New Organs

Juget-Sinclair Organbuilders, Montréal, Québec, Canada: 

St. Joseph’s Oratory, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Juget-Sinclair Organbuilders, Montréal, Québec, Canada

St. Joseph’s Oratory, Montréal, Québec, Canada

 

From the builder

The idea to fully restore the Beckerath organ at St. Joseph’s Oratory came from then Organist Titulaire Philippe Bélanger. We came up with different proposals, some involving changes to the instrument, some not, but for the moment we were firmly in the world of the hypothetical; no harm in talking about changes to the instrument—it was only a mental exercise then. Any thought that this might actually occur was accompanied by cold sweat and sleeplessness—after all, perhaps no other instrument has had a greater influence on organ building in Québec, and its influence has been worldwide.

Eventually, to our great relief, the authorities at St. Joseph’s Oratory wisely came to the conclusion that an outside expert and a proper bidding process were required. George Taylor was hired, deus ex machina, and three Québec companies were asked to bid on a very thorough RFP that specified no changes to the tonal specification. “No changes” may seem an obvious requirement, but it is not. Most musicians sitting at the console are soon surprised by what seems missing from the specification, despite its 78-stop, 5-manual footprint. But any thought of making changes leads straight to dilemma.

One example is instructive: the idea had naturally surfaced to add a trumpet to the Récit (yes, a 78-stop instrument with French pretensions and no Trompette on the Récit!). Now, how to add it—it could be added to the back of the chest grid; that way no one could complain about any stop being removed. Or, the Musette 4′ could be removed and replaced with a trumpet. The Musette could be racked mute on a wall in the swell box, for its own protection. I was amused by these two possibilities—the first pleases the musician at the console, who finds the original specification intact—plus, it provides the trumpet they always needed. The second pleases the restorer 50 years (or more!) from now, who finds a windchest that has not been denatured by holes bored through the frame to accommodate the extra toe board, and inevitably returns the Musette to its toe holes. 

This dilemma cannot be resolved and let us not pretend it can. Any restoration, no matter how respectful, will remove some original material. In a museum setting, an ancient clavichord may be copied rather than restored so that the original continues to exist, unmolested, as a document for future generations. The copies allow musicians to play instruments that are as close as possible to the originals and to be informed by the experience. This is clearly not an option for organs, and to add to the conundrum, they exist primarily to accompany a changing liturgy. Organs occupy a strange space somewhere between typewriter and violin—between pragmatism and art—actually both at once. 

But surely this is not of concern for an instrument of only 50 years? What made this project difficult to define in the early stages? In a way, it was an organ of conflict—wonderful to play, a beast to play; the specification is huge, but with huge holes; it is a historic monument, but only 50 years old. There are organbuilders the world over who consider themselves the spiritual sons of Rudolf von Beckerath, and the torchbearers of his tradition. The tension created by these issues  made the appointment of George Taylor, outside expert, a stroke of genius that perhaps made the project the success that we believe it is.

It was decided to make no changes to the musical qualities of the instrument, but to rebuild the key action completely. If a line can be drawn in an organ between the musical and the mechanical, it is surely at the pallet itself, and this became an important distinction. In this instrument, the pallet openings on all divisions are unnecessarily wide—up to 30 mm with only 5 mm of travel at the nose, a terribly inefficient design, if efficiency is what you are after. Naturally, the question arose whether or not to change the pallet design—to provide as much or perhaps more wind and reduce pluck at the same time. But inevitably, the nature of the pipe attack would be changed, even if the quantity of wind was not. It was decided that in order to preserve the musical integrity of the instrument, the pallet dimensions should not be altered. This made for an interesting case study—without reducing pluck, to what extent could the action be made more agreeable to play, with up to four manuals coupled? The action, as we found it, was slow to repeat, but the spring force felt at the keyboard was nearly right. By reducing mass in the action train, we would be able to improve repetition, but the pluck would not be greatly reduced. Would musicians find the action to be improved, and if so, by how much?

A complete rebuild of the action was undertaken, using the tools available to us: reduce mass, reduce friction, and ensure proper functioning of all the elements. New roller boards were built for the Grand-Orgue, Récit, Bombarde, and Positif divisions. This was perhaps responsible for the greatest reduction in action mass; the original design follows laws of physics that we apparently no longer have access to. The mass of the rollers was adding a lot of inertia to the action, but there was also friction and flexibility. All trackers were replaced with carbon fiber—1 mm rod for vertical runs and ½ x 3mm section for horizontal runs. This material, as well as being very light and strong, has the benefit of remaining straight, so alignment is easy. But we did notice a tendency for people to think that as long as carbon fiber was involved, success was ensured. In reality, it is a material, like any other, whose qualities need to be understood for success.

The organ was first stripped of its action, and the console was removed and taken to the shop. There was a feeling of revisiting 1960 at this stage. We found cheeks on the sides of the console that clearly had held a sling used to hoist the console up over the gallery rail. The hole in the ceiling was still there, at the perfect location, ready for us to run a heavy rope through, and the console was soon lowered to the floor of the nave and brought to the shop. Then, restoration continued with two teams, one at the shop restoring the console and building new action parts, the other on site restoring windchests and pipework.

Restoration of each division of the organ was undertaken one after another, starting at the top with the Récit. Pipes were removed and taken to be cleaned and straightened in the chapelle des familles. This soundproof room just below the organ loft is intended for crying babies and their parents during Mass—ideal for pipe restoration, and roomy enough for a fairly complete pipe shop. At the same time, the Récit windchests were turned over and restored in place. This top-to-bottom approach allowed us to break a large instrument into manageable chunks, and had the additional benefit of allowing any dust we created to settle below, to the next division scheduled for restoration.

Particular attention was paid to the console, as it had lost the stark Germanic austerity—apparently not held in much esteem in the intervening years—that now seems oddly exotic. The original plastic stopknobs had long ago been replaced, so new maple ones were made, copying examples from the other Montréal Beckeraths. A sequencer was added, as were divisional pistons, using the same unorthodox arrangement found on the 1963 Beckerath in Pittsburgh—with inter-manual divisionals placed at e-f and b-c, between the sharps. Holes had been cut into the stop jambs over the years to accommodate various versions of instantly obsolete combination action. These were filled and veneered with matching pear wood. The goal was to restore and update the console so that future additions to the combination action would not deface the console. To this end, Solid State Organ Systems provided touch screen functionality via a wireless iPad, so that future changes can be handled here.

The five largest pipes of the Grand-Orgue Montre 16′, visible in the large central pipe flat, had been repaired once and collapsed twice since 1960. It was decided that new pipes were needed, built with knowledge reacquired since 1960, of how to make pipes that will stand. The rest of the tin façade pipes were removed, cleaned, repaired, polished, and returned to their holes. The twelve façade pipes that make up the first octave of the Pédale Montre 32′ are of zinc, and were cleaned in place. The entire operation required full scaffolding in front of the façade, which provided a clear signal to the public that a major project was underway.

Winding to the Montre 16′ was originally provided pneumatically to the bottom five pipes of the stop, to reduce wind demand on the channel. We continued this practice through the rest of the first octave, as there was considerable robbing going on, starting from F. Surprisingly, we had never heard complaints about this, but we were sure that if it was not improved, we would. New pneumatic offset chests were constructed following the design of the old one, which functions perfectly.

Voicing was undertaken in a spirit of respect for the builder. Sunken languids were raised, speech problems were taken care of, and stops were equalized, but every effort was taken to stay true to the intent of the builder. After pipes were straightened and cleaned, voicing was checked on a voicing jack before returning the pipes to their chests. Racking and pipe stays were improved and solidified where needed, but in general this had been well done originally. Façade pipes in danger of recollapse were relieved of about half of their weight by hanging them from springs, and should be safe now.

Reaction to the restoration has been very positive, to our great pleasure and even relief, but it has also been instructive. Musicians tend to feel that the voice of the organ has changed—not for the worse—but we are quick to stress that every effort was taken not to change the voicing one iota. But we’ve seen this before—the simple act of removing dust from an instrument changes its timbre. And we wonder if something else isn’t at work: the action is so changed that one’s approach to playing the instrument is different, and it does sound different—it can be more virile, and it sounds more precise, because it can be played more precisely.

In our work building new organs, Juget-Sinclair started with small instruments and has slowly grown, taking on larger and larger work. This restoration has given us the opportunity to take on a major instrument with new challenges of design and infrastructure. The success of this project fills us with confidence for the future, and we feel validates our approach of maintaining a small shop that builds as much as possible in-house. The variety of skills that we are able to foster through this approach serves us particularly well in restoration, where one never knows what challenges will arise. And we hope, in an ever-shrinking new organ market, that this is a model that will keep us occupied for some time.

The following participated in the restoration, which amounted to over 8,000 hours of work: Jocelyn Bélair, Robin Côté, François Couture, Dean Eckmann, Jean-Dominique Felx, Denis Juget, Céline Richard, Stephen Sinclair, Raymond Batroussy, Arnaud Duchenaux, Richard Houghten, and Vladimir Vaculik.

—Stephen Sinclair

 

A musician’s perspective

In spite of widespread secularization in Québec during the quiet revolution of the sixties, the attendance of about 50,000 Québecers at the celebration of the canonization of Brother André Bessette in Montréal’s Olympic Stadium on October 30, 2010 underscored the extent to which he is still very much this city’s beloved son. Shortly after making profession as a monk with the Congregation of the Holy Cross in Montréal in 1874, Brother André became a doorman at the College of Notre Dame. In the ensuing years, healings attributed to his prayer and intercession quickly gained for him a reputation as a faith healer. Increasing numbers of congregants drawn by the “Miracle Man of Montréal” quickly outgrew the small chapel he had erected in 1904 on the north slope of Mont Royal. The building of the current basilica commenced in 1924 and was completed in 1967. Today, St. Joseph’s Oratory stands as a towering testament to the life of this humble brother and is a prominent destination for pilgrims, tourists, and music lovers alike.

Given the oratory’s importance in the life of Montréal from its earliest days, the organ that was to be built here was going to have great civic importance from the outset. And given the immense grandeur of this sanctuary, the instrument would be of monumental proportion. After bids were considered, the fathers of the Congregation of the Holy Cross sent a letter on February 25, 1958 to Rudolf von Beckerath that he had been awarded the contract for the construction of the basilica organ. The contract was signed on June 23 of the same year and the builder was committed to deliver an organ within thirty months. Shortly thereafter, Beckerath submitted a design and several sketches. Among the various requests, Raymond Daveluy, titular organist, requested alterations to the stoplist that would allow the playing of a Récit de tierce, and the architects requested that the case embody more vertical lines. In early 1960, 167 crates arrived by sea, and installation commenced. The inaugural recital was given by Parisian organist André Marchal on November 13, 1960. The opening piece, Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in D Major, was played by Raymond Daveluy. Marchal followed with a program featuring the works of Louis and François Couperin, Clérambault, Daquin, and Tournemire. He also played de Grigny’s Tierce en taille, Franck’s Choral No. 3, Bach’s Fantasy and Fugue in G Minor, Langlais’ Te Deum, and ended the program with an improvisation.

That the building of the oratory organ would be entrusted to a German firm and not to Casavant Frères was a shock to the nationalist sensibilities of many. Coming only thirteen years after the war in which Québecers were conscripted to fight against Germany, this decision unleashed quite a firestorm in the Québec media of the day. However, there was a growing sense among many North American organists and musicians in the 1950s that the organ reform—as it was manifest in the work of Harrison, Holtkamp, and also Casavant Frères during the postwar period—did not go far enough in restoring principles of organ construction from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Many of these young organists became familiar with organ reform in Holland and Germany on their European journeys. 

Then in 1957, Rudolf von Beckerath installed a 44-stop, four-manual instrument in Trinity Lutheran Church in Cleveland, Ohio. The instrument featured a freestanding case designed according to the werkprinzip, mechanical key and stop action, lower wind pressure, and classical voicing inspired by the instruments of Arp Schnitger. While in North America, Beckerath paid a visit to Montréal in 1957 in response to an invitation from a group of local organists—Kenneth Gilbert, Raymond Daveluy, and Gaston and Lucienne Arel. In the aftermath of that meeting, the respective church administrations of these organists signed contracts with Beckerath. The instruments were delivered and inaugurated at Queen Mary Road United Church in 1959, at St. Joseph’s Oratory in 1960, and at Église Immaculée Conception in 1961. 

These three Montréal Beckerath organs succeeded in bringing the current wave of organ reform, not only to Montréal and to Canada, but to North America as a whole. Indeed, along with the Beckerath at Trinity Lutheran and the Flentrop organ installed in the Busch-Reisinger Museum of Harvard University in 1958, these instruments took North American organ reform to an entirely new level. Beckerath’s renown was spreading quickly, and many young North American organbuilders went to apprentice with him—including George Taylor, Fritz Noack, and John Brombaugh. 

Meanwhile, back at home, Casavant Frères realized that changing conceptions of organbuilding and design required a new paradigm and decided to embrace the organ reform. Casavant’s Charles Perrault and tonal and artistic director Lawrence Phelps brought to North America Karl Wilhelm in 1960 and Hellmuth Wolff in 1963 to run a mechanical organ department; since then, very few mechanical action organs have been imported into Québec. Each of these directors, in turn, went on to start their own workshops and shortly became major players, not only in Canada, but in the organbuilding world internationally. Going even further, Casavant recruited Gerhard Brunzema—already an authority in the organ world—as tonal and artistic director of Casavant Frères in 1972. Thus, the Beckerath instrument at St. Joseph’s Oratory had profound impact locally, but was also a key part of that influential wavefront of reform that was both international and historic in scope. 

Though quite young as organs go, the oratory instrument had developed several problems requiring attention. During its 1960 installation, construction of the basilica was still underway. The stone floor had yet to be installed and many interior modifications were still being made in the sanctuary and in the organ loft. This resulted in a premature internal accumulation of dust in the instrument such that, in that same decade, the instrument was already in need of cleaning and some internal components had to be replaced. By the turn of the century, the organ was again in need of a thorough cleaning and many pipes were in danger of collapse. The first initiatives toward restoration were taken in 2005 by Philippe Bélanger, who was organist at the time. Following a grant from the Québec Ministry of Culture overseen by the Conseil du patrimoine religieux du Québec, the project was underway. George Taylor—having apprenticed with Rudolf von Beckerath and having restored the 1963 Beckerath organ at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Pittsburgh in 2009—was named consultant for the project. The firms of Casavant Frères, Juget-Sinclair Organbuilders, and Orgues Létourneau were asked to submit bids; Juget-Sinclair was selected to undertake the restoration.

From the organist’s point of view, the changes to the instrument are subtle, but striking. Though playing with manuals coupled on any instrument of this size is not exactly light, the touch is considerably lighter and even more responsive than before. The action used to have a certain sponginess—releases were a little sluggish and manual couplers had a mildly sodden heaviness. These have been significantly improved—the touch is lighter, there is increased precision of attack, crispness in release, and there seems to be a better calibration of attack and release between divisions when the couplers are engaged. Also, there is a remarkable clarity and brilliance to the sound. The crystalline shimmer of the plenum is especially arresting. Not least, the combination action now avails the player with all current conveniences—there are copious general pistons, multiple levels of memory, and a sequencer.

The renovated instrument was celebrated in two inaugural concerts in October 2012. On October 7, Frédéric Champion, laureate of the first Canadian International Organ Competition, played a concert to a capacity audience. The recital featured works by Bruhns, Florentz, Cabanilles, Robin, and Bach, as well as Champion’s own transcriptions of Debussy, Liszt, and Saint-Saëns. The following week, there was a second inaugural concert presented by Les Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal under the direction of Gilbert Patenaude. The first half of the concert featured a cappella choral works, while the second half featured Louis Vierne’s Messe solennelle en ut dièse, op. 16. The choir, situated around the altar, was accompanied by the father-son team, Jacques and Vincent Boucher, with the father playing the choir organ, and son playing the Beckerath. It was a stunning performance with impeccable coordination between organ loft and chancel. With over 4,000 in attendance, this was truly a celebration worthy of this grand instrument.

—David Szanto

 

 

Beckerath, 1960/restored by Juget-Sinclair Organbuilders, 2012

St. Joseph’s Oratory, Montréal, Québec, Canada

John A. Panning

Vice President & Tonal Director, Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, Lake City, Iowa

Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, Lake City, Iowa

St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church, Carmel Valley, California

Dobson Pipe Organ Builders of Lake City, Iowa, has built its Opus 94 for St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church in Carmel Valley, California. The church’s spare yet handsome building, designed by parishioner Mel Blevens of Holewinski Blevens Fedelem & Lukes Architects in 1963, accurately reflects a parish of modest means but artistic vision. Never intended to house a pipe organ, St. Dunstan’s had been served by an increasingly cranky electronic organ. Fitted with carpet, inadequate lighting, and pews stained the color of asphalt, the church was no longer the most visually or aurally welcoming space. Dobson’s design of an organ standing front and center encouraged the parish to beautify its worship space and enliven its acoustic by removing the carpeting and staining the concrete floor, refinishing the pews, and installing new LED lighting. The revised altar platform, now deeper and constructed of concrete rather than noisy plywood, is sheathed in stone quarried near Jerusalem. A new communion rail and ambo complete the chancel.

Standing behind all this, the organ makes a sensitive statement, drawing attention to the front of the space rather than overwhelming it. To accommodate the choir, seated to one side of the chancel, the organ console is placed on that end of the instrument. From this location, the organist can easily give direction to the choir and remain abreast of activity in the nave. The angled geometry of the building called for a similarly non-traditional visual design. The speaking front pipes of burnished tin make a bold, sweeping gesture, echoed by slotted openings in the organ case that permit additional sound egress. The arc of the front pipes is anchored by wooden ones that stand along the left side of the instrument. The instrument’s white oak case is crowned by a sheltering roof whose slope parallels the ceiling above. A simple Latin cross stands at the front of the instrument, honoring an earlier cross of similar design that was displaced by the chancel renovation.

Steven Denmark, director of music, had long dreamed of the new organ’s tonal design, and together we explored many stoplists. His thinking was dramatically affected by a 2014 visit to the organ in St. Michael’s Abbey in Farnborough, England. Installed in 1905 and attributed to Charles Mutin, the organ appears to contain older elements built by Mutin’s master, Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. Set within a small but acoustically stunning Gothic revival chapel, this organ of only fourteen voices makes an unforgettable impression.

Encouraged by the possibilities on display in the Farnborough organ, essentially a one-manual instrument divided over two keyboards, the design of Opus 94 took a new turn. Though improved and now proportional to the space, the acoustic of St. Dunstan’s church building is but a pale shadow of that at Farnborough. However, a foundation-rich design as exemplified by the Farnborough organ is not only an appropriate response to a less-reverberant room but also a musically responsible choice for a parish with a traditional choral program. In Opus 94, nine of the manuals’ fifteen stops are of 8′ pitch. For dynamic flexibility in both accompaniment and literature, the Plein Jeu and manual reeds stand within the Récit enclosure. Denmark felt strongly that some sort of Jeu de tierce registration should be present. There is no precedent in the work of Cavaillé-Coll for an independent Tierce, and when a stop of 22⁄3′ pitch was included, it was always a Quinte. We elected to make both mutations as flutes with strongly ascendant trebles so that they function well with the principal-toned unisons. A 16′ Bourdon shared between Grand-Orgue and Pédale is a feature of most Cavaillé-Coll choir organs that I didn’t feel we could replicate here; the poor bass response of the church dictates a scale and treatment for the Pédale that would have muddied any manual texture.

Despite its modern appearance, the instrument is laid out in a traditional way, with the Grand-Orgue standing immediately in front of the Récit. The Pédale Bourdon pipes are painted our customary “Dobson red.” Most of the pipes in the organ were built in our shop; the pipes of high tin alloy—the façade pipes, the strings, and the reeds—are the work of Killinger in Freiberg am Neckar, Germany. All are voiced on a wind pressure of 70 mm, regulated by a large, weighted, single-rise reservoir. The mechanical key action is balanced, running from the console to transverse rollers just above the floor that are fitted with crank arms for the pulldowns. While not an historic feature, the coupling manual offers useful registrational possibilities beyond the common II/I coupler. An electric stop action and 100-level combination action are provided. Mechanism is present for the eventual installation of a Pédale 16′ reed.

The organ was dedicated on November 15, 2015, with Steven Denmark at the organ. Inaugural year programs have been presented by Angela Kraft Cross, James Welch, Thomas Joyce, Tiffany Truett, and Kimo Smith.

The Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art, and Architecture presented this organ with an award in the category of Religious Art: Liturgical Furnishings. The award was announced in the Winter 2016 issue of Faith & Form magazine.

 

Dobson Pipe Organ Builders

William Ayers

Abraham Batten

Kent Brown

Lynn Dobson

Randy Hausman

Dean Heim

Donny Hobbs

Ben Hoskins

Arthur Middleton

John Ourensma

John Panning

Kirk Russell

Bob Savage

Jim Streufert

John Streufert

Jon Thieszen

Pat Thieszen

Sally Winter

Randall Wolff

Dean Zenor

 

COUPLING MANUAL (I)

GRAND-ORGUE (II)

8′ Montre

8′ Salicional

8′ Flûte Harmonique (bass from Bourdon)

8′ Bourdon

4′ Prestant

22⁄3′ Nasard

2′ Doublette

13⁄5′ Tierce

RÉCIT EXPRESSIF (III, enclosed)

8′ Viole de Gambe

8′ Voix Céleste (FF)

8′ Cor de Nuit

4′ Flûte Octaviante

III Plein Jeu 2′

8′ Trompette

8′ Basson-Hautbois

Tremblant (affects entire instrument)

PÉDALE 

16′ Soubasse

8′ Bourdon (ext 16′)

16′ Bombarde (preparation)

8′ Trompette (ext 16′)

G.-O./Pédale

Récit/Pédale

 

Manual/Pedal compass: 58/32

18 ranks

Peragallo Pipe Organ Company, Paterson, New Jersey

Cathedral of Ss. Simon and Jude, Phoenix, Arizona

 

From the Builder

 

Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood.

—Daniel Burnham

As organbuilders, we are uniquely privileged to experience many rewarding moments in the process of seeing a new pipe organ come to life. Those moments are all the more amplified when this process includes a vibrant ministry that will realize the full potential of the new instrument. From our first interactions with the staff and organ committee at the Cathedral of Ss. Simon and Jude, we sensed that the pipe organ was going to serve as the cornerstone of sacred music within the Diocese of Phoenix. The instrument would need to musically support and visually complement a refreshingly unapologetic traditional ministry of sacred music. The organ’s timbres would need to function in both humble and glorifying ways to illuminate to the congregant the power through which chant, hymnody, and improvisation can reveal the sacred mystery to us all.

We were immediately in awe of the unwavering faith of this congregation. The extended lines wrapping around the church of people of all ages waiting to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation, the sight of people crawling on hands and knees down the middle aisle to beg forgiveness, the perpetual procession of groups gathering to recite the Rosary—all attest to the tremendous faith of this special place. The large cross that adorned the altar of Sun Devil Stadium during the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1987 is now a familiar beacon as you approach the cathedral. With this steadfast faith and this prominent cross as a starting point, we set out to design an organ to complement this parish.

The tonal design of the instrument is the collaborative effort of John Peragallo, III; Mark Husey, consultant for the project; and Matthew Meloche, the director of sacred music at Ss. Simon and Jude. The specification is in keeping with the tonal concepts and philosophies one can expect of a Peragallo instrument. Each division is tonally complete and features a wealth of foundation stops. The gallery casework showcases an unenclosed Grand Orgue, expressive Positif and Récit divisions, and a substantial Pédale. An Antiphonale organ provides pitch and accompaniment for the song leader and serves as a counterpoint to the Grand Orgue. The Solo provides easy keyboard access to the chamades and a plethora of solo color. Each division possesses not only the requisite tools one would expect to see but several noteworthy perks.

At the urging of the consultant, we included a manual 32′ Flûte Conique. The overall effect of adding this subtle flue to the chorus is most favorable in executing French music from both the Classical and Romantic schools. The Grand Orgue is also equipped with softer accompanimental stops from the expressive divisions to offer a seamless crescendo and versatility in registration.

The Positif Expressif houses the powerful Tromba Magna. This high-pressure reed, fitted with German tapered shallots that are modified with a straight bore, benefits from the extremely effective expression of the Positif chamber. When adding the Tromba to the chorus with the box closed, it can serve as a bigger chorus reed. With the box fully open, the Tromba broadens the Grand Jeu while not overpowering the balance of the ensemble. 

Another notable inclusion is the large-scaled 8′ Cor di Bassetto in the Récit division. Sitting alongside the traditional Hautbois and Trompette, this throaty color is available at 16′ pitch on the Solo. The Récit also includes a Sept/Neuf (11⁄7′ and 8⁄9′) that imparts a reedy shimmer to the full chorus and also serves as part of the collective VIII Cornet à la Neuvieme.

The versatile nature of the organ’s mechanism afforded the ability to create composite stops for the Solo division, such as the III Grande Montre that is drawn from the three largest-scaled Montre stops. Likewise, the II Flûte Majeure, II Flauto Veneziano Celeste, and VII Cor de Violes go one step in depth and volume beyond their divisional counterparts. The Solo provides access to two collective Cornets, as well as the Tromba Magna, at a variety of pitches.

Finally, the Solo offers access to several colorful reeds at pitches other than those found in their respective divisions. For example, the Chalumeau à Cheminée sits well in the Positif chorus at 4′ pitch along with the 8′ Cromorne and the 16′ Cor Anglais. The Chalumeau and the Cor Anglais are both available at 8′ pitch on the Solo.

The Pédale division holds four independent 32′ pitches of varying color and power, and the façade pipework includes both the 16′ Violone and 16′ Montre. The 16′ Bombarde reeds are fitted with special bored German shallots. 

The Trompette en Chamade features English shallots with flared resonators in polished zinc splayed in a spectacular arrangement high in the casework.

The digital makeup of the floating Antiphonal organ ensures that it will always be in tune with the gallery organ when called upon.

The design and fabrication of the organ’s casework was carried out under the direction of Frank Peragallo. The design follows cues of the cathedral’s unique arches reflected in the doubly curving towers. The sightlines and hierarchies seek to elevate the eye upward.

The organ also features chamber wall designs borrowing from concepts developed for structurally insulated panels that are used in green building systems. These walls perform a double function of keeping the chamber temperatures even in the Arizona heat and creating a stark pianissimo effect when the expression shades are closed. New techniques for racking were developed for the double curves within the towers and the Trompette en Chamade.  

The organ’s console design features curving details gleaned from the organ casework and the cathedral’s ecclesiastical appointments. The music desk incorporates a Southwest motif with inlay of three wood species: maple, oak, and cherry.

At the pinnacle of the casework, a hand-carved cherry Étoile Sonora (spinning star zimbelstern) adorns the case and rotates when activated. The star’s design represents the five charisms of Mary Ward, the five Loreto Sisters who founded the school, and the founding pastor, Father Paul Smith. The Loreto Sisters have faithfully served the Diocese of Phoenix since 1954.

After four months of engineering and planning and six months of fabrication, the organ was fully assembled at the factory in Paterson, New Jersey. An open house was held for the community before it was disassembled and loaded onto the truck for the four-day journey to Arizona.

Ten Peragallo employees flew to Phoenix for six weeks of installation of the new organ. Each morning the crew drove from their outpost in northern Phoenix to the cathedral, passing dozens of hot air balloons and witnessing the priceless morning sunrises of the greater Phoenix valley. It took only one week to rebuild the massive organ casework and chambers in the balcony. The console was placed on display on the main floor of the cathedral so parishioners could have a chance to view it before it was raised up to the balcony.

One week later, the initial sounds were heard and the four-week voicing process began. This culminated with the blessing of the organ by Bishop Thomas Olmsted, shepherd of the Diocese of Phoenix, on November 21, 2016.  

This installation in Phoenix is our family’s first instrument west of the Mississippi River since John Peragallo, Sr., took the American Master Organ Company Opus 3 by rail to the Rialto Theatre in Butte, Montana, in 1917. One hundred years and 743 organs later, four members of the Peragallo family and ten craftsmen on our dedicated staff headed out across the country once more. We are proud to extend our tradition and look forward to building more instruments and reaching more parishes across the country in the years to come.

We are grateful for the support of the Most Reverend Thomas James Olmsted, Bishop of Phoenix; the Very Reverend John Lankeit, Cathedral Rector; Matthew J. Meloche, director of sacred music; Mark Husey, consultant; Pam Lambros, parish stewardship and communications coordinator; the Cathedral Organ Committee; and all those that supported the cathedral music initiatives and this project.

—John Peragallo, IV 

Architectural Designer

 

From the Consultant

Environments of congregations that support professional musical excellence in America seem as rare and delicately balanced as ecosystems of planets that can support intelligent life in the known universe. The alchemical blend of visionary leadership, talent pool, and patronage all need to be in alignment for music of a professional standard to be the norm, and typically manifest after many years of careful cultivation. The Cathedral of Ss. Simon and Jude in Phoenix was built as a parish church in 1965 and elevated to a cathedral in 1969. While an exhaustive history of the cathedral’s sacred music program is mercurial and fascinating, that is not my story to tell; Matthew Meloche’s appointment as director of music in November of 2013 has produced an exceptionally well-trained professional choir that sings unaccompanied chants and polyphony for a weekly Solemn Choral Mass broadcast on television and archived on YouTube. At his initiative and through the support of cathedral clergy and an exceptionally generous donor, Peragallo Opus 743 was built as this cathedral’s first pipe organ, replacing two electronic instruments in various stages of decay.  

While the cathedral’s richly celebrated choral Masses include a wealth of unaccompanied choral music, the liturgy’s psalm, hymns, voluntaries, and improvisations demand an instrument with a diverse tonal palette capable of dramatic dynamic flexibility, attributes that undoubtedly come into play should the instrument find itself exploring the breadth of accompanied choral repertory. The three independent principal choruses (two of them enclosed) on the main organ contrast brilliantly in terraced dynamics when played alone and when coupled form a sumptuous plenum.

The addition of the 32′ on the Grand Orgue provides for a most unusual, subtle gravitas that makes for a spectacular Grand Plein Jeu for French Classic repertory. A most colorful battery of reed stops is available, complete with a powerful enclosed Solo Tromba in an “air-tight” swell box, which goes from a comfortable forte when played against a modest combination of stops, to a thrilling stentorian tone that rivals the glory of Peragallo’s signature chamades. The duplexing and unification that form the instrument’s Solo division might elicit an arched eyebrow from some purists (as it did from me, who am anything but). I would extend some of the liberties afforded to Isnard’s 1772 Resonance division at St. Maximin-en-Var in Provence, though I realize this is a stretch. While the Solo division has only one rank to call its own, its Grand Montre, Flauto Venezia, and Cornet stops are laudable composites that yield breathtaking results and must be heard to be fully appreciated. The judicious use of digital voices also should be mentioned: the expanded repertory that can be explored through their use, and the versatility afforded to their voicing and balance, is considerable. In summary, this instrument is what it is and does what it does without apology: brilliantly.

I played Peragallo Opus 643 at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Columbia, South Carolina, for ten years, and the success of that instrument in leading sung worship is documented on over 700 videos with nearly four million views as of this writing. I am proud to have introduced the Peragallo family to the good people of Ss. Simon and Jude. I applaud Matthew Meloche, his clergy, and their patrons for blazing new trails in organ building while upholding the best of Catholic musical orthodoxy, providing a broken world with beauty and hope when we need it most. I predict that Peragallo Opus 743 will likewise inspire subsequent renewal in sacred music on a local as well as global scale. Ad majorem Dei gloriam.

—Mark Husey

 

From the Director of Sacred Music

It has been a great pleasure of mine, since 2013, to continue the good work of my predecessor Adam Bartlett in promoting legitimate Catholic sacred music at the Cathedral of Ss. Simon and Jude, the Mother Church of the Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona. Perhaps the most quoted liturgy document of the past 50 years has been Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy promulgated by the Second Vatican Council. In that rather broad document a few specific musical items are mentioned: chant, polyphony, and the pipe organ.

Though the cathedral’s history with Gregorian chant long predates myself and my immediate predecessor (the 11:00 a.m. Solemn Mass has had the authentic Gregorian Introit sung at it for a decade or more), it was under Bartlett and then my watch that polyphony—especially that of Palestrina, Byrd, and even of modern composers—began being promoted and used extensively. The final piece of the puzzle for the cathedral was to move the choir from the north transept where they were relocated several decades back to the choir loft and the installation of a pipe organ.

The pipe organ design put forth by the Peragallo’s and the tonal specifications put together over many months pushed beyond the cathedral’s initial vision.  With time and the advice of great musicians (Mark Husey, Dr. Daniel Page, Ryan Dingess, Bruce Ludwick, among others), a wonderful instrument came forth. The many tonal colors of the organ make it an ideal instrument for creative improvisations on Gregorian chant themes, and many of its ranks seem to be made to accompany congregational settings of the chanted Ordinary of the Mass.

The dedication series of six concerts (played by Dr. Paul Weber, Dr. Skye Hart, Dr. Emma Whitten, Dr. Meaghan King, Mr. Mark Husey, and Mr. Jonathan Ryan) was eye opening to many cathedral parishioners and visitors from around the diocese. The pipe organ is used to accompany congregational music regularly at the Diocese of Phoenix televised Mass, which is viewed by over 60,000 people each Sunday. His Excellency, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, in his homily during the Vespers service at which he blessed the pipe organ, joyfully celebrated this instrument and the inspiration it would bring to parishioners and Catholics from around Arizona. It is my hope that this instrument will begin a resurgence in the Diocese of Phoenix and be the first of many pipe organs to find its way into Catholic parishes here that may have never had one.

—Matthew J. Meloche

 

See time lapse video of week one of the organ being built at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=579Rc0svbbg.  

 

Grand Orgue – Manual I 

32′ Flûte conique Positif and Pédale 

16′ Contre Violone 61 pipes

8′ Montre 61 pipes

8′ Flûte harmonique 61 pipes

8′ Bourdon à cheminée 61 pipes

8′ Gambe 61 pipes

8′ Cor de nuit (ext Bd Dx 16′)  Récit 

8′ Cor de chamois Positif 

8′ Cor de chamois Céleste Positif  

4′ Prestant 61 pipes

4′ Flûte ouverte 61 pipes

4′ Cor de chamois Céleste II Positif

2′ Doublette 61 pipes

2′ Flûte à bec (ext 4′ Fl) 12 pipes 

II Cornet (c2–c6) 98 pipes

III/IV Grande Fourniture composite

IV Fourniture  244 pipes

III Cymbale  183 pipes 

16′ Contre Trompette  61 wps

8′ Trompette 61 pipes

4′ Clairon (ext 8′ Tr) 12 pipes 

Tremulant

8′ Trompette en Chamade Solo

Positif Expressif – Manual II 

16′ Flûte conique 61 wps

8′ Montre 61 pipes 

8′ Bourdon 61 pipes 

8′ Cor de chamois 61 pipes

8′ Cor de chamois Céleste (TC) 49 pipes

4′ Principal italien (ext 8′ Mt) 12 pipes 

4′ Flûte à fuseau 61 pipes

2′ Octavin 61 pipes

11⁄3′ Larigot 61 pipes

1′ Piccolo (ext 4′ Fl) 12 pipes 

II Cymbale 122 pipes 

16′ Cor anglais 61 wps  8′ Cromorne 61 pipes

4′ Chalumeau à cheminée 61 pipes

8′ Tromba magna 61 pipes 

4′ Clairon magna (ext 8′ Tr)

Tremulant

Positif 16′

Positif Muet

Positif 4′

Harp 49 wps 

Celesta 12 wps 

8′ Trompette en Chamade Solo  

Récit – Manual III

16′ Bourdon doux 61 wps  

8′ Montre 61 pipes

8′ Flûte à cheminée 61 pipes

8′ Viole de gambe 61 pipes

8′ Voix Céleste (TC) 49 pipes

8′ Flauto Dolce Céleste II 122 wps  

4′ Prestant 61 pipes

4′ Flûte traversière 61 pipes

22⁄3′ Nasard (TC) 30 pipes

2′ Doublette 61 pipes

2′ Quarte de nasard (ext 4′ Fl) 12 pipes

13⁄5′ Tierce (TC) 30 pipes

III/IV Plein jeu 220 pipes 

IV Cymbale composite 

II Sept/Neuf 122 wps  

16′ Basson 61 pipes

8′ Trompette 61 pipes

8′ Cor di bassetto 61 pipes

8′ Hautbois 61 pipes

8′ Voix humaine 61 wps

4′ Clarion (ext 8′ Tr) 12 pipes

Tremulant

Recit 16′

Recit Muet

Recit 4′

8′ Trompette en Chamade Solo

Solo – Manual IV

8′ Grande Montre III G.O. composite   

8′ Flûte majeure II G.O. composite 

8′ Cor de Violes VII Récit composite 

8′ Flauto Veneziano Céleste II 

Récit composite 

4′ Flûte magique G.O. fr. 8′ Fl har

V Grande Cornet G.O. composite  

VIII Cornet à la neuvieme Réc composite 

16′ Cor di bassetto Récit

8′ Cromorne Positif  

8′ Trompette en chamade 49 pipes 

8′ Chalumeau à cheminée Positif 

8′ Cor anglais Positif 

16′ Tuba magna (1–12 wps) Positif 

8′ Tromba magna Positif 

4′ Clairon magna Positif 

Tremulant

Clochettes 37 wps  

Solo 16′

Solo Muet

Solo 4′

Antiphonale – Floating 

8′ Montre 61 wps

8′ Flûte angelique 61 wps

8′ Viole angelorum 61 wps

8′ Voix seraphique 61 wps

8′ Unda maris II 122 wps

4′ Prestant 61 wps

4′ Flûte bouchée 61 wps

2′ Doublette 61 wps

8′ Cor d’orchestre 61 wps

Tremulant

Antiphonal Octave Célestes

Antiphonale Pédale 

16′ Contrebasse 32 wps

16′ Bourdon 32 wps

8′ Octavbasse 12 wps

8′ Bourdon 12 wps

4′ Flûte couverte 32 wps

8′ Cor d’orchestre Ant.

4′ Cor d’orchestre Ant.

Pédale Tremulant

Pédale

32′ Flûte ouverte 32 wps 

32′ Contre bourdon 32 wps 

32′ Flûte conique 32 wps 

16′ Contrebasse 32 wps 

16′ Montre 32 pipes

16′ Violone Grand Orgue 

16′ Flûte conique Positif 

16′ Bourdon 32 wps  

16′ Bourdon doux Récit 

8′ Octavbasse 32 pipes

8′ Bourdon 12 wps

8′ Flute doux Récit

4′ Doublette (ext 8′ Oct) 12 pipes 

4′ Flûte octaviante Grand Orgue

IV Fourniture composite

32′ Contre Bombarde 32 wps 

16′ Bombarde 32 pipes

16′ Contre Trompette Grand Orgue 

16′ Basson Récit

8′ Bombarde (ext 16′) 12 pipes 

8′ Trompette en chamade Solo 

8′ Tromba magna Positif 

4′ Cromorne  Positif 

Campanile Cathédrale Solo

Étoile Sonora

 

wps  = Walker pipe sample 

 

Four manuals and pedal, 51 ranks

Austin Organs, Inc.,
Hartford, Connecticut

The Royal Poinciana Chapel, Palm Beach, Florida

 

Another Austin in Paradise

Nestled on the island of Palm Beach, alongside the last remaining cocoanut grove, one will discover the rather charming Royal Poinciana Chapel, named after the magnificent Delonix Regia, the Royal Poinciana tree that was once abundant on the island.

The Royal Poinciana Chapel is a vital, post-denominational Christian community with a strong congregation of 800 members and seasonal guests during winter, including some 250 year-round families and children. The chapel sits at the center of Palm Beach Island on three acres of lush landscaped property bordering Henry Flagler’s famous home Whitehall, now open as a museum. The chapel overlooks the Intracoastal Waterway and the West Palm Beach waterfront to the west and The Breakers resort and ocean golf course directly to the east. It features the landmark giant kapok tree giving frame to an exquisite view. It is the most photographed spot in Palm Beach and a favorite location for destination weddings.

Senior Pastor Dr. Robert Norris is known for his impassioned preaching, pastoral ministry, and active community involvement. He also serves as adjunct member of the teaching faculty at Princeton Theological Seminary. The chapel is widely known for its phenomenal music program led by Stewart Foster, minister of music. Foster plays the chapel’s new Austin organ with rare talent and passion and also conducts the professionally trained Royal Poinciana Chapel Chorale at weekly services.

The history of Royal Poinciana Chapel owes its life to Henry Morrison Flagler (1830–1913). Flagler, alongside his friend and business partner, John D. Rockefeller, built the Standard Oil Company into the most prosperous and monopolizing oil empire of the era. As the company flourished and Flagler’s fortunes grew, he left his offices in New York City, and ventured south to a wild frontier known as Florida.

In 1894, Flagler built the Hotel Royal Poinciana on the shores of Lake Worth on the island to be known as Palm Beach and extended his railroad to its service town, creating the city of West Palm Beach. This remarkable edifice, the largest wooden structure in the world at the time, had 1,150 guest rooms with over seven miles of hallways, served by a staff of 1,700, many of whom lived across the pond in housing provided by Flagler and would arrive daily by rowboats to work their shifts. The island boasted an infamous casino, the hotel, and a humble chapel on this parcel. The disposition had the hotel in the center, casino to the south, and chapel to the north. It was said that one could engage in debauchery, rest, and reconciliation without ever leaving the property! The chapel was known for having engaging preachers and excellent music from the beginning. The hotel was demolished in 1934, in favor of the newer, lavish Breakers Hotel, which remains to this day, the former enterprise having become redundant. Years later, the chapel was relocated on the property, and now sits close to Whitehall. Henry Flagler’s original cottage was also moved to this property in recent times, and serves the chapel’s needs for meeting space and special events.

While Whitehall boasts a modest J. H. & C. S. Odell organ in its music room, we do not know the original instrument in the chapel. In 1963, the M. P. Möller Organ Company installed its Opus 9720. At the time of this installation, the organ was a modest three-manual instrument of 30 stops; some 26 stops in the chancel, with three ranks of flutes and a Vox Humana in the antiphonal. In 1981, Austin Organs, Inc., built a new four-manual console. It was designed with the intention of expanding the instrument, and this expansion was initiated before the new console was installed! The revised tonal plan was developed with the assistance of Thomas R. Thomas, director of music at the time. Also, a possibly apocryphal addition to the legacy includes Virgil Fox, a close neighbor. It was said that he wanted a significant instrument on which to practice, and therefore lent his voice and expertise to the early console and tonal design thoughts before his death in 1980. As a result, the new tonal work included a new Austin Great of 10 stops, a new 7-stop Positiv, and a 7-stop Solo. The existing Möller 6-stop Great pipework was revoiced and placed on a new Austin tracker chest in the gallery, alongside a new 14-stop Gallery Swell, and 5-stop Pedal using some vintage pipework from various sources along with new Austin pipework. Back in the chancel, the existing Möller Swell and Choir remained as they were installed in 1963, but a new Pedal division was created utilizing some new Austin chests and pipework alongside a few selected Möller stops. New casework and façades were drawn by Austin’s chief designer Frederick Mitchell.

The new, mostly Austin organ was tonally finished by Fred Heffner and David Johnston. Tripled in size from the original Möller, parts of this instrument spoke from deep chambers and seemed to fill the room with ethereal presence.

Time and tide ravaged the organ. Trouble began with delivery of the façade pipes in 1983. For unknown reasons, pipes of tin and tin-plated zinc were ordered from an Eastern European supplier. Upon arrival directly in Florida, many of these pipes were damaged, some beyond repair. Over time, the soft metal deformed, and random notes began to lose their former eloquent speech. There were hurricanes, water, and various other pests that created issues within the organ chambers. The Möller company proposed a significant renovation/reconstruction of the organ, and removed much of the instrument to their factory in Hagerstown in 1990. With the collapse of the Möller company, the chapel was able to perform a rescue of the organ components from the Möller factory, and the Reuter Organ Company was subsequently contracted to perform a major overhaul of the organ in 1992. This work included some chestwork, additions, and replacement of some reed stops. A number of reed pipes were compromised, because adding to the atmospheric issues that affected the chapel, many instruments in the 1980s suffered decomposition of lead in the blocks of reed pipes. As the lead crumbles into lead sulfate, replacement or reconstruction is necessary. The other factor in the work completed in 1992 was the reconstruction and expansion of the chapel space. The former Swell, Solo, and Choir chests and pipes were relocated to front chambers left and right of the façade. The effect proved problematic since the pipework was apparently not revoiced to compensate for the new location closer to the ears of the Chorale and congregation. As a result, the Swell and Solo aggressively dominated the entire instrument, making proper registration balances difficult to achieve.

In 2014, working with the chapel’s director of music, Stewart Foster, our tonal staff at Austin Organs set out to design an essentially new organ, using the building blocks of the existing instrument as a starting place. The final instrument would contain 104 ranks of pipes. Our guiding principle was that the tonal result would be one of elegant beauty and gentle nuance. In other words, with a temperate approach, tonal blend had to be achieved without allowing any domination of individual departments or voices. The success of this project is certainly in part due to the active participation at every stage from design to installation by Stewart Foster. A consummate musician, he knows not only how to make the organ sing, but what it takes to make an organ truly successful tonally. Austin staff members, including Raymond Albright, Bruce Coderre, Dan Kingman, Curt Hawkes, Anne Wysocki, Colin Coderre, Victor Hoyt, Scotty Giffen, the late Stew Skates, Tony Valdez, Dick Taylor, Mike Fazio, Tong Satayopas, Phil Swartz, and Nick Schroeder, who worked directly on the installation, imparted their own special gifts that contributed to its success. 

 

Mechanical considerations

Our approach in designing the new instrument was to update or replace every questionable mechanical system. A new, four-manual Austin console replaced the earlier mechanical console. The new console, built of painted birch and oiled cherry, is equipped with 300 levels of combination action memory, record-playback, and a transposer; a WiFi interface is integrated in the console control system for iPad/iPhone operation of advanced functions. Austin-made walnut drawknobs control all stops and couplers, the latter being spread on either side of the keydesk. Among some of the unique design elements, the console has a mechanism that physically closes the crescendo pedal when General Cancel is pressed. A second set of divisional pistons called “English Divisionals” appear when selected and have pre-set combinations that create a typical English Crescendo in the desired division. There is also a drawknob matrix that selects Swell and Choir/Solo expression shade operation, controlling three independent expression shade assemblies in each chamber. This allows sound from these divisions to be modeled to suit a variety of dynamic options. By using “Swell Shades Pianissimo,” for example, the organist can successfully accompany a vocal quartet with robust, Full Swell combinations. 

Austin specified a hydraulic lift that raises the console from the main floor to the chancel platform for concert use. Every Möller (and Reuter) chest was removed and replaced with new Austin tracker and unit chests; the entirety of the Swell was placed upon a walk-in air chest with integrated regulator. Wind pressures were raised in some divisions, and a new control system was made by Solid State Organ Systems. Chancel to Gallery data transmission is accomplished via fiber-optic cable. 

 

Tonal design

We started with the Great division to establish the revised tonal personality of the organ. Our guidance from Stewart Foster was found in one particular stop, designated as a model for the character of the entire instrument: the Positiv Italian Principal. It was indeed very smooth, beautifully voiced by Fred Heffner in 1983; only slightly ascendant and while of somewhat light weight, this stop had great tonal presence due to its nicely developed harmonic structure. One fear we had was that, as part of the new tonal design, we were raising the pressure of the Positiv by one inch (water column), so we wanted to be sure not to alter that which was treasured! During the scope of this project, some stops required rebuilding, others re-scaling. The result was enthusiastically received and has proven perfectly satisfactory. 

The Great was carefully voiced to perfect balance, from foundation to sharp mixture. The Reuter Trumpet was removed and replaced with a vintage Austin Cornopean (voiced as a chorus reed), available at 16′ and 8′ pitches; the 16′ octave was built from the former Möller 16′ reed (resonator length was added to match Austin patterns for our 6-inch scale, full-length Double Trumpet). Also added to the Great was a five-rank Mounted Cornet. This stop was scaled along French Classic lines and sits on a plinth fed by single actions speaking through 42-inch tubing. The Positiv was re-imagined, retaining the Italian Principal and 4′ Octave. The 1⁄3′ Zimbel was changed to 1′ pitch and revoiced. The 8′ Gedeckt was revoiced and is now available at 8′ and 4′ pitches. We added a new Sesquialtera and Cromorne and re-pitched and voiced the former 8′ Rohr Schalmei as a 4′ stop to support the new 8′ Cromorne. The additions of the Cornet, Sesquialtera, and Cromorne/Schalmei have opened new forays into historical organ repertoire. Another new addition, a charming Rossignol, adds a bit of whimsy to this division.

The Pedal was improved by the replacement of the previous ½-length 32′ Bombarde with a new full-length 32′ Trombone. The existing 16′ reed was revoiced to a darker timbre, blending perfectly with the new pipes. The existing 32′ Bourdon extended only to EEEE, the bottom four notes sounding a resultant of the 16′ Bourdon. For better effect, four new pipes were installed speaking 102⁄3′ pitch, at the correct dynamic and tuning to deliver more satisfying 32′ tone for CCCC–DDDD#. New façade pipes were made with some subtle design changes suggested by Stewart Foster, replacing the dented, collapsed old tin pipes. The old pipes were given to members of the congregation as keepsakes; in a week, all 72 pipes ranging from 4′ to 16′ GGG were removed by members!

In the Swell, a new Principal Chorus was envisioned, utilizing some of the existing pipework. A new 8′ Principal was manufactured and the 4′ Octave was re-scaled; an existing 2′ Fifteenth happily fit into the scheme very well. The existing Möller Mixture had been recomposed in 1992, but was found to be shrill and ineffective some years ago, with many pipes stuffed with cotton to silence them. We used much of the original pipework, re-pitching the primary IV-rank mixture at 22⁄3′ pitch (which also draws separately) and installed a new III-rank Cymbale, based at 1′ pitch. The strings and flutes in this department were voiced to new pressure, dynamic, and blend. The reeds were completely rebuilt or replaced to create a chorus of independent voices at 16′/8′/8′/4′. The result is generally perceived as being a French tone color, light in weight but fiery without excessive volume. The Vox Humana is placed in an Austin “VoxBox” with independent tremulant and lid that can be raised and lowered from the console to control dynamic. Note that between Gallery and Chancel there are two Vox Humanas and five celestes with all the requisite inter- and intra-manual couplers!

The Möller Choir organ was enhanced with a new 4′ Principal and a new Clarinet. The 1963 pipework was mostly original, so the process of revoicing was easier than the work required in the Swell. The overall effect was a gentle broadening of tone color with the ever-present goal of achieving perfect blend. The new Clarinet was voiced on 10 inches wind pressure, and the new chest was built with unique high-pressure section, which allowed this stop to speak on the higher pressure, while remaining on the same action. Directly behind the Choir chest we find the Solo organ, which had minimal voicing performed at this time. The Reuter English Horn remained, but the Austin Bombarde was rebuilt and revoiced, and the Reuter Clarion was replaced with Austin pipework. The existing Deagan Harp was rebuilt with electric actions and located high on a side wall to avoid being a hindrance to tuning access.

Minimal work was performed in the Gallery, being mostly intact and otherwise satisfactory. A new extension was added to the 16′ Diapason, allowing it to speak as a second 8′ manual Diapason, contrasting and complementing the existing 8′ Principal. A new 8′ Trumpet en Chamade was made in brass and installed as replacement for the existing stop of the same name. The new pipework was scaled and voiced along the lines of an Austin Waldhorn—darker in color and generally warmer in tone, similar to an English Tromba. In this somewhat intimate setting, this results in a more desirable solo voice than a very bright, fiery Trompette. Stewart Foster reports that the previous Chamade would regularly receive complaints from wary congregants. Now, the complete opposite is true, as folks often ask why the trumpets didn’t play on a particular morning: “We love hearing them!”

This instrument is the second Austin organ in Palm Beach. The other installation is our exciting organ at the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, located just across the golf course on the opposite shore of the island. Both instruments have unique personalities—surely identifiable as “Austin”—but each organ has its individual character and splendor that serves the very different roles these congregations demand. It is an enlightening pilgrimage to visit each church, perhaps at a worship service, or even during the week, and mark the similarities and differences.

The three-year project was made possible by funding from several prominent and generous chapel families and foundations. The organ was inaugurated by Christopher Houlihan, who played a truly unforgettable and stunning recital on April 3, 2016. Future concerts and recordings are planned along with a YouTube video series. Thanks to Stewart Foster for his assistance with this article, photos, and constant encouragement. Ad multos annos!

—Michael B. Fazio

President & Tonal Director 

Austin Organs, Inc.

 

Austin Organs: www.austinorgans.com 

Royal Poinciana: http://austinorgans.com/Op2685.html 

http://royalpoincianachapel.org/ 

More on BBTS: www.austinorgans.com/2777.html 

http://www.bbts.org/music/organ/ 

 

Royal Poinciana Chapel

60 Cocoanut Row

Palm Beach, FL 33480

Phone: 561/655-4212

 

CHANCEL GREAT 4″ wind

16′ Violone 61 pipes

8′ Principal 61 pipes

8′ Spitzflote 61 pipes

8′ Violone (ext) 12 pipes

4′ Octave 61 pipes

4′ Rohrflote 61 pipes

2′ Fifteenth 61 pipes

11⁄3′ Fourniture IV 244 pipes

1⁄3′ Scharff III 183 pipes

8′ Mounted Cornet V (TG) 185 pipes

16′ Contra Trompete (ext) 12 pipes

8′ Trompete 61 pipes

Tremulant

Carillon (Tower, digital)

 

POSITIV 31⁄2″ wind 

8′ Italian Principal 61 pipes

8′ Singendgedeckt 61 pipes

4′ Principal 61 pipes

4′ Gedeckt (ext) 12 pipes

2′ Blockflote 61 pipes

11⁄3′ Larigot 61 pipes

22⁄3′ Sesquialtera II 122 pipes

1⁄3′ Zimbel III 183 pipes

8′ Cromorne 61 pipes

4′ Rohr Schalmei 61 pipes

Tremulant

Rossignol

CHOIR 4″ wind

8′ Concert Flute 68 pipes 

8′ Gemshorn 68 pipes

8′ Gemshorn Celeste (TC) 56 pipes

4′ Principal 68 pipes

4′ Koppelflote 68 pipes

22⁄3′ Quint 61 pipes

2′ Fifteenth 61 pipes 

8′ Clarinet 68 pipes

Tremulant

Harp 61 bars

Celesta (ext Harp)

Carillon (Tower, digital)

8′ Trompette en Chamade (Solo)

CHANCEL SWELL 4″ wind

16′ Bass Gedeckt (ext) 12 pipes

8′ Geigen Diapason 68 pipes

8′ Gedeckt 68 pipes

8′ Salicional 68 pipes

8′ Voix Celeste 68 pipes

4′ Principal 68 pipes

4′ Flute Harmonique 68 pipes

4′ Voix Celestes II (extension)

22⁄3′ Twelfth (Mixture extract)

2′ Doublette 61 pipes

22⁄3′ Mixture IV 244 pipes

1′ Cymbale III 183 pipes

16′ Basson 68 pipes

8′ Trompette 68 pipes

8′ Oboe 68 pipes

8′ Vox Humana 61 pipes

4′ Clarion 68 pipes

Tremulant

SOLO 10″ wind

8′ Flute Harmonique 68 pipes 

8′ Violoncello 68 pipes 

8′ Cello Celeste 68 pipes 

4′ Orchestral Flute 68 pipes

8′ English Horn 68 pipes

8′ Bombarde 68 pipes

4′ Bombarde Clarion 68 pipes

Tremulant

8′ Trompette en Chamade (TC) 42 pipes 

GALLERY GREAT 31⁄2″ wind

16′ Montre 61 pipes

16′ Bourdon Doux (Swell)

8′ Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Montre (ext) 12 pipes

8′ Bourdon 61 pipes

4′ Prestant 61 pipes

22⁄3′ Quinte 61 pipes

2′ Doublette 61 pipes

11⁄3′ Fourniture III 183 pipes

Tremulant

8′ Trompette en Chamade (Solo)

GALLERY SWELL 4″ wind

16′ Bourdon Doux (ext) 12 pipes

8′ Flute à Cheminee 68 pipes

8′ Viole de Gambe 68 pipes

8′ Voix Celeste 68 pipes

8′ Flauto Dolce 68 pipes

8′ Flauto Dolce Celeste (TC) 56 pipes

4′ Fugara 68 pipes

4′ Flute à Fuseau 68 pipes

2′ Principal 61 pipes

22⁄3′ Cornet II 122 pipes

1′ Plein Jeu IV 244 pipes

16′ Bombarde 68 pipes

8′ Trompette 68 pipes

8′ Voix Humaine 61 pipes

4′ Clairon 68 pipes

Tremulant

Chimes 25 tubes

PEDAL

32′ Contre Bourdon 8 pipes

      102⁄3′ 4 pipes

16′ Contrebasse 32 pipes

16′ Bourdon 32 pipes

16′ Violone (Great)

16′ Bass Gedeckt (Swell)

102⁄3′ Quint (from Bourdon)

8′ Principal 12 pipes

8′ Geigen (Swell)

8′ Bourdon 12 pipes

8′ Cello (Great) 

8′ Gedeckt (Swell)

51⁄3′ Twelfth (from Bourdon) 7 pipes 

4′ Choral Bass 32 pipes

4′ Flute 32 pipes

22⁄3′ Mixture IV 128 pipes

Cornet V (derived)

32′ Contra Trombone (ext) 12 pipes

(Full length) CCCC 12″ scale

16′ Trombone 32 pipes

16′ Contra Trompete (Great)

16′ Basson (Swell)

8′ Trumpet (ext Trombone) 12 pipes

4′ Clarion (ext Trombone) 12 pipes

4′ Cromorne (Choir)

GALLERY PEDAL

16′ Montre (Great)

16′ Bourdon Doux (Swell)

8′ Octave (Great)

8′ Flute à Cheminee (Swell)

16′ Bombarde (Swell) 

8′ Trompette-en-Chamade (Solo)

Part 2: First United Methodist Church & First Congregational Church

Stephen Schnurr is director of music for St. Paul Catholic Church, Valparaiso, Indiana, and editor-at-large for The Diapason. His most recent book, Organs of Oberlin, was published in 2013 by Chauncey Park Press (www.organsofoberlin.com). He has authored several other books and journal articles, principally on pipe organ history in the Great Lakes states.

This article is the continuation of a feature in the August 2015 issue of The Diapason. This article 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 United Methodist Church

The Methodists were first organized in La Grange in 1872, served by clergy who also shepherded congregations at Cass and Lyonsville. Franklin Cossitt, founder of La Grange, donated land for the church. Before construction began, several active persons in the congregation moved away, and the property reverted back to Cossitt. This land was eventually the site of the First Congregational Church.

The Methodists reorganized in 1884. In the first year, church expenses were $216 for the pastor, $52 for hall rental for services, and $10 for missions. A frame school, used by the earlier Methodists, was purchased for $2,000, located on the present site, along with two lots. The renovated structure was dedicated for worship on November 28, 1886. Electric lighting was installed at a cost of $75 in 1892.

Plans for a new church were begun in 1890. In 1892, E. R. Turnock was retained as architect. The earlier church was demolished and work commenced on a new edifice in May of 1893. A portion of the stone Romanesque building was completed for use in November.

The completed sanctuary was dedicated in three services on Sunday, January 6, 1895. The congregation begins its pipe organ history in 1907 with acquisition of Henry Pilcher’s Sons Opus 577, a two-manual, thirteen-rank, nineteen-stop instrument completed in March of that year at a cost of $2,300. Pilcher took the church’s Vocalion organ in partial trade. An addition was made to the building the following year, and another in 1917.

Planning for the present church building began in 1948. The cornerstone of the church of Gothic influence in stone was laid in 1950. Dedication occurred on September 25, 1952. With membership at over 1,550 persons, the congregation added a second Sunday service. A new education building was erected between 1961 and 1963, including a chapel. The sanctuary was renovated to its present configuration in 2012.

For the church’s present edifice,
M. P. Möller of Hagerstown, Maryland, supplied its Opus 8261, a three-manual, electro-pneumatic action organ. The contract was dated August 7, 1950, with completion set for eleven months, at a cost of $20,096. Henry Beard was the representative for the builder. The organ was dedicated with the church in 1952. Beard’s wife, Maud, sang soprano during the church consecration service. The pipework is installed in a chamber above and to the left of the chancel. Around 1960, the Möller firm added the exposed Positiv division, divided on either side of the chancel. (See First Methodist Church stoplist, page 21.)

 

First Congregational Church

The First Congregational Church was organized on March 18, 1881. A frame church was erected the following year. Franklin Cossitt, a founder of La Grange, was active in this church as well as Emmanuel Episcopal Church.

The cornerstone of the present building was laid September 10, 1892, for a stone edifice of Romanesque influence. Dedication occurred May 1893. This portion of the building is now known as the Founders’ Room and is the oldest church building in the village. The present sanctuary adjoining the 1893 church was built in 1907. In 1937, this sanctuary was remodeled with the addition of a chancel and a new organ. In 1951, the education building was constructed, which includes the Chapel of the Beatitudes.

The first organ in the church was built by the Verney Organ Company of Mason City, Iowa, and was likely installed around 1907. A contract dated April 24, 1937, was signed by the church for a new organ from
the Votteler-Holtkamp-Sparling Organ Company of Cleveland, Ohio. Job number 1600 for the builder was to cost $10,000, and parts of the Verney organ were to be reused in the new instrument. The Great and part of the Pedal divisions were located on the right side of the chancel in chambers, the Swell and remainder of the Pedal divisions were located on the left side. The Positiv division was positioned on the rear wall of the chancel, some fifteen feet from the floor. The organ was to be completed by October 1. On July 1 $2,500 was due, and another $2,500 on October 1.

The June 1937 issue of The Diapason had this to say about the unique and forward-thinking planning for this organ:

 

According to the builders, the design of the organ will do much to solve the problem of divided organs. The chambers are to be located on both sides and above the choir. Both chambers are to be opened up to the nave as well as to the chancel, and to such an extent that the chambers as such will cease to exist. A positiv of eight stops will be placed on the back wall of the chancel, midway between the two chambers. This will take the place of the choir. The pipework of the positiv is to be unenclosed, although it will be hidden from sight of the congregation.

The organ is to be entirely “straight” except for the great quintaton 16 ft., and Posaune, 16’ ft., which are also to be used in the pedal. Four stops of the great and the harp and chimes are to be in a swell-box. The typical great stops will be unenclosed. To augment the regular adjustable combination action, a ventil system is included. This consists of ventil pedals 1-2-3, stop release and cancel. The specification was developed by Cecil Smith, organist and director.

The importance of this organ in the Chicago area may never have been realized. This was one of very few organs by Walter Holtkamp, Sr., in the metropolitan area, perhaps his largest, and an early statement of his forward-thinking work. (See Votteler-Holtkamp-Sparling stoplist, page 21.)

In 1957, Frank J. Sauter of Alsip, Illinois, replaced the console with a new one from the Reuter Organ Company of Lawrence, Kansas. In 1977, the organ was sold for $12,500 to Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Chicago, for relocation there. There have been some tonal alterations to the organ. Also, it is possible that some slight changes were made to the organ’s specification when under construction at Holtkamp. Perhaps the Pedal 4′ Clarion may have been installed as a Clarinet. The Swell 4′ Oboe Clarion may have always been an 8′ Oboe. Further records are not available in the builder’s archives.

In 1965, the Reuter Organ Company installed an organ in the Chapel of the Beatitudes. The contract for Opus 1477 was dated September 12, 1963, for a two-manual, eight-rank, electro-pneumatic action organ, enclosed except for the Principal and Mixture ranks. The chapel organ was dedicated in recital by Clyde Holloway on March 1, 1965. (See Reuter Opus 1477 stoplist, page 22.)

In August of 1978, The Diapason announced that the church had contracted for a new, two-manual, 32-stop, 47-rank mechanical-action organ from Jan Van Daalen of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The organ was to be installed at the front of the church in a free-standing case and to be completed by December. The console is detached and reversed. After the organ was finished, the Brustwerk 8′ Musette was replaced with an 8′ Celeste. (See Van Daalen stoplist, page 22.)

 

 

Emery Brothers, Allentown, Pennsylvania

Christ Church in Short Hills, Short Hills, New Jersey

 

From the builder

It is no secret that tonal styles and the desires and expectations of organists have undergone significant changes in the last hundred years. Aeolian-Skinner Opus 1347, built in 1960, evidences most of the characteristics one would expect from an organ of that decade—lower wind pressures (Positiv speaks on 2 inches wind pressure), ample mixtures and upperwork, and as I heard a colleague once say, “plenty of Zs and umlauts.” Make no mistake—this instrument, as originally designed, made a strong, cohesive statement as a whole, and with the clever division of Swell and Bombarde on the third manual, provided a surprising amount of room for creativity in registration.

Aeolian-Skinner Opus 1347 was well designed and well built, thus its physical restoration formed the core of the project. In the course of this work, we stripped and releathered pouch boards, stripped and releathered reservoirs, including the installation of double gussets, fashioned and installed new primary valves on primaries and unit actions, releathered tremolos and shade engines, totally rewired the organ, and reconditioned the blower and motor. Everything wooden received a thorough cleaning and, where appropriate, a new coat of shellac. Pipes were all individually cleaned and polished by hand, stoppers stripped and repacked, and open flue pipes fitted with new stainless-steel tuning slides. All pipework was checked for voicing and regulation before leaving the shop, with final tonal finishing completed onsite.

However, in this project we were tasked not only with addressing the physical breakdown of the organ’s various mechanisms after five decades of continuous service, but also with maximizing the instrument’s strengths through some sensible and judicious tonal additions and revisions. In addition, the original console was built around the structure of the chancel—one corner was cut out to make room for a beam—and so with the desire for the console to be made movable, provision of a new console was necessary. With the church’s very active music program, including the frequent presence of visiting organists, a multi-level combination action (provided by Solid State Organ Systems) was absolutely necessary.

In its original design, the Bombarde division featured independent reeds at 16′, 8′, and 4′ pitch. This was altered later, when Aeolian-Skinner removed the 8′ Trompette from the Bombarde and moved it to the Great. The 16′ Contra Trompette was then placed on unit action and trebles provided for it to speak at 16′ and 8′ pitch. This compromised the strength of the Bombarde reed chorus, and in the end the most sensible step was to put the Trompette back in the Bombarde, which also made room for a new 8′ Major Trumpet on the Great. This new stop leans towards solo strength, while remaining usable in full chorus.

Mutations in the Positiv were originally pitched an octave higher than usual (11⁄3′ Nasat, 4⁄5′ Terz), and the 4′ Rohr Schalmei was not particularly successful. Re-pitching the mutations presented no difficulty, and the solution for the Rohr Schalmei presented itself when the desire to replace the Swell Krummhorn with an Oboe came up. The Krummhorn was revoiced onto the lower Positiv wind pressure, and a new Hautbois built for the Swell.

The new Antiphonal organ comprises six ranks, all playing on electro-pneumatic action, designed to complement and provide a foil to Aeolian-Skinner Opus 1347 and to bolster congregational singing. Within a compact footprint (both cases measure 41″ x 72″) are housed five of the six ranks (the Trompette en Chamade is mounted on the wall between the two cases), the blower, static reservoir, step-up blower and high-pressure reservoir, double-pressure divided wooden wind trunk, solid-state relay, four wind chests, and two additional reservoirs. Pipes 1–23 of the 4′ Principal make up the right-hand façade. When played with the main organ, the Antiphonal organ has the effect of “pulling” the sound into back third of the room. The full-length, flamed-copper Trompette en Chamade was carefully designed to provide a rich and commanding solo voice that would stand up well to the full organ.

I am most grateful for Bynum Petty’s help in scaling and designing the tonal additions included in this project. I also extend hearty thanks to Brian DeWald (briandewaldwoodworking.com), who built and finished the new Antiphonal organ casework and assisted with installation; Dan Cole (pipeshader.com), who assisted in the casework design and provided promotional materials showing renderings of the Antiphonal organ; and Samuel Hughes, who restored all the reed pipes in the organ. New pipes and chests were built by A. R. Schopp’s Sons, Inc.

—Adam F. Dieffenbach

Emery Brothers

 

Emery Brothers staff involved with this project included: Adam Dieffenbach, Steve Emery, Rosemary Hood, Parfyon Kirshnit, Jon Kracht, Clem Mirto, John Nester, Ardie Peeters, Rich Spotts, and Ryan Stout.

 

From the organist and choirmaster

The Aeolian-Skinner organ at Christ Church was dedicated on Easter Sunday, April 17, 1960. The instrument was typical of the era with a neo-baroque design that included bright principal choruses and ample upperwork. Joseph Whiteford voiced the organ on the aggressive side to cope with a dry acoustic and a low ceiling height in the nave. The organ was altered slightly in 1967 by the builder (Opus 1347-A) to adjust for the addition of heavy carpet across the center aisle. 

When I came to Christ Church, the organ had served the parish for over 50 years, with minimal maintenance and annual tunings. The only change made to the organ was the addition of a remote solid-state capture action to operate the console. Because of failing leather, outdated wiring, and a worn console, the church formed an organ committee to address the needs of the music program as well as the acoustic issues in the church. While the committee did look at several possible replacements for the instrument, in the end the organ was restored because of the overall fine quality of the original installation.

With the guidance of the rector, wardens, and vestry, the decision was made to first renovate the church in several stages. Each stage was completed during the summer months to avoid conflicts during the program year. The first year included the removal of all the carpeting in the church and the installation of new hardwood floors in the entire nave. The second year included new plaster ceilings in the nave to cover the wood lathe ceiling panels and restoration of the stained glass windows. The last year included the removal of the organ, renovation of the ceilings and floors of the choir, and new lighting throughout the church. At that time the woodwork in the church was refinished, removing the white pickled oak stain so popular in the 1950s. 

The organ work performed by Emery Brothers for over a year and a half included new leather, new wiring, a new console, and a new Antiphonal division. The console is built in the style of the original, but is movable and contains additional drawknobs for the Antiphonal and Pedal divisions. The keyboards, music desk, and walnut key cheeks were retained. Only minor changes were made to the chancel organ specification. While the renovated church now has a warm acoustic that requires little amplification for speech, the length of the nave and low ceiling height called for the addition of an Antiphonal organ to support congregational singing. For festivals and weddings, a horizontal reed was added under the center of the Transfiguration window. The scaling and design were by Bynum Petty, installation by Adam Dieffenbach, and tonal finishing by Steve Emery and Charles Callahan. The console replica and the Aeolian-Skinner digital samples were supplied by Walker Technical of Zionsville, Pennsylvania. The organ was rededicated by Alan Morrison with an American Guild of Organists workshop and recital in November.

I believe that in the end we stayed true to the original design of the organ. With very minor changes we have made the organ more flexible and better equipped to serve the parish for the next 50 years.

It is truly a blessing for a parish to have such an instrument. May it lead and inspire worship each and every week for generations to come!

—Andrew Paul Moore, DMA

Organist and Choirmaster

 

From the rector

When I arrived at Christ Church in Short Hills in 2010, I discovered, to my delight, that it had a really fine Aeolian-Skinner organ. It had a sound that seemed to be saying, “Yes, I’m a cousin to some of those wonderful organs you’ve heard in other churches that have great music in worship.”

Now, I’ve lived in France and love the sound of a great French organ playing. And I’m Dutch, so those marvelous trackers sound to me like the DNA of my youthful upbringing in the Dutch Reformed Church. But the sound of the organ in Short Hills was American. I don’t say that in a prideful way, not even in a “better than others” way. But there was something about this organ that could sound the repertoire ranging from an English cathedral choir chanting a psalm, to full-blown-out Reger. It sounded it all well and with its own twist on things.

I’ve served churches with electronic organs and wheezing electro-pneumatics. I was just so grateful this instrument was neither. Unfortunately, this organ was a bit like that date that is really great the first time but doesn’t grow better as the time goes on; in fact, just the opposite.

After having been at the church a little more than a year, I began to wonder why people hardly sang the hymns in the back half of the nave? I began to wonder if it were just me, or if the sound really did fall off a cliff when we reached a certain pew in the retiring procession each week? We began to notice greater hissing noise, more frequent repairs, and costly service.

Then in 2011, Andrew Moore joined us, and he could make the instrument sing as I’d never heard it before. But he could also diagnose its illness, and he told us the prognosis was dim. The good news was that little work had been done to the instrument since it had been installed in the 1960s, so little harm had been done. He also confirmed that the congregation’s lack of singing in the back half of the church probably had to do with such little organ support. The acoustics didn’t work in our favor, and the sound just wasn’t getting back there.

We hosted an organ education night at which Stephen Emery from Emery Brothers in Allentown, Pennsylvania, came to show us worn leathers, ill-fitting pouches, tarnished pipes, cotton wrapped wires, and more. We led tours through the chambers, and people who had always taken the sounds of the organ for granted now were in awe of how it actually works—and why it didn’t. They saw piles of pipes that had been removed from their windchests and were unable to function.

Adam Dieffenbach from Emery Brothers proposed a complete renovation of the existing instrument and suggested a new Antiphonal for the rear wall, both to provide sound back there, as well as to pull the sound from the pipes in the front. Because of space issues, they proposed adding a limited number of digital stops to round out the instrument’s full sound and complete Whiteford’s original concept for the instrument.

“How to pay for it?” is every parish’s question and every rector’s challenge. But in this case we had two wardens, John Cooper and Cynthia McChesney, who recognized not only the need to do the restoration work, but also its stewardship. We had competitive bids for both rebuilding and replacement. Replacement never caught any of our imaginations. That would be more expensive, but also, we realized this was a very fine instrument with a fairly unique American sound, the likes of which simply are not being made today in the same way.

Through John and Cynthia’s leadership in fundraising and both Andrew Moore’s and my direct involvement in asking individuals for support, the entire amount needed was raised in about four months. That included a substantial cushion, of which we used every last dime as we made changes to both the organ project and the worship space.

Our people realized that this was the right time to act, not only because of the present need of the instrument, but also out of respect for the amazing talent of Andrew Moore. Every age has its gifts, and the wise church appreciates and supports those gifts when they happen.

Our choir went from five section leaders and three volunteer members to four section leaders and more than twenty volunteers over the last five years. Singing has vastly improved. This summer, the entire choir is going to England to be the choir-in-residence for singing the daily office at Bristol Cathedral. More than fourteen new music groups used our space last year, both religious and secular, bringing so many people through the doors of the church.

Oh, every once in a while someone will complain that the trumpets in the back are too loud, but then the person standing next to her will say, “I think it’s just great!” There you have it; life in the Church! And in our case, we feel our worship. Our welcome and invitation to others has vastly improved, all because we acted rather than argued about whether to be responsible for something our ancestors here had left us as a gift in the first place. And we feel we’ve left the next generation something better than we could have ever imagined.

—The Reverend Dr. Timothy Mulder

Rector, Christ Church in Short Hills

 

Aeolian-Skinner Opus 1347, Joseph Whiteford, 1960. 

Renovation/additions and Antiphonal division, Emery Brothers, 2015: 63 ranks, 3,625 pipes.

GREAT

16′ Quintaton 61

16′ Rohrbourdon (Sw)

8′ Principal 61

8′ Bourdon 61

8′ Quintaton (ext) 12

4′ Octav 61

4′ Rohrflote 61

22⁄3′ Quint 61

2′ Super Octav 61

IV Mixtur 244

III Scharf 183

8′ Major Trumpet (6″ wp) 61

8′ Trompette en Chamade (Ant)

Chimes

Zimbelstern

SWELL

16′ Rohrbourdon 61

8′ Rohrbourdon (ext) 12

8′ Klein Erzahler 61

8′ Erzahler Celeste (TC) 49

4′ Geigen 61

22⁄3′ Nasat 61

2′ Octav 61

III Cornet 183

8′ Hautbois 61

8′ Menschenstimme 61

8′ Trompette en Chamade (Ant)

Tremolo

BOMBARDE

8′ Geigen Principal (digital)

8′ Viol Pomposa 61

8′ Viol Celeste 61

4′ Flute Harmonique 61

V Plein Jeu 305

16′ Contre Trompette 61

8′ Trompette 61

4′ Clarion 61

Tremolo

POSITIV

8′ Nasonflote 61

4′ Koppelflote 61

22⁄3′ Nasat 61

2′ Blockflote 61

13⁄5′ Terz 61

11⁄3′ Quint 61

III Zimbel 183

8′ Krummhorn 61

Tremolo

8′ Major Trumpet (Gt)

8′ Trompette en Chamade (Ant)

ANTIPHONAL (Emery Brothers)

8′ Rohrflute 61

4′ Principal 61

2′ Octave 61

II Rauschquint 11⁄3′ 122

8′ Trompette en Chamade 61

PEDAL

32′ Contrebass (digital)

32′ Subbass (digital)

16′ Contrebass 32

16′ Subbass 32

16′ Quintaton (Gt)

16′ Rohrbourdon (Sw)

16′ Rohrflute (Ant) 12

8′ Principal 32

8′ Gedectpommer 32

8′ Rohrbourdon (Sw)

4′ Octave (ext) 12

4′ Gedectpommer (ext) 12

V Mixtur 160

32′ Contrebombarde (digital)

32′ Contre Trompette (digital)

16′ Bombarde 32

16′ Contre Trompette (Bombarde)

8′ Bombarde (ext) 12

8′ Krummhorn (Pos)

4′ Bombarde (ext) 12

4′ Krummhorn (Pos)

8′ Trompette en Chamade (Ant)

Chimes (Gt)

 

Couplers

Gt/Ped 8

Sw/Ped 8-4

Bomb/Ped 8-4

Pos/Ped 8

Ant/Ped 8

 

Sw/Gt 16-8-4

Bomb/Gt 16-8-4

Pos/Gt 16-8

Ant/Gt 8

 

Sw/Pos 16-8-4

Bomb/Pos 16-8-4

Ant/Pos 8

 

Gt/Sw 8

Ant/Sw 8

Gt/Pos Trans

Gt/U

Bomb 16-U-4

Pos 16-U-4

Sw 16-U-4

All Sws to Sw

Pre/Next/Full