New Organs

Michael McNeil

Michael McNeil has designed, constructed, and researched pipe organs since 1973. He was also a research engineer in the disk drive industry with 27 patents. He has authored four hardbound books, among them The Sound of Pipe Organs, several e-publications, and many journal articles.

Editor’s note: Part 1 of this article was published in the August 2018 issue of The Diapason, pages 16–20.

 

The casework in pictures

The entire casework of Opus 161 is executed in solid black walnut, and in the author’s opinion is among the best of Johnson’s cases with its elegant proportions and understated Gothic ornamentation. The window above the entrance of Eastside Presbyterian Church, its original home, displayed similar, restrained Gothic form and ornamentation. Elsworth’s book illustrates a great many of Johnson’s organs, among them Opus 134, built in 1862 for St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Lanesborough, Massachusetts.¹⁷ Opus 134 has nearly identical stiles and ornamentation, but its proportions do not soar in the elegant manner of Opus 161, perhaps the result of limitations in height. It is ironic that one of Johnson’s best aesthetic creations has languished in anonymity for decades. Many American churches built in the early nineteenth century did not have a provision for a pipe organ, and as a consequence Elsworth noted that most of Johnson’s earlier organs were furnished with sides to the cases of the free-standing organs produced for such churches.¹⁸ As previously noted, Opus 161 originally had such side panels to its casework, and these were found crudely sawn and nailed behind the façade. The Piru church elected to place the façade casework flush with the wall of the church, necessitating the removal of the side panels.

As was typical of nearly all nineteenth century organs, the façade contains no smaller pipes. The side flats contain pipes of the Open Diapason with considerable overlengths. This is the only architectural flaw in this otherwise stunningly designed case. The use of pipes of very different lengths is an important architectural device—it gives a sense of scale, making the larger pipes appear more imposing in contrast. But façades with pipes of extremely different size are more complex and more expensive to make. Compared to the vast majority of nineteenth-century façades, Opus 161 is one of the finest aesthetic designs.

 

The keydesk in pictures

The reader should refer to Part 1 of this series for photographs of the keydesk and stop jambs (August 2018, pages 17–18). Elsworth described the keydesks of Johnson organs from the period of Opus 43, 1855, to Opus 268, 1868:

 

The manual compass was invariably fifty-six notes, from CC to G3. The stop knobs were disposed in vertical rows on each side of the manual keyboards, and always had square shanks with round knobs that had flat faces. Into these faces were set the ivory labels with the stop names. The labels were always engraved in Spencerian script with no pitch indication. The nameplates up to about 1867 or 1868 were of silver, engraved “Wm. A. Johnson, Westfield, Mass.”¹⁹

 

This description provides some evidence that the organ was modified during its installation at Piru. The stop action does indeed have square shanks leading to the bellcranks, but the shafts connecting to the square shanks and leading through the stop jambs are round. The author had initially believed that the stop jambs were original, observing well-worn and professionally installed felt bushings in the openings of the stop jambs. But a more likely explanation is that the round shafts and extant jambs were added at a later date, and this goes a long way to explain the disappearance of the split bass stops, all of which were screwed together to make continuous stops with no splits. And this nicely explains the current specification with 20 controls instead of the 22 controls indicated in the opus list of the Johnson factory.

The organ was initially supplied with a hook-down Swell shoe, normal fare for Johnson’s work of this time. This feature was deleted, and a balanced Swell shoe was installed by crudely re-routing the action of the Great to Pedal coupler rollerboard. Note the added Swell pedal in Figure 7, the missing hook-down pedal in Figure 8, and the damage to the action in Figure 9 and Figure 10. All of this damage was repaired in the 1976 restoration and the original hook-down mechanism refabricated. The figures show the condition of the console prior to the restoration.

 

The key action in pictures

The basic layout of the key action can be seen in Figure 6 in Part 1 of this series (August 2018, page 20). With the exception of the repositioning of the Swell chest and the addition of the balanced Swell pedal, the key and stop action of Opus 161 was well worn but virtually unaltered in 1976. The damage to the trackers on the Pedal couplers from the installation of the balanced Swell pedal was repaired in 1976 with new trackers, wires, felts, and buttons, and basic repairs to the stickers on the Swell to Great coupler were made, but this was a stopgap solution. At this time the console was in need of a complete disassembly and refurbishment of the leather on the couplers, the felts, and the leather buttons. The action was well designed, had served for a period of more than a hundred years, and had survived a move from Stockton to Piru. But the leather facings of the key tails where the coupler stickers made contact and the felts and leather buttons were showing their age. There were no funds for such work in 1976. 

In Johnson’s action we see similarities to Samuel Green. Bicknell writes: 

 

Green introduced or developed numerous refinements to the mechanism. He often arranged pipes from f# up in chromatic order on the soundboards, even in large organs. This reduced the extent to which rollerboards were required. . . . To make the key action readily adjustable the ends of the trackers were fitted with tapped wires and leather buttons. The appearance of Green’s consoles was enhanced by the use of ivory inserts screwed into the heads of the stop knobs, engraved with the name of the stop. . . . Green also usually made keyboards with white naturals and black sharps. . . .²⁰

 

All of these features are found on Opus 161. The photographs of the action were all taken in 1976 prior to the restoration work.

 

The stop action in pictures

The stop action of Opus 161 is conventional, with metal squares and square wooden shanks. The stop action to the Pedal 16′ Double Open Diapason is a ventil valve to the three windchests of that stop, which are placed at the sides (largest pipes, diatonic) and the treble pipes at the back (chromatic). The photographs show the details of the stop action construction.

A description of the stops and general notes on the scaling and voicing

This section provides a detailed description of the stops; two of the Swell stops were not measured (16′ Bourdon and 8′ Stopped Diapason). For the stops which were measured, a table of data in millimeters is shown. The photographs show some details of the construction, although the poor resolution of the camera is regrettable.

As earlier noted, there is a close resemblance between the organs of Samuel Green in late eighteenth century England and the organs of William A. Johnson in nineteenth-century America. Bicknell writes:

 

On the tonal side Green seems to have adopted the trend towards delicacy and developed it still further. . . . Green’s first line of development in securing the effect he desired was to experiment . . . with the scales of the chorus . . . . in 1778 the Open Diapason is larger than the rest of the chorus. . . . The appearance of extra pipes in some ranks, definitely by Green and contemporary with the instruments themselves, together with re-marking of the pipes, suggests that Green took spare pipes with him to the site and rescaled stops during the tonal finishing in the building. This is considerably removed from the standardised scaling and voicing adopted by, for example, Snetzler. The reasons for this become clearer when one understands that Green’s voicing broke new ground in other aspects as well. Delicacy was achieved partly by reduction of the size of the pipe foot and by increasing the amount of nicking. The loss of grandeur in the chorus was made up for by increasing the scales of the extreme basses. . . .²¹

As we will see in the graphical analysis of the data, all of the features mentioned by Bicknell about Samuel Green would apply equally well to Johnson’s Opus 161. Bicknell observes, “Where Snetzler provided a chorus of startling boldness and with all the open metal ranks of equal power, Green introduced refinement and delicacy and modified the power of the off-unison ranks to secure a new kind of blend.”²²

As earlier noted by Elsworth, Johnson’s wind pressure during the period of 1855 to 1868 “was generally between 21⁄2 and 23⁄4 inches (63 and 70 mm), and in rare examples, nearly 3 inches.”²³ The lower wind pressures, narrower scales of the upperwork, and reduced toes produced a sound with restrained brilliance. 

Referring to his conversations with Edwin B. Hedges (1872–1967), a voicer for Johnson organs, Elsworth made some telling observations. In the process of making the pipework, “ . . . the languids were carefully soldered in place, and the flues were properly adjusted.”²⁴ This is a very important comment, because today the flueway is considered a variable for adjusting power in some voicing styles, especially North Germanic voicing. Johnson’s flueways are very open, often the maximum that would produce good speech, even with Johnson’s bold nicking. Power balances, for Johnson as well as Green, were designed into the scales and further adjusted by the voicer at the toe. “The voicing of flue pipes, such as Diapason, Dulcianas, and strings, consists of nicking the languid, cutting up the upper lips to the proper mouth height, and adjusting the positions of the languid and the upper and lower lips. The amount of wind entering the pipe foot must be carefully adjusted by opening or closing the orifice in the pipe toe.”²⁵ There is no direct evidence that William A. Johnson had first-hand knowledge of the 1792 Samuel Green organ delivered to Boston, but the legacy of Green is obvious in Johnson’s work.

A few comments are in order on the nicking and languid treatment. The languids contain a counterface with a negative angle; the more usual angle is vertical, or 90 degrees. The Isnards made a positive-angled counterface at about 75 degrees with a normal bevel at about 45 to 55 degrees. The negative counterface of the Johnson languid is unusual. This languid is nicked at an angle with a knife, cutting a fine nick as deep as halfway into the languid bevel. Long knife cuts were also in evidence inside the lower lip. As a general rule there are the same number of nicks on a languid, regardless of pitch. These languids work well and produce fast speech even when the lower, negative languid bevel shows above the top edge of the lower lip; the upper lip is not pulled out to compensate for this languid position. Ears are generally found up to 1′ in pitch in the principal chorus, but they are very narrow, not extending far in front of the mouth.

Many of the pipes were found in 1976 to be crudely pinched at the top, part of an effort to reduce the pitch to the modern standard. All of this damage was repaired on mandrels, and tuning slides were fitted.

 

Great division

 

8′ Open Diapason 

This is the first stop on the front of the Great windchest. It has zinc resonators from low C to tenor B and planed common metal feet from about tenor E. All pipes from middle C are planed common metal (30% tin, 70% lead). Zinc wind conductors to the façade pipes supply copious wind; the conductor diameters are 38 mm at low C and 25 mm at tenor C. If memory serves, at least one or two of the pipes in the side flats were dummy pipes, implying that the speaking façade pipes extended to tenor D. The façade pipes were tuned with scrolls at the back, which were entirely rolled up as a consequence of the drop in pitch to 440 Hz, where the original pitch was probably closer to 450 Hz. See the earlier notes on the pitch and wind pressure. As with all of the stops in the principal chorus, the ears are very narrow. 

The author feels obligated to point out a grave error he made in the restoration by removing the heavy nicking on the languids of the Open Diapason, and only on this stop. To make the record clear, David Sedlak advised against doing this, and the author regrets that he did not take Sedlak’s advice. These nicks should be renewed in the manner used by Johnson.

8′ Keraulophon

The second stop on the chest, the Keraulophon pipes were found badly pinched at the top along with crudely reduced toe bores in an effort to reduce the pitch. All of the pipes were straightened on mandrels and tuning slides added. Toes that were not damaged were used as a guide for readjusting damaged toes. This stop is voiced with tuning slots and ears, but no beards of any kind. The bass octave is common with the Clarabella, five pipes from tenor C to E have zinc resonators, and the rest have planed common metal resonators. The nicking is bold and often crossed to keep the speech stable. Flueways were often more closed on one side. This is a bolder string than a Dulciana. 

 

8′ Clarabella

This is the third stop on the chest. Bass pipes C to tenor E are stopped wood; the remainder are open wood with lead plates covering the tops for tuning. These lead plates are somewhat closed down to accommodate the lowered pitch. The internal blocks forming the languids are lower than the front plates by 2.0 mm at tenor E, and 1.5 mm at tenor F. The bevel of the upper lip is internal for the open pipes and external for the stopped pipes. The stopped pipes have narrow, slanted strips at the sides of the mouth to form narrow ears; the open pipes have no extra strips functioning as ears. The nicking is deeper and heavier than the pipes of the principal chorus. The scales and voicing of this stop place its power on the same level as the principal chorus foundations. The only concession to power is a greatly reduced mouth width in the bass octave, a concession to its function as a common bass to the Keraulophon. 

The effective inside diameter of a wooden pipe is a calculation of its diagonal, a method proposed by Nolte.²⁶ The potential power of a round pipe is related to the amplitude of the standing wave in the pipe, which is in turn related to its diameter. Following this logic, Nolte has pointed out that the amplitude of a standing wave in a rectangular pipe is related to its widest point, i.e., its diagonal. We often see modern conversions of wood pipe scales by relating their rectangular areas to those of round metal pipes with equivalent areas, but this does not produce balanced power. The consequence is that conventional modern wisdom decrees that wood pipes should be scaled a few half tones narrower than round pipes of equivalent area. This disconnect disappears with Nolte’s observation of the relevance of the diagonal, not equivalent areas. This is not a new idea. Many older organs, e.g., J. A. Silbermann’s organ of 1746 at Marmoutier, show very disjointed scales between the rectangular wood bass of the 16′ Montre and its metal pipes when plotting by equivalent areas. Convert the Silbermann wood bass scales to diagonals and those scales merge seamlessly into the scales of the metal pipes. Diagonal computations of the effective diameters for the Johnson Clarabella can be found in the table, and those calculations are used in the graphical analysis. 

 

4′ Principal

The fourth stop on the chest, the Principal has five zinc resonators from C to E; the rest are all planed common metal. These pipes showed very little damage. The flueway depths are remarkably wide, especially in the treble, and demonstrate that Johnson regulated power entirely at the toe, not the flueway. Such flueway depths are often found in classical French voicing. This data set can be taken as reasonably accurate evidence of Johnson’s unmolested voicing.

 

4′ Flute И CheminОe

 The fifth stop on the chest from tenor C, this is a classically constructed flute in planed common metal with soldered domed tops, chimneys with no tuning mechanism, and very large ears for tuning. Those large ears had been pushed in far enough to virtually touch each other when found in 1976, another effort to reduce the pitch. The cutups were lightly arched. There was considerable handling damage to the flueways. The toes were reasonably intact. The reduction in pressure from 76 mm to 63 mm allowed these pipes to speak much more freely with the ears much more opened (but not completely straightened). The pipe construction becomes open at g#′′, i.e., the last twelve pipes, and they are noticeably wider across the break. The table above shows a calculation of the total resonator length, i.e., the body length plus the chimney, and the percentage of the chimney length to the total length. This gives an idea of the harmonics that Johnson was trying to emphasize with the chimney. At tenor C the chimney is 25% of the total length, emphasizing the fourth harmonic, while at middle C the chimney is 30% of the total length, roughly emphasizing the third harmonic. The chimney progresses to larger percentages of the total length as the pitch rises. The chimney is not a constant percentage of the total length.  The photograph shows the classical construction of this stop. 

 

22Џ3′ Twelfth

The sixth stop on the chest, this stop consists entirely of planed common metal pipes that had minimal damage.

 

2′ Fifteenth

The seventh and last flue stop on the chest, the 2′ Fifteenth continues the trend of extremely deep flueways and closed toes. The flueway depths of this stop are perhaps the largest the author has measured on any organ. Remarkably, this planed, common metal stop has no ears on any pipe, and its sound is exquisite. The toes are very restrained and represent the means of controlling power. The diameter and mouth width scales are considerably narrower than the Open Diapason, continuing the trend of narrower scaling with higher stop pitches, a characteristic introduced by Samuel Green. This progression can be clearly seen in the graphical analysis, in stark contrast to the Hook’s constant scaling of  the principal chorus. By this means Johnson and Green achieved a chorus with more refinement and less impact, but they compensated with very wide scaling of the extreme basses.

 

8′ Trumpet

The extant pipework of this eighth and last stop on the chest was constructed of planed common metal with zinc bottom sections from tenor C to tenor B. The Trumpet has an obscure history. In 1976 only two octaves of pipes were found from tenor C 13 to C 37. These were all in fairly good condition without obvious modifications; some crude slotting of the tops was repaired and the pipes spoke well on 63 mm wind. All of the original pipes were cut to exact length with no tuning slots or scrolls. The bass octave of the Trumpet was originally separated on the slider, but found screwed together in 1976. Interestingly, while the bass topboards were bored and chamfered to receive pipes, the chamfers were not burned in like all other borings on both windchests. With the repositioning of the Swell chest over the Great chest, it was now impossible to reconstruct a full-length bass set of pipes, and a half-length set was fabricated with limited tonal success (a few of the half-length pipes needed mitering to clear the Swell chest). The missing treble pipes were recreated by the firm of Stinkens to scales extrapolated from the original pipework. These were quite successful and a good tonal match. The high treble from c#′′′ to g′′′ were obviously flue pipes, and the rackboard borings provided guidance for their scales. All shallots are brass and are marked “H. T. Levi,” one of the reed voicers for William A. Johnson, according to both Barbara Owen²⁷ and Elsworth.²⁸ This stop bears a strong resemblance to the Trumpet heard in the recording of the Samuel Green organ at Armitage, Staffordshire, England (see the section on Recordings).

The Trumpet was carefully disassembled during the restoration and its measurements carefully tabulated; see the drawings and tables below. Measurements unfortunately omitted were the height of the block and the length and width at the top of the main taper on the tongues.

 

II Mixture

The author added a two-rank mixture in planed common metal to the Great during the 1976 restoration. While the merits of this can be debated, it was added in a manner that did not affect the other stops. A thick oak board was mounted at the back of the key channels, extending backwards and upwards, making this the ninth stop on the Great. The pipework was narrowly scaled in the manner of Johnson, roughly -7 half tones from 2⁄3′ pitch to 1⁄4′ pitch, then widening to about -3 half tones at 1⁄8′ pitch. A great many Johnson organs of this size had mixtures. It should be noted that Johnson mixtures of the time period during which Opus 161 was created were called Sesquialtera, and they included third-sounding ranks. Elsworth states, “ . . . these were composed of 17th, 19th, and 22nd ranks [i.e., 13⁄5′, 11⁄3′, and 1′, the same pitches observed in Samuel Green’s Sesquialteras] with two or three breaks.”²⁹ The mixture added by the author is more typical of later Johnson work in its composition without thirds.

The voicing of the cutups was a fortunate accident, where the pipes were mouth-voiced before realizing that they were left many half tones overlength by the pipemaker. When the cone-tuned pipes were cut to length, it was obvious that the cutups were very high. But this was fortuitous, because it taught the lesson that high cutups can have a superb blend, and this mixture provided a fine sparkling glitter in the plenum with no hint of harshness. There are no ears on any pipes. The toes are relatively more open than what Johnson would have done and the cutups are higher. The mixture composition is as follows:

 

C 2⁄3′ 1⁄2′

c 1′ 2⁄3′

c′ 11⁄3′ 1′

c′′ 2′ 11⁄3′

c′′′ 4′ 2′

 

Barbara Owen noted that William A. Johnson was hired to add a VII Cymbal to the Hook organ.³⁰ This mixture was installed in 1870, and no records indicate how this happened. The political implications invite much speculation, of course. The differences in scaling and voicing of the Johnson mixture relative to the Hook chorus illuminates the different approach to chorus design between Johnson and Hook. We will look at this in detail in the graphical analysis. The Johnson VII Cymbal provides a scintillating crown to the Hook chorus and contains a third-sounding rank. In 1871 William H. Johnson, the son of William A. Johnson, joined his father as a partner in the firm and the mixtures built from that time deleted the third-sounding rank.³¹ ν

Notes and Credits

All photos, drawings, tables, and illustrations are courtesy of the author’s collection if not otherwise noted. Most of the color photos were unfortunately taken by the author with an inferior camera in low resolution. David Sedlak used a high quality camera, lenses, and film to produce the high-resolution color photos of the church and its architectural details; these are all attributed to Sedlak.

17. The Johnson Organs, p. 50.

18. Ibid, p. 22.

19. Ibid, p. 23.

20. The History of the English Organ, p. 186.

21. The History of the English Organ, p. 185.

22. Ibid, p. 207.

23. The Johnson Organs, p. 25.

24. Ibid, p. 45.

25. Ibid, p. 47.

26. John M. Nolte, “Scaling Pipes in Wood,” ISO Journal, No. 36, December 2010, pp. 8–19.

27. Scot L. Huntington, Barbara Owen, Stephen L. Pinel, Martin R. Walsh. Johnson Organs 1844–1898, The Princeton Academy of the Arts, Culture, and Society, 2015, Cranbury, pp. 11, 13, 14, 16.

28. The Johnson Organs, p. 36.

29. Ibid, p. 48.

30. Johnson Organs 1844–1898, pp. 17-18.

31. The Johnson Organs, p. 48.

To be continued.

Michael McNeil

Michael McNeil has designed, constructed, and researched pipe organs since 1973. He was also a research engineer in the disk drive industry with 27 patents. He has authored four hardbound books, among them The Sound of Pipe Organs, several e-publications, and many journal articles.

Preface

Good documentation of organs with enough pipe measurements to permit an analysis of both scaling and voicing is extremely rare. Pipe diameters, mouth widths, and mouth heights (cutups) may be sometimes found, but toe diameters and especially flueway depths are rare. Rarer still are wind system data, allowing a full analysis of wind flow and wind dynamics, parameters that have an enormous impact on the sound of an organ. The reader will find all of this in the following essay on William A. Johnson’s Opus 161.

Good documentation is important for several reasons. We can make useful comparisons with other organs to learn how a specific sound is achieved. And perhaps most importantly, we can document the organ for posterity; while organs are consumed in wars and fires, they are most often replaced or modified with the changing tastes of time. They never survive restorations without changes. Comprehensive documentation may also serve to deter future interventions that intend to “modernize” an organ. Lastly, future restorations of important organs will be more historically accurate if they are based on good documentation.

The mid-nineteenth-century scaling and voicing of William A. Johnson is very similar to the late-eighteenth-century work of the English organbuilder Samuel Green, as evidenced by the data from Johnson’s Opus 16 and Opus 161. Stephen Bicknell provides us with detailed descriptions of Green’s work.¹ Johnson’s scaling is utterly unlike the work of E. & G. G. Hook, whose 1843 Opus 50 for the Methodist Church of Westfield, Massachusetts, set Johnson on a career in organbuilding when he helped the Hooks with its installation.² In this essay we will explore Johnson’s Opus 161 in detail and contrast it with the Opus 322 of the Hooks, both of which were constructed within a year of each other.³ While the Hooks used a Germanic constant scale in their pipe construction, Johnson significantly reduced the scale of his upperwork stops, much in the manner of Samuel Green and classical French builders.

The question arises as to whether Johnson came to his design theory by way of a process of convergent evolution (i.e., independently), or whether he was exposed to the organ Samuel Green shipped to the Battle Square Church in Boston in 1792, and which “was played virtually unaltered for a century,” according to Barbara Owen.⁴ The author suggested to Owen that the Green organ may have had a strong influence on Johnson, but she thought it unlikely that Johnson would have made the long trip from Westfield, far to the west of Boston. 

Travel would indeed have been much more difficult in 1843 when Johnson was exposed to the Hook organ at Westfield. But of some significance was the extension of the Western Railroad from Boston to Westfield in 1843. This new railroad may have been the means by which the Hook organ was shipped to Westfield. Elsworth (see endnote 2) clearly makes the case that Johnson was intoxicated by organbuilding with his exposure to the Hook organ. It is easy to imagine that he would have made a pilgrimage to Boston, at the time a mecca of American organbuilding, perhaps invited by the Hooks to accompany them after finishing their installation in Westfield.⁵

The author was engaged in 1976 by Mrs. Gene Davis, the organist of the Piru Community United Methodist Church, to evaluate the organ at that church. The identity of the organ was in question as no nameplate was in evidence on the console, the organ was barely playable, and its sound was greatly muted by the crude placement of panels in front of the Great division to make it expressive by forcing its sound through the shades of the Swell division above it. An inspection showed that nearly all of the pipework was intact, and a contract was signed to restore the organ to playable condition. The organ was cleaned, the pipes repaired, the few missing pipes replaced, and much of the action repaired by Michael McNeil and David Sedlak.

The church office files produced an undated, typed document that stated: 

 

The pipe organ in the Methodist Church of Piru was built by William Johnson, of Westfield, Mass., in the early 1860s, making it probably the oldest operating pipe organ in California. It was a second-hand organ when transported by sailing ship 17,000 miles around Cape Horn before 1900, and installed in a Roman Catholic Church in San Francisco. After the earthquake and fire of 1906, the organ was moved to another church and probably at this time parts damaged in the quake were replaced. After many more years of service it was retired and put into storage until, in 1935, Mr. Hugh Warring was persuaded to purchase it for the Piru church. It was purchased for the storage cost of $280.

Evidence of a different and more likely provenance was discovered during the removal of pipework and the cleaning of the organ. Three labels were found glued to the bottom of the reservoir (perhaps as patches for leaks). Two labels read: “Geo. Putnam ‘Janitor’ Stockton California July 1 ’99.” A third label read: “From the Periodical Department, Presbyterian Board of Publication, and Sabbath = Schoolwork, Witherspoon Bldg, 1319 Walnut St., Phila. PA.” At a much later time Reverend Thomas Carroll, SJ, noticed that the clues of Stockton, California, and the Presbyterian church correlated to an entry in the opus list of Johnson organs, compiled in Elsworth’s 1984 book, The Johnson Organs. Opus 161 was shipped in 1864 to the “Presbyterian Church, Stockton, Cal. The church is Eastside Presbyterian.” The organ was listed as having two manuals and 22 stops.⁶ At this time such features as couplers and tremulants were counted as “stops,” and this roughly fit the description of the Piru organ. The façade of the Piru organ is also consistent with the architecture of organs built by Johnson in the 1864 time frame. Elsworth’s illustrations include a console layout of Opus 200 (1866) virtually identical to the Piru organ layout; Opus 134 (1862) exhibits the impost, stiles, and Gothic ornamentation of the Piru organ; Opus 183 (1865) has similar pipe flats and also the console layout of the Piru organ.⁷ Many other details verified the Johnson pedigree, among them the inscription “H. T. Levi” on the reed pipes. Barbara Owen pointed out that Levi was Johnson’s reed voicer during the time of manufacture of Opus 161.⁸ The pieces of evidence fell together when Jim Lewis discovered a newspaper photo of Opus 161 in the Eastside Presbyterian Church of Stockton that matched the façade of the Piru organ. The most likely scenario is that Johnson shipped Opus 161 directly to that church. The Gothic architecture of the Johnson façade also reflects the architecture of the Eastside Presbyterian Church façade. A handwritten note on the Piru church document stated: “Pipe organ and art glass memorial windows dedication June 2, 1935 per Fillmore Herald May 31, 1935, a gift of Hugh Warring.”

It is possible that the organ went from the Presbyterian church into storage, and was later moved to its present location in the 1934–1935 time frame. Even so, we can say with nearly absolute certainty that this organ is William A. Johnson’s Opus 161.

 

Tonal design overview

It is obvious from even a casual glance at Elsworth’s study of Johnson organs that the Johnson tonal style was based on a classical principal chorus that included mixtures in all but the more modest instruments. But the voicing style is gentle and refined, and bears great similarity to the late-eighteenth-century English work of Samuel Green, whose meantone organ at Armitage in Staffordshire is an excellent surviving example.⁹ Tuned in meantone, Johnson Opus 161 would easily pass muster as the work of Green. The tonal contrast between Green and Hook is stark, and the Hook data serve as an excellent counterpoint to the data from the Johnson organ. Green was the organbuilder favored by the organizers of the Handel Commemoration Festival of 1784, who went so far as to have one of Green’s organs temporarily installed in Westminster Abbey for that occasion. King George III paid Samuel Green to build an organ for Saint George’s Chapel at Windsor.

Stephen Bicknell’s The History of the English Organ relates important details of Samuel Green’s work that we find in Johnson’s Opus 161. “. . . Green’s voicing broke new ground . . . . Delicacy was achieved partly by reducing the size of the pipe foot and by increasing the amount of nicking. The loss of grandeur in the chorus was made up for by increasing the scales of the extreme basses.”¹⁰ And “Where Snetzler provided a chorus of startling boldness and with all the open metal ranks of equal power, Green introduced refinement and delicacy and modified the power of the off-unison ranks to secure a new kind of blend.”¹¹ The Hooks, like Snetzler, used a constant scale where all of the pipes in the principal chorus at a given pitch had about the same scale and power.

The most basic data set for describing power balances and voicing must include, at a minimum, pipe diameters, widths of mouths, heights of mouths (“cutup”), diameters of foot toe holes, and depths of mouth flueways. The data in this essay are presented in normalized scales for inside pipe diameters, mouth widths, and mouth heights. Tables showing how raw data are converted into normalized scales may be found in the article on the E. & G. G. Hook Opus 322 published in The Diapason, July 2017. The full set of Johnson data and the Excel spreadsheet used to analyze them may be obtained at no charge by emailing the author.¹² Also available is the book The Sound of Pipe Organs, which describes in detail the theory and derivation of the models used in this essay.¹³

 

Pitch, wind pressure, and general notes

The current pitch of the Johnson and Hook organs is dissimilar and should be taken into consideration when observing the scaling charts. The Hook organ is now pitched at A=435.3 Hz at 74 degrees Fahrenheit, while the Johnson organ is now pitched at 440 Hz. The original pitch of the Hook organ was 450 Hz; new low C pipes were added when the pitch was changed to 435 Hz, and the original pipework was moved up a halftone, widening its scales by a halftone. The original pitch of the Johnson organ was approximately 450 Hz; the pipes were lengthened to achieve a lower pitch.¹⁴ The Hook and Johnson organs are both tuned in equal temperament. The wind pressure, water column, of the Hook is 76 mm (3 inches); the Johnson organ was measured at 76 mm static and 70 mm under full flow on the Great division. The pressure was reduced during the restoration to 63 mm static. This allowed the pitch of the pipes to drop, making the adjustment to 440 Hz with fewer changes to the pipe lengths; most of the pipes that were originally cut to length had been crudely pinched at the top to lower their pitch. With the reduction in pressure the ears of the 4′ Flute à Cheminée, with its soldered tops, achieved a more normal position. 

The Piru room acoustic was reasonably efficient, and while the Johnson voicing is very restrained, it was adequate to fill this room on the reduced pressure. The Piru church seats 109, has plastered walls, wood and carpet flooring, and a peaked ceiling about 30 feet high; the reverberation, empty, as heard with normal ears, is well under one second (this is not the measurement used by architects that erroneously reports much longer reverberation). Elsworth relates that “the wind pressure which Johnson used during this period was generally between 21⁄2 and 23⁄4 inches [63.5 and 70 mm], and, in rare examples, nearly 3 inches [76 mm].”¹⁵ The photograph of the original Eastside Presbyterian Church for which the Johnson was designed implies a larger acoustical space than that of the Piru church.

The compass of the Johnson organ is 56 notes in the manuals, C to g′′′, and 27 notes in the pedal, C to d′.

 

Stoplist

The Johnson console was found in poor condition, missing the builder’s nameplate and many of its stop knob faces. Correct stop names were derived from the markings on the pipes and the missing faces were replaced. The original stoplist is reconstructed as follows (Johnson did not use pitch designations):

GREAT

8′ Open Diapason

8′ Keraulophon

8′ Clarabella

4′ Principal

4′ Flute à Cheminée (TC)

22⁄3′ Twelfth

2′ Fifteenth

8′ Trumpet

SWELL

16′ Bourdon (TC)

8′ Open Diapason

8′ Stopped Diapason

8′ Viol d’Amour (TF)

4′ Principal

8′ Hautboy (TF)

Tremolo

PEDAL

16′ Double Open Diapason

 

Couplers

Great to Pedal

Swell to Pedal

Swell to Great

 

Blower signal

The above list adds up to 20 controls. The Johnson company opus list describes Opus 161 as having 22 “stops.” This may have reflected the original intention to supply the organ with stops having split basses, which are commonly found in Johnson specifications. The sliders for the Keraulophon and the Trumpet were found with separate bass sections from C to B, professionally screwed together with the sections from tenor C to d′′′. The two additional bass stops would account for a total of 22 “stops.” There are no extra holes in the stop jambs to indicate the deleted split bass stop actions. The extant stopjambs are apparently a later modification from the time of the installation at Piru or before. Elsworth noted that all Johnson organs of this period were constructed with square stop shanks.¹⁶ The current shanks are round where they pass through the stopjambs and are square where they connect to the stop action.

Several stop knobs were switched during the 1935 installation at Piru; e. g., the Viole d’Amour in the pre-restoration photo of the right jamb belongs in the position noted on the left jamb with the black plastic label “Bell Gamba,” which indeed is how this stop was constructed. The Swell Stopped Diapason was operated by a knob labeled “Principal” [sic]. The illustrations of the left stopjamb and right stopjamb diagrams provide the correct nomenclature as restored in the correct positions, with the incorrect 1935 nomenclature in parentheses ( ) and the correct pitches in brackets [ ].

 

The wind system

The wind system can be modeled from two viewpoints: the restriction of flow from the wind trunks, pallets, channels, and pipe toes; and the dynamics of the wind. Wind dynamics are fully explained in The Sound of Pipe Organs and are a very important aspect of an organ’s ability to sustain a fast tempo with stability or conversely to enhance the grand cadences of historic literature. The data set on the Johnson allows us to model all of these characteristics. Figure 1 shows the Johnson wind flow model.

In Figure 1 we see a table of the pipe toe diameters and their calculated areas; values in red font are calculations or interpolations from the data (e.g., wood pipe toes are difficult to measure when they have wooden wedges to restrict flow). These areas are measured for a single note in each octave of the compass.

A model for the total required wind flow of the full plenum of the organ assumes a maximum of ten pallets (a ten-fingered chord), as described in the table, and the flow is multiplied by the number of the pallets played for each octave in the compass. The sum of the toe areas of all ten manual pallets in the tutti is 5,057 mm². The total area of the manual wind trunks is 38,872 mm², and we see that the wind trunks afford 7.7 times more wind than the tutti requires, so much in fact that the trunks do not at all function as an effective resistance in the system.

Interestingly, the Isnard organ at St. Maximin, France, used the main wind trunk as a strong resistor to dampen Helmholtz resonances in the wind system, and that organ has ratios of wind trunk area to a plenum toe area of only 1.07 for the coupled principal chorus of the Grand-Orgue and Positif, but with no reeds, flutes, or mutations. Helmholtz resonances are the source of what is normally called wind shake, and we would expect some mild wind shake with the Johnson’s large wind ducts and low damping resistance. The author’s notes from 1976 state: “Very little sustained shake . . . a considerable fluctuation in pitch when playing moderately fast legato scales, which stabilizes very rapidly . . . this imparts a shimmer . . . .”

In Figure 1 we also see dimensions of the key channels, pallet openings, and the pallet pull length (estimated from the ratios in the action). These allow us to calculate the relative wind flow of the channels and pallets. We find that there are robust margins in wind flow from the channels to the pipe toes (244% at low C to 737% at high C on the Great). This accounts for the small drop in static pressure at 76 mm to a full flow pressure of 70 mm with all stops drawn. Pallet openings are less robust and flow about 100% of the channel area for the first three octaves and 190% in the high treble.

The underlying dynamics of a wind system are the result of the mass of its bellows plate and the volume of air in the system. These factors produce a natural resonance that can enhance the grand cadences of literature with a long surge in the wind, or it can produce a nervous shake if it is too fast. A grand surge in the wind is characterized by a resonant frequency of less than 2 Hz (cycles per second), and it is most often produced by a weighted bellows. A nervous shake results from a sprung bellows. We correct the latter condition with small concussion bellows in modern organs, but the Johnson organ does not have such devices; instead, it features only a large, weighted, double-rise bellows. 

We can model the dynamic response of an organ by using its wind pressure, the area of the bellows plates, and the combined internal volume of its bellows, wind trunks, and pallet boxes. The model in Figure 2 shows the dynamic response of the current Johnson wind system at a relaxed 1.61 Hz. This low resonant frequency drops further to 1.47 Hz when the pressure is raised to its original value of 76 mm. The author’s notes from 1976 state: “Light ‘give’ on full organ; relatively fast buildup to full flow.” That “light give” is the result of the low resonant frequency of the system. The resonant frequency of the Hook organ was modeled at 1.23 Hz, a value lower than the Johnson, and the Hook chorus does indeed exhibit a slower and grander surge on full organ. Figure 3 shows the modeled resonant frequency at the original pressure of 76 mm for the Johnson organ. The equation for modeling the resonant frequency of a wind system along with a worked example on the 1774 Isnard organ at St. Maximin may be found in The Sound of Pipe Organs, pages 99–113.

 

The wind system in pictures

See the accompanying pictures: Notebook sketch 1, Great windchest, Toeboard, Notebook sketch 2, Notebook sketch 3, Notebook sketch 4, Great pallet box, Pallet springs, Notebook sketch 5.

 

The layout in pictures

“Green’s organs stand on an independent building frame with the case erected around it, rather than being supported by the structure of the case itself.”¹⁷ Bicknell’s description of a Samuel Green organ applies equally well to this Johnson organ. The casework is built entirely of black walnut, a wood mentioned by Elsworth in reference to Johnson cases. The organ is situated within the front wall of the church. The original black walnut side panels (typical of early Johnson organs) were found crudely cut up and nailed behind the façade in an effort to make the whole organ expressive through the Swell shades. This had the effect of making the Great division sound like a diminutive Echo division. The typical layout of a Johnson organ is well described by Elsworth: “The framework was arranged to carry the chests of the Great organ and the supporting framework for the Swell, which was usually above the Great organ and slightly to the rear.”¹⁸ Such layouts, shown in Figure 4, are common in nineteenth-century American organbuilding. The walkway behind the Great allowed access to the pipes and pallets placed at the rear of that chest, and the rollerboard to the Swell division was normally placed just behind this walkway, allowing access to the Swell pallets that were placed at the front of the Swell windchest. Opus 161 was installed in an opening in the Piru church that was far too shallow to allow the depth of a rearward placement of the Swell division. 

As a result, there is evidence that the Swell windchest may have been reversed, placing its pallets to the back of the windchest, and the chest brought forward over the Great division. Note the lack of clearance between the 4′ Principal pipe and the bottom of the Swell chest in Figure 5. The internal framework shows signs of crude saw cuts; the order of the notes on the Swell chest is the same as the Great, but it is reversed; the Swell rollerboard appears to have been likewise reversed and now faces toward the walkway where the action and rollers are exposed to damage. 

To say that the Piru layout was cramped would be an understatement; no one weighing over 150 pounds would gain access to the pipes for tuning or to the action for adjustment without damaging the pipework or the key action. The author weighed less (at the time) and was barely able to navigate inside the organ. The current layout is shown in Figure 6. 

It is also possible that the current layout reflects the original layout by Johnson, but that the Swell was simply lowered to fit the height of the Piru church and brought forward to fit the limited depth available, reducing the depth of the walkway.

Notes and credits

All photos, drawings, tables, and illustrations are courtesy of the author’s collection if not otherwise noted. Most of the color photos were unfortunately taken by the author with an inferior camera in low resolution. David Sedlak used a high quality camera, lenses, and film to produce the high-resolution color photos of the church and its architectural details; these are all attributed to Sedlak.

1. Stephen Bicknell, The History of the English Organ, Cambridge University Press, 1996, Cambridge, pp. 185–187, 190–191, 207.

2. John Van Varick Elsworth, The Johnson Organs, The Boston Organ Club, 1984, Harrisville, p. 18.

3. A detailed study of the E. & G. G. Hook Opus 322 may be found in The Diapason, July, August, and September issues, 2017.

4. Barbara Owen, The Organ in New England, The Sunbury Press, 1979, Raleigh, pp. 18–19.

5. see: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_and_Albany_Railroad.

6. The Johnson Organs, p. 100.

7. Ibid, pp. 23, 50, 57, respectively.

8. The Organ in New England, p. 275.

9. 5 Organ Concertos, 1984, Archiv D 150066, Simon Preston, Trevor Pinnock, The English Concert.

10. The History of the English Organ, p. 185.

11. Ibid, p. 207.

12. McNeil, Michael. Johnson_161_170807, an Excel file containing all of the raw data and the models used to analyze the Johnson Opus 161, 2017, available by emailing the author at [email protected].

13. McNeil, Michael. The Sound of Pipe Organs, CC&A, Mead, 2012, 191 pp., Amazon.com.

14. The Organ in New England, p. 75.

15. The Johnson Organs, p. 25.

16. Ibid, p. 23.

17. The History of the English Organ, p. 187.

18. The Johnson Organs, p. 23.

 

To be continued.

David Chamberlin

Trinity Lutheran Seminary, 

Columbus, Ohio

Bigelow & Co., Inc., Organ Builders, American Fork, Utah

Bigelow & Co., with significant assistance from Oyster Pipe Works, Ltd. (Louisville, Ohio), has completed an extensive rebuild of the 1983 Steiner-Reck organ at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. Issues addressed include the following:

1. Metal pipes were collapsing.

2. Tracker action, though innovative, had proven to be unserviceable.

3. Stop action (slider solenoids) had become unreliable.

4. Manual keyboards were badly worn.

5. Swell pedal was very difficult to operate, and swell effect was poor.

6. Tuning access was difficult.

7. Sound was top-heavy and deficient in fundamental.

Two factors contributed to the collapsing and sagging of metal pipes: soft metal and insufficient racking. All pipe repairs were sub-contracted to Oyster Pipeworks, who removed the nearly 2,000 pipes to their shop in nearby Louisville, Ohio. All pipes were washed and straightened, and miters were repaired and reinforced. Three awkwardly mitered pipes were cut short and fitted with Haskell tubes. Pipes as short as 1′ had their toes reshaped, while heavy-duty cast toes were soldered onto over 300 of the largest pipes, including some in the 4′ range. Racking was improved by reinforcing existing rack boards, adding upper supports to many pipes, and adding bracing to existing upper supports. 

The mechanical key action was completely redesigned, incorporating carbon fiber trackers, conventional roller boards, and top-quality wooden tracker squares. A notable feature of the original action was the use of ultra-fine aircraft cable for trackers, which was not a bad idea in itself, but interfacing it with other components turned out to be problematic. Further, the layout of the original action involved multiple angles and layers, which made servicing the action, and other parts of the organ behind it, difficult if not impossible.

All 30 slider solenoids were replaced with new ones, which are less prone to sluggishness from exposure to dust. Power controls, which had previously been mounted to each solenoid, making some of them quite inaccessible, were centralized. Dust covers, which also offer protection from falling objects, were added.

The original natural keys were plated with padouk. They must have been visually stunning when new, but they did not withstand the test of time: middle C of the Hauptwerk manual was nearly worn through! New custom keyboards with ebony naturals and bone-plated ebony sharps were supplied by Heuss. Thumb pistons, also by Heuss, are black with white engraving—a marked improvement over the original ones, which were blank, identified only by illegible, adjacent labels.

Excessive friction in the swell shade action had been caused by a rack and pinion that had transferred the motion of the swell pedal to a cable connected to the swell shades. Because a simpler mechanical connection was not possible, an electric swell motor (Peterson) was connected to the cable. The new swell pedal operates smoothly and easily. Swell shades were carefully trimmed and felted to improve closure.

Tuning access in the Hauptwerk had been severely hampered by an elevated toeboard for the Scharfzimbel, which had stood between the back of the chest and all the other pipes except the reeds. Tonal revisions (see below) permitted the middle section of that toeboard to be removed, much to the relief of the local technicians. Tuning access in the Pedal division was improved simply by cutting a small door in the side of the case.

Tonal changes included:

1. Replacing the Scharfzimbel with a 2′ Super Octave, to make a complete principal chorus in the Hauptwerk

2. Replacing the quarter-length 16′ Englischhorn in the Schwellwerk with a new half-length 16′ Dulzian

3. Replacing the half-length resonators in the low octave of the Pedal 16′ Posaune with full-length resonators

4. Raising the wind pressure in the Schwellwerk

5. Raising cut-ups and opening toes of foundation ranks in all divisions

6. In the Schwellwerk, revoicing the original 4′ Viola as a Principal and the original 2′ Italian Principal as a Waldflöte. (Even before revoicing, both of these stops, in the majority of their compass, sounded more like their new names than their old ones.)

Additionally:

• The original dual memory combination action was replaced with a new 128-level system that included a piston sequencer and “stick drive” (USB port for backup and portable memory).

• Video cameras and monitors were added, and keydesk lighting was improved.

• Service lighting inside the case was improved.

• The blower was enclosed to reduce noise.

• Wiring was neatened and confined to raceways where practical.

• Case surfaces were cleaned, and damaged wood was repaired, especially in the keydesk area.

• Stop jamb was refinished and laser-engraved, replacing original dry transfer lettering.

• Pipe shades were repaired.

• Stoppers of all 82 wooden pipes were refurbished.

• The motor-driven tremulant was replaced with a new, simpler solenoid-driven system.

Special thanks are due Fred Oyster of Oyster Pipe Works, Ltd., and his team. In addition to the items mentioned above, Fred regulated all the existing reed ranks, mitered the new reed rank, assisted with on-site reed voicing, and that still is not an exhaustive list. Lastly, we are grateful for the friendly support of Peebles-Herzog, Inc., local caretakers of this organ. Their willingness to loan us tools and equipment—often for lengthy periods of time—was extremely helpful and much appreciated. The job turned out to be much more involved than originally planned, and everyone at Bigelow is grateful for the extra patience and support of Prof. May Schwarz and everyone at Trinity. James Bobb, professor of organ and church music at St. Olaf College, played the first recital on the rebuilt instrument on June 6, 2017, to an enthusiastic audience.

­—David Chamberlin

Vice-president/Tonal director

Bigelow & Co., Inc.

 

HAUPTWERK

16′ Quintadena (electro-mechanical action, 1–12)

8′ Principal (1–8 fr Pedal 16′)

8′ Rohrflöte

4′ Octave

4′ Spitzflöte

22⁄3′ Nasat

2′ Super Octave (new)

2′ Flachflöte

13⁄5′ Terz 

IV-VI Mixtur

8′ Trompete

8′ Krummhorn

Schwellwerk to Hauptwerk

SCHWELLWERK (enclosed)

8′ Holzgedackt (1–8 fr Gemshorn)

8′ Gemshorn (1–8 capped metal, cone-shaped caps)

8′ Gemshorn Celeste (TC)

4′ Principal (formerly “Viola”)

4′ Traversflöte (formerly “Flöte”)

2′ Waldflöte (formerly “Ital. Principal”)

III Aliquot (22⁄3′, 13⁄5′, 11⁄7′)

11⁄3′ Quint

III–IV Scharff

16′ Dulzian (new)

8′ Oboe

Tremulant

PEDAL

16′ Principal (electro-mechanical action)

16′ Subbass (wood, electro-mechanical action)

8′ Octave

8′ Bordun (metal)

4′ Choralbass

IV Mixtur

16′ Posaune (1–12 new full-length copper resonators)

8′ Trompete

4′ Rohrschalmei (formerly “Schalmei”)

Hauptwerk to Pedal

Schwellwerk to Pedal

Zimbelstern

 

58/32 notes—AGO pedalboard.

Manual keys: ebony naturals, bone-plated ebony sharps.

Self-regulating mechanical key action, except as noted.

Slider chests with electric stop action.

128-level combination action with piston sequencer and USB port for backup and portable memory.

Electrically operated swell shades.

2 manuals, 45 ranks.

Stephen L. Pinel

Stephen L. Pinel holds two degrees from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, and did further graduate work in historical musicology at New York University. A church musician for 45 years, he retired from full-time work during the fall of 2017. He held a Langley Fellowship at New York University, is a member of Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honor Society, an honorary member of the Organ Historical Society, and a past chair of the St. Wilfrid Club of New York City. He is also the author of several books and regularly contributes articles pertaining to American organ history both here and abroad.

The St. John’s Organ Society of Bangor, Maine, reached a noteworthy milepost this fall with its “silver” anniversary! The organization was established a quarter of a century ago to maintain, promote, and foster public interest in E. & G. G. Hook Opus 288 (1860), an illustrious, three-manual pipe organ in the back gallery of St. John’s Catholic Church. The society has sponsored a considerable number of cultural events surrounding this instrument, including concerts, symposia, and teaching institutes. The organ is a large, fully American Romantic organ, equal in grandeur to anything comparable in Europe, and is situated in a reverberant 1855 Gothic-revival building. The instrument has had work, especially in 1980 when it was restored by George Bozeman & Co., and more recently by Robert C. Newton and the Andover Organ Company. The society is directed by Kevin Birch, the organist and music director at St. John’s; Catherine Bruno, an advocate known for her infectious enthusiasm and organizational skills; and a loyal coterie of volunteers. The fact that this society has flourished through several pastoral changes at the church is in itself a noted accomplishment.

 

The Maine Historic Organ Institute

To celebrate this anniversary, the society sponsored the Maine Historic Organ Institute this fall between October 24 and 28. The institute featured concerts, lectures, masterclasses, and organ tours using St. John’s Hook and a number of historic instruments nearby. Most of those were built by the Hooks (or their successors), but we also saw an important 1849 instrument by George Stevens in First Parish Church, Belfast. What made the institute memorable was the diverse cross-section of the participants—organbuilders, performers, scholars, students, and five well-respected American teachers. The gathering provided an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas, hear and visit organs, interact, study, and consider the organ from a variety of contrasting but complimentary perspectives. A surprising guest among the registrants was the great American soprano, Phyllis Bryn-Julson, universally recognized for her iconic interpretation of atonal and twelve-tone music. Bryn-Julson happens to like organ music!

Central to the institute were a series of four evening performances by the teaching faculty: Kevin Birch, Margaret Harper, Christian Lane, Jonathan Moyer, and Dana Robinson. The repertoire varied, but one evening each was devoted to American, French, and German compositions, and the final evening was given dedicated to “Masterworks for the Organ.” The quality of the playing was impeccable, but a few of the highlights included Birch’s exquisite reading of “Andante sostenuto” from Symphonie Gothique, op. 70, of Charles-Marie Widor, and Harper’s elegant performance of “Vater unser im Himmelreich” (BWV 682) from the Clavierübung of Johann Sebastian Bach, surely one of the hardest pieces in the repertoire. To my ears, the performance honors went to the remarkable Dana Robinson from the University of Illinois at Champaign. His  performance of Felix Mendelssohn’s Sonata No. 1 in F, op. 65, no. 1, and the Choral in E Major by César Franck were among the finest interpretations of those works I recall hearing. A few at the institute referred to Robinson as an “organists’ organist,” and his faultless accuracy, rhythmic drive, and musical sensitivity were astounding. Regardless of the literature, Opus 288 was convincing. Put simply, it is a really good organ; it was a privilege to hear it played so well day after day.

 

Students, teachers, scholars, and organbuilders

A feature of the institute was a series of masterclasses. While many of the participants opted to visit the region’s historic organs instead, the students worked with the faculty daily on old and new literature. Andrew Scanlon, organ professor from East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina (and a distinguished player in his own right), brought a number of his students. They were excited to study with the faculty, and a Friday-morning program featuring them was enthusiastically applauded.

Significant elements of new scholarship were offered. Barbara Owen’s book, Hook Organs in the State of Maine, recently published by the Organ Historical Society Press (ISBN 978-0-913499-80-1), reinforced the topic of her lecture. David E. Wallace, noted organbuilder from Gorham, Maine, gave a detailed account of current organ work in the state. He also produced a detailed handout on the known work of George Stevens in Maine. George Bozeman presented an admirable presentation-recital on the English voluntary. The Stevens organ at First Parish Church in Belfast—an organ Bozeman beautifully restored in 1975—served the purposes of this genre with distinction and was well-received. James Woodman, a composer of some note, spoke on the attributes of small organs. Vermont’s remarkable organbuilder, A. David Moore, shared some of the challenges he faced recently restoring a Hook organ, Opus 304 (1861), for Bangor’s Hammond Street Congregational Church. His discussion was illustrated, and Moore showed us different types of organ pipes, explaining how their physical characteristics influenced the sound they produced.

Other well-known organ builders were present and added immeasurably to the discussions; among them were William F. Czelusniak, Scot L. Huntington, and the great-granddaddy, the honorable Robert C. Newton. While three organbuilders brought chamber instruments to the institute, it was the superb wood-working skills of Nicholas Wallace (a member of The Diapason’s 20 Under 30 Class of 2015) that most impressed attendees. Expect to hear much more from this young organbuilder in the future.

The Organ Historical Society was much in evidence: no less than three former presidents, several former members of its national council and staff, and a considerable number of current members were present. A few “extras” at the event, such as an old-fashioned, New England chicken-pie supper, and a visit to the award-winning Young’s Lobster Pound in Belfast, were enjoyed. And Lorna and Carlton Russell’s fine and carefully planned demonstration on the elegant 1847 Hook organ in Stockton Springs was greatly appreciated.

We left the institute on Saturday wanting more. Bangor is certainly not on the ordinary traveling routes of most people, and getting there was a challenge for anyone outside northern New England. Some seventy participants came from as far away as Colorado, Georgia, and Texas. St. John’s Organ Society brought a varied group of people together for an extraordinary event that was as enjoyable as it was informative. Putting an event like this together is a lot of work. Sincere thanks and a warm salute were extended to Kevin Birch, Cathy Bruno, and the members of St. John’s Organ Society for a satisfying experience.

 

E. & G. G. Hook Opus 288 (1860)

St. John’s Catholic Church, Bangor, Maine

Great (Manual II)

16′ Bourdon (wood, 56 pipes)

8′ Op. Diapason (metal, 56 pipes)

8′ Melodia (TC, wood, 44 pipes)

8′ Std Diapason Bass (wood, 12 pipes)

4′ Principal (metal, 56 pipes)

4′ Flute (wood, 56 pipes)

22⁄3′ Twelfth (metal, 56 pipes)

2′ Fifteenth (metal, 56 pipes)*

3 ranks Sesquialtra (metal, 168 pipes)

8′ Trumpet (metal, 56 pipes)

4′ Clarion (metal, 56 pipes)

Swell (Manual III, enclosed, balanced Swell pedal, originally hitch-down)

16′ Bourdon (TC, wood, 56 pipes)

8′ Op. Diapason (TC, metal, 44 pipes)*

8′ Viol di Gamba (metal, 56 pipes)*

8′ Stopd Diapason (wood and metal, 

    56 pipes)

4′ Principal (metal, 56 pipes)*

4′ Flute Harmonique (metal, 56 pipes)*

2′ Fifteenth (metal, 56 pipes)*

3 ranks Dulciana Cornet (metal, 161 pipes)

8′ Trumpet (metal, 56 pipes)

8′ Oboe (TC, metal, 44 pipes)*

Tremulant

Choir

16′ Eolina (TC, metal, 44 pipes)

8′ Open Diapason (metal, 56 pipes)

8′ Dulciana (TC, metal, 44 pipes)*

8′ Viola d’Amour (metal, 56 pipes)*

8′ Stopd Diapason (wood, 56 pipes)

4′ Celestina (metal, 56 pipes)*

4′ Flute a’ Chiminee (metal, 56 pipes)

2′ Picolo (metal, 56 pipes)

8′ Cremona (TC, metal, 44 pipes)

8′ Corno di Basetto (CC–C, 12 pipes)

Pedal

16′ Dble. Op. Diapn (wood, 27 pipes)

16′ Dble. Dulciana (wood, 27 pipes)

16′ Grand Posaune (wood, 27 pipes, 

    new, 1981)*

Pedal Check*

Couplers and Mechanicals:

Sw. to Gr.

Sw. to Ch.

Ch. to Gr. Sub 8va.

Gr. to Ped.

Ch. to Ped.

Sw. to Ped.

Bellows Signal*

Combination Pedals:

Four unlabelled single-acting pedals:

Great p

Great f

Swell p

Swell f

Great to Pedal Reversible

 

Manual compass: 56 notes (CC–g3); pedal compass: 27 notes (CCC–D, originally 25 notes)

*Original label missing

 

The organ was first played by Boston organist John Henry Willcox on Christmas Eve, 1860. It was restored by the Bozeman-Gibson Organ Co. in 1981, and more recently has been under the care of Robert C. Newton and the Andover Organ Co. of Methuen, Massachusetts. Opus 288 received Historic Organ Citation no. 319 from the Organ Historical Society in 2005, and remains the largest nineteenth-century historical organ in the state.

 

E. & G. G. Hook (1847)

Community Church, Stockton Springs, Maine

Manual (GGG, AAA–f3, 58 notes)

8′ Op. Diapason (TC, metal, 47 pipes)

8′ Dulciana (TG, metal, 35 pipes)

8′ Clarabella (TG, wood, 35 pipes)

8′ St. Diapason Treble (TC, wood and 

  metal, 35 pipes)

8′ St. Diapason Bass (wood, 23 pipes)

4′ Principal (metal, 58 pipes)

4′ Flute (wood and metal, 58 pipes)

22⁄3′ Twelfth (metal, 58 pipes)

2′ Fifteenth (metal, 58 pipes)

8′ Hautboy (TG, metal, 35 pipes)

Pedal: GGG, AAA–E, 17 notes [no pipes]

Pedal Couple

Pedal Movements:

2 unlabelled single-acting pedals: all stops above 8′ on and off

Bellows Signal

The organ was built in 1847 for the Universalist Church, Bangor, Maine. It was replaced in Bangor by E. & G. G. Hook Opus 318 (1862), a large two-manual organ. In 1864 the 1847 organ was sold for $500 to the Universalist Church, Stockton Springs, Maine, when it was moved and installed in the gallery at an additional cost of $125. During the twentieth century, the congregation became known as the Community Church.

All the metal pipework is common metal. The St. Diapason Treble 8′ and the Flute 4′ are chimney flutes with stopped wood basses. The Clarabella 8′ is actually a Melodia with low cut-ups. The bottom eleven notes of the Open Diapason 8′ are grooved from the St. Diapason Bass 8′. The organ was restored by the Andover Organ Co. of Methuen, Massachusetts, and is unaltered.

Fabry Inc. Pipe Organ Builders,

Antioch, Illinois

First Church of Christ, Scientist,

Libertyville, Illinois

Fabry, Inc., was contracted to rebuild and install this instrument in the very small balcony of this church nave. The organ was built by M. P. Möller as their Opus 8685 for a small church outside Madison, Wisconsin. The project included installing a Peterson Duo Set Single Board combination action, a diode matrix relay, electric shutter action, furnishing a totally new finished cabinet enclosure with shutters on the front and side, and replacing all cloth-covered wiring. This instrument originally contained three ranks; however, the church decided to add an 8′ Trompette, bringing the instrument to a total of four ranks. The original Möller instrument never had the 12 bass pipes of its 8′ Principal rank. Due to space limitations, the bottom octave of the 8′ Principal was supplied by a Peterson digital voice. The project was headed by Adrienne Tindall.

GREAT (enclosed)

  8′ Principal (digital 1–12, 73 pipes)

8′ Gedeckt (97 pipes) 8′ Viola (73 pipes) 4′ Principal (ext 8′ Principal)

4′ Gedeckt (extension 8′ Gedeckt)

4′ Viola (ext 8′ Viola)

22⁄3′ Principal (ext 8′ Principal)

2′ Principal (ext 8′ Principal)

8′ Trompette (73 pipes)

4′ Trompette (ext 8′ Trompette)

Swell to Great

Pedal to Great

SWELL (enclosed)

8′ Gedeckt (fr Gt 8′ Gedeckt)

8′ Viola (fr Gt 8′ Viola)

4′ Gedeckt (fr Gt 8′ Gedeckt)

4′ Viola (fr Gt 8′ Viola)

22⁄3′ Gedeckt (ext Gt 8′ Gedeckt)

2′ Gedeckt (ext Gt 8′ Gedeckt)

13⁄5′ Viola (ext Gt 8′ Viola)

11⁄3′ Larigot (ext Gt 8′ Viola)

8′ Trompette (fr Gt 8′ Trompette)

4′ Trompette (fr Gt 8′ Trompette)

Tremolo

PEDAL (enclosed)

32′ Resultant (wired fr Gt 8′ Gedeckt)

16′ Gedeckt (ext Gt 8′ Gedeckt)

8′ Gedeckt (fr Gt 8′ Gedeckt)

8′ Viola (fr Gt 8′ Viola)

51⁄3′ Gedeckt (fr Gt 8′ Gedeckt)

4′ Principal (fr Gt 8′ Principal)

4′ Gedeckt (ext Gt 8′ Gedeckt)

16′ Trompette (wired resultant)

8′ Trompette (fr Gt 8′ Trompette)

4′ Clarion (fr Gt 8′ Trompette) 

 

10 General pistons (thumb and toe)

General Cancel (thumb)

Combination adjuster (thumb)

Tutti (thumb and toe, with indicator)

Balanced expression shoe

Balanced Crescendo shoe (with indicator)

 

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church

Union Grove, Wisconsin

This instrument was built by the Wicks Organ Company of Highland, Illinois, as a “Convention Portable Organ.” Many of the instrument’s original case panels were hinged for easy disassembly, and the chassis was placed on wheels. In December 1958, the instrument with its drawknob console was sold to and installed at Zoar Lutheran Church, Elmwood Park, Illinois, as the builder’s Opus 3873.  

When the Elmwood Park church closed, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church of Union Grove, Wisconsin, acquired the instrument and contracted Fabry, Inc., to remove the 14-rank instrument and move it to its new home. We transported some parts of it to the church and other parts to the Fabry factory to be rebuilt and re-engineered. All new Peterson solid state equipment was installed. We constructed a new swell box enclosure with a new electric shade action, and added new casework for the new installation. The balcony required a small amount of remodeling to allow sufficient space for the instrument. 

The project was headed on behalf of the church by Pastor David Ramirez, Dan Hirsh, treasurer, and Paul Hrupka, president. Fabry thanks everyone for their cooperation during this project.

 

GREAT

8′ Principal (68 pipes)

8′ Nason Flute (80 pipes)

8′ Gemshorn (97 pipes)

8′ Dolcan (73 pipes)

4′ Prestant (68 pipes)

4′ Gemshorn (ext 8′ Gemshorn)

4′ Flute (ext 8′ Nason Flute)

4′ Dolcan (ext 8′ Dolcan)

22⁄3′ Twelfth (68 pipes)

22⁄3′ Gemshorn (ext 8′ Gemshorn)

2′ Fifteenth (68 pipes)

2′ Gemshorn (ext 8′ Gemshorn)

13⁄5′ Gemshorn (ext 8′ Gemshorn)

  Tremolo (electric unit)

  Chimes (25 bars, electric action)

Great 16

Great Unison Off

Great 4

SWELL (enclosed)

8′ Stopped Flute (92 pipes)

8′ Salicional (80 pipes)

8′ Voix Celeste (TC, 56 pipes)

4′ Flauto Traverso (68 pipes)

4′ Violina (ext 8′ Salicional)

22⁄3′ Nazard (ext 4′ Flauto Traverso)

2′ Harmonic Piccolo (ext 4′ Fl. Trav.)

8′ Trompette (80 pipes)

8′ Schalmei (68 pipes)

4′ Clarion (ext 8′ Trompette)

Tremolo

Swell 16

Swell Unison Off

Swell 4

PEDAL

32′ Lieblich Gedeckt (resultant)

16′ Diapason (44 pipes)

16′ Bourdon (ext Sw 8′ Stopped Flute)

8′ Principal (ext 16′ Diapason)

8′ Flute (fr Gt 8′ Nason Flute)

8’ Gemshorn (fr Gt 8′ Gemshorn)

8′ Gedeckt (fr Sw 8′ Stopped Flute)

8′ Dolcan (fr Gt 8′ Dolcan)

51⁄3′ Quint (fr Sw 8′ Stopped Flute)

4′ Choral Bass (fr Gt 4′ Prestant)

4′ Gedeckt (fr Sw 8′ Stopped Flute)

III Mixture (collective)      

16′ Trumpet (wired ext. 8′ Trompette)

8′ Trumpet (fr Sw 8′ Trompette)

4′ Clarion (fr Sw 8′ Trompette)

Zimbelstern

 

Inter-divisional couplers (tilting tablets)

Great to Pedal 8 Great to Pedal 4 Swell to Pedal 8 Swell to Pedal 4 MIDI to Pedal Swell to Great 16 Swell to Great 8

Swell to Great 4 Pedal to Great MIDI to Great Pedal to Swell MIDI to Swell

Accessories

10 General pistons (thumb and toe)

6 Great pistons (thumb)

6 Swell pistons (thumb)

4 Pedal pistons (toe)

Set (thumb)

General Cancel (thumb)

Great to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe)

Swell to Pedal reveresible (thumb and toe)

Pedal to Great reversible (thumb)

Pedal to Swell reversible (thumb)

Tutti (thumb and toe, with indicator)

32′ Lieblich reversible (toe)

Zimbelstern reversible (thumb and toe)

Balanced Swell expression shoe

Balanced Crescendo shoe (with indicator)

Wind indicator

—Phil Spressart

 

Builder’s website: www.fabryinc.com

First Church of Christ, Scientist, website: www.christiansciencelibertyville.com

St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website: http://www.stpaulsug.org

Muller Pipe Organ Company, Croton, Ohio

Saint Paul the Apostle Parish, Westerville, Ohio

The highlight of Muller Pipe Organ Company’s ninety-fifth anniversary year was the completion of the new pipe organ for Saint Paul the Apostle Parish of Westerville, Ohio, the largest congregation in the Catholic Diocese of Columbus. Our relationship with the parish began as the new building was being designed, and we enjoyed working collaboratively to create a space that would be effective for both worship and music. The result is a handsome brick edifice seating approximately 1,500 parishioners in an acoustically reverberant and visually arresting space. 

John Bryan, music director at St. Paul, and Paul Thornock, then diocesan organ consultant, worked with us as tonal ideas were developed. These conversations produced an eclectic instrument that supports the diverse liturgies of the parish, boldly leads major diocesan events, and accommodates a wide variety of organ repertoire.

Saint Paul boasts an active choral program to match the size of the parish and space. To ensure ample room for these singers, we placed the Positive on the railing, where it is reminiscent of a Rückpositv both in location and sound. The other divisions are in the large main case at the back of the spacious gallery.

Our tonal philosophy dictates a broad, warm sound for the Great division; this was readily accomplished at Saint Paul by a location in the main case. This division’s broadly scaled and boldly voiced principal chorus is the cornerstone of the entire instrument. The smaller-scaled Violone was designed primarily as a 16′ stop, but plays at 8′ pitch and functions as the secondary principal, being both brighter and more articulate. The Tromba is the darkest of the manual trumpets and employs English shallots and harmonic resonators beginning in the middle octave. Because the division is expressive, the Great includes ranks that would be expected in a Choir division: a throaty Clarinet and a pair of tapered Gemshorns.

The Swell is the workhorse of the organ and balances the Great division. A secondary principal chorus with a low-pitched mixture, an independent flute chorus, and broadly scaled Viole strings provide a solid platform for choral accompaniment. The Trompette and Clairon create a fiery French effect. The Hautbois, with its open shallots, also has a bright French quality or nasality. 

The Positive contains the most articulate and colorful stops of the organ. Its location on the gallery rail allowed us to contrast its voice with the Great by means of smaller scaling, lower wind pressure, and gentler voicing. The somewhat unconventional Quintadena provides a lovely solo voice and offers an alternative to the eloquent Gedeckt. The Positive Trompet is a median between the Great and Swell trumpets. These shallots were designed for effective tone on light wind pressure, providing plenty of power with ample fundamental tone.   

The pipes of the Pedal division are divided into C and C-sharp sections on either side of the main case. It boasts a powerful Trombone as well as a reclaimed 16′ Open Wood Diapason. Like each manual division, the Pedal has a complete and independent principal chorus, culminating with a four-rank mixture. To provide flexibility, the Pedal division includes judicious borrowing from the manual divisions.  

The visually and aurally commanding Pontifical Trumpet is mounted horizontally on the main case and is constructed of brass with flared resonators. This stop is powerful enough to speak over fuller combinations, yet does so with a refined, even tone.  

The cases were conceived to visually harmonize with the Romanesque features of the building. From the choir seating in the balcony, the outline of the Positive pipework mirrors the architecture of the ceiling and mural while drawing one’s focus directly to the liturgy at the front of the church. The casework and the console were fabricated by craftsmen at the Muller shop. The cases of quarter-sawn red oak were handcrafted using traditional joinery, as was the raised panel console. The console is movable and features interior accents of solid walnut with inlays of ebony and maple. 

We are especially grateful for the support of A. R. Schopp’s Sons, Inc., David R. Beck, Paul Thornock, and countless others in the industry for their counsel and wisdom. However, the instrument would not exist without the heroic efforts of John Bryan, the Reverend Charles Klinger, pastor, and the parishioners of Saint Paul the Apostle. We thank them all for honoring us with the opportunity to build this lasting testimony to their faithfulness.

—Luke Tegtmeier, Tonal Associate

Muller Pipe Organ Company

 

GREAT - Main case, enclosed

16′ Violone 73 

8′ Principal 61

8′ Violone (ext 16′)

8′ Rohrflöte 61

8′ Gemshorn 61

8′ Gemshorn Celeste (TC) 49

4′ Octave 61

4′ Koppelflöte 61

2′ Super Octave 61

11⁄3′ Fourniture IV 244

16′ Bass Clarinet (ext 8 ′)

8′ Trompet (Pos)

8′ Tromba 61

8′ Clarinet 73

8′ Pontifical Trumpet 61

Tremolo

SWELL – Main case, enclosed

16′ Bourdon 73

8′ Principal 61

8′ Bourdon (ext 16′)

8′ Viole 61

8′ Viole Celéste  61

4′ Octave 61

4′ Harmonic Flute 61

22⁄3′ Nazard 61

2′ Blockflöte 61

13⁄5′ Tierce 61

2′ Plein Jeu IV 244

16′ Basson-Hautbois 73

8′ Trompette 61

8′ Hautbois (ext 16′)

4′ Clairon 61

Tremolo 

8′ Pontifical Trumpet (Gt)

POSITIVE – Railing, unenclosed

8′ Principal 61

8′ Holz Gedeckt 61

8′ Quintadena 61

4′ Octave 61

4′ Waldflöte 61

22⁄3′ Quint 61

2′ Super Octave 61

2′ Flautina 61

13⁄5′ Tierce 61

11⁄3′ Larigot 61

1′ Mixture III 183

8′ Trompet 61

Tremolo

8′ Clarinet (Gt)

8′ Tromba (Gt)

8′ Pontifical Trumpet (Gt)

PEDAL – Main case, unenclosed

32′ Diapason (resultant, 16′ Open)

32′ Bourdon (resultant, 16′ Subbass)  

16′ Open Wood Diapason 32

16′ Violone (Gt)

16′ Subbass 56

16′ Bourdon (Sw)

8′ Octave 32

8′ Subbass (ext 16′)

8′ Bourdon (Sw)

4′ Choral Bass 32

4′ Subbass (ext 16′)

22⁄3′ Mixture IV 128

32′ Trombone 56

16′ Trombone (ext 32′)

16′ Basson-Hautbois (Sw)

16′ Bass Clarinet (Gt)

8′ Trombone (ext 32′)

8′ Hautbois (Sw)

4′ Clarinet (Gt)

8′ Pontifical Trumpet (Gt)

 

Wind pressures

Great – 51⁄2″

Swell and Pedal – 5″

Swell reeds – 41⁄2″

Positive – 3″

Pontifical Trumpet – 6″

32′ Trombone (1–24) – 8″

 

Full complement of couplers

Electro-pneumatic pitman chest action

Peterson ICS 4000

 

Three manuals, 54 ranks, 3,117 pipes