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The Story of a Home Practice Organ

Devon Hollingsworth

Devon Hollingsworth served for 25 years as director of music/organist at Christ Church of Oak Brook, in Illinois, where he continues in his 33rd year as organist. His church music training was at Wheaton College (Illinois) and Northwestern University, studying organ performance with Frederick Schulze, Jack Goode, Gladys Christensen, and Karel Paukert, and choral training with Rex Hicks and Grigg Fountain. He was responsible for more than 15 music groups at Christ Church, including a concert series, a conservatory of music, and a full Kindermusik program. Hollingsworth has been featured on national television for his organ design and consultation activities. He is married to Carol, and they live in DeKalb, Illinois, where he has installed 15 ranks of pipes to play along with their custom Allen organ in a new music room. The organ and the grand piano play from the computer, and several organs have been recently added to the collection, including a player pipe organ, an RT-3 Hammond organ with Leslie speaker, a second grand piano, and a Holmberg pipe organ clock. Tours are available by request.

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Long before I began my formal training
for degrees in organ performance, I spent many occasions playing my grandmother’s Hammond C-3, known as the “Church Model Hammond.” During my junior year in high school, in 1962, I was given the job of organist at my family’s church, the Evangelical Free Church of Boone, Iowa. It was there that I learned long-suffering and patience, playing the wheezy amplified reed Wurlitzer organ that would entertain the kids as well as the adults by catching fire at least once a year during services.
My parents eventually purchased a Hammond A-100 (see photo) for my home practicing, and I used that organ extensively for practice, even during summers off from college. So the concept of a home organ was well established, and there was another interesting story I often heard from members of the Free Church once they found out about my interest in organ playing. These people would tell me about Byron Carlson, another “musical son” of the congregation, who removed a small theatre organ from the Boone theatre, and installed it in his parents’ house.
So, early on, when I determined that the pipe organ was going to be my life focus and profession, the seeds of a home pipe organ were firmly planted in my mind. And I was thrilled later in my college years to meet Byron Carlson, who had been quite successful in his own business, manufacturing power cords for vacuum cleaners, and had built a mansion around a four-manual theatre organ he secured from a theatre in Chicago. During a trip to dedicate an organ in Minneapolis, I got to visit the Carlsons, and played the organ, and got to inspect the details of the meticulously done installation.

Hammond roots
The practicing I had done on the Hammond organ at home prepared me for a very busy organ department at Wheaton College, where student practice time on even the small pipe organs in their little rooms was at a premium. I found, though, that I could spend many extra hours on the Hammond RT-3, a concert organ Hammond built supposedly to please classical organists. It proved valuable for me, because it had the standard pedalboard, and the click and pop of the Hammond keying forced me to play correctly, as it was very unforgiving of variations in rhythm and phrasing—I was forced to play steadily and cleanly. I believe I was the lone individual who didn’t mind the Hammond, so there was always an instrument free for me on which to practice!
The Wheaton College 4-manual 65-rank Schantz pipe organ console is pictured here. Of course, it was a treat to get time on this instrument, so we made the most of it when the opportunities came.

First:
Wicks practice organ

On I went to Northwestern for graduate studies in organ performance, as well as a new part-time position as organist-choirmaster at Trinity Lutheran Church in Skokie. During this time, I was alerted to the availability of one of those small practice organs built by Wicks Organ Company, well worn from rigorous practicing of students for many years; $250 and it came to my three-room apartment at Trinity, where I was now organist-choirmaster-custodian!
It soon grew from the three ranks of Dulciana, Salicional, and Flute to include a Schantz 2′ Principal, and soon after that I was fortunate to buy the bottom 24 pipes of an almost-new Schantz 8′ Principal, so I now had this stop at 8′ through 2′ pitch. By this time also, having heard there was a newer console available for sale at the Wicks factory, I drove to Highland, Illinois and got a beautiful blonde-finish console that would allow for the growth of many more pipes and stops. Back in those years, sets of good pipework were very inexpensive, as many new organs were being built, and very little of the old pipework would be included or be rebuilt into the new instruments. Incidentally, returning from Highland wasn’t much fun as I found myself driving in a blinding snowstorm, but made it safely back to Skokie.
See the photo of the original console and three ranks of pipes, followed by the expanded specification, with chests and pipes filling the living room and bedroom of the three-room apartment.
Before I knew it, I had ten ranks playing, including a two-rank Sesquialtera made from two sets of Kimball pipes, and purchased with a brand new chest for only $150! Kurt Roderer and the workers at his shop helped me very often at no charge, which enabled me to secure the best collection of pipework and chest work possible during those years.
After six years in the small apartment, I moved the organ, along with the 7′5″ Yamaha piano I had purchased new, into the upper story of a two-flat owned by a dear choir member. The grand piano and organ console had to be craned up to the second-floor little balcony, and we put on quite a show for the neighbors, who were quite used to pianos being craned up, but not pipe organ consoles. This apartment had nine rooms including a sun porch, with all the rooms having nine-foot ceilings! Still, I had to hang the taller pipes on the wall, and lay down on the floor a couple wooden ones, but it was a great year.

Second:
Kilgen—and a Wangerin Organ Player!

During that year I acquired another practice organ from Wheaton College, a two-rank Kilgen Petite Ensemble. This was the favorite of the practice organs during my four years there at Wheaton, as it had a loud string rank as well as a flute, and produced the sound of an organ many times its size. This pipe organ arrived at a very timely moment, as I had just purchased a Wangerin Organ Player while on a trip to Minneapolis to dedicate a pipe organ in a suburb there. I had a fun time wiring the pipes, as there were no labels, only a “rat’s nest” of wires.
This little two-rank organ came in very handy, though, on the Fourth of July weekend. My landlady had warned me that I probably wouldn’t be able to do much, maybe not even sleep, as the next-door neighbors had teenage kids who brought a large stereo outside to their back yard, and usually cranked up the stereo for quite a party with their friends. My landlady was not exaggerating either, as the noise was so loud, I was about to give up and go away myself as I was the only one in the building, the others having left for the weekend to avoid the noise!
Then an idea came to me. I put a piano roll in the player organ, the pipes of which were now in the sunroom. I set the player to “Repeat” so the roll would automatically rewind and play continuously. I opened the windows on the side of the house where all the noise was coming from. The player wasn’t very loud, but its sound caused quite a chaos in the existing music and must have ruined their party, because within a half hour, they had relocated to another place, where they undoubtedly were driving other neighbors crazy.
I loved this apartment dearly, but I only could stay there a year, as I soon got my first full-time job at Christ Church of Oak Brook. A couple of choir members there helped me move the organs during a terrible snowstorm to my first house, in Hinsdale. Curiously enough, one of them, my soon-to-be assistant director, had an eight-rank Kilgen in his house! He never got it playing, though, and soon after he was married, the organ was sold.
My grand piano and two pipe organs were installed in the 2½-car garage, which the previous owners had already partially converted into a large family room. The main organ and piano filled this room, and the roll player and pipes were in an alcove just inside the house from that room. Carol and I got married at that time and soon after that, in September 1982, our son Mark arrived.

Movin’ on up
It wasn’t long before the housing market suddenly skyrocketed, and we discovered that our land was worth more than the house. So we traded the land for a new two-story house (we had to pay a lot more also!), and this time we had to move the organs and piano only a mile to the west of where we lived in Hinsdale to Willowbrook.
The builder caught the vision for the pipe organ, and left out a bedroom upstairs so we could have a two-story music room. The pipes looked stunning, mounted on three levels. We lived there for 11 years. It was four years until I got the pipes hooked up, as I had to figure out how I was going to connect the new Allen Classic I digital organ console to the pipes. Allen built a relay that has been working flawlessly ever since. Many musical gatherings and hymn sings were held there until a forced downsizing of my position at Christ Church meant that we had to do some serious downsizing at home also.
We had heard about the towns of DeKalb and Sycamore, about 45 miles from Christ Church in Oak Brook, and the second house we looked at was the one we’re still living in, in spite of the fact when we first moved in, there was little room for the instruments. Fortunately, the basement was finished, so the Kilgen went down there, along with my stereo and music. The pipes resided in a spare bedroom upstairs for about two years, until one day when Carol mentioned that I might consider cutting a hole in the bedroom wall and set the pipes to playing in that room. It was not a very expensive process, and so in about six weeks, I had them playing again. It normally took only three weeks, but this time I had to extend many cables, so it took a bit longer.
One December, we had over ten gatherings of ten to fifteen people each time. Hundreds of visitors later, it became possible to consider either building a music room onto the existing house or finding a bigger one.

The music room
The market was great for buying a new house, but not so great for selling the existing one. Every other house that we visited seemed to be good for the instruments but not suitable in other areas, or the other areas were wonderful, but there would have to be considerable modification of the rooms where we might put the instruments. Often, there would be no living room, dining room, or either left after adding the instruments. So, we decided to add a music room, and as is often wont to happen, we eventually remodeled the entire house inside and out. Carol had been teaching piano students for several years, and after getting her another smaller grand to use in teaching as well as a possible second piano for concerts and gatherings, we embarked on what could have been a disaster from beginning to end, and we heard many tales of woe from many people who had undertaken remodeling projects on their homes!
We heard about Andy’s Construction from a parent of one of Carol’s students, and Ken and Ben began what would be the most wonderful construction project you could ever hope for. They knew nothing about pipe organs, but they carefully made sure that the room was done to perfection, and we soon discovered that this room is the best yet! Ken and Ben Anderson made sure there was someone at the house every day but a couple of days, so things got done quite fast, and some days more than one activity was going on at the same time. I remember one day when four different companies were working on the house! Soundwise, the pipes seem to be perfectly scaled for this wonderful room, and there is now room for 20+ people to enjoy the instruments and take part in our sing-a-longs.
Many people have asked how the neighbors like us with two pipe organs. I have often wondered what they thought when we were carrying those huge 10-foot-long pipes into our homes. I have never had one complaint from any neighbor, and, in every instance, the neighbors have been sorry to have us leave. Because of my allergies, I have seldom had the luxury of having the windows open, so there were precious few times when the neighbors could hear the organs. Because they’re on low wind pressures, 3½ and 4 inches water column for each organ, the sound doesn’t carry well through the air.
During my time in the two-flat apartment, I was lucky to be able to walk down the street while a friend played the organ one evening. There, because of trees overhanging the street on both sides, the sound softly wafted all the way down our block, very pleasant and unusual to hear, but enjoyable for sure. While the piano and organ console were being craned down from the apartment, I stood with our next-door neighbors, who were teary-eyed to see the instruments and me leave. So I’ve always had a good relationship with neighbors, who enjoy bringing friends and relatives to see the house, and we’ve made hundreds of new friends and hope to continue doing so.
Our sincere hope is to share the music and the instruments with as many people as we possibly can, and to promote one of our dearest causes, the singing of hymns and the performance of the finest music possible. You are cordially invited to contact us at any time to set up an opportunity to share with your relatives and friends our collections of instruments. ■

The main organ and Yamaha piano have been moved six times:
• Three-room apartment in the parish house of Trinity Lutheran Church, Skokie, 1970–76
• Top nine-room apartment in Evanston, 1976–77
• Hinsdale house, 1977–91
• Willowbrook house, 1991–2002
• Bedroom of DeKalb home, 2002–09
• New music room addition, 2009
The pipe ranks and their builders:
Wooden Flute 16′–2′, Wicks
Metal Flute 4′–2′, Stinkens
Principal 8′–2′, Schantz
Diapason 4′–2′, Stinkens
Salicional 8′–2′, Casavant
Salicional Celeste 4′–2′, Wicks
Sesquialtera (derived from a four-rank Kimball Mixture)
String Mixture, five ranks, Aeolian
Trumpet 8′, Stinkens

There are currently 14 pipe ranks playing, and the console and relay are prepared for up to 15 ranks.

Pipe analysis
16′ Bourdon 96 pipes Wicks
8′ Principal 84 pipes Schantz
8′ Diapason 72 pipes Stinkens
(bottom 12 wood)
8′ Metal Flute 72 pipes Stinkens
4′ Salicional 83 pipes Casavant
4′ Salicional Celeste 72 pipes Wicks
Sesquialtera II 98 pipes Kimball
Harmonic Mixture 287 pipes Aeolian
8′ Trumpet 61 pipes Stinkens
925 pipes

Pipe section
GREAT

8′ Principal
8′ Diapason
8′ Metal Flute
8′ Salicional
4′ Principal
4′ Diapason
4′ Bourdon
4′ Metal Flute
2′ Principal
Sesquialtera II
Harmonic Mixture V

SWELL
16′ Bourdon
8′ Bourdon
8′ Salicional
8′ Salicional Celeste
4′ Principal
4′ Bourdon
4′ Metal Flute
4′ Salicional
4′ Salicional Celeste
2′ Bourdon
Gadget II

PEDAL
16′ Bourdon
8′ Principal
8′ Bourdon
8′ Metal Flute
4′ Principal
4′ Metal Flute
Gadget I

Currently, Swell Gadget II plays a 29-tuned bars Glockenspiel

Digital section
GREAT

8′ Swell to Great
8′ Principal
8′ Rohrflote
4′ Octave
4′ Koppelflote
2′ Flachflote
Mixture IV
Gr-Ped Unenclosed
Reverberation

SWELL
8′ Gedackt
8′ Salicional
8′ Voix Celeste
4′ Koppelflote
2′ Klein Principal
Scharf II
8′ Krummhorn

PEDAL
16′ Gedackt
16′ Lieblich Gedackt
8′ Octave
8′ Flute
4′ Choral Bass
8′ Trompete
8′ Great to Pedal
8′ Swell to Pedal

MIDI to Swell
MIDI to Great
MIDI to Pedal
Antiphonal speakers
Global tuning

 

Related Content

Organs in the Land of Sunshine: A look at secular organs in Los Angeles, 1906–1930

James Lewis

James Lewis is an organist, organ historian and commercial photographer. He has researched the organs of California for over 35 years and has published articles on the subject in several periodicals. This article is a small section of a much larger text of a forthcoming book from the Organ Historical Society.

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Introduction
Los Angeles is home today to many wonderful organs. During the early twentieth century, pipe organs were constructed for spaces beyond the typical church, theater, or university setting. This article traces the histories of over a dozen pipe organs in private homes, social clubs, school and church auditoriums, and even a home furnishings store. It provides a glimpse of organbuilding—and life—in a more glamorous, pre-Depression age.

Temple Baptist Church
Come back in time to the spring of 1906, where we find the Temple Baptist Church of Los Angeles readying their new building for opening. Although the new complex was financed by a religious organization, it was not designed as a traditional church building. Architect Charles Whittlesey produced plans that included a 2700-seat theater auditorium with a full working stage, two smaller halls, and a nine-story office block, providing the burgeoning city with a venue for various entertainments and civic events, and Temple Church with facilities for church activities. Even though the official name of the building was Temple Auditorium, it was also known over the years as Clune’s Theatre and Philharmonic Auditorium. In addition to church services, the Auditorium was used for concerts, public meetings, ballet, silent motion pictures, and beginning in 1921, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra and the Light Opera Association.
It was the first steel-reinforced poured concrete structure in Los Angeles. The auditorium had five narrow balconies and was decorated in a simplified Art Nouveau-style influenced by Louis Sullivan’s Auditorium in Chicago. Color and gold leaf were liberally used, and the concentric rings of the ceiling over the orchestra section were covered with Sullivanesque ornamentation and studded with electric lights. Concealed behind this area, on either side of the stage, was the organ.
The Auditorium Company ordered a large four-manual organ (Opus 156) from the Austin Organ Company of Hartford, Connecticut. Similar to the auditorium itself, the instrument was used more for secular occasions than for church services. It was the first large, modern organ in Los Angeles and contained such innovations as second touch, high wind pressures, an array of orchestral voices, and an all-electric, movable console with adjustable combination action.
The instrument had a partially enclosed Great division, with a large selection of 8′ stops that included four 8′ Open Diapasons. Second touch was available on the Swell keyboard through a Great to Swell coupler. The Choir division was labeled Orchestral and contained a variety of soft string and flute stops along with three orchestral reeds. The Solo division was on 25″ wind pressure and unenclosed except for the Harmonic Tuba, unified to play at 16′, 8′ and 4′ pitches. 25″ wind pressure was also used in the Pedal division for the Magnaton stop, playable at 32′ and 16′. An article about the Auditorium in the Architectural Record magazine stated “the roof is reinforced with steel so that the tones of the large organ will not cause any structural damage.”1 A mighty organ, indeed!
The four-manual console was located in the orchestra pit and movable within a range of 50 feet. Its design was influenced by the early consoles of Robert Hope-Jones and featured two rows of stop keys placed above the top keyboard, a style affectionately known as a “toothbrush console,” because to an active imagination the two rows of stop keys looked like the rows of bristles on a toothbrush.
In 1912, Dr. Ray Hastings (1880–1940) was appointed house organist, and he played for church services, silent motion pictures, radio broadcasts, public recitals, and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.2
Temple Auditorium and its mighty Austin organ served Los Angeles for many years, but by the 1950s the place was beginning to look a bit tired. Sometime after World War II, the interior was painted a ghastly shade of green, covering up all the color and gold of the original decorative scheme. In 1965 the Philharmonic Orchestra and Light Opera both moved to the new Los Angeles Music Center and the Auditorium never again operated as a theater.
The organ began to develop serious wind leaks, and the 25″-wind-pressure Solo division and Pedal Magnaton were finally disconnected. A supply-house console replaced the original Austin console in the 1960s and was moved out of the orchestra pit to the stage.
Sunday morning services of Temple Baptist Church became sparsely attended as people moved out of Los Angeles to the new suburbs. There did not seem to be any use for the old Auditorium, and the complex finally succumbed to the wrecker’s ball in 1985. The pipework from the Austin organ was sold off piecemeal and the chests were left in the chambers to come down with the demolition of the building. What began as Los Angeles’s first, modern organ of the 20th-century came to an ignominious end.

Temple Auditorium, Los Angeles
Austin Organ Company, 1906, Opus 156

GREAT
(unenclosed)

16′ Major Diapason
16′ Contra Dulciana
8′ First Diapason
8′ Second Diapason
8′ Third Diapason
8′ Gross Flute
8′ Claribel Flute
4′ Octave
4′ Hohl Flute
3′ Twelfth
2′ Fifteenth
(enclosed)
8′ Horn Diapason
8′ Violoncello
8′ Viol d’Amour
8′ Doppel Flute
4′ Fugara
III Mixture
16′ Double Trumpet
8′ Trumpet
4′ Clarion

SWELL
16′ Gross Gamba
8′ Diapason Phonon
8′ Violin Diapason
8′ Gemshorn
8′ Echo Viole
8′ Vox Angelica
8′ Gemshorn
8′ Rohr Flute
8′ Flauto Dolce
8′ Unda Maris
8′ Quintadena
4′ Principal
4′ Harmonic Flute
2′ Flageolet
III Dolce Cornet
16′ Contra Posaune
8′ Cornopean
8′ Oboe
8′ Vox Humana
Tremolo
Vox Humana Tremolo

ORCHESTRAL
16′ Contra Viole
8′ Geigen Principal
8′ Viole d’Orchestre
8′ Viole Celeste
8′ Vox Seraphique
8′ Concert Flute
8′ Lieblich Gedackt
4′ Violina
4′ Flauto Traverso
2′ Piccolo Harmonique
16′ Double Oboe Horn
8′ Clarinet
8′ Cor Anglais
Tremolo

SOLO
8′ Grand Diapason
8′ Flauto Major
8′ Gross Gamba
4′ Gambette
4′ Flute Ouverte
2′ Super Octave
8′ Orchestral Oboe
8′ Saxophone (synthetic)
16′ Tuba Profunda
8′ Harmonic Tuba (ext)
4′ Clarion (ext)

PEDAL
32′ Contra Magnaton
32′ Resultant
16′ Magnaton
16′ Major Diapason
16′ Small Diapason (Gt)
16′ Violone
16′ Bourdon
16′ Dulciana (Gt)
16′ Contra Viole (Orch)
8′ Gross Flute
8′ ‘Cello
8′ Flauto Dolce
4′ Super Octave
16′ Tuba Profunda (Solo)
8′ Tuba (Solo)

Swell Sub
Swell Octave
Orchestral Sub
Orchestral Octave
Solo Sub
Solo Super
Swell to Pedal
Swell to Pedal Octave
Great to Pedal
Orchestral to Pedal
Solo to Pedal
Swell to Great Sub
Swell to Great Unison
Swell to Great Octave
Orchestral to Great Sub
Orchestral to Great Unison
Solo to Great Unison
Solo to Great Octave
Great to Swell Unison Second Touch
Swell to Orchestral Sub
Swell to Orchestral Unison
Swell to Orchestral Octave
Solo to Orchestral Unison

Tally’s Broadway Theatre
Eight years after the Temple Auditorium organ was installed, Tally’s Broadway Theatre took delivery on a four-manual organ advertised as “The World’s Finest Theatre Pipe Organ.” The 47-rank organ had been ordered early in 1913 from the Los Angeles builder Murray M. Harris, but by the time it was installed in 1914 the name of the firm had been changed to the Johnston Organ Company and the factory moved to the nearby suburb of Van Nuys.
Tally’s instrument must have been the original “surround sound,” as most of the pipework was installed in shallow chambers extending down both sides of the rectangular-shaped auditorium. The Choir division was on the stage and had its own façade, while the Echo was behind a grille at one side of the stage. Positioned on a lift in the orchestra pit, the four-manual drawknob console was equipped with a roll player.
This was not the sort of theatre organ that would come into prominence during the 1920s, a highly unified instrument full of color stops all blended together by numerous tremolos. Tally’s organ was not that much different from a Murray M. Harris church organ, except for the saucer bells and a lack of upperwork.
Installation was still underway when it came time for the opening concert, but since the show must go on, the event took place. A reviewer wrote “while the unfinished and badly out of tune instrument, under the skillful manipulation of an excellent performer, did give pleasure to a large portion of the big audience, nevertheless it was an unfinished and badly out of tune instrument and as such it could not favorably impress the ear of the critic.”3
Charles Demorest, a former student of Harrison Wild in Chicago, who played at Tally’s, was also the organist at the Third Church of Christ, Scientist, and gave Monday afternoon recitals on the organ in Hamburger’s department store. In the May, 1914 edition of The Pacific Coast Musician it was mentioned that “Charles Demorest is doing much to uphold good music for the motion picture theatres by the quality of his organ work at Tally’s Broadway Theatre, Los Angeles, where he has a concert organ of immense resources at his command. This instrument is a four-manual organ equipped with chimes, saucer bells, concert harp and echo organ. Mr. Demorest plays a special program every Wednesday afternoon at four o’clock where an orchestra and soloists further contribute to the excellence at the Tally Theatre.”4
In the mid-1920s, the May Company department store next door to Tally’s was doing a booming business and needed larger quarters. Negotiations with Tally led to the theater being purchased and torn down to make way for a greatly expanded May Company building. The organ was crated up and moved to Mr. Tally’s Glen Ranch, where it was stored in a barn. It was eventually ruined by water damage when the roof leaked.

Tally’s Broadway Theatre
Johnston Organ Company, 1914

GREAT
16′ Double Open Diapason
8′ First Open Diapason
8′ Second Open Diapason
8′ Viola
8′ Viol d’Amour
8′ Tibia Clausa
8′ Clarabella
4′ Octave
4′ Wald Flute
8′ Trumpet
Cathedral Chimes
Concert Harp
Saucer Bells

SWELL
16′ Bourdon
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Violin Diapason
8′ Violin
8′ Voix Celeste
8′ Aeoline
8′ Stopped Flute
4′ Harmonic Flute
2′ Harmonic Piccolo
16′ Contra Fagotto
8′ Horn
8′ Oboe
8′ Vox Humana

CHOIR
16′ Double Dulciana
8′ Geigen Principal
8′ Dulciana
8′ Lieblich Gedackt
8′ Quintadena
4′ Dulcet
8′ Clarinet

SOLO
8′ Diapason Phonon
8′ Harmonic Flute
8′ Tibia Plena
8′ Harmonic Tuba
8′ Orchestral Oboe

ECHO
8′ Flauto Dolce
8′ Unda Maris
8′ Concert Flute
8′ Orchestral Viol
4′ Flute d’Amour
8′ Vox Mystica

PEDAL
32′ Acoustic Bass
16′ Open Diapason
16′ Bourdon
16′ Contra Basso (Gt)
16′ Dulciana (Ch)
16′ Lieblich Gedackt (Sw)
8′ Violoncello
8′ Gross Flute
8′ Flute
16′ Trombone

Swell Tremolo
Choir Tremolo
Solo Tremolo
Echo Tremolo

Trinity Auditorium
In 1914, inspired perhaps by the success of Temple Auditorium, Trinity Southern Methodist Church opened their new Trinity Auditorium, a large Beaux Arts structure on South Grand Avenue containing a multi-use 1500-seat auditorium and a nine-story hotel with rooftop ballroom.
An organ was ordered from the Murray M. Harris Company, but just like the Tally’s Theatre organ, it was installed under the name of the Johnston Organ Company. The organ was a four-manual instrument of 63 ranks situated above the stage floor, but within the proscenium arch, with an Echo division in the dome at the center of the room. The drawknob console was at one side of the orchestra pit.
The tonal design was typical of a large, late Murray Harris organ, boasting an assortment of 8′ stops and big chorus reeds on both the Great and Solo, but without the usual Great mixture. The Tibias, Diapason Phonon in the Swell and the slim-scale strings of the Solo division, stops not normally found on Harris organs, show the influence of Stanley Williams, the firm’s voicer since 1911, who had worked with Hope-Jones in England.
Arthur Blakeley was house organist and played for church services, silent motion pictures, weekly public recitals and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, who used the building from 1918 to 1921. It was noted that by May 1915, Blakeley had provided music for 108 performances of a film entitled “Cabiria” and played over one hundred different compositions in his weekly recitals, ranging from works by Bach, Handel and Wagner to Reubke’s Sonata on the 94th Psalm.5
There was one area in which Trinity Auditorium failed to emulate Temple Auditorium—financing. To construct the auditorium and hotel complex the church secured such a heavy mortgage that one newspaper account claimed it was financed clear into the 21st century. A few years after it opened, Trinity Auditorium was taken over by a management company that continued to operate it as a public venue, and the church moved to humbler quarters.
Trinity Auditorium was a popular place for meetings of the local AGO chapter, and among the artists heard there were Pietro Yon, Charles Courboin, and Clarence Eddy. The organ continued to be used for films, concerts and later on, radio broadcasts, but by the 1940s it had become a liability. To save the expense of upkeep on an instrument that by then was only occasionally used and to secure more space on the stage, the organ was removed and broken up for parts.

Trinity Auditorium
Johnston Organ Company, 1914

GREAT
16′ Double Open Diapason
8′ First Open Diapason
8′ Second Open Diapason
8′ Viola di Gamba
8′ Viol d’Amour
8′ Tibia Clausa
8′ Doppel Floete
4′ Octave
4′ Harmonic Flute
22⁄3′ Octave Quint
2′ Super Octave
16′ Double Trumpet
8′ Trumpet
4′ Clarion
Cathedral Chimes

SWELL
16′ Lieblich Bourdon
8′ Diapason Phonon
8′ Violin Diapason
8′ Salicional
8′ Aeoline
8′ Vox Celeste
8′ Lieblich Gedackt
8′ Clarabella
4′ Principal
4′ Lieblich Floete
4′ Violina
2′ Harmonic Piccolo
IV Dolce Cornet
16′ Contra Fagotto
8′ Cornopean
8′ Oboe
Tremolo

CHOIR
16′ Double Dulciana
8′ Geigen Principal
8′ Dulciana
8′ Quintadena
8′ Melodia
4′ Wald Floete
4′ Dulcet
8′ Clarinet
Tremolo
Concert Harp

SOLO
8′ Gross Gamba
8′ Tibia Plena
8′ Harmonic Flute
8′ Viole d’Orchestre
8′ Viole Celeste
16′ Ophicleide
8′ Tuba
4′ Tuba Clarion

ECHO
16′ Echo Bourdon
8′ Echo Diapason
8′ Viol Etheria
8′ Unda Maris
8′ Concert Flute
4′ Flauto Traverso
8′ Vox Humana
Tremolo
Concert Harp (Ch)

PEDAL
32′ Double Open Diapason
32′ Resultant
16′ Open Diapason
16′ Violone
16′ Tibia Profundo
16′ Bourdon
16′ Lieblich Gedackt (Sw)
16′ Dulciana (Ch)
16′ Echo Bourdon (Echo)
8′ Octave
8′ Violoncello
8′ Flute
16′ Trombone
16′ Ophicleide (Solo)
8′ Tuba (Solo)

University of Southern California
In 1920, the University of Southern California placed an order for a large concert organ to be built by the Robert-Morton Organ Company and installed in the new Bovard Auditorium on the USC campus. Under a headline reading “Organ Attracts,” the Los Angeles Times told that “a great increase of interest is being manifested by the faculty and student body of the organ department, USC, since the announcement was recently made that the new organ, one of the largest in the southwest, is soon to be installed in the auditorium of that institution. The instrument will be provided with eighty stops and 500 pipes.”6 Well, perhaps a few more than 500!
Bovard is a large auditorium graced with a dollop of Gothic tracery, originally seating 2,100 on the main floor and in two balconies. The Robert-Morton organ, the largest instrument built by the firm, was located in concrete chambers on either side of the stage and completely enclosed, except for the 16′ Pedal Bourdon. It was not an ideal installation, as the Swell and Choir divisions were placed so they spoke onto the stage area and the Great and Solo were located in the auditorium proper. For organ recitals, the stage curtains had to be open so the audience could hear the entire instrument.
By 1920, the builder no longer made drawknob consoles, so the Bovard organ was supplied with a four-manual horseshoe console. It was placed in the orchestra pit and had color-coded stop keys; diapasons were white, flutes blue, strings amber, reeds red, and the couplers were short-length black stop keys placed over the top keyboard.7
The organ had two enormous 32′ stops. When the instrument was completed at the Van Nuys factory, low C of the 32′ Bombarde was assembled outside the main building and supplied with air so that its sound could be demonstrated for the local residents.
In June of 1921, the organ was dedicated in two recitals given by the British virtuoso Edwin Lemare. It was a well-used instrument in its day, providing music for university events, concerts, commencement exercises, and it served as the major practice and recital organ for many USC organ students.
By the mid-1970s the organ had fallen out of favor and some of the pipework was vandalized by students, causing the instrument to become unplayable. It was finally removed from the auditorium in 1978, and the undamaged pipework was sold for use in other organs.

University of Southern California
Robert-Morton Organ Company, 1921

GREAT
16′ Double Open Diapason
8′ First Open Diapason
8′ Second Open Diapason
8′ Third Open Diapason
8′ Viola
8′ Erzahler
8′ Doppel Flute
8′ Melodia
4′ Octave
4′ Wald Floete
2′ Flageolet
V Mixture
16′ Double Trumpet
8′ Trumpet
4′ Clarion

SWELL
16′ Bourdon
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Horn Diapason
8′ Salicional
8′ Celeste
8′ Aeoline
8′ Viol d’Orchestre
8′ Viol Celeste
8′ Stopped Diapason
8′ Clarabella
8′ Gemshorn
4′ Violin
4′ Harmonic Flute
2′ Piccolo
III Cornet
16′ Contra Fagotto
8′ Cornopean
8′ Flugel Horn
8′ Oboe
8′ Vox Humana
4′ Clarion
Tremolo

CHOIR
16′ Contra Viole
8′ Geigen Principal
8′ Dulciana
8′ Quintadena
8′ Concert Flute
8′ Flute Celeste
4′ Flute
22⁄3′ Nazard
2′ Piccolo

SOLO
8′ Stentorphone
8′ Gross Flute
8′ Gamba
8′ Gamba Celeste
8′ French Horn
8′ English Horn
8′ Saxophone
8′ Clarinet
8′ Orchestral Oboe
8′ Tuba
Harp
Chimes

ECHO
8′ Cor de Nuit
8′ Muted Viole
8′ Viole Celeste
4′ Zauberfloete
8′ Vox Humana
Tremolo

PEDAL
32′ Double Open Diapason
32′ Resultant
16′ Open Diapason
16′ Bourdon
16′ Violone (Gt)
16′ Lieblich Bourdon (Sw)
16′ Contra Viole (Ch)
16′ Echo Bourdon
8′ Principal
8′ Flute
8′ Cello
8′ Dulciana
4′ Flute
Compensating Mixture
32′ Bombarde
16′ Trombone
16′ Fagotto (Sw)
8′ Trumpet

Grauman’s Metropolitan Theatre
When Grauman’s Metropolitan Theatre was constructed at Sixth and Hill Streets in 1923, Tally’s Broadway Theatre must have looked rather dowdy in comparison. The Metropolitan, a monumental piece of architecture, was and remained the largest theater in Los Angeles and had a four-manual, 36-rank Wurlitzer Hope-Jones Unit Orchestra, Opus #543. This was the largest organ built by Wurlitzer at the time, beating out the celebrated Denver Auditorium organ by one rank. The 36 ranks of pipes were divided between two sections of the theater: 24 ranks in chambers located over the proscenium arch and 12 ranks in the Echo division at the rear of the balcony. Albert Hay Malotte, Gaylord Carter and Alexander Schreiner were Metropolitan organists at various times, accompanying films and presenting organ solos enhanced by lighting subtly changing color to match the mood of the music.
James Nuttall, who installed the organ, escorted a writer for the Los Angeles Times through the newly installed instrument and provided a description of its resources:
The tonal chambers, or swell boxes as they are technically termed, each measure 20 feet long and 11 feet wide, and are arranged above the proscenium arch. They are constructed in such a manner that they are practically sound proof, being built of nonporous inert material, with the interior finished in hard plaster. The front wall of each chamber facing the auditorium is left open and into this opening is fitted a mechanism built in the form of a large laminated Venetian blind. The opening and closing of the shutters in this Venetian blind produce unlimited dynamic tonal expression from the softest whisper to an almost overwhelming volume.
In the basement of the theatre is the blowing apparatus consisting of two Kinetic blowers connected directly to a twenty-five horsepower motor. Each of the blowers is capable of supplying 2500 cubic feet compressed air per minute. The compressed air is used to work the electro-pneumatic actions as well as to supply the various tone producers.
There are four manuals on the console, and the pedal board on which the bass notes are played with the feet. The stop keys number 236 and these are arranged above the keyboards on three tiers and are divided into departments of independent organs. The lowest manual is the accompaniment organ, the middle keyboard is the great organ and is so arranged so the echo organ may be played from this manual. The third manual is a bombarde organ and the top one is the solo organ.8

Although the advent of sound motion pictures silenced many of the organs in Los Angeles theaters, the Metropolitan organ was in use much longer due to the continuation of live stage shows well into the 1950s. In 1960 the theater was closed and by 1961 it had been demolished and the organ broken up for parts.

Poly-Technic High School
Poly-Technic High School was one of several high schools in the Los Angeles area to have a pipe organ. For their new auditorium, completed in 1924, the school ordered a four-manual organ from the Estey Organ Company. Decorated in the Spanish Renaissance style, the auditorium seated 1,800 and had a full working stage. The organ was installed in chambers located on either side of the proscenium, with the console in the orchestra pit.
The instrument had an automatic roll player in a separate cabinet and a console with Estey’s recent invention, the “luminous piston stop control.” These were lighted buttons placed in rows above the top manual of the console. When pushed, the button lit up signifying that that particular stop was on. Another push turned the stop off. This system presented all sorts of problems; it was inconvenient to use, the “luminous piston” was difficult to see under bright lights, it could give an organist a very nasty shock, and some organists could not resist spelling out naughty words with the lights.
The organ had a clear, pleasant sound in the auditorium’s good acoustics due possibly to Estey’s local representative Charles McQuigg, a former voicer of the Murray M. Harris Company, who installed and finished the instrument. Crowning the full organ was a reedless Tuba Mirabilis voiced on 15″ wind pressure, an invention of William Haskell of the Estey Company. The pipes looked like an open wood flute, but sounded like a stringy Horn Diapason. It was a rather convincing sound, until one knew the secret.
Classes in organ instruction were offered at Poly High, the instrument was used for recitals and public events held in the auditorium, and the roll player was used to play transcriptions of orchestral works for music education classes.
The organ eventually fell silent due to lack of use, lack of maintenance, and problems with the luminous pistons. When the auditorium was refurbished in 1979, the organ was removed so that the chamber openings could be used for stage lighting trees. It was sold, put into storage, and eventually broken up for parts.

Poly-Technic High School
Estey Organ Company, 1924, Opus 2225

GREAT
8′ Open Diapason I
8′ Open Diapason II
8′ Dulciana
8′ Gemshorn
8′ Gross Flute
8′ Melodia
4′ Flute Harmonic
8′ Tuba
Harp

SWELL
16′ Bourdon
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Salicional
8′ Viole d’Orchestre
8′ Viole Celeste
8′ Stopped Diapason
4′ Flauto Traverso
8′ Oboe (reedless)
8′ Cornopean
8′ Vox Humana
Tremolo
Chimes

CHOIR
8′ Violin Diapason
8′ Viol d’Amour
8′ Clarabella
8′ Unda Maris
4′ Flute d’Amour
8′ Clarinet (reedless)
Tremolo

SOLO
8′ Stentorphone
8′ Gross Gamba
8′ First Violins III
8′ Concert Flute
4′ Wald Flute
2′ Piccolo
8′ Orchestral Oboe
8′ Tuba Mirabilis (reedless)

PEDAL
32′ Resultant
16′ Open Diapason
16′ Bourdon
16′ Lieblich Gedackt (Sw)
8′ Bass Flute
8′ Tuba Mirabilis (Solo)

The Uplifter’s Club
One of a number of organs installed in Los Angeles’s private clubs was this instrument built by the Skinner Organ Company in 1924 for the Uplifter’s Club. Located in the remote Santa Monica Canyon section of Los Angeles, the club was formed in 1913 as a splinter group of the Los Angeles Athletic Club by a number of wealthy members, for “high jinx.”9 Recreational facilities were constructed in the canyon and some members built cabins and cottages to use for weekend retreats.
In 1923 construction on a large clubhouse began and in 1924 the three-manual Skinner organ was installed. The instrument was a large residence-style organ with many duplexed stops and a roll player mechanism. The organ provided music for the relaxation of members, music for skits and plays, and occasionally a local organist was invited in to play a recital of light selections.
During World War II the club began selling off its holdings, and by 1947, it had disbanded. The organ was sold to the First Methodist Church of Glendale, where it was treated to a number of indignities to make the instrument more suitable for church use, the result being at great odds with the original intent of the organ.

The Uplifter’s Club
Skinner Organ Company, 1924, Opus 449

MANUAL I
8′ Diapason
8′ Chimney Flute
8′ Gedackt
8′ Violoncello
8′ Voix Celestes II rks
8′ Flute Celestes II rks
4′ Orchestral Flute
4′ Unda Maris II rks
8′ Vox Humana
8′ French Horn
8′ Tuba
Tremolo
Harp
Celesta
Chimes
Kettle Drums

MANUAL II
8′ Chimney Flute
8′ Violoncello
4′ Orchestral Flute
8′ Corno d’Amore
8′ English Horn
8′ Vox Humana
8′ French Horn
8′ Tuba
Tremolo
Chimes
Kettle Drums

MANUAL III
8′ Diapason
8′ Voix Celestes II rks
8′ Flute Celestes II rks
8′ Gedackt
4′ Unda Maris II rks
Tremolo
Harp
Celesta
Piano (prepared)

PEDAL
16′ Bourdon
16′ Echo Lieblich
16′ Gedackt
8′ Still Gedackt
16′ Trombone (Tuba)

The Elks Club
Located just off the fashionable Wilshire Corridor facing Westlake Park was the Elks Club, a 12-story building constructed in 1926 to contain a lodge hall, dining rooms, lounges, swimming pool, tennis and racquetball courts, a full gymnasium, and residential facilities for members. Entering the building, one encountered a monumental reception hall some 50 feet in height, with a vaulted ceiling painted with scenes from mythology. A wide staircase rose dramatically to the Memorial Room that functioned as a lobby for the lodge room.
On the front page of the Van Nuys News for November 18, 1924 was an article announcing “H. P. Platt, manager of the Robert-Morton Organ Company, announces that his concern has been awarded a contract for constructing a huge pipe organ to be placed in the new Elks Temple of Los Angeles. Specifications for the huge organ will make it the largest unified orchestra pipe organ in the United States. The contract price was said to be $50,000.”
“Unified orchestra pipe organ” is probably the best description for the four-manual, 60-rank organ that the Robert-Morton firm installed in the Elks Club in 1926. The stops are divided into Great, Swell, Choir, Solo and Pedal divisions, but the contents of each are not what one would expect in either a concert or theatre organ.
The main organ is in four chambers, one in each corner of the lodge room, with Echo and Antiphonal divisions speaking through openings centered over the entrance doors. These two divisions were heard in either the lodge room or the Memorial Room by means of dual expression shades. A two-manual console in the Memorial Room played the Echo/Antiphonal divisions so an organist could entertain lodge members lingering in the Memorial area before a meeting without the sound penetrating into the lodge room.
Currently, the instrument is unplayable. The two-manual console has been disconnected and although the four-manual console remains in position, over half of the ivories are missing. Workmen stomping through the pipe chambers on various occasions have trod on many of the smaller pipes, a few sets are missing, and water leaks have damaged other portions of the organ.
Stepping back in time to happier days, we can read about the organ when it was the talk of organ-playing Los Angeles. In December, 1925, a Los Angeles newspaper reported “the new $50,000 organ for the Elk’s great temple will be given its official test before officers of the Elk’s Building Association tomorrow evening. The test recital will be at the plant of the Robert-Morton Organ Company, builders of the instrument. For the benefit of members of the lodge and the public, the recital will be broadcast over KNX radio between 7 and 7:30 o’clock. A half an hour of cathedral and concert music will be played on the huge instrument by Sibley Pease, official organist of the Elk’s lodge.”10
In May 1926, Warren Allen, organist of Stanford University, gave the opening recital, playing compositions by Bach, Boccherini, Saint-Saëns, Douglas, Wagner and ending with the Finale from Vierne’s Symphony No. 1. A reviewer noted that “the organ is an instrument of concert resources and full organ is almost overpowering in tone. It ranks as one of the finest in the city.”11
For many years the organ was used almost every day of the week for lodge meetings, concerts and radio broadcasts. Dwindling membership and the expense of upkeep on the huge Elks building caused the remaining members to find smaller quarters in the late 1960s. Left abandoned for a while, the building has seen use as a YMCA, a retirement center, and a seedy hotel; it is currently being rented for large social events and filming. Due to the extensive damage done to the organ and the great expense of a restoration, this is probably another large, once-popular instrument that will never play again.

Elks Temple, Los Angeles
Robert-Morton Organ Company, 1926

GREAT
16′ Open Diapason
16′ Gamba (TC)
8′ First Diapason
8′ Second Diapason
8′ Tuba
8′ French Horn
8′ Kinura
8′ Gross Flute
8′ Clarinet
8′ Doppel Flute
8′ Gamba
8′ Violin I
8′ Violin II
8′ Violin III
8′ Quintadena
8′ Dulciana
4′ Tuba Clarion
4′ Octave Diapason
4′ Doppel Flute
22⁄3′ Twelfth
2′ Fifteenth
III Cornet
Harp
Glockenspiel
Xylophone
Chimes
Strings F
Great 2nd Touch
8′ Tuba
8′ French Horn
8′ Gross Flute
8′ Gamba

SWELL
16′ Contra Fagotto
16′ Tibia Clausa
16′ Swell Bourdon
16′ Violin (TC)
8′ Trumpet
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Violin
8′ Tibia Mollis
8′ Tibia Clausa
8′ Gedackt
8′ Orchestral Oboe
8′ Vox Humana
8′ Violin I
8′ Violin II
8′ Violin III
8′ Viol d’Orchestre
8′ Viole Celeste
8′ Salicional
8′ Aeoline
4′ Octave Diapason
4′ Tibia Clausa
4′ Bourdon Flute
4′ Flauto Traverso
4′ Vox Humana
4′ Violina
4′ Salicet
22⁄3′ Bourdon Nazard
2′ Bourdon Piccolo
Harp
Glockenspiel
Xylophone
Chimes
Bird
Strings P
Strings MF
Swell 2nd Touch
16′ Fagotto
16′ Trumpet (TC)
16′ Bourdon
8′ Tibia Clausa
4′ Flauto Traverso

CHOIR
16′ Violin (TC)
16′ Double Dulciana
8′ English Diapason
8′ Flugel Horn
8′ Clarabella
8′ Clarinet
8′ Gemshorn
8′ Viola
8′ Violin I
8′ Violin II
8′ Violin III
8′ Dulciana
8′ Unda Maris
4′ Harmonic Flute
4′ Violina
4′ Dulcet
2′ Flageolet
2′ Dolcissimo
Snare Drum Tap
Snare Drum Roll
Tom-Tom
Castanets
Sleigh Bells
Wood Drum
Tambourine
Strings F
Choir 2nd Touch
8′ English Diapason
8′ Flugel Horn
8′ Clarabella
8′ Clarinet

SOLO
8′ Tuba Mirabilis
8′ Stentorphone
8′ Philomela
8′ Gross Gamba
8′ Oboe Horn
4′ Tuba Clarion
4′ Gambette
Chimes

ANTIPHONAL
8′ Trumpet
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Hohl Flute

ECHO
16′ Echo Bourdon
8′ Night Horn
8′ Flute Celeste
8′ Viol Sordino
8′ Vox Humana
4′ Fern Flute
4′ Violetta
Bird

PEDAL
32′ Resultant Bass
16′ Double Open Diapason
16′ Trombone
16′ Pedal Bourdon
16′ Swell Bourdon
16′ Echo Bourdon
16′ Contra Fagotto
16′ Violone
16′ Dulciana
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Tuba
8′ Pedal Flute
8′ Doppel Flute
8′ Echo Bourdon
8′ Cello
8′ Dulciana
4′ Tuba Clarion
4′ Dulcet
III Cornet

Pedal 2nd touch
Bass Drum
Snare Drum
Tympani
Bass Drum/Cymbal
Buttons Above Solo
Klaxon
Telephone
Cow Bell
Bird
Tremolos
Swell
Great
Choir
Solo
Antiphonal
Echo
Swell Vox Humana
Echo Vox Humana
Couplers
Pedal Octaves
Great to Pedal 8, 4
Swell to Pedal 8, 4
Choir to Pedal 8
Solo to Pedal 8
Swell to Swell 16, 4
Choir to Swell 16, 8, 4
Solo to Swell 16, 8, 4
Great to Great 16, 4
Swell to Great 16, 8, 4
Choir to Great 16, 8, 4
Solo to Great 16, 8, 4
Choir to Choir 16, 4
Swell to Choir 16, 8, 4
Solo to Solo 16, 4

Barker Brothers
Barker Brothers, the pre-eminent home furnishings store of Los Angeles, moved into a new building in 1927. Occupying all of 7th Street between Flower and Figueroa Streets, the 12-story façade was in Renaissance Revival style and loosely patterned after the Strozzi Palace in Florence. Entering through the main doors, the visitor stepped into a 40′ high lobby court furnished with leather sofas and chairs, oriental carpets, and a decorated vaulted ceiling.
During the 1920s, Barker Brothers served as the southern California representative for the Welte Organ Company. Their previous store had a Welte organ used to entertain customers, and when Barkers moved out, the instrument was rebuilt into two organs; the main section went, with a new console, to the Pasadena home of Baldwin M. Baldwin, and the Echo division, also provided with a new console, was packed off to Mrs. Belle Malloy in San Pedro.
Barker Brothers’ new store had three Welte organs. In the lobby court was a four-manual, 26-rank concert organ that was played daily for the store’s patrons. The four-manual drawknob console was centered along the east side of the lobby and the chamber openings high on the wall had gold display pipes. A three-manual, nine-rank theatre-style instrument was in a 600-seat auditorium on the 10th floor, and a two-manual, 10-rank organ with player attachment was installed in the interior design studio.
On the evening of March 28, 1927, the three Welte organs were dedicated, beginning with the instrument in the lobby court and then moving to the auditorium organ, where members of the Los Angeles Organists’ Club entertained. Guests were invited to hear the residence organ in the interior design department and enjoy the automatic roll player device.
Among the organists playing the lobby court organ on that evening were Albert Hay Malotte and Alexander Schreiner. Malotte played Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and the quartet from Verdi’s Rigoletto, but Schreiner no doubt stole the show when he played the “Great” g-minor fugue of Bach and closed the program with Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries.12
The lobby court organ was very popular with Los Angeles residents and the daily recitals were well attended. Welte designed the instrument for maximum flexibility; the Great and Choir shared stops, while the Swell and Solo were independent divisions, except for the Great Tuba Sonora that was available on the Solo at 16′, 8′ and 4′ pitches.
When the Welte Organ Company closed in 1931, the residence organ was sold to a home in the Brentwood section of the city. The auditorium instrument was eventually sold to the Presbyterian Church in La Canada, but the lobby court organ was kept in use until the early 1950s. After the Second World War, the daily organ recitals were popular with older folks who lived in affordable but respectable downtown residential hotels. The store management felt having pensioners strewn about the lobby lowered the tone of their upscale operation and removed the organ in 1955, selling the console to a private party and the pipe work to a local church.
There was a more insidious reason for removing the Welte organ. Barker Brothers had become the local agents for the new Hammond Chord Organ and didn’t want competition from the “real thing” while an employee was demonstrating the new electric device. The Los Angeles Times for May 12, 1955 announced: “A musical tradition at Barker Bros. has been broken! Barker Bros. pipe organ of some 30 odd years vintage is no longer the cornerstone of the store’s tradition. One fine day it was an impressive part of the main lobby and the next day, the massive monolith was a legend. A compact, sweet little number, modern in design and execution, has replaced the pipe organ. The Hammond Chord Organ now reigns supreme. A representative from Barker’s Piano Salon on the mezzanine floor is in daily attendance at his Chord Organ post.”

Barker Brothers Store
Lobby Court Organ
Welte Organ Company, 1927

GREAT
16′ Double Open Diapason
8′ Principal Diapason
8′ English Diapason
8′ Tibia Minor
8′ Claribel Flute
8′ Viola
4′ Octave
4′ Forest Flute
8′ Tuba Sonora
Harp
Celesta
Piano

SWELL
16′ Lieblich Gedackt
8′ Diapason Phonon
8′ Philomela
8′ Gedackt
8′ Violin II rks
8′ Solo Violin
8′ Salicional
8′ Vox Angelica
4′ Chimney Flute
22⁄3′ Nazard
2′ Flautino
13⁄5′ Tierce
16′ Contra Fagotto
8′ Trumpet
8′ Oboe Horn
8′ Vox Humana
4′ Octave Oboe
Tremolo
Vox Humana Vibrato
Harp
Celesta
Piano

CHOIR
16′ Contra Viol
8′ English Diapason
8′ Tibia Minor
8′ Claribel Flute
8′ Flute Celeste
8′ Viola
8′ Muted Violin
8′ Voix Celeste
8′ Viola
4′ Traverse Flute
2′ Piccolo
8′ Clarinet
Tremolo
Choir 2nd Touch
8′ Principal Diapason
8′ Tibia Minor
8′ Tuba Sonora
8′ Clarinet
Celesta
Chimes
Solo to Choir
Swell to Choir

SOLO
8′ Tibia Clausa
8′ Violoncello
4′ Harmonic Flute
16′ Tuba Profunda
8′ Tuba Sonora
8′ French Horn
8′ English Horn
4′ Cornet
Tremolo
Harp
Celesta
Chimes
Piano

PEDAL
32′ Acoustic Bass
16′ Diaphonic Diapason
16′ Bourdon
16′ Violone (Gt)
16′ Lieblich Gedackt (Sw)
8′ Octave
8′ Flute
8′ Cello (Gt)
8′ Gedackt (Sw)
16′ Tuba Profunda (Solo)
8′ Tuba Sonora (Solo)
4′ Cornet (Solo)
16′ Piano
8′ Piano
Chimes

Organ studios, residences,
theaters

During the 1920s, many American organ builders maintained organ studios in Los Angeles to provide prospective customers with a sample of their wares. The studio usually featured a residence-style organ, complete with automatic player, in a home-like setting. The Skinner Organ Company went so far as to install a residence organ in the home of their local representative, Stanley W. Williams.13 The Aeolian Company displayed their Opus 1740 in the George Birkel Music Company, where fine pianos and phonographs were also available. Wurlitzer had a studio in downtown Los Angeles and a second showroom in the posh Ambassador Hotel, where they installed a Style R16, three-manual, ten-rank residence organ. In an overstuffed room off the hotel’s main lobby, patrons of the hotel could relax and listen to organ music presented several times a day by a member of the Wurlitzer staff.
Residence organs were popular additions to many of the fine homes built in Los Angeles before the Depression hit. Members of the movie colony enjoyed organs in their homes, and the Robert-Morton Company built instruments for Thomas Ince, for Marion Davies’s immense beach house, and for Charlie Chaplin, who used the organ to compose most of the music for his films.
Aeolian had organs in the homes of Harold Lloyd, cowboy actor Dustin Farnum, and Francis Marion Thompson, in addition to instruments in the residences of radio pioneer Earle C. Anthony, oil baron Lee Phillips, department store mogul Arthur Letts, and Willits Hole, who had an Aeolian organ in the art gallery wing of his Fremont Place mansion.
The Estey Organ Company’s sole contribution to the film colony was a small four-rank unified organ in the Hollywood home of “Keystone Kop” Chester Conklin.
There were a number of Welte residence organs scattered around Los Angeles, including a two-manual instrument in the home of John Evans, a property later owned by actress Ann Sheridan and Liberace. The large Welte organ in Lynn Atkinson’s exquisite Louis XVI-style home was in a ballroom that opened onto terraced gardens. The exterior of the estate was used as the television home of the “Beverly Hillbillies,” although the then-current owner finally tossed out the production company because too many tourists were knocking on the front door wanting to meet Jed Clampett.
The largest residence organ in Los Angeles was in the 62-acre estate of Silsby Spalding. The Aeolian organ (Opus 1373) had three manuals, six divisions, a 32′ Open Diapason, and 67 ranks of pipes. It was installed in the Spalding’s large music room in 1919 and spoke through three tall arches faced with ornamental metal grilles.
Two very exclusive and elegant apartment buildings in Los Angeles each had a Robert-Morton organ in the living room of the largest apartment. “La Ronda” and the “Andalusia” were both located on Havenhurst Drive and built in the Spanish style with enclosed gardens and fountains surrounding the apartments. The organ in the Andalusia had four ranks of pipes, a roll playing mechanism plus xylophone, marimba, chimes, celesta, and a small toy counter. La Ronda’s Robert-Morton organ had five ranks of pipes, no roll player, and fewer percussion stops.
There were a number of secular organs that had been planned toward the end of the 1920s, but were never built, and one could argue that with several of the instruments, their early demise was a desirable thing.
During the 1920s, Charles Winder ran the Artcraft Organ Company, a small firm that built garden-variety organs for neighborhood churches throughout southern California. In 1926 Winder announced the formation of a new company, The Symphonaer Company, to build “symphony concert organs.” The announcement continued: “The Symphonaer Concert Organ is described as an instrument that reproduces the true symphony orchestra, giving the effect of every instrument used in the largest of symphony orchestras.” A $1,000,000 plant was to be built offering employment to 100 craftsmen. Joining the venture was the British concert organist Edwin Lemare, who would serve as director of music and specifications. Built alongside the factory would be Symphonaer Hall, a recital hall equipped with a large Symphonaer organ, where Lemare would give frequent recitals and broadcast the instrument over a local radio station.14 The enterprise died in the planning stages and the Artcraft Organ Company went broke in 1928.
Alexander Pantages ordered a five-manual Robert-Morton organ for his spectacular Hollywood Pantages Theatre that opened in 1930. Although the theater was and still is a success, the organ was never built due to the advent of sound films, an expensive lawsuit in which Pantages was involved, and the closing of the Robert-Morton Company. The four large organ chambers remain empty to this day.
The Hollywood Bowl, the world’s largest natural amphitheater, is used as a popular venue for summer concerts, accommodating audiences of up to 18,000. The Hollywood Bowl program for July, 1929, published a letter from the Bowl manager relating that organist Edwin Lemare was working to interest the Hollywood Bowl Association in installing an outdoor organ in the amphitheater. The letter went on to state that Lemare had prevailed on an organ builder to install an organ in the Bowl provided that $10,000 was spent to build enclosures for the instrument.15 Fortunately, the scheme never progressed past the planning stage.

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
In the late 1920s, the Welte Organ Company submitted a proposal to the Civic Bureau of Music and Art of Los Angeles to build a five-manual outdoor organ for the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.16 The Coliseum, opened in 1923, covers a total of 17 acres and originally seated 76,000. Although there is nothing in the proposal stating where the organ would be located in the huge stadium, concrete enclosures may have been planned in and around the Peristyle, a focal point along the east end of the huge structure.
The installation of an organ in the Coliseum would have been an even greater acoustical nightmare than an organ in the Hollywood Bowl. Among the features of the proposed specification was a fifth manual called “Orchestral” that was home to four separately enclosed divisions, Diapason, Brass, String and Woodwind, three of which had their own pedal sections. The console would have stopkeys placed on angled jambs and a remote combination action. Nothing ever came of the proposal, and the 1929 stock market crash and closing of the Welte Corporation in 1931 sealed the instrument’s fate.
The proposal reads:

The Welte Organ Company, Inc., hereby agrees to build for the Civic Bureau of Music and Art, Los Angeles, California; herein referred to as Purchaser, and to install in the Coliseum, Los Angeles, California—ONE WELTE PIPE ORGAN. Ready to use and in accordance with the following specifications, viz: Manuals, five, compass CC to C4, 61 notes; Pedals, compass CCC to G, 32 notes; the windchests of manuals affected by octave couplers to be extended one octave above the compass of the keyboard, to 73 notes. Electro-pneumatic action throughout. Philharmonic pitch A-440. Console type, concert; stop control, stopkeys and tablets. Combination action adjustable at the console, visibly affecting the registers. Remote control inside setter.

Los Angeles Coliseum

GREAT - Manual II
16′ Double Diapason
16′ Bourdon
8′ First Diapason
8′ Second Diapason
8′ Third Diapason
8′ Violoncello
8′ Double Flute
8′ Clarabella
51⁄3′ Quint
4′ First Octave
4′ Second Octave
4′ Third Octave
4′ Tibia Plena
4′ Harmonic Flute
31⁄5′ Tenth
22⁄3′ Twelfth
2′ Fifteenth
V Plein Jeu
V Cymbale
16′ Double Trumpet
8′ Tromba
4′ Clarion
8′ Grand Piano
4′ Grand Piano
Minor Chimes
Great 2nd Touch
Diapason Section
Brass Section
String Section
Woodwind Section
Solo to Great 8
Tower Chime
2′ Glockenspiel

SWELL - Manual III
16′ Quintaton
16′ Contra Viola
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Horn Diapason
8′ Viola da Gamba
8′ Salicional
8′ Voix Celeste
8′ Tibia Clausa
8′ Harmonic Flute
4′ Octave
4′ Geigen Principal
4′ Salicet II rks
4′ Flute Couverte
4′ Traverse Flute
31⁄5′ Tenth
22⁄3′ Twelfth
2′ Fifteenth
2′ Piccolo
VI Mixture
16′ Contra Posaune
8′ Cornopean
8′ Trumpet
8′ Oboe Horn
8′ Vox Humana II rks
4′ Clarion
8′ Grand Piano
4′ Grand Piano
Swell 2nd Touch
Diapason Section
Brass Section
String Section
Woodwind Section
Solo to Swell 8
Chimes
2′ Glockenspiel

CHOIR - Manual I
16′ Waldhorn
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Waldhorn
8′ Tibia Minor
8′ Viol d’Orchestre
8′ Violes Celestes II rks
8′ Claribel Flute
8′ Quintaphon
4′ Octave
4′ Wald Flute
4′ Violin
22⁄3′ Twelfth
2′ Fifteenth
2′ Flageolet
13⁄5′ Seventeenth
11⁄7′ Septieme
1′ Twenty-Second
16′ Contra Fagotto
8′ Clarinet
8′ Vox Humana II rks
4′ Clarion
Minor Chimes
2′ Glockenspiel
8′ Grand Piano
4′ Grand Piano
2′ Xylophone
Snare Drum, Tap
Snare Drum, Roll
Choir 2nd Touch
Diapason Section
Brass Section
String Section
Woodwind Section
Solo to Choir
Chimes
2′ Glockenspiel
Snare Drum, Roll
Triangle

SOLO - Manual IV
16′ Violone
8′ Diapason Magna
8′ Tibia Plena
8′ Solo Gamba
8′ Gamba Celestes II rks
8′ Harmonic Flute
4′ Octave
4′ Concert Flute
4′ Solo Violin
III Cornet
16′ Ophicleide
8′ Tuba Mirabilis
8′ Tuba Sonora
8′ Military Trumpet
8′ French Horn
8′ Orchestral Oboe
4′ Clarion

ORCHESTRAL - Manual V
Diapason Section
16′ Major Diapason
8′ Double Languid Diapason I
8′ Double Languid Diapason II
8′ Diapason Phonon
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Geigen Principal
4′ Double Languid Octave
4′ Octave
22⁄3′ Twelfth
2′ Fifteenth
11⁄3′ Nineteenth
1′ Twenty-Second
IX Grand Chorus
Diapason Section Pedal
16′ Diaphonic Diapason
16′ Diapason
102⁄3′ Quint
8′ Diapason Octave
8′ Octave
4′ Super Octave

Brass Section
16′ Trombone
16′ Serpent
8′ Tuba Magna
8′ Tuba Sonora
8′ Tuba Mirabilis
8′ French Trumpet
8′ Muted Trumpet
8′ Post Horn
8′ French Horn (closed tone)
8′ French Horn (open tone)
51⁄3′ Corno Quint
4′ Tuba Clarion
4′ Trumpet Clarion
22⁄3′ Corno Twelfth
2′ Cor Octave
Brass Section Pedal
32′ Contra Bombarde
16′ Bombarde
16′ Trombone
8′ Trumpet

String Section
16′ Contra Basso
16′ Violin Diapason
16′ Contra Viola
8′ Violin Diapason
8′ Violin Diapason Celeste
8′ Violoncello I
8′ Violoncello II
8′ Cello Celestes II rks
8′ Nazard Gamba
8′ Gamba Celeste
8′ First Violin
8′ Second Violin
8′ Third Violin
8′ Violin Celestes II rks
8′ First Viola
8′ Second Viola
8′ Viola Celestes II rks
8′ Muted Violins III rks
4′ String Octave
4′ Violins II rks
4′ Muted Violins III rks
2′ String Fifteenth
III Cornet des Violes
String Section Pedal
32′ String Diaphone
16′ Double Bass
16′ Violone
8′ Cello

Woodwind Section
16′ Bassoon
16′ Bass Saxophone
8′ First Saxophone
8′ Second Saxophone
4′ Soprano Saxophone
8′ English Horn
16′ Bass Clarinet
8′ Basset Horn
8′ First Clarinet
8′ Second Clarinet
8′ Orchestral Oboe
8′ Kinura
8′ Orchestral Flute
4′ Solo Flute
2′ Solo Piccolo

PEDAL
64′ Gravissima
32′ Diaphone
32′ Violone
16′ Diaphone
16′ Major Bass
16′ Diapason
16′ Violone
16′ Contra Basso (String)
16′ Tibia Clausa
16′ Wald Horn (Ch)
16′ Bourdon
16′ Contra Viola (String)
102⁄3′ Quint
8′ Diaphone
8′ Principal
8′ Octave
8′ Violoncello
8′ Wald Horn (Ch)
8′ Flute
51⁄3′ Octave Quint
4′ Super Octave
4′ Fifteenth
4′ Tibia Flute
V Harmonics
V Fourniture
32′ Contra Bombarde
16′ Bombarde
16′ Tuba Profunda
16′ Serpent (Brass)
16′ Ophicleide (Solo)
16′ Double Trumpet (Gt)
16′ Contra Posaune (Sw)
16′ Contra Fagotto (Ch)
8′ Bombarde
8′ Tuba Sonora
4′ Bombarde
4′ Cornet
16′ Grand Piano
8′ Grand Piano
Bass Drum, Stroke

Pedal 2nd Touch
64′ Gravissima
32′ Diaphone
32′ Contra Bombarde
Solo to Pedal 8
Solo to Pedal 4
Diapason Section 8
Diapason Section 4
Brass Section 8
Brass Section 4
Tower Chimes
Minor Chimes
Thunder Drum, Stroke
Thunder Drum, Roll
Kettle Drum, Roll
Chinese Gong
Persian Cymbal
Vibratos
Choir
Choir Vox Humana
Swell
Swell Vox Humana
Solo
Woodwind
String, Fast
String, Slow

Conclusion
The stories of these instruments testify to the near-ubiquity of the pipe organ early in the twentieth century, including its use in films and stage shows. Even film actors owned and played pipe organs, in a golden age that now survives only in recollections such as this.

 

 

Pipe Organs of the Keweenaw: Houghton County, Michigan

Janet Anuta Dalquist
Default

Introduction

The Keweenaw Peninsula, the northernmost part of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, projects into Lake Superior and was the site of the first copper boom in the United States. The land was mined by prehistoric miners, starting in 3,000 B.C., and has produced over 1.5 billion pounds of pure copper. Its major industries are now logging and tourism. The northern end, referred to locally as Copper Island, is separated from the rest of the peninsula by the Keweenaw Waterway, a natural river that was dredged and expanded in the 1860s across the peninsula between the cities of Houghton on the south side and Hancock on the north.
The Keweenaw’s importance in mining led to the founding of the Michigan College of Mines (now Michigan Technological University) in Houghton in 1885. From 1964–1971, the University of Michigan cooperated with NASA and the U.S. Navy to run the Keweenaw Rocket launch site.
In the Keweenaw, many artifacts, buildings, and locations have been documented and preserved for local historical museums and the Keweenaw National Historic Park. What have not been documented are the historic pipe organs in the area. It is the intent of this article to do that. Included are a brief description and history of each church structure and a description, stoplist, and photos for each pipe organ featured. Information was gleaned from books about the area, brochures and bulletins from the individual churches, clippings from Upper Peninsula newspapers, and people—the local organists and pastors and local historic preservationist, Ed Yarbrough. A bibliography is included at the end of the catalog.
In 1995 the Pine Mountain Music Festival (PMMF) for the first time included a pipe organ recital and work-shop in their concert schedule. Two major events happened at that time. First, the Keweenaw group formed the Organists of the Keweenaw, and since then we have met three or four times a year sharing in presenting programs for each other. The second event was an organ crawl to visit the historic organs that David Short had “rediscovered” thirty years earlier. Shortly after, I began collecting material for a catalog of the Keweenaw organs.
David Short has been a partner with me in the collection of this material. In his early enthusiasm he became acquainted with all the instruments listed and registered some of them with the Organ Historical Society. I am indebted to him for providing access to the buildings and the instruments and providing much of the history. I collected the stoplists, wrote the histories from the collected sources, did all the photography, and formatted the information. He read the draft and corrected technical errors. It is to him that I dedicate this catalog. Errors are strictly my own.
These magnificent music machines are a valuable historic resource in the Keweenaw. They reflect the boom days of the copper mining era when people of wealth who lived in the area sought the best music for their churches and arranged for the purchase of these instruments. To replace any one of these pipe organs at this time would cost a minimum of $200,000 and many times more for the larger instruments. Their great value requires regular maintenance and care similar to any other major investment such as automobile or home. Well-maintained pipe organs live for centuries. A loss of any one of the Keweenaw pipe organs is a loss of history, loss of a valuable asset, and, because they are wind instruments similar to the human voice, a loss of the very best way to lead the people of a congregation in their song.
We hope this catalog will trigger interest in the organs of the Keweenaw from the local folk as well as travelers to this unique place. To see the organs, visitors may contact the church offices to make arrangements for a convenient visit.

History

People have always had their songs. Prior to the boom of the music publishing industry in the early 1900s, people matched their voices with whatever instruments they had—homemade or store-bought. Angus Murdoch writes in Boom Copper of the “Grand Callithumpian” parade in Calumet (Boom Copper, 1943, 199), where bands from all over the Copper Country gathered for the Fourth of July celebration. The bands were from mining companies, lodges and guilds, various “locations,” and represented various ethnic groups. Larry Lankton quotes Bishop Baraga being surprised at “the fast spreading of civilization on the shores of Lake Superior . . . [where] there was even a piano on which a young American woman played very skillfully . . . Many settlers undoubtedly brought musical instruments with them. Others special-ordered instruments at frontier stores. By as early as 1849–50, John Senter’s store in Eagle River did a modest trade in musical instruments, selling an accordion, a melodion, bass violas and bows, a violin and bow, guitars and guitar strings. Flageolets, and a German flute, a tuning fork, and a violin and cello instruction book” (Beyond the Boundaries 1997, 168–169). The ethnic folk brought with them their song. They sang drinking songs, folk songs, or parlor songs such as published in The Gray Book of Favorite Songs, and they sang their hymns. Much of what defined ethnic identity and culture through the decades was the song of the church in their hymnals. Indeed, the religious belief of people is, in large part, learned and remembered from the words and tunes of their hymns. It was only in the last decades of the 20th century that some foreign-language hymnals ceased to be used and the hymns begun to be sung in English. During all that time the leader of that song was, and still is, the organ.
Reed pump organs were common in both church and home. Thurner, in writing about the early 20th century, quotes Clare Moyer who recalled a pump organ in her home (Strangers and Sojourners, 1994, 187). Most likely, church congregations that could not afford pipe organs bought reed pump organs instead. Some of these instruments, now over 100 years old, still survive. At least two are currently used during summer services in local chapels. Others, also in working order, can be seen in local museums.
Acquisition of pipe organs probably reflected the wealth of the congregation. Some instruments from the late 19th century cost little over $2000. The Boom Copper folks wanted for their local churches what they had had “out East”—the pipe organ. This was not uncommon for people in remote areas. During the “Gold Rush” in Canada’s Dawson City in the Yukon, a frame Presbyterian Church, built to hold 650 people, had a pipe organ, which had been shipped to the church by steamboat up the Yukon River. The Congregational Church in Calumet bought a Garret House organ in 1870 from the manufacturer in Buffalo, New York. It was shipped—keydesk, 16' metal and wood pipes and all—to Lake Linden and then transported up the hill to Calumet. Some time later, the congregation decided to get a larger organ and bought a Hook & Hastings instrument, again from “out East.” The Garret House was given to the Lake Linden Church and made the journey back down the hill. Sad to say, the Calumet church met with disaster when both the building and the organ were destroyed by fire. The congregation joined with the Presbyterian congregation that had in their building a 1905 Estey organ.
Both the Estey, which was rebuilt in 1970, and the Garret House, which has been cleaned and reconditioned, are still in use. There is a great irreplaceable investment in the Keweenaw pipe organs! Thurner writes that the German Lutherans in Laurium built a church “early in the twentieth century [which had] an altar with elaborate wood carving, three steeple bells, and an organ . . . ” (Strangers and Sojourners, 134). Armas Holmio describes the Finnish Lutheran Church that was built in 1889 on Reservation Street in Hancock: “In the balcony of the new church, which was the most imposing one owned by Finnish Americans of that time, there was a large pipe organ . . . ” (History of the Finns in Michigan, 2001, 188). That organ, a Kilgen dating from 1915, was moved to the newly constructed Gloria Dei building after the Lutheran Church mergers in 1964.
The Houghton Methodists suffered several fires, the last one in 1916 destroying a pipe organ, according to Terry Reynolds’ history of the church (Grace of Houghton, 37). Until their new building was erected, the Methodists worshiped for a time with the First Presbyterians on Franklin Square, and then separately in the Masonic Temple. When the Methodists decided to purchase an organ for their new church, the Presbyterians apparently took advantage of the opportunity. Both churches dealt with the same company during the same period of time and ended up with similar instruments, the Methodists’ Maxcy-Barton organ being somewhat larger. When the Presbyterian church was razed to allow for highway expansion down Montezuma Hill, their Maxcy-Barton was purchased by a local party and installed in the family home.
Sadly, the same did not happen for the large Austin organ in the First Congregational Church of Hancock, which was razed about the same time. The music history of that church, which included among others the notable baritone Will Hall, was impressive. The organ had played a huge musical role in the church and community, but unfortunately could find no local home, and was sold to a party outside of the area.
Another organ has lain in state for over 30 years. When one local church closed, no home could be found for the pipe organ. Pastor John Simonson dismantled the instrument and made plans to install it in an enlarged garage on his property. The project was not completed, and the organ now awaits resurrection, hopefully to be placed in the St. Anne Heritage Center in Calumet, where it could be used for concerts, weddings, and other events and to echo the music of the ethnic people of the area.
The Keweenaw boasts pipe organs dating from 1870 to 1968. All are in working order and in regular use, and several are tracker organs. All of the Keweenaw tracker organs now have electric blowers; however, two of the trackers can still be hand pumped. One has a detached and reversed keydesk. Several of the Keweenaw organs are in their original state with no changes having been made. They were installed with electric blowers and with either electro-pneumatic or electro-magnetic action. Three have been moved to different locations. Although the consoles have been moved in at least two churches, the innards of the instruments remain the same. One organ has been enlarged to meet the specifications for the original instrument. Others have been so enlarged with additional pipes and digital circuitry that they no longer resemble the original instrument. Only two organs have three manuals. One has an echo organ placed at the opposite end of the sanctuary from the main organ chamber. Another is a beautiful one-manual, no-pedalboard organ with fully exposed pipes. The Keweenaw pipe organs are irreplaceable treasures, a legacy from those folks of the Boom Copper days who sought to bring the best of instruments to their churches for their peoples’ song. These are instruments worthy of preservation, care, and constant use. Let them be heard!

Pipe Organs of the Keweenaw, Houghton County, Michigan

Calumet, Laurium
Community Church, Calumet. Estey, 1907; Verlinden 2M, 1970
St. Paul the Apostle, Calumet. Kilgen 2M, 1869; Lauck, 2001
St. Paul Lutheran (Missouri Synod), Laurium. Schuelke 2M, 1902; Verlinden, 1963

Hancock, Houghton
First United Methodist, Hancock. Kimball 2M, 1905; electro-pneumatic 1958; refurbished, Lauck, 2005
Gloria Dei Lutheran, Hancock. Kilgen 2M, 1915?; moved to new location 1969; rebuilt and enlarged, Fabry, 2000
Grace United Methodist, Houghton. Maxcy-Barton, 1931; rebuilt, Verlinden, 1971
Michigan Technological University. Wurlitzer, 3M, c1920; installed at MTU, John Wagner, Wicks, 1970–1975
David and Carol Waisanen residence. Maxcy-Barton 2M, c1931–1933; moved from original location, 1975
Sts. Peter & Paul Lutheran (Missouri Synod), Hancock. Haase 2M, 1901; modified and electrified, Haase, 1960; rebuilt, Roscoe Wheeler, 1997
Trinity Episcopal, Houghton. Austin 3M, 1913, 1976, 1987

Lake Linden, Hubbell
Heritage Center (former First Congregational Church), Houghton County Historical Museum, Lake Linden. Garret House 2M, 1870; cleaned, Dana Hull, 2001; restored, Helmut Schick, 2002
St. Cecilia RC, Hubbell. Felgemaker 2M, c1900
St. John’s Lutheran (Missouri Synod), Hubbell. Verlinden 1M, 1968
St. Joseph’s RC, Lake Linden. Casavant Frères 2M, 1916; overhauled 1957; electro-pneumatic, Verlinden, 1982; cleaned, new console, J. A. Hebert, 1995; additions, Lauck, 2001
Lake Linden United Methodist, Lake Linden. Lancashire-Marshall 2M, 1893; Hugh Stahl, 1950

Keweenaw area
Rockland Roman Catholic. Garret House, 1859 (not functional)

 

Calumet and Laurium

Community Church of Calumet
201 Red Jacket Road, Calumet, MI 49913; 906/337-4610.
Estey tracker 1907; rebuilt, Verlinden “incorporating most of the stops from the original organ,” electro-pneumatic, 1970. 2M/28 stops, 16 ranks
Placement: center front of sanctuary in well of choir loft, facing organ chamber

GREAT (enclosed)
8' Open Diapason 61 pipes
8' Melodia 61 pipes
8' Dulciana 61 pipes
4' Octave 61 pipes
4' Waldflote 12 pipes
2' Fifteenth 12 pipes
II Grave Mixture 122 pipes
8' Trumpet 61 notes
16' Great to Great
4' Great to Great
8' Swell to Great
4' Swell to Great
Four combination pistons

SWELL (enclosed)
16' Bourdon 73 notes
8' Stopped Diapason 73 pipes
8' Salicional 73 pipes
8' Voix Celeste TC 49 pipes
4' Principal 73 pipes
4' Flute d’Amour 12 pipes
4' Salicet 61 notes
22⁄3' Nazard 61 notes
2' Principal 61 notes
2' Flautino 61 notes
13⁄5' Tierce 57 notes
8' Trumpet 73 pipes
4' Clarion 61 notes
Tremolo
16' Swell to Swell
4' Swell to Swell
Swell Unison Off
Four combination pistons

PEDAL (enclosed)
16' Bourdon 32 pipes
16' Lieblich Gedeckt 12 pipes
8' Octave 12 pipes
8' Bass Flute 32 notes
8' Gedeckt 32 notes
4' Choral Bass 32 notes
8' Trumpet 32 notes
8' Great to Pedal
8' Swell to Pedal
4' Great to Pedal

Deagan Chimes - 21 bells
Expression pedal for entire organ
Crescendo pedal
Sforzando toe piston
Great to pedal reversible toe piston

The Calumet Congregational Church was the church of James MacNaughton and Alexander Agassiz and represented the elite and wealthy of the community. The original church, built in 1874, burned down in 1949. In 1971 the congregation merged with the Calumet Presbyterian Church, which had been built in 1894 to serve the Scottish Presbyterians in the area. The merged churches, first named the Federated Church, then became the Community Church of Calumet (Congregational-Presbyterian). In 2005 the congregation separated from the Presbyterian Church (USA) in order to lease the basement facilities to the Copper Country Community Arts Council. It retains affiliation with the United Church of Christ.
The organ was originally built from two Estey trackers from Brattleboro, Vermont. Estey was in business from 1846–1960 and manufactured more than 3,200 pipe organs during the first half of the 20th century. On November 5, 1969, the Calumet organ was removed by Verlinden Organ Company, Milwaukee. Roman J. Leese, president of Verlinden, designed a new chamber, and the organ was reinstalled with most of the original pipes on July 13, 1970. It was converted to electro-pneumatic, and the console was moved from next to the chamber to a well at the opposite side of the choir loft. It is totally under expression. The first service with the new installation was played July 17, 1970, with James Abrams at the console. Dedicatory recitalist on November 5, 1970, was Harvey L. Gustafson. (Source: church records by Charles Stetter)

St. Paul the Apostle Church
301 Eighth Street, Calumet, MI 49913; 906/337-2044.
Kilgen, 1905, reverse tracker, 2M, 17 stops; oak, 18' wide, 9' deep; original cost $4,000. Rebuilt, cleaned, new trackers, manuals regulated, 1 stop* added, Lauck, 2001. Pneumatic pedal, hand pump preserved.
Placement: rear balcony, facing front of sanctuary

GREAT
8' Open Diapason
8' Trompette*
8' Melodia
4' Octave
4' Flute d’Amour
2' Fifteenth
16' Bourdon

SWELL (enclosed)
8' Violin Diapason
8' Salicional
8' Aeoline
8' Oboe Gamba (2 ranks, non-reed)
8' Stopped Diapason
4' Violina
4' Flute Harmonique
2' Flautina
Swell to Great
Tremolo

PEDAL
16' Bourdon
8' Violon Cello
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal

Pneumatic assist
Five foot pedals: soft to loud

The parish was established in 1889 by Slovenian immigrants and was originally named St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church. The original 1890 wood frame building was destroyed by fire in 1902. The new twin-spired church was built of Jacobsville sandstone from 1903 to 1908 at the cost $100,000. In 1928 St. Joseph’s Parish absorbed St. Anthony’s Polish Parish. After 1966 they absorbed St. Mary’s (Italian), St. Anne’s (French), St. John’s (Croatian), and took the name St. Paul the Apostle Parish. The structure was designated an Historical Building in the State of Michigan in 1983.
The 1905 Kilgen organ is a reverse tracker. Although operating with electric power, the organ retains the original pump and can be operated in that manner. (Source: church brochure)

St. Paul Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod)
146 Tamarack, Laurium, MI 49913; 906/337-0231.
Schuelke, 1902; rebuilt Verlinden, 1963
Placement: rear balcony, right side of console faces the front of the sanctuary

GREAT
8' Diapason
8' Melodia
8' Dulciana
4' Principal
III Mixture
8' Trumpet
16' Great
4' Great
Great Unison Off
16' Swell to Great
8' Swell to Great
4' Swell to Great
Chimes
Tremulant

SWELL
8' Geigen
8' Bourdon
8' Salicional
8' Celeste
4' Harmonic Flute
2' Fifteenth
II Sesquialtera
16' Krummhorn
8' Krummhorn
8' Trumpet
4' Fagotto
16' Swell
4' Swell
Swell Unison Off
Chimes
Tremulant

PEDAL
16' Bourdon
8' Octave Bass
4' Fagotto
8' Great to Pedal
8' Swell to Pedal
4' Great to Pedal
4' Swell to Pedal

Presets are inside the organ chamber

The congregation formed in 1879. The first church building was located on Scott Street in Calumet. The present building was dedicated 1899.
The Schuelke tracker organ was given to the congregation in 1902 by Mr. Ernest Bollman. In 1929 two recitals were performed by Mr. Martin, Chicago, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the church. In 1961 Rudolf Patsloff donated the trumpet rank, which is mounted to the left of the chancel in the front of the church. Franz Ziems, organist for many years, left a bequest to renovate the organ. Renovation was completed by Verlinden Co., Milwaukee, in October 1963. The dedicatory recital was played by Rev. Harvey Gustafson, Minneapolis. He played four more recitals after that time. The chimes were given in memory of John Messner. The casework of the chamber is the work of Arthur Jarvela. (Source: e-mail from church organist Jan List)

 

Hancock and Houghton

First United Methodist Church
401 Quincy Street, Hancock, MI 49930; 906/482-4190.
Kimball, 1905, tracker, 2M, 11 ranks; rebuilt to electro-pneumatic action 1950; new wind lines, 1998; refurbished 2005 by Fabry, Antioch, Illinois.
Placement: front left dais; console is on a moveable platform
Console: not AGO, but radiating pedalboard

GREAT
8' Open Diapason
8' Melodia
8' Dulciana
4' Principal
4' Flute
22⁄3' Twelfth
2' 15th
4' Great to Great
16' Swell to Great
8' Swell to Great
4' Swell to Great

SWELL 8' Violin Diapason
8' Stopped Diapason
8' Gamba
4' Flute d’Amour
22⁄3' Nazard
2' Flautino
Tremolo
16' Swell to Swell
4' Swell to Swell

PEDAL
16' Bourdon
16' Gedeckt
8' Principal
8' Bass Flute
4' Flute
8' Great to Pedal
4' Great to Pedal
8' Swell to Pedal

The congregation of the First Methodist Church organized in 1860, the first of any denomination to be established in Hancock. The first building was erected in 1861. The present structure of Jacobsville sandstone and brick was dedicated in 1903.
In 1905 the Kimball tracker organ was installed, a gift from Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Roberts. The console was built into the paneling of the chamber with the choir loft on either side and in front, with the organist’s back to the choir and congregation. In 1950 the organ was converted to electro-pneumatic and the console moved from its tracker position to a well at the opposite side of the choir loft. In 1998 the sanctuary was renovated and choir loft was leveled to make a flat dais across the chancel area. The organ console was placed on a moveable platform and new wind lines installed by Fabry, Inc. In 2005 Fabry also replaced slide tuners in the pipes, installed a new blower, and repainted the pipes located above the paneling fronting the lower part of the chamber. (Sources: Monette; church organist Carol Waisanen)

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church (ELCA)
1000 Quincy Street, Hancock, MI 49930; 906/482-2381.
Kilgen, 1915? 2M; moved to new building, 1969; console rebuilt and preparation made for additions, Fabry, 2002
Placement: rear balcony; left side of console faces front of sanctuary

GREAT
8' Diapason
8' Gedeckt
8' Dulciana
4' Principal
4' Flute d’Amour
4' Dulcet
12th Dolce
15th Dolce
13⁄5' Dolce Tierce
16' Great to Great
4' Great to Great
16' Swell to Great
8' Swell to Great
4' Swell to Great
Chimes
Unison Off
MIDI to Great

SWELL
8' Violin Diapason
8' Gedeckt
8' Salicional
8' Voix Celeste
4' Principal
4' Flute d’Amour
22⁄3' Nazard
2' Flautino
8' Trompette
8' Oboe
Tremolo
16' Swell to Swell
4' Swell to Swell
Unison Off

PEDAL 32' Resultant
16' Bourdon
16' Lieblich Gedeckt
8' Diapason
8' Bass Flute
8' Gedeckt
4' Choral Bass
8' Great to Pedal
8' Swell to Pedal
4' Great to Pedal
4' Swell to Pedal

Memory Select
Transposer
Swell presets: 5, Swell to Pedal
Great presets: 5, Great to Pedal
Generals: 10, Tutti
Toe studs:
General cancel
10 generals
Swell to Pedal
Great to Pedal
Resultant
Tutti

The Gloria Dei congregation traces its roots to 1867 when the Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Congregation was formed. It was reorganized in 1880 as the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Congregation. The first wood frame building was partly destroyed by fire in 1896 and again in 1909. A brick building was constructed in 1910. Shortly after, a member of the congregation, Andrew Johnson, gave the first pipe organ to the church. In 1955 the name of the church was changed to St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church. In 1962 most of the national Lutheran church bodies merged into the Lutheran Church of America. Salem Lutheran (Swedish) and St. Matthew’s (Finnish) merged in 1966 and adopted the name Gloria Dei.
The present building was constructed in 1969, and the Kilgen organ from St. Matthew’s was moved and installed in the new structure. In 2002, the organ was rebuilt by Fabry, Inc. of Fox Lake, Illinois. (Sources: Monette; church records and members)

Grace United Methodist Church
201 Isle Royale, Houghton, MI 49931; 906/482-2780.
Maxcy-Barton, 1931; rebuilt Verlinden, 1971
Placement: left of chancel, below dais

GREAT
8' Open Diapason
8' Melodia
8' Salicional
8' Dulciana
4' Octave
4' Wald Flute
4' Dulcet
22⁄3' Twelfth
2' Fifteenth
16' Great to Great
4' Great to Great
8' Swell to Great
4' Swell to Great
Chimes

SWELL
16' Bourdon
8' Stopped Flute
8' Salicional
8' Dulciana
8' Vox Celeste
4' Principal
4' Flute d’Amour 4' Salicet
22⁄3' Nazard
2' Flautino
13⁄5' Tierce
8' (Syn) Orchestral Oboe
16' Swell to Swell
4' Swell to Swell
Unison Off
Tremulant

PEDAL
16' Sub Bass
16' Bourdon
8' Octave
8' Bass Flute
8' Bourdon
8' Cello
4' Choral Bass
4' Flute
8' Great to Pedal
8' Swell to Pedal
4' Great to Pedal

3 pistons and cancel on Swell
3 pistons and cancel on Great
One toe stud, coupler
1 expression pedal
1 crescendo pedal

Grace’s history from 1854 to 2004 is documented in booklet form by Professor Terry Reynolds of the Social Science Department of Michigan Technological University. The church stems from a “Methodist Class” that formed in 1854, an outgrowth of Methodist missions that had begun around 1832 with the Ojibwa natives of the Upper Peninsula. A frame building was constructed in 1859 and in 1890 money was first raised to purchase an organ. In 1893 a new sandstone structure was built and again, in 1907, church records show efforts to raise money for an organ.
An organ must have been installed in that structure as the church history reports a fire in 1916, which destroyed, among other things, the organ. The present Maxcy-Barton was installed in 1931. It is most likely that the Maxcy-Barton organ of the First Presbyterian Church was also installed at that time as the organs are similar except that the Methodist instrument is larger. In 1971 Verlinden rebuilt the instrument and in the 1990s the console was moved from the dais to the main floor level on left side of the chancel. (Source: Reynolds)

Michigan Technological University
MacInnes Ice Arena, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931.
Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, c1920; installed May 1975
Placement: platform on rafters, west wall of MacInnes Ice Arena, access on a 50-ft. ladder climb
1119 pipes, 15 ranks, 130 stops
drums
bells
130 stops
24 notes, cathedral chimes
32-note pedalboard

This instrument was first installed in the Presbyterian Church, Utica, New York, and later moved to the home of James Thomas, who added theatre organ components from two Pennsylvania theatre organs and accessories from a Boston radio station. The instrument, valued at $75,000, was donated to MTU in the late 1960s through the efforts of John Wagner, class of ’61. It was moved to MTU in 1970 with initial installation done by Wagner and completed by the Wicks Organ Company, Highland, Illinois.
The organ was first played for Michigan Tech’s commencement exercises May 1975 by Gerrit Lamain, director of the Suomi College (now Finlandia University) Choir, Hancock, and later of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Lamain entertained hockey fans prior to Michigan Tech’s games until he left the area, returning regularly to play for Tech’s commencement exercises. The console is mounted on a high platform at the west end of the MacInnes Ice Arena. Access is achieved by climbing a 50-foot ladder. An article and pictures featuring this instrument can be found in the April 2000 “Alumnus” magazine of Michigan Tech. (Source: Nordberg)

David and Carol Waisanen residence, Hancock, MI.
Maxcy-Barton, Oshkosh, WI, 2M, 8 ranks, 1931–33?, electro-pneumatic; installed by owner, 1975
Placement: music room, console on balcony (former back porch); organ chamber installed with original paneling and grillework

GREAT
8' Open Diapason 61 pipes
8' Melodia 73 pipes
8' Dulciana 61 pipes
4' Flute 61 notes
Unison Off

SWELL
8' Stopped Diapason 73 pipes
8' Salicional 73 pipes
8' Vox Humana 61 pipes
4' Flute d’Amour 61 notes
Tremulant
Unison Off

PEDAL
16' Bourdon 12 pipes
(20 notes from Sw St. Diap.)
8' Flute (from Sw St. Diap.)

Couplers
16' Great to Great
4' Great to Great
16' Swell to Great
8' Swell to Great
4' Swell to Great
8' Great to Pedal
8' Swell to Pedal

Combination pistons:
3 Swell, controlling Swell and Pedal organs and couplers, cancel
3 Great, controlling Great and Pedal organs and couplers, cancel

Balanced expression pedal
Balanced adjustable crescendo pedal

First installed in the First Presbyterian Church, Houghton between 1931 and 1933, it is believed that this instrument was installed during the same period that a larger Maxcy-Barton was placed in the Grace Methodist Church. Maxcy organs were custom built to fit the acoustics of the space. The organ chamber in the Presbyterian church was at the front of the sanctuary and enclosed in a wooden grillework similar to the one in Grace. The detached console was located below the rostrum and in front of the choir loft, which was an elevated tiered area at one side of the chancel. The building was razed in 1976 due to highway construction, and the instrument was purchased by a private party. The owner converted his back yard to a vaulted music room. The organ chamber is enclosed in the original wood grillework from the church and the console sits on what used to be the back porch of the home. (Sources: The Daily Mining Gazette; Waisanen)

Sts. Peter and Paul Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod)
323 Hancock Street, Hancock, MI 49930; 906/482-4750.
Haase, tracker 1901; modified and electrified by Haase Organ Co., Marengo, IL, 1960; rebuilt, Roscoe Wheeler, Curran, MI, 1997
Placement: balcony, rear of church, left side of console faces front of sanctuary

GREAT
8' Principal
8' Quintaten
8' Gemshorn
4' Octave
22⁄3' Twelfth
2' Fifteenth
8' Great to Pedal
4' Great to Pedal
16' Great to Great
4' Great to Great

SWELL
8' Rohr Gedeckt
8' Salicional
4' Koppel Flute
22⁄3' Nazard
2' Flautino
8' Oboe
Swell Unison Off
Tremolo
16' Swell to Great
8' Swell to Great
4' Swell to Great
16' Swell to Swell
4' Swell to Swell
8' Swell to Pedal

PEDAL
16' Sub Bass
16' Quintaten
16' Posaune
8' Principal
8' Rohr Flute
8' Oboe
4' Choral Bass

Great expression pedal
Swell expression pedal
Crescendo pedal
Sforzando pedal piston
Swell enclosed
Great open

Presets for Swell and Great individually and in combination; located within the organ chamber.
MIDI to Swell, Great, Pedal
Schulmerich carillon keyboard attached to console

The congregation, the first Lutheran one in the Copper Country, was founded in 1867 as the Deutsche Evangelische Lutherische Peter and Paul’s Gemeinde in Hancock. The first church structure was built in 1867 and the present church structure in 1881.
In 1901 the organ was purchased for the sum of $500 from St. Stephen’s Lutheran Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The dedicatory recital was played by Professor Karl Haase. Most of the original pipes were constructed in Berlin, Germany by August Laukhuff Orgelteile. New ones were constructed and added by the Durst Organ Co., Erie, Pennsylvania. Under the Rev. Mr. Boomhower the organ was refurbished in 1997 at the cost of $25,000. Improvements included work on all inner mechanical works and solid state circuitry. Total cost for repairs and improvements up to 1998 was $30,000. This church also houses in its belfry tower three bells of 1,000, 800, and 600 pounds. (Sources: Monette; service bulletin)
PLEASE GO TO CONTINUATION

New Organs

Default

Cover

Buzard Pipe
Organ Builders, Champaign, Illinois

Opus 29,
completed November, 2003

All Saints
Episcopal Church, Atlanta, Georgia

Some years ago I was contacted about a new organ for All Saints Episcopal
Church by the assistant organist, Jefferson McConnaughey. We seemed to be
speaking the same language concerning how we thought organs should sound, and I
was eager to meet him, music directors Ray and Elizabeth Chenault, and to visit
the church. Our conversations were put on hold while the parish called a new
rector and undertook other projects. At the time we were blessed with
commissions to build the organ at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, Oklahoma
City, and large instruments for Glenview Community Church (III/71) and Holy
Family Catholic Church of Rockford, Illinois (III/56).

A few years went by, and I was invited to visit the church. Judging from the
size of the instrument under discussion, I expected to enter a huge space.
Instead, the church was more modest than vast, the acoustic more understated
than generous. At first blush, it seemed that 40 stops could have adequately
met their needs. But, no real lady ever gives up all her secrets at once, and
so I patiently looked and listened.

I listened to their former instrument while walking around the room, and
observed the acoustical phenomena under which the musicians had been laboring
for so long. The organ, although installed in the chancel in relatively close
proximity to the congregation, diminished drastically in volume in the nave. I
concluded that a part of the organ had to be installed in the body of the
church, to support singing and "pull" the sound out of the main part
of the organ installed in the chancel. Additionally, sound generated in the
nave lost its energy quickly; sound simply didn't travel well without becoming
garbled.

The musicians wanted to be able to properly register an organ to
"text-paint" Anglican Chant, choral anthems and ceremonial music in
the Anglican musical tradition. They needed a wide variety of accompanimental
tone colors at every dynamic level so that the organ could always support the
singers, even at pianissimo volume levels. It was equally important that the
organ musically render the great body of organ literature, even that of the
French Baroque school, of which Mr. McConnaughey seemed quite fond. And, the
Chenaults are duo organists; the literature which has been (and has yet to be)
commissioned for them had to be accommodated. This requires a large organ, as
coloristic stops outside the component voices for the essential choruses had to
be included and integrated into the design. Fortunately, these stops were never
in competition for space or funding, nor were our classic concepts of the
hierarchical scaling of divisions within the instrument ever compromised. Some
specific organs were studied: The Temple Church, London; King's College,
Cambridge; and St. Paul's Cathedral, London.

There is a beautiful chapel behind the Epistle side choir stalls, at 90
degrees to the axis of the church, which also serves as an overflow room on
Sundays. Worshippers there were relegated to viewing services on a small
closed-circuit TV, and could not participate in the hymn-singing because, being
outside the body of the church, they couldn't hear the organ. If the new organ
were to address and meet all the musical and acoustical requirements of the
church, then the chapel also needed to have some pipes in it, so that those
seated there could feel a part of the worshiping community.

All of these requirements were brought to bear upon a single instrument. Yes,
I agreed, this instrument has to be large--very large. Even if the room seats
only 550 souls, the musical and physical requirements dictated an organ of a
size which one might initially think out of proportion.

The position and installation of the new Main Organ was relatively
straightforward. The Great, Swell, Choir, Tuba, and Pedal would have to be
installed in the chancel, in an enlarged version of their existing chamber,
plus spaces created by cantilevering steel platforms into the chancel space on
both Epistle and Gospel sides.

The antiphonal division, a romantic Solo Organ including a Diapason Chorus
which mirrors the Great, had to be installed in the nave. But there was no
floor space for cases, no desire to see columns, and windows everywhere, many
of them signed by Louis Comfort Tiffany. By clever engineering of the diatonic
windchest layouts (which we had first used at St. Paul's Cathedral in Oklahoma
City) we were able to tuck the Solo Organ cases up in the rafters of the church
above the narthex, on either side of a central great window. By creative use of
perspective, we were able to engineer the location of the supporting steel
platforms so that they wouldn't block the view of the Tiffany windows in the
side aisles, yet give us sufficient height for the pipes inside the cases.

As conversations concerning the tonal design took shape, Ray, Elizabeth, and
Jeff fell in love with our tonal style which, while embracing eclecticism, has
its own unique personality. They visited both our large organs, and Jeff
actually played Sunday services on our Opus 7 organ at The Chapel of St. John
the Divine in my wife Linda's stead. The All Saints organ is a very logical
outgrowth of our style as practiced in our smaller organs, and as our two
larger organs have led us. The humble beginnings of Opus 7 at the Chapel, in
which we made 29 stops into a cathedral organ, can be seen all over this much
larger organ. Well-informed national and historical inspirations are
distributed throughout, so that the whole is at unity with itself. No German
Hauptwerk, French Récit or English Chair Organs for us. For example the
Great includes the mature English practice of 8' First & Second Open
Diapasons, married nicely to the French Fonds d'Orgue. A voluptuous Full English
Swell has continental fire by virtue of the authentic (but modified) French
reed battery, but the lyrical soft solo reed is a plaintive English Oboe. No
quirky nomenclature either. Although rooted in 19th-century English practice of
"Diapason, Principal, Twelfth, Fifteenth," etc., the stops in our
organs are what they say they are. If the Swell reed is spelled
"Trompette," you can be assured that you will hear a Trumpet with
French shallots and pipe construction.

The Great is based upon a 16' Double Open Diapason of tin which stands
proudly in the Gospel side case along with the rest of the division. A complete
Diapason chorus through Mixture, flutes at 8' & 4', and a Viola da Gamba
make up the flue work, and the reeds are Trombas, brought up to the manuals from
the Pedal Trombone. The Mixture breaks at octaves, rather than at fifth
intervals. In this way, one doesn't hear alternating unison and fifths playing
as the top rank, and the breaks are virtually unheard.

The Great also incorporates an harmonic corroborating stop which was more at
home in English and American concert organs of the early part of the last
century. Our four-rank Harmonic Mixture has in it a unison, a quint, a tierce,
and a flat-seventh. These are all the harmonics present in Tromba class reeds,
which are on the Great at 8' and 4' pitches. We originally included the
Harmonic Mixture as a way to prevent the dark Trombas from covering the
brightness of the mixture work in full organ, but have found that when used
sans Trombas, the ancient flavor of 18th-century Dutch organs is perceived in
an uncanny way. One could even imagine the wind to be unsteady--but of course
it's not!

The Solo has a Diapason Chorus nearly mirroring the Great, and despite its
distance from the Main Organ, it can exactly balance the Great Plenum in
certain contexts. The Solo contains a pair of E. M. Skinner-inspired Gambas,
the celesting rank in the case across the church from its unison pair. Now
that's a Celeste! The Flügel Horn, while a lyrical romantic solo reed, has
just enough harmonic interest to function beautifully as a chorus reed. The
Bassett Horn is certainly at home playing obbligato parts in Elgar, but has
just enough Cromorne in it to play Daquin with a French nose in the air.

One can use the Choir in a classic context, as a Positiv when a lighter foil
to the Great is desired. But this division is the real choral accompanying
workhorse. It's one of the most elegant, light, but profound Choir divisions we
have created. The Choir features a flute chorus from 16' up, and a proper
Diapason chorus complete with a four-rank quint mixture, a fifth interval
higher than the Great. But the luxurious feature in this day and age is our
Dulciana Chorus, which includes a three-rank mixture in which the 4' enters
early on at tenor C. Our Dulcianas are truly small Diapasons, and there is
nothing like the effect of accompanying voices with Diapason color, but at such
a soft volume. The Dulciana Mixture has many uses in coloring and painting
texts, 90% of which I would never have envisioned. Our Cornopeans are
small-scaled, but fundamental Trumpets as the original prototypes were, not the
horn-like Cornopeans one would otherwise love to hate. The Clarinet is truly of
English style, and the English Horn is orchestral in color with enough body to
be the foundation of the Choir reed battery, yet enough jazz in the color to
differentiate itself from the more fundamental Swell English Oboe.

The Chapel Organ includes a small-scaled Diapason Chorus at 8' and 4' to
lead the hymn-singing, and an 8' Aeoline and Vox Angelica. These very, very
soft string-toned stops allow the worshippers there to feel connected, and also
provide a powerfully effective pianissimo "wrap-around" effect as the
softest sounds concluding a smooth decrescendo. These little strings can just
be barely heard in the nave as the expression box closes on the Solo Flute
Cœlestis. When they play alone, they are literally in another room, off in
the distance.

In the All Saints organ, the Great, Swell, Choir, Solo, and a portion of the
Pedal divisions play upon 4 inches of wind pressure. The Trombones and Trombas
play upon 7 inches of wind, the Solo Festival Trumpets on 6 inches, and the
Major Tuba plays upon 20 inches of wind. The Tuba is housed in its own
expression box, and the organist can easily select which expression shoe may be
used to operate the Tuba's expression (or whether it is to remain open) by a
simple rotary switch. We aim to expand the color and dynamic range of the pipe
organ, while keeping the console controls simple and straightforward.

Before I was selected as their builder, Ray, Elizabeth, and Jeff charged me
to design the perfect instrument for all their requirements, and they would
undertake the responsibility of presenting this plan to the organ committee to
get their reaction, and see if the instrument would have to suffer at the hands
of "value engineers." Although my past experience made me somewhat
timid about presenting such a large (expensive) instrument as part of a
selection competition, we arrived at the specification of 63 straight speaking
stops, 87 ranks of pipes (5229 pipes overall), in five free-standing cases
throughout their church.

I will never forget the evening of a crucial organ committee meeting when I
received an excited telephone call from Ray. The musicians presented the
proposal and the room fell silent. People on the committee asked questions to
the effect: "Now, do all three of you musicians agree on this builder? Do
all three of you agree with each other in every respect to this instrument?"
When the answer was an emphatic yes, a committee member said: "How many
times do musicians agree with each other about anything, let alone every of the
many thousands of details in this organ's design!? This is what we need for All
Saints, and we need John-Paul to build it for us." A member of the
committee, Sarah Kennedy, later wrote a check for the entire project, in loving
memory and in honor of her family, The Kenans.

The organs' visual designs were developed during August and September of
2001. The first draft of the Chapel Organ's design was revised to be more in
keeping with the modern nature of the chapel (and less like King's College,
Cambridge). The Main Organ and the Solo Organs were built according to my first
pen-and-ink renderings.

All of my design drawings are executed by hand. The discipline of cleaning
the drafting table and truing the parallel bars and 90-degree instruments
contributes to clearing my mind of everything except what I need to think about
for the organ on the blank piece of paper.

It is always my goal to design organ cases which appear as though they had
always been in the church. The All Saints cases use shapes and colors found
throughout the room, and mirror the restrained nature of the Victorian Gothic
design. But the cases become vivid, exciting, and dramatic by incorporation of
the fabulous red enamel and gold leaf adorning the church's clerestory. The
inclusion of the red gave me license to add contracting pieces of red-stained
Honduras mahogany in the stained white oak cases. The soaring nature of the
Solo Organs, as their lines ascend while moving toward the great window, seemed
to cry out for heraldic angels, announcing the Great Day of Judgment on
gold-leafed trumpets. Thanks to parishioner David Foerster for making these
possible.

All of us will remember exactly where we were on 9/11. I was at the drafting
table finishing the designs for the Main Organ cases. I had penciled the
drawing the day before and was preparing to ink the drawing when I heard the
news reports. My entire staff came up to the drafting room and we all went to
the conference area where a small television showed us the horrors unfold as
the second airliner smashed into the second building. As we heard a large
airplane overhead, being sent to land at our local airport, I was asked if we
were going to close for the day. I said, no. We had to go about our task of
making beautiful things, especially in light of the ugliness that visited
itself on our country that day. If we wanted to take time off individually to
mourn our country's losses, go with my blessing, but the doors would remain
open and I would continue to draw a beautiful pair of pipe organ cases.

I set to cleaning out my India ink pens, and put on a CD of The English
Anthem II
from St. Paul's Cathedral,
London.

Oh Lord, look down from heaven, and behold the habitation
of Thy holiness and of Thy glory: Where is Thy zeal and Thy strength? Thy
mercies towards me, are they restrained?

My deepest thanks to the musicians at All Saints Church, everyone on the
organ committee, Greg Kellison, chairman; Paul Elliott, the rector; David
Foerster, and Sarah Kennedy for selecting me and my firm for this tremendous
commission.

My overwhelming gratitude goes to the members of my staff whose hard work
and dedication made such an excellent instrument so sublime: Charles Eames,
executive vice president, general manager and chief engineer; Brian K. Davis,
associate tonal director; Keith Williams, service department director; Shayne
Tippett, shop manager; Jay Salmon, office manager; Evan Rench, pipe maker,
voicer; Steve Downes, tonal assistant; C. Robert Leach, cabinetmaker; Stuart
Martin, cabinetmaker; Kenneth McCabe, winding systems; Ray Wiggs, consoles,
windchests; Robert Ference, service technician; Stuart Weber, service
technician; Jonathan Borchardt, service technician; JoAnne Hutchcraft Rench,
receptionist.

--John-Paul Buzard

GREAT (4-inch wind pressure)

Manual II - unenclosed pipework

16' Double Open Diapason

8' First Open Diapason

8' Second Open Diapason (ext 16')

8' Viola da Gamba

8' Harmonic Flute

8' Bourdon

4' Principal

4' Spire Flute

22/3' Twelfth

2' Fifteenth

2' Fourniture V

13/5' Harmonic Mixture IV

16' Double Trumpet

8' Trombas (ext Ped)

4' Clarion (ext Ped)

Tremulant

Chimes

8' Major Tuba (20" wind)

8' Tuba Solo (melody coupler)

8' Fanfare Trumpets (Solo)

SWELL (4-inch wind pressure)

Manual III - enclosed and expressive

8' Open Diapason

8' Stopped Diapason

8' Salicional

8' Voix Celeste

4' Principal

4' Harmonic Flute

22/3' Nazard

2' Flageolet

13/5' Tierce

22/3' Full Mixture V

16' Bassoon

8' Trompette

8' Oboe

8' Vox Humana

4' Clarion (ext 16')

Tremulant

8' Major Tuba (Gt)

8' Fanfare Trumpets (Solo)

CHOIR (4-inch wind pressure)

Manual I - enclosed and expressive

16' Lieblich Gedeckt (wood)

8' English Open Diapason

8' Flûte à Bibéron

8' Gedeckt Flute (ext 16')

8' Dulciana

8' Unda Maris

4' Principal

4' Koppel Flute

2' Recorder

2' Mixture III–IV (Dulcianas)

11/3' Fourniture IV

Sesquialtera II (22/3' & 13/5')

16' English Horn

8' Cornopean

8' Clarinet

Tremulant

Cymbalstern (14 bells)

8' Major Tuba (Gt)

8' Fanfare Trumpets (Solo)

Harp (digital)

Celesta (digital)

ANTIPHONAL SOLO (4- & 51/2-inch wind)

Manual IV - in twin cases over the narthex (expressive)

8' Open Diapason

8' Viola da Gamba

8' Gamba Celeste (CC)

8' Melodia

8' Flute Cœlestis II (Ludwigtone)

4' Principal

4' Flûte d'Amour

2' Doublette

11/3' Mixture IV

8' Flügel Horn

8' Corno di Bassetto

Tremulant

Cymbalstern (8 bells)

Chimes (Gt)

8' Fanfare Trumpets

8' Major Tuba (Gt)

Harp (digital)

Celesta (digital)

PEDAL (various wind pressures)

32' Double Open Diapason (digital)

32' Subbass (digital)

32' Lieblich Gedeckt (Ch, digital)

16' First Open Diapason

16' Second Open Diapason (Gt)

16' Bourdon

16' Lieblich Gedeckt (Ch)

8' Principal

8' Bass Flute (ext 16' Bourdon)

8' Gedeckt Flute (ext 16' Lieblich)

4' Choral Bass

4' Open Flute (ext 16' Bourdon)

22/3' Mixture IV

32' Contra Trombone (wood)

16' Trombone (wood, ext 32')

16' Double Trumpet (Gt)

16' Bassoon (Sw)

8' Trumpet (ext 16')

4' Clarion (Sw)

8' Major Tuba (Gt)

8' Fanfare Trumpets (Solo)

CHAPEL (4-inch wind, floating)

8' Open Diapason

8' Aeoline

8' Vox Angelica (tc)

4' Principal

Chapel on Great

Chapel on Swell

Chapel on Choir

Chapel on Solo

Chapel on Pedal

Intraddivisional couplers

Gt/Gt 16-UO-4

Sw/Sw 16-UO-4

Ch/Ch 16-UO-4

Solo/Solo 16-UO-4

Interdivisional couplers

Gt/Ped 8, 4

Sw/Ped 8, 4

Ch/Ped 8, 4

Solo/Ped 8, 4

Sw/Gt 16, 8, 4

Ch/Gt 16, 8, 4

Solo/Gt 16, 8, 4

Sw/Ch 16, 8, 4

Solo/Ch 16, 8, 4

Pedal Stops to Divisional Pistons


The Wicks Organ Company, Highland,
Illinois has built a new organ for the Barrington United Methodist Church,
Barrington, Illinois. In 1999 the church building was destroyed by fire. Their
losses included a 41-rank Möller pipe organ, which had been rebuilt as
recently as 1988. As planning for their new building began, the search for a
new pipe organ started. The church’s demands for their new organ were
that it had to be a great congregational organ, but also able to perform for
recitals as well. The sanctuary was to be a top-notch performance facility as
well as a place of worship. The church desired an organ of 3 manuals and 5
divisions, including an antiphonal. Each division was to have a principal
chorus, and the foundations of the Great organ were to be exposed.

The church committee heard many styles of instruments built by Wicks over
the last seven decades. This included, a North German neo-Baroque style
instrument, a symphonic organ scaled and designed by Henry V. Willis, an
American Classic, and an Aeolian instrument from the 1920s that had been
rebuilt by the Wicks Organ Company in conjunction with Mr. Madison Lindsey. The
service playing abilities of each instrument were demonstrated to the
committee, and they identified and found themselves drawn to the
English/symphonic style of the rebuilt Aeolian instrument. The organ committee
chose Wicks over several other builders after hearing several new Wicks
installations and the company ‘s recent success in exactly this style of
instrument.

The completed organ is described as an English service organ with orchestral
capabilities. The instrument is able to not only provide a seamless crescendo
from ppp to fff, but can do it with flair. In addition to service music, the
organ is able to perform every possible type of organ literature from the
Renaissance to the present. It is also able to realize orchestral
transcriptions with great skill, thanks to the presence of many orchestral solo
stops in each division, blending choruses, and 2-inch thick beveled and overlapping
felted shades. The completed organ consists of 24 ranks of pipes and 25 digital
voices. The Wicks design team pre-engineered space to accommodate real pipe
ranks to replace these voices. The Swell is on 7 inches of wind, the Pedal 10
inches; the Choir and Great are on 6 inches, with the exception of the
Clarinet, English Horn, and Tuba in the choir, which are all on 10 inches.

The solo reeds of this organ are of a unique style, derived from the
Willis/Wicks style reeds used in many Wicks organs over the decades, married to
the traditional ideas of Skinner solo reeds. The end results were clear,
smooth, stops of unique color and great versatility throughout the compass. The
greatest asset to the organ is the lively acoustical environment of the sanctuary.
The collaboration of the building committee, acousticians Kirkegaard &
Associates of Chicago, and the Wicks Organ Company have resulted in a
beautiful, successful combination of organ and room.

The console is drawknob style with 45-degree side jambs, a glass music rack,
and P&S keys with ivory resin naturals and ebony sharps. The drawknobs are
made of polished hardwood. Made of red oak, the interior is very light and the
exterior is stained to match the woodwork of the chancel furnishings. The console
features a tilt tab that allows the digital Tuba and Festival Trumpet to
emanate from the antiphonal division located in the rear of the church instead
of their native divisions. The console also has a Manual I/II transfer for
French literature.

Installation of Opus 6412 began in August of 2003, and an initial tonal
finishing and adjustment of digital voices took place in early September. After
the church’s dedication, Wicks tonal director Dr. William Hamner and reed
voicer Greg Caldwell completed an entire tonal finishing.

--Brent Johnson

Great (exposed)

16’ Violone*

8’ First Open Diapason

8’ Second Open Diapason

8’ Violoncello

8’ Harmonic Flute (Ch)

4’ Principal

4’ Flute Octaviante

2’ Fifteenth

IV Full Mixture

8’ Chorus Tuba (Ch)

8’ Festival Trumpet* (Ant)

8’ Tuba Mirabilis* (Ant)

Chimes* (Ant)

Swell (expressive)

16’ Minor Bourdon*

8’ Open Diapason

8’ Stopped Diapason*

8’ Viola*

8’ Viola Celeste*

8’ Flauto Dolce*

8’ Flute Celeste*

4’ Octave Diapason

4’ Triangular Flute*

22/3’ Nazard*

2’ Recorder*

13/5’ Tierce*

IV Plein Jeu

16’ Waldhorn*

8’ Cornopean

8’ Oboe*

4’ Clarion

8’ Festival Trumpet* (Ant)

8’ Tuba Mirabilis* (Ant)

Tremolo

Choir (expressive)

8’ Geigen (1-12*)

8’ Concert Flute

8’ Dolcan*

8’ Dolcan Celeste*

4’ Octave Geigen

4’ Transverse Flute

2’ Harmonic Piccolo

16’ Bass Clarinet

8’ Clarinet

8’ English Horn

8’ French Horn*

8’ Festival Trumpet* (Ant)

8’ Tuba Mirabilis* (Ant)

8’ Chorus Tuba

Tremolo

Harp*

Antiphonal (unenclosed - floating) (prepared)

8’ Festival Trumpet*

8’ Tuba Mirabilis*

Chimes*

Antiphonal Pedal (prepared)

Pedal

32’ Contre Bourdon*

16’ Open Wood

16’ Major Bourdon

16’ Violone* (Gt)

16’ Minor Bourdon* (Sw)

8’ Principal

8’ Flute

8’ Stopped Flute

4’ Octave

4’ Harmonic Flute (Gt)

32’ Ophicleide*

16’ Trombone (1–12*)

16’ Waldhorn (Sw)

8’ Tromba

8’ Trumpet (Sw)

4’ Oboe (Sw)

7-bell zimbelstern

*= Digital Voices

Steuart Goodwin: Organbuilder

R. E. Coleberd

R. E. Coleberd is a contributing editor to The Diapason.

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Introduction

Pipe organ building in America today, as portrayed in the music media, is described exclusively as the crafting of new instruments, some with mechanical action and nearly all with carved or gilded cases. This is understandable given the news value of new instruments, but it is nonetheless unfortunate because it ignores a vital segment of organbuilding today: the restoration, rebuilding, refurbishing, updating, and modernizing of existing instruments as well as the building of new instruments from recycled and new material. This activity is primarily the work of individuals and small firms, unsung heroes in the spectrum of organbuilding today. Their work is especially important for two reasons: it speaks to the ongoing primacy of the King of Instruments as the time-honored musical medium in a house of worship, and the determination of congregations, recognizing this fact, to preserve and promote the pipe organ for present and future generations.
In 1966 the author published, in these pages, “The Place of the Small Builder in the American Organ Industry.” His comment that the independent builder “may well assume increasing importance in the future of the pipe organ and the organ industry”1 was perhaps prophetic of the situation today. In many ways this narrative is a continuation and update of that article. Forty years ago the pipe organ industry was dominated by the major builders, whose work accounted for 80% of the new instruments in a market where the discarding and replacement of older instruments was a major portion of the work. Today the situation is vastly different. The market is now only a shadow of its former self. Several major builders have folded, unable to continue under greatly diminished factory production; buyers have welcomed the electronic instrument amid drastically diminished mainline church membership and budgets; and the academic market, with certain notable exceptions, is gone because colleges and universities are market-driven and direct capital resources to enrollment demand.
Yet, organbuilding continues, and pipe organs will always be built in this country and the world over. An important segment of this effort, now demanding recognition, is the work of talented individuals, working alone and in collaboration with other artisans, to craft instruments of singular artistic merit in accordance with public recognition today that a pipe organ is a work of art and the work of an artist. In a statement in 1966 prophetic of the situation today, Robert J. Reich, founder and now retired president of the Andover Organ Company, an early participant in the tracker organ revival in America, stated his philosophy of organbuilding as “the craftsman’s approach to construction and the musician’s approach to tone.”2 Musical interest and skill begin early and often with other instruments, while craftsmanship is acquired through formal and informal training.
This article describes the career of D. Steuart Goodwin: the experiences and individuals who shaped his philosophy of organbuilding, details of several instruments in his opus list, and his contemporary voicing and tonal finishing assignments. Steuart has won the admiration and respect of organ committees, organists, and builders as evidenced by his assignments across the country. Jack Bethards, president of Schoenstein Organbuilders, calls Goodwin a genius:

There is no other way to explain his brilliance in so many fields. Steuart combines the well-honed skill of a master craftsman with the cultivated taste and sensitivity of a fine artist. He has a real gift for design both visual and tonal. He is a musician through and through. His touch with pipes is magical. With ease and efficiency, he can bring the best musical quality out of just about any set of pipes.3

Said Manuel Rosales of Rosales Organbuilders:

My friend and colleague Steuart Goodwin is a rare individual, whose organ building talents combine great skill, good taste, and economy of resources. He is equally at home with visual design, tonal finishing, and hands-on organbuilding. His love of the craft is exemplified by the warm and inviting sounds of his new instruments and many revoicing projects. He and his work continue to be a source of personal and professional inspiration for me, his coworkers, and his clients.4

Early life and education

Donald Steuart Goodwin, Jr. was born on April 9, 1942 in Riverside, California, the son of a building contractor who sang in college musical productions, and a sometime public school teacher and housewife who taught piano privately.5 His grandfather, Phillip Goodwin, taught violin in Redlands, California, and played in a string quartet. Steuart’s folks met at the University of Redlands, a Baptist liberal arts college long known for its fine musical program. Arthur Poister taught organ there in the 1920s when a celebrated four-manual, 54-rank Casavant organ, recently restored and updated, was installed in Memorial Chapel. The organ program at Redlands is primarily associated with Leslie Spelman (1903–2000), a nationally known teacher and pedagogue who joined the faculty in 1937.6
Steuart’s musical interests began early; his 96-year-old mother recalls that he could carry a tune at the age of two. He began cornet lessons in the fourth grade and enrolled in the band at Lincoln School in Riverside. He recalls as a youngster asking his mother about the Estey pipe organ in the family’s Methodist church, but what really turned him on was when, at the age of fourteen, he and his father saw Disney’s 20,000 Leagues under the Sea and heard Captain Nemo play Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor. “I went home and played my older sister Jane’s recording over and over, checked out books at the library on organbuilding, and from that time on I was permanently ‘hooked’,” he says.7
Eager to study organ, Steuart approached Roberta Bitgood, organist at Calvary Presbyterian Church in Riverside, who had studied organ with Clarence Dickinson and who was later national president of the AGO. She suggested he begin with a year of piano instruction, which he did, before studying with her for two years, in the 11th and 12th grades.8 While in high school, his future organbuilding career began when he installed a three-rank Robert Morton theatre organ in his family’s garage. His theatre organ interest continued and became part of his work.
In 1959 he matriculated in the music program at the University of Redlands, majoring in composition under Wayne Bohrnstedt, having already written two chorale preludes for organ and a sonata for woodwind quintet. He sang in the University Choir his freshman year and played in the concert band all four years. In 1961, his sophomore year, he won the $800 first prize in the Forest Lawn Foundation Writing Awards Contest with an essay entitled, “The Organ Builder Finds His Place.”9 During Goodwin’s junior year, the band director persuaded three trumpeters to switch to French horn, which was a wise move for Steuart as he went on to play horn for 13 seasons in the University-Community Symphony—until it was converted to all union professionals.10 In recent years he has played French horn in a woodwind quintet and in the Redlands Fourth of July Band.
Goodwin studied organ at Redlands with Raymond Boese (1924–1988), who came to Redlands in 1961 to join his former teacher and now colleague Leslie Spelman in the music department.11 By his junior year, Steuart had become dissatisfied with the Wicks, Harry Hall (New Haven), and Robert Morton practice organs on campus, all dated and woefully inadequate for modern pedagogy and performance. He convinced the school that they needed a tracker instrument, having been listening avidly to recordings by E. Power Biggs playing and narrating tracker organs in Europe. Scouring classified ads in The Diapason, he found an 1870s George Stevens (Cambridge) instrument for sale by Nelson Barden.12 After months of negotiating with school officials, the parties reached an agreement, whereby the school would pay for the instrument and shipping, and Goodwin would install it in Watchorn Hall. In gratitude for this effort, the school awarded him three credits toward graduation.13 Steuart’s senior recital at Redlands, featuring his own compositions, included a Trio for horn, violin and piano, a Quintet for woodwinds, a Sonata for organ, and a Suite for brass.14 He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in music in 1964.
During this period he built a small organ with paper pipes on which he could play a Haydn clock piece (see photos). Then, in a remarkable coincidence, E. Power Biggs played a recital on the Casavant in the Redlands chapel. Goodwin showed him the paper-pipes organ, and Biggs, unprompted, played that particular Haydn piece on it. Recognizing Steuart’s interest and promise, Biggs suggested that he apply for a Fulbright scholarship to study organbuilding in Europe. In his letter of recommendation to the Institute of International Education, Biggs wrote:

Steuart Goodwin has the possibly-unusual wish to study organ building in Europe, preferably in the center of fine organs, old and new, which is Holland. . . . I cannot think of anyone who would be more qualified for a Fulbright grant than Steuart Goodwin, nor anyone who could make better use of the opportunity. Already at Redlands he has proved his theoretical grasp of the subject, and his ability to transform ideas into action, and practical results.”15

The choice for the Fulbright year abroad for Goodwin, 1964–65, was between Flentrop and von Beckerath. He chose Flentrop because most Hollanders speak English, and his German was very limited. His experience was mixed, probably unlike that of most Fulbright scholars, he comments. He was assigned to the pipe shop where he acquired pipemaking skills, but he had a brief run-in with Mr. Flentrop. Inadvertently interrupting a conference while trying to introduce himself, he was subsequently ushered into the maestro’s office and severely scolded. “If we had been Germans you would have been thrown out immediately,” Flentrop said, adding, “you can stay here if you will simply work in the pipe shop and keep quiet. Try to observe the Dutch boys and behave as they do.”16 This meant never asking questions—asking questions was unheard of for an apprentice. He was never allowed to see the company woodworking shop in Koog an de Zaan. He did, however, make several sets of pipes for the Rugwerk division of the large four-manual Flentrop instrument in St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle.
At the end of his Flentrop sojourn, Goodwin met with Dr. Martin Vente, internationally renowned organ historian and scholar, who provided him with a map locating important Dutch organs nearby. He spent several days traveling by train and bicycle to see many of them. The one that deeply impressed him and would greatly influence his emerging tonal philosophy and mark his work today was at the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, ironically dismissed by Flentrop as too romantic.17 “I suffered something of a cognitive dissonance over this, since Flentrop represented the Neo-Baroque ideal espoused by Biggs,” Steuart comments. “I was supposed to like the Baroque, but found myself more deeply moved by the 19th-century voluptuousness of this instrument.”18
Returning from Holland, he opened a small shop in San Bernardino, soon welcoming an opportunity to move to a larger, well-equipped facility nearby, the former Fletcher Planing Mill, whose owner was retiring. There he built three small tracker organs and rebuilt two. Opus 1, a six-rank, two-manual tracker for the Fine Arts building at the University of Redlands, was originally purchased by the organ professor, Raymond Boese. He sold his interest to the university, which paid Steuart a nominal sum and traded him the Hall and Morton instruments. The stoplist comprised a Gemshorn 8' and Principal 2' on Manual I, a Gedeckt 8' and Rohrflute 4' on Manual II, and a 16' Bourdon and 4' Choral Bass on the Pedal, plus the usual couplers. His Opus 2, 1972, was an 11-rank, two-manual tracker for the Fourth Ward Mormon Church in Riverside. In 1973 he built Opus 3, a one-manual, four-rank rental organ. This instrument was used at the Memorial Chapel, University of Redlands, for the Feast of Lights one year, and has been rented by the Ambassador Auditorium and by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Chamber Orchestras for use in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and Hollywood Bowl. It is now in a home in Altadena.19 Reflecting on Opus 1 and 2, he describes this period as his Biggs, Flentrop, Schlicker days and says:

In each of these first two small organs there was to be only one independent eight-foot rank on the Great. It needed to work as an accompanimental sound as well as the foundation for a small principal chorus. At St. Bavo in Holland, I had heard an unforgettably warm tapered hybrid stop called ‘Barpijp,’ which inspired me to use a Gemshorn instead of a less flexible Principal or Stopped Flute. I experimented with using Gemshorns in a Swell division, but soon grew out of that and came to greatly prefer real string tone.20

During this long period of apprenticeship including travel, reading, talking with organists and organbuilders, and perhaps most importantly listening—to records and instruments—his philosophy of organbuilding and tonal ideals were taking shape, and he made certain fundamental decisions about the direction of his emerging career. He determined that he wanted to work individually, expressing his own artistic concepts, free from the constraints of established large builders where opinions differ, compromises are often the rule, and mimicking some academic paradigm or current fashion is required. His primary goal became to achieve “a certain populist sensibility when it comes to providing what will please congregations and audiences.”21 “Many times I have wondered whether to stay [in Redlands], but if I were to work for a nationally known organ builder, I would lose the independence I have here,” he told the San Bernardino Sun-Telegram in 1978.22 And as he told columnist Nelda Stuck of the Redlands Daily Facts in 1987, “There is no area of music I can think of where there are so many factions and arguments about style,” referring to Baroque vs. Romantic pipe organs and tracker vs. electro-pneumatic action.23

Trinity Episcopal Church

Opus 4, an instrument in which he takes particular pride, illustrates the scope of Goodwin’s early work and evidences his talents in voicing and case designs: the 35-rank, 31 speaking stops, three-manual tracker in Trinity Episcopal Church, Redlands, California. Originally built in 1853 by the prominent New York City builder George Jardine for the First Presbyterian Church in Rome, New York, it was acquired by St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church in Rome in 1908, where it was rebuilt by C. E. Morey of Utica, New York. Meanwhile, Trinity Church in Redlands installed a three-manual Austin, Opus 111, in 1904.24
The Jardine-Morey organ was acquired through the Organ Clearing House, and over a period of 19 months was rebuilt, together with parts of the Austin, as an eclectic instrument combining 802 original and 838 new pipes for a total of 1640 (see 1975 stoplist). This project illustrates the amalgamation of older and new material into an instrument of singular artistic merit. Through a vision of what these two instruments together could and should be, Goodwin was able to “see” how the skilful blending of solo and foundation stops would produce vibrant and colorful choruses and ensembles. This organ fulfills Goodwin’s conviction that there has to be a visual-sonic relationship, i.e., a relationship between what you see and what you hear (see photos). “A pipe organ should be capable of choruses, amalgams of many tones from many pipes, producing a rich, subtly infused musical statement,” he told Dennis Tristram, a reporter for the Riverside Daily Press newspaper.25
In an arched nave opening three lancet arches were formed of oak and filled with 15 newly painted and stenciled dummy pipes retained from the Austin façade. Trinity Church has been described as an example of 19th-century Anglo-American architecture, which led to the chancel case design that Steuart based on the case at Peterborough Cathedral in England designed by Arthur George Hill (1857–1923), described as one of the great Victorian organ builders.26
During the construction of this organ Steuart joined the choir, and ultimately became confirmed as a member of the church. This has provided an unusual opportunity for the builder to repeatedly update and modify the instrument over many years, both tonally and mechanically. The large single bellows was replaced a number of years ago with individual regulators for each division, resulting in steadier wind and the possibility of divisional tremulants. More recently electric stop and combination actions were installed, several ranks were added and others moved around, giving the organ more scope and a more English flavor (see 2004 stoplist).

Tonal evolution

Goodwin’s work is especially noteworthy because it represents the crafting of instruments embracing the required resources in tonal families and pitches capable of performing the great music of antiquity as well as today’s requirements, but one that is free from the strident and narrow definitions of Baroque, Neo-Baroque, North German, South German, or American Classic stoplists, scales, wind pressures, and voicing. These eclectic instruments, beginning with the work of individual artisans and small shops, have influenced a new style of organs, free from the prejudices against stops that in the 1950s were considered “old hat” and indicative of an obsolete organ that should be replaced. Formerly verboten stops—the Melodia, Cornopean, Harmonic Flute, and Vox Humana, for example—are now recognized for their intrinsic musical content and are often embraced without hesitation by many builders who incorporate them in their instruments, confident of their ongoing musical value. This approach extends to the use of wooden flue work and open flutes, a defining characteristic of American organbuilding from the very beginning, but largely eschewed in the 1950s in favor of metal ranks and tapered, half-tapered, stopped, and chimneyed stops.
Steuart’s Opus 5 was a restoration for St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Upland, California, of E. & G. G. Hook & Hastings’ Opus 734, 1873, formerly located in the First Baptist Church in Bloomington, Illinois. Opus 6 is a four-rank, two-manual house organ, featuring an ornate case and suspended action (see photo).27 This is an early example of an elaborate 18th-century case as built by the Dutch and Germans and pioneered by John Brombaugh in America at a time when the European builders were building modern cases in this country. In 1978, in a brief detour from mechanical action, Steuart built a two-manual, six-rank unit organ with electric action for the United Methodist Church in Yucaipa, California. “I never built another unit organ for a church,” he comments. “I am enthusiastic about the unit principle for a theatre organ, but you can easily overdo it in church work if you are concerned about good tone.”28
In 1978, David Dixon, who met Manuel Rosales at Schlicker in Buffalo and who became his partner in Los Angeles (and who later returned to Schlicker before his untimely death at an early age), approached Steuart about working for them, which he elected to do. He assisted in their introduction to tracker work, in designing cases, traded organ philosophy with Manuel, and acquired some refinements in voicing technique from Dixon.
Opus 8, a 13-rank, two-manual electropneumatic action organ for the First Baptist Church in Colton, California in 1979, marked a major milestone in Goodwin’s tonal philosophy, and contains elements that characterize his later work. In earlier years he was interested in tracker action, but over time came to believe that even 11 ranks (Opus 2, Fourth Ward Chapel, L.D.S. Church, Riverside) in a tracker aren’t very flexible. He became convinced of the value of a unit Gedeckt stop, which he first used in Colton and subsequently on several 12- or 13-rank instruments (see stoplists for Colton and St. George’s Episcopal Church). He began searching for a small, flexible church organ design, and the unit Gedeckt was part of the answer. “I hit upon it almost by accident while contemplating for Colton how to best use a couple of pitman chests incorporating one unit chest,”29 he comments, adding:
“The concept begins, as usual, with a complete principal chorus, 8' through mixture, on the Great. Next, on the Swell, I use a pair of strings (real string tone, not hybrids), a medium-bright Trumpet, and (where space and finances permit) a 4' Principal or Fugara. Budgetary concerns generally limit independent pedal ranks to the ubiquitous 16' Bourdon. The Great also contains an open metal flute, which, in the Colton prototype, was originally part of an Aeolian house organ. The pipes looked ridiculous to one brought up on Neo-Baroque ideals. The heavily nicked mouths were cut-up two-thirds in a half circle, and, yet, when you blew on them they were magically beautiful. I began to realize that you couldn’t depend on what other people said was good, you had to trust your own ears.
“The 85 to 97 pipes of a Lieblich Gedeckt are located on a unit chest in the Swell box. This rank is made available at three pitches on the Great, six on the Swell, and four to six pitches on the Pedal. Importantly, the Gedeckt stop tabs on each division are grouped together to the right of the straight stops and couplers, and they are not affected by the couplers.
“This arrangement makes the structure of the tonal design quickly apparent to an organist, while simultaneously making registration practically goof-proof. For instance, it is impossible to mix the derived mutations on the Swell with the principal chorus on the Great. I settled on the Lieblich Gedeckt for the one unified rank because it blends well at all pitches and because the pitch-beats caused by an equal-tempered rank used at mutation pitches are only barely discernible.
“In an organ of only 12 or 13 ranks, one can make dozens of useful combinations and build ensembles suggesting a much larger instrument. For instance, on the Pedal the 51⁄3' through 2' pitches—when used with the Great chorus coupled—reinforce the 16' line and create the impression that there is a Pedal mixture. A solo Cornet effect can be registered as follows: couple the string and celeste to the Great and silence them on the Swell using the Unison Off. Then set a solo combination of Gedeckt pitches such as 8', 4', 22⁄3' and 13⁄5' on the Swell (tremulant optional).
“The point of all this is to provide excellent sound and unusual flexibility in a small church organ design. To keep these organs even more affordable, we incorporate many used parts and pipes. A brand new console shell is hardly a necessity when so many are available used. I like to put the money where it counts the most—in careful voicing and tonal finishing, new electronic relays, and high quality visual designs.”30
The discovery of the Aeolian open metal flute, quixotically called Flute Piano (apparently for people barely musical and certainly not organists) was to mark a milestone in Goodwin’s career. Placed in the Great of his instrument in Colton, it proved to be of such great value as both a solo and ensemble stop that it led him to incorporate 8¢ open flutes on that division routinely. Most instruments, having a Chimney Flute on the Great and Gedeckt on the Swell, don’t have the flexibility of an open 8' flute, an important color in his judgment, adding, “I voice it quietly in the bass and midrange and somewhat ascendant from middle C up so one rank can be used three ways: as an accompaniment stop in the left hand, a solo stop in the treble and a lighter foundation than a Diapason in a Principal chorus.”31
Perhaps the most impressive example is found at Holy Cross Church in Santa Cruz, California. Built in 1889 on the site of one of the famous Spanish Missions, Holy Cross is an imposing neo-Gothic brick building with splendid acoustics. Starting with a 13-rank A. B. Felgemaker tracker obtained through Alan Laufman and the Organ Clearing House, Goodwin added 10 ranks including an open metal flute, two mixtures, two chorus reeds and a string celeste (see before and after stoplists above right, and photo on page 28).
In 1995, Steuart installed his Opus 15, a remarkably cohesive two-manual and pedal organ of 12 ranks, featuring the unit Gedeckt and the 8' open flute discussed above in St. George’s Episcopal Church, Riverside (see stoplist on page 26, and photo left). The striking white oak case is accented with bronze moldings and padouk wood stripes.32

Voicing and tonal finishing

In 1980 Steuart became associated with the Schoenstein firm in San Francisco, which marked still another chapter in his career, one that would grow and distinguish his work today. He worked closely with Jack Bethards, Schoenstein president, in the major renovation of the epic Aeolian-Skinner organ in the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, where he did most of the flue voicing. Bethards does extensive consulting coast-to-coast, and when he concludes that the major problem with an organ is inferior tonal work, he often recommends Steuart, who, working with his assistant Wendell Ballantyne, has had nationwide assignments: New York, Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina. Reworking an older instrument almost always begins with a sensitive new organist, and one job leads to another. This work typically involves removing sizzle and chiff, increasing foundation tone, repitching a mixture with new breaks, and replacing unsuitable pipes. With his fine reputation as a voicer and finisher, when prospects hear his work, they want the same thing. For example, Steuart’s current work at the Covenant Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, is the direct result of his work at Myers Park Baptist Church there. Goodwin’s recent theatre work includes voicing, in collaboration with Lynn Larsen, a large theatre and romantic instrument in the home of Adrian Phillips in Phoenix, Arizona, and completing a mostly seven-rank Wurlitzer organ in his own home in Highland. His much admired tonal work on the epic four-manual, 26-rank Wurlitzer in Plummer Auditorium, Fullerton, led to his election to the governing board of the Orange County Theatre Organ Society.33

Summary

In a varied career marked by many accomplishments, Steuart Goodwin represents the individual organbuilder, working alone or in collaboration with others, a vital segment in the spectrum of organbuilding in America today. Long neglected but deserving of greater recognition, the work of these persons may well assume greater significance in the future of the trade and the instrument. Beginning with a rich musical background, often both instrumental and vocal, which continues, they acquire the knowledge and skills of building the pipe organ through travel, reading, observation and apprenticeship. In their deep commitment to the King of Instruments, they gladly sacrifice more lucrative occupations. Today and tomorrow, amid the manifold and far-reaching changes in our culture, the majestic pipe organ is recognized as a work of art and the work of an artist. There can be no better example of this truth than the life and work of Steuart Goodwin.
 

Steuart Goodwin & Co. Opus List

1. 1970. Two-manual, six-rank tracker practice organ. Now in home of Dr. Harold Knight in Dallas, Texas.
2. 1972. Two-manual, 11-rank tracker, 4th Ward, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Riverside, California.
3. 1974. One-manual, four-rank portable rental organ. Now in home of Bruce and Mary Elgin, Altadena, California.
4. 1976. Three-manual, 35-rank tracker, Trinity Episcopal Church, Redlands, California. With components of an 1852 Jardine from Rome, New York, obtained through the Organ Clearing House.
5. 1977. Two-manual, 17-rank tracker, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Upland, California. Rebuild of E. & G. G. Hook & Hastings #734, 1873, obtained through the Organ Clearing House.
6. 1978. Two-manual, four-rank practice organ in the home of Frances Olson, Mount Baldy Village, California.
7. 1978. Two-manual, six-rank unit organ, now in St. John’s Episcopal Church, Corona, California.
8. 1979. Two-manual, 13-rank electro-pneumatic, First Baptist Church, Colton, California.
9. 1984. Two-manual, 13-rank tracker, Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral, San Bernardino, California. Rebuild of Moller #1701, 1913, obtained through the Organ Clearing House.
10. 1988. Two-manual, 23-rank tracker, Holy Cross Church, Santa Cruz, California. Based on A. B. Felgemaker #506, 1889, enlarged and considerably modified visually and tonally.
11. 1991. Two-manual, 11-rank, electric action, Stake Center, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Simi Valley, California. Incorporates many pipes and parts of Moller #5482, 1928, obtained through the Organ Clearing House.
12. 1992. Two-manual, 13-rank electro-pneumatic, Fontana Community Church, Fontana, California. Incorporates console and many pipes from the church’s 1920s Spencer organ.
13. 1993. Three-manual, 38-rank, electric slider chests, First Christian Church, Pomona, California. Extensive tonal revisions. Based on Hook & Hastings #2240 with prior modifications and additions by Ken Simpson and Abbott & Sieker.
14. 1995. Two-manual, 19-rank, electric and electro-pneumatic, St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Lakewood, California.
15. 1995. Two-manual, 12-rank, electro-pneumatic, St. George’s Episcopal Church, Riverside, California.

Other work

The tonal finishing team of Steuart Goodwin and Wendell Ballantyne has done extensive work on organs in California, Georgia, North Carolina, New York, Texas and Utah.
Steuart has worked on many case design and voicing projects with Rosales Organbuilders and Schoenstein & Co. For photographs and details visit .
For research input and critical comments on earlier drafts of this paper, the author gratefully acknowledges: Edward Ballantyne, Jack Bethards, Ken W. List, Albert Neutel, Donald Olson, Michael Quimby, Robert Reich, Manuel Rosales, Jack Sievert, and R. E. Wagner.

Cover feature

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Wicks Organ Company, Highland, Illinois

First Congregational Church, Kalamazoo, Michigan, Opus 6419 From the spectacular display of floral color found at the annual Tulip Festival in Holland, to the ingenuity of the great Christopher Columbus Smith as he launched the first-ever Chris-Craft speedboat, Western Michigan has provided us with a rich cultural, artistic, and recreational history. Kalamazoo is no exception to this trend; in fact, when it comes to the presence and popularity of the pipe organ, Kalamazoo reigns as a leader.

When I first went to First Congregational Church in the year 2001, I was told that the new organ would be in the company of a host of large, new instruments. Moreover, I learned that these new organs were within walking distance of one another! The Congregational church’s organ would share turf with two instruments by Létourneau (one in the Methodist church and one in the Baptist church), two older Casavants (one in the Christian Science church and one in the Presbyterian church), a newer Dobson in the Episcopal church, a Kilgen in the Reformed church, and, of course, the soon to arrive Nichols & Simpson in St. Augustine’s Cathedral. Having so many intriguing, contrasting organs in such a small area is a true gift to the organ enthusiast and an invaluable tool to the deliberating organ committee. It was from this impressive list of instruments that the committee of First Congregational Church began to study.

The organ committee instructed the bidding builders to propose something special: something unique that would complement rather than duplicate the other instruments on the block. However, they were not yet sure of the actual style they desired. Even though several of the other organs on the square provide an interesting spectrum of tonal styles, representing varying degrees and spins upon the American-classic school of tonal design, they were not sure whether they wanted to venture too far from this tried and true “comfort zone.” Nevertheless, the Wicks team took a leap of faith and proposed an instrument of the firm’s so-called “Neo-Victorian” style—the first ever to be proposed in this region of the country. After many months of deliberation and soul searching, First Congregational Church selected the Wicks proposal; and, they too took a leap of faith with regards to this “new” Wicks style of tonal design, voicing, and construction.

The Wicks “Neo-Victorian” sound

The Wicks Organ Company of Highland, Illinois, has ventured into an exciting realm of tone, unknown by the firm or its customers for some fifty years. Indeed, this somewhat unique style is little known in most organ circles. Furthermore, it is rather shocking for most musicians to find out that Wicks is now building high-pressure organs, utilizing stops and tonal palettes that have not been typically associated with the firm.

The “Neo-Victorian” label is not one of our own making. Credit for this somewhat curious name of the new style must be given to the Wicks North Texas area sales director John Dill. When he played the first Diapason chorus on our display organ, Opus 6295 from 2002 (which still stands in shop’s erecting room), he coined this term, which I believe to be quite apropos on many levels. What he experienced was new for him, even as an experienced American organ man. He is among the many folk who, when they hear the description of “Victorian” applied to an American-made organ of the early 20th century, conjure up less-than-savory images to describe the sound. We have all been told in our organ studios that most Victorian organs have certain universal traits. Most of these traits have been described with words and phrases that we have all heard: “it’s so muddy,” “it just can’t articulate repeated notes in the texture,” “the action is so clumsy,” “this thing is so treble deficient,” “it’s tubby,” “it’s contrapuntally challenged and I cannot hear the voice leading at all,” “it is lacking in a solid classic chorus up through mixture,” and yes, I have even heard this one: “it’s so frumpy!”

So what makes Wicks Opus 6419 at Kalamazoo’s First Congregational Church “Neo” instead of “old-school” Victorian? Well, it is truly a long story, one that has been about 100 years in the making for the Wicks Organ Company! It is important to remember that Wicks has been around for more than 100 years. The firm has dabbled in virtually every 20th-century stylistic trend of American organbuilding. The first truly “solid” Wicks style came about in the 1930s with the arrival of Henry Vincent Willis on American soil. The 1950s stood as a transitional phase in which Wicks struggled with the arrival of the “American Classic style” from companies in parts east. The 1960s saw the dawn of the style most commonly associated with Wicks, the low-pressure, open-toe voicing era. And from the late 1970s through the beginning of the 2000s, Wicks has dabbled in various degrees of “American Classicism.”
Henry Vincent Willis was the son of Vincent Willis, the “other brother” who made up the “Willis II” era of the Willis firm in England. He came to Wicks with much the same knowledge and voicing skills that would have been utilized in creating some of England’s largest Willis masterpieces. Most of the American “Willis Wicks” organs, however, took on a slightly different role than their English, Anglican-inspired sisters.

In the days before Vatican II, many Roman Catholic churches in the U.S. commissioned either Kilgen or Wicks organs. Both were Roman Catholic companies, and both were experienced in building organs for the tradition. As a result, a majority of these Wicks organs were designed for the pre-Vatican II liturgy. They provided “Holy Hush” for the mystical parts of the liturgy, choral accompaniment for the singing of plainsong and other Mass ordinaries, and improvisation during the receiving of Communion. As a result, such organs were resplendent with silvery undulating stops, warm and subtle accompanimental flutes, full and luscious Willis-voiced diapasons, and powerful, yet accompanimental Willis-voiced chorus reeds.

Larger instruments had some of the more fanciful stops like the 4¢ Magic Flute, the Silvestrina II, the French Horn, or the Orchestral Oboe, all of which were very “English Willis-like” in nature. Although choruses were very “singing” and quite contrapuntally clear, very rarely, except in the largest of organs, would there be more than one independent stop of 2¢ pitch. In the same spirit, mixtures were usually not even a whimsical thought for a designer of these organs, with the exception of the Dulciana-scaled Harmonia Aetheria!

By and large, however, these organs make up one of the most uncelebrated chapters of American organbuilding history. Most of them are still in decent working order (thanks to those famous leather-free Direct-Electric® units!), and they deserve greater recognition from organ historians and appreciators, as they are quite remarkable. Certainly, they have provided the present-day Wicks Organ Company with living examples of good Victorian work, which we have studied with high-powered microscopes.

Wicks responded to the arrival of the Classic revival in American organ building, in a full-throttle manner beginning in 1965. Almost all of the scaling and pipe-making/voicing techniques of the past were set aside in order to embrace what customers were demanding. Often, instruments could reach the 10–15 rank mark without having a single 8' Open in the manuals. Languids and lower lips were left unscathed by the ravages of the nicking knife, and regulation was accomplished at the lower lip of most metal pipes. Gone were the Sylvestrinas and Salicionals, VDO’s, Clarinets, and French Horns in favor of Gemshorns, Schalmeis, Barpfeifen, and other neo-classically inspired sounds. All this was done, of course, as an answer to the demands of the times. People were demanding clear, contrapuntally precise choruses inspired by the notion of the Werkprinzip.

The company indeed answered the call. My predecessor, John Sperling, designed, voiced and finished several of the most elegant neo-classic-style organs to be found anywhere. In fact, he has just spearheaded the restoration, re-installation and revoicing of this era’s magnum opus, which has been provided for Mary, Mother of Hope Catholic Church in New Castle, Pennsylvania. I fear that this and other notable organs of this vintage are also unduly ignored by the organ public. However, the pres-ent tonal administration has learned a great deal from the importance that was placed on chorus building and contrapuntal clarity in this vintage of Wicks.

From the organs of the 1930s–1940s, the Neo-Victorian Wicks Opus 6419 rediscovers and celebrates the beauty of the individual stop. Nevertheless, from the organs of the 1960s and 1970s, the Neo-Victorian Wicks upholds the importance of clarity in ensembles in performing horizontal musical textures. Indeed, in Opus 6419, one can draw any one stop of unison pitch and be satisfied for hours just playing upon it alone. Not only will the stop’s individual timbre inspire with a singular beauty of tone, but the player will be amazed that something so rich will allow his choir or congregation to clearly identify every voice in a four-part texture! Furthermore, the musician can come out in the organist when he or she sits at the console of Opus 6419, for the stops are a sonic painter’s palette. Every voice is designed to work well in ensemble with what seems to be an endless array of other voices in combination.

Back again are the full, rich, yet contrapuntally clear Diapasons (of which this organ possesses six of 8' pitch!). Some familiar 1930s flutes, like the Melodia and the Transverse Flute, as well as favorite strings, like the 16' Violone and the 8' Violoncello, also have resurfaced. We seized the distinct opportunity of working with select ranks of 1920s pipework that were still present in the church’s 1920s/1970s Austin organ. The strings of the Swell and the Choir were restored to their 1920s glory—they stand as a testimony to the enduring legacy of Austin Organs, Inc. The new chorus reeds certainly show a 1930s influence with their powerful, yet accompanimental/blending characters. The color stops like the Magic Flute, English Horn, Harmonic Flute, Bassett Horn, and Oboe recall the great sounds of the symphonic-style organ, but they can also serve as clever coloration for the creative ensemble-building, orchestral-minded musician. The Great Tromba towers over the full ensemble in a firm, powerful, yet non-abrasive manner. The 32' Double Trombone, voiced on 15" of wind with its pocketed teardrop shallots undergirds the entire organ with a fundamentally powerful rumble rather than a “jack hammer.” And last, but certainly not least, the 20" wind-pressure Subterranean Tuba, a stop located in the basement and speaking up through the floor behind expression shades, truly envelops the listener with a firm sonic thrill rather than piercing him with a strident “laser beam” of sound.

Sometimes a leap of faith is a scary proposition, and the Wicks Organ Company team always will be grateful to the kind people of First Congregational Church for taking the plunge and entrusting us with this exciting commission. The church and the firm built an initial trust that allowed Wicks to build an organ in the new tonal style. The organist, Mrs. Helene S. Stuurwold, understood the tonal vision for the organ, recognized the vastly expanded musical parameters the organ would offer, and therefore embraced the project wholeheartedly.

The organ committee did the church and the firm a great service by appointing one of their own, Charles Krenick, as the liaison between the church and the company. Charlie was most helpful in coordinating the building plans with the arrival of the organ. He also did so much to ensure that our installation crew did not run into any hurdles.

Many thanks must also be given to the Michigan area Wicks director, Larry Boekeloo. Larry was an invaluable resource to both the church and the firm, spending many weeks with Helene and members of the committee to ensure the proposal was well understood. He was also available at the drop of a hat to get little details for our design team, and he spent countless hours on site with the installation crew from the factory assisting with much of the initial installation.

Finally, credit must be given to the “A-Team,” the factory installation crew who worked for many months on site. Jack Haase, chief installer; Mae Knaebel, Robert Stoker, and Steve Thompson labored for three months installing this instrument. Furthermore, they worked to make some important onsite mechanical upgrades to the instrument, making it even better and more serviceable. The installers also worked for two weeks with the tonal finishers to help lift some very tall pipes as fine adjustments were made.

The tonal finishing and final voicing was then accomplished by Mark Scholtz and me over four weeks in January 2005. A spectacular flue voicer and a first-rate organist, Mark was, nevertheless, new to the world of tonal finishing. However, during this “initiation by fire” he has become quite skilled at the art of fine adjustment and balancing of sounds. I am certain that Mark’s tenure at Wicks will be one characterized by the finest, most musically finished instruments in the company’s history. The resulting organ stands as a masterpiece in that everyone, the 60 craftsmen and women at Wicks, as well as the committee and congregation of First Congregational Church, believed in the dream. The leap of faith has landed with success.

—Bill Hamner

Tonal Director (2002–2006)

From the church

It is never easy to bid farewell to an old friend, but that was the situation facing the congregation of First Congregational Church in the late 1990s. The church’s venerable 1928 Austin organ was showing grave signs of trouble, most stemming from several “modernization” attempts in the late 1960s. Such was the love of the congregation for their beloved Austin that every possible avenue to save and rebuild it was thoroughly examined. Finally, the sad fact had to be faced that very little of the original pipework was left after the modernization attempts. Our very capable councilor, Jonathan Tuuk, helped us realize that the best stewardship would be to purchase a new pipe organ.

Thus began the long, arduous process of selecting an organbuilder. Mr. Tuuk was an invaluable help to the committee with his extensive organ knowledge, hard work, and never-failing optimism. The committee listened, learned, debated, and finally selected the Wicks Organ Company of Highland, Illinois, to build the new organ. The Wicks firm was chosen for several reasons: their willingness to listen to our needs and desires, their high-quality product, their longevity in the organbuilding business, and their talented and dedicated craftspeople.

The committee felt strongly that they wanted their instrument to be all pipe with no digital sounds, and Wicks was up to the challenge. Wicks representative Larry Boekeloo and Wicks tonal director Bill Hamner determined that eight ranks still remaining from the 1928 Austin could be refurbished and reused in Wicks Opus 6419. Wicks craftspeople also spent extra effort to rebuild the original 61-note Austin harp because it had special meaning to the congregation. Exciting stoplists were prepared, revised, and reworked until everything seemed in good balance, both tonally and financially. Then, we waited.
When the organist played the first chords on the new Wicks Opus 6419 set up in the factory, tears sprang to her eyes: it was better than she had hoped for. That first impression has proven true as luscious sounds fill the sanctuary Sunday after Sunday. The congregation is delighted, the organist is thrilled, and the hymn singing is more energetic than ever before. We look forward to many years of exciting exploration of Wicks Opus 6419.


The Wicks Organ Company will be taking attendees of the 2006 AGO national convention in Chicago to visit this instrument on Tuesday July 4. A bus will be leaving from Chicago at 8:00 am. A lunch will be provided, and the bus will be back in Chicago for the evening events. To reserve your space on this bus, please contact the Wicks offices by calling 877/654-2191, or using the contact form at .



Cover photo by Wicks Organ Company; shop photos by Brent Johnson.

GREAT

16' Violone

8' First Open Diapason

8' Second Open Diapason

8' Violoncello

8' Bourdon

8' Harmonic Flute

4' Principal

4' Night Horn

4' Flute Octaviante

22?3' Twelfth

2' Fifteenth

V Full Mixture

8' Tromba (Ch)

Tremolo

Chimes

8' Subterranean Tuba (Echo)


SWELL (enclosed)

16' Minor Bourdon

8' Horn Diapason

8' Stopped Diapason

8' Viola*

8' Viola Celeste TC*

4' Octave Diapason

4' Transverse Flute

22?3' Flute Twelfth

2' Harmonic Piccolo

V Chorus Mixture

16' Waldhorn

8' Cornopean

8' Oboe

8' Vox Humana

4' Clarion

Tremolo

8' Subterranean Tuba (Echo)


CHOIR (enclosed)

8' Violin Diapason

8' Melodia

8' Muted Viol*

8' Viol Celeste TC*

4' Octave

4' Magic Flute

22?3' Gemshorn Twelfth

2' Tapered Fifteenth

2' Recorder

13?5' Seventeenth

8' Trumpet*

8' Basset Horn

8' English Horn

8' Tromba

8' Subterranean Tuba (Echo)

Tremolo

Harp

Celesta


ECHO (enclosed, floating)

8' Open Diapason*

8' Chimney Flute*

4' Octave Diapason

4' Flute

Tremolo

8' Subterranean Tuba


PEDAL

32' Acoustic Bass

16' Major Bass

16' Violone (Gt)

16' Bourdon

16' Minor Bourdon (Sw)

8' Principal

8' Violoncello (Gt)

8' Stopped Flute (Gt)

4' Fifteenth

32' Double Trombone

16' Trombone

16' Waldhorn (Sw)

8' Subterranean Tuba (Echo)

8' Tromba (Ch)

8' Trumpet (Ch)

4' Tromba Clarion (Ch)

4' English Horn (Ch)

Chimes (Gt)



* Reused pipework from original 1928 Austin organ



Couplers

Sw/Gt 16-8-4

Ch/Gt 16-8-4

Echo/Gt

Echo/Sw

Sw/Ch 16-8-4

Gt/Gt 16-UO-4

Sw/Sw 16-UO-4

Ch/Ch 16-UO-4

Echo/Echo 16-4

Sw/Ped 8-4

Ch/Ped 8-4

Echo/Ped 8-4

The Mortuary Pipe Organ

A Neglected Chapter in the History of Organbuilding in America

R. E. Coleberd

R. E. Coleberd is a contributing editor of The Diapason. An economist and retired petroleum industry executive, he is a director of The Reuter Organ Company.

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Pipe organ building in the United States spans over two centuries and totals tens of thousands of instruments. The scope and sweep of the King of Instruments in American culture far exceeds that of other nations and reached its zenith in the first three decades of the last century. Pipe organs were built for hospitals, hotels, yachts, lodge halls, municipal auditoriums, high schools, colleges and universities, churches, private residences, soldiers' homes, theaters, and mortuaries, a category that includes cemetery chapels and mausoleums. These venues can be interpreted as market segments, each with its own characteristics, demand determinants, and time period. The mortuary pipe organ has been totally neglected in the history of organbuilding in this country; none of the well-known studies even mentions it and it is doubtful whether the countless papers written in higher education do either. Perhaps this is not surprising. Conservatively estimated, approximately 600 instruments were built expressly for the funeral industry, accounting for less than two percent of the total output of American builders and even far less in voiced ranks produced.1 Yet a closer look at this product (which the author considers a special instrument), its market and its builders reveals a fascinating epoch which surely belongs in the rich and colorful history of organbuilding in America.

The mortuary pipe organ was a uniquely American product, an instrument whose mechanical features and tonal characteristics departed significantly from the conventional church organ even though its purpose was to provide "churchly" music in a quasi-liturgical setting.2 Its development underscores the entrepreneurship and innovations of American builders who responded to the requirements of the evolving funeral home industry. The heyday of the mortuary pipe organ was over a half century ago: most were built during the 1920s and 1930s; only a few were built after WWII. A surprising number are in use today, routinely serviced and restored as needed.

The Instrument

The mortuary pipe organ as a distinctive instrument was one example of the small, often self-contained instruments developed and marketed by the organbuilding industry in the first three decades of the last century. These instruments marked a milestone in the evolution of the instrument, in the spectrum of keyboard music and in the choice of music media in an institutional setting. The Austin Company, introducing the four-rank Chorophone--"The Ideal Small Pipe Organ"--in 1916, had correctly forecast that a low-cost pipe organ requiring little space would open a vast new market now being supplied by the reed organ or piano. "We have . . . long realized that there is a large demand for an instrument which can be sold for somewhat less than $2,000.00," to quote their sales brochure,3 adding that such an instrument "would be within the reach of a larger number of clients who need a serviceable organ, but are now restricted to the use of a reed organ or piano,"4 an observation which certainly describes a funeral home. The option of a player-attachment greatly enhanced the utility of the instrument and gave it a competitive advantage in the choice of a keyboard medium. Other builders soon followed with small instruments and, borrowing from the automobile industry, named each model (see Wicks box) to increase market awareness and, hopefully, influence buyer selection. Pilcher's was "The Cloister," Möller "The Artiste," Kilgen "The Petite Ensemble," and one of Aeolian-Skinner's numbered series "The Marie Antoinette." These models were ideally suited to the mortuary market.

The new generation of small instruments closely paralleled the mechanical design of the theatre organ in that both required an individual magnet and valve per pipe, based upon what organbuilders refer to as the unit principle. This is a radical departure from the much acclaimed Austin Universal Air Chest and the conventional slider, pitman and ventil windchests found in church organs. In the unit principle, each pipe can be accessed by any manual or pedal key as required, making unification possible. Conversely, in the straight chest system, the electrical impulse from the key contact must work through a matrix of stop and key actions before pipe speech. In addition to its close mechanical similarity, the mortuary instrument also paralleled tonally the emerging theatre organ of the early twentieth century. Each used as its first rank the stopped flute, and the Vox Humana was found early in the stoplists of both of these instruments.

The mortuary instrument was the quintessential unit pipe organ. As few as two ranks could be unified and duplexed into as many as eighteen speaking stops over two manuals and pedal (see Wicks Miniature). The two fundamental flue ranks, found in virtually every mortuary instrument, were the stopped flute, i.e., Bourdon, playable at 16, 8, 4, 22/3, and 2 foot pitches, and the Salicional, customarily playable at 8 and 4 foot pitches and sometimes at 16' TC. Together they provided the required "churchly" sound of the organ, reinforcing the religious nature of the funeral service and meeting the emotional needs of the bereaved. In addition, by combining these two ranks at different pitches, synthetic stops were produced, adding to the tonal palette. When the 22/3' Bourdon is added to the 8' Salicional, the result is an Oboe, a useful solo stop. Combining the 8' Bourdon with its 22/3' extension, the twelfth, produces a Quintadena sound. To give the illusion of greater tonal resources, builders renamed every pitch of a unit rank. This was customary with the stopped flute, but now the Salicional becomes a Contra Viol at 16' TC and a 4' Violina. The third rank in a mortuary organ, with the exception of Wicks, was quite often the Vox Humana. People were accustomed to hearing a quivering Vox Humana in church and theatre organs, and thus it augmented the ambience of a mortuary service. [The Vox Humana appeared to define the pipe organ of the 1920s far more even than the Zimbelstern and Positiv of the 1950s and 60s. In recent decades the horizontal trumpet has become a defining characteristic and almost a necessity.] A fourth rank in a mortuary organ would most likely be a Dulciana or Erzahler and a fifth rank, finally, a Diapason.

The mortuary instrument was, of necessity, a small one given the limited space available in a typical funeral home. Builders recognized the space limitations and developed a product to meet them. Möller, one of the few builders who actively solicited this market, wrote in its brochure describing a three-rank cabinet organ (Bourdon, Salicional, Diapason Conique): "M. P. Möller has developed an organ adequately meeting the requirements of a funeral service and so compact in size and reasonable in price that it finds a place in the equipment of every funeral director."5 The need for compactness is evident throughout the design and construction of the instrument and in the choice of pipe ranks and scales. Builders chose small strings, i.e., the Salicional, Viola and Aeoline, and used a smaller scale throughout the compass of the stopped flute to stay within cabinet dimensions. The most dramatic example of space economy was the use of free reeds in the 16' octave of the stopped flute, found in many cabinet instruments (see photo). These the industry reportedly obtained from Estey, the largest builder of reed organs and a logical supplier.

Perhaps two-thirds of all mortuary organs built were cabinet instruments, often with a player attachment, which could be placed almost anywhere and function effectively. At the James O'Donnell Funeral Home in Hannibal, Missouri, dating back five generations, the 1928 three-rank Wicks cabinet organ is located on a landing on the second floor with the music wafting down the stairway to the services room below.6 Many were installed in attics or wherever space was available. Typical was the 1924 three-rank Schoenstein placed in an alcove above the chapel floor at N. Gray Morticians in San Francisco.7

The Market

The demand for a pipe organ in the mortuary trade grew rapidly in the 1920s and reached its peak in the 1930s although there had been a few installations around the turn of the century. Hook and Hastings built a one-manual, nine-stop instrument, Opus 1246, for the Forest Hills Mortuary Chapel in Boston in 1885, and another one-manual, Opus 2243, for a mortuary in Canandaigua, New York in 1910.8 Hutchings built a two-manual, eight-stop duplexed organ for the West Parish Cemetery Chapel in Andover, Massachusetts in 1907.9

This emerging market coincided with a major shift in funeral services, from the home and church to the mortuary or cemetery chapel, well established by the 1920s.10 Morticians surmised their establishment must contain public rooms for casket selection, viewing and services, far more space than previously required for pre-service preparation. In metropolitan areas spacious facilities were built in popular architectural styles, typically with manicured and lighted lawns and off-street parking. In outlying neighborhoods and small towns, large former private dwellings were often converted into mortuaries. Soon a pipe organ became a competitive necessity, a matter of "keeping up with the Joneses" in a business sense. Möller recognized this in their brochure which read: "Music presents to the progressive mortician an opportunity to enhance his services. Only the dignified, artistic tones of a pipe organ can definitely fulfill the requirements necessary to make music the foremost advertising medium of the mortician."11 The J. P. Seeburg Corporation of Chicago was even more effusive. Advertising in Southern Funeral Director, a leading trade publication, they asked: "Has Your Funeral Home A Soul? What the Soul is to a human so is a Pipe Organ to the mortuary. Without the enthralling presence of its solemn music the service lacks that vital quality--sacred atmosphere."12

Funeral directors, who scarcely knew one organ stop from another, were indifferent to the origin of the instrument or its builder; they were acutely price conscious and were easily satisfied with anything that supplied the required churchly sound. A local market could often be supplied by builders' showrooms or agents. The 1928 Geneva organ in the prestigious Stine & McClure Mortuary in Kansas City, Missouri, restored in recent years by Jerry Dawson, began as a demonstrator on the balcony of the Jenkins Music Company downtown emporium.13 In the 1920s and 1930s a significant trade emerged in used instruments, from private residences and theaters, the latter often repossessed from failed movie houses. The two-manual, three-rank, 16-stop Estey installed in Resurrection Chapel at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California, in 1930, had been built for the Estey Studio in Los Angeles and later installed in a local radio station.14 The Style D-Special Wurlitzer built for the American Theater in Walla Walla, Washington, in 1922 was installed in Elderding's Mortuary in Aberdeen, Washington, in 1935.15 Funeral homes became a promising place to unload a repossessed instrument and for the buyer no doubt a bargain. A survey of builder lists reveals that almost anything called a pipe organ could find new life (pun intended) in a mortuary. When Balcom & Vaughan of Seattle installed a three-rank instrument in 1941 in the Stoller Funeral Home in Camas, Washington, it comprised a Wurlitzer console, Morton windchest, Hinners swell shades, a Smith flute and a Kilgen Dulciana and Diapason.16

Builders

Builder response to and participation in the emerging mortuary market varied. The 1920s were a boom time for the industry, and with healthy order books and a substantial backlog, few appear to have directly solicited this business. Table 1 (p. 18) portrays the output of the five largest builders of funeral home organs: Estey, Reuter, Kilgen, Möller and Wicks, who together accounted for over 75 percent of industry production. Möller and Wicks, who booked sales nationwide, built slightly over half (57 percent) of the total. Among other well-known builders of this era, Austin, Casavant and Hinners each built fewer than twenty mortuary organs, like Kilgen mostly in their immediate and neighboring states and provinces, while Hall, Hillgreen-Lane, Kimball, Pilcher and Wangerin-Weickhart each built less than a dozen organs for funeral homes, again mostly nearby.

Eastern builders, notably Skinner and Hook & Hastings, were conspicuously absent from this market. Perhaps they viewed excessive unification, the cornerstone of the mortuary organ, as "low brow," beneath their dignity and carefully cultivated elitist image. More objectively, they were no doubt conscious of the intense price competition, the governing factor in this market, and, otherwise occupied, were not disposed to actively pursue this business, let alone develop a specific product to compete in this market. Austin sold only three organs to funeral homes in the 1920s.

The Great Depression of the 1930s was a time of turmoil in the pipe organ industry. Builders struggled to find work; some survived, others failed. The theater, hotel and private residence markets were gone and the church market severely curtailed. Conversely, the mortuary market "boomed" as evidenced by the number of instruments and percent of total built during this decade as shown in Table 1. All builders welcomed funeral home business including Aeolian-Skinner who, in 1936, built a two-manual instrument with Duo-Art Player, Opus 949, for the Hillcrest Mausoleum in Dallas, Texas.17 The next year they installed one of their Marie Antoinette models (see specification), the largest of several unit series, with a curious opus number 30038, in a mortuary chapel in Acton, Massachusetts.18 With seven ranks, fourteen stops and 427 pipes, this instrument is larger and far less unified than customarily found in mortuary organs.

Builders offered financial and other incentives to clinch a sale in this market (perhaps now driven by competitive emulation)--one which ran counter to the severely depressed national economy. When the Reuter Company signed a contract with the Eylar Funeral Home in Kansas City, Missouri, in August, 1938 for a three-rank organ (21 stops plus chimes) for $1,539, the down payment was only 20 percent, the buyer given a 30-day option to accept the organ and a year's free service19 (see also Wicks below). The importance of the funeral home market in this decade to one and perhaps other builders was underscored by John Sperling, recently retired tonal director of Wicks, who commented that during the 1930s mortuary sales accounted for 25 percent or more of Wicks' output.20

The mortuary pipe organ market essentially ended with World War II; only a few pipe instruments were built for this venue in the postwar era. By the end of the 1940s the electronic organ had gained enough acceptance that its lower cost and smaller space appealed to price-conscious funeral directors. Two recent exceptions are the four-rank unit instrument for the Simminger-Book Funeral Home in Cincinnati, Ohio, built by M. W. Lively & Company in 1988,21 and the 65-rank, four-manual organ built by the Quimby Company for the Skyrose Chapel at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California in 1997.22

Wicks

The Wicks Company, founded in 1906 in Highland, Illinois, was the preeminent builder in the mortuary market when measured by the number of instruments produced and the geographical scope of their installations (see Table 1). It is a tribute to the enterprising spirit of this firm that they capitalized on their strengths in the highly competitive pipe organ business to design and build a series of instruments to meet the budget and space requirements of any venue. Actively soliciting this market, the Wicks brochure read: "A field in which Wicks organs serve with special effectiveness is that of the mortuary chapel and funeral home."23 Direct-Electric® action, championed and patented by Wicks, requires much less space than a pouch windchest, and thus is ideally suited for a cabinet instrument or cramped attic installation. Unification and duplexing, the heart of a mortuary instrument, are easily obtained in this individual valve chest. The Wicks business philosophy of being the low cost supplier was a major factor in the intense price competition in this market as were, no doubt, the liberal payment terms, particularly in the 1930s. They largely explain Wicks' notable success in coast to coast sales. For the Drummond instrument in 1937, a Sonatina model plus Vox Humana and chimes (see photo p. 17), priced at $1790.00 less $100 for the former organ, the terms were ten percent down, 30 percent upon installation, and the balance (60 percent) in fourteen equal monthly payments of $70.00 plus interest (not specified).24

Direct-Electric® was the mechanical foundation of the Wicks organ and was emphasized in their mortuary sales publicity. "The mood of mourners and their friends is met by taste in appearance and rich beauty of sound. Direct-Electric® action gives unvarying response to the organist's genius--a quality of dependability under all conditions of temperature and humidity. This exclusive Wicks feature provides a great saving in up-keep for an instrument in frequent daily use. There will be no embarrassing moment in a service by reason of a split leather or membrane, because the Wicks Direct-Electric® control makes no use of these obsolete materials. Swift electric application to every call of the performer brings magic response."25

The prospective Wicks buyer could choose from nine named models, graduated in size and price, with either attached or detached console and optional player attachment. The series began with the Miniature (see box p. 16), a two-manual instrument and the smallest one built, measuring five feet three inches wide, four feet eleven inches deep including console, and five feet six inches high. The 16' octave of the stopped flute was free reeds, and the bottom octave of the Salicional was borrowed from the flute. The Sonata, also a two-rank specification, had pipes in the pedal instead of free reeds and a full compass Salicional. Three-rank instruments included the Symphony, Concerto, Fuga and Fuga DeLuxe. The Rhapsody was a four rank model. The third and fourth ranks were the Open Diapason and Aeoline, the latter a small scale (almost pencil) string chosen, no doubt, for windchest space economy. Wicks' low cost profile explains the absence of the Vox Humana and other reeds in their standard mortuary stoplists, although the Vox Humana and Chimes would be supplied when requested. Reeds require significantly more man-hours to build and to voice not to mention required maintenance with their temperamental tuning and troublesome sensitivity to neglect.

Recognizing the importance of visual as well as tonal ambience in the quality of the funeral setting, Wicks wrote: "The installation of a Wicks in your chapel will be tailored to your individual situation in design, location, size and coloring."26 In addition to the choices among tonal resources and cabinet dimensions, the buyer could select from Gothic, Roman and General grills. Wicks developed a user friendly device called an Automatic Pedal Accompaniment wherein the bass note of a chord on a manual plays the 16' Bourdon pipe in the Pedal and thus "it is impossible to play the incorrect pedal note if the manuals are properly played,"27 no doubt an important feature for pianists turned organists. The development of standardized models for sale to mortuaries continued into the early 1940s when one-manual, three-rank organs were built in groups of five. Ten groups were built.28

Summary

The mortuary pipe organ occupies a small niche in the pantheon of the King of Instruments. In the history of organbuilding, its development is a further illustration of the fundamentals of market segments and the demand for keyboard music in a specific institutional setting in the twentieth century. It is another example of the broad sweep of the pipe organ and keyboard music in American culture and western civilization, and a testimony to the eloquence of organ music in the funeral service. The American organbuilding industry, long known for its mechanical and tonal innovation, produced an instrument that met the stringent tonal, space and cost requirements of funeral homes so successfully that it displaced the reed organ and piano, leading to the sale of several hundred instruments to funeral homes. Together with other small organs they contributed significantly to builder survival in the dark days of the Great Depression.

For research assistance and critical comments on earlier drafts of this paper the author gratefully acknowledges: Gordon Auchincloss, E. A. Boadway, Jerry Dawson, Barbara George, Brent Johnson, Richard Kichline, Allen Kinzey, Larry Leonard, David Lewis, Charles McManis, George Nelson, Albert Neutel, Michael Quimby, Dorothy Schaake, Elizabeth Schmitt, Jack Sievert, John Sperling, Georg Steinmeyer, Robert Vaughan, and R. E. Wagner.

Wicks Miniature

Analysis

8' Flute 85 pipes (1-85)

8' Salicional 61 pipes (13-73)

16' Sub Bass 12 reeds (1-12, free reeds)

Console attached, Tremolo, Crescendo Pedal, Swell Pedal

Organ Space:  5 feet 6 inches high, 5 feet 3 inches wide, 4 feet 11 inches deep including console

2 ranks, 18 speaking stops, 146 pipes

GREAT ORGAN

16' Bourdon T. C.

8' Flute

8' Salicional

4' Flute d'Amour

4' Violina

2' Piccolo

SWELL ORGAN

16' Bourdon T.C.

8' Stopped Flute

8' Viola

8' Quintadena (Syn)

4' Flute

4' Violina

22/3' Nazard

8' Oboe (syn)

PEDAL ORGAN

16' Sub Bass

8' Gedeckt

4' Flute

4' Violina

Wicks Rhapsody

Analysis

8' Open Diapason 61 pipes (1-61)

8' Flute 85 pipes (1-85)

8' Salicional 73 pipes (1-73)

8' Aeoline 61 pipes (1-61)

16' Bourdon 12 pipes (1-12)

Console attached or detached, Tremolo, Crescendo Pedal, Swell Pedal, Automatic Pedal Accompaniment. This model sometimes included a switch wired for 20 chimes starting at 4' A (note 22 on the keyboard).

Organ Space (detached console): 8 feet 10 inches high, 7 feet 4 inches wide, 4 feet 6 inches deep

4 ranks, 28 speaking stops, 292 pipes

GREAT ORGAN

16' Bourdon

16' Contra Viol T. C.

8' Open Diapason

8' Flute

8' Salicional

8' Aeoline

4' Flute d'Amour

4' Violina

22/3' Twelfth

2' Piccolo

Blank Tablet (for future addition of chimes)

SWELL ORGAN

16' Bourdon

16' Contra Viol T. C.

8' Open Diapason

8' Stopped Diapason

8' Viola

8' Aeoline

8' Quintadena (Syn)

4' Flute

4' Violina

22/3' Nazard

2' Piccolo

8' Oboe (syn)

Blank Tablet

PEDAL ORGAN

16' Bourdon

8' Open Diapason

8' Gedeckt

8' Cello

8' Aeoline

4' Flute

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