laid on June 1, 1930. Dedication of this edifice in the Italian Renaissance style of Bedford stone and designed by Joe W. McCarthy of Chicago occurred on June 14, 1931. Italian marble was used for the altars, pulpit, altar railing, and sanctuary flooring. The mosaic Stations of the Cross were crafted in Venice. The cost of the building was $400,000, and a considerable debt was carried by the congregation. In 1936, the debt still stood at $350,000, finally paid in 1946.

Geo. Kilgen & Son of Saint Louis, Missouri, supplied its Opus 4524 for the new church, a three-manual, fifteen-rank, electro-pneumatic-action organ installed in chambers above the loft at the rear of the nave. The stop-tongue console was situated in the center of the gallery.

1930 Geo. Kilgen & Sons Opus 4524

GREAT (Manual II, enclosed with Choir)

16′ Contra Gamba 73 pipes

8′ Open Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Melodia 97 pipes

8′ Doppel Flute 73 pipes

8′ Gamba (ext 16′ Contra Gamba)

8′ Dulciana 85 pipes

4′ Octave 61 pipes

4′ Flute (ext 8′ Melodia)

8′ Tuba Harmonic 61 pipes

Chimes

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

SWELL (Manual III, enclosed)

16′ Bourdon 97 pipes

8′ Violin Diapason 73 pipes

8′ Stopped Diapason (ext 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Quintadena (synthetic, 16′ Bourdon at 8′ and 2-2⁄3′ pitches)

8′ Salicional 85 pipes

8′ Voix Celeste 73 pipes

4′ Flute d’Amour (ext 16′ Bourdon)

4′ Salicet (ext 8′ Salicional)

2′ Flautino (ext 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Cornopean 73 pipes

8′ Vox Humana 73 pipes

Tremolo

Harp (prepared)

Swell to Swell 16

Swell Unison Off

Swell to Swell 4

CHOIR (Manual I, enclosed with Great)

16′ Dulciana (ext Gt 8′ Dulciana)

8′ Violoncello (fr Gt 8′ Gamba)

8′ Melodia (fr Gt 8′ Melodia)

8′ Dolce (fr Gt 8′ Dulciana)

4′ Flute (fr Gt 8′ Melodia)

4′ Dulcet (ext Gt 8′ Dulciana)

2′ Piccolo (ext Gt 8′ Melodia)

8′ Clarinet (61 pipes)

8′ Orchestral Oboe (synthetic)

Tremolo

Choir to Choir 16 

Choir Unison Off

Choir to Choir 4

Swell to Choir 8

PEDAL

32′ Resultant (16′ Subbass with 16′ Bourdon at 10-2⁄3′ pitch)

16′ Subbass 32 pipes

16′ Bourdon (ext Gt 8′ Doppel Flute)

16′ Lieblich Gedeckt (fr Sw 16′ Bdn)

8′ Cello (fr Gt 8′ Gamba)

8′ Flauto Dolce (fr Sw 16′ Bourdon)

Great to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 8

Choir to Pedal 8

ACCESSORIES

4 General pistons (thumb, above Manual III)

4 Great and Pedal pistons (thumb)

4 Swell and Pedal pistons (thumb)

4 Choir and Pedal pistons (thumb)

Great to Pedal reversible (toe)

Balanced Swell expression shoe

Balanced Great and Choir expression shoe

Balanced Crescendo shoe (indicator light)

Sforzando reversible (toe, indicator light)

Wind and Current indicator light

This instrument was replaced in 2003 by a new organ from the Berghaus Organ Company of Bellwood, Illinois.  The two-manual instrument is housed in a free-standing case in the gallery. Key action is electric-slider; stop action is electro-pneumatic. Manual key coverings are bone for naturals, ebony for sharps; pedal coverings are maple for naturals, rosewood for sharps.

2003 Berghaus Organ Company Opus 215

GREAT (Manual I)

16′ Bourdon (61 pipes) 61 pipes

8′ Principal (façade, 75% tin) 61 pipes

8′ Gamba 61 pipes

8′ Rohrflöte 61 pipes

4′ Octave 61 pipes

4′ Koppelflöte 61 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Quinte 61 pipes

2′ Octave 61 pipes

1-3⁄5′ Tierce 61 pipes

IV Mixture (draws 2′ Octave) 183 pipes

8′ Trompette 61 pipes

16′ Trompette Royale (TC, prepared)

8′ Trompette Royale (fr 16′ Trompette)

Tremulant

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 8

Swell to Great 4

Chimes (Deagan, Class M) 21 tubes

Zimbelstern

MIDI

SWELL (Manual II, enclosed)

8′ Metal Gedackt 61 pipes

8′ Salicional 61 pipes

8′ Voix Céleste (TC) 49 pipes

4′ Principal 61 pipes

4′ Waldflöte 61 pipes

2′ Hohlflöte 61 pipes

1-1⁄3′ Larigot 61 pipes

IV Scharff 244 pipes

16′ Dulzian 61 pipes

8′ Hautbois 61 pipes

16′ Trompette Royale (fr Gt 16′ Tromp)

8′ Trompette Royale (fr Gt 16′ Tromp)

Tremulant

Swell to Swell 16

Swell Unison Off

Swell to Swell 4

MIDI

PEDAL

16′ Principal 32 pipes

16′ Subbass 32 pipes

8′ Octave (in façade, 75% tin) 32 pipes

8′ Gemshorn 32 pipes

4′ Octave 32 pipes

III Rauschpfeife (added 2019) 96 pipes

16′ Bombarde 32 pipes

4′ Clarion (added 2019) 32 pipes

8′ Trompette Royale (fr Gt 16′ Tromp)

4′ Trompette Royale (fr Gt 16′ Tromp)

Great to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 4

MIDI

ACCESSORIES

8 General pistons (thumb and toe)

6 Great pistons (thumb)

6 Swell pistons (thumb)

6 Pedal pistons (toe)

General Cancel (thumb)

Combination Set (thumb)

Great to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe)

Swell to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe)

Swell to Great reversible (thumb)

Zimbelstern reversible (thumb and toe)

8′ Trompette Royale (Gt) reversible (thumb)

Balanced Swell expression shoe

Balanced Trompette Royale expression shoe

Balanced Crescendo shoe (indicator light)

Tutti reversible (thumb and toe, indicator light)

Wind indicator light

Photo caption: 2003 Berghaus Organ Company Opus 215

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

This article is a continuation of a series in the August 2015, June 2016, July 2017, February 2018, June 2018, and March 2021 issues of The Diapason. The information was delivered as a lecture for the Midwinter Pipe Organ Conclave on January 19, 2015, in La Grange, Illinois. The research for this project provides a history of a number of pipe organs in the village, but not all. For instance, organs in residences and theaters are not surveyed.

First Presbyterian Church was organized on May 13, 1890. The charter from the Presbytery of Chicago was accepted on October 27 of that year. The following year, property was purchased for construction of a church. The first church of local stone was dedicated on March 4, 1892. An estimated 500 persons crowded into the church seating 200. The building cost $5,336.

In 1907, the present property was purchased for $2,530. Construction for the first church at this location commenced in 1911, and the building was dedicated on March 3 of the following year. The design by architect Frank Jobson was patterned on a thirteenth-century church in Llambadarn, Wales, with a square tower and short spire. A picture of the model church was provided from the home of the church organist, J. Harry Jones.

The present church, built on the foundation of the earlier church, was dedicated on December 2, 1962, at a cost of $700,000. Charles Stade, well-known architect from Park Ridge, Illinois, drew the plans.

The first pipe organ for this congregation was built by W. W. Kimball of Chicago, an instrument of two manuals, seven ranks, and tubular-pneumatic action. The church is listed in both 1904 and 1913 catalogues of the builder. Further details on this organ are not available, but it was no doubt a standard Kimball “Portable” or “Boxcar” organ.

This instrument was taken in trade for Estey Opus 2798, a three-manual, 1929 rebuild of 1924 Estey Opus 2151, a two-manual instrument with player, originally placed in the Lyon & Healy studio of Chicago. In 1929, six ranks of pipes were added to the original thirteen, and a new three-manual “Master Keydesk” console provided. The organ was sold off the floor of the Chicago studio to the church, and the Kimball was resold to the Halleman Funeral Home, Chicago, for $1,150, less $400 for an Estey Style E two-manual reed organ.

The price for the organ to the La Grange church was $9,500, less $750 in trade for the Kimball.  (Estey also proposed a brand new, three-manual organ, with five fewer ranks, for the same price.) Approval for purchase of the studio organ came from the church in April 1931. The instrument was placed in chambers at either side of the chancel, with a decorative, non-speaking pipe façade. The Estey was to be partially playable for a wedding on May 15 and finished by May 29. A commission of $250 was paid to Claude D. Pierce of La Grange.

1929 Estey Organ Company Opus 2798

GREAT (Manual II)

8′ Open Diapason (scale 43) 73 pipes

8′ Melodia 73 pipes

8′ Dulciana (scale 58) 73 pipes

4′ Octave (ext 8′ Open Diapason)

4′ Flute (ext 8′ Melodia)

2′ Fifteenth (fr 8′ Dulciana)

8′ Trumpet (by Gottfried) 73 pipes

Harp* 49 bars

SWELL (Manual III, Enclosed)

16′ Bourdon 97 pipes

8′ Open Diapason (Gt)

8′ Stopped Diapason (ext, 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Melodia (Gt)

8′ Viol Celeste (TC)* 49 pipes

8′ Salicional 73 pipes

8′ Dulciana (Gt)

8′ Aeoline* 61 pipes

4′ Flute (fr Gt 8′ Melodia)

4′ Flute d’Amour (ext 16′ Bourdon)

4′ Salicet (ext 8′ Salicional)

2-2⁄3′ Twelfth (fr Gt 8′ Dulciana)

2′ Piccolo (fr Gt 8′ Melodia)

III Dulciana Mixture (fr Gt 8′ Dulciana)

8′ Oboe* 61 pipes

8′ Vox Humana* 61 pipes

Tremolo

Chimes* 20 tubes

CHOIR (Manual I, Enclosed)

8′ Open Diapason (scale 41)* 61 pipes

8′ Clarabella* 61 pipes

8′ Unda Maris (TC)* 49 pipes

8′ Viol d’Orchestre* 61 pipes

8′ Viol d’Amour (scale 56)* 61 pipes

4′ Flauto Traverso* 61 pipes

8′ Saxophone* 61 pipes

8′ Clarinet* 61 pipes

Tremolo

PEDAL

16′ Open Diapason* 30 pipes

16′ Bourdon* 30 pipes

16′ Lieblich Gedeckt* 44 pipes

16′ Bass Viol 30 pipes

8′ Dolce Flute (ext 16′ Lieb)

* retained from Estey Opus 2151.

COUPLERS

Great to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 4

Choir to Pedal 8

Great to Great 16

Gt. Uni. Sep.

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

Choir to Choir 16

Choir Uni. Sep.

Choir to Choir 4

Swell to Choir 16

Swell to Choir 8

Swell to Choir 4

Swell to Swell 16

Sw. Uni. Sep.

Swell to Swell 4

ACCESORIES

6 Universal pistons

6 Great and Pedal pistons

6 Swell pistons

6 Choir pistons

4 Pedal pistons

Great to Pedal reversible

Swell to Pedal reversible

Balanced Expression I

Balanced Expression II

Balanced Crescendo shoe (with indicator)

Sforzando reversible (with indicator)

Edwin Stanley Seder of the First Congregational Church of Oak Park played the dedicatory recital on Monday evening, June 1, 1931. Flora Hardie Burditt, contralto, assisted. There was a capacity crowd. The program:

Sinfonia to the Cantata “We Thank Thee, God,” J. S. Bach

Largo from Concerto in D Minor, J. S. Bach

O How Blessed Are Ye, Johannes Brahms

Pilgrim’s Chorus (Tannhauser), R. Wagner

Mr. Seder

I Will Sing New Songs of Gladness (Biblical Songs), A. Dvorak

The Mighty God Hath Spoken, Lincoln Case

Mrs. Burditt

Suite from Water Music, G. F. Handel

Allegro Vivace; Air; Hornpipe; Allegretto Giocoso; Allegro Maestoso

Mr. Seder

Offertory—Improvisation of a Well-known Hymn Tune

Prayer (Tristan and Isolde), R. Wagner

Mrs. Burditt

Canyon Walls (Mountain Sketches), Joseph W. Clokey

Dripping Spring (Sketches from Nature), Joseph W. Clokey

The Flight of the Bumble-Bee, N. Rimsky-Korsakoff

The Chapel of San Miguel (MS.), E. S. Seder

Carillon-Sortie, Henri Mulet

The church had several years to pay the debt for the organ in notes payable annually with interest. In 1932, a note of $2,000 with interest was due, and the church asked to pay $1,500 with interest, taking a new note for the remaining $500 due on December 1. The situation worsened in 1933 with our nation’s economy, and the congregation asked to pay $750–$1,000 towards its annual note of $2,000. Estey was also having troubles at that time, as the company was petitioned into receivership on February 20. The notes on the organ had been assigned to the First National Bank of Boston.

In October of 1936, the church complained of slow speech from the 1924 section of the organ, caused by rubberized cloth covering pneumatics that did not function properly and would cost approximately $500 to replace with leather. The church and the builder quarreled for a number of months over responsibility for repairs. Agreement for repair was finally reached on July 29, 1938. The church was closed for the month of August, and the work was to be completed by September 15.

In 1960, a contract was signed with the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company of Boston, Massachusetts, for a three-manual, forty-rank gallery instrument (plus preparations for four additional stops), retaining some of the Estey organ in the chancel, which was installed in 1962, Opus 1390. The tonal director was Joseph Whiteford. The organ was designed by Thomas V. Potter, Aeolian-Skinner representative in Chicago, John J. Tyrell of Aeolian-Skinner, James A. Thomas, First Church minister of music, and James C. Andrews, also of the church.

The Estey organ was rebuilt under the direction of Andrews. Installation of the new organ was by Harold C. Lucas, representative for Aeolian-Skinner. Tonal finishing was by Lawrence L. Schoenstein of San Francisco, California. Correspondence on the organ, dated November 2, 1962, indicates that tonal finishing was delayed somewhat due to incompletion of the church, specifically, the installation of stained-glass windows. The organ was dedicated with the church on December 2, 1962, and named the Elsie Springer Hall Memorial Organ.

1962 Aeolian-Skinner Opus 1390

GREAT (Manual II, 3-1/4″ wind pressure)

16′ Quintatön (metal) 61 pipes

8′ Principal (metal) 61 pipes

8′ Bourdon (metal) 61 pipes

8′ Erzähler (prepared, blank knob)

4′ Octave (metal) 61 pipes

4′ Waldflöte (metal) 61 pipes

2′ Fifteenth (metal) 61 pipes

III–V Fourniture (C1–B1,III, C2–B2, IV, C3–C6, V, metal) 269 pipes

Chimes (in Swell, Deagan, five volume settings) 25 tubes

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 8

Swell to Great 4

Positiv to Great 16

Positiv to Great 8

Chancel to Great 8

Chancel to Great 4

SWELL (Manual III, Enclosed, 4″ wind pressure)

16′ Rohrbordun (metal) 80 pipes

8′ Viola (metal) 68 pipes

8′ Viola Celeste (metal) 68 pipes

8′ Rohrflöte (ext 16′)

8′ Flute Celeste II (metal, second rank TC) 124 pipes

4′ Spitz Principal (metal) 68 pipes

4′ Zauberflöte (prepared, blank knob)

2-2⁄3′ Nazard (metal) 61 pipes

2′ Blockflöte (metal) 61 pipes

IV Plein Jeu (metal) 244 pipes

16′ Fagotto (half-length, metal) 68 pipes

8′ Trompette (“#3 French,” metal) 68 pipes

4′ Rohrschalmei (“common,” metal) 68 pipes

Tremulant

Swell to Swell 16

Swell Unison Off

Swell to Swell 4

POSITIV (2″ wind pressure)

8′ Nasonflöte (wood) 61 pipes

8′ Flute Celeste (Sw)

4′ Koppelflöte (metal) 61 pipes

4′ Flute Celeste (Sw 8′)

2′ Prinzipal (metal) 61 pipes

1-3⁄5′ Terz (metal) 61 pipes

1-1⁄3′ Quinte (metal) 61 pipes

1′ Spillflöte (metal) 61 pipes

II Zimbel (metal) 122 pipes

8′ Krummhorn (prepared, blank knob)

Tremulant

Positiv to Positiv 16

Swell to Positiv 16

Swell to Positiv 8

Swell to Positiv 4

PEDAL (3-1/4″ wind pressure)

16′ Contra Basse (metal) 32 pipes

16′ Quintatön (Gt)

16′ Rohrbordun (Sw)

8′ Spitz Principal (metal) 44 pipes

8′ Quintatön (Gt 16′)

8′ Rohrflöte (Sw 16′)

4′ Choralbass (ext 8′ Spitz Principal)

4′ Rohrflöte (Sw 16′)

III Rauschquinte (metal) 96 pipes

16′ Bombarde (41⁄2″ scale, “French,” metal) 32 pipes

16′ Fagotto (Sw)

8′ Fagotto (Sw 16′)

4′ Fagotto (Sw 16′)

1 blank knob

Great to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 4

Positiv to Pedal 8

CHANCEL

8′ Gedeckt (Estey 8′ Melodia)

8′ Gemshorn (Estey 8′ Dulciana, new pipes above tenor C)

8′ Gemshorn Celeste (prepared, TC)

4′ Montre (newer pipes)

2′ Principal (newer pipes)

III–IV Plein Jeu (prepared, to be 232 pipes)

8′ Festival Trumpet (newer pipes, “separate high pressure chest”)

1 blank knob

Chancel to Chancel 4

CHANCEL PEDAL

16′ Gedeckt (ext Chancel 8′ Gedeckt)

8′ Montre (ext Chancel 4′ Montre)

4′ Choralbass (fr Chancel 4′ Montre)

Chancel to Pedal 8

ACCESSORIES

6 General pistons (thumb and toe)

6 Great pistons (thumb)

6 Swell pistons (thumb)

6 Positiv pistons (thumb)

4 Chancel pistons (thumb)

6 Pedal pistons (toe)

General Cancel (thumb)

Setter button (thumb)

Pedal to Manual Comb. (Great, on/off, thumb)

Pedal to Manual Comb. (Swell, on/off, thumb)

Pedal to Manual Comb. (Positiv, on/off,  thumb)

Great to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe)

Swell to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe)

Positiv to Pedal reversible (thumb)

Swell to Great reversible (thumb)

Swell to Positiv reversible (thumb)

Great Cancel (thumb, under Swell manual, and above Great stops)

Swell Cancel (thumb, under Swell manual, and above Swell stops)

Positiv Cancel (thumb, under Swell manual, and above Positiv stops)

Chancel Cancel (thumb, under Swell manual, and above Chancel stops)

Pedal Cancel (thumb, under Swell manual, and above Pedal stops)

Positiv/Chancel/Both/Release (buttons on right key cheek of Manual I)

Chancel on/off (buttons on right key cheek of Manual II)

Balanced Swell expression shoe

Balanced Chancel expression shoe

Balanced Crescendo shoe (with five green indicator lights)

Full Organ reversible (thumb and toe, with red indicator light)

Narthex signal button and light

Sacristy signal button and light

Choir Room signal button and light

Electric clock

The first recital was played by James A. Thomas, director of music, on January 13, 1963. The “official” dedicatory recital was played by Leonard Raver on March 17, 1963, playing a program of works by Buxtehude, Bruhns, Couperin, Stanley, Binkerd, Bingham, Alain, along with the Chicago-area premiere of Persichetti’s Sonata for Organ. The low-profile console stands three and three-quarters feet high, with all couplers located in the stop jambs. The instrument was featured on the cover page of the January 1963 issue of The Diapason.

Alec Wyton, Wilma Jensen, and Virgil Fox also concertized on this organ in its early years, performing to large audiences. The chancel organ has since been altered, was water-damaged in the late 1970s, fell silent, and has been removed.

The chancel also houses Brunzema Opus 3, a one-manual, four-rank mechanical-action portative organ, built in 1981. It represents the first of the firm’s Kistenorgel series. Brunzema pamphlets described the organ as follows:

The name of the Kisten Orgel comes from the Germanic word Kiste which literally means a wooden box or crate. The organ pipes are contained in a box and are protected when in use and also during transportation. This means that the instrument may not be too large or too heavy. Two persons should be able to carry the parts. It should not be necessary to hire a moving company for transportation. We have achieved this goal by building the organ in two parts: the upper section contains the windchest with the pipes, the lower section houses only the bellows and the electric blower. The critical dimension for ease of transportation is the depth of the larger part. Our instrument is only 48.5 cm (19-1/8 inches) and therefore fits through any door, and can even be moved around narrow corners and hallways.

Open metal pipes are cone-tuned, metal stopped pipes have soldered-on caps, for tuning stability. Key action is suspended mechanical. Pitch is A = 440 Hz. The organ has carved wood pipeshades on three sides for excellent tonal egress.

1981 Brunzema Opus 3

MANUAL

8′ Gedackt (oak and walnut, stopped) 50 pipes

4′ Flöte (oak and walnut, stopped) 50 pipes

2′ Prinzipal (12 basses stopped, 70% tin) 50 pipes

1-1⁄3′ Quinte (12 basses at 2⁄3′ pitch, 70% tin) 50 pipes

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

Editor’s note: much of the information in this article was delivered as a lecture for the Ernest M. Skinner Sesquicentennial Conference on April 25, 2016, in Evanston, Illinois. The conference was sponsored by the Chicago, North Shore, and Fox Valley Chapters of the American Guild of Organists, the Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the Organ Historical Society, the Music Institute of Chicago, and The Diapason.

The first part of this series appeared in The Diapason, April 2021, pages 14–20. The article focused on the first contracts of the Skinner firm in the Chicago area.

Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church of Evanston, Illinois, was founded in July 1885 as a mission of Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, also of Evanston. The new congregation’s first services were conducted in Ducat’s Hall. Within a month, a store was rented on Chicago Avenue for services.

In October 1886, ground was broken for the congregation’s first church building of frame construction at the northeast corner of Lincoln Avenue (later Main Street) and Sherman Avenue. The building was occupied for services in May of the following year. The church was consecrated on November 10, 1889, and it would be expanded twice. Saint Luke’s was given parish status on January 1, 1891.¹

This building was served by a small organ by an unknown builder. In February 1894, the church purchased Hook & Hastings Opus 1605, a two-manual, twelve-stop instrument (twenty-one registers), at a cost of $1,840.

The parish began construction for the present building in 1906 with an estimated cost of $125,000. Considered by many to be the best design of the oeuvre of architect John Sutcliffe (1853–1913), the edifice was erected in several stages and was apparently modeled on Tintern Abbey in Wales. Sutcliffe, a native of England, was active in Chicago from 1892 until his death in 1913. Among his other commissions was Grace Episcopal Church of Oak Park, Illinois.

In the first stage of the new construction, the walls of the church were built to a height of ten feet, accomplished in 1907. In 1910, the Lady Chapel was completed. Four years later, the nave of the main church was completed to a height of seventy feet. The interior decoration of the nave was never completed. The fifteen-foot-high hanging rood was carved by Johannes Kirchmayer, a native of Oberammergau, Germany, who worked in Boston, Massachusetts. Saint Luke’s Church was used as the pro-cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago from 1932 until 1941. The Bishop of Chicago at that time was the Right Reverend George Craig Stewart, who had previously served as rector of Saint Luke’s.

When the first portion of the church was finished in 1907, Saint Luke’s purchased an organ from Coburn & Taylor of Chicago, an instrument that is known to have utilized the case and façade pipes of the Hook & Hastings organ (and perhaps, if not likely, more). The two-manual instrument had fourteen stops. It cost $2,600, less $1,800 for the Hook & Hastings. The Coburn & Taylor was installed temporarily behind the pulpit on the chancel floor, now a part of the south ambulatory. It was used until 1922, and its fate is unknown.

For the Lady Chapel, Casavant Frères of Canada installed its Opus 386, a two-manual, twelve-stop, tubular-pneumatic-action organ, finished in 1910.²

1910 Casavant Frères Opus 386

GREAT (Manual I)

8′ Open Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Melodia 61 pipes

8′ Dulciana 61 pipes

SWELL (Manual II, enclosed)

16′ Bourdon 61 pipes

8′ Stopped Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Salicional 61 pipes

8′ Voix Celeste 61 pipes

8′ Aeoline 61 pipes

4′ Dolce Flute 61 pipes

8′ Oboe 61 pipes

Tremulant

PEDAL

16′ Gedeckt

16′ Bourdon (Sw)

Couplers

Great to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 8

Great to Great 4

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 8

Swell to Great 4

Swell to Swell 16

Swell to Swell 4

Accessories

2 Great pistons

3 Swell pistons

Great to Pedal reversible

Balanced Swell expression shoe

Balanced Crescendo shoe

The need for a pipe organ worthy of the new church edifice

When the nave of the church was completed to its intended height, the Coburn & Taylor organ was found to be inadequate for the much larger space. In early 1920, Herbert Hyde was appointed organist and choirmaster for Saint Luke’s. Hyde was an accomplished musician who had served Saint John’s, Ascension, and Saint Peter Episcopal parishes in Chicago as well as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and had studied with Clarence Dickinson, Charles-Marie Widor, and Joseph Bonnet. Plans and fundraising were commenced practically immediately by the rector, Father Stewart, and Hyde for a substantial new instrument. Fortunately, the church’s archives contain a fountain of interesting letters and documents related to this process.

Negotiations for the organ quickly focused on the Skinner Organ Company of Boston, Massachusetts. Surviving correspondence in the church archives between the church and the organbuilder are primarily between Hyde and William Zeuch, Skinner vice-president. Zeuch had until recently lived in Chicago (his family was still there) and was good friends with Hyde. (The Zeuch family residence at 2833 Kenmore Avenue, Chicago, would see Skinner Opus 424 installed in 1923, a two-manual, twenty-two-rank organ that replaced a 1905 Marshall-Bennett organ.) Hyde and Zeuch referred to each other in correspondence as “Bert” and “Bill,” respectively. Despite the lack of letters from Ernest Skinner, one cannot discount his interest in the design and construction of the organ, as it was to be the largest installation by the firm in the Chicago region to that date.

The first surviving letter is from Zeuch to Hyde, May 13, 1920, noting that Hyde had submitted two specifications, one on May 6, the other on May 11. Hyde’s specifications were created with the consultation of his teacher Joseph Bonnet, Eric DeLamarter of Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago (which housed 1914 Skinner Opus 210), and Zeuch. Zeuch felt the second specification was much better, except for:

. . . the lack of a large scale string, such as a Gamba and Gamba Celeste on the Solo Organ. . . . You mention a large scale Viol d’ Orchestre. Could this not serve as one rank of such a string? Permit me to call your attention to the fact that all our Celestes run through to low C (of the manual keyboard) except the Unda Maris and the Flute Celeste. I have a slight personal preference for a Flute Celeste made with a Spitz on the Swell Organ. The scale and voicing of the stops of that name on my organ are of remarkably subtle charm, which I am sure you would be quick to appreciate.

I am with you without reservation on the “no borrowing” idea. I resort to this expedient only on small 2 manual specifications, where it is desirable to have several accompanimental stops on the Great Organ under expression.

For the price tag of $47,950 without casework, this would, Zeuch declared, provide “a perfect specification, and would give you the greatest organ in the country. It is not given to many organists to have an organ built just as they want it, and I congratulate you that you are to have this great fortune.”

Price would be a point of considerable discussion between the church and the builder, as Hyde stated in his letter to Zeuch, December 9, 1920, the church vestry “refuse to have the cost of the organ exceed $49,999.99,” which was a large sum for an organ in that day (nearly $675,000 in today’s currency). In this same letter, Hyde wanted the specification altered to remove the 8′ Dulciana from the Choir at a savings of $580; addition of a Dulcet II in its place at $828; addition of 16′ Violone/8′ Cello in the Pedal at $1,242; addition of Chimes at $993; and duplexing the Harp/Celesta on the Swell for $180; bringing the total cost of the organ to $52,613, without casework. Hyde embarrassingly asks the Skinner firm if they would kindly build the organ for less than $50,000.

A memorandum dated December 30, 1920, indicates that Zeuch had come to the Chicago area in order to meet with key people of Saint Luke’s Church. Between December 9 and the meeting, the Skinner firm offered to build the organ with the changes except the Chimes to be left prepared at the console at a cost of $49,998. The church further convinced Zeuch to allow a 5% discount for cash, amounting to $2,499.90, pending vestry approval.

A contract with the Skinner Organ Company and the church dated January 4, 1921, was signed on January 14 in the amount of $47,500 for a four-manual, 83-stop instrument of 5,343 pipes, Opus 327. (The Chimes were included, a memorial to William N. Cotterell.) Zeuch signed for the builder; Gabriel F. Slaughter, chairman of the music committee, signed for the church. Completion was set for January 10, 1922. The first payment of $10,000 was due on October 1, 1921, with the balance of $37,500 due “on completion and acceptance by a committee of three; one to be appointed by organ builders, one member by the church, these two to select a third member.”

The arrival of the Skinner organ

The blower arrived at the church December 9, 1921, well ahead of the rest of the instrument. It was clear in a letter from Zeuch on December 21, 1921, that the organ was behind schedule:

The organ is in the works and making good progress, tho I am sorry to say it is not yet sufficiently advanced to leave the factory. A few weeks more will suffice for that so that you will soon have tangible evidence of a new organ. Your suggestion to put more men on the work is interesting, if not practical. If you know of any skilled and experienced organ builders that would like a job with us send on as many as you care to. There is plenty of work for them.

As far as being late with our contracts is concerned, we are not the only ones. I don’t know of an organ concern in the country that meets their deliveries as called for. It isn’t possible in the nature of the business. Besides there is another side to the story. Last year we had six organs in storage all completed and ready for installation but held up because the buildings were not ready to receive them. At present moment we have two such cases. If we had the gift of prophecy it would indeed be helpful.

On Christmas Eve, Slaughter wrote to the Skinner firm as to when to expect the organ to be shipped:

Since it takes several weeks to install the organ, and as you may know the Ecclesiastical kalendar is strictly observed, and Lent arrives on the first of March, you will realize our anxiety lest any continued delay might make it impossible for us to open the new organ with an appropriate series of recitals.

The first railcar of the organ was not shipped until April 7, 1922. (Easter Sunday occurred April 16.) In all, a total of twelve railroad freight cars were dispatched to Evanston’s Main Street station, two blocks from the church. The organ was announced on the front page of The Diapason’s March 1, 1921, issue, along with a specification and a picture of Herbert Hyde.

When the Skinner organ was installed in the nave, the action of the Casavant organ in the Lady Chapel was electrified, and this instrument was made playable from the main organ console as an Echo division. Skinner added an 8′ Vox Humana to the Echo. The Skinner main console of four manuals was movable within a radius of twelve feet, situated in the choir stalls of the chancel. The chapel organ had a new console installed for use in that space. In the main organ chamber, the Choir and Pedal divisions were installed at the bottom, with the Great and Solo above, and the Swell at the top.

Installation of the organ was supervised by William S. Collins. Regulating, tuning, and “delicate voicing” was accomplished by Gust Bergkvist. Simplified casework was installed, with the more complex casework designed by the architect Thomas Tallmadge of Chicago’s Tallmadge & Watson created later. As eventually completed, the main façade facing the chancel includes some eighty-six speaking pipes from the Great and Pedal diapasons. A smaller façade in the south aisle is composed of non-speaking pipes.

The instrument was dedicated on Sunday, October 15, 1922, in a service presided over by the Right Reverend Sheldon Munson Griswold, Suffragan Bishop of Chicago, with Hyde at the console. The choir sang Hyde’s composition for the occasion, “O Praise the Lord of Heaven.” In the afternoon, assistant organist Mack Evans gave a brief program. That evening, Hyde presented a recital to the public, which was a capacity crowd.

Mr. Evans’s program was as follows:

Grand Choeur, Guilmant

Prayer and Cradle Song, Guilmant

Prelude and Fugue in D Minor, Bach

Variations on “Saviour, Breathe” and “Evening Blessings,” Thompson

Processional March, Rogers

Mr. Hyde’s program was as follows:

Caprice Heroique [sic], Bonnet

Reverie, Bonnet

Romance sans Paroles, Bonnet

Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, Bach

The Guardian Angel, Pierne [sic]

Slumber Song, Seely

Menuet à l’Antico, Seeboeck-Hyde

To a Wild Rose, MacDowell

Chromatic Fantasie, Thiele

Vision, Rheinberger

Cradle Song, Grieg

Le Bonheur, Hyde

This was the first day in a series of four that included programs that more than filled the church. The Diapason of November 1, 1922, stated:

The new Skinner organ in Saint Luke’s Church at Evanston, rated as the largest organ in any church in Chicago or vicinity, was inducted into service in a manner befitting the size and quality of the instrument . . . . None of the recitals was attended by fewer than 1,000 people and the night of the services under the auspices of the Illinois chapter, A. G. O., hundreds stood in the aisles throughout the performance.

The front-page article included a picture of the console.³

The six other recitalists heard in this series were Eric DeLamarter of Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago; Palmer Christian, then of Northwestern University and Fourth Presbyterian Church, formerly of Kenwood Evangelical Church, Chicago, and shortly thereafter at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Tina Mae Haines of Saint James Methodist Episcopal Church, Chicago; Stanley Martin of Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church, Evanston; William Lester of First Baptist Church, Evanston; and Mrs. Wilhelm Middelschulte of First Presbyterian Church, Evanston.

Monday, October 16, was “Evanston Organists” recital night, with appearances by Martin, Middelschulte, and Lester. Peter C. Lutkin of Northwestern University, Evanston, delivered an address, “The Education of the Soul,” as noted in The Diapason, “in which he dwelt on the need of cultivating the soul through music and art as being as essential to humanity as the training of the mind.”

Mr. Martin’s program:

Suite in F, Corelli-Noble

Contrasts, J. Lewis Browne

Scherzo, Fifth Sonata, Guilmant

Mrs. Middelschulte’s program:

Prelude and Nocturne, Bairstow

Toccata, Grison

Mr. Lester’s program:

Invocation (dedicated to Herbert Hyde), Lester

In Indian Summer, Lester

Venetian Idyl, Andrews

Andante con moto, Bridge

Heroic Overture, Ware

Tuesday, October 17, featured a “Recital by Chicago Organists Under the Auspices of the Illinois Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.” DeLamarter, Haines, and Christian were the featured performers.

Mr. DeLamarter’s program:

Chant de Printemps, Bonnet

Intermezzo, DeLamarter

Legende, Zimmerman

Finale, Sixth Symphony, Widor

Miss Haines’s offerings:

Matin Provencale [sic], Bonnet

Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy (Nut-Cracker Suite), Tschaikowsky [sic]

Meditation at Ste. Clotilde, James

Fantasie on Spanish Themes, Gigout

Mr. Christian’s appearance included:

Dreams, Strauss

Rhapsodie, Rossetter G. Cole

A Cloister Scene, Mason

Scherzo Caprice, Ward

The series closed on Wednesday evening, October 18, Saint Luke’s Day, with a program by Hyde, assisted by the church choir:

Sonata 1, Borowski

Meditation, Klein

Bourée, Bach

Suite Gothique, Boëllmann

O Praise the Lord of Heaven, Hyde (with the choir)

Berceuse, Dickinson

Caprice (manuscript), Seely

Toccata, Fifth Symphony, Widor

For many years, the organ was the venue of many important recital events. It was featured during the 1925 national convention of the American Guild of Organists and the 1933 national convention of the National Association of Organists. It was also a demonstration instrument for the builder, especially as Hyde became the western representative for Skinner.

Mr. Skinner exhibited great pride in the instrument over decades. In The Composition of the Organ, co-authored with his son Richmond H. Skinner, he wrote of Opus 327:

The Diapasons of the Great division of the organ in St. Luke’s Church, Evanston, Illinois, are most satisfactory to me and are of ideal Diapason character. There are three of eight foot pitch; First Diapason, scale 41 [sic], second 43 [sic], third 45. Later judgment suggests that the smallest be scale 48.

The church has fine acoustics and, in their locations, these Diapasons have an indescribable glow and richness, making them exceptionally churchly. All have a 1⁄5 mouth, cut up 5⁄12 their width. This is reduced in the trebles. All are tuned with sliding sleeves. The first, and I believe the second, has a thickened upper lip and structurally is of good weight of metal, including 22% tin. They have a pronounced octave harmonic and no flavor of thickness, nor have they any of the string quality characteristic of the German Diapason. The[y] differ again from the English types, which to me suggest the American Melodia, having little foundation and few harmonics and which M. Dupré calls “Gemshorns.”⁴

As the years passed . . .

Dr. Thomas Matthews became organist and choirmaster of Saint Luke’s Church in May 1946. Shortly thereafter, and in cooperation with William H. Barnes, organ consultant and author of the many editions of The Contemporary American Organ, some alterations were made to the Skinner organ. The Solo 8′ Philomela was replaced by an 8′ Doppel Flute from the 1889 Roosevelt organ removed from the Auditorium Theater of Chicago in 1942. Barnes ordered an 8′ Trompette from Gieseke in Germany to replace the Swell 8′ Cornopean. (The Cornopean was placed in safe storage at the church.)⁵

On December 18, 1956, Matthews wrote to Zeuch at the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company about the possibility of addition of a horizontal trumpet to Opus 327. Joseph S. Whiteford, then tonal director for Aeolian-Skinner, replied in acknowledgment on January 3, 1957. On March 15, 1957, Thomas V. Potter, Midwest representative for Aeolian-Skinner, wrote to Matthews proposing a “Fanfare Trumpet” with several options. The preferred option was installation at the rear of the nave, above the entry door and below a window, for $4,000, including a blowing plant. A second option was installation behind the main altar reredos, which would cost $2,250 without a second blower, or $2,500 with blower. Delivery would be within one to two years.

It was agreed to install the trumpet at the rear of the nave, and a contract was sent to the church in the amount of $4,000, for completion by March 1, 1959. A down payment of $400 was due on signing, $1,080 when construction began, $1,080 when the trumpet arrived at the church, and the balance due upon completion. The reed pipes were harmonic from middle C, and the wind pressure was between 7-1⁄2 and 8 inches.

Materials were finished for shipping to Evanston in April 1958, but a strike by truckers stalled shipment until May 19 as noted in the church’s newsletter, The Parish Visitor, June 1958.⁶ The stop was first used on June 15 for the arrival of the Most Reverend Joost de Blank, Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, for his visit to Saint Luke’s Church. Final payment was received by Aeolian-Skinner on July 7 of that year. Saint Luke’s possessed the first Aeolian-Skinner fanfare trumpet in the Midwest, the fourth created by the builder. (Earlier examples were the Cathedral of St. John the Divine and Saint Thomas Church, New York City, and First Presbyterian Church, Kilgore, Texas.)

The trumpet stop was dedicated September 28, 1958, during a Eucharist service that featured a newly composed choir anthem by Thomas Matthews, “The Trumpeters and Singers Were As One.” The trumpet was named in memory of Joseph G. Hubbell. It is played from the Choir manual, its drawknob replacing the original 8′ Harp knob.

In November 1959, The Parish Visitor announced that William H. Barnes of Evanston, “a non-Episcopalian but a great admirer of St. Luke’s organ and music,” donated a new Chorus Mixture in memory of the late Herbert Hyde, who had died August 25, 1954, at the age of 67.⁷ The article stated:

Dr. Barnes is a nationally known organ architect and author of the book, “The Contemporary American Organ.” The new stop was built to his special specifications in Holland at an approximate cost, including installation, of $2,000. . . . Through the years, he has done much to keep our organ in good repair, and several years ago he gave a new Doppel Flute to replace an old one in the organ.

The addition of the new Chorus Mixture stop is the first step in modernizing the main organ. The next step will be the installation of three new sets of French reed pipes in the swell division as soon as the necessary funds become available.

The original Skinner III Mixture on the Great division was disconnected and the stop action reconnected to the new Chorus Mixture. The Skinner mixture pipework was removed, and it eventually disappeared.

The 1910 Casavant Lady Chapel organ was discarded in favor of an M. P. Möller organ of two-manuals, fourteen-ranks, playable from the Skinner console as well as a new two-manual console of tilting-tablet control in the chapel. The contract for Möller Opus 9244 was dated May 16, 1958, with completion set for August 1, 1959, at a cost of $16,950. Henry Beard was the builder’s legendary representative for the Chicago region. Wind pressures were three inches for the Great and Pedal divisions and 3-1⁄2 inches for the Swell. The Casavant organ became the property of Möller, but was apparently discarded. (The Möller organ was sold in 1986 to Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church, Rosemont, Illinois.) Funds for the new chapel organ were given in memory of Gabriel and Jessie Slaughter. Mr. Slaughter had served as chair of the parish music committee when the Skinner organ was procured and was a longtime vestryman.⁸

1959 M. P. MЪller Opus 9244

GREAT (Manual I, unenclosed)

8′ Rohrflöte 73 pipes (scale 54, halve on 20th, 12 zinc basses, remainder spotted metal)*

8′ Gemshorn (Sw)

8′ Unda Maris (Sw)

4′ Principal 73 pipes (scale 60, halve on 18th, spotted metal)*

III Rks. Mixture 183 pipes (“Spec. Formula ‘A’,” halve on 17th, spotted metal)*

SWELL (Manual II, enclosed)

16′ Gedeckt 73 pipes (scale 44, halve on 20th, 24 zinc basses, remainder spotted metal)

8′ Gedeckt (ext 16′)*

8′ Gemshorn 61 pipes (scale 52, 1⁄3 taper, halve on 17th, 12 zinc basses, remainder spotted metal)*

8′ Unda Maris 54 pipes (GG, scale 56, 2⁄3 taper, halve on 17th, 5 zinc basses, remainder spotted metal)*

4′ Nachthorn 61 pipes (scale 60, halve on 20th, spotted metal)*

2′ Prinzipal 61 pipes (scale 72, halve on 18th, spotted metal)*

II Rks. Cymbale 122 pipes (26–29, Spec. Formula “B,” halve on 17th, spotted metal)*

8′ Trompette 61 pipes (2-1⁄4″ scale, halve on 42nd)*

Tremolo

PEDAL

16′ Bourdon 12 pipes (CCC scale 40, CC scale 54, halve on 20th, 12 pipes, ext Gt 8′)*

16′ Gedeckt (Sw)

8′ Geigen 44 pipes (scale 46, halve on 18th, 17 zinc basses, remainder spotted metal)*

8′ Gedeckt (Sw)

4′ Octave (ext 8′)

2′ Gedeckt (Sw)

* stops available at the Skinner console

Couplers

Great to Pedal

Great to Pedal 4

Swell to Pedal

Swell to Pedal 4

Great 4

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great

Swell to Great 4

Swell 16

Swell Unison Off

Swell 4

Accessories

3 General pistons

3 Great and Pedal pistons

3 Swell and Pedal pistons

Great to Pedal reversible

Balanced Swell expression shoe

Balanced Crescendo shoe with indicator light

Great Mixture “Formula ‘A’”

1–30 15 19 22

31–42 12 15 19

43–61 8 12 15

Unison scale 48 at 8′ CC, ¼ mouth

Quint scale 49 at 8′ CC, 2⁄9 mouth

Swell Cymbal “Formula ‘B’”

1–12 26 29

13–24 22 26

25–36 19 22

37–48 15 19

49–61 12 15

Unison scale 50 at 8′ CC, ¼ mouth

Quint scale 51 at 8′ CC, 2⁄9 mouth

Around 1960, in the Choir division of the Skinner organ, the 8′ Melodia was replaced by an 8′ Gedeckt, the 4′ Flute d’Amour replaced by a 4′ Rohr Flute, and the two-rank 8′ Dulcet replaced by a II Cymbal. This work was supplied by the Tellers Organ Company. A Cymbala or cymbelstern of four bells was installed in memory of Eliza C. Akeley. In the 1970s, Frank J. Sauter & Sons of the Chicago region repitched the Choir 8′ Diapason to 4′ and reinstalled the Swell 8′ Cornopean.⁹ At some point, the Swell Mixture was recomposed, and the 2′ stops in the Swell and Choir divisions were swapped. The organ was honored with the Organ Historical Society’s Historic Organ Citation #161.

In 1986 a restoration of the historic building and its nave was carried out. The project included removal of four-inch-thick horsehair and burlap padding from the wooden ceiling, installed in 1914. The result was a remarkable nearly four seconds of reverberation. Around the same time, the church acquired a one-manual, four-stop, portable, mechanical-action pipe organ from Karl Wilhelm.

Bringing the Skinner organ back to its origins

Most of the alterations to the Skinner organ were reversed in a restoration project by the A. Thompson-Allen Company of New Haven, Connecticut, begun in 1994 and completed in 1998. The first phase of the project included removal of the Swell division for restoration, the remainder of the instrument completed in time for Christmas 1998. Several of the ranks that were removed from the organ and stored in the church in previous decades were reinstated in the organ, namely, the three Choir division stops noted above. The Swell and Great mixture stops were recreated with new pipework.¹⁰ All of the original Skinner reed ranks were restored by Broome & Company of East Granby, Connecticut. Thompson-Allen added a General Cancel piston, as the console never had one.

The organ was rededicated on September 12, 1999. A series of recitals occurred in the 1999–2000 year; featured performers included Marilyn Keiser, Gillian Weir, Karel Paukert (a former organist and choirmaster of Saint Luke’s Church), and Richard Webster, organist and choirmaster of Saint Luke’s.

In 2013, the original blower for the organ was replaced. The parish completed a $1.8 million restoration of the church nave in 2016.

In anticipation of the organ’s centennial year and celebrations in 2022, the Thompson-Allen firm returned to Evanston in May and October 2021 for minor repairs. Centennial celebrations began February 25 of this year, with Jackson Borges accompanying the silent film feature of Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr. Friday through Sunday, October 14–16 will see a weekend of events, including a hymn festival with Richard Webster and a newly composed work by Malcolm Archer, both of whom will be present for the festivities.

1922 Skinner Organ Company Opus 327, as restored by A. Thompson-Allen Company¹¹

GREAT (Manual II, 7-1/2″ wind pressure)

16′ Diapason 73 pipes (scale 32, 1–29 zinc, 30–73 common metal)

8′ First Diapason 73 pipes (scale 40, 1–17 zinc, 18–73 linen lead, 1/5 mouth, leathered lips)

8′ Second Diapason 73 pipes (scale 42, 1–17 zinc, 18–73 linen lead, 1⁄5 mouth, leathered lips)

8′ Third Diapason 73 pipes (scale 45, 1–17 zinc, 18–73 spotted metal, 1⁄5 mouth)

8′ Claribel Flute* 73 pipes (1–12 stopped wood, 13–36 open wood, 37–73 open metal)

8′ Erzähler 73 pipes (1–12 zinc, 13–73 spotted metal, 1⁄4 taper)

4′ Octave 61 pipes (scale 58, 1–5 zinc, 6–61 spotted metal, 2⁄9 mouth)

4′ Harmonic Flute* 61 pipes (1–5 zinc, 6–61 common metal, harmonic 25–49)

2-2⁄3′ Twelfth* 61 pipes (scale 69, spotted metal)

2′ Fifteenth* 61 pipes (scale 70, spotted metal)

Chorus Mixture IV 244 pipes (added 1959, revoiced by A. Thompson-Allen in 1998)

Mixture III (A-9)* 183 pipes (original removed; replicated by A. Thompson-Allen in 1998)

16′ Trombone* 73 pipes (4-1⁄2″ @ 8′ C, 1–6 wood resonators, 6–61 zinc and Hoyt metal, 43–61 harmonic, 62–73 open spotted metal flues)

8′ Trumpet* 73 pipes (4-1⁄2″, 1–56 reeds, zinc and Hoyt metal, 31–56 harmonic, 57–73 spotted metal flues)

4′ Clarion* 61 pipes (3-1⁄4″, 1–44 reeds, zinc and Hoyt metal, 19–44 harmonic, 45–61 spotted metal flues)

Chimes (from Solo)

* enclosed

SWELL (Manual III, enclosed, 7-1/2″ wind pressure)

16′ Bourdon 73 pipes (1–61 stopped wood, 62–73 open common metal)

8′ Diapason 73 pipes (scale 45, 1–17 zinc, 18–73 common metal, 2⁄9 mouth)

8′ Salicional 73 pipes (scale 64, 1–12 zinc, 13–71 spotted metal)

8′ Voix Celeste 73 pipes (draws 8′ Salicional, scale 64, 1–12 zinc, 13–73 spotted metal)

8′ Gedeckt 73 pipes (1–43 stopped wood, 44–73 open common metal)

8′ Spitz Flute 73 pipes (1–17 zinc, 18–61 tapered common metal, 62–73 cylindrical common metal)

8′ Flute Celeste (TC) 61 pipes (13–17 zinc, 18–61 tapered common metal, 62–73 cylindrical common metal)

8′ Aeoline 73 pipes (scale 60, 1–12 zinc, 13–73 spotted metal)

4′ Octave 61 pipes (scale 60, 1–5 zinc, 6–61 common metal)

4′ Traverse Flute 61 pipes (1–5 zinc, 6–61 common metal, 25–49 harmonic)

2′ Flautino 61 pipes (scale 70, spotted metal)

III Mixture III 183 pipes (original A-9 mixture removed; replicated to a slightly later C-15 Skinner formula by Austin/ A. Thompson-Allen, 1998)

16′ Contra Posaune 73 pipes (4-1⁄2″ @ 8′ C, 1–6 wood resonators, 7–61 zinc and Hoyt metal, 55–61 harmonic, 62–73 open spotted metal flues)

8′ Cornopean 73 pipes (4-1⁄2″, 1–32 zinc and Hoyt metal, 33–56 Hoyt metal, 43–56 harmonic, 57–73 spotted metal flues)

8′ Oboe 73 pipes (zinc, common metal, spotted metal, 1–56 reeds, 57–73 spotted metal flues)

8′ Vox Humana 73 pipes (zinc and Hoyt metal, 1–56 reeds, 57–73 spotted metal flues)

4′ Clarion 61 pipes (3-1⁄4″, 1–44 reeds, 31–44 harmonic, 45–61 spotted metal flues)

Tremolo

Harp (Ch)

Celesta (Ch)

CHOIR (Manual I, enclosed, 6″ wind pressure)

8′ Diapason 73 pipes (scale 44, 1–17 zinc, 18–73 linen lead)

8′ Melodia 73 pipes (1–12 stopped wood, 13–43 open wood, 44–73 common metal)

8′ Dulcet II 146 pipes (scale 75, 1–12 zinc, 13–73 spotted metal)

8′ Kleine Erzähler 134 pipes (celeste TC, 1–31 stopped wood, 32–73 open common metal)

4′ Flute d’Amour 61 pipes (“#2,” 1–5 zinc, 6–73 common metal, 25–49 harmonic)

2-2⁄3′ Twelfth 61 pipes (slotted spotted metal, 1–49 tapered, 50–61 cylindrical)

2′ Piccolo 61 pipes (common metal, 13–49 harmonic)

1-1⁄3′ [sic] Tierce 61 pipes (slotted spotted metal, 1–41 tapered, 42–61 cylindrical)

8′ Clarinet 73 pipes (1–56 common metal, 57–73 open spotted metal flues)

8′ Orchestral Oboe 73 pipes (1–56 zinc and Hoyt metal, 57–73 open spotted metal flues)

Tremolo

Harp (61 bars, first octave repeats)

8′ Fanfare Trumpet 61 pipes (7-1⁄2″ wind pressure, 1–12 zinc, 13–56 spotted metal, 25–56 harmonic, 57–61 flues)

SOLO (Manual IV, enclosed, 10″ wind pressure)

8′ Diapason 73 pipes (scale 40, leathered lips, 1–17 zinc, 18–73 linen lead)

8′ Philomela 73 pipes

8′ Gross Gamba 73 pipes (scale 50, flared 4 notes, 1–12 zinc, 13–73 spotted metal)

8′ Gamba Celeste 73 pipes (scale 50, flared 4 notes, 1–12 zinc, 13–73 spotted metal)

8′ French Horn 73 pipes (7″, large scale, 1–49 zinc and common metal, capped, 50–73 open spotted metal flues)

8′ English Horn 73 pipes (single bell-type, 1–49 zinc and common metal, double-conical capped, 50–56 lidded conical resonators, 57–73 open spotted metal flues)

4′ Tuba Clarion 61 pipes (1–49 zinc and Hoyt metal, 7–49 harmonic, 50–61 open spotted metal flues)

Tremolo

8′ Tuba Mirabilis 73 pipes (20″ wind pressure, 1–61 zinc and Hoyt metal, 19–61 harmonic, 62–73 open spotted metal flues)

Chimes (25 tubes)

PEDAL (6″ wind pressure)

32′ Diapason (open wood) 68 pipes

16′ First Diapason (ext 32′ Diapason)

16′ Second Diapason 32 pipes (1–29 zinc, 30–32 linen lead)

16′ Violone 44 pipes (1–12 bearded open wood, 13–32 spotted metal with rollers)

16′ Bourdon (stopped wood) 56 pipes

16′ Echo Bourdon (Sw 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Octave (ext 32′ Diapason)

8′ ’Cello (ext 16′ Violone)

8′ Gedeckt (ext 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Still Gedeckt (Sw 16′ Bourdon)

4′ Super Octave (ext 32′ Diapason)

4′ Flute (extension, 16′ Bourdon)

32′ Bombarde 68 pipes (15″ wind pressure, 16″ x 16″ @ low C, 1–24 wood resonators, remainder zinc and Hoyt metal)

16′ Trombone (ext 32′ Bombarde)

8′ Tromba (ext 32′ Bombarde)

4′ Clarion (ext 32′ Bombarde)

Couplers

Great to Pedal 8

Great to Pedal 4

Swell to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 4

Choir to Pedal 8

Solo to Pedal 8

Solo to Pedal 4

Swell to Great 8

Choir to Great 8

Solo to Great 8

Swell to Choir 8

Great to Solo 8

Swell to Solo 8

Great to Great 16

Great to Great 4

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 4

Choir to Great 16

Choir to Great 4

Solo to Great 16

Solo to Great 4

Choir to Choir 16

Choir to Choir 4

Swell to Choir 16

Swell to Choir 4

Swell to Swell 16

Swell to Swell 4

Solo to Solo 16

Solo to Solo 4

Great to Solo 16

Great to Solo 4

Accessories

5 General pistons (thumb and toe)

9 Great pistons (1–9 thumb, 1–4 toe)

9 Swell pistons (1–9 thumb, 1–4 toe)

7 Choir pistons (1–7 thumb, 1–4 toe)

7 Solo pistons (1–9 thumb, 1–4 toe)

4 Pedal pistons (toe)

General Cancel (thumb, added by A. Thompson-Allen, 1998)

Couplers Off (thumb)

Combination setter button (thumb)

Great to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe)

Swell to Pedal reversible (thumb)

Choir to Pedal reversible (thumb)

Solo to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe)

Solo to Great reversible (thumb and toe)

3 buttons: Chapel, Off, Both on Great

3 buttons: Chapel, Off, Both on Swell

3 buttons: Great Box to Solo, Off, Great Box to Choir

2 buttons: all Swells to Swell shoe, Off

Balanced Swell expression shoe

Balanced Choir (and Great) expression shoe

Balanced Solo (and Great) expression shoe

Balanced Crescendo shoe (with indicator light)

Sforzando reversible (toe, with indicator light)

Cymbala (knob in Swell stop jamb)

Great IV Chorus Mixture

1–17 15 19 22 26

18–24 12 15 19 22

25–49 8 12 15 19

50–61 8 8 12 15

Great III Mixture

1–18 15 19 22

19–30 12 15 19

31–61 8 12 15

Swell III Mixture

1–22 15 19 22

23–42 12 15 19

43–61 8 12 15

Church website: stlukesevanston.org

Organ website: opus327.org

Notes

1. Newton Bateman and Paul Selby, ed., Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Evanston, Volume II (Chicago, Illinois: Munsell Publishing Company, 1906), 374–375.

2. David McCain, “St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Evanston, Illinois: A History of the Organs,” The Stopt Diapason, Chicago-Midwest Chapter Organ Historical Society, volume 3, number 3, whole number 15 (June 1982): 26–32.

3. “Great Feast of Music Ushers in Huge Organ: Busy Week for Evanston, Recitals Draw Upward of Thousand People Every Evening—Hyde and Other Organists heard on Skinner Instrument,” The Diapason, November 1, 1922: 1–2.

4. Ernest M. Skinner and Richmond H. Skinner, The Composition of the Organ, ed. by Leslie A. Olsen (Ann Arbor, Michigan: Melvin J. Light, 1980), 26.

5. McCain, “St. Luke’s,” 26–32.

6. “Delivery of Fanfare Trumpets delayed by truck strike,” The Parish Visitor, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, volume 2, number 2 (June 1958): 5.

7. “Dr. Barnes donates organ stop,” The Parish Visitor, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, volume 2, number 12 (November 1959): 80.

8. “St. Luke’s to be given new chapel organ in memory of Gabriel & Jessie Slaughter,” The Parish Visitor, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, volume 2, number 7 (June 1958): 3.

9. McCain, “St. Luke’s,” 26–32.

10. “St. Luke’s Organ Rededication: September 12, 1999, Evanston, Illinois,” pamphlet published by St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 1999.

11. “Saint Luke Episcopal Church,” Organ Handbook 2002 (Richmond, Virginia: The Organ Historical Society, 2002): 167–173.

Bibliography

Bateman, Newton, and Paul Selby, ed. Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Evanston, Volume II. Chicago, Munsell Publishing Company, 1906: 374–375.

“Delivery of Fanfare Trumpets delayed by truck strike,” The Parish Visitor, St. Luke’s Church, Evanston, Illinois, June 1958, volume 2, number 2: 5.

“Dr. Barnes donates organ stop,” The Parish Visitor, November 1959, volume 2, number 12: 8.

“Great Feast of Music Ushers in Huge Organ: Busy Week for Evanston, Recitals Draw Upward of Thousand People Every Evening—Hyde and Other Organists heard on Skinner Instrument,” The Diapason, November 1, 1922: 1–2.

McCain, David. “St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Evanston, Illinois: A History of the Organs.” The Stopt Diapason, Chicago-Midwest Chapter Organ Historical Society, volume 3, number 3, whole number 15 (June 1982): 26–32.

“Saint Luke Episcopal Church,” Organ Handbook 2002. Richmond, Virginia, The Organ Historical Society, 2002: 167–173.

“St. Luke’s Organ Rededication: September 12, 1999, Evanston, Illinois,” published by the church.

“St. Luke’s to be given new chapel organ in memory of Gabriel & Jessie Slaughter,” The Parish Visitor, volume 2, number 7 (June 1958): 3.

Schnurr, Stephen. “Organ News.” The Stopt Diapason, Chicago-Midwest Chapter Organ Historical Society, whole number 65 (August 1999): 6–12.

Schnurr, Stephen J., Jr., and Dennis Northway, Pipe Organs of Chicago, Volume 1. Oak Park, Illinois, Chauncey Park Press, 2005: 94–97.

Schoenstein & Co., Benicia, California; Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe,  Orlando, Florida

This modern basilica is based on the size and shape of the fourth-century Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It seats 2,000 and is a place of pilgrimage for the millions of international tourists who visit Orlando each year. The extensive music program with professional choir is directed by William F. Picher. The shrine has a busy calendar of Masses, numerous special celebrations, and regular concerts. Dr. Picher envisioned an instrument of extremely broad tonal flexibility, something like the one we built for the Conference Center in Salt Lake City.

The organ had to be large enough to match the acoustic of this huge building. Its size is illustrated by the 32′ pipes in display. Behind the pipes on the left are the Great, Swell, and Choir divisions. On the right are Solo and Pedal. The console and singers are to the left of the sanctuary along with a small Positive division to provide an intimate sense of pitch and rhythm. The Gallery division is at the west end. Casework was designed in cooperation with Cameron Bird of Jackson & Ryan Architects and built by New Holland Church Furniture.

The acoustic of the Basilica maintains clarity throughout the space and is especially sensitive to subtle tonal color differences among the stops. This, along with five divisions under expression plus double expression in the Swell allows a kaleidoscopic color and dynamic range. Among the special features is a string division in the Gallery, which is designed to create a celestial atmosphere as worshippers enter for Mass. There are two powerful solo reeds, both under expression—Tuba Magna in the main organ and Grand Harmonic Trumpet in the Gallery. The Solo includes six genuine Wurlitzer stops. As in our Salt Lake City organ, these were selected to broaden the tonal palette. Each of these six stops is used in the ensemble the same way any other attractive tone would be.

This grand organ is the largest we have built for a Roman Catholic church in our 143-year history. It has very special meaning for our firm and our founding family. Surely our founder, Felix F. Schoenstein, a devout Catholic who dedicated two children and two grandchildren to Catholic religious orders and built his very first organ for a Marian church, would be pleased. Having emigrated from Germany, he would be especially honored to know the organ will be serving an international assembly from among the 75 million who visit Orlando yearly.

Four manuals, 70 voices, 86 ranks

Electric-pneumatic action

GREAT (II) 5′′ wind

32′ Lieblich Gedeckt (TC – Sw)

16′ Double Open Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Phonon Diapason (Solo)

8′ Open Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Small Open Diapason (ext) 12 pipes

8′ Gallery Diapasons (II)

8′ Harmonic Flute 61 pipes

8′ Gallery Strings (VIII)

8′ Aeoline (Choir)

8′ Bourdon 61 pipes

4′ Principal 61 pipes

4′ Spire Flute 61 pipes

2′ Fifteenth 61 pipes

2′ Mixture mf (III) 167 pipes

2′ Mixture f (IV) 201 pipes

8′ Trumpet 61 pipes

8′ Tuba Magna (Solo)

8′ Tuba Chorus †

8′ Grand Harmonic Trumpet (Gallery)

Gallery on Great

Positive on Great

† Tuba Magna at 16′, 8′, 4′

SWELL (III–enclosed) 5½′′ wind

16′ Lieblich Bourdon 12 pipes (ext Stopped Diapason)

8′ Open Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Stopped Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Viole de gambe 61 pipes

8′ Voix céleste 61 pipes

8′ Gallery Strings (VIII)

4′ Principal 61 pipes

4′ Harmonic Flute 61 pipes

2′ Harmonic Piccolo 61 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Cornet (III) 176 pipes

8′ Oboe 61 pipes

Tremulant

Stops under double expression, 10′′ wind

8′ Erzähler 61 pipes

8′ Erzähler Celeste (TC) 49 pipes

2′ Mixture ff (IV) 215 pipes

16′ Posaune 61 pipes

8′ Cornopean 61 pipes

4′ Clarion 61 pipes

8′ Vox Humana (Solo)

Swell 16′

Swell Unison Off

Swell 4′

Gallery on Swell

Positive on Swell

CHOIR (I – enclosed) 5½′′ wind

16′ Aeoline (ext) 12 pipes

8′ Open Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Chimney Flute 61 pipes

8′ Gallery Strings (VIII)

8′ Aeoline 61 pipes

8′ Unda Maris (TC) 49 pipes

4′ Fugara 61 pipes

4′ Silver Flute 61 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Nazard 61 pipes

2′ Blockflöte 61 pipes

1-3⁄5′ Tierce 54 pipes

2′ Mixture mf (IV–V) 285 pipes

16′ Bass Horn (ext Fl Horn) 12 pipes

8′ Trumpet 61 pipes

8′ Flügel Horn 61 pipes

8′ English Horn 61 pipes

8′ Clarinet 61 pipes

Tremulant

Choir 16′

Choir Unison Off

Choir 4′

8′ Tuba Magna (Solo)

Gallery on Choir

Positive on Choir

SOLO (IV–enclosed) 10′′ wind

16′ Tibia Clausa 85 pipes (1–12 Pedal Bourdon)

8′ Phonon Diapason 73 pipes

8′ Symphonic Flute 61 pipes

8′ Tibia Clausa (ext)

8′ Concert Flute 73 pipes

8′ Gamba 85 pipes

8′ Gamba Celeste 61 pipes

8′ Viol d’Orchestre 73 pipes

8′ Viol Celeste 73 pipes

8′ Gallery Strings (VIII)

4′ Octave (ext 8′ Phonon Diapason)

4′ Piccolo (ext Tibia)

4′ Flute (ext Concert Flute)

4′ Gambette (ext Gamba)

4′ Viol Celeste (II – Violes)

2-2⁄3′ Twelfth (ext Tibia)

2′ Fifteenth (ext Gamba)

2′ Piccolo (ext Tibia)

1-3⁄5′ Tierce (ext Tibia)

16′ Corno di Bassetto 73 pipes

8′ Tuba Horn 61 pipes

8′ French Horn 61 pipes

8′ Corno di Bassetto (ext)

8′ Vox Humana † 61 pipes

8′ Tuben (III – Swell)

Tremulant

Variable Tremulant

Solo 16′

Solo Unison Off

Solo 4′

8′ Tuba Magna (15′′ wind) 61 pipes

8′ Grand Harmonic Trumpet (Gallery)

Gallery on Solo

Positive on Solo

† Separate Tremulant – slow p/fast f

POSITIVE (unenclosed–floating) 4′′ wind

8′ Salicional 61 pipes

8′ Lieblich Gedeckt 61 pipes

4′ Salicet (ext) 12 pipes

4′ Lieblich Flute (ext) 12 pipes

2′ Fifteenth (ext) 12 pipes

GALLERY (floating) 5′′ wind

Unenclosed Stops

16′ Double Diapason 12 pipes (ext Diapason No.2)

8′ Open Diapason No.1 61 pipes

8′ Open Diapason No.2 61 pipes

4′ Octave (ext Diap No.2) 12 pipes

Enclosed Stops 

16′ Bass Viol (ext Viola Pomp) 12 pipes

8′ Viola Pomposa 73 pipes

8′ Viola Celeste 73 pipes

8′ Gamba Celeste (II) † 129 pipes

8′ Violin 73 pipes

8′ Violin Celeste 68 pipes

8′ Voix Serénissime (II) † 129 pipes

4′ Violina (ext Viola Pomposa)

8′ Grand Harmonic Trumpet †† 61 pipes

  † Unison 73, Celeste (TC) 56

†† 10′′ wind

PEDAL (enclosed) 5′′–15′′ wind

32′ Open Metal (unenclosed) 32 pipes

32′ Resultant

16′ Open Wood 32 pipes

16′ Open Metal (ext 32′) 12 pipes

16′ Double Open Diapason (Great)

16′ Diaphone (Solo) 12 pipes (ext Phonon Diapason)

16′ Diapason (Gallery)

16′ Violone 32 pipes

16′ Bourdon 32 pipes

16′ Aeoline (Choir)

16′ Bass Viol (Gallery)

16′ Lieblich Bourdon (Sw)

8′ Principal 32 pipes

8′ Bourdon (ext 16′) 12 pipes

8′ Tibia Clausa (Solo)

8′ Violone (ext 16′) 12 pipes

8′ Flute (Great)

8′ Stopped Diapason (Swell)

4′ Fifteenth 32 pipes

4′ Flute (Great)

2′ Mixture mf (IV–V Choir)

32′ Cornet (derived)

32′ Contra Trombone (ext) 12 pipes

16′ Trombone 32 pipes

16′ Posaune (Swell)

16′ Bass Horn (Choir)

8′ Tuba Magna (Solo)

8′ Tromba (ext 16′) 12 pipes

8′ Posaune (Swell)

4′ Octave Tromba (ext 16′) 12 pipes

4′ Corno di Bassetto (Solo)

8′ Pizzicato Bass 

Gallery on Pedal

Positive on Pedal