Cover feature

J.H. & C.S. Odell, East Hampton, Connecticut, Opus 647
St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church, Nyack, New York
The picturesque village of Nyack is situated on the western bank of the Hudson, less than 20 miles north of Manhattan. Home to 19th-century realist painter Edward Hopper, the village was perhaps better known for its sandstone quarry and as a locus of shipbuilding. These industries declined after 1900, though there was renewed shipbuilding activity during the world wars, with submarine chasers being built there as late as 1948. In the postwar years, the completion of the Tappan Zee Bridge contributed to significant growth in population and commerce. The village underwent a major urban revitalization project to commercialize the downtown area and to expand its economy in the 1980s; today the village center is home to many new business establishments.
I took note of this downtown revitalization when I first visited St. Ann’s Church on a warm spring day in 2006. I had been contacted by Jennifer Pascual in her capacity as chair of the organ committee for the New York Archdiocesan Music Commission. Several weeks prior, Dr. Pascual had asked that I meet with the staff of St. Ann’s, survey the organ, and make recommendations.
On entering the building, to my delight I discovered a well-appointed church sanctuary with terrazzo floors, high ceiling, and best of all, an organ located in the gallery on the central axis. Finally a room that we could work with instead of against! I quickly set about my work, dutifully examining the pipe organ.
Little is known about the life and work of Francis John Newton Tallman, a builder who, according to David A. Fox’s A Guide to North American Organbuilders, based his operations in Nyack from 1894 to 1903, during during which time the organ for St. Ann’s was built. In addition to his organ factory, Tallman also maintained a music store in Nyack village. Prior to life in Nyack, Tallman was employed by the Roosevelt firm, and when he left Nyack in 1904 he reportedly relocated to Brooklyn to work with Reuben Midmer.
The organ Tallman built for St. Ann’s was originally a two-manual instrument with mechanical action, and of his surviving instruments, St. Ann’s was purportedly among the largest. There was evidence that the original keydesk was situated en fenêtre; the panel that replaced the keydesk’s entry point into the case was without the lancet molding treatment found in the rest of the case, as well as being from an entirely different species of wood. The interior layout of the organ suggested a backfall action had been employed for the Great, with squares and trackers for the Swell. The Pedal was divided, on ventil chests.
In the 1930s, the organ’s action and winding system were removed by local service people as part of the process of introducing the organ to the benefits of electricity. Pneumatic pulldown systems were connected to the slider chests, with a similar arrangement for the Pedal, though the ventil system was retained. The organ continued this way until the 1960s, when a supply house console was installed by well-known New York organ man Louis Mohr (also a former Roosevelt employee). Thereafter some minor changes were made to the specification, but otherwise the original pipework survived intact. Apart from decay and neglect, most damage to the metal flues was from “aggressive” cone tuning. Even with the mechanical alterations, tuning access was difficult. When I inspected the organ, most of it, save for a portion of the Great, was inoperable.
As we often restore 19th-century pipework, there were few surprises. Scaling and voicing of flue pipes were very much in line with our own 19th-century practices. While restoration and remedial voicing work were certainly required, in general workmanship we saw little to improve upon. From a modern tonal standpoint, the only serious deficits were in the Swell, which lacked an Oboe and an undulating rank of any variety. Certain ranks—such as the Swell Diapason 8', Salicional 8', and Bourdon 16'—omitted bottom octaves as was often the custom with smaller instruments of this vintage. The Pedal division was spare, but the basics were in evidence, with a suitably scaled Open Wood and Bourdon.
Mechanically, things were far less clear cut. The collection of cone-valve style regulators that replaced the original winding system were arranged in a way that frustrated access to the mechanism. They were also not terribly well built. The slider chests and the pulldown systems installed were all in very bad shape. Both manual chests had runs and frozen sliders. With so many changes of questionable provenance, we felt it was best to save the case and pipes and start over.
With this as a departure point, the members of the Archdiocesan Organ Committee requested we consider some additions. The possibility of the use of digital voices was discussed, though we made clear our preference for a pipe-only design, concentrating instead on filling out a more conservative two-manual specification rather than stretching the limits for a three. Our proposal was accepted, and design work commenced in the fall of 2006.
The mechanical design of the organ is entirely new from the ground up: new conventional wind reservoirs and windchests, all of our own design and construction. We designed and built a new Swell enclosure to accommodate our additions to the division. We also constructed a new two-manual console using our popular terrace-jamb design in quarter-sawn white oak, incorporating a solid-state capture and control system with our standard complement of accessories and relief carving for the music desk.
The Great division of the organ is unchanged but for the addition of a principal-scaled Seventeenth to fill out the chorus. In the Swell, the Bourdon 16' has been made full compass with a bottom octave built and scaled in our shop to precisely match its 8' octave. The Diapason 8', which originally shared a stopped bass, now has its own bottom octave. Other additions to the Swell include an entirely new Oboe (available at 16' and 8'), a GG-compass Celeste, a new 2' Flute and Mixture III based on 2' pitch. Additions to the Pedal include extending the Great Trumpet with a new 16' octave and a fully independent Principal 8'.
Members of our staff who contributed to this project include: Edward Odell (mechanical design, console), Holly Odell (flue voicing), shop foreman John Williams (windchests, reservoirs, pipesetting, electrical), Curt Goettlich (finishing, wooden pipe fabrication, cabinet work, expression enclosure), Stewart Skates (metal pipemaking and repair), and Tristan Bowen, with assistance from Richard Hamar and William Harper. Reeds were voiced by Sam Hughes.
We are grateful to the Archdiocesan Music and Building Commission, as well as the staff of St. Ann’s Church, especially Father Robert Henry and George Bryant, for the opportunity to create something of lasting musical beauty for this parish.
—Edward Odell
J.H. & C.S. Odell

During this bicentennial year of the Archdiocese of New York, St. Ann’s Church in Nyack, New York is blessed to have a newly renovated pipe organ. I had the privilege of playing this organ prior to its renovation, as the winner of the George Bryant Scholarship, which was used towards continuing organ education. Mr. Bryant is the current director of music and organist of St. Ann’s Church, and this parish is lucky to have such a dedicated and talented musician leading its liturgical music program.
Prior to its renovation, the organ at St. Ann’s had many problems; there were many dead notes, missing pipes, and the overall tone was in need of serious remedial work. The console, installed in the 1960s, was also problematic: many pistons were non-functional and there were dead contacts everywhere. Even if the organ itself were in better condition, the console limited the ability to control it effectively.
Director of music, George Bryant, and the pastor, Fr. Robert Henry, saw the obvious need to renovate this instrument, which has served the parish for over 100 years, but had never had a comprehensive rebuild of any kind. After contacting the Archdiocesan Building Commission and Music Commission and taking the necessary steps to proceed with such an endeavor, St. Ann’s Church awarded the contract to renovate the organ to J.H. & C.S. Odell.
After making his survey, Edward Odell listened to the needs of St. Ann’s parish and submitted his proposal. Working with the pastor and organist of St. Ann’s, members of the organ committee for the New York Archdiocesan Music Commission reviewed the proposal as well as vetting proposals from other builders.
The ongoing mission of the New York Archdiocesan Organ Committee is to ensure that the pipe organs of the archdiocese are properly cared for. In our work, we use our combined knowledge and experience to advise pastoral staff who are in need of guidance with regards to their instruments. This committee consists of Meredith Baker, director of music at Holy Trinity West Point, New York; Christopher Berry, director of music at the North American College in Rome, Italy; Daniel Brondel, director of music at St. Malachy’s Church/The Actor’s Chapel, New York City; Jared Lamenzo, director of music at Old St. Patrick’s Cathedral, New York City; and Lawrence Strohm, organist at St. Phillip the Apostle, Pasadena, California, with myself as chair.
Throughout the organ renovation project for St. Ann’s Church, Edward Odell has been in touch with everyone every step of the way, giving detailed updates, sending pictures, and giving honest suggestions when unexpected discoveries came up. It has been my observation that attention to detail and highest quality outcome is of the utmost importance to everyone of the Odell organ firm. Edward and his staff are meticulous craftspeople; it is clear they bring dedication, concern and skill to their work and desire to deliver only the best results.
It should be noted that over the last 150 years, J.H. & C.S. Odell has built many of the organs housed in churches in the Archdiocese of New York, a good number of which still serve their parishes today. Their reputation as builders of fine instruments has existed for five generations, and their work today continues to support liturgical and concert music in the archdiocese. It pleases me to say St. Ann’s Church is now fortunate to be among the fraternity of churches that house the fine work of J.H. & C.S. Odell.
—Jennifer Pascual
Chair, New York Archdiocesan Organ Committee

J.H. & C.S. Odell
Opus 647
St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church, Nyack, New York

GREAT
8' Open Diapason existing, restored, common metal from 4' C 61 pipes
8' Viola di Gamba existing, restored 61 pipes
8' Doppel Flute existing, restored, wood 61 pipes
4' Principal existing, restored, common metal 61 pipes
4' Chimney Flute existing, restored, common metal 61 pipes
22'3' Twelfth existing, restored, common metal 61 pipes
2' Fifteenth existing, restored, common metal 61 pipes
13'5' Seventeenth new, matching scale, common metal 61 pipes
8' Trumpet existing, restored and revoiced 61 pipes
Chimes new 21 tubes

SWELL Expressive—in reconfigured expression chamber
16' Bourdon new, extension 8', custom matching scale 61 pipes
8' Open Diapason existing, restored with new bottom octave 61 pipes
8' Stopped Diapason existing, restored 61 pipes
8' Salicional existing, restored with new bottom octave 61 pipes
8' Voix Céleste new, GG compass, 55% tin to 4' C 54 pipes
4' Violina existing, restored 61 pipes
4' Harmonic Flute existing, restored, harmonic at middle C 61 pipes
2' Harmonic Piccolo new, matching scale to 4', harm. at middle C, 55% tin 61 pipes
III Mixture new, 15-19-22 183 pipes
16' Bassoon new, dual taper resonators, tapered shallots 12 pipes
8' Oboe new, dual taper resonators, tapered shallots, 49 reeds 61 pipes
8' Trumpet from Great —
Tremulant

PEDAL
16' Open Wood existing, restored 32 pipes
16' Bourdon existing, restored 32 pipes
8' Octave new, zinc to 4' G, remainder 55% tin 32 pipes
8' Gedeckt new, extension Bourdon 16' 12 pipes
4' Choralbass new, extension Octave 8' 12 pipes
16' Trumpet new, matching scale to 8', tapered shallots 12 pipes
16' Bassoon from Swell —
8' Trumpet from Great —
4' Clarion from Great —

Mixture composition
1 to 25: 15-19-22
26 to 44: 12-15-19
45 to 61: 8-12-15

12 general pistons, 6 per division
12 toe studs with black porcelain heads in raised, curved, wooden bolsters
32 levels of capture memory
12-step transposer
MIDI interface, record and playback
Programmable sforzando and crescendo

Couplers and accessories
Great to Pedal 8 (reversible)
Great to Pedal 4
Swell to Pedal 8 (reversible)
Swell to Pedal 4
Great to Great 16
Great Unison Off
Great to Great 4
Swell to Great 16
Swell to Great 8 (reversible)
Swell to Great 4
Swell to Swell 16
Swell Unison Off
Swell to Swell 4

 

J.H. & C.S. Odell Opus 645

United Methodist Church of Westport and Weston,

Westport, Connecticut

From the builder

I first looked over the 1968 Angell pipe organ at the United Methodist Church of Westport and Weston in the winter of 2005, having been recommended to the church by our friend K. Bryan Kirk. What we found in Westport was an organ with many pipes that were well made, but in some cases unusually constructed and, by our standards, only roughly voiced. The flue pipes were made mostly with a high content of tin. We suspect Tim Koelewijn was the original pipemaker. Just about everything else in the organ had been made by domestic and foreign supply houses. Overall, quality varied widely. Some things were very neatly done.

Though by our standards not altogether under-scaled, the organ did suffer in just about every other way from the prevailing trends of the era when it was built. Wind pressures were low: less than two inches in the Great and three in the Swell. Looking at the original stoplist, we noted that none of the choruses in the organ were complete, though the organ did boast two Célestes and a triple-overblowing Zauberflöte. The reed complement for the organ consisted of a double-blocked French style 8’ Trompette (extended to 16’ in the Pedal) and a 4’ Rohr Shalmei.

The windchest mechanism was a problematic plunger-type solenoid system that had been giving trouble for years. The console was a veneered plywood supply house unit already years beyond its life expectancy. The open contact switching system was dispersed throughout the organ; some of its components had already failed. The wind supply for the entire Great division was provided by a single 18≤ by 24≤ reservoir whose internal volume was largely dedicated to its curtain valve.
After an initial tuning of the organ, the church’s new music director and organist, Todd Simmons, pressed me as to what could be done to make the organ better. I pointed out that the organ had mechanical and tonal issues, to be sure, but there was something to work with here, some raw material, which with proper attention could be the basis for a good pipe organ. In my wife Holly’s words, the existing pipework possessed “unrealized potential.”

Weeks later we met with the trustees to present our findings, expecting that at some point in the future funds could be raised to finance the organ project. One can imagine my surprise when Mr. Simmons called me a few weeks later to say that a single anonymous donor had stepped forward. How soon could we start? Thus we found ourselves sweating in the summer heat on a stretch of days the following July, packing and removing the pipes that would become the basis for our Opus 645.
In the design process we developed a new specification with input from K. Bryan Kirk. We instinctively sought first to meet the essential requirements of a liturgical instrument, something we believe to be utterly crucial, especially in the case of smaller pipe organs. Given the limited space for the organ, we felt a two-manual scheme with few frills would be best. We resisted a request for digital augmentation, instead focusing on a design that would be pipe only.

Certain early decisions seemed obvious. Given the dry acoustic of the church, the baseline scale of the Great chorus needed to be increased. This chorus was also completed with the addition of appropriately scaled new pipework from 22⁄3’ pitch upward. The cutup schedule of the existing Great capped flute was raised, arched, and the stop entirely revoiced. A new independent 4’ Harmonic Flute (based on the unique and very successful scale found in our historic Opus 178 at St. Charles Borromeo in Brooklyn) was constructed and voiced. Over the course of the project nearly every zinc pipe in the organ made its way through our pipe shop: frozen metal caps were freed, tuning inserts and toes replaced, seams and scrolls repaired. Being left in a raw state, many of the zinc pipes had an unsightly powdery white oxidation. We removed this, and gave all zinc basses a sealing coat of varnish to protect them.
The wind pressure of all manual divisions was raised to a more moderate four inches. Holly, then pregnant with our son Caleb, did her usual superb job of revoicing all the other existing and new flue pipework, managing to do so before reaching her final trimester. During this past winter we joked more than once: which would be given birth first, our son Caleb or the organ for Westport?

Where, before, the Great division of the organ had seven ranks, it had now eleven. To provide for this expanded division adequately, we built a new, larger reservoir. The rest of the organ’s wind system was rebuilt and reengineered as the new design required.

In dealing with the Swell division, again certain decisions seemed obvious. The 4’ Rohr Shalmei, only marginally useful, was replaced with an 8’ Oboe, expertly voiced by Sam Hughes. Proceeding as she did in the Great, Holly revoiced all of the existing Swell flues and voiced the new pipework for the Swell flute chorus, which was completed to 13⁄5’ pitch. The existing Trompette was kept, though carefully cleaned up and regulated in a cooperative effort between Sam and Holly.

In our recently expanded East Hampton shop I concentrated on the construction of the console, while our shop foreman John Williams constructed new windchests whose design was first developed for our organ at St. Ann’s in Bridgehampton. The unusually short feet of the 8’ old flute basses made for some interesting pipesetting. New offset chests were provided for everything save the original Pedal Subbass, a mammoth mahogany affair that only needed rebuilding.

The new console was based on our current terrace-jamb design with several embellishments. Improvements on the existing design include a slightly deeper cabinet with an added horizontal stile, raised panel work, additional applied moldings, hand-carved brackets, a two-piece knee panel and solid walnut music desk, the latter being picture-framed with the same quarter-sawn white oak used for the carcass and façade.

The console features an integrated solid-state capture and control system with fully programmable features, MIDI interface, and our standard complement of rear-fulcrum keyboards with basswood levers. The oblique drawknob heads are a reproduction of our 19th-century design. Respected organists who have played it have described our console at Westport as “elegant and comfortable.”
My design of the façade was in part born of necessity. Since both the manual and pedal principal stops were being rescaled, new bass pipes would be required. We naturally needed to make the most of the existing chamber space, and one of the simplest ways to do that was by moving the basses of these stops out into a façade.

Every pipe in the façade is functional. The bass notes of the Great and Pedal principals are polished aluminum, made to our specifications by Matters, Inc. of Hermosa, South Dakota. The pipes are arranged in three towers and two flats and the overall height of the case tops out at 15 feet, mounted roughly 10 feet above the sanctuary floor. The style of the casework is deliberately simple, so as to be in harmony with the appointments of the church sanctuary.

The façade performs a very important function in giving one a visual focal point. It declares the organ present, and urges one to consider it rather than wonder from where behind the grille cloth the organ might be. Its cruciform arrangement also reflects elements of sacred numerology: three towers with three pipes each for the Trinity, ten pipes located within the inner flats for the Commandments.

The sanctuary space in Westport could be described as a postwar-modernist take on the “Akron Plan,” less the adjoining Fellowship Hall. Four sets of pews radiate from the altar and pulpit up front, with organ and choir off to the left. The space over the altar is open with a ceiling height of approximately 35 feet. This intersects with a lower A-frame suspended transversely over the pews. From there the ceiling slopes downward to the rear of the pews to meet a northeasterly facing wall that is mostly glass. The floor is a simple concrete aggregate. Thankfully, carpet was absent. More simply described, it is a space with a great deal of cubic volume, but not overly reverberant.

Throughout the process we gave a great deal of thought to what levels of power would be appropriate for the various tonal resources of the organ. Our concerns about sufficient tonal egress from the chambers were put to rest when we experienced how well the organ spoke into the room. In the tonal finishing process we were pleased to discover how our scaling and voicing decisions suited the space. With a well-balanced variety of 8’ tone available, the organ easily leads congregational singing in a variety of settings.

Overall, we are very happy with what we have achieved in Westport. I would be remiss not to mention others who have contributed to this project: my wife and business partner Holly Odell was responsible for revoicing all existing pipework and voicing of new pipework. John Williams built nearly all the windchests and was responsible for all pipesetting. John and I collaborated on the wind reservoirs and organ case elements. In addition to overall mechanical design and layout, I milled, built and finished the console and casework as well as handling most other finishing duties. Working out of our pipe shop, Stewart Skates handled all pipe repairs. Luc Ladurantaye of Lac Saguay, Quebec, built the new metal pipes to our specifications. Gordon Auchincloss assisted in the wiring and final assembly of the console, and Thomas White assisted in windchest construction and wiring. John Williams, Thomas White, and myself handled the installation. Tonal finishing duties were divided between Holly and myself, with occasional assistance from Richard Hamar and Fred Heffner.

—Edward Odell



From the music director

In my third year as choir director and first year as organist of the United Methodist Church of Westport and Weston, I was introduced to Edward Odell by K. Bryan Kirk, as we were in search of someone local to assume the maintenance of our Angell pipe organ. While I was not dissatisfied with the firm maintaining our organ at that time, I knew it was only a matter of time before a major overhaul was needed, and no one had ever made a complete inspection and report on our instrument. Given the current condition of our organ, I felt comforted in knowing someone local could resuscitate it at a moment’s notice.

After a thorough tuning and evaluation of the organ, I was encouraged by Mr. Odell’s report that although there were serious electrical and tonal issues present, the pipes themselves were well made and could be repaired and voiced (apparently for the first time ever) if we had the means to fund an organ project. Having just completed a fund-raising campaign for a new grand piano, our church did not have extra money to start an organ building fund-raiser, and we felt uncomfortable asking the congregation to dig into their wallets again so soon. This was discouraging as we knew that time was close at hand; in recent years our organ had become increasingly undependable.

Not long after we began exploring these issues, it happened one Sunday morning that the entire organ pedalboard suddenly made itself unusable. Having little alternative, I decided to play that morning’s service on the piano. This coming just a few weeks after Mr. Odell’s presentation to our trustees, there was (understandably) a certain degree of panic, since we were totally unprepared financially to fund an organ project this soon. Even though our organ was one of the longest surviving Angell pipe organs in the area, we had hoped (and expected) it to last longer. It was more and more apparent that something had to be done soon. Before we even had a chance to strategize, I received a call the next day from the pastor informing me that a donor wishing to remain anonymous had left a very large check on his desk with the intention of funding the organ project.

As has been elsewhere stated, our previous instrument suffered from a lack of tonal finishing and the pipes themselves had never been voiced properly. The pipes being of relatively small scale, we were used to a thin, shallow sound that did not possess enough power to adequately fill our worship space, even when I registered full organ. At the start of the project, I had doubts as to whether any new organ would be strong enough, given the room’s difficult acoustics and the location of the organ chambers. Mr. Odell assured us that once the new organ was installed, we would be amazed at the difference.
One of the most impressive enhancements with the new organ, aside from the exquisite façade, is the quality of sound as well as the power behind it. We now have an instrument that adequately leads our congregation in singing, as well as providing full, but subtle, accompaniment for the choir anthems. I can honestly say that at every step of the way, Mr. Odell and his firm have not only met but exceeded my expectations with our new organ and have gone above and beyond the call of duty to deliver an instrument that is even better than the original proposal stated.

It is a testament to his excellent work that not only do the trained musicians in the congregation appreciate this new pipe organ, even the untrained listeners have noticed a huge improvement over the previous instrument. One member (who at one time happened to be unsupportive of the project) admits that now she could not imagine our service without a pipe organ. The church is well pleased, as am I, and we celebrate at every Sunday service this work of art courtesy of the firm of J.H. & C.S. Odell.

—Todd Simmons, organist and music director, United Methodist Church of Westport and Weston



From the consultant

When I began teaching in 1988 at a music school in Westport, Connecticut, I was naturally curious about local pipe organs. Over the years, I became more familiar with the organ at a nearby church: the United Methodist Church of Westport and Weston. The instrument was in poor mechanical condition: it exhibited a failing combination action, frequent ciphers, tuning instability and other frustrations, even though periodic maintenance was given. Being a product of its time, it was very thin in sound, had little bass response (as did the room) and few solo colors. Most importantly, there was no sense of real ensemble, even when the tutti was drawn. The instrument was also limited in its dynamic range for choral accompaniment and congregational singing, and was weak when trying to blend with other instruments. Overall, the organ did not make a strong impact.

A few years later a new organist and choir director was hired, Todd Simmons, one of my teaching colleagues from the music school. As the organ continued to deteriorate, he and the church became even more disappointed with the organ’s unreliability and marginal tonal resources. Knowing I had done other consulting work, Todd asked me to work with him and the church regarding the organ. Realizing the inherent problems, both musical and mechanical, we began an in-depth study of what could be done to either rebuild or replace the organ with something that would not only offer more tonal possibilities but also fill the room and excite the strong congregational singing potential we knew was there.

As we talked, it was apparent that virtually a new organ would be the best option, although much of the existing pipework could be retained if it were rescaled, revoiced and placed on a new, reliable chassis. The organ needed to be reliable and have a wider dynamic range, more tonal colors and a strong sense of presence in the room. It had to strongly lead and accompany congregational singing and sensitively render choral, solo and instrumental accompaniment.

From the outset, one of my pervading concerns was the church’s acoustic, which, while fine for chamber music, was a bit dry for organ and choral music and congregational singing. Having noted the difference in the acoustic when the room was more fully occupied, I knew the challenge of filling the room efficiently would be a mandate for the builder.

Our task began to take shape. Meetings were held and candidate builders were vetted. As work continued, a stop-list began to emerge, while we kept in mind budget and space limitations. One of my thoughts was to ask for a façade, as the previous organ had nothing visible but for a console in a lowered pit in the choir area. I reasoned that a façade would reinforce the impression that the church was getting something new, better and different. We agreed from the beginning that the organ should remain an all-pipe instrument.

After naming a few candidates, one firm was clearly the most interested, experienced and willing to work with us and on this organ. Having known the Odells and their fine lineage of historic instruments as well as their excellent work on new organs and various projects over many years, I was happy to welcome their presence.

The church had Edward and Holly Odell give the organ a full tuning and submit a proposal for either rebuilding or a new organ. As the Odells looked through the organ, they determined that a new console, chassis and electrical system would be required, and that it would be possible to rebuild one small windchest, but otherwise new windchests would be required throughout. By adding a façade for visual interest, some new pipework and retaining about half the existing pipework (though carefully rescaled and revoiced), the organ could take on a new character that would be far more flexible and of greater quality than its predecessor. This concept, coupled with their thorough proposal, helped to land them the contract.

As the new organ design was developed, the specification was refined. Among the ideas we discussed was the clever suggestion to borrow the Great 4’ Octave as an 8’ Second Principal stop on the Great, creating a secondary 8’ Principal for smaller combinations. The stop could also be used to fill out foundation tone when needed. As we continued to explore various tonal issues, it was noted that the old organ had no soft reed color or solo flute color. Among other things, Odell suggested adding an 8’ Oboe and building a new Harmonic Flute, patterned after historic Odell examples, but carefully adapted for the flute scales at Westport.

My early recommendations had included new 22⁄3’ and 2’ principal stops to replace the existing flute-scaled 2’ in the Great. The Odells suggested going further to install a new Mixture to create a full Principal chorus, giving the organ a sense of ensemble, a true plenum, something it never had.
Having listened to the result, I can state these stops create a truly full-sounding principal chorus, finally integrating the instrument into the room. The organ as conceived by the Odells has made a huge difference for hymn and repertoire playing and can now “ring the room” more effectively.

The Great also contains the revoiced 8’ Bourdon, now sounding more like a continuo stop, suitable in choral music or to accompany the Swell’s cornet decomposée. The Gemshorn and its Celeste were retained for flexibility in accompanying and providing more soft colors.

The Swell received “the Odell treatment,” in that all the pipework was revoiced. The flues, strings and mutations were all transformed by voicer Holly Odell, and the reeds were reworked to make a dramatic difference. The strings and 8’ Rohrflute now have more presence and can fully support the choir, as well as contribute to the ensemble. The Swell cornet decomposée is now nicely balanced, and the flutes have a more piquant character.

The new 8’ Oboe offers a nice color for softer choral accompaniment and foundation combinations, as well as providing a new solo stop. The existing 8’ Trompette, originally extended to 16’ for the Pedal, was also cleaned, revoiced and regulated into a stop that now serves a dual-purpose chorus/solo reed. The 16’ octave, now reconditioned, adds more gravitas to the Pedal and the full ensemble.
The full ensemble now fills the church worship space with a richer, warmer and well-blended tone. The softer sounds are more usable and possess a wider dynamic range, so the possibilities for choral, vocal and instrumental accompaniment are greatly enhanced.

As a concerned observer, I paid close attention to the project throughout the building process. The Odells always welcomed my inquiries and kept all parties informed with frequent photographs from their shop. Once the installation commenced, it was exciting to see how beautifully designed and well made all components of the organ were, both inside and out. During the tonal finishing, it was gratifying to witness the attention to detail in balancing each stop and the various ensembles. Further, it was refreshing to hear from the builder that materials and workmanship were never an issue; they simply insisted that in every aspect things be done thoroughly, with the highest level of attention to detail.

The organ is now in regular use and a series of dedication concerts have been planned. My thanks go to Edward and Holly Odell, their associates, to Todd Simmons and the United Methodist Church of Westport and Weston, Connecticut, and the donor for having me work with them in a collaborative effort to complete this important project to enrich the worship and outreach of this vibrant congregation.

—K. Bryan Kirk, advisor/consultant

J.H. & C.S. Odell Opus 645

United Methodist Church of Westport and Weston, Westport, Connecticut

Great (Wind pressure 4")

8’ Principal CC–AA en façade, otherwise 70% tin, 61 pipes

8’ Second Principal 1–12 from Principal 8’, 13–49 from Octave 4’

8’ Bourdon 70% tin, arched cutup, 61 pipes

8’ Harmonic Flute 1–12 from Bourdon 8’, 13–61 from Harmonic Flute 4’

8’ Gemshorn 70% tin, 2/3 taper, 61 pipes

8’ Gemshorn Céleste 70% tin, 2/3 taper, 49 pipes

4’ Octave 70% tin, 61 pipes

4’ Harmonic Flute 55% spotted metal, special Odell scale, harmonic at
middle C, 61 pipes

22⁄3’ Quint 55% spotted metal, 61 pipes

2’ Super Octave 55% spotted metal, 61 pipes

III Mixture 55% spotted metal, 19-22-26, 183 pipes

Chimes. 25 tubes


Swell (Expressive, in existing chamber, wind pressure 4")

16’ Rohr Gedeckt wood, 13–61 from Rohr Flute 8’, 12 pipes

8’ Rohr Flute 70% tin, chimneyed, 61 pipes

8’ Gamba 70% tin, bearded, 61 pipes

8’ Gamba Céleste 70% tin, bearded, 49 pipes

4’ Spitz Principal 70% tin, 2/3 taper, 61 pipes

4’ Flute 55% spotted metal, 2/3 taper, 61 pipes
22⁄3’ Nazard 70% tin, capped and chimneyed to middle C, 61 pipes

2’ Block Flute 70% tin, 61 pipes

13⁄5’ Tierce 55% spotted metal, 2/3 taper, 61 pipes

8’ Trompette double blocked, French shallots, 56 reeds, 61 pipes

8’ Oboe dual taper resonators, English shallots, 49 reeds, 61 pipes

Tremulant


Pedal

16’ Subbass wood, 32 pipes

16’ Rohr Gedeckt from Swell

8’ Octave CC–GG# en façade, otherwise 70% tin, 32 pipes

8’ Bourdon extension, Subbass, 12 pipes

8’ Rohr Flute from Swell

4’ Choralbass extension, Octave 8’, 12 pipes

4’ Flute from Swell

16’ Trompette extension to Swell Trompette, 12 pipes

8’ Trompette from Swell

8’ Oboe from Swell

4’ Clarion from Swell

J.H. & C.S. Odell,
East Hampton, Connecticut
Scarborough Presbyterian Church, Scarborough, New York
I remember receiving my first phone call from Scarborough Presbyterian Church in late January 2005. I was delighted to have the chance to become acquainted with this church and with its organ, my own family’s J.H. and C.S. Odell Opus 327, installed in 1894. Six years on, there is much to report.
One cannot help but be immediately taken in by the beauty of Scarborough Presbyterian, both interior and exterior. The church is set along old Route 9 in Briarcliff Manor. Approached from either north or south, the siting of the building (whose exterior is rich with classical elements) blends in gracefully with its setting.
Scarborough Church was a gift from Mrs. Elliott Shepard as a memorial to her husband in 1893. The architects of record for the church were Haydel and Shepard, a short-lived partnership of Stanford White’s nephew, Haydel, and a nephew of Mr. Shepard. Their only other significant building, the Fabbri Mansion on Manhattan’s 64th Street, echoes the neo-classical style of Scarborough Church—briefly called, “Shepard Memorial,” but organized later as Scarborough Presbyterian. A reprint of the dedication announcement from the May 12, 1895 edition of the New York Times includes copious detail of the building’s appointments, which in modern architectural parlance is properly classified as Beaux-Arts:

The main design of the ground plan is a cross, a porte cochere being one of the short arms of the cross, and the pastor’s study the other arm. The church is built of granite rubble, with trimmings of Indiana limestone. The granite is of a pink tinge, which harmonizes pleasantly with the grayish limestone, and the effect is very striking to the visitor.
The height of the tower from the steps to the top of the cross is about 120 feet. The architecture of the exterior is a distinctly American interpretation of the Renaissance idea as it was in the time of Louis XIV. The granite used in the body of the structure was quarried on the estate of Col. Shepard, which is a short distance south of the edifice.
In the three large windows of the main structure, each nineteen feet high, are stained glass designs. Strictly classical treatment has been used in the interior of the building. The main auditorium has a seating capacity of 350, and the Sunday-school room of 150 persons. The floors are of mosaic in the church, and the pews are of carved wood. The building is as near as possible fireproof, as little wood being employed in the construction as circumstances would permit.
The wood-paneled [coffered] ceiling is secured to the entablature by carved wooden corbels. This ceiling is one of the main features of the room. It is made of California redwood. Its side surfaces are enriched with twenty-eight panels, each six feet square, and with carved wooden rosettes in their centers. This design encloses, as in a large frame, a large panel, itself broken up and subdivided into a considerable number of smaller panels. In the center of the ceiling is a great carved redwood cross. The inner walls are of cement, tinted to harmonize with the ceiling.
The choir dome, under which the pulpit is placed, at the end of the church, is paneled with rosettes, and a large skylight admits light from above. The building is lighted at night with electric lights, and the heating is to be in the winter season by hot-air appliances from the basement. Perfect ventilation is secured by means of exhaust flues in the side walls from the floors to the roof. The organ is in the main tower, while the keyboard is under the choir dome.

As the article states, the console was originally placed in the chancel area, leading me to speculate that this organ was likely the first all-electric adaptation of the patented Odell tubular-pneumatic action. In comparison, there are appreciable, if minor, design differences in the primary mechanism employed in the manual chest action used in our Op. 313 at St. Michael’s Church on West 34th Street in Manhattan. That organ, which is presently under our care and slated for major restoration work in 2012, was originally all tubular-pneumatic when it was built only one year prior in 1893. It has been interesting to note the nuance in mechanisms, scaling, and voicing practices of two Odell instruments that were built at nearly the same time.
As one can easily imagine the unwieldiness of playing the gallery organ from the chancel, it is not surprising that the console was later relocated to the gallery. Apart from this, the organ remained largely intact until the first major campaign of rebuilding and revisions began in the late 1980s through the 1990s.
At one time, there had been ambitious plans for the instrument, evidenced in the documentation of the Peterson switching system installed by a prior technician. Most of these plans went unrealized, though the addition of an anachronistic and stylistically questionable “Positiv” division had been carried out. Other changes included additional reed stops in the Swell, as well as evidence of attempts at rescaling, mostly in the principal stops of the Great.
In the meantime, problems of the winding system and mechanism were largely ignored. It was in this state that I first examined the organ at Scarborough in 2005. The Swell chest was then largely non-functional, owing mostly to issues with stuck sliders and pallet actions in need of rebuilding. I quickly realized that not only would a program of full mechanical restoration be needed, but also a careful reversal of many of the tonal changes, if the final result were to resemble anything that would make sense to a properly trained organist.
In addition to the difficulties with the organ, Scarborough was managing a leadership transition, something that is always trying in the life of any parish. The congregation faced this while contemporaneously entertaining bids for the organ project from us and other local firms, as well as considering wholesale replacement of the organ with a new electronic substitute. It was not until I made a detailed presentation to the congregation that we were able to at least keep the latter option off the table.
While we eventually prevailed as selectee for the organ project, there was no appreciable progress in going to contract until the appointment of Kenneth Potter as organist and director of music in 2007. Potter took the position on the condition of the organ’s restoration. This was agreeable to the Session and we were at last able to proceed.
No sooner had Mr. Potter taken the position than he reached out to me, and a lively discussion ensued on how best to revise and restore the organ. Plans at one point had even branched out into an entirely new case design, for which I excitedly prepared several conceptual sketches, but these were later set aside for both practical and aesthetic reasons. With our limited budget, the majority of our work would have to focus on restoration of the pipes, console, and mechanism. Moreover, with limited gallery space and an already richly appointed interior, it was difficult to realize a case design that would match the level of ornamentation or allow for a proper sense of proportion without getting into models that we knew would be far too elaborate. We officially went to contract in late 2007 and set to commence work in early 2008.
Eventually we settled on the design one sees today, which in many respects closely resembles the organ’s 1894 specification. The floating “Positiv” is gone, its Oboe restored and returned to its proper place in the Swell. The Swell Vox Humana was likewise deleted in favor of the Bassoon 16′, though not without some regret. The addition of the Clarion 4′ was kept, though the stop was revoiced in order to be more in scale (in terms of power) with the rest of the division’s reed chorus. Apart from careful tonal finishing and some adjustments to the power of some of the stops, the rest of the division remains as original but for the replacement of the Aeoline with a matched Voix Céleste for the Salicional.
I approached the Great with similar care. In sorting through the pipework in the shop I was able to review (and correct) prior attempts in rescaling and revoicing. Thankfully, the critical backbone stops of the division (the Open Diapason 8′, Gross Flute 8′, Gamba 8′, and Harmonic Flute 4′) had been left mostly untouched. Efforts had been made to re-scale the principal chorus from 4′ upward with limited success: rather than inserting new pipes in the bass and shifting the entire rank upward, pipes from various sources were randomly inserted in the compass of the Principal, Twelfth, and Fifteenth. To the uninitiated this probably seemed a harmless practice, but I was determined to restore some sense of order. Thus we maintained (and in some cases increased) the rescaling, as my experience with Odell scaling practices from this era (as well as my review of this instrument in particular) called for a significant increase in order to balance the power of the stops of the chorus without attempting to “voice around the scale.” Thus I reoriented the prior attempts at rescaling by fabricating new pipes with properly matching 2/7 mouths, using matched common metal (roughly 70% lead) as opposed to the uncharacteristic spotted metal used before. This allowed better control in the adjustment of the power of these ranks as I worked on them in the voicing room.
The other changes to the Great included the addition of the original Swell Bourdon on new unit windchests, so as to be available at 16′ and 8′ pitch. The Dulciana was deleted in favor of a new, matching principal-scaled Seventeenth. This exchange was part of an overall plan to keep a third-sounding rank available in the division, since the original Great Cornet mixture (17-19-22) was to be rescaled and recomposed into a suitable chorus mixture based on 2′ pitch (15-19-22). The original Cornet Mixture in the Swell had been retained, and Ken and I were in agreement that one tierce mixture per organ was more than sufficient.
Apart from these changes, pipe restoration was straightforward. Along with the windchests and console, everything was brought back to our facility and carefully cleaned. Metal ranks went through our pipe shop for repair. Wooden pipes were repaired and pipe stoppers were repacked. But for the Bassoon 16′ in the Swell and the Trumpet in the Great (which I kept for myself to work on), the Swell reeds went to Trivo in Hagerstown for restoration. Broken reed pipes were properly reblocked, tuning inserts were replaced, and shallots, tongues, and wedges were carefully cleaned and refitted as required.
The rebuilding of the mechanism presented several challenges. The manual windchests were essentially Odell slider chests with electro-pneumatic pulldown motors and slider motors. Both chests were completely stripped down to their tables at our facility so they could be evaluated and repaired. Thankfully, re-tabling was not needed, though damage to some of the sliders was so severe that some of them had to be replaced. Unlike modern slider chests (where engineered plywood is used), the bottoms of the Odell chest grids are covered with motor cloth, and the pallet openings are formed by blocking in the channels inside the pallet box and covering the area with a layer of packing leather. All this was restored to match the original configuration, whereafter the grid channels were carefully sized with thinned shellac, as is the custom. It was an arduous, not to say messy process, but the result was the total elimination of the numerous runs and bleeds encountered prior to removal. Finally, the chest pallets were all re-dressed with new felt and leather, and the motor and primary systems rebuilt.
With the slider motor system we faced a particular difficulty: Odell pneumatic slider motors were an innovative design in their day, but they can be fickle. When they work, they work well, but they often grow slow and unresponsive. Knowing this, in the planning stages of the project I seriously considered conversion to an electric slider motor system, but instead held this out as a last resort. The original pneumatic motors were dutifully rebuilt, and after some experimentation I eventually realized a solution: by placing the slider motor assemblies on their own separate wind reservoir and increasing the pressure moderately, I realized two immediate benefits: the slider motion was now swift and sure, and the action of the sliders no longer had any effect on the divisional wind pressure as they were actuated. I owe the inspiration for this concept to my colleague Timothy Fink, who several years ago used a similar approach when he designed his own pneumatically powered slider system (based in part on the Odell design) for the new organ he built for Grace Lutheran Church in Naples, Florida.
As the Pedal division had recently had its action rebuilt, we were free to leave this section alone and concentrate our remaining efforts on the console, winding system, and façade.
Dealing with the winding system was simple. The original massive single-rise reservoir was replaced with four new properly sized Odell reservoirs, one for each division, and the fourth for the aforementioned slider motor assemblies.
The console carcass was gutted and fitted with new, rear-fulcrum keyboards with basswood levers, and the manual compass restored to the original 58 notes. The newer pedalboard was kept. The stop-action rail and stop-action magnets were replaced with a much more reliable Harris tilting-tablet assembly, whose appearance is more characteristic of a traditional Odell console. The interior of the console was fitted with new panels made of sapele. We installed a new, integrated control system with the customary modern feature set.
The façade, which contains the bottom seventeen notes of the Great Open Diapason, was carefully stripped, repaired, and restored. The original zinc tuning flaps were replaced with spotted metal tuning scrolls. I personally handled the preparation and finishing process. A catalyzed base primer that bonds directly to the metal was used as the undercoat, over which I applied specialized metal lacquer mixed with gold flake powder. The result is a richer, deeper gold color that was accented by the application of silver flake lacquer on the pipe mouth inserts.
Our final step was to replace the 1950s-era wall panels below the impost of the façade. The layout was sketched by my wife Susan, who is a classically trained architect. With no cues from me, she intuitively established a rail and stile pattern that picked up on the center point placements of the pipes in the façade, while maintaining symmetry throughout. The panel molding, which required a custom-made set of molder knives, is a duplication of the custom panel moldings used throughout the church. The panels themselves are made from the same sapele used in the console, and are stained to match the existing appointments. Though it is minor, this was a welcome embellishment to the appearance of the organ.
Members of the Odell staff who contributed to this project include: John Williams (chest restoration, new chest, panel, and reservoir fabrication), Stewart Skates (pipe repair, fabrication, and restoration), Scotty Giffen (site, restoration, and assembly work), David Wason (wiring, site, restoration, and assembly work), Douglas Keilitz (site work, tuning, and tonal finishing), and myself (design, planning, wood and metal pipe finishing, voicing, and tonal finishing). Rigging for the removal and reinstallation was handled by our friends at Auer’s of New York City, long known for their skill in handling this sort of work.
We are grateful to the staff and congregation of Scarborough Presbyterian Church for being given the opportunity to restore this instrument and return it to service. I am particularly grateful to Kenneth and Christine Potter (who have become great friends as well as champions of our work), and also the Reverends Chris Iosso, Dae Jung, and Tim Ives, worship and music committee chair Lindsay Farrell, and most especially the late Florence Fletcher, to whose memory the new organ façade is dedicated.
—Edward Odell
East Hampton, Connecticut

It isn’t often that an organist takes a job with the congregation already understanding that the organ needs to be rebuilt, and he gets a significant say in how it gets done. My first decision was to commit what one might call a heresy among organists. I agreed that the organ needed to be reduced in size; we went from 37 ranks to 30. The results speak for themselves, as much of that reduction involved removing redundant ranks, ranks that served no useful purpose.
Prior to the rebuild, the Swell had become almost completely unplayable and been more or less abandoned. We realized the removal of the entire instrument to the Odell shop would be needed. Now rebuilt, the Swell is a wonderful division of great subtlety and color.
It made sense to keep certain additions, but we wanted these additions to form a real ensemble, and for the organ to speak into the room naturally. A fine Clarion 4′ had been added to the Swell. The Bassoon 16′, Cornopean 8′, Oboe 8′, and Clarion 4′ formed a reed battery that we were loath to break up. In order to keep it, the old Vox Humana 8′ had to go. I deeply regretted this loss, but I love the full reed chorus as it is now. The Aeoline 8′ went the same way to make room for the Voix Céleste. There was more than enough pipework left for quiet music, with the very gentle strings, a Stopped Diapason 8′, and a lovely Rohr Flute 4′ of surpassing beauty.
In the Great division, the previous Tierce had been derived from a split slider on the Mixture. It never worked very well, but I felt it was important to have a full Cornet on the Great, so we sacrificed the Dulciana. The Seventeenth that took its place is the only wholly new rank in the rebuild. The Dulciana’s place in the tonal scheme was taken by an 8′ extension of the 16′ Bourdon. I felt that with the three other strong 8′ stops (Open Diapason 8′, Gross Flute 8′, and Gamba 8′) we needed a quiet 8′ flute. This Bourdon 8′ can be coupled with the Gamba 8′ and form a fonds doux, but it also works beautifully alone, or with the Principal 4′ or Harmonic Flute 4′. With all 8′ flue stops on the Great drawn, one has a close approximation of the classic fonds de huit. After rescaling and restoration, the Great chorus is powerful and intense. With the coupling of the Swell reeds, it becomes immense.
In the process of this rebuild, I learned a lot about what stops are truly necessary. As someone who cut his teeth on the Organ Reform movement, I had difficulty understanding a tonal scheme built on generously scaled 8′ stops, with smaller upperwork, or a second manual division without a Principal 4′. In time, I have come to understand this instrument on its own terms. The Violina 4′ really does serve a purpose, and I have come to love the very modest 4′ Rohr Flute in the Swell; it is delicate and very non-intrusive, and I never seem to stop finding uses for it. The Flute 2′ with the Cornet III makes a wonderful sparkle in that division without adding weight. The Oboe 8′, now returned to the Swell, is an excellent addition to the division’s chorus, adding just enough weight to balance the flues. So much for the Swell organs I was previously accustomed to, with their 8′ Gedeckt foundation and blazing upperwork!
It thrills me endlessly to have other organists come in and play. I love to wander around downstairs and listen, often asking what stops they have on. This organ, which sounds immensely powerful in the gallery, is gentle and convincing downstairs—the fullest registration is not overpowering, but rather full, blended, and satisfying.
There isn’t an ugly stop on the entire instrument. Every rank is distinct, beautiful, and makes the listener sit up and notice, whether quiet, mezzo forte, or loud. Nothing is overbearing and the range of color is amazing. Edward Odell has demonstrated great skill as a voicer, taking stops that had been poorly regulated, and restoring, focusing, and adjusting them to create a satisfying, integrated ensemble. He was ably assisted by Doug Keilitz on the tonal finishing.
Let me conclude by saying we are blessed with some of the finest acoustics I have ever experienced in a church, both for organ and choral music. The instrument is now inspiring our choir to new heights. As I had hoped, the wonderful sounds coming from the loft are enhancing our worship and attracting new members.
—Kenneth Potter
Organist and Director of Music

J.H. & C.S. Odell Opus 327
Scarborough Presbyterian Church, Scarborough, New York

GREAT
16′ Bourdon 70 pipes
8′ Open Diapason 58 pipes
8′ Gamba 58 pipes
8′ Gross Flute 58 pipes
8′ Bourdon (from 16′ Bourdon)
4′ Principal 58 pipes
4′ Harmonic Flute 58 pipes
22⁄3 Twelfth 58 pipes
2′ Fifteenth 58 pipes
13⁄5′ Seventeenth (new) 58 pipes
III Mixture 174 pipes
8′ Trumpet 58 pipes

SWELL – Expressive –
in reconfigured expression chamber
16′ Bourdon 58 pipes
8′ Open Diapason 58 pipes
8′ Stopped Diapason 58 pipes
8′ Salicional 58 pipes
8′ Voix Céleste 58 pipes
4′ Violina 58 pipes
4′ Rohr Flute 58 pipes
2′ Flute 58 pipes
III Cornet 174 pipes
16′ Bassoon 58 pipes
8′ Cornopean 58 pipes
8′ Oboe 58 pipes
4′ Clarion 58 pipes
Tremulant

PEDAL
32′ Resultant (special configuration,
from Open Wood and Bourdon)
16′ Open Wood 30 pipes
16′ Bourdon 54 pipes
8′ Gedeckt (ext 16′ Bourdon)
8′ Violoncello 30 pipes
4′ Flute (ext 16′ Bourdon)
16′ Bassoon (from Swell)

Mixture Compositions
Great
1 to 25 15-19-22
26 to 37 12-15-19
38 to 58 8-12-15

Swell
1 to 25 17-19-22
26 to 37 15-17-19
38 to 58 8-15-17

Couplers
Great to Pedal 8′ (reversible)
Great to Pedal 4′
Swell to Pedal 8′ (reversible)
Swell to Pedal 4′

Great to Great 16′
Great Unison Off
Great to Great 4′

Swell to Great 16′
Swell to Great 8′ (reversible)
Swell to Great 4′

Swell to Swell 16′
Swell Unison Off
Swell to Swell 4′

Pistons
12 generals (duplicated on toe pistons)
6 divisionals per division
4 reversibles (3 coupler, 1 Sforzando)

Accessories
32 levels of capture memory
12-step transposer
Programmable Sforzando
Memory controls in keyslip
Programmable Crescendo
MIDI for record/playback

Cover Feature

Kegg Pipe
Organ Builders, Hartville, Ohio

First United
Methodist Church, Winnsboro, North Carolina

In an organ builder's life there come projects that for one reason or
another always remain close to one's heart. First United Methodist Church of
Winnsboro, South Carolina, is one such project. From the first contact by
consultant Stephen Williams of Allentown, Pennsylvania, to the final day of
tonal finishing, this project was and continues to be a delight to the eye, the
ear, and the heart of this builder.

The organ committee, headed by Jim Gladden, had one goal in mind: to have a
fine instrument that would serve the congregation in all its needs through the
21st century. The room is not large, seating about 300. The acoustic is on the
dry side, but sound travels well in the room. They knew that they did not need
or have room for a large instrument, but they desired an instrument that gave
them maximum musical versatility. Our design has provided them an instrument of
16 ranks and 13 independent stops. These ranks are used carefully to provide an
instrument that seems larger than it is. The previous Estey organ provided
three wood stops that fit well into the new design, namely the Gedeckt,
Hohlflute and Pedal Bourdon. There are no electronic imitation voices in the
organ.

There are several features of particular note in the design. The organ is
installed in a very compact space. I wanted to provide a 16' open flue stop,
and the Viole extension done in Haskell pipes has proven very valuable while
taking up little space. It provides the soft 16' line when used alone and also
adds point to the 16' Bourdon when used in combination. Its use as a double on
the Great adds just the amount of weight needed in a modest room. In order to
provide a strong leading voice in the organ, we have provided a Sesquialtera on
the Great; this is a 37-note stop running from C13 to C49. The pipes of the
22/3' pitch are taken from the bottom 37 pipes of the first rank of the
Mixture. Thus the Sesquialtera only requires the extra space for the small
pipes of the 13/5' rank. This stop can easily lead hymn singing when built
using the principal chorus. When built using flutes, it is a charming solo
voice.

Another feature that furthers the reputation of organ builders as innovators
is the air conditioning ducts. The previous organ had large A/C grilles
directly on the front of the case, blowing out over the heads of the choir
members. These had to stay and were not negotiable in the deep South, and being
a chorister myself, I could completely understand the request. But what to do?
I couldn't have grilles on the new case, or so I thought. Another look at the
case and you will find that there are indeed A/C grilles on the front in the
form of quatrefoils just below the impost.

This organ is installed in the existing chamber that opens out through the
right of three arches. The space available was 6' deep, 13' wide at the front
and 16' wide at the back. The height of the chamber went above the opening creating
a tone pocket that would hinder sound egress. The solution was to build a swell
box in the chamber, eliminating the excess space above the tone opening and
with it the tone pocket. The entire organ is under one expression except the
Great Principal 8', the Pedal Bourdon 16' and the chimes. While the organ is
very dense in the space available, all parts and pipes are easily accessible
for tuning and maintenance. The largest pipes of the wood Pedal Bourdon are
laying on the floor under the main chest. The blower is in a dedicated space in
the basement under the organ.

The stepped terrace drawknob console is what we normally provide with our
two-manual organs. It is very compact and easy to see over, and is fitted with
bone and rosewood keys as is our custom. The combination system by Z-Tronics
provides piston range and copy functions along with archive of memory levels to
disk. There is also a performance sequencer.

The organ was dedicated in concert on November 10, 2002 by consultant
Stephen Williams. I would like to acknowledge the organ committee chaired by
Jim Gladden, organist Esther Baughman, and Al Williams, without whom this
project would not have been possible. The people of First United Methodist
Church embraced the new organ from beginning to end in a way that brought
uncommon joy to the Kegg company. We were indeed honored to have been chosen.
We would invite you to stop and see this instrument when you find yourself in
the Charlotte or Columbia area.

--Charles Kegg

GREAT

9
ranks, 6 stops, 549 pipes

16' Violone
style='mso-tab-count:1'> 73 pipes

8' Prestant*
style='mso-tab-count:2'> 61
pipes

8' Hohlflute
style='mso-tab-count:2'> 73
existing pipes

8' Viole
(ext 16' Violone)

8' Viole
Celeste TC (Sw)

4' Octave
61
pipes

4' Gedeckt
(Sw)

2' Flute
(ext Hohlflute)

II Sesquialtera
style='mso-tab-count:1'> 37
pipes & from Mixture

IV Mixture
style='mso-tab-count:1'> 244 pipes

8' Trumpet
(Sw)

Chimes
(existing)

Great
4

Swell
to Great 16

Swell
to Great 8

Swell
to Great 4

*Unenclosed

SWELL

6
ranks, 6 stops, 390 pipes

8' Gedeckt
style='mso-tab-count:2'> 73
existing pipes

8' Viole
(Gt Violone)

8' Viole
Celeste TC 49
pipes

4' Principal
style='mso-tab-count:2'> 73
pipes

4' Hohlflute
(Gt)

22/3' Nazard
TC (ext Quinte)

2' Octave
(ext 4')

11/3' Quinte
49
pipes

16' Contra
Trumpet 85
pipes

8' Trumpet
(ext)

8' Oboe
style='mso-tab-count:2'> 61
pipes

4' Clarion
(ext)

Tremulant

Swell
to Swell 16

Swell
Unison Off

Swell
to Swell 4

PEDAL

1
rank, 1 stop, 44 pipes

32' Resultant
(from Bourdon)

16' Bourdon
style='mso-tab-count:2'> 44
existing pipes

16' Violone
(Gt)

8' Prestant
(Gt)

8' Bourdon
(ext)

8' Viole
(Gt)

8' Gedeckt
(Sw)

4' Octave
(Gt 8')

16' Trumpet
(Sw)

8' Trumpet
(Sw)

4' Oboe
(Sw)

Great
to Pedal 8

Great
to Pedal 4

Swell
to Pedal 8

Swell
to Pedal 4

Tonal Resources

13
stops

16
ranks

983
pipes

Accessories

Expression
Pedal with indicator

Dual
level Crescendo Pedal with numeric ndicator

Concave
and radiating pedal clavier

Adjustable
Bench

Full
Organ indicator light

Combination
lock with indicator

Transposer

Performance
Sequencer

Photo credit: Charles Kegg

Kegg Pipe Organ Builders

1184 Woodland St. SW

Hartville, OH 44632

330/966-2499

www.keggorgan.com

Muller Pipe Organ Company, Croton, Ohio

First English
Lutheran Church, Mansfield, Ohio

Muller Pipe Organ Company has completed installation of the III/50 organ at
the First English Lutheran Church of Mansfield, Ohio. M. P. Möller
installed the original organ in 1950 (Opus 7997), and made tonal additions in
1961. In the 1980s, minor stopgap repairs were completed, and the Great 8'
Principal and 4' Octave ranks were replaced. In recent years, the condition of
the windchests and console had deteriorated nearly to the point of failure.

In addition to the new pipework, select ranks of the existing pipework were
restored, then revoiced and rebalanced to serve in new capacities within the
ensemble of the new instrument. The Great Organ now features a robust principal
chorus of new pipework, a full complement of flutes and strings, and a fiery
Trompette. The Swell Organ boasts a secondary principal chorus and a battery of
chorus reeds. The Choir Organ is both the most intimate and most colorful
division of the instrument, containing a flute-based Cornet and the sonorous
Clarinet from the original organ. The Antiphonal Organ (the Great principal
chorus in the original instrument) helps support congregational singing for
those seated in the rear of the nave. Due to its relatively poor placement,
this pipework was substantially revoiced and regulated to speak on much higher
wind pressure to insure adequate volume. The Pedal Organ, with its independent
principal chorus and powerful Posaune, provides an exciting foundation for the
instrument. From the softest stops to full organ, the instrument is versatile
and exciting, a wonderful example of the American Classic tradition.

The church completed significant renovations to the chancel area while work
was in progress at our facility. The new area is much more flexible, providing
a suitable space for orchestras or large choirs. Acoustics were improved by
replacing the plush carpeting in the chancel with hardwood flooring. In
addition, substantially improved tonal projection was achieved by removing the
original plaster wall that served as the front of the organ chamber and
replacing it with grille cloth.

The entire playing mechanism is new, with the exception of selected offset
windchests, replacing a problematic Möller mechanism. The beautiful
original console cabinet was refinished and fitted with wheels, and is playable
from three locations in the chancel. The ivory and ebony manual keyboards and
the pedal keyboard were restored. New solid-state operating systems were
installed, including MIDI with record/playback capability, as well as new
drawknob and tilting tablet assemblies. A custom music rack was built,
featuring walnut with bird's eye maple inlay, and a new adjustable bench with
backrest was provided.

For his invaluable contributions to the development of the specification, we
extend special thanks to Dr. Timothy E. Guenther, director of music and
organist of First English Lutheran Church (ELCA), and adjunct instructor in
organ and university organist, Ashland University of Ashland, Ohio.

--John Muller

Photo by Steven Elbert

GREAT

16' Violone

8' Principal

8' Bourdon

8' Viola

8' Erzähler

8' Erzähler
Celeste TC

4' Octave

4' Rohrflöte

2' Super
Octave

IV Mixture

8' Trompette

Chimes

Tremolo

SWELL (expressive)

16' Waldflöte

8' Geigen
Principal

8' Waldflöte

8' Salicional

8' Voix
Celeste TC

4' Geigen
Principal

4' Spillflöte

22/3' Nazard

2' Flageolet

III Plein
Jeu

16' Bassoon

8' Trumpet

8' Oboe

8' Vox
Humana

4' Clairon

Tremolo

CHOIR (expressive)

8' Rohrflöte

8' Dulciana

8' Unda
Maris TC

4' Principal

4' Koppelflöte

4' Dulciana

22/3' Nazard

2' Blockflöte

13/5' Tierce

11/3' Quint

8' Clarinet

Tremolo

ANTIPHONAL (expressive)

8' Principal

8' Spitzflöte

4' Octave

4' Spitzflöte

2' Fifteenth

III Mixture

PEDAL

16' Diapason

16' Bourdon

16' Waldflöte

16' Violone

102/3' Quint

8' Diapason

8' Bourdon

8' Waldflöte

8' Viola

4' Choral
Bass

4' Bourdon

II Mixture

16' Posaune

16' Bassoon

8' Posaune

8' Trumpet

4' Rohrschalmei

Chimes

Couplers

Gt/Gt
16-UO-4

Sw/Gt
16-8-4

Ch/Gt
16-8-4

Ant/Gt
8-4

MIDI/Gt

[if !supportEmptyParas] [endif]

Sw/Sw
16-UO-4

Ant/Sw
8

MIDI/Sw

Ch/Ch
16-UO-4

Sw/Ch
16-8-4

Ant/Ch
8

MIDI/Ch

Gt/Ped
8-4

Sw/Ped
8-4

Ch/Ped
8-4

Ant/Ped
8

MIDI/Ped

Carillon
I

Carillon
II

John-Paul Buzard Pipe Organ Builders
of Champaign, Illinois, has built a new organ for St. Bartholomew Episcopal
Church, Estes Park, Colorado. Our opus 30 was installed during March, 2004,
ready for Palm Sunday, about a month ahead of the contracted schedule.

The church is a simple log cabin structure about 7,500 feet up in the Rocky
Mountains. The view of snow-capped Long's Peak through the plate glass window
behind the altar (along with the thin air) literally takes one's breath away.
Folks who have made their lives in this rugged terrain are used to doing things
pretty much for themselves, and in their own time. Witness their former pipe
organ, fondly nicknamed "Little Toot." This homemade three-rank
instrument (Diapason, Dulciana, Flute) served the congregation for many, many
years, until its deteriorating mechanical condition begged for replacement. The
old organ had been located in a cramped balcony projecting over the last four
rows of pews. It was too small for a choir, or for a pipe organ of adequate
size. The ceiling under the balcony was covered with acoustic tile, which at
best discouraged anyone seated there from singing. We began our conversations
with the church four years ago.

Folks who have made this church their parish home were also used to things
just the way they were, and so it was remarkable that they ultimately agreed to
remove the balcony, locate the organ in the elevated area over the narthex, and
provide space for a choir on the main floor of the nave. The instrument and the
reconfiguration of the space looks natural and relaxed, as though it had always
been that way.

The organ is small, but beautiful things come in small packages! The
instrument has a complete Principal chorus on the Great, flute choruses, a
string and celeste, as well as independent manual and pedal reeds. It is
intended to lead hymn-singing, accompany singers and other musicians, and play
voluntaries before and after services. The altitude was taken into account in
the organ's scaling, voicing, and engineering. The result is that, even though
small in the number of stops, it fills the building with a rich, full sound,
even when playing softly. The visual design plays upon the earth-tone colors in
the room, and the roof line. The organ speaks unimpeded down the axis of the
building.

Thanks to The Rev. M. Paul Garrett, rector; Martha Sandford, organ consultant;
and to The Rev. Al Persons, who, with his late wife Marcia, guaranteed the
purchase of the organ. Thanks also to the dedicated members of my staff who
make every project a special and life's work undertaking: Charles Eames,
executive vice-president; Brian Davis, associate tonal director; Keith
Williams, director of service; Shayne Tippett, production manager; Jay Salmon,
office manager; Stuart Martin, cabinetmaker; C. Robert Leach, cabinetmaker;
Kenneth McCabe, cabinetmaker; Stephen Downes, tonal assistant; Evan Rench,
pipemaker, tonal assistant, tonal department scheduling; Ray Wiggs, consoles,
windchests, wiring; Bob Ference, service technician; Jonathan Borchardt,
service technician; Stuart Weber, service technician; JoAnne Hutchcraft Rench,
receptionist, administrative assistant.

--John-Paul Buzard

[if !supportEmptyParas] [endif]

Buzard Opus 30: 14 stops, 17 ranks, across two manuals and
pedal; voiced on 4 inches wind pressure

GREAT

8' Open
Diapason (polished tin in façade)

8' Flûte
à Bibéron (metal chimney flute)

4' Principal

2' Recorder

11/3' Mixture
IV

Tremulant

Gt
16-UO-4

Sw/Gt
16-8-4

SWELL (expressive)

8' Stopped
Diapason

8' Salicional

8' Voix
Celeste

4' Spire
Flute

2' Principal

8' Minor
Trumpet

Tremulant

Sw
16-UO-4

PEDAL

16' Bourdon
(stoppered, wood)

8' Principal
(polished tin in façade)

8' Bass
Flute (ext)

4' Choral
Bass (ext)

16' Bassoon

Gt/Ped
8-4

Sw/Ped
8-4

New Organs

Martin Ott Pipe Organ Company, Inc., St. Louis, Missouri

First United Methodist Church, Jackson, Michigan

From the organ builder:

In 1996, I was contacted by the First United Methodist Church in Jackson,
Michigan about their desire to hear and examine one of our instruments. We
arranged to meet with representatives of their organ study committee and
consultant Dr. Albert Bolitho at St. John's Lutheran Church in Decatur,
Illinois, where we had just finished the installation of a three-manual organ.
A few weeks later, I was invited to come to Jackson and inspect their 1922
Austin organ. It became apparent that multiple repairs in recent years had not
prevented the ongoing decay of this instrument and that it was doomed to fail
within a short time. The organ study committee engaged in many lengthy
discussions and much soul searching before determining that their organ must be
replaced. Subsequently, I was asked to prepare a proposal for a new instrument.
Further study by the committee brought about a recommendation to the
congregation for a renovation of the church sanctuary and chancel in order to
enhance their worship space and provide an optimum setting for the proposed new
organ. On November 22, 1998, my firm received the commission to build a new
organ for the First United Methodist Church.

1. Casework

The free-standing organ case is based on classic European design and
complements the existing Gothic Revival architecture of the 1870 sanctuary.
This attractive neo-Gothic styled organ case, made out of stained oak,
complements the furnishings of the sanctuary. The case blends and focuses the
organ sound into the room. The Violon 16' and Principal 8' pipes, made from
polished tin, are located in the fa?ßade. The height of the tallest pipe in the
fa?ßade is approximately 20 feet. The Great and Pedal divisions are unenclosed
while the Swell and Choir divisions are under expression. The Great and Pedal
divisions are at the same elevation as the fa?ßade pipes. The Choir division is
located below the fa?ßade pipes of the Great division and behind the ornamental
grillework. The Swell is at the same elevation as the Great and sits behind in
its own case, flanked by the larger tin pipes of the Pedal.

2. Wind Chests

Slider chests were used for the entire organ, except for the offset chests.
Slider chests provide a cohesive sound because all pipes of the same pitch
stand above the same wind channel. Since these pipes are from different stops,
but are receiving the same wind, they are able to blend and enhance the ensemble
of the instrument. Because a choir has many voices that blend into tone sound,
church music (i.e., hymn singing, choral anthems) requires an instrument that
enhances a blending of the human voice. The slider wind chests complement
choral and congregational singing.

3. Action

The organ primarily uses electric pull-down action. Some of the larger pipe
ranks are located on offset wind chests and use electro-pneumatic action.

4. Console

The console features French-style curved terraced stop jambs in cherry wood;
it is detached from the main organ case and is movable, providing flexibility
in various arrangements of the choir and instrumentalists. The solid state,
multi-level combination action allows different organists to save their stop
combinations in separate "file folders." The console has a MIDI
interface connection. This interface can record a player's performance and give
an authentic playback as well as preserve important performances. This, too, is
also an aid for the organist in deciding the registration.

5. Tonal Design

The organ is designed to lead congregational singing, accompany the choirs,
and play the various styles of organ literature. All four pipe families
(principal, flute, string and reed) are well represented. The Great division,
with its grand principal chorus, is the foundation of the entire instrument.
The Swell division, in French style, gives a romantic attribute to the
instrument, while the Choir division provides softer accompanying stops and
solo voices. A stop of special note is the Choir's 11/7' Septime, which adds an
interesting color not available on most organs. The Dolce Celeste 8' from the
previous Austin organ was retained in the Choir.

The reed family is well represented. The Festival Trumpet 8' is mounted
horizontally to project the sound to the congregation and is the strongest reed
in the organ. The Trumpet 16' and 8' on the Great are designed to blend with
the Great principal chorus. The Swell reeds are built in the French Romantic
style. They provide color but do not stand out as much as the festival Trumpet.
The bold Krummhorn 8' and lush English Horn 8' of the Choir division are solo
stops and can be used to highlight a melody. The harmonic flutes in the Swell,
one made of cherry wood and the other in tin, provide an interesting tonal
color. Harmonic pipes are purposely overblown so that the pitch sounds an
octave higher than normal. This produces a clear, transparent sound, similar to
a transverse flute.

The Pedal and Swell divisions were installed early in 2002. The main case,
containing the Great and Choir divisions, was shipped and installed in August
of 2002. Voicing of the instrument was completed in November 2002.

The following people participated in the building of this organ:

Alexander I. Bronitsky

William Dunaway

Hans-Ulrich Erbsl??h

Eileen Gay

Donna Hodges

Alex D. Leshchenko

Richard Murphy

Earl C. Naylor

Martin Ott

Sascha Ott

Jeff Spitler.

We wish to express our gratitude to Timothy Meunier, director of music
ministries, organists Brian Buehler and Laurie Meunier, the members of the
organ building/sanctuary renovation committee and its chairman Earl Poleski,
Rev. Ed Ross and the members of the First United Methodist Church for awarding
us this commission and creating a fine environment for this instrument. We
especially thank Dr. Albert Bolitho for facilitating the organ building
process. His consultation, suggestions and support were most helpful. Having
worked with him previously on the organ for First Congregational Church in
Battle Creek, we were happy to work with him again.

Extensive electrical wiring in the organ was completed by our colleague Dick
Houghten. We are thankful that he could be a part of this project. Acoustician
Scott Riedel and architect Lincoln Poley contributed to the success of this
organ.

--Martin Ott

From the organ consultant:

It has been a pleasure to work with the organ committee and building
committee throughout the planning and decision process that has led to the selection
of this wonderful new pipe organ. The people on the committee were very
conscientious and they dedicated countless hours in study and discussion, not
to mention trips to visit organs in other churches.

Preliminary discussions centered upon evaluating the old 1922 Austin,
acoustics of the church, placement of choirs and liturgical appearance of the
chancel, and future musical needs of the church. From these discussions a
"vision" for the future was developed that concentrated upon the organ
but also included acoustics and liturgical architecture. The committee began
serious study of organ construction and design. After several visits to other
churches and listening to many pipe organs, the committee requested selected
builders to bid on a carefully designed three-manual specification. After much
serious thought, the committee unanimously recommended that Martin Ott be
selected to build the new organ.

The new organ was designed principally to be a liturgical instrument. As
such, it has a full complement of tonal resources to lead congregational
singing, accompany voices or instruments and to play solo organ literature. Two
very quiet stops noted for their ethereal sound were retained from the old
organ to provide for meditative moments. There are beautiful flutes throughout
all divisions of the organ; some are bass flutes and used in the Pedal, some
are on the manuals to be used as solo voices or for accompaniments, and some
are pitched very high near the limits of human hearing. The organ has an abundance
of reed voices; some are colorful stops for solo effects, such as the Krummhorn
and English Horn on the Choir division or the Hautbois on the Swell division.
Some are ensemble voices used to provide rich timbre, such as the 16' or 8'
Trumpet on the Great division or the Bombarde, Trompette and Clairon on the
Swell division. The 16' Trombone in the Pedal division provides a sturdy bass
for the whole organ. For the discriminating organist, there is a complete
Principal chorus on each manual and a complete Principal chorus for the Pedal
division.

The organ boasts some unique features such as a high-pitched 11/7' Septime
on the Choir division, Cornet combinations located on the Choir and Swell
divisions and a 32' Bourdon. Crowning the entire ensemble and located at the
top of the organ behind the center tower are the horizontal pipes of the
Festival Trumpet, a stop that will find much use for congregational singing and
wedding processions.

The fa?ßade of the organ was designed to architecturally complement the
hammer beam ceiling and other woodwork in the sanctuary. Its artistic design
and impressive appearance accentuate the height and grandeur of the room and
also demonstrate the craftsmanship of the Martin Ott organ firm. The console,
with its elegant keyboards and wood finish, incorporates solid state switching
that enables the organist to change registrations quickly. Stops are placed on
either side of the keyboards, thus making it possible for the console to have a
low profile.

The instrument is a distinguished addition to other significant organs in
Michigan and surrounding states and will undoubtedly attract considerable
attention among churches, organ aficionados and organists. Truly the church has
been blessed with a beautiful instrument that will enhance worship both now and
far into the future.

--Dr. Albert Bolitho

History of the Pipe Organs at First United Methodist Church

In 1869, prior to the completion of the present sanctuary, the congregation
of the Jackson Methodist Episcopal Church contracted with the J.H. & C.S.
Odell organbuilders of New York to build an organ for the new church. The new
organ, Opus No. 86, was shipped to Jackson in early February 1870 and installed
in time for the church dedication on Sunday, February 13, 1870. On the following
Saturday, February 19, the congregation hosted a dedicatory recital played by
Elihu Cooley, Esquire. The organ was a mechanical action one-manual instrument
consisting of 12 stops and was housed in a handsome Gothic Revival case with
stenciled pipes. The cost of the organ was assumed by the church's Ladies'
Society. This organ faithfully served the growing congregation for the next 51
years.

In 1921, the congregation embarked on a major renovation and expansion of
the church facilities. Along with a remodeled chancel and choir loft, the
sanctuary was expanded to the north with the addition of a larger balcony. The
Odell organ was replaced with a new electro-pneumatic action instrument built
by the Austin Organ Company of Hartford, Connecticut. The Austin organ, Opus
No. 1043, consisted of 3 manuals and 29 ranks of pipes. The organ was dedicated
on October 12, 1922 with a recital by Francis Mackay, organist of St. Paul's
Cathedral, Detroit. In later years, chimes were added to the organ and in 1973
the Austin firm revoiced the instrument with the addition of 7 new ranks of
pipes and replacement of most 1922 pipework. This organ was sold to the Temple
Organ Company in January 2001.

Unless indicated otherwise, photos are by John Woodring (copyright © John
Woodring Photography), member, National Press Photographers Association and
Professional Photographers of Michigan.

Martin Ott Opus 97

First United Methodist Church,

Jackson, Michigan

61 ranks, 56 stops

GREAT

16'           Violon*
style='mso-tab-count:1'> 61            75%
tin

8'              Principal
               61
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            75%
tin

8'              Violon
(ext)*       12
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            75%
tin

8'              Chimney
Flute   61            40%
tin

4'              Octave
                  61
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            75%
tin

4'              Spire
Flute           61
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            40%
tin

22/3'       Twelfth
61            75%
tin

2'              Fifteenth
               61
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            75%
tin

11/3'       Mixture
IV‚ÄìVI   330         75% tin

16'           Trumpet*
style='mso-tab-count:1'>               61
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            75%
tin

8'              Festival
Trumpet*             61
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            75%
tin

8'              Trumpet
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                 61
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            75%
tin

                  Chimes

                  Zimbelstern

SWELL (Enclosed)

16'           Bourdon*
(ext)  12            oak

8'              Bourdon*
style='mso-tab-count:1'>              61
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            40%
tin

8'              Fl?ªte
Harmonic                   61
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            cherry

8'              Viol
di Gamba   61            75%
tin

8'              Voix
Celeste (TC)             49
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            75%
tin

4'              Principal
               61
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            60%
tin

4'              Fl?ªte
Harmonic                   61
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            40%
tin

22/3'       Nazard
61            75%
tin

2'              Nachthorn
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            61
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            40%
tin

13/5'       Tierce
  61            75%
tin

2'              Mixture
IV‚ÄìV     268
style='mso-tab-count:1'>         75%
tin

16'           Bombarde*
(1‚Äì12 L/2)   61
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            75%
tin

8'              Trompette
           61
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            75%
tin

8'              Hautbois
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                61
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            75%
tin

4'              Clairon
61            75%
tin

                  Tremulant

CHOIR (Enclosed)

8'              Violin
Diapason                  61
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            75%
tin

8'              Stopped
Flute    61
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            cherry

8'              Dolce
Celeste II                110
style='mso-tab-count:1'>         Austin

4'              Principal
               61
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            75%
tin

4'              Chimney
Flute   61            40%
tin

2'              Octave
                  61
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            75%
tin

22/3'       Sesquialtera
II 112         40%
tin

11/3'       Larigot
61            40%
tin

11/7'       Septime
                61
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            40%
tin

1'              Scharff
IV             224
style='mso-tab-count:1'>         75%
tin

8'              Festival
Trumpet               (Gt)
style='mso-tab-count:1'>        

8'              Krummhorn
        61
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            75%
tin

8'              English
Horn      61
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            75%
tin

                  Tremulant

PEDAL

32'           Bourdon*
style='mso-tab-count:1'>              12
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            Austin

16'           Principal*
style='mso-tab-count:1'>              32
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            75%
tin

16'           Violon
  (Gt)

16'           Subbass*
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             32
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            Austin

16'           Bourdon
               (Sw)

8'              Octave
                  32
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            75%
tin

8'              Violon
  (Gt)

8'              Gedeckt
style='mso-tab-count:1'>                 32
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            40%
tin

8'              Bourdon
               (Sw)

4'              Octave
                  32
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            75%
tin

4'              Bourdon
               (Sw)

22/3'       Mixture
IV           128
style='mso-tab-count:1'>         75%
tin

16'           Trombone*
style='mso-tab-count:1'>          32
style='mso-tab-count:1'>            pine

16'           Bombarde
           (Sw)

8'              Trumpet
                (Gt)

4'              Clairon
(Gt)

Couplers

Swell to Great 16' & 8'

Choir to Great 8'

Swell to Choir 8'

Choir to Choir 16'

Choir Unison Off

Choir to Choir 4'

Great to Pedal 8' with reversible thumb & toe pistons

Swell to Pedal 8' with reversible thumb & toe pistons

Choir to Pedal 8' with reversible thumb & toe pistons

Choir to Pedal 4' with reversible thumb & toe pistons

*An asterisk indicates electro-pneumatic action.

Combination action with 100 levels of memory:

Gt            1-2-3-4-5-6
         thumb

Sw           1-2-3-4-5-6
         thumb

Pos         1-2-3-4-5-6
         thumb

Ped         1-2-3-4-5-6
         thumb
& toe

General                  1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8
                 thumb
& toe

Cancel thumb

Set         
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> thumb

Tutti        thumb
& toe

Accessories

Crescendo pedal

Adjustable bench (by crank) and back rest

Clock

Power indicator light

MIDI interface

Cover Feature

A. David Moore, North Pomfret, Vermont, Opus 27

The home of George Becker and Christo Bresnahan,

San Francisco, California

From the builder

Opus 27 is a compact two-manual organ designed to give the player the
greatest number of stop combinations and colors from a small stoplist. The
lower keyboard controls the Great, the upper the Positive. The manual compass
is 56 notes, and the straight pedalboard has 30 notes. Couplers include
Positive to Great, Positive to Pedal, Great to Pedal. The tremulant affects the
entire organ.

The Great has an 8' Clarabella, a 4' Principal in the display, Twelfth,
Fifteenth and Seventeenth. The Clarabella is scaled after examples found on
early Hook organs. The bass octave is stopped. Pipes from tenor C are of open
wood and of English style construction with the windway carved into the cap.
They are similar to early New England-style Stopped Diapason pipes without the
stopper. The blocks have a little step down after the front edge next to the
windway, which helps a great deal with the speech of the pipes. Provision of an
8' open stop on the Great allows for a rich plenum with a strong fundamental.
The Clarabella, drawn alone, serves as a distinctive foil to the 8' Stopped
Diapason. The Clarabella must not be confused with the Melodia, also an open 8'
stop. (The Melodia typically has an inverted mouth, a cap that protrudes over
the front of the pipe, more nicks, and a block, the top of which is curved
forward in various degrees depending on the builder.) Twenty-one Principal
pipes are in the display above the keyboards. The treble pipes are in the case,
followed, front to back, by Fifteenth, Twelfth and Seventeenth. Initially
conceived as a double draw Sesquialtera, it was thought better to separate the
two ranks to allow greater freedom of registration.

The Positive has an 8' Stopped Diapason of wood, a 4' Flute and an 8'
Trumpet. The Stopped Diapason is quite literally an open wood diapason which is
stopped, in the manner of early Hook and English examples. The speech has a
hint of quint and a subtle chiff. The Flute is of open wood pipes. The bass of
the Trumpet has wooden resonators, wooden blocks and shallots.
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> The blocks and shallots are turned (on
a South Bend lathe) from a single piece of wood. The inside bore of the shallot
is tapered. The tongue is held in place with a hardwood cleat and two small
wood screws. The opening in the shallot is tapered and milled into the wooden
face. The dimensions of shallot opening, bore, taper and resonator inside
diameters are close to eighteenth-century North European practice. The use of
wood for the shallot avoids the need for lead-faced shallots or leathered
shallot faces. The wood face, in terms of hardness, is somewhere between lead
or brass and a leathered surface. The brass tongues are fairly wide, thick, and
tapered. The lowest octave has wooden resonators which impart a strong
fundamental and circumvent concerns about collapse. Metal resonators are used
from 4' C with wood shallot-blocks; at middle C the resonators are metal, the
blocks lead and the shallots brass, much like an old North European Trumpet.
The Trumpet has a brightness of speech as well as a distinct and prominent
fundamental throughout. The Trumpet can be played either from the upper manual
or from the pedal, or on both manuals and pedal simultaneously. It is useful
for a cantus firmus, or for an independent pedal line when used with the 8' and
4' Positive stops against the lower manual plenum, and is satisfying as a solo
register.

The Pedal contains the 16' Subbass of butternut wood; the lowest six pipes
flank the manuals. The butternut, like most of the wood in the organ, was
felled on the North Pomfret Moore property. The logs were sawed into boards of
various thicknesses on a WoodMizer thin-kerf band sawmill. Much of the wood is
quarter sawn.

Metal in the Principal is lead with 28% tin. Smaller amounts of antimony,
bismuth and copper are added to the metal alloy. The melting pot holds 700 lbs
of metal. To this is added 1.25 lbs of antimony, .25 lbs of bismuth and 2.5 lbs
of copper. Copper seems to give the alloy a nice ringing sound. Antimony is
added to prevent metal collapse. Pipe metal was poured, hammered and fashioned
into pipes all in the Moore workshop. (A Dom Bédos-type hammering
machine, made by Dave Moore, graces the workshop and is used "once in a
while.") A new hammering machine that can automatically hammer a full
sheet of metal as it is taken from the casting table is now used. This machine
has 17 metal hammers that are raised and dropped onto the metal all at once,
covering the whole width of the sheet. The sheet is then advanced a fraction of
an inch and the hammers move over slightly. Metal hammered with this machine
prevents the "bacon effect" (caused by sheets of metal being hammered
on the edges more than in the middle, thus the sheet starts to get wavy like a
piece of cooked bacon). Hammering pipe metal is an old practice that hardens
the metal, optimizes pipe resonance and imparts a richness of timbre not
otherwise obtainable.

The metal pipework is voiced with fairly wide windways and regulation at the
toe hole for most stops. The toe holes are closed down until the volume of the
pipe is just right. In essence, an Open Diapason register would have pretty
much open toes in the mid range and then the treble pipes would be regulated a
bit at the top register. Toe regulation is important in stops above 4' pitch.
Thus with a 2' stop the windways are kept just right in the top octaves and the
volume is controlled at the toe. This keeps the top ranges of the stop from
being too loud and overpowering. This style of voicing, with moderate nicking,
is just about what the early New England organ builders practiced. One can
often find this type of voicing in various European styles. The pipes are cone
tuned.

The action is suspended, and is provided with easily accessible adjustment
nuts. Trackers are of wood with rolled threaded brass ends and wood or leather
nuts for adjustments. Some tracker ends have wires into the wooden trackers
that go through unbushed metal rollerboard arms. The pedal action has some felt
bushings and washers but the manual keyboards do not.

Winding for the organ is controlled by a small curtain valve. A small
single-fold reservoir is located at the bottom inside the case and feeds air to
three windchests through solid wood trunks in the manner of old instruments.
Pressure is 211/16 inches. Winding is flexible in that a sustained note in one
part of the keyboard is influenced by a moving passage in another part of the
register. The blower is a quiet operating Laukhuff. The tremulant is of the
tremblant doux type described by Dom Bédos and found on early French and
New England organs. A leather-covered door is poised at an angle in a horizontal
section of the main wind trunk. When the tremulant is engaged, the door
oscillates back and forth, creating fluctuation in the wind pressure and a
tremulant effect that varies depending on what is being played.

--A. David Moore

From the owner

I first met Dave Moore in 1970 when he was renting an apartment in the
Pigeon Cove house of Charlie and Ann Fisk. David apprenticed in the then small
Fisk shop before establishing his own workshop in North Pomfret, Vermont, where
he has been designing and building historically informed mechanical action
organs for over three decades. This unique builder has traveled extensively and
studied some of the finest old (and some new) organs of Germany, France, the
Netherlands, Denmark, Italy and England. He has a working knowledge of the
treatises of Clicquot and Dom Bédos. Living and working in New England,
he has acquired a knowledge, both intimate and scholarly, of the 18th- and
19th-century New England builders. His association with the likes of John Fesperman,
Barbara Owen, Fenner Douglass, Mark Brombaugh and Kevin Birch (to name but a
few) has contributed to his understanding of the organ and its music. (Indeed,
David himself is a quite respectable organist.)

Opus 27 was built almost entirely from trees harvested by David Moore on his
Vermont farm, from lead and tin melted, poured and hammered, and from cow
bones, fashioned into keys and stop labels, all in his workshop. When I visited
the shop in 2000 to see the progress of the instrument, boards for the Subbass
still had bark on them! Wood in the organ includes butternut, black cherry,
maple, ash, walnut, pine and oak. Basswood is used for the tableboards of the
windchests. Sliders are made of poplar. Pipe shades were designed by Tom Bowen
and carved by Dave Laro.

Working out the stoplist was an exciting process involving frequent e-mails,
conversations and a number of changes. The goal was to create an instrument of
character (Moore character) with a light, responsive suspended action, stops of
distinctive color, resilient winding, and a case which bespeaks its New England
roots.

Dave Moore and Thad Stamps drove the organ from North Pomfret to San
Francisco in 72 hours! Christo and I helped them unload pipetrays, blower and
organ parts into the modestly sized music room of our San Francisco Victorian.
Over the next three weeks the organ was erected and Dave completed tonal
finishing. The organ has an unmistakable character reflecting David's vision,
his New England craftsmanship and his musical genius. Opus 27 was celebrated
with a dedication recital played in January 2003 by Charles Krigbaum. At that
time Dave Moore gave a brief demonstration of the organ to an appreciative
audience.

Dave Moore prefers to avoid the term eclectic for his organs:

. . . the organs I've made have
a certain sound to them. Pretty full, quite a lot of fundamental, good solid
bass to most things, upperwork designed along the lines of early American
organs . . . I prefer not to have them labeled in any one way. If you say,
"This is an organ constructed after French principles," some people
think that all you can play on it is French music. I prefer to keep the stop
nomenclature in English, so that if someone comes along and says, "Aha!
This is very much like the old Dutch organs, it's perfect for that," they
play that music on it and they're very happy . . . You're much better off if
you can accept an instrument for what it is and play what you can on it.1

Although I have found the organ especially appropriate for playing Bach,
Sweelinck and their contemporaries (having myself played many old organs of
Holland and North and Central Germany), opus 27 does admirably well with the
likes of Franck, Hindemith, Pinkham and Hampton. David Moore and his co-workers
Tom Bowen and Thaddeus Stamps have created a cohesive, harmonious and
imminently musical organ in a little shop in rural Vermont. The sheer joy of
playing this splendid and modestly elegant instrument is, for me, as good as it
gets.

--George Becker, M.D.

Notes

1. Quoted from the essay "A. David Moore, Organ Builder: An Account of
His Work (1971-1994)" by Kevin Birch, music director of St. John's R.C.
Church, Bangor, Maine.

A. David Moore Opus 27 can be heard at the following website
. Dr. Becker, an orthopaedic surgeon, is assistant organist
at the Old First Presbyterian Church in San Francisco. Contact: George
Becker, M.D., 1375 Sutter St., Suite 304, San Francisco, CA 94109;
415/563-7383 . Cover photo: Sean Vallely

GREAT

8' Clarabella

4' Principal

22/3' Twelfth

2' Fifteenth

13/5' Seventeenth

Tremulant
(affects entire organ)

POSITIVE

8' Stopped
Diapason

4' Flute

8' Trumpet

PEDAL

16' Subbass

8' Trumpet

Couplers

Gt/Ped

Pos/Ped

Pos/Gt

30-note, straight pedalboard

Kellner temperament

A = 440

Fabry, Inc., Fox Lake, Illinois, has
completed the renovation of the organ at Zion Lutheran Church, Marengo,
Illinois, originally built in 1960 by Haase Pipe Organs of Chicago as three
manuals and 40 ranks. In 1986 the congregation demolished their old church and
built a new one on the same site. The organ was dismantled, stored, and then
installed in the new building. Over time, the organ deteriorated to the point
where some major work was necessary.

In February 2002, Fabry was engaged to repair, refurbish, and enlarge the
organ. Phase one, completed in October 2002, included a new three-manual
console with movable platform built by Fabry. The new console was fitted with a
Peterson MSP-1000 combination action, multiplex coupler relay and chamber
relay, and is prepared for MIDI. Phase two, completed in February 2003,
included the addition of six ranks of pipework, several additional windchests,
four new wind supply reservoirs, four electric tremolos, a Zimbelstern, and
complete revoicing and re-regulation of the entire instrument. Some of the
existing pipework was repaired and re-racked, and one rank was relocated. David
G. Fabry built all the chestwork, three-manual console, and movable platform.
Joseph Poland handled the installation.

GREAT

16' Quintadena

8' Principal

8' Bourdon

4' Octave

4' Gemshorn

2' Fifteenth

V Mixture

8' English
Trumpet (new)

Chimes

Tremolo

Gt/Gt
16-UO-4, Sw/Gt 16-8-4, Pos/Gt 16-8-4, MIDI/Gt

POSITIV

8' Quintadena

8' Wood
Flute (new)

8' Wood
Flute Celeste (new)

4' Rohrflote

2' Principal

11/3' Larigot

1' Sifflote

III Scharf

8' Trumpet
(Gt)

8' Cromorne

Zimbelstern
(new)

Tremolo

Pos/Pos
16-UO-4, Sw/Pos 16-8-4, MIDI/Pos

SWELL

8' Rohrgedeckt

8' Gamba

8' Gamba
Celeste (TC)

4' Principal

4' Spitzflote

22/3' Nazard

2' Koppelflote

13/5' Tierce
(new)

IV Mixture

16' Chalumeau
(new)

8' Trompete

4' Schalmei

Tremolo

Sw/Sw
16-UO-4, Pos/Sw, Gt/Sw,

MIDI/Sw

PEDAL

32' Acoustic
Bass (resultant)

16' Principal
(new)

16' Subbass

16' Quintadena
(Gt)

8' Principal

8' Nachthorn

4' Choral
Bass

II Rausch
Pfeife

32' Bombarde
(resultant)

16' Chalumeau
(Sw)

16' Posaune

4' Schalmei
(Sw)

Gt/Ped
8-4, Sw/Ped 8-4,

Pos/Ped
8-4, MIDI/Ped

Bedient Pipe Organ Company

Roca, Nebraska

First Presbyterian Church

Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

The challenge to Bedient was to maintain the integral parts of an 1889
Steere and Turner, update and expand the organ, while at the same time make the
organ user-friendly and accessible. Opus 72 at First Presbyterian Church,
Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin (II/30) accomplished just that. In 2003, much of the
organ was dismantled and moved to our Lincoln, Nebraska shop where it was
reassembled, and old and new were interlaced.

New additions to the organ are 11 ranks of pipes (including a new speaking
façade drawn from the Principal 8' and Pedal Principal 8'), a new,
enlarged Swell windchest, electro-pneumatic stop action, solid-state
combination action, electro-pneumatic Pedal key action, wind system components,
both keyboards, the pedalboard and an adjustable height organ bench. Retained
and modified were the Great windchest and Pedal Bourdon wind-chest, some of the
façade casework (necessitating the stripping of old paint and careful
matching of cherry wood finish on both old and new parts), and structural parts
of the organ. The entire organ was revoiced to accommodate the newly renovated
sanctuary and blend the old and new pipes to be as one. The new stops are
indicated in italics.

--Gene Bedient

GREAT

16' Bourdon

8' Principal

8' Dulciana

8' Melodia

4' Octave

4' Flute
d'Amore

2' Fifteenth

Mixture
III-V

8' Clarinet

8' Trompete

SWELL

8' Open
Diapason

8' Salicional

8' Voix
céleste (tc)

8' Stopped
Diapason (new pipes 13-58)

4' Spitzflute

22/3' Nazard

2' Doublette

13/5' Tierce

Mixture
II (1980s addition)

8' Oboe

8' Trumpet
(1980s addition)

PEDAL

16' Bourdon

8' Principal

8' Bourdon
(ext)

4' Octave
(ext)

16' Fagott

Couplers

Great/Pedal

Swell/Pedal

Swell/Great

Tremulant