Cover feature

Russell & Co. Organ Builders,
Chester, Vermont
First Presbyterian Church, Ithaca, New York

From the builder
The term magnum opus is often used in the organbuilding trade to denote the apotheosis of an organbuilder’s career. It is an impressive expression, and the organs that receive such an accolade are usually equally impressive. It is interesting to note, however, that the distinction of magnum opus can be an ephemeral one. What a builder thinks of as his ‘biggest and best’ may be eclipsed just a few years later with an opus magnum novum. In any event, at the outset of a project an organbuilder has termed his magnum opus, he inevitably approaches the creation of the instrument with great reverence and dedication. When we received the contract to build our opus 47 for First Presbyterian Church in Ithaca, New York, we knew this would be our magnum opus and, regardless of whether a grander organ would leave our shop in years to come, took on the project in this way, making no little plans to design and build a pipe organ worthy of this special moniker.
First Presbyterian is a grand Romanesque stone structure built in 1894 and located in the heart of downtown Ithaca. The sanctuary seats 500 under a high barrel vault, coffered and richly ornamented with plaster florets. The church enjoys a large, vibrant congregation and an equally active music program, including a sizable adult choir, children’s choir, and handbell choir. In conjunction with the organ project, the sanctuary was renovated to remedy the less-than-desirable acoustics. Previously, the entire floor of the room was carpeted, and the pews were cushioned in heavy velvet. A completely new ceramic tile floor, new and less-absorbent seat cushions, hardened wall surfaces, and a new rear wall designed to reflect sound randomly all contribute to a lively and supportive acoustic, approaching three seconds of reverberation.
The preceding instrument began its life in 1901 as Austin’s opus 39—a three-manual instrument of 47 ranks, including a five-rank Echo organ added in 1930. The organ was installed in the front of the church behind a handsome white oak case crowned with a magnificent central tower rising nearly the full height of the sanctuary. Designed in traditional early 20th-century style, the organ contained the typical myriad of foundation stops, with sparse trimmings of upperwork, undergirded by an ample and satisfying pedal department. Sixty-five years later, Austin was called to rebuild the organ in keeping with the tonal thinking of the day. The result was completely new pipework typical of late 1960s construction and voicing; the Echo organ, thanks to the organist, Dorothy Arnold, was retained and unchanged. With many manual stops sharing common basses, and the pedal division largely borrowed from the manuals, there was little foundation tone. The scaling of the new pipework exacerbated this condition, with halving ratios that resulted in a thin bass and a treble ascendancy unwelcome in so dry a room. The impressive 16¢ and 8¢ 1901 façade was completely replaced by much narrower-scaled pipes with English bay mouths, leaving large, odd-looking gaps between the pipes.
By the 1990s, the organ proved to be inadequate for the many demands the church’s music program placed upon it. Mounting mechanical problems toward the end of the decade that rendered the instrument increasingly unreliable led the church’s organist, George Damp, and the director of music, Larry Doebler, to realize that a completely new instrument was needed to correct the tonal inadequacies of the existing instrument and to fill the needs of the extensive music program. The church named John Schwandt as consultant on the project. Dr. Schwandt recommended requesting proposals from lesser-known builders of high quality. After a national search, Russell & Co. of Chester, Vermont was selected in late 2002 to build the new organ.
A profusion of new romantic organs in recent years, as well as a renewed reverence and interest in the work of early 20th-century American builders, specifically Skinner, was the milieu for the design and construction of this instrument. While Russell & Co. have built several large instruments along French romantic lines, an American romantic/ symphonic organ presented a new challenge: how to take all the lessons learned from our previous instruments, combine them with a century of progress in American organbuilding, and produce an organ capable of accompanying congregational song, playing choral and orchestral literature, and still be able to play the solo organ repertoire, all the while staying true to a ‘symphonic’ ideal.
This challenge was met valiantly with an effective partnership between our firm and George Damp. Having spent all his professional life as an organist, teacher, and church musician, George brought years of experience and a clear idea of what he wanted to the drawing board—a grand, large-scale organ that would make Ernest Skinner proud, but would also not disappoint the likes of G. Donald Harrison. While orchestral voices and ensembles were of great importance, so too was the presence of well-developed and blended choruses in each division.
Our initial proposal was for a three-manual organ with a separately enclosed Solo and Choir sharing one manual. However, during our early discussions with the church music staff, it became clear that to fill all the demands placed upon it, a significantly larger, four-manual instrument would be better suited and would eliminate several reluctant compromises in the original design. Having completed the rebuild of a four-manual Æolian-Skinner, opus 1433, for First Unitarian Church in Worcester, Massachusetts, and the building of a new, large three-manual French romantic organ for the Cathedral of St. Paul, also in Worcester, we felt ready to tackle our first new four-manual organ. During the selection process, George visited Worcester’s First Baptist Church, home to a rebuilt Reuter for which we constructed a new, large four-manual Skinner-style console. Skinner consoles have long been renowned for their visual elegance, impeccable craftsmanship, and intuitive and comfortable ergonomics. It was agreed First Presbyterian should possess such a console to complement the new organ.
First Presbyterian has long been host to performances of choral and chamber music by numerous local ensembles, and the acoustical renovation that preceded the organ installation only made the space more attractive for outside groups’ use. Knowing this, we included in the initial proposal a small division designed for use as a continuo organ at chancel level. George was hesitant at first—it seemed like a water and oil situation to have such a division included in a grand romantic organ. However, with a large, higher-pressure instrument as the main organ, George and Larry Doebler agreed that it would be futile to attempt to use it in continuo playing, and not only agreed to the division’s inclusion, but encouraged its enlargement. What started out as a small five-stop division grew into a full-fledged low-pressure Positiv, complete with a Sesquialtera and a very gently voiced four-rank Scharff. Its elegant case makes use of the crown and columns of the large throne chair that used to sit in the middle of the chancel, blending the case with the rest of the chancel decoration.
While spacious, the two front organ chambers had previously housed 47 ranks of pipes, including a very small pedal division. One of the project’s greatest challenges was to make 79 ranks of pipes fit in these same chambers—including a large-scale independent pedal division with three 32' stops—while maintaining easy access to each pipe and mechanism. After much experimenting in the forgiving world of computer-aided design, a layout that achieved both of these goals was reached. Aside from the Antiphonal and Positiv, the entire instrument is installed behind the organ case, with the Great, Solo and Choir divisions to the congregation’s left, and the Swell and Pedal on the right. There is no ceiling over these chambers, allowing for a great deal of sound to ascend into the barrel vault over the chancel, creating a wonderful blending chamber of sorts, which then projects the sound well into the room. Even from the center of the chancel, it is difficult to tell from which side sounds are coming.
The Antiphonal organ is located high up in the right rear corner of the sanctuary. The Antiphonal Swell division, consisting of the original Echo organ with two additions, is housed in the former Echo organ chamber. The two stops of the Antiphonal Great sit on a newly constructed ledge in front of the chamber, with the pipes from the 8' Prestant forming a simple and elegant façade.
The console constructed for opus 47 models the console at First Baptist in Worcester. Built of quarter-sawn red oak and walnut with a hand-rubbed oil and stain finish, it complements the elegance of the renovated sanctuary and restored organ case. With manual keys of 10th-cut ivory and ebony, and pedals of maple and ebony, the console immediately has a luxurious tactile feel. Through many consultations with George as well as with the organists working in our own shop, the selection and layout of controls were designed to be as intuitive to the player as possible. The stopjamb layout takes its cue from the tall consoles of English cathedrals; this provides the vertical space to lay out the complete choruses of each division in one line, making drawing every plenum quick and straightforward. Though a complete list of playing aids and mechanicals accompanies the specification, several are worth noting here. With the choral accompanist in mind, the Swell is provided with ten divisional pistons, and pedal-to-manual combination couplers with discrete memories are available on each division. A 99-level combination action is included with 16 general pistons and a sequencer; additionally, each piston can be easily modified as to which stops it affects, releasing the player from the distinction and restraints of divisional and general pistons. Divisional cancels are also provided by pushing the division nameplate on the stopjamb.
The key and stop action throughout the instrument is electro-pneumatic, a departure from our usual practice of employing slider and pallet chests. The chests are modeled on late 1960s Aeolian-Skinner pitman chests, with several of our own modifications. Even the Positiv, speaking on 23⁄4" pressure, plays on a pitman chest and works beautifully, resulting in quick and desirable pipe speech, ideal for its anticipated continuo use.
A design goal from the outset of the project was to make the organ large enough to have four complete manual divisions (seven, including the Positiv and Antiphonal Great and Swell), but to keep costs manageable, all the while not sacrificing quality. To this end, we looked to the existing Austin pipework, all having been new (with the exception of the Echo) in 1969, to see what might be reused in the new organ. While hard to believe this neo-baroque pipework could blend its way into an American romantic organ, we found much of the pipework was well constructed and cut up low enough to permit its successful rescaling and revoicing in a very different style.
Of the 40 completely new ranks of pipes added to the organ, all new choruses and flutes are constructed of 94% lead alloy, a practice we have long employed, allowing our voicers to achieve a degree of tonal superiority unattainable with the use of lighter, higher tin content alloys. In general, this allows the 8¢ line to be weighty and warm, progressing through a velvety chorus to light and silvery upperwork—all mixtures in the organ are also of the same high-lead content. The epitome of this construction and voicing style is the 8¢ Montre on the Great, a 42-scale Diapason more English than French, despite its name. Being placed outside the Great expression box, the Montre’s tone is commanding, warm and strong, and is paired with the enclosed 44-scale 8' Principal for lighter choruses. True to the design objective, choruses through at least 4¢ were provided in the three main manual divisions (Great, Swell, Choir), resulting in three very independent divisions that terrace and blend successfully for the performance of French literature. With the old Great 8' Principal revoiced as the Swell Diapason, and the 45-scale English Diapason in the Choir of special variable scale, the five combined 8' Diapasons create a rich, singing tone that serves as a lush solo color, as well as the basis for the aforementioned well-blended choruses.
One of the hallmarks of an American symphonic organ is the abundance of orchestral reeds, so carefully developed by the likes of Skinner a century ago. Fittingly, opus 47 has a delicious array of imitative stops spread out amid the manual divisions. The demand for these stops allowed us to use several ranks we had been storing in our stockroom for many years while the popular organ style called for very different reed stops. In the Choir division, the Clarinet finds its traditional home, and comes to Ithaca as a restored Johnson Bell Clarinet. In our study of early 20th-century American organs, a common finding was that the Choir division, while potentially having enough foundation tone, nearly always lacked the trumpet-class reed timbre to assert itself against the Swell organ. In this light, the second Choir reed deserves special note as an unusual stop, even in this age of rediscovered orchestral sounds. The 8' Waldhorn uses restored Aeolian pipes from the Higgins estate in Worcester, Massachusetts. This medium-scaled, capped trumpet is not quite a French Horn, and not quite a Trumpet, but something in between. It has a chameleon-like quality in that it is a beautiful and haunting solo voice, but when drawn with the full Choir, it acts as a chorus reed, giving the Choir a definite presence amidst full organ.
Two new reeds, the English Horn in the Solo, and the Orchestral Oboe in the Antiphonal Swell, were beautifully voiced by Chris Broome, turning out exactly as we had wanted them, and possessing striking imitative qualities.
For climactic moments in both repertoire and accompaniments, two solo chorus reeds are provided in the Solo division. The enclosed Tuba Mirabilis has harmonic resonators from tenor F# and is voiced on 15" pressure, providing the traditional dark, smooth and powerful tone suggested by its name. The 8' Silver Trumpet, played on 10" pressure, serves to contrast with the Tuba for a different effect. Envisioned in the same manner as the Solo Trumpet Harmonique at Yale’s Woolsey Hall, the pipes are constructed with French shallots and placed outside the Solo enclosure, yielding a brighter and brassier tone. While neither stop is oppressively loud, when combined they yield a tone of refined power that can top full organ with single notes.
Another criterion from early on in the project was to have a profusion of string stops of varying power and brightness to enable a truly orchestral string crescendo from pp to ff. While there are the usual strings sprinkled throughout the Choir and Swell, the Solo strings truly cap the string chorus, possessing incredible intensity and brilliance. Although the Solo was originally designed with one pair, the discovery of two ranks of Skinner orchestral strings in our stockroom led to the addition of a second set to be the pinnacle of the string chorus. Voicer Ted Gilbert worked wonders with these two pairs—the Gamba is the quieter of the two, possessing an almost woody quality, whereas the Cello represents the extreme limit of bright, powerful, shimmering string voicing. Twelve ranks of string or undulating tone in the organ, from the Swell Flauto Dolce through the Solo Cello, provide a seamless powerful crescendo, made even more effective with the use of double expression in the Solo.
No symphonic organ is complete without an expression system that can fully restrain the power of the instrument and instantly change the dynamic of the stops drawn. To this end, no fewer than six Skinner-replica whiffletree expression motors are used in this organ. While the Swell, Choir, and Antiphonal Swell are enclosed and expressive as expected, the Solo and Great warrant description of their expressive capabilities. From the outset, we had designed the Great to be partially enclosed, mainly the reeds and upperwork. Additionally, the Solo was to speak through its own shades into the Great box, providing the division with the aforementioned double expression.
The Great organ’s expressive capabilities were expanded early on with the decision to enclose the entire division with the exception of the 8' Montre and 16' Principal. Through careful scaling and voicing, the division doesn’t suffer its enclosure with the shades open, and contains the tonal resources necessary to lead enthusiastic congregational singing with all 500 seats filled, as well as serving its traditional role in the performance of organ literature. However, with the added benefit of 16-stage expression, these same tonal resources can be manipulated to match any congregation size, as well as provide another enclosed division of power for choral accompaniment.
At the same time, to give the Solo and Great more independence from each other, we added a second set of shades to the Solo, allowing the division to speak directly into the chancel. This provides the Solo division with a third expressive option. As installed, the Solo swell box is behind the Great box and four feet higher. The primary Solo shades open into the Great, with the Solo chancel shades being at the very top of the Solo box, four feet high, and opening directly into the room. While giving an acceptable dynamic range, these smaller shades provide an enormous timbral range, noticed especially with the strings. With the full Solo string chorus playing and the main Solo shades open, the full weight of the 8' stops comes through—one can almost hear bows drawn across the strings. However, when the upper shades open, the full range of upper harmonics from these stops erupts from the box, filling out the sound just when you thought it couldn’t be any brighter and more sonorous.
The control of all these expression options is met with four swell shoes, including the crescendo shoe. The Solo shoe normally controls the chancel shades. However, when the “Solo Double Expression” drawknob is drawn, the Solo shoe operates both sets of Solo shades, as well as the Great shades, in a set sequence to give the maximum crescendo possible. Additionally, a second drawknob closes the Solo chancel shades should that be desired, and sets the Solo shoe to control only the main Solo shades. The Great and Antiphonal Swell expression functions are independently assignable to any shoe, including crescendo. When not assigned, the shades default to a position settable by the organist. Harris Precision Products retrofitted two of their standard drawknob units with potentiometers to set these defaults, and thus these controls are seamlessly integrated into the console via rotating drawknobs. All Swells to Swell is provided to afford simple control over the entire dynamic range of the organ, and indicators are provided below the coupler rail to show the position of each set of shades.
The use of such sophisticated expression functions allows the organist to present the full dynamic range of the orchestra, and the use of the smaller Solo chancel shades allows for the ultimate in dynamic and timbral expression, a feature unique to this organ, and one we hope to further develop and use in subsequent installations.
To complement the varied and colorful manual divisions, a large, independent Pedal division affords the appropriate bass sonority for whatever registration is drawn on the manuals. Consisting of eleven independent ranks and 29 stops, the Pedal organ is augmented by judicious borrowing from the manuals. Four 32' stops are provided to underpin the instrument and provide a true feeling of gravitas. From the initial planning phases of the project, it was made clear that no digital voices were to be used in the organ; thus, all 32' stops play real pipes, or are derived. The Bourdon, of generous scale, is voiced gently for use with the softest registrations, but with enough quint in its tone to be made stronger as more pedal stops are added. The 32' Principal, an extension of the 16¢, uses Haskell pipes to GGGG#, the rest of the 32' octave being a resultant. The full-length 32' Contra Posaune, also masterfully voiced by Chris Broome, gives plenty of weight and power to full organ, but without being brash or rattling. For a ‘second’ 32' reed, the Harmonics is a 102⁄3' cornet, derived from the Great 16' Double Trumpet and 16' Gemshorn, giving the semblance of 32' reed tone underneath smaller tutti registrations.
With the added features of sophisticated expression, as well as the inclusion of more fully developed choruses, First Presbyterian’s instrument represents a logical and successful extension and merging of the two dominant styles of 20th-century American organbuilding: the symphonic and American classic schools. The instrument serves as a platform for the successful performance of a wide body of organ literature, as well as fulfilling its accompanimental roles. In its design, construction, voicing and tonal finishing, we feel truly proud to call this instrument our magnum opus, regardless of what instruments leave our shop in years to come, and thank First Presbyterian for the opportunity to set our sights high and build an organ we have so long dreamed of creating. We therefore commend this instrument to the glory of God and the people of First Presbyterian Church as a product of our finest craftsmanship. May it long bring joy and inspiration to those who hear and play it, just as it has inspired us as organbuilders in its creation.
Those working on the project included: Stephen Russell, David Gordon, Gail Grandmont, Carole Russell, Theodore Gilbert, Jonathan Ortloff, Larry Chace, Frank Thompson, Matthew Russell, Peter Walker, Allan Taylor, Eric Johansson, and Andrew Lawrence.
—Jonathan Ortloff

From the organist
Now in my fifth decade of deep affection for the pipe organ, its music, and its role in worship, I am brought to this point of extraordinary magnificence in the creation of the opus 47 Russell & Co. organ. During these five decades, I have witnessed many trends and fads in organbuilding. The commitment of this church to the pipe organ as its primary medium for the leading of congregational song is all the more inspiring to me.
This instrument transcends the fads of recent decades. The organ/sanctuary committee, formed by this church in the fall of 2000 and guided by our organ consultant, John Schwandt, selected several organbuilders to consider for the project. This committee authorized my colleague Larry Doebler and me to travel far and wide to experience the work of the builders we had selected as finalists, each of whom subsequently visited the church to inspect the sanctuary space and existing organ. In the end, we all had no doubt that Russell & Co. was the appropriate choice for us.
While we were confident that our new organ would be very fine indeed, we could not have anticipated the level of magnificence that has been achieved here by Stephen Russell and his colleagues. In my 50 years of playing pipe organs, I have never been privileged to play an organ so elegant, expressive and versatile as this one. The word synergy is one that I have never before been comfortable using. This powerful word, meaning “combined or cooperative action or force,” is the perfect term to describe the wondrous emergence and continuing presence of this organ. Beginning with the collective sharing of the original committee, the guidance of Anita Cummings, pastor of this church at the outset of the project, the beneficence of Mrs. Dorothy Park, church member and donor of funds for this organ, the courage and vision of church members to undertake and fund the acoustical transformation of the sanctuary from sonically “dead” to vibrant and moderately reverberant, and the mutual respect and creative sharing of organbuilder, consultant and resident organist, have resulted in the ultimate synergy: the harmonious blending of thought, craft, sound and space that is far greater than the sum of its parts.
I offer gratitude and the highest of commendations to master organbuilder/voicer, Stephen Russell, his dedicated staff, and the many others who have had a hand in the three-year process of the emergence of opus 47!
—George Edward Damp

From the church
The history of our new Russell organ begins with the construction of our current sanctuary in 1894. In 1901, the Austin Company installed our first permanent organ (the oak façade that currently supports the visible organ pipes behind the choir is part of that original installation). In 1930, the Echo organ (above the southwest entrance to the sanctuary) was added. In 1969, Austin built a completely new organ in the chancel, one typical of that period—an instrument that, with its sheer power and rough voicing, overwhelmed our beautiful, but acoustically rather dead, sanctuary.
Problems with the Austin organ started to appear in the early 1990s. Minor problems continued to occur, and it was clear that something needed to be done. An organ/sanctuary committee was formed that, early in its existence, possessed the keen insight that the sanctuary itself was a part of the organ (the box that the organ’s voice is dispersed into), and that any renovations to the organ must be accomplished within the acoustical framework of the sanctuary.
As a result, the committee hired an organ consultant, John Schwandt, and an acoustical consultant, Scott Riedel, to guide them through the decision-making process of repairing our organ. Each made an initial, individual presentation to the committee, but most memorable was their joint participation in a lengthy “town meeting” with the committee and members of the congregation. The meeting ended with a focus for the project—to improve our worship experience by enhancing both music and the spoken word through renovations to both the organ and the sanctuary.
Early on in this process, then-pastor Anita Cummings and organist George Damp approached Mrs. Dorothy Park with the invitation to become a supporter of this exciting adventure for the church. After several subsequent discussions, Mrs. Park indicated that the church deserved the finest organ created by the finest builder, and that she would cover the cost of the organ if the congregation would pay for the acoustical renovations.
A clear consensus decided that Stephen Russell was the right person to build the new organ. At the same time, Schickel Architecture of Ithaca was selected to design the renovations to the sanctuary. Several significant changes to the sanctuary were implemented to improve the acoustical environment. Certainly the most outstanding component of the sanctuary renovations is the reconstruction of the rear wall of the sanctuary. Its subtle sunburst pattern surrounding a high circular window is both extremely pleasing to the eye as well as functional in randomly scattering sound.
Suffice it to say, every aspect of the organ, from its general layout to the voicing of each individual pipe (all 5,000 of them) was accomplished with the unique features of our sanctuary in mind. The outcome is truly a gift for the ages, something that First Presbyterian Church can share with Ithaca and the surrounding area for decades to come. One can only hope that the generosity of Mrs. Park and the efforts of those involved in this project will be more than repaid by the joy and exhilaration shared by all those who experience our wonderful new organ.
—Tom Owens,
Elder and member of session,
First Presbyterian Church

From the consultant
It is a privilege to offer a few words regarding Russell & Co. opus 47. In a world that so desperately hungers for and needs beauty, it is satisfying to have been a part of a long process that has ultimately yielded a thing of great beauty that will inspire the generations yet to come.
My primary involvement in this project occurred before contract-signing. It is my fervent belief that consultants should provide general education and thereby enable church committees to make an informed decision about what is best for their congregation’s worship and community life. However, before we could start to talk about organs, it was very important to have the bigger picture in perspective, namely the inferior acoustical properties of the room. The committee wisely considered the importance of good acoustics that benefit congregational prayer, singing, oratory, as well as but not limited to instrumental music. Scott Riedel provided acoustical consultation; the action taken on most of his recommendations yielded a vastly improved sacred space.
The pipe organ, while not the only possible instrument for worship, remains the best single instrument to lead corporate worship because of its ability to sustain tones from soft to loud and from every pitch level. A well-designed and constructed pipe organ should enable an organist to creatively and expressively accomplish this musical leadership, often interpreting music of many different styles. It was my recommendation that an organ of rich, warm tone and with ample variety of color from all pipe families (principal, flute, string, and reed) be considered. The great organbuilders of the past were not striving to build instruments after someone else’s style, but to create organs suited to the rooms in which they were installed and reflecting the cultural identity of their time and place. That Russell opus 47 resembles in some aspects organs of the early half of the 20th century is entirely irrelevant. The fact remains that it is not an E. M. Skinner organ, an Æolian-Skinner organ, a Kimball organ, or any other organ. Rather, I believe that this instrument transcends labeling of any kind. Opus 47 has richness of color, overall warmth, and clarity. In previous periods of organ building, rich fundamental tone and clarity were thought to be mutually exclusive attributes; one could not have both. The refined voicing and the mechanical perfection of the pitman windchest exemplify an organ that will allow for music of any style. Congratulations are due to the committee and congregation for investing in their future so well!
—John D. Schwandt

Russell & Co. Organ Builders, Opus 47
First Presbyterian Church, Ithaca, New York, May 2006

GREAT – II (Expressive)
16' Principal* 49 pipes, 1–12=Pedal
16' Gemshorn* 12
8' Montre* 61
8' Principal 61
8' Bourdon 61
8' Flûte Harmonique 49
8' Gemshorn 61
4' Octave 61
4' Rohrflöte 61
22⁄3' Nasard 61
2' Fifteenth 61
11⁄3' Fourniture IV–V 297
16' Double Trumpet 61
8' Trumpet 61
Chancel Great Off
MIDI on Great
*Unenclosed

SWELL – III (Expressive)
16' Lieblich Gedeckt 61
8' Diapason 61
8' Bourdon 61
8' Viola 61
8' Viola Celeste 61
8' Flauto Dolce 61
8' Flute Celeste 49
4' Octave 61
4' Nachthorn 61
2' Octave 61
2' Plein Jeu IV–V 296
16' Fagotto 61
8' French Trumpet 61
8' Oboe d’Amour 61
8' Vox Humana 61
4' Clarion 61
Tremulant
MIDI on Swell
Swell Sub
Chancel Swell Off
Swell Super

CHOIR – I (Expressive)
8' English Diapason 61
8' Hohlflöte 61
8' Quintadena 61
8' Erzahler 61
8' Erzahler Celeste 49
4' Octave 61
4' Koppelflöte 61
22⁄3' Nazard 61
2' Flute 61
13⁄5' Tierce 61
16' Corno di Bassetto 12
8' Waldhorn 61
8' Clarinet 61
Chimes Ant. Swell
Tremulant
Choir Sub
Choir Off
Choir Super
MIDI on Choir

POSITIV – I
8' Gedeckt 61
8' Spillflöete 61
4' Prestant 61
2' Principal 61
11⁄3' Quint 61
22⁄3' Sesquialtera II 122
1' Scharff III–IV 232
Tremulant
Zimbelstern
Positiv Off

SOLO – IV (Expressive)
16' Cello 12
8' Concert Flute 61
8' Cello 61
8' Cello Celeste 61
8' Gamba 61
8' Gamba Celeste 61
8' English Horn 61
8' Tuba Mirabilis 61
8' Silver Trumpet* 70, double trebles
Chimes Ant. Swell
Tremulant
Solo Sub
Solo Off
Solo Super
MIDI on Solo
*Unenclosed

ANTIPHONAL GREAT – II
8' Prestant 61
8' Stopped Flute 61
Antiphonal Great Off
Antiphonal Great Super

ANTIPHONAL SWELL – III
8' Gedeckt 61
8' Viole Aetheria 61
8' Vox Angelica 49
4' Flute d’Amour 61
8' Orchestral Oboe 61
8' Vox Humana 61
Chimes
Tremulant
Antiphonal Swell Sub
Antiphonal Swell Off
Antiphonal Swell Super

PEDAL
32' Principal (GGGG#) 4
32' Contra Bourdon 12
16' Open

Russell & Co. Organ Builders,
Chester, Vermont
First Presbyterian Church, Ithaca, New York

Richards, Fowkes & Co., Ooltewah, Tennessee
Opus 17, 2010
The Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration, Dallas, Texas
The Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration was founded on Holy Cross Day, September 14, 1956, and the first permanent church building was built and dedicated in 1961. Construction of the present sanctuary that seats just over 500 was begun in March 1969, and the first service was held in the church on Easter Day, 1970. Plans were made to purchase a large three-manual organ from Aeolian-Skinner, but due to economic issues a small two-manual mechanical action instrument was purchased when Robert Sipe was tonal director. It was intended that this interim organ would be relocated to a future chapel. Their dream of a three-manual organ would not be fulfilled for 40 years.
A contract with our company was signed in January 2005 as part of a much larger master plan to enhance music, education, and worship within the church. Necessary changes in the balcony, including relocating stairwells and HVAC, dovetailed with the erection of a spacious wing adjacent to the main sanctuary. Several acoustical studies were made, and Dawn Schuette of Threshold Acoustics, LLC of Chicago, was hired as the consultant. Though the nave has good height, brick walls, and no carpeting, there was little reverberation or bass frequency response. The space worked best for small ensembles but failed to support congregational singing and organ music. Remedial action for these deficiencies included adding mass to the three rear ceiling bays, providing an open railing at the front of the gallery, and the construction of new solid walls around the organ. The most dramatic improvement involved the installation of solid panels to extend downward the upper portion of the brick walls, to reduce the negative effect of the severely corbelled side aisles.1 This work was completed in preparation for the arrival of the new organ in July 2009.
We founded our company in 1988 on a stretch of highway outside of Ooltewah, Tennessee, a suburb of Chattanooga and home to Litespeed bicycles and McKee Foods Corporation, maker of Little Debbie snacks. We chose this location because of the rich atmosphere of international performers and pedagogy centered around the Anton Heiller Memorial Organ in nearby Collegedale, Tennessee. Our combined study in organ and church music has been a guiding force in the evolution of our company’s instruments. Ralph Richards, a native of Wisconsin, studied organ and harpsichord at Oberlin College and then worked for a short period with John Brombaugh before founding a company with Paul Fritts in Washington State. Bruce Fowkes grew up in Utah and studied organ at BYU and Utah State before working as an apprentice with Matthew Copley and Michael Bigelow, himself an apprentice of Brombaugh. During that time we were exposed to a resurgence of interest in historic organs and performance practice. Brombaugh’s organs gave Americans a personal tie to historic organs and to such organists as Harald Vogel and Klaas Bolt, beginning with his seminal instrument in Lorain, Ohio in 1970.
Our previous experience served as a point of departure. We re-evaluated the then-common knowledge of historic organ building, including pipe construction, voicing techniques, and keyboard dimensions, supplementing it with our own trips to study the historic instruments. Our interest and research expanded from organs of the Hanseatic coast to include those of Silbermann, Hildebrandt, and others in central Germany, and those of Müller, Hinsz, and Bätz in Holland. These later Dutch organs are not only visually stunning but possess a colorful palette that supports the strong emphasis to this day on improvisation in the context of services.
While we are inspired by the historic instruments, it is neither possible nor our intent to copy them. Rather, we want the organist and listener to experience the effect of those organs—visual aesthetics, touch, and sound. Due to the architecture and acoustics of the rooms in which we work, we must adapt case design and voicing to achieve a similar result. The final determinant is our eyes and ears—a result of 40 years of living and breathing organs. We are not restrained by arbitrary rules but are free to use any tool or technique gleaned from our study to achieve our goal.
We believe that the Dutch historic models mentioned above naturally bridge time, region, and repertoire, lending themselves to convincing registrations due to the melding of the older vocale style from north Germany with the instrumental elements of central and southern Germany. Likewise, Opus 17 includes an abundance of foundation stops, each carefully voiced to maximize its usefulness individually and in combination. For example, the strings are not so keen and flutes not so dark as to preclude their use together. The delicate balance of clarity and warmth can be achieved only through careful on-site voicing. Because variety of sound is found in color, not in volume contrast, one can play trios on three individual stops, or on groups of stops from each division.
Of particular interest in the tonal resources of Opus 17 is the 8′ Vox humana. Patterned after 18th-century Dutch examples, this stop is a chameleon, its character changing with the addition of other stops. We refer to the Oboe 8′ and Trompet 8′ in the Swell division as Franken-reeds. Based on extensive research of French and Central German models, they are able to assume multiple roles in the literature. The lyric Oboe works well in French literature, but when combined with the Flöte 4′ it takes on a consort quality. The tapered open wood Hohlflöte, the most colorful flute in the organ, is based on models at St. Ludgeri, Norden and Jacobikirche in Hamburg. The inclusion of a lighter 8′ wooden stopped flute in the same division is not redundant; rather, it is more useful for continuo and soft accompaniment than its full-bodied cohort. As in the best historic examples, we design and voice our flutes to yield the widest possible variety of sound: the Spitzflöte 8′ is distinctive from the Hohlflöte 8′, as is the Gedackt 8′ from the Rohrflöte 8′.
The design and touch of our key action differs from the ideals of the early reform movement. The touch is not so light as to be like playing on eggshells nor as heavy as some historic organs, and we prefer a more moderate spring-to-pluck ratio that is responsive and reliable due to careful design and construction. The organist has a sense of playing what one hears—a substantial organ.
The use of a shallow case in our smaller organs is abandoned for a broader and deeper case as part of the sound concept, and to allow adequate access to all components. The deeper case encourages blend and does not inhibit projection. The Swell division is in a separate shallow and wide case behind the Great and the shades open to 90° to be aurally unobtrusive. Good lighting, built-in workbenches, and sturdy ship ladders facilitate tuning and maintenance.
The case is strongly patterned after an organ in Bolsward, Holland, built between 1776–1781 by Antonius Hinsz. It had long been our dream to recreate the undulating and well-proportioned façade of 18th-century Dutch organs. The case is made of soft maple and poplar and is finished in a bold red, faux-grained mahogany, chosen to complement and enhance the room. Our original design included a single carved panel but we were concerned it would not be visually cohesive and would hinder the egress of sound from the Positive. Late in the construction we realized a painting would solve these issues. The concept was quickly refined, and we commissioned Cass Holly to execute the en grisaille cherubs on the oval canvas.
A core group of employees with more than 10 (and some closer to 20) years of employment with our firm assures the continuity necessary to produce consistent high quality. Our employees bring a wide variety of previous experience in organ building from the U.S., France, and England. It is a privilege to be able to work with incredibly talented people.
The organ was dedicated during Sunday services on April 18, 2010. James David Christie presented a pair of concerts wherein he programmed a colorful range of works by less widely known composers. The gala reception following the evening recital was a wonderful celebration of the completion of the project.
We wish to express our gratitude to the organ committee and members of the church for their faith and support in this joint effort, especially the Reverend J.D. Godwin, rector, and Joel Martinson, director of music and organist.
Please visit our website for additional shop photos and sound clips of the finished organ (www.richardsfowkes.com).
—Richards, Fowkes & Co.

Current personnel
Trent Buhr
Patrick Fischer
Bruce Fowkes
Karla Fowkes
Brian Miscio
Jesse Mozzini
Nathan Perry
Patrick Spiesser
Dean Wilson
Andy Wishart

Richards, Fowkes & Co.
7821 Old Lee Highway
Ooltewah, TN 37363-8400
423/899-8442
[email protected]

________________________________________

Richards, Fowkes & Co. Opus 17
The Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration, Dallas, Texas
47 stops

GREAT
16′ Principal
8′ Octave
8′ Gedackt
8′ Spitzflöte
4′ Octave
4′ Rohrflöte
3′ Quint
2′ Octave
V Cornet (mc)
V Mixture
16′ Trompet
8′ Trompet

POSITIVE
16′ Quintadena
8′ Principal
8′ Hohlflöte
8′ Flöte doux
4′ Octave
4′ Spitzflöte
2′ Octave
11⁄3′ Larigot
II Sesquialtera
V Scharff
8′ Dulcian
8′ Vox humana
4′ Schalmey

SWELL
8′ Rohrflöte
8′ Salicional
8′ Celeste (tc)
4′ Principal
4′ Flöte
3′ Nasard
2′ Waldflöte
13⁄5′ Terz
IV Mixture
16′ Fagott
8′ Trompet
8′ Oboe

PEDAL
16′ Principal
16′ Subbaß
8′ Octave
8′ Spitzflöte
4′ Octave
V Mixture
32′ Posaune
16′ Posaune
8′ Trompet
4′ Trompet

6 couplers
2 Tremulants
Cimbelstern
Vogelgesang
Wind stabilizer

Mechanical key action
Electric stop action with multi-level memory and sequencer

Compass: Manuals 58 notes, Pedal 30 notes
Wind pressure 71mm
Temperament: Neidhardt 1732 for a small city

Lewtak Pipe Organ Builders, Inc., Camillus, New York
First Presbyterian Church,
Greenville, North Carolina

A note from the organist/choirmaster
When I arrived at FPC Greenville in 1998, the 1971 two-manual W. Zimmer and Sons organ of about 20 ranks stood in the rear gallery. A gift of the Guy V. Smith, Max R. Joyner, and James Gibson families, it had served the congregation, community, and East Carolina University music department well for almost 40 years. When it was determined that the congregation and music program needed a larger instrument with placement in the chancel, we began exploring moving and expanding the organ.
The Zimmer’s copper façade pipes of the 8′ Pedal Principal were spread across the rear wall, directly behind the choir, in the shallow but wide gallery. With the Rückpositif division directly behind the organ bench and cantilevered over the balcony wall, the choir singers were literally in the middle of the organ pipes. The organ was of German neo-Baroque style, with no Swell or other enclosed division. It did have some nice pipework, a strong principal chorus, and a relatively independent pedal division for an organ of this size.
Originally the plan was to move the organ to the front chancel area with a few additions. The project evolved, and due to the generous gift from the estate of Mary Potts Goodman Sorenson, it was to become essentially a new organ—utilizing most of the pipes from the original instrument, along with new ranks, to make it over twice the original size.
We wanted the following qualities in a new instrument: well-rounded sound that would support and enhance congregational singing; an organ that would speak evenly through the worship space, filling but not overwhelming it; one that would play repertoire of all periods and be a worthy recital instrument. We also wanted to build upon the German nature of the original. I had wished for full-length 16′ pedal ranks, string ranks, a Swell division with reeds and mixtures, colorful mutations, and additional flutes and 8′ ranks—a lot to ask on a limited budget.
Upon the first visit of Tom Lewtak, his enthusiasm and vision of the possibilities for the space were inspiring to everyone. There were no problems or limitations that were not dealt with in a positive way and solved. When we got the first drawings, everyone was impressed by the boldness and artistry of the design, which was dramatic, yet still looked like it belonged in the space. It complements the contemporary design of the church building and its best feature, the beautiful stained glass windows.
Before renovations, which started in 2009, the focal point of the sanctuary was the prominent high pulpit with a large overhanging tester, which fanned out toward the congregation. Looking further and behind this, one would see the empty space behind the pulpit forming a kind of alcove, which rose to over 40 feet. What was this space designed for if not for organ pipes? So it is now filled with a beautiful arrangement of pipes, casework, and tower façades.
First Presbyterian Greenville is located on the edge of the campus of East Carolina University and enjoys a close relationship with the ECU music department. The Zimmer organ, at one time the premier instrument in Greenville, had been used as a teaching and practice tool for students. Many recitals, organ and other, have been held in our space. The church has been host to many AGO meetings and events.
Even when the organ was a little over half done and heard at the Eastern Carolina AGO chapter meeting last fall, participants were overwhelmingly positive about the sound, observing its sweetness of tone as well as power. This is even more the case now, and we are fortunate to have an instrument with character and color, warmth in the ensembles and choruses, with brilliance as well as depth.

William M. Wood, organist/choirmaster, is originally from Graham, North Carolina. He did undergraduate work at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and Elon University, and holds the Master of Sacred Music in organ from East Carolina University. His organ teachers have included Robert B. King, William J.N. Stokes, and Janette Fishell. A frequent recitalist, he has served churches in Richmond, Virginia, and in North Carolina.
From the organbuilder
Building a straight tracker organ in a space that requires 30-foot-long tracker runs is always a challenge. I feel very strongly that mechanical action is superior, so I had no doubts that this is what was needed at First Presbyterian Church in Greenville, North Carolina—that is, if the church wanted to remain a leading center for cultural events in town. The acoustics of the sanctuary are more like those found in concert halls than in churches. There is sufficient reverberation to fill the room with lively sound, and the bass response is excellent, thanks to brick walls all around. The conditions for a new instrument were very favorable; this allowed us to design an instrument that, despite having just two manuals, has a comprehensive specification throughout, giving the organist a wealth of possibilities.
The tonal design called for a mid-German-style organ, with full principal chorus in the Great and rich complement of flutes in the Swell, along with strings and a well-developed reed section throughout the instrument. Both manuals are based on 16′ stops—Bourdon 16′ in the Great, and Fagott 16′ in the Swell—which provides the necessary gravitas of sound. The Great offers Principals 8′, 4′, 22⁄3′, 2′, and Mixture. This, along with a warm Trumpet 8′ and a bright Clarion 4′,
guarantees a strong plenum. There are also two flutes in the Great, to enable soft registrations and good blend for accompaniments. Lastly, there is a lively Cornet III, which serves as a versatile transition stop, good for both solo as well as plenum, with or without the Mixture.
The Swell has a substantial selection of colorful ranks. At the 8′ level we have included a wide-scale Hohlflöte, Quintadena, and Gambe, along with complementing Celeste. The Prestant 4′ has a slightly stringy quality to it, and the metal Gedackt 4′ perfectly complements the 8′ flute. Going up, we added a 2′ Piccolo and 11⁄3′ Larigot—this gives lightness and a “sparkle” to this division. The Mixture III–IV in the Swell is a bit unusual in that it includes a Tierce. The Tierce is voiced very mildly, not to be too present, and yet changes the character of the Mixture toward the “wider” sound, rather than the typical high-pitched shrill. This allows the Mixture to be used more frequently even in smaller ensembles with no danger of overpowering the singers. The Swell offers a generous choice of reeds as well; aside from the already mentioned Fagott 16′, we have included Oboe 8′ and Rohrschalmei 4′.
The Pedal division features a Posaune 16′ with full-length metal resonators, which along with a metal Principal 16′ makes for a solid bass foundation, even at the loudest dynamic level. The Pedal is independent enough to support the manuals without coupling, but of course we installed traditional couplers I–P and II–P for additional flexibility.
Since flexibility was one of the main goals in the design of this organ, it is worth mentioning the inclusion of an additional II–I Sub coupler. It is a fully mechanical coupler and yes, it does make you work a bit harder than normal, but it is worth it. The usefulness of this coupler is unquestionable, both for solo combinations as well as full-organ playing. Just consider this—when you sub-couple the 16′ Fagott to the Great, you end up playing a 32′ pitch on the main manual!
One peculiarity of this organ is the fact that the Quintadena 8′ of the Swell division happens to be placed entirely outside of the expression box. This is because we inherited the façade pipes from the old Zimmer organ, and among them was this Quintadena, which had 20 of the lowest pipes in the façade. We did not want to have 20 pipes out in the open and the remaining 36 under expression, so the logical solution was to offset the top of this rank completely outside the Swell. It seems to be working quite well, giving the Quintadena a distinct solo capability.
The design of the façade went through several stages. We first submitted three different proposals from which one was chosen and then modified to fit the space, the needs, and the taste of the congregation. The cabinetry is made from solid cherry, real mahogany, sapele, and wenge (the last two species are native to African tropical forests). Milder wood tones were needed to complement the church interior, and yet we did not want to make a completely dark façade, as the light in the building is rather subdued. The façade consists of eight towers—five in the lower tier and three in the upper—with rather daring angles and lines. As one can see on the drawing, the windchests and all playing components sit on the loft, twelve feet above the floor level, but the console is placed on the main floor. In designing the façade, we strove to make the organ look as “one”, with no detectable division between the upstairs and the downstairs. The towers are visually supported by the console cabinet, making the design very cohesive. In reality, the presence of the “loft” is hardly noticeable. The highest tower peak is 41.5 feet (12.6 meters) above the floor of the sanctuary, and the façade is 17.4 feet (5.3 meters) wide. Needless to say, the rigging was difficult and risky. We were able to use 90% of the Zimmer façade pipes: 29 made from copper and 27 made out of tin. All pipes were totally renovated so that they would look like new.
The console boasts our trademark features: drawknobs turned in Norway from real mahogany wood and then inlayed with Baltic amber stones set in sterling silver. The jewelry work was hand-crafted in Poland. The keyboards were produced in Germany, with key coverings provided by us. The naturals are covered with Madagascar rosewood called Bois de Rose, the sharps covered with bone. Bois de Rose was also used throughout the keydesk, key cheeks, and the music stand for inlays. All thumb pistons that control the electronics were capped with this wood as well. Stop nameplates are made of sugar maple and laser-engraved. The music rack is made of solid wenge wood and has all lighting fixtures concealed within it. It is easily detachable, to provide access to action regulation right behind it.
The key action is purely mechanical, with suspended action. It only has two square rails per manual to change the direction of the tracker run. One of the square rails for each manual is free-floating, providing the necessary self-adjustment of the action for climatic changes. The trackers are made from bass wood (linden tree) and all tracker parts (squares, arms, etc.) are made of hornbeam. Because of the significant distance between the windchests and the keyboards, we opted for a “double pallet” construction—imagine a normal pallet being sliced horizontally into two parts; the lower part opens first (breaking very minimal pluck force) and then the upper part falls down, letting a sufficient amount of wind into the tone channel. It is a simple and bulletproof solution for long tracker runs, allowing the key action to be light and crisp even with many stops drawn.
For the stop action, we utilized a German-made solid-state system with 3,999 levels of memory. Stops are controlled by drawknobs connected through this electronic system to slider solenoids opening and closing the stops. The console layout is European in its character, with only a minimal amount of buttons and gadgets. There is a clear numeric indicator for the swell shutters and for the crescendo. The thumb pistons are placed above the second manual, not under or between the keyboards. An average American organist will find it very user friendly, although different from our typical AGO standard. We also included one special feature for the drawknobs—the nameplates become gently illuminated from the back when the stops are turned on. It makes one’s eyes immediately aware of which stop is on and which is off.
Voicing—always the most important part of any organ—took a good half-year to complete. All pipes from the old Zimmer organ were treated as virgin pipework and revoiced from scratch, just like new pipes. The neo-Baroque flavor was removed in favor of a more rounded but full-bodied sound. There is no hint of shrillness and yet the sound is vibrant and bright. The instrument has plenty of power to impress the listener, with the might so typical for the King of Instruments; however, it is not senseless noise, which annoys our ears so often these days. For those who really want to experience the sound of this instrument, I cannot offer words of description. You need to come to Greenville and listen. The dedication of this organ will take place this month, on March 27, presented by Christopher Marks, assistant professor of organ at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
I wish to offer my heartfelt thanks to the people and staff of First Presbyterian Church of Greenville, North Carolina. Their incredible kindness, patience, and enthusiasm made this project the most gratifying experience one can ask for. This project would not have been possible without the support of Dr. William Neely, pastor.

Tomasz Lewtak was educated as an organist, having two master’s degrees in organ performance. His inspiration to become an organbuilder came at the age of 16, when he viewed the building process of the monumental organ at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Gdansk (Danzig), Poland, by the German firm of Hillebrand. Later, he studied organbuilding and design during his five years at the Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland. The following years took him to Denmark and Norway, where he apprenticed with Carsten Lund Organ Builders of Copenhagen. He acquired his voicing skills from Mogens Pedersen, chief voicer of Frobenius Organ Builders. Tomasz Lewtak is responsible for tonal design, pipe scaling, voicing, windchest and action design.
The following people worked on this project: Tomasz Lewtak, Pawel Lewtak, Craig Regan, Elliott Regan, Peter Clouser, Vanessa McCrea, Tony Pernisi, Michael McCrea, Kevin Reedy, and Joe Stillwell. Special thanks to Dick Marks for his volunteer service.
Photo credit: Tomasz Lewtak, unless indicated otherwise.
For more information about Lewtak Pipe Organ Builders: <A HREF="http://www.lewtak.com">www.lewtak.com</A&gt;.

First Presbyterian Church
Greenville, North Carolina
2 manuals, 30 stops, 40 ranks

GREAT
16′ Bourdon
8′ Principal
8′ Rohrflöte
4′ Octave
4′ Spillflöte
22⁄3′ Quinte
2′ Principal
Cornet III
Mixture IV–V
8′ Trumpet
4′ Clarion

SWELL (under expression)
8′ Quintadena (outside of Swell)
8′ Hohlflöte
8′ Gambe
8′ Celeste
4′ Prestant
4′ Gedackt
2′ Blockflöte
11⁄3′ Larigot
Mixture III–IV
16′ Fagott
8′ Oboe
4′ Rohrschalmei
Tremolo

PEDAL
16′ Principal
16′ Subbass
8′ Octavbass
8′ Bassflöte
4′ Choralbass
Rauschquinte II
16′ Posaune
Couplers
II–I
II SUB–I
I–P
II–P

Manual keyboard compass: C–g′′′ (56 keys), naturals in black, sharps in white.
Pedal keyboard compass: C–g′ (32 keys), parallel keys, slightly concave.
Wind pressure: 90 mm water column for manuals, 99 mm for the pedal.
Mechanical key action (suspended), self-compensating for seasonal changes.
Electric stop action with 3,999 levels of electronic memory.

 

Juget-Sinclair Organbuilders,
Montreal, Québec, Canada
Second Presbyterian Church, Nashville, Tennessee

From the organbuilder
We were first contacted by Second Presbyterian music director Nancy Turner in early 2004. A visit to Nashville to meet the committee revealed a fine group of people with good ideas, but no church as yet. Building a new organ for a structure that doesn’t yet exist is quite different from the usual. We’ve developed a routine when we visit a church where we will be building: we make a pipe (a 2′ C Principal) that we bring with us to voice on site—on whatever is left of the outgoing organ—noting the wind pressure on the pipe itself. We then use the pipe as a starting point in prevoicing in the shop. This habit allows us the security of knowing we won’t be too far off.
Of course at Second Presbyterian we didn’t have that luxury, let alone the usual walk-through to get a feel for the acoustics. It is quite a different thing to base your efforts entirely on architectural plans and acoustician’s predictions. But we have a hidden ace: our shop is a reinforced concrete structure built in 1919, with 30-foot vaulted ceilings, so the acoustics are flattering. We pre-voice a little loud, leaving the cut-ups low. It sounds good enough for a little concert in the shop before the organ is packed up. We’re often surprised when we set up an organ in the church for the first time, and we hear how the voicing was left—That sounded OK in the shop?! This is our assurance that we’ve left enough room for on-site voicing.
Denis Juget started his shop in a former chicken coop in his back yard in Saint-Basile-le-Grand, Québec in 1994. It was a fairly large chicken coop, which allowed him to build seven practice organs, each one a little different, and a continuo organ. I joined him in 1998, and we moved the shop to Montreal, first in a 2500-square-foot space, then expanding to our present 5000 square feet. The team has slowly built up to eight. We take great pleasure in building very nearly everything ourselves from raw materials—from casting pipe metal to pipe making, from action parts to casework. We cast our own reed blocks and make our own shallots. We make pallet springs and roller arms. We are continually confronted with doubt about whether this practice is reasonable, but have never bothered with the calculation—confident, I suppose, that the costs are far outweighed by the hidden benefits. The first is complete freedom in design—an existing part doesn’t fit the bill? Imagine a new one! The second is the inestimable value of having a small team capable of this varied work. These eight people can do anything.
The Second Presbyterian organ is set in the choir loft and speaks down the central axis of the octagonal nave. The console is built in, but elevated three feet from floor level; risers for the choir butt against the front frame, and the pedalboard sits on the top riser. Down on floor level are the bellows and blower-box, with the Pedal division behind. The manual divisions are above, with the Grand-Orgue in front and the Récit expressif behind. There is no back to the Grand-Orgue case and only a partial roof above it to allow sound egress. The pedal Trombone 16′ resonators are full length and extend up behind the Récit swell box. A ceiling truss passes inches above the Récit roof, and the central tower of the Grand-Orgue pokes up between two trusses. Key action is mechanical, and stop action electric.
The wind system starts with a single-fold cuneiform bellows. Wind trunks are in quarter-sawn white oak. There are concussion bellows on each division, and the wind is quite solid. The tremulant is a vent perdu style—a departure from our usual “Dom Bedos” style. Offset pipes are winded by wooden channels. We avoid using flexible tubing, only for the fun of it, whenever we can, which is almost always.
The elevated console posed a design problem: the organ case tended to look squashed. We found that incorporating mirrored pipe flats had the effect of visually lengthening the case. Mirrored façades are usually made by joining two identical pipes at the foot and winding them secretly from behind so that they speak in unison. We didn’t need the extra power and space was not over-abundant, so this led to a façade arrangement that is possibly novel: we made the twinned pipes each play a different note. This gives an arrangement where the 12 notes of the octave are divided into eight groups! The interval between adjacent pipes is an augmented fifth. The Montre 8′ has five interior pipes: three full-length wooden basses (C, C#, D) and two interior pipes at the top (g#′′′, a′′′). The rest of the stop is in the façade, made up entirely of speaking pipes.
Key action is suspended, with floating square rails to compensate for dimensional changes. Trackers are kept taut by tensioner bellows to avoid bounciness. The pedal coupler does not play through—with I/P and II/I couplers both on, a note played in the pedal will play manual I but not II. Consequently, we have to lighten the manual I keys with springs so that, with I/P and II/I couplers both on and a note held down in the pedal, that same note played on Manual II doesn’t stay down or repeat slowly. Key action is designed and built to be responsive and reliable, and to have a weight appropriate to the instrument without being overly heavy when coupled. Pedal action uses our parallel motion pedal pallets, which provide copious wind.
The combination action is by Laukhuff, with general and divisional pistons as well as a simple sequencer. Drawknobs and thumb and toe pistons are by Harris, slider solenoids by Heuss, and control cards by Laukhuff. Rather than a tutti, there are two toe pistons, which are settable reversibles and could be used for anything one would want to come and go with a push of a piston, such as appels d’anches.
Swell action is mechanical, with a simple and direct linkage. It uses ball-bearings wherever possible, including at both ends of each swell shade. We use the most common source of high quality bearing we can find: rollerblade bearings. We go to great lengths to make the swell box as airtight as possible. The swell box sits on top of the Récit wind chests, and all the basses are inside the box. The shades are very closely fit in their opening, and carefully adjusted to ensure good dynamic range. The geometry of the action is designed so that much more subtlety of swell shade movement is given at the ppp end to compensate for mechanical swell action’s natural tendency to have half the dynamic range in the first 1/4 of swell pedal motion. This geometry would normally feel strange underfoot as it would become suddenly light at the closed end. We install a brake that again compensates for this effect. It all ends up being worthwhile; the feeling and precision of a carefully regulated mechanical swell action is unmatched.
Pipe scales in this instrument are not variable, but mathematical, and often with a constant added, which has the effect of narrowing the scale in the middle of the keyboard or fattening it at the ends. Scales are based on our own experience, but informed by historical examples. Samples of any new reed scales are built and voiced in the shop before the stop goes into production. The Viole de gambe 8′ and Voix céleste 8′ are slotted. The céleste is placed just behind the Basson-Hautbois 8′ on the chest to avoid acoustical conflict. The Flûte douce 4′ is in cherry. Principals and manual reeds are in hammered tin, and flutes are in hammered lead. We order our lead ingots with the necessary impurities already added, which gives stability to the high lead pipes (11⁄2% tin). We also use that same lead in all our alloys, so they all have some trace amounts of copper, antimony, and bismuth. The façade is also hammered, in 75% tin. Our pipes are made so that the metal at the top of the pipe is considerably thinner than around the mouth and at the foot. We feel that this is crucial to the long term stability of the pipework, as it takes a lot of weight off of the top and adds thickness to the bottom, where it is needed. Open pipes are cone tuned (except the slotted strings), and stopped flutes are tuned at the ears as they have soldered caps so that they will never slip. The Trombone 16′ is full length, with pine resonators, wooden boots, and leathered brass shallots.
John Brock recorded the instrument for the Raven label, exploring a wide range of repertoire. The CD is entitled Second Wind—a reference to the fire and rebuilding—and we hope it aptly demonstrates the success of the rebuilding program.
Working on this instrument with Denis Juget and me in the shop were Robin Côté, François Couture, Céline Richard, Jean-Dominique Felx, and Jerome Veenendaal. Turned stop knobs and all engravings were by recorder maker Jean-Luc Boudreau. Raymonde Champagne designed the pipe shades. The celtic cross was gilded by Jean-Claude Vonesch.
A special thank-you is in order to John Brock, Nancy Turner, Allen Townsend, and everyone at Second Presbyterian for all their assistance and understanding during the whole project. It’s impossible to overestimate the value of providing “conditions favorable to organbuilding.”
—Stephen Sinclair

From the consultant
In 2004 I was engaged by the organ committee of Second Presbyterian Church, Nashville, to assist them in the search for an organ to replace the one they had lost when their church burned the previous year. They were interested in an organ of good quality that would have the flexibility to support congregational singing, accompany the church’s choirs, and perform a reasonably wide range of styles of organ music. The plans for the new church building included approximately 300 seats, with organ and choir in a fairly spacious rear gallery and the promise of better-than-average acoustics. It was obvious that a building like this didn’t need an extremely large organ, and we were confident that they could find the right organ within their prescribed budget.
Church organist Nancy Turner and I set about gathering information from and about organbuilders in whom we were interested. Early on the name of Juget-Sinclair surfaced. I had once had an opportunity to play one of their excellent 3-stop practice organs, but that was the extent of our knowledge of their work. However, the reports we got from people who knew their instruments were so promising that we decided to investigate further. After trips to see and play Juget-Sinclair organs in Birmingham, Alabama, and Hickory, North Carolina, the committee was convinced that this was what they wanted, and a contract was soon signed for the organ.
The result is an instrument of first-rate quality. The early reports that we got on Denis Juget and Stephen Sinclair’s work had been correct: they do whatever it takes to “get it right.” The organ is a real jewel in its setting, and it does all the things that the organ committee had hoped for, i.e., it supports congregational singing (the congregation sings enthusiastically), it offers flexibility in choir accompaniment, and it plays a wide range of organ literature very convincingly. It’s also a very responsive instrument, one that encourages the player in the best of ways.
It seems to me that the good organs of the world share several important characteristics, namely, a captivating, sometimes dramatic sound resulting from good pipe scaling and voicing, an attractive visual element, a reliable and responsive mechanism, and a cohesive sense of style. Juget-Sinclair has managed to achieve all of this in this modest organ. It was a pleasure working with them.
—John Brock

Grand-Orgue
8′ Montre
8′ Flûte à cheminée
4′ Prestant
4′ Flûte conique
2′ Doublette
11⁄3′ Fourniture IV
8′ Trompette

Récit expressif
8′ Bourdon
8′ Viole de gambe
8′ Voix céleste
4′ Principal
4′ Flûte douce
22⁄3′ Nazard
2′ Flûte
13⁄5′ Tierce
2′ Plein jeu IV
8′ Basson-Hautbois

Pédale
16′ Soubasse
8′ Flûte ouverte
4′ Octave
16′ Trombone

Couplers: II/I - I/P - II/P
Tremblant Récit

Juget-Sinclair Organbuilders
2250, rue Pitt, #307
Montreal, QC H4E 4H1

514/932-9898
www.juget-sinclair.com

Kegg Pipe Organ Builders,
Hartville, Ohio
Zion Lutheran Church,
Wausau, Wisconsin
Zion Lutheran Church in Wausau, Wisconsin, has deep roots in Lutheran church music, laying claim to both Paul Bunjes and Carl Schalk in a distinguished lineage of musical leadership. Though less well known, Viola Bonsa was also a part of that lineage, and we are delighted to give a wink in her direction with the name of the Swell 8′ string. Virginia Giese is the current Kantor and Music Director, and Rev. Steven Gjerde is Pastor.
An organ that had served the church well in a previous space was moved to the new building in the 1950s and placed on platforms in the rear gallery that were to be surrounded with appropriate casework. The layout was tight at best, and the casework never materialized. As the musical understanding and requirements developed and changed over the years, so did the organ. Various revisions and additions were made, sometimes with little or no regard for scaling and even less for accessibility for tuning or repair. The organ lost its identity and virtually choked on itself.
Designing a new organ for Zion gave us an opportunity to exploit some of the effects of placement. There is no question that the focused sound of encased pipework in direct line of sight to the listener differs substantially from the reflected sound of pipes enclosed in a swell box perpendicular to the listener. Yet each of those placements can have distinct advantages. Our often-copied all-electric chest design with expansion chambers fitted to each note allowed us the freedom to locate pipes where they needed to be in the tonal strategy, and still arrange them for greatest ease of tuning.
The sounds most often used to lead congregational singing—Great and Positiv—are placed in the front of the cases in direct line of sight to the congregation. These two Principal choruses are nearly equal in volume, but are quite different in color and weight. Instead of the more usual front-to-back or up-and-down relationship of these two choruses, they dialog from side to side, complementing each other when used together.
The sounds most often used to accompany the choir—Swell and Enclosed Great—sit farther back, with the shades opening toward the choir loft. This placement gives the singers the advantage of hearing direct sound from the organ, but gives the congregation a perspective with the voices distinctly in the foreground.
The previous organ had the lowest nine pipes of the 16′ Open Wood installed in the ladder shaft at the very back of the right organ platform, in what appeared to be a hopelessly buried location. Surprisingly, the room responds very favorably to bass frequencies generated there, and we followed the cue, successfully installing the 16′ Subbass in the matching location on the other side.
The Festival Trumpet, with its resonators and flared bells of polished brass, was originally planned for a location high on the front corner of the chancel. In a decision made just hours before the organ left the shop, the church requested that it be relocated to the back with the rest of the organ. After some re-engineering and new chest construction, it now makes its dramatic statement from the gallery rail.
One might fear that such a mix of direct and reflected sound would result in chaos in the listener’s ears. Such is not the case! The sound in the nave is rich, clean and bold—a sound with a depth of field that no speaker system can begin to reproduce.
One of the most important goals of the new organ project was providing a fitting visual design. After decades of exposure to naked organ parts, we wanted to reward the people of Zion with an organ case that doesn’t just “clothe the naked,” but also feeds those who hunger for beauty as part of worship. As with all of our designs, we aim to have the new organ appear to have been built with and for the building. It is deeply satisfying when parishioners tell us that the new organ looks like it has always been there.
Several elements make this case interesting. The four towers on each case, especially the large corner ones, appear to extend weightlessly over the edge of the organ platforms, even though their cantilevered supports are anchored securely by the weight of the rest of the organ. The effect is subtly enhanced by the fact that the bottom of the casework sits 1/8″ above the platform and seems not to touch it at all.
Our use of CAD software, particularly in 3D modeling, was of tremendous help not only in engineering this much organ into the available space, but also in planning the many visual aspects.
The tower crowns have discreet polychrome accents of gold and aqua to coordinate with other decoration in the roof beams. Decorative bands across the flat sections are also polychromed and topped with carved crosses. The use of exaggerated foot and body lengths in these sections that face the choir lends the impression that these pipes are delicately scaled, greatly reducing their visual weight in the gallery.
The 100 façade pipes all speak, and are from the Pedal, Great and Positiv Principals, Octaves and Choralbass.
The pipe shades, hand-carved from basswood by Spirit Williams of Hocking Hills, Ohio, feature Archangels Gabriel, Michael, Uriel, and Raphael on the two large corner towers. The pipe shades on the remaining towers depict the traditional symbols of the twelve Apostles.
Pastor Steven Gjerde writes:
Choral music has been a longstanding and cherished feature of worship at Zion. In the Lutheran liturgical tradition, choirs have often been likened to the company of angels: “Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts” (Psalm 148:2). For this reason, they are typically placed in a gallery at the back of the nave, where their voices can fall upon the congregation like a benediction and raise congregational singing to heights that it cannot reach on its own. This “celestial” role of the choir led to our suggestion that the pipe shades feature carvings of the archangels. It gives visible expression to our working theology of music, in which the Church joins the heavenly hosts in their unending hymn.
An additional, deliberately planned case decoration is brought about by the reflection of the large stained glass window in the highly polished façade pipes. This kaleidoscopic effect changes minute by minute, and we found it particularly beautiful in the early morning winter light during our January tonal finishing.
Kegg consoles are known for their luxurious comfort and ease of use. Whenever practicable, they are easily movable on integral casters. At Zion, space in the gallery is at a premium and there is really only one choice for console location. We chose to make it stationary, and actually narrowed our standard geometry slightly, without sacrificing anything, to make the new console fit precisely where the previous one had been.
Many parishioners turned out to help unload the moving van and carry all the pipes, pieces and parts into the church. In a scenario familiar to every pipe organ installation team, we watched as their joy in finally receiving their long-awaited new organ slowly faded to concern, then changed to all-out panic as every square inch of their spiritual home was covered with at least one layer of organ. By Sunday morning, 90% of those organ parts had been moved at least twice more, once up into the gallery, then up once more into place on the organ platforms. Ten days after the van pulled up in front of the church, everything was in place, working, and ready for tonal finishing.
The organ was dedicated during the morning liturgy on February 21, 2010, with a concert that afternoon played by Dr. David Heller of Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas, who also served as consultant to the church.
As music director, Virginia Giese is putting the new organ through its paces, both in excellent support of the parish liturgies, and reaching out to the larger community through performance opportunities. An extensive concert series has already begun, featuring Kathrine Handford, Ken Cowan, Michael Burkhardt, Paul Jacobs, and Chelsea Chen, among several others. Details of these and other concerts on Kegg organs can be found at <www.keggorgan.com&gt;.
We laud Pastor Gjerde and the people of Zion for making this strong investment in the enduring importance of sacred music in our increasingly secular world, and we are grateful for having had this opportunity to practice our art.
—Fredrick Bahr

Kegg Pipe Organ Builders
Charles Kegg, President*
Fredrick Bahr, Tonal Director*
Philip Brown
Michael Carden
Joyce Harper*
Philip Laakso
Thomas Mierau*
Bruce Schutrum
*members, American Institute of Organbuilders

From the consultant and artist
When a church makes the decision to purchase a new organ, it provides a golden opportunity to look at the situation from a new perspective. From the start, this congregation asked all of the right questions: What are our priorities? What are our expectations for this instrument in our worship services? The selection of Charles Kegg was a big decision for this congregation, which has a rich history of traditional Lutheran worship supported by a superb choral program. Rather than continue down a well-worn trail in tonal design, the decision was made to follow a slightly different path—and the end result was an instrument that provides a unique balance between “tradition” while embracing some ideas that were outside the box of neo-classic organ design.
One glance at the stoplist will make apparent the importance both the builder and the consultant placed on foundation tone. The rich abundance of 8′ stops provides a wide palette of choice for the organist when accompanying voices (solo, choral, and congregational), giving the instrument a great sense of breadth without sacrificing clarity. Each of the manual divisions has a distinctive Principal chorus with a strong foundation that is balanced by evenly voiced upperwork. Of special note here is the inclusion of a Principal-scale 13⁄5′ stop on the Great, a color that enhances that division’s plenum and is so useful in German music of the 17th and 18th centuries. The inclusion of an 8′ Principal on the Positiv division is a nod to the builders of 18th-century middle Germany and the music of J. S. Bach. Not only is this division a perfect foil to the Great division, it is also one of the few contemporary instruments I have played in which the Positiv Principal chorus balances superbly with the Pedal Principal chorus at 16′ – 8′ – 4′ pitch—and without coupling it to another keyboard!
Another glance at the stoplist will point out the generous number of flute stops throughout the entire instrument. Each one has a different character, providing the player with a wonderful array of color at a variety of pitch levels. The flutes are complemented by two different sets of strings on the Great and Swell, as well as a Gemshorn at 16′ and 8′—all of which can produce some superb effects in both service repertoire as well as concert literature.
The number of reed choices for an instrument of this size is a delight. In the Swell division, one finds the typical work-horse chorus reeds (Trompette 8′, Clairon 4′), but they are complemented with a Bassoon 16′/Oboe 8′ unit that is of a smooth, darker color that opens up many possibilities not only for vocal accompaniment, but for the repertoire as well. A Vox Humana might be considered by some as non-essential or even a luxury—but in this case, its inclusion makes complete sense not only for the literature, but for the added variety it can provide as a solo stop. The Cromorne, located on both the Great and Positiv divisions, possesses a beautiful, piquant quality that is superb for solo lines. And finally, the reed stop that gathers the most attention (both visually and tonally) is the Festival Trumpet, mounted on the rail of the gallery.
As a church musician, I look for flexibility in an instrument to provide me with as many tonal options as possible, particularly in the area of choral accompanying. One of the distinctive features of this instrument is that seven of the stops in the Great division are under expression, including the 8′ Trumpet. The possibilities are endless with regard to accompaniment, and this use of a partially enclosed Great provides the perfect counterweight to the Positiv division, which is unenclosed.
As a performer and a church musician, I also look for ease in performance when I sit down to play a service or a recital. The layout design of the console of this new instrument is a dream for the player; everything is where it’s supposed to be located—from the order of the drawknobs and pistons to the location of the sequencer. This is one of the most user-friendly consoles you will ever find, which further enhances the experience for the player.
It goes without saying that the visual aspects of this instrument are matched by the aural experience one has in both playing and listening to the organ out in the room. At the dedication recital, I stated to the audience that if I could only work with this one single instrument for the rest of my professional life, I would be completely happy. I still stand by that statement today! Zion Lutheran Church and the city of Wausau can take great pride in their new instrument, which will lead future generations in worship and stand as a symbol of excellence and craftsmanship in North Central Wisconsin.
—Dr. David A. Heller
Trinity University
San Antonio, Texas

Cover

Lauck Pipe Organ Company, Otsego, Michigan

Trinity Christian College, Palos Heights,
Illinois

Trinity Christian College is a four-year liberal arts college founded in
1959 and located in Palos Heights, Illinois, a suburb 25 miles southwest of
Chicago. It is dedicated to providing students with a quality higher education
in the Reformed Christian tradition. The college has grown extensively in
recent years with many new buildings erected. In 2001, the college dedicated a
new 1,200-seat auditorium: The Martin and Janet Ozinga Chapel. The chapel is
also the home of the college's music department with faculty offices, rehearsal
rooms, a recital hall, a music computer lab, and practice rooms. An organ for
the auditorium was envisioned from the building's conception.

Under the chairmanship of music department chair Helen Van Wyck, a committee
was formed to choose a builder for the organ. Paula Pugh Romanaux was selected
as the consultant to work with the committee. After visiting several of our organs,
Lauck Pipe Organ Company was chosen to build the organ. Working with the
builder, the committee decided that the instrument would be located at the back
of the stage and would occupy the central position. The committee felt that an
organ with a detached console would prove more flexible, especially when used
with orchestra and to accompany small ensembles.

Several designs for the organ case were prepared ranging from traditional to
contemporary, the latter being chosen. The proportions of the case are generous
in order to fill the expansive rear wall of the stage area. The façade
consists of the 16' Principal, 8' Pedal Octave and the 8' Great Diapason,
with  pipes of polished tin. The
casework is arranged so that the Pedal division occupies the center and two
outer towers. Between the left and center tower is the Great Principal chorus
with the Choir division above. Between the right and center towers are the
Great flutes and reed with the Swell division above. A shallow case with
expression shades capable of a full range of motion allow for excellent egress
of sound. The emblem at the top of the center tower is the college's logo done
in relief and gilded.

Over the past 30 years, we have built many French-terraced consoles with
curved terraces, but Marilyn Mulder, the school's organ instructor, suggested a
console based on a design she saw at Chicago's Orchestra Hall. From her
photograph, we designed and built a console with straight, oblique terraces.
The woodwork is of cherry to match other furnishings in the chapel. The
terraces, keycheeks, manual and pedal sharps, and drawknobs are all of
rosewood. The manual naturals are of bone. Peterson supplied the MIDI system
and combination action. Lauck manufactured the coupler and relay systems, as
well as the electric expression servos.

The room, alas, suffers from insufficient reflection of sound. As we worked
with the acoustician and architect, the organ committee and I realized we would
not be able to have all of our requests granted; the acoustician was more
interested in absorbing rather than reflecting sound. The architect and
building committee did agree that the expansive drywall ceiling would be well
supported and made up of a double layer glued together so as to not absorb the
lower frequencies. Preliminary acoustical tests of the room proved that we
needed a lot of sound to fill it. The organ had to be scaled very boldly, with
variable scales and higher cut-ups being freely employed. In addition, generous
wind pressures, especially in the reeds, would be used. Our tonal concept was
to establish well-developed Principal choruses in each division, colorful and
contrasting flute choruses, and chorus reeds that bind together well. This goal
was achieved and supplemented by colorful solo reeds and strings with character
and variety.

The Great is based on a 16' Principal. The 8' extension of the Principal can
be used as a second Diapason and creates a rich fond d'orgue with the open and
stopped flutes. Mutations provide for a Great Principal Cornet. To ensure a
bold, full pedal, the 16' Diapason is really a 16' open wood located in the
central tower of the case. The Great 16' Principal is also available in the
Pedal for use in lighter textures, while the 8' Octave and 4' Choralbass are
independent. The Trumpet-en-Chamade is made of tin and is voiced on 10 inches
of wind pressure using domed parallel shallots. The Pedal Trombone unit is also
voiced with domed parallel shallots on 8 inches of wind pressure. The Swell
reeds are on 6 inches of wind with the Bassoon/Oboe having tapered shallots and
the Trumpet/Clarion parallel shallots. The Swell Gamba and Gamba Celeste are
slotted with rollers throughout. It is a well-developed string tone with good
strength and carrying power; however, the expression boxes and shades are
heavily built and can make the strings evaporate when desired. The Swell also
has a Flute Celeste, which is built as a Ludwigtone; basically, two wood pipes
built with a common middle wall on one foot. The Choir Viola and Viola Celeste
are of about equal power to the Swell strings but are not slotted and are of a
broader tone quality. They are voiced to work together perfectly yet retain
their individual colors.

The Lauck employees that built Opus 55 include: Craig Manor, console design
and construction, wood pipes; Ken Reed, pipemaker, office manager; Ben Aldrich,
design, windchests, foreman; Bob Dykstra, windchests, wood pipes, casework;
Dick Slider, windchests, lower casework; Dan Staley, circuit board
manufacturing, wiring; Jim Lauck, design, voicing, tonal finishing; Jonathan
Tuuk; tonal finishing.

--Jim Lauck

Lauck Opus 55, 2002

3 manuals, 46 ranks, electric action

GREAT

16' Principal  (61 pipes)

8' Diapason (61 pipes)

8' Principal (12 pipes)

8' Rohrflute (61 pipes)

8' Flute Harmonique (61 pipes)

4' Octave (61 pipes)

4' Principal (12 pipes)

4' Flute Octaviante (12 pipes)

22/3' Quint (61 pipes)

2' Superoctave (61 pipes)

13/5' Tierce (61 pipes)

IV Fourniture (244 pipes)

8' Trumpet (61 pipes)

8' Trumpet-en-Chamade (61 pipes)

                        Great
to Great 4

                        Swell
to Great 16-8-4

                        Choir
to Great 16-8-4

                        Zimbelstern

SWELL

16'  Bourdon (12 pipes)

8' Bourdon (61 pipes)

8' Gamba (61 pipes)

8' Gamba Celeste (49 pipes)

8' Flute Celeste (49 pipes)

4' Principal (61 pipes)

4' Spitzflute (61 pipes)

2' Blockflute (12 pipes)

V Mixture (293 pipes)

16' Bassoon (61 pipes)

8' Trumpet (61 pipes)

8' Oboe (12 pipes)

4' Clarion (12 pipes)

Tremulant

Swell to Swell 16-UO-4

CHOIR

8' Gedeckt (61 pipes)

8' Viola  (61 pipes)

8' Viola Celeste (49 pipes)

4' Principal (61 pipes)

4' Koppelflute (61 pipes)

22/3' Nazard (61 pipes)

2' Octave (61 pipes)

2' Flautino (12 pipes)

13/5' Tierce (61 pipes)

11/3' Larigot (5 pipes)

III Scharff (183 pipes)

8' Cromorne (61 pipes)

8' Trumpet-en-Chamade (Gt)

Tremulant

Choir to Choir 16-UO-4

Swell to Choir 16-8-4       

PEDAL

32' Sub Bourdon (electronic ext)

16' Diapason (open wood) (32 pipes)

16' Principal (Great)

16' Subbass (32 pipes)

16' Bourdon (Swell)

8' Octave  (32 pipes)

8' Principal (Great)

8' Bass Flute (12 pipes)

4' Choralbass  (32 pipes)

II Rauschquint (64 pipes)

II Mixture  (24 pipes)

32' Contra Bassoon (electronic ext)

16' Trombone (32 pipes)

16' Bassoon (Swell)

8' Trumpet (12 pipes)

4' Clarion (12 pipes)

4' Cromorne (Choir)

Great to Pedal 8-4

Swell to Pedal 8-4

Choir to Pedal 8-4

Lauck Pipe Organ Company

92 - 24th Street

Otsego, MI 49078-9633

Telephone: 269/694-4500

Fax: 269/694-4401

<[email protected]>

Cover photo by Richard Lanenga

 

Paul Fritts and Co., Tacoma,
Washington, has built a new organ for Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York.
The mechanical-action pipe organ is installed in the 500-seat Mary Anna Fox
Martel Recital Hall of the Belle Skinner Music Building. It contains 34 stops
distributed over two manuals (Hauptwerk and Positiv) and Pedal.

The tonal design reflects both the North and Middle German schools of
organbuilding from the first half of the eighteenth century. North German
features include fully independent manual and pedal divisions with
well-developed upper work; a full spectrum of mutation stops (two on double
draws); and seven reed stops, 20% of the registers. Middle German building is
represented by a variety of six manual 8' flue stops; the “gravity”
of 16' stops in each manual division and four 16' pedal stops; a Tierce rank
which can be added to the Hauptwerk Mixture; and the inclusion of the Positiv
division in the main case, rather than positioned to the rear of the player.

The northern features pay homage to the seventeenth-century style of Arp
Schnitger and the middle German school points more to the pre-Romantic
eighteenth-century styles of Wender, Trost, Hildebrandt and others. The new
Vassar organ is well-suited for music of J. S. Bach with its cosmopolitan
mixture of northern, middle, and southern European traits. Other literature
from the sixteenth-century through the works of Mendelssohn will also sound to
advantage.

The new organ is placed centrally in a gallery nine feet above the stage
floor in the front of the hall. The case has a bright burgundy enamel finish.
Gold leaf highlights the gray painted pipe shades. The case and many internal
parts are crafted from popular. 
Many other woods were chosen for their various properties, including
mahogany, oak, maple, ebony, redwood and sugar pine.

Along with the new organ came alterations to the organ gallery and stage
area significantly improving acoustics, and a climate control system for the
recital hall. The Marian and Speros Martel Foundation Inc. donated funds
covering both the organ and hall improvements. Glenn D. White recommended
acoustical improvements, and Richard Turlington designed architectural plans
for the room. Frances D. Fergusson, President of Vassar College, initiated the
project. George B. Stauffer was consultant.

To inaugurate the new instrument, Merellyn Gallagher, James David Christie,
and Joan Lippincott played solo recitals in February and March 2003.

HAUPTWERK

16' Principal

8' Octava

8' Rohrflöte

8' Viol di Gamba

4' Octava

4' Spitzflöte

Nasat/Cornet II*

2' Superoctava

Mixture Tierce

Mixture IV–VI

16' Trompet

8' Trompet

POSITIVE

8' Geigenprincipal

8' Gedackt

8' Quintadena

4' Octava

4' Rohrflöte

2' Octava

2' Gemshorn

11/3' Quinte

Quint/Sesquialtara II*

Mixture IV–V

16' Fagotto

8' Dulcian

PEDAL

16' Principal**

16' Violon

16' Subbass

8' Octava***

8' Bourdon***

4' Octava

Mixture V–VII

16' Posaune

8' Trompet

4' Trompet

* Double draw

** Bottom octave transmission from Hauptwerk

*** Extension

Couplers

                        Positiv
to Hauptwerk

                        Hauptwerk
to Pedal          

                        Positiv
to Pedal

Manual/Pedal compass: 56/30, flat pedalboard

Burnished tin front pipes

Solid wood casework with pipe shades carved by Judy Fritts

Suspended key action

Mechanical stop action

Variable tremulant

Three bellows fitted with pedals for foot pumping

Wind stabilizer

Pitch: A 440

Temperament: Kellner

Wind pressure: 74 mm. (ca. 3≤)

Fabry Pipe Organs, Inc., of Fox
Lake, Illinois, has completed the 5-rank antiphonal division added to the
original Möller organ in Faith Evangelical Lutheran Church, Homewood,
Illinois.

Fabry Inc. installed the original M.P. Möller instrument (2 manuals, 19
ranks) in 1980 in the rear balcony of the sanctuary and has been maintaining
the organ since that time. The console was prepared for an antiphonal division.
On many occasions while tuning the instrument, the organist, Mrs. Phyllis
Silhan, would always say, “I hope I get to see this instrument completed
before I retire.” Twenty-two years later, the church elected to add the
antiphonal division.

The new antiphonal division was installed in October of 2002. The original
specification for this division--8' Gedeckt, 4' Gemshorn, 2' Flautino, II
Mixture--was changed to 8' Gedeckt, 4' Octave, 4' Harmonic Flute, 2' Fifteenth,
and 8' Oboe. A new solid-state relay was provided that is totally prepared for
the addition of a small antiphonal console.

Fabry Inc. would like to thank the organist, Mrs. Phyllis Silhan, and
Reverend Dr. Timothy Knaff, who coordinated the entire project. David G. Fabry
built all the chestwork and new casework. Crew leader Joseph Poland handled the
installation.

GREAT

8' Principal

8' Bourdon

4' Octave

2' Super Octave

IV Fourniture

8' Trompette (Sw)

SWELL

8' Rohrflote

8' Viola

8' Viola Celeste

4' Spitz Principal

4' Rohrflote (ext)

2' Hohlflote

III Scharf

8' Trompette

ANTIPHONAL (new division)

8' Gedeckt

4' Octave

4' Harmonic Flute

2' Fifteenth

8' Oboe

PEDAL

16' Contra Bass

16' Rohr Bourdon (ext)

8' Principal (Gt)

8' Rohrflote (Sw)

4' Nachthorn

16' Bombarde (ext)

4' Clarion (Sw)

COUPLERS

                        Gt
& Sw to Ped 8

                        Sw
to Gt 16-8-4

                        Gt
4

                        Sw
16-UO-4

                        Antiph
to Ped 8

                        Antiph
to Gt 8

                        Antiph
to Sw 8