Lewtak to build new organ for Denmark's Østerhåb Kirke

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.

Lewtak Pipe Organ Builders, Inc.,
Camillus, New York, Opus 2
West Baptist Church, Oswego, New York

From the music minister
The original organ in the West Baptist Church was built by John G. Marklove in 1867, and was placed in the front right corner of the sanctuary with the console attached. The instrument had two manuals with mechanical key and stop action. Anything beyond this is not known, although the former organist has said that there was a second console in the back of the organ, which allowed the instrument to be played from the adjoining room. Unfortunately, we don’t even know the original stoplist.
In 1951 Paul C. Buhl of Utica was contracted to do a full rebuild of the church’s organ. Sadly, the work was not up to today’s standards. The organ was completely taken apart and the original Marklove slider-and-pallet windchests were chopped into pieces (we found parts of old chests used as catwalks, ladders, etc.). The pipework was mixed and matched with pipes from other instruments of unknown origin. In some cases, we found pipes from the same rank used in four different stops; this was especially apparent in the Pedal division. The configuration of ranks hardly made sense in terms of scale matching or materials used, not to mention any tonal coherence. Two manual keyboards that were built into the façade were disposed of and replaced with a three-manual console with electric action, detached from the organ chamber. Inside the organ chamber the Buhl Company placed new, direct-electric chests and distributed the existing pipework into three divisions. They ended up adding a few “modern strings,” changing the configuration of mixtures, duplexing many ranks, borrowing stops from one manual to another—all of it in a way that the person playing the organ couldn’t possibly tell whether the sound was coming from this or that division. In addition, the electrical system suffered from poor wiring and faults caused by climatic conditions. For years the church’s building has been extremely humid during summer months, which contributed to severe mold growth and this, in turn, caused a complete deterioration of old insulation made of fabric. Shorting wires caused an array of ciphers and dead notes and created a situation of serious unreliability.
In addition, the Pedal had only two independent stops and was unable to sufficiently support the sound of the full organ. The organ committee quickly became aware that another renovation was not a feasible option and decided to employ Lewtak Pipe Organ Builders to build a new instrument that would retain the original façade (at least in the general sense) and restore as much of the old pipework as possible, leaving the judgment of selecting the useful pipes to the organbuilder. All other components of the organ are brand new and were built specifically for this instrument.
—Abel Searor

From the organbuilder
When in 2006 our firm was contracted for the maintenance of the Buhl organ at the West Baptist Church in Oswego, New York, from the first visit to the church we knew that something had to be done with the existing instrument and that the situation was quite serious. As time progressed, we were first asked to do a complete renovation; however, upon further examination of the instrument, we advised the organ committee that funds spent for the renovation would simply become money wasted—the organ was beyond any sensible repair. It was then that a small miracle happened. The members of the West Baptist Church, quite few in numbers and certainly not spoiled with overflow of extra capital, decided to accept our proposal for a new organ that would incorporate the existing pipework (with great modifications, however) and would retain the existing outside appearance (although slightly changed as well).
When the decision was made to build a new organ, there was no question that going the “old way” would most certainly be the best way. We are passionate supporters of tracker organs. It has been proven through centuries of experience that the most reliable and artistically gratifying key action is a mechanical one. We also put our complete trust in the time-proven manner of building windchests with sliders and pallets. We strongly believe that the characteristics and performance of a tracker organ are unquestionably superior to any other kind of action. Coming from this viewpoint, the new organ was designed with fully mechanical key and stop action. We opted to go back to the two-manual setup and designed a stoplist that was not influenced by any particular style or builder. We simply wanted to create an instrument that would be quite universal, full of tonal variety, and suitable for many musical genres. We intended, however, to sustain a bit of an “old fashioned” flavor, which is clearly manifested in the voicing of pipes.
The new organ was built on a tight budget; therefore, some of the work has been done by the members of the congregation. The Buhl organ from 1951 had been completely removed and disposed of. The organ chamber was emptied out and renovated. New plasterboard was installed, and everything got a fresh coat of paint. The floor was refinished, and sufficient room was made in front of the organ for a new console—built into the organ case with two manuals and a pedal keyboard. All of this work was done by the members of the church.
The largest pipes, from the wooden Principal 16? in the Pedal, were placed on “benches” along the walls and connected via flexible conduits to a separate chest designated exclusively for this rank. The reason for this was twofold. First, these pipes were too big to fit on a “regular” pedal chest and, second, they required a considerable amount of wind, which would almost certainly cause a shortage of wind for the rest of the ranks, if placed on the same chest. The remaining pedal ranks were placed on two identical windchests butting against each other side to side.
All pipework in all divisions is distributed in a major-third configuration, of course split in the middle into two traditional sides, C and C-sharp. The Swell and Great divisions are mounted above the three single-rise wedge bellows. All windchests were provided with small shocker bellows, allowing for steady wind supply even during times of high wind demand. All major wind conduits are made out of wood; small offsets were carried out with flexible conduits.
We kept roughly 70% of the pipework from the Marklove/Buhl organ. It was nearly impossible to determine which pipes were “true originals” from 1867 and which came from some other sources. We opted for keeping only the pipes that offered us a chance to do a decent revoicing. The remaining 30% we acquired from various sources; however, all the pipework was voiced together as one instrument—the process took nearly five months.
The new instrument boasts 27 stops, 33 ranks, for a total of 1,803 pipes. Since it is nearly impossible to describe the sound, we can only say that the goal was to have an organ with a confident, but not bold, tonal character. Therefore, all of our voicing efforts went in the direction of having the pipes speaking in a manner that is naturally free and unobstructed. There is never a problem with using fewer stops, if needed, but one cannot produce a fortissimo effect if there is no substance to support it. In no way, however, is the organ “shrieky” or unpleasant, even with all the stops pulled out. Working with the relatively low wind pressure of 69 mm for the manuals turned out to be quite rewarding. The pipes develop a sound that is not forced and is very “singing” in nature, yet not lacking in natural strength.
The façade was left in its original general concept. The façade pipes were completely stripped to bare metal and repainted with the addition of some subtle stenciling. In the top portion of the middle arch, we added a painted rosette with elaborate decorative floral elements. The lower portion of the frontal cabinet had to be modified in order to accommodate our new keyboards and the drawknob desks. We used American walnut for all new frontal elements—the same wood species as the old cabinet. Neither time nor money was spared when it came to the console area. The keys are made of tightly grained spruce, naturals with granadilla overlays, sharps with maple and natural bone. Natural keys have their fronts embellished with a half-circle arch. The key cheeks as well as the music stand are made of solid walnut with hard maple inlays. Drawknobs are made from Norwegian maple. In the center of the ball there is a round inlay made of sterling silver and Baltic amber in honey color. The knobs were custom turned for us by Johannes Rieber in Oslo, Norway; the amber pieces were also made especially for this purpose—they came from Poland from one of the most renowned figures in amber art circles, Mariusz Drapikowski (his original creations are on permanent display at the Vatican Museum).
The tracker action is carried out in the simplest of ways, which is a bulletproof formula ensuring reliability for many years to come. Keys are a double-armed lever, with 10 mm movement in the front and 7.5 mm in the back. Trackers are made from red cedar, squares from hornbeam, and rollers from aluminum with wooden arms. Because of extreme humidity problems, we chose to make all pallets out of aluminum. The windchests were made of solid oak and maple, toe boards and pipe racking out of poplar. The stop action is made from white ash, sliders from the laminated phenolic fabric. The air is supplied by a 1-HP, three-phase Ventus blower.
We wish to extend our thanks to all members of the West Baptist Church in Oswego, New York for entrusting us with this project. We hope that this project will indeed help to rejuvenate the church family and that it will serve the community “For the glory of God.”
—Tomasz Lewtak
Lewtak Pipe Organ Builders, Inc.
1003 Barnwood Lane
Camillus, NY 13031
<www.lewtak.com&gt;

Craftsmen who worked on this project:
Vanessa McCrea—woodworking, bookkeeping, purchasing and general help (doing all the things that nobody else wanted to do . . . )
Iwona Henschke—pipe restoration, stenciling
Jeff King—electrical work, organ chamber and floor finishing
Gerry DeMoors—carillon restoration and electronics
Johannes Rieber—drawknob turning
Mariusz Drapikowski—Baltic amber and sterling silver setting
Pawel Lewtak—façade design, woodworking, pipe restoration
Tomasz Lewtak—mechanical design, woodworking, voicing and tuning

Lewtak Pipe Organ Builders, Camillus, New York, 2005

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church “On the Hill,” Camillus, New York


The Church

The history of St. Joseph’s Church in Camillus, New York, goes back to 1852, when the first resident pastor came to the parish and began to care for the religious needs of local Catholics. The original St. Joseph’s Church in the village of Camillus was built in 1867. The congregation eventually outgrew the small space of the old church, and in 1965 construction started on a new building—the cross-shaped church, with parabolic arches rising 90 feet and dramatic windows at the ends of each wing. As is often the case when substantial funds are required for construction, the purchase of a new pipe organ had to wait its turn. The delay turned out to be a long one—almost 40 years!
For years the rich and varied music program of St. Joseph’s Parish was supported by an electronic organ substitute and a Kawai grand piano. During the fall of 2001, an opportunity came along, and finally the decision was made to begin the construction of a new pipe organ that would fulfill the musical needs of the congregation and would aesthetically complete the sanctuary of St. Joseph’s. That year, another church in the Diocese of Syracuse—St. Louis in Oswego, New York—was closed and the pipe organ from this church was purchased with the thought that it would become a jump-board for a much larger instrument at St. Joseph’s.

The Old Organ

The old organ, a tracker consisting of two manuals with 21 stops, was built by Casavant Frères in 1896 as their Opus 69. It was the first organ from this builder imported in the United States.
At the time of acquisition, the Casavant organ was in a state of complete disrepair. It was obvious that a true historical renovation was not feasible for two primary reasons: the cost and the size of the instrument. Even if the parish were to allocate the funds, St. Joseph’s has a cubic volume approximately four times that of St. Louis Church. The volume of sound required to fill this large space could not possibly be achieved from a rather small and softly voiced instrument. With heavy hearts and facing no other options, the old organ from Oswego was dismantled and moved to St. Joseph’s in Camillus. Only the salvageable parts would be used in a new instrument. Virtually all of the old pipework was saved. A total of 1,202 pipes were moved to Camillus, most of which were in shoddy physical condition; some were badly damaged due to poor maintenance and careless handling. For example, an existing Mixture III on the second manual had twelve original pipes missing in the center, the sign of an obvious “tuning accident” occurring many years ago. These were replaced with “stock” pipes that did not make any sense in terms of either scaling or in the proper Mixture repetition sequence. Many wooden pipes also had visible water damage. The same was true for both manual windchests, which were also transported to St. Joseph’s. From four pedal chests only two were salvageable, with the remaining two damaged beyond any reasonable repair.

The New Tonal Design

Even though the old organ had to be dismantled, it became the backbone for—first and foremost—the tonal design of the new instrument. Professor Ulrik Spang-Hanssen from the Royal Danish Music Conservatory in Aarhus, Denmark was consulted, and a plan was devised for the preservation of the original stop configuration, augmenting it with a new third keyboard that would serve as the foundation for the “big sound.” Very few old ranks have been shifted. What was acquired from Oswego became the second and third manuals (Positif and Récit) with some changes necessary to move the timbre out of the dark and 8'-heavy character. The original configuration did not have any fifths or thirds among its stops. In addition, the first manual (the Great) had four 8' stops and one 4' stop; the second manual (the Swell) had a 16' Bourdon and a sub-octave coupler to the Great. New ranks were added with the purpose of not just strengthening the volume, but more importantly brightening the sound of the organo pleno in these two divisions. The old Great (current Positif) received the 2' Piccolo from the old Swell, and the original Dulciana 8' was moved to the new Grand Orgue division. The old Swell (current Récit) received a new Nasard 22?3', Principal 2' and Tierce 13?5'. From the same division, the Trumpet 8¢ and Bourdon 16' were moved to the new Grand Orgue.

The addition of a new first manual (the Grand Orgue) allowed not only for keeping the stop configuration as close to the original as possible, but also opened completely new sound prospects to build on and to draw from. This is the division that is by far the strongest. It is rather basic in terms of utilized ranks, not too far from the tonal character of the old instrument and yet created with the sole purpose of giving a complete Principal chorus to the entire instrument. The Cornet Harmonique III deserves special mention. It is a three-rank cornet (22?3¢, 2¢ and 13?5¢) consisting of widely scaled, overblown flute pipes with two small holes midway through the body length. The aural effect is quite unusual: the cornet combination has a far greater penetration and clarity of timbre thanks to the characteristic “hollow” sound of the harmonic pipes.

Obviously the Pedal division required more power. This was simply achieved by adding to the original three stops (Double Open 16', Bourdon 16' and Violoncello 8') a new Octave 8', Cor de Nuit 4' and a round-sounding 16' Buzène, a reed stop with leathered shallots. It would have been an asset to have a mixture in the Pedal; however, the financial constraints made it impossible. The total number of new pipes added is 1,100.

The New Façade

The difficult task of designing the façade for this organ fell on our shoulders after we approached various outside architects and artists. The problems we encountered with the architects were their lack of understanding the principles of how the organ works, not knowing what is and what is not attainable. There was also the lack of positive and healthy aesthetics. The objectives were quite simple: first, to fit the organ into the arch shape of the ceiling, and second, to show that this instrument blends the old with the new. An additional requirement came from the fact that it had been explicitly requested that the console must stay on the main floor of the church while the rest of the organ rests on a 10-foot high loft. The reasoning for this came from the liturgical documents of the Second Vatican Council, which dictates that the music ministry is not to be separated from the congregation. In the case of a tracker organ, it immediately makes things a lot more complicated simply because the linkage becomes dangerously long.

The design of this church building cannot be classified as “contemporary” but it may be described as “modern.” However, all throughout the building there are many elements of traditional architectural design: harmonious lines, time-honored proportions, and a lot of symmetry. The answer to all of these challenges came from my brother, architect Pawel Lewtak. He is the creator of the design that became a real head-turner among parishioners and visitors alike. In his words, his worst fear was to create another organ that would be sitting “up there” with the console that is placed “down there,” and one has little to do with the other. Instead, he created a homogenous shape that ties the top with the base in a seamless manner. The tower-like structure of segments gives it slenderness and allows for traditional pipe grouping. To reflect what is inside the organ case, the original façade pipes were kept in their distinctive clusters, and new groups of double flamed copper pipes were added. Copper was definitely the material of choice for its perfect blend with the surrounding color scheme.

There is one special feature of this façade that separates it from all others: mirrors, more specifically, forty of them! Hardly noticeable at first glance, they add light, depth, spark, and elegance. The mirrors are only four inches wide, and are of various lengths. They are placed in wooden frames in the spaces between the pipe clusters. They enhance the design by offering a true three-dimensional effect. As people walk through the church they are always viewing a distinctive picture with variegated light reflections, innumerable shadows and highlights, an array of geometrical shapes, yet all elements are well organized with pleasing aesthetic integrity.

The façade is made of white ash with mahogany ornaments, and the case behind it is made from birch and carefully selected white poplar.

The Mechanics and Materials

The key action is purely mechanical. It is referred to as a suspended action and was the only logical choice given our circumstances. Long distance between the keyboards and the windchests dictated absolute precision in the making of the tracker action. The longest linkage run is 33 feet and yet the average weight of the key—when the chests are under pressure—is only 120 grams. The action is not the least sluggish thanks to the employment of a pressure rail on the back of each keyboard with springs that remove some of the key weight. Each division has its own floating rail allowing for climatic changes of the wood of the trackers, which are made of red cedar. The squares are fashioned out of aluminum as are the rollers and roller arms. On the longest rollers, needle bearings were utilized to support the weight of each roller.

The keys are made of tight-grained pine covered with black African wood (grenadilla) for the naturals, and bone-on-maple for the sharps. The cheeks of the keyboards are white oak with ebony inlays.
All windchests are of slider and tone-channel construction. Two old windchests (Positif and Récit) have been completely taken apart and restored to mint condition. In both, the pallets used are of a so-called “relief” type: in essence, each pallet consists of two pieces, one of which is being pulled down first thus releasing the pressure and breaking the initial resistance. After cleaning, releathering and complete re-regulating of all the parts, they work flawlessly. New windchests are made out of select yellow pine and have single pallets in all but the lowest octaves. In the bass, we installed two pallets per tone channel, but with sequential opening, which causes the touch to be the same as the rest of the keys.
Pedal pipes are split diatonically and stand on either side of the case. The open 16¢ flute stands on its own two chests (C side and C# side). The remaining pedal pipes received two new windchests with space for both the old and the new ranks.

The stop action is state-of-the-art electric. The stop plates, made of grenadilla, hide behind them contactless switches. The system offers full convenience of 1,280 memory levels for even the most demanding performer. Half of the levels are lock-protected. The layout of thumb and toe pistons is very simple and offers some necessary redundancy. Couplers can be operated either by thumb pistons or toe studs. Also, the navigation through the system’s memory levels can be done either by hand, by foot or on the side by an assistant. There is one expression pedal for the Récit and a Crescendo pedal. The Crescendo, in order to work, first must be activated by a toe stud. It is fully programmable and has a digital level display from 0 through 30. A similar kind of digital level display is in place for the expression pedal of the Récit. The shutters are operated by a 30-stage, digitally controlled electric motor.

The organ utilizes a three-phase 1.5 hp electric blower with slow RPM. There are two reservoir bellows—one old one and one new— providing ample air supply to the whole instrument. There are three tremolos, one for each manual. Two of them have electronically adjustable speed of undulation right at the console.

The Voicing

Any organ is only as good as it sounds. Therefore, even though we spared neither time nor money on mechanical details, the most important element remained the voicing. All of the old ranks received some sort of voicing re-vamp. They had all previously been voiced down for a much smaller building. We made them more free speaking, definitely less obstructed at the toe. All of the old ranks were heavily nicked, which made things difficult at times. The new ranks were voiced with a little bit of chiff, just enough to make their speech more pronounced in the large acoustics of St. Joseph’s Church. The old reeds needed to be re-tongued in order to gain a larger sound. The Trumpet 8¢, especially, required more brilliance and volume in order to balance well with the rest of the Grand Orgue. The organ is tuned to a Tartini-Vallotti temperament, which gives it a pleasant color and tonal personality. The instrument has much to offer in terms of variety of sound colors as well as the dynamics and individual stop character.



From an organbuilder’s perspective, taking a vintage 1896 organ and bringing it up to present day expectations, and having an organ that could be used for church services as well as concert performances has been a personally demanding and ingratiating experience. In organ building, the idea is always to be creative while retaining the original elements and merging them with new technologies. It is rewarding beyond words when an artist sits down at the console and you begin to see the smiles of pleasure. It means you have accomplished your goal of creating the finest organ from available sources.
Lewtak Pipe Organ Builders wishes to extend our sincere thanks to all volunteers who gave their time and energy to this most worthy project. We also thank the parishioners of St. Joseph’s Church of Camillus, New York, for their continuing understanding, patience and support.

—Tomasz Lewtak

Organbuilder




The following craftsmen took part in the construction of the organ for St. Joseph’s Church in Camillus, New York:

Tomasz Lewtak – mechanical design, pipe scaling, voicing, woodworking

Pawel Lewtak – façade design, woodworking, traction

Gerry DeMoors – electronics, carillon, general construction

Kevin Reedy – general construction

John Fergusson – woodworking.




Lewtak Opus 1

St. Joseph’s Church “On the Hill”

Camillus, New York


GRAND ORGUE

16' Bourdon*

8' Grand Principal

8' Dulciane*

8' Flûte à Cheminée

4' Octave

4' Flûte à Fuseau

3' Quinte

2' Doublette

2' Flûte

III Cornet Harmonique

IV Mixture

8' Trompette*

Tremblant Fort

POSITIF

8' Montre*

8' Mélodie*

8' Gambe*

4' Prestant*

2' Piccolo*

Carillon a22–f42

Tremblant Doux

RÉCIT

8' Viole de Gambe*

8' Principal*

8' Flûte Harmonique*

8' Bourdon*

8' Voix Cèleste*

4' Flûte Harmonique*

4' Fugara*

22?3' Nasard

2' Principal

13?5' Tierce

III Mixture*

8' Basson-Hautbois*

8' Cor Anglais*

Tremblant Doux

PÉDALE

16' Flûte Basse*

16' Bourdon*

8' Octave

8' Violoncello*

4' Cor de Nuit

16' Buzène




* Original Casavant stop

Mechanical key action

Electric stop action

Electronic register presets, 1280 memory levels

Wind pressure: 90 mm Positif, Récit & Pédale; 82 mm Grand Orgue

Couplers: III-I, II-I, III-II, III-P, II-P, I-P

Tuning A34=438 Hz at 18ºC

Temperament: Tartini-Vallotti

A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company, Lithonia, Georgia
Episcopal Church of the Advent, Madison, Georgia

Many who are familiar with our work will know us as a progressive firm that is building some respectably sized instruments. Our current contract book includes over 400 new ranks including a five-manual, a four-manual, several large three-manuals, and a couple of mid-sized two-manual organs. Large organs have their unique challenges and offer the opportunity to work on a large tonal and visual canvas. Our firm is grateful for this work and the opportunity to contribute to organbuilding in a meaningful and quantitative manner, and I would invite visits to our website to see some of these exciting projects.
However, I must confess that the small instrument has a great deal of allure in its challenge. In a large organ, the stop relationships can be more prescribed in their given roles. In a small organ, stops must be dual-natured chameleons to be truly effective. The instrument designed for the Episcopal Church of the Advent in Madison, Georgia, is such an organ. This instrument required much attention to the subtleties in stop design and voicing in this intimate worship space.
For those not familiar with the historic Georgian town of Madison, it is located directly on the route followed by William Tecumseh Sherman on his “March to the Sea” during the Civil War. This campaign resulted in very little pre-Civil War architecture being left in Georgia along the soldiers’ route. Madison would have been burned, except that the former U.S. Senator Joshua Hill was in residence in Madison and persuaded Sherman to spare the city. Local folklore today has residents referring to the city as “the town too pretty to burn.”
The Episcopal Church of the Advent in Madison also has an interesting history. The first church building on the present church grounds was built in the late 1820s for the Methodist Episcopal Church. This frame building was replaced by the present brick edifice in the early 1840s. The property changed hands to the Christian Church in 1900 and later to the Episcopal Church in 1961. At this time there were alterations to the building evocative of elements of the historic Bruton Parish Episcopal Church in Virginia. Later alterations to the sanctuary included the building of a larger rear gallery in the 1993. The new gallery provided the possibility for a small central location for an instrument. Amidst the amalgam of architectural changes was a need for an organ design that would be at home even with divergent architectural styles. This is a modest-size building with a seating capacity of about 200 including the choir.
Our firm was one of several called to present ideas for an organ for Church of the Advent. The instrument would not be large but would need to serve the varied music needs of this parish. Our firm very strongly considered mechanical action for this instrument. However, it was clear that the space allocation would allow only a relatively small mechanical-action instrument, and there was a strong desire by the church for an instrument of larger size and tonal breadth. In the end we chose a case motif that was traditional, but a key action that would allow a larger stoplist and more generous scales due to flexibility of layout.
The tonal concept of the organ was jointly drawn up by Arthur Schlueter III and Carl Klein, consultant, to support organ literature as well as congregational and choral accompaniment. The organ contains 15 ranks and was conceived to provide the resources that are normally found in a much larger instrument while maintaining independence of choruses that is usually not found in a smaller instrument. We challenged ourselves that the two-manual instrument should have a complete principal chorus, a flute chorus, a string and companion celeste, a primary and secondary ensemble/solo reed, and adequate pedal with two 16¢ registers. This was a tall order for the small dimensions allowed for the organ case. We conceded that unification and duplexing would be important considerations in developing the specification desired by the church. However, it was important that our design maintain division independence and minimize octave parallel borrows within a division. For example, the Great divisional can be registered with principals, flutes and reeds at 16', 8', 8', 4', 4', 2', mixture II–III, reeds 8', 8' for congregational accompaniment without the presence of parallel borrows. The organ is conceived as a one-manual instrument duplexed to two manuals under one common expression, except for the unenclosed Great 8' Principal. This expressive treatment allows unique duplexing of organ stops. As an example, the Swell 8' Gedeckt plays as the 4' Gedeckt in the Great, and the Swell 8' Gemshorn plays as the 2' Octave in the Great. Our guiding intent was to allow divisional independence. Stop design, mixed materials (wood and metal), variable scales, and careful voicing allow for the full effectiveness of this tonal design.
The location of this organ would require a freestanding case that would have to find its place within the church architecture. I have often enjoyed the study of older American instruments and their builders’ choices to blend styles of architecture across many lines. Towards this end we chose to very loosely embody the work of organ design elements that would have been prevalent in the late 1700s to early 1800s. In effect, we used the design of the organ case as a temporal bridge between the 1700s and the 1800s.
The space allocated for the organ was 10' tall, about 12' wide, and 7' deep. Because the balcony location defined the proportion of width to height, it became important in the design to give a feeling of loft belied by the actual proportions of the organ case. This was accomplished by the careful placement of the individual façade pipe elements. The exposed façade pipes are all functional and are from the 8¢ Principal rank of the organ. Some of the pipes in the bass octave of the 8' Principal were internally haskelled, which enabled us to position the pipe mouths above the balcony rail to avoid a “stove pipe” look to the right and left of the organ case. This allows the pipes to remain an identifiable element that contributes to the design of the organ case. These pipes are finished silver with gold mouths. The carved pipe shades break up the visual weight of the organ case and again were designed to minimize the proportions of width to height to give the organ case a less weighty appearance. The carved pipe shades are loosely modeled after the work of early eastern United States organbuilders and are finished in antique gold to soften their visual impact against the case and gold-gilded pipe mouths. The organ case is built of mahogany with a light stain. The woods are designed to develop a natural umber as it ages with the church.
With the location of the choir on the side of the case, the organ was built with expression openings to the side of the case in addition to the front. With virtually all of the resources of the organ under common expression, a rich palette of resources is available for choral accompaniment.
The console is modeled after early American design and stop layout. Although older in appearance by design, the console incorporates numerous modern features for the convenience of the organist. These include transposer, multiple memory levels, and record/playback capability. In the design of the console we were very careful to consider the issue of sight lines. The layout of the balcony required the organ in the center and the choir to the left of the organ case. The space allocation would not allow a separate detached console without displacing choir members. The only viable choice was an attached console, but this left the question of what type of design. On a small instrument we built for Lumpkin United Methodist (II/9) in Lumpkin, Georgia, we had a simple keydesk with a vertical drawknob arrangement. In this instance, such a layout would create a major sight line issue between organist and choir. Our choice was a terraced drawknob design with the console body thrust rearward out of the case to allow a better sight line to the choir. This has allowed the organist to be able to see the majority of the choristers. Prior to building the console we built models of the organ console to assess the comfort of registration and sight line and make necessary adjustments to maximize those features. To minimize width and allow ease of stop registration, the drawknobs are limited to rows of seven on the horizontal spread and four rows on the vertical spread. The turned Macassar ebony drawknobs with oblique heads are positioned at a slight angle toward the performer. Careful attention to these details resulted in a console that is very comfortable to register and play.
The organ was scaled by Arthur Schlueter III. As is the practice of our firm, the tonal finishing of the organ was accomplished with several repeat trips to work with the pipes and then evaluate the results. We find that this method of tonal finishing results in a finer degree of voicing than is possible from one concentrated trip. The organ was tonally finished under the direction of Arthur Schlueter III, Daniel Angerstein, and John Tanner with input from Carl Klein.
The organ dedication service was played by Carl Klein, with members of the Atlanta St. Mark’s United Methodist Church Choir and music ministry, under the direction of Gary Arnold. The major donation for this instrument was in memory of Michael A. McDowell, who served as organist for St. Mark’s Church for many years. Members of Mr. McDowell’s family were present for the organ dedication service. His Episcopal family was originally from Madison and found the gift of this organ to be a fitting honor to his service in the ministry of music. The members of the Schlueter family and firm would like to express our appreciation to the all of the participants that enabled this instrument to be placed in the service to God.
The A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company was founded in 1973 and is located in Lithonia, Georgia. “Soli Deo Gloria” was incorporated into our corporate seal to remind ourselves and others of why we build these instruments for worship. As we have discussed in previous articles, the building of an instrument is not the result of one person’s efforts but the work of a team of artisans. In this regard, our firm is truly fortunate.
A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company wishes to acknowledge contributions to this organ installation: Loree Reed, Rector, Episcopal Church of the Advent; the organ selection committee; Carl Klein, organ consultant.
—Arthur Schlueter III

A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company staff:
Art Schlueter Jr., president
Arthur Schlueter III, vice president/ tonal and artistic direction
John Tanner, vice president of production/tonal finisher
Howard Weaver, senior design engineer
Bob Parris, executive assistant
Shan Dalton, office manager/administrative assistant
Katrina Thornton, financial secretary
Barbara Sedlacek, office support
Patty Conley, marketing, sales, relay wiring
Rob Black, master cabinetmaker/organ engineering
Jeffrey Chilcutt, CNC operator
Mark Montour, woodwright
Rick Peterson, woodwright
Carlos Inestroza, assistant woodwright
Marc Conley, production supervisor
Bud Taylor, assistant production supervisor
Al Schroer, voicing, tuning and service, organ assembly
Bob Weaver, tuning and service, assembly and leathering
Kevin Cartwright, tuning and service, assistant voicer
Dallas Wood, tuning assistant, organ assembly
Sam Polk, tuning assistant, organ assembly
Joe Sedlacek, Sr., console wiring
Joe Sedlacek, Jr., console wiring
Michael DeSimone, leathering, assembly
Dustin Carlisle, reservoir assembly and leathering
Kelvin Cheatham, parts assembly, wood finisher
Jorge Sandoval, parts assembly, leathering
Wilson Luna, parts assembly, relay and chest wiring
Norma Renteria, parts assembly, chest wiring, leathering
Ruth Lopez, parts assembly, leathering
Mike Ray, electronics technician
Herb Ridgely, Jr., sales and support staff
Don Land, sales and support staff
Richard Stewart, sales and support staff

Photo credit: Patty Conley

The firm can be contacted at:
A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company
P.O. Box 838
Lithonia, GA 30058
(800) 836-2726

GREAT
16'Gedeckt (Sw)
8' Principal
8' Harmonic Flute (Bourdon bass)
8' Gemshorn (Sw)
8' Gemshorn
Celeste (Sw)
4' Octave
4' Gedeckt (Sw)
2' Super Octave (Gemshorn)
III Cornet (Sw)
II–III Mixture 11⁄3' (159 pipes)
8' Trompete (Sw)
8 Hautbois (Sw)
Swell to Great 16'
Swell to Great 8'
Swell to Great 4'

SWELL
16' Gedeckt (ext)
8' Gemshorn
8' Gemshorn Celeste
8' Gedeckt
4' Fugara (ext)
4' Spitz Flute (37 pipes)
2' Nazard
2' Block Flute (24 pipes)
13⁄5' Tierce
11⁄3' Quint
16' Basson-Hautbois (ext)
8' Trompete
8' Hautbois
Tremulant

PEDAL
16' Subbass
8' Octave (Gt)
8' Gemshorn (Sw)
8' Gedeckt (Sw)
4' Octave (Gt)
4' Harmonic Flute (Gt)
2' Octave (Gt)
16' Basson-Hautbois (Sw)
8' Trompete (Sw)
4' Trompete (Sw)
4' Hautbois (Sw)
2' Hautbois (Sw)
Great to Pedal 8'
Swell to Pedal 8'

Schoenstein & Co.,
Benicia, California
Schermerhorn Symphony Center,

Nashville, Tennessee

Music City’s New Symphony Hall Organ
In its February 1982 issue, The Diapason published an article that challenged conventional wisdom. (See reprint of the article on pages 27–28 of this issue.) In it, Calvin Hampton made a convincing argument that an organ designed to be an instrument of the symphony orchestra must be radically different in many respects from a church organ or even a concert organ intended for solo use. A “normal” organ, even a fine one, could not pass his audition for symphony hall use. This really caught my attention. Since my background had included playing in and managing symphony orchestras, I was keenly aware of the uneasy relationship between orchestras and pipe organs. To managements, the organ was a headache. It used up too much space and too much money. Stagehands didn’t like the extra hassle of set-ups and working out quiet time for maintenance. Musicians didn’t like tuning to the organ or listening to its quinty mixtures and other thin, shrill sounds. Conductors never seemed satisfied with either the tone color or volume produced. Comments heard over and over again were: “I like that tone, can it be louder?” “Good balance, but I’d like a fuller, darker tone.” “Please(!)—keep with my beat!” The organist’s answers usually provoked frustrated and sometimes colorful comments about the inflexibility of the organ. The poor organist had even more problems than these: scarce rehearsal time, balance problems if the console was attached to the organ, poor sightlines if the console was on stage but too large or placed off in a corner.
The biggest problem of all was disappointment for the audience. The power of a modern symphony orchestra is so immense that most concert hall organs could not add to the drama of a fortissimo tutti. Against the gravity of the full orchestra, an ordinary organ can sound pathetically thin and upside down in balance, with trebles screaming out over the top of the ensemble. I had wondered for a long time why no one had attempted to solve all of these problems with an innovative approach. Calvin Hampton’s article gave me hope that someone would. About ten years later the tide began to turn. The musical issues were being addressed and many of them quite successfully. However, as a former instrumentalist and symphony manager, I thought that a more radical approach was needed.

Solving problems
Most of the behind-the-footlights practical problems can be solved by adopting an obvious, but, in some quarters, unpopular guideline: employ the fewest stops necessary to get the musical job done. This means an instrument that takes up less space, is less costly to purchase and more efficient to maintain. The case or chamber can be shallow for best tonal egress. Layout can be arranged for temperature—and thus tuning—stability; for example, all chorus work on one level, all reeds on one level. The console can be more compact, promoting sightlines and ease in setting and striking. The concept is easy enough to adopt, but what is that magic number of stops? What is the musical job to be done? How can we produce adequate power that will satisfy the audience?
First, it should be established that we are considering an instrument primarily for the Romantic and Modern repertoire. A properly equipped symphony hall should have one or two mechanical action stage organs to take care of the earlier repertoire. Previous experiments to include a “baroque” division with a small console as part of a large instrument have not been successful.
The primary use of the organ will be with orchestra. As a solo instrument, it might be used on occasion for choral accompaniment, silent movies as part of a pops series, and some special events. The solo organ recital has turned out to be a rarity in symphony halls. This is also true of other instrumental or vocal recitals. The reasons are simple: economics and scheduling.
If this musical job description is accurate, then an instrument in the size range proposed by Calvin Hampton (46 voices) would be ideal. Certainly any well-designed instrument of that size should also be able to render a very convincing recital program when needed. The key to a great performance is great tone, not great size.
If client and builder have the discipline to follow this Multum in Parvo plan rigorously, the question of tonal design becomes a matter of selecting stops that are absolutely essential and living without those that would be nice to have. Several classes of stops can be excluded with ease because they are duplicated in the symphony orchestra. Certainly there is no need for multiple strings and celestes or for orchestral reeds such as French Horn, English Horn, and Orchestral Oboe. The organ does not need items that would be considered necessities in a comprehensive church organ or in one specialized for some branch of the organ solo repertoire or for transcriptions.
What, then, are the elements that a symphony hall organ must have? Understanding what musical value the organ can add to the orchestra leads us to the answer. There are three characteristics of the organ that differentiate it very clearly from the orchestra. First, its frequency range is far greater. It can extend octaves below and above the orchestra. Extending the bass range has been the feature most appreciated by composers and orchestrators; however, increasing the treble range can be attractive, provided that it doesn’t get too loud! The second special characteristic of the organ is its unique tone—the diapason. This is a tone that cannot be produced by the orchestra and should, therefore, be the backbone of the organ when heard with the orchestra. The third element that should be most intriguing to composers is the organ’s ability to sustain indefinitely. This feature is most artistically displayed in connection with good expression boxes. A long, continuous diminuendo or crescendo can be most effective.

Four vital design points
Since there is a general understanding of basic organ tonal elements common to composers who write for orchestra as well as for the organ, a good symphony hall organ must include the minimum architecture of a normal three-manual traditional Romantic organ: diapason choruses and chorus reeds on each manual, representatives of stopped, open and harmonic flutes, a string with celeste, flute mutations, and the most common color reeds (Oboe, Clarinet, and Vox Humana). To make the organ capable of working in partnership with a modern symphony orchestra, the following tonal elements must be incorporated into this traditional scheme:
1. Profound Pedal. This is the most important element an organ can add to a symphony orchestra—bass one or two octaves below the double basses, bass tuba and contra bassoon. There must be at least one stop of such immense power that it will literally shake the floor. Stops of varying colors and dynamics with some under expressive control complete the Pedal.
2. Solo stops unique to the organ. These may be tones not found in the orchestra such as a diapason, stopped flute, and cornet or imitative stops that can be voiced at a power level not possible from their orchestral counterparts, such as solo harmonic flutes, strings, clarinets, and high pressure trumpets and trombas.
3. One soft stop capable of fading away to a whisper. Perhaps best in this role is a strongly tapered hybrid (or muted) stop.
4. An ensemble of exceptionally high power under expression. This cannot be raw power. It must be power with beauty, centered in the 8′ and 4′ range to give a sense of solidity and grandeur. Since symphony halls are generally drier acoustically than the typical organ and choral environment, it is even more important that this power be concentrated in the mid-frequency range and be of warm tonal character. The false sense of power created by excessive emphasis in high-pitched tones should be avoided. Orchestras don’t rely on a battery of piccolos for power, why should the organ? Piccolos can dominate an orchestra and so can mixtures, but that doesn’t make either effect beautiful. The kind of power needed comes from moderate to high wind pressures and stops voiced with rich harmonic content for good projection. Upperwork should be for tonal color rather than power. At least one diapason chorus should include a very high pitched mixture, a tone color unique to the organ, but it must not be loud. Eight-foot diapasons, chorus reeds, open flutes and strings should work together to create an ensemble capable of standing up to a full symphony orchestra. As someone who has sat in the midst of a symphonic brass section, I have a clear idea of the kind of power that is generated by trumpets, trombones and horns at fff. To compete without sounding shrill and forced requires high pressure diapasons and reeds, including a 32′ stop—all under expression to fit any situation.

Good tonal design must be supported by a mechanism that helps the organist solve all the performance problems mentioned above—an instrument that is as easy as possible to manage. The organ builder should employ every device at his command to give the organ musical flexibility so that it can take its place as an equal among the other instruments of the orchestra.

The Nashville project
We were given an opportunity to demonstrate the effectiveness of these ideas in our project for the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville. This was one of those projects that went smoothly from beginning to end, with everything falling into place and no road blocks in the way. Of the greatest importance to the success of this job was the client’s clear musical goal and realization that a really great organ can’t be all things to all people. We had a well-defined mission: to build an instrument that is a member of the orchestra. To this end we worked from the beginning with Andrew Risinger, organ curator and symphony organist and also organist/associate director of music at West End United Methodist Church in Nashville.
We were appointed, at the very beginning of the project, to the design team that included acoustician Paul Scarbrough of Akustiks in Norwalk, Connecticut and design architects David M. Schwarz, Architectural Services of Washington, D.C. I had worked with both as organ consultant for the Cleveland Orchestra in the renovation of Severance Hall and its E. M. Skinner organ. The design team, under the skillful management of Mercedes Jones, produced a hall that could not be more perfect from our point of view. Seating 1,872, it is beautiful in its traditional design, excellent proportions, and fine materials. It is of the traditional “shoebox” shape that everyone knows is perfect but that few architects are willing to employ. Since, under the direction of Paul Scarbrough, all of the traditional acoustical rules were followed, the result is, indeed, perfect.
Reverberation time is controlled by dampening material that may be added or subtracted at will. There is excellent balance, clarity, and pleasing resonance even in the lowest reverberation setting. With all dampening material lifted out of the way at the press of a button, the hall is ideal for most organ and choral repertoire. In addition, there is one very unusual and practical feature that has an added impact for the organ. The orchestra seating section can be converted to a flat open floor for pops concerts and special events. Most of the transformation is accomplished automatically through a labyrinth of gigantic machinery in the basement. The huge expanse of polished wood flooring adds significant reverberation. This feature also, interestingly enough, increases the usage of the organ. The hall is often rented for weddings. This is perhaps the only symphony hall organ in the world that has a reason to play the Mendelssohn and Wagner marches!
The organ is in an ideal position just above the choral risers at the rear of the stage. The casework was designed in close cooperation with the architectural team and Paul Fetzer whose company, Fetzer Architectural Woodwork of Salt Lake City, built the façade along with the other woodwork of the hall. It affords full tonal egress from the open front chamber behind it, which is shallow for accurate unforced projection. The organ is arrayed on three levels. Most flues are on the first level. Reeds, celestes, some flutes and offsets are on the second, and Pedal on the third, with the exception of the Trombone and Diaphone, which occupy a space extending all three levels. The bass octave of the 32′ Sub Bass is in a most unusual spot—located horizontally underneath the patron’s boxes to the left and right of the stage apron! These large scale pipes produce a soft 32′ tone that is felt as well as heard throughout the entire auditorium. The 32′ Trombone is in its own expression box, and the Swell includes our double-expression system, wherein the softest and most powerful voices are in a separate enclosure at the rear of the Swell with shades speaking into the Swell. The Vox Humana is in its own expression box inside the double expressive division of the Swell and so is, in effect, under triple expression. Accurate climate control has been provided, keeping the organ at constant humidity and temperature. The blower room in the basement has its own cooling system to neutralize the effects of blower heat build-up. Intake air is filtered.
The instrument employs our expansion cell windchests and electric-pneumatic action. This allows uniform, fast and silent action for all pipes no matter their pressure as well as easy console mobility and the borrowing of stops for maximum flexibility. Obviously borrowing is employed heavily in the Pedal, but it is also used on the Great, where the high pressure diapasons 8′ and 4′, string, stopped flute, Cornet and Solo reeds are all available independently. It also makes practical the extension of Pedal stops into the Solo and facilitates an interesting effect, the Tuben stop, which borrows the Swell reeds onto the Solo at unison pitch (Posaune up an octave at 8′ and Clarion down an octave at 8′ along with the 8′ Trumpet).
The console has the usual playing aids, but has been kept as simple and straightforward as possible to facilitate efficient rehearsals. There is a record-playback system—helpful for rehearsals and also for house tours; the playback mechanism can be remotely controlled by tour guides. With the press of a button they can start the blower and select a demonstration piece to be played for public tours, which are a popular attraction in Music City.

Tonal design
The two pillars of tone are diapasons and trumpets. The manual diapason choruses contrast in tonal color and power. The Swell chorus (Manual III) is based on a slotted 8′ Diapason of moderate power with a slightly tapered 4′ Principal and a 2′ Mixture, which is under double expression. The Great (Manual II) has a large scale 8′ Diapason with upperwork through 1⁄3′ Mixture and a slotted, smaller scale double. The Solo (Manual I) has the largest scale and most powerful chorus, all under expression and at 10″ pressure. Its mixture can be drawn with and without a tierce. The trumpets range from closed, tapered shallots on 10″ wind in the Swell to open parallel shallots on 5″ wind in the Great to open parallel shallots on 15″ wind in the Solo, where tromba-type tone is added by the Tubas and Trombone. Built around these pillars is an ensemble of stops with color, definition and sinew that project well to produce power in a manner similar to the orchestral instruments and centered at the orchestra’s pitch. Note that 64% of the stops are at 8′ and 4′ pitch. A most rewarding comment on this subject came after the opening concert in Nashville from the visiting executive director of one of the world’s leading orchestras, who remarked that he didn’t know that it was possible for an organ to be so powerful and at the same time so beautiful.
There are several special tonal features including a newly developed stop—the Diplophone. We wanted to include solo stops of heroic power from each family of tone. Our usual solo Gambas, Symphonic Flute (which employs five different types of pipe construction throughout its compass including double mouth and double harmonic pipes), Tibia Clausa, Corno di Bassetto and Tuba Magna represented the string, open flute, stopped flute, color reed, and chorus reed families, but we needed a solo diapason of equal power. We tested normal stentorphone pipes and then double-languid pipes without achieving the character of tone and power we were after. We then tried a double-mouth diapason. Mouths on either side of the pipe allow a greater mouth width than is possible with a single opening. This, combined with high pressure, produces tremendous power with smoothness and beauty. Finally, we included a powerful mounted Cornet (unusual for us) because it is a tone color completely outside the range of the orchestra and should offer interesting possibilities to contemporary composers.
For a stop that can fade away to nothing, we added our Cor Seraphique and Vox Angelique. These are very strongly tapered stops of the muted (or hybrid) variety. They are neither strings nor flutes and have a mysterious quality that is very attractive, with a harmonic structure that promotes projection when the Swell boxes are open, but is soft enough to disappear with both boxes closed. This stop is extended to 16′ to provide the same effect in the Pedal.
The Pedal includes all classes of tone at 16′ pitch: open wood, open metal, string, hybrid, stopped wood, and two different weights of chorus reed tone, both under expression. One of the most important 16′ voices is the Violone, which gives a prompt clear 16′ line to double and amplify the basses of the orchestra. The most unusual, and in some ways most important, stop of the organ is the 32′ Diaphone. Diaphones have a tone quality that ranges from a very dark, almost pure fundamental to a slightly reedy quality. Since this organ is equipped with a 32′ Trombone under expression, the Diaphone is voiced for pure fundamental tone of magnificent power. It produces more solid fundamental bass than a large open wood diapason and it speaks and releases promptly.
Our Pizzicato Bass stop, which gives a clean pointed bass line when added to other stops playing legato, is included because of its value in choral accompaniment. There is a special Sforzando coupler that is engaged only when the Sforzando lever, located above the swell shoes, is touched. It allows Solo stops to be momentarily added to the Great for accent. The Solo has a variable speed tremulant.

Installation and debut
The organ was installed in several phases, which went very smoothly due to the outstanding cooperation and support of the symphony staff, led by president and CEO Alan D. Valentine and general manager Mark F. Blakeman, as well as the excellent building contractors, American Constructors, Inc. The atmosphere was collegial and, yes, there is such a thing as southern hospitality. The casework, display pipes, blowers and large pedal pipes were installed in February–May 2006. We completed the mechanical installation of the organ during the summer of 2006. Tonal finishing was carried out during the summer of 2007. The leisurely and well-spaced schedule avoided the conflicts and last minute scrambles that usually cut tonal finishing time.
The organ was presented to the public at the opening night gala of the 2007–08 season with Leonard Slatkin, conductor, and Andrew Risinger, organist. The program included the Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Duruflé Prelude and Fugue on the Name Alain, Barber Toccata Festiva, and the Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3. It was recorded for broadcast on SymphonyCast. The exceptionally active Nashville chapter of the AGO has co-sponsored events starting with a lecture-demonstration evening and including the “International Year of the Organ Spectacular” recital featuring Vincent Dubois. The orchestra has presented several programs including a “Meet the Organ” demonstration for students, a “Day of Music” free to the community, a series of noontime recitals, and Thomas Trenney playing accompaniments to the silent films Phantom of the Opera at a Halloween program in 2007 and The Mark of Zorro in 2008. The organ has been used to accompany the symphony chorus in concert and also in several additional orchestra subscription concerts including works by Elgar and Respighi. The 2008–09 season has already presented Andrew Risinger in the Copland Symphony for Organ and Orchestra with new music director Giancarlo Guerrero conducting, the noon recital series continues, and more programs are on the way.
The instrument has been greeted with enthusiasm from the artistic staff of the orchestra and the musicians. The public has embraced it warmly and we look forward to the 2012 AGO convention, where it will be one of the featured instruments.
—Jack M. Bethards
President and Tonal Director
Schoenstein & Co.

On behalf of Louis Patterson, V.P. and Plant Superintendent; Robert Rhoads, V.P. and Technical Director (retired); Chuck Primich, Design Director; Mark Hotsenpiller, Head Voicer;
department heads Chet Spencer, Chris Hansford and Mark Harter;
and technicians David Beck, Filiberto Borbon, Peter Botto, Dan Fishbein, Oliver Jaggi, George Morten, Humberto Palma, Tom Roberts, Dan Schneringer, Patricia Schneringer, Donald Toney, William Vaughan and William Visscher.

Cover photo by Louis Patterson

Schoenstein & Co.

The Martin Foundation Organ
The Nashville Symphony Orchestra
Schermerhorn Symphony Center
Nashville, Tennessee
47 voices, 64 ranks
Electric-pneumatic action

GREAT – II (5″ wind)
16′ Double Open Diapason 61 pipes
8′ Diplophone (Solo)
8′ Grand Open Diapason (Solo)
8′ First Open Diapason 61 pipes
8′ Second Open Diapason 12 pipes
8′ Gamba (Solo)
8′ Tibia Clausa (Solo)
8′ Harmonic Flute 61 pipes
8′ Salicional (Swell)
8′ Bourdon (metal) 61 pipes
8′ Lieblich Gedeckt
(borrow with Bourdon bass)
8′ Cor Celeste II (Swell)
4′ Octave (Solo)
4′ Principal 61 pipes
4′ Lieblich Gedeckt 61 pipes
2′ Fifteenth 61 pipes
11⁄3′ Mixture IV 200 pipes
1⁄3′ Mixture III 146 pipes
8′ Trumpet 61 pipes
4′ Clarion 61 pipes
8′ Cornet V (Solo)
8′ Tuba Magna (Solo)
8′ Tuba (Solo)
8′ Corno di Bassetto (Solo)

SWELL – III (enclosed, 5″ wind)
16′ Lieblich Bourdon (wood) 12 pipes
8′ Open Diapason 61 pipes
8′ Stopped Diapason (wood) 61 pipes
8′ Echo Gamba 61 pipes
8′ Vox Celeste 61 pipes
8′ Salicional 49 pipes
(Stopped Diapason bass)
4′ Principal 61 pipes
4′ Harmonic Flute 61 pipes
22⁄3′ Nazard 61 pipes
2′ Harmonic Piccolo 61 pipes
13⁄5′ Tierce 54 pipes
8′ Oboe 61 pipes
Tremulant
Stops under Double Expression†
16′ Cor Seraphique 12 pipes
8′ Cor Seraphique 61 pipes
8′ Voix Angelique (TC) 49 pipes
2′ Mixture III–V 244 pipes
16′ Posaune 61 pipes
8′ Trumpet 61 pipes
4′ Clarion 61 pipes
8′ Vox Humana†† 61 pipes
†Flues and Vox 6″ wind; Reeds 11½″
††Separate Tremulant; separate expression box

SOLO – I (enclosed, 10″ wind)
8′ Grand Open Diapason 61 pipes
8′ Symphonic Flute† 61 pipes
8′ Gamba 61 pipes
8′ Gamba Celeste 61 pipes
4′ Octave 61 pipes
2′ Quint Mixture IV
2′ Tierce Mixture V 270 pipes
8′ Tuba† 61 pipes
8′ Harmonic Trumpet† 61 pipes
8′ Tuben III††
8′ Corno di Bassetto† 61 pipes
Tremulant
Tremulant (variable)
Unenclosed Stops
8′ Diplophone 29 pipes
(ext Pedal Open Wood)
8′ Tibia Clausa 29 pipes
(ext Pedal Sub Bass)
8′ Cornet V (TG, 5″ wind) 185 pipes
16′ Trombone 5 pipes
(ext Pedal Trombone)
8′ Tuba Magna† 61 pipes
†15″ wind
††Swell Posaune, Trumpet and Clarion at 8′ pitch

PEDAL (4½″, 5″, 7½″, 10″, 15″ wind)
32′ Diaphone 12 pipes
32′ Sub Bass 12 pipes
16′ Diaphone 32 pipes
16′ Open Wood 32 pipes
16′ Violone 32 pipes
16′ Diapason (Great)
16′ Cor Seraphique (Swell)
16′ Sub Bass 32 pipes
16′ Bourdon (Swell)
8′ Open Wood 12 pipes
8′ Open Diapason (Swell)
8′ Principal 32 pipes
8′ Violone 12 pipes
8′ Gamba (Solo)
8′ Flute (Great)
8′ Sub Bass 12 pipes
8′ Bourdon (Swell)
4′ Fifteenth 32 pipes
4′ Flute (Great)
8′ Pizzicato Bass†
32′ Trombone†† 12 pipes
16′ Trombone†† 32 pipes
16′ Posaune (Swell)
8′ Tuba Magna (Solo)
8′ Trombone†† 12 pipes
8′ Posaune (Swell)
4′ Trombone†† 12 pipes
4′ Corno di Bassetto (Solo)
†8′ Sub Bass with Pizzicato Relay
††Enclosed in its own expression box

Couplers
Intramanual
Swell 16, Unison Off, 4
Solo 16, Unison Off, 4

Intermanual
Great to Pedal 8
Swell to Pedal 8, 4
Solo to Pedal 8, 4
Swell to Great 16, 8, 4
Solo to Great 16, 8, 4
Swell to Solo 16, 8, 4
Solo to Swell 8

Special
Pedal Tutti to Solo
Solo to Great Sforzando
All Swells to Swell
Manual I/II transfer piston with indicator

Mechanicals
Peterson ICS-4000 system with:
256 memory levels
62 pistons and toe studs
programmable piston range for each memory level
Piston Sequencer
10 reversible controls including Full Organ
Four balanced pedals with selector for expression and Crescendo
Record/Playback system with remote control
Adjustable bench

Mixture Compositions
Great IV
C1 A10 D15 A#35 G#45
19 15 12
22 19 15 12
26 22 19 15 12
29 26 22 19 15

Great III
C1 A10 D15 C25 A#35 G#45 B48 F#55
33 29 26
36 33 29 26 22 19 15 12
40 36 33 29 26 22 19 15

Swell III–V
C1 C#14 B24 A#47 D#52
15 8 8
19 15 12 8
22 19 15 12 8
22 19 15 12
22 19 15

Solo V
C1 A46 C#50 F#55
12
15 12
17 15 12
19 17 15 12
22 19 17 15

Solo IV derived from Solo V, without tierce

Tonal Families
Diapason† 17 36%
Open Flutes 7 15%
Stopped Flutes 4 9%
Strings 5 11%
Hybrids 2 4%
Chorus Reeds 9 19%
Color Reeds 3 6%
47 100%

†Includes Diaphone and Salicional

Pitch Summary
Sub
32′ 3 6%
16′ 6 13% 19%

Unison
8′ 22 47%
4′ 8 17% 64%

Super
22⁄3′ 1 2%
2′ 4 9%
Above 3 6% 17%
47 100% 100%