New Organs

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

Opus 31,
Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago

Named the Ruth & Paul Manz Organ in recognition of their music ministry
at LSTC between 1983-1992, M. L. Bigelow & Co.'s Opus 31, II/28 stops,
makes a strong statement, both musically and architecturally, in the newly
remodeled chapel of this important religious institution.

The free-standing case of solid quarter-sawn red oak matches the chapel's
contemporary architecture. Polished tin pipes of the Pedal Præstant 16'
and the Great Præstant 8' form the façade, which articulates
placement of the Swell division above the Great. Mechanically operated louvers
on three sides of the enclosure maximize the swell effect.

The Harmonic Flute 8' and Bass Clarinet 16' suggest a broad-minded tonal
design. Indeed, the instrument seems equally at home in a wide variety of
musical styles. The mildly voiced Posaune 16' and 8' is surprisingly versatile.
A specially designed slider chest facilitates unification of three of the four
Pedal ranks. The Præstant 16' plays on electro-pneumatic action. The
Bourdon 16' is made playable on the Great by means of electric action pallets
on isolated channels of the Pedal slider chest. With these two exceptions, the
key action is purely mechanical. Stop action is electric. Sixty memory levels
with disk backup, definable pistons, and a piston sequencer give the organist
numerous options for control of tonal resources. Wind pressure is 81 mm. A
large blower feeds two wedge-shaped bellows, one for the manuals, the other for
the pedal. By pulling the "Flexible Wind" knob, winding is given a
gently flexible quality.

Metal pipes were made by Jacques Stinkens (Zeist, Holland), A. R. Schopp's
Sons (Alliance, Ohio), and F. J. Rogers (Leeds, England). The bone and ebony
keyboards and coupler chassis were built by P&S Organ Supply in England.
Bigelow personnel included Michael Bigelow, David Chamberlin, Shayne Ward,
Robert Munson, Dylan Young, Jarvis Rasmussen, Matthew Nagel, Marshall Haglund,
Sam Rojas, Kendall Green, Meg Griffith, and Beth Bigelow.

Following the formal service of dedication played by LSTC's staff organist,
Daniel Schwandt, the November 2004 inaugural events continued with a hymn
festival led by Dr. Lorraine Brugh, and a masterclass and recital by Dr. David
Schrader. Special thanks go to Scott Riedel, consultant; Dr. Mark Bangert,
organ committee; and Dr. Larry Long, LSTC's former organist.

--Michael Bigelow and

David Chamberlin

M. L. Bigelow & Co. Opus 31

Two manuals and pedal: 58/30

31 ranks, 25 voices and 3 extensions/transmissions = 28 stops

GREAT 58 notes

16'            Bourdon
(1-24 = Pedal)

8'               Præstant

8'               Chimney
Flute

8'               Harmonic
Flute

4'               Octave

4'               Dolce
Flute

2'               Octave

                   Sesquialtera
II

                   Mixture
IV

8'               Trumpet

                   Swell
to Great

SWELL 58 notes

8'               Oak
Gedackt

8'               Viola
da gamba

8'               Voix
céleste (tc)

4'               Viol-Principal

4'               Open
Flute

22/3'        Nasard

2'               Conical
Flute

13/5'        Tierce

                   Plein
Jeu III

16'            Bass
Clarinet

8'               Oboe

PEDAL 30 notes

16'            Præstant

16'            Bourdon

8'               Octave

8'               Bourdon
(ext)

4'               Octave
(ext)

16'            Posaune

8'               Posaune
(ext)

                   Great
to Pedal

                   Swell
to Pedal

Accessories

                   Tremulant

                   Flexible
Wind

                   Bell
Star

                   Pistons:
8 Generals, 6 Divisionals

Hermes Pipe Organs, LaValle, Wisconsin,
has completed the organ project at St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church
in Cazenovia, Wisconsin. The parish recently completed the restoration of their
church building, which was originally built in the 1880s. Over the course of
time, the roof deteriorated to the point that the building was no longer usable
for worship. Services were then held at the parish school located next to the
church. Restoration work included major rebuilding of the roof trusses and
decking, the bell tower, the wall and ceiling insulation, and a complete interior
restoration of all walls, hardwood floors, pews, and decorations.

At that time, it was also decided to replace the 1917 Kimball pipe organ
that was installed in the 1931 remodeling of the sanctuary. The Kimball had
served the parish well for many years. However, leaks in the roof above the
choir loft resulted in water damage, leading to significant deterioration of
the organ chests and wood pipes.

In 1986, Fred Hermes was contacted to appraise the condition of the Kimball.
He noted that the low CC Subbass pipe and the end of the Subbass chest crumbled
when touched. Because of the poor condition of the Kimball, it was suggested
that restoration costs would be prohibitive, and that restoring and installing
a different organ would be a better option. Due to financial constraints, the
parish decided to continue to use the Kimball, and Mr. Hermes did what he could
to keep the organ working.

In 1999, Hermes arranged for the donation of a 2-manual, 13-rank pipe organ
to the parish and installed it in the newly restored sanctuary in 2002-2003.
The sanctuary has all hard surfaces and is very live with a reverberation time
of three and a half seconds.

GREAT

8'               Bourdon

8'               Gemshorn*

4'               Principal*

4'               Gemshorn
(ext)*

22/3'        Quint*

2'               Octave*

Gt 16-UO-4

                   Sw/Gt
16-8-4

SWELL

8'               Quintaton*

8'               Viole

8'               Viole
Celeste

4'               Spitz
Flute*

2'               Principal*

                   Sesquialtera
II*

8'               Fagott

                   Sw
16-UO-4

PEDAL

16'            Bourdon
(ext)

8'               Bourdon

8'               Gemshorn

4'               Gemshorn

22/3'        Gemshorn

2'               Gemshorn

                   Gt/Ped
8-4

                   Sw/Ped
8-4

*Built in 1960 by J. B. Meyer and Sons Co.

31/2 inches wind pressure

Bigelow & Co. Organ Builders, American Fork, Utah

Fortieth Anniversary

Opus 42

Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Fishers Island, New York

From the builder

Forty years—and forty-two organs— ago Bigelow & Co. was born. Looking back, it has been quite a ride. After training with master organbuilder John Brombaugh in Ohio, I set up shop in Utah, married the girl of my dreams, and went to work. Dr. David Rothe in Chico, California, showed incredible faith by signing our first contract. His organ featured “either-or” registration whereby a stop can be registered on either manual, thus lending flexibility with just a handful of stops. I liked the idea of giving broader appeal to the small, less expensive organ. In fact, we’ve built a number of “either-or” instruments since then, including our most recent work featured in this article.

I recall as a youth drooling over pictures of the great organs of Europe such as St. Bavokerk, Haarlem, and St. Johannis Kirche, Lüneburg, I never dreamed that I would visit them someday, sketch pad in hand, recording their beautiful cases not only on paper, but also in my mind and heart. Their visual excitement was equaled only by their magnificent sound. I was in heaven then, and I continue to be in heaven each time I get to design an organ case or experience a finished instrument. Opus 42 is no exception. It incorporates the church’s original 1929 organ case by Skinner Organ Company, which we upgraded to display new speaking pipes. We also replaced the original grillework in the two flats with new treble pipes and matching pipe shade carvings for heightened visual appeal.

My wife says it is time to retire, but I do not think she would like me hanging around the house so much. Besides, it is pipe organs that I love to build!

—Michael Bigelow

From the vice president and tonal director

I consider it a great blessing to have been employed at Bigelow & Co. during my entire organbuilding career—over thirty of the forty years of its existence. During that time I have learned much, and I still enjoy the challenge of designing mechanisms and sounds to fit different, sometimes difficult, situations. Our Opus 42 at St. John’s Church, Fishers Island, was not our first chamber installation, nor was it our first experience in building a mechanical-action instrument into existing casework. It was, however, our first experience with an instrument speaking into the chancel, and the low impost of the historic case presented significant mechanical challenges.  

Like most of our smaller instruments, Opus 42 uses our “either-or” registration system, whereby most stops can be registered on either one manual or the other. The availability of some re-usable pipes (16′ Bourdon, 8′ Principal bass, and Voix Celeste from Skinner, the bass octave of an earlier string, and the more recent wood 8′ Gedeckt) made for a somewhat richer disposition than would have been otherwise possible within our budget. In lieu of our more typical mutation stop,  the open metal 8′ Treble Flute was chosen, as it seemed to be more in keeping with late nineteenth-/early twentieth-century tradition. The sub-octave coupler was a special request—no other Bigelow organ has one—which, besides the more obvious advantages, makes it possible for an incredibly rich ensemble of six flue ranks to sound together at 8′ pitch!

I honestly cannot think of a happier installation experience than this one: wonderful people, a beautiful and relaxing environment, and a delightful instrument coming together in a lovely place. 

—David Chamberlin

From the organist

I first stepped off the Fishers Island Ferry in June of 2014. After several conversations with colleagues who had served the church in the preceding years, I knew St. John’s to be a summer community that values worship and the role the church plays in the unique pattern of island living. At the time of my hiring, the vestry communicated their hope that I might help them discern the best path forward for their organ, which had become as much a financial liability as a musical one. Having spent considerably on the instrument just a few years earlier, they were rightly cautious about continuing to sink resources into stopgap measures. Several conversations were held in regards to the respective merits of rebuilding the old organ or replacing it with a new pipe or digital instrument. To their great credit, the members of the vestry did considerable diligence in researching each option, and after a short period of prayer and discernment, the decision was made to commission a new pipe organ for the church. 

In an effort to instill confidence in the project and to avoid saddling future organists with my own musical preferences, I encouraged the church to engage Jonathan Ambrosino as an independent consultant. Jonathan shepherded us through the process of soliciting and reviewing proposals, helped to communicate effectively with the congregation, and ultimately served as a liaison between the church and builder throughout the processes of design, construction, and installation. After reviewing compelling proposals from four builders, the unanimous decision was reached to engage Bigelow & Co. to build the new instrument. It was immediately evident to all that the proposal written by Mike Bigelow and David Chamberlin not only respected the understated beauty of the setting, but also addressed several of the challenges particular to an island organ that only sees full service for about sixteen weeks of the year. Their mastery of the “either-or” registration system resulted in an instrument that is uncharacteristically versatile for its size, while the added sub-octave coupler contributes an undeserved range of color and depth. 

Now having completed its first summer of service, it is clear that this instrument will be a lasting source of pride for the Fishers Island community and a testament to the artistry and craftsmanship of Bigelow & Co. A happier result surely could not have been possible.  

—Brent Erstad

From the consultant

Over the past fifteen years, I have been variously involved with the chapel organ at Saint Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire. Working there made me aware of Saint John’s Episcopal Church on Fishers Island, in Long Island Sound, a parish with a long connection to the school. A number of alumni are church members, and the current rector and many organists have served both institutions (the school term dovetails neatly with the summer service schedule). Colin Lynch and Brent Erstad are two Saint Paul’s chapel organists who also served at Fishers; Andrew Sheranian and Michael Smith have also served. While none of them ever raved about the organ, they all spoke warmly of the place and its people.

In July 2015, Saint John’s got in touch about how to proceed with the instrument. It had begun life in 1929 as a humble eight-rank Skinner, with much of the Swell duplexed to the Great, a lone Pedal Bourdon, and no reed. Its alcove location was about as enchambered as could be imagined. In the 1980s and later, Alan McNeely revised the instrument into a full-bore two-manual of 22 ranks, with additional Pedal, Antiphonal, and eventually a few memorial digital voices. But the organ’s environment spelled its doom. The blower and some mechanism lived in a basement rife with dampness; salt and moisture played havoc with key contacts; the disused 1929 Spencer blower stood in a corner, a pile of rust and humiliation. In its final years, Ed Odell and Scot Huntington serviced the instrument.

While a part of New York State, Fishers is reached by ferry from New London, Connecticut. My maiden visit, however, was by air. Patrick Aiken (organist-choirmaster of Central Congregational Church in Providence) kindly flew me down in his Cessna 172, and it made for a storybook introduction to the place: perfect weather, majestic island vista, corkscrew descent, a trim touchdown at Elizabeth Field. The senior warden’s smiling aunt met me in what Connecticut people call a “station car”—an old beater to take back and forth to the train. Saint John’s Church itself is a microcosm of the island: not fancy or ostentatious, a few dignified appointments of restrained beauty and appropriate scale, people of obvious class with nothing to prove. The grandeur of the island, the smart folk, the effort required to get there, a station car: here was a particular slice of vanishing old New England.

Later that morning, through a sea of intermittent notes and other issues, I heard Brent Erstad accompany two morning services. While twenty-two ranks is hardly large, still, this is a village church. The organ’s size had grown out of phase with the place, not merely the building but the congregation’s very sense of itself. These people clearly enjoyed singing hymns together. They needed only a solid and straightforward organ to lead them. A new tracker, flexible but in proper scale, seemed the thing. Once the vestry understood that a long-term solution did not need to be dauntingly expensive, four mechanical-action builders were invited to propose.

The church took this assignment seriously. Rather than dangle a prospect and see who would jump highest, the church gave each builder a stipend to cover at least some of the travel to Fishers and the warmest of welcomes. In place of a stern Request-For-Proposal, the church provided a statement of goals, outlining the vestry’s hope that each builder might be inspired to propose something as individual as the place itself. Ultimately, Bigelow & Co. was chosen, partly from their track record with appealing and flexible smaller organs, partly for a genuine enthusiasm to work with the original simple case-front.

In 2017, a Boston team of Joe Sloane, Amory Atkins, and Dean Conry took away the old organ, salvaging a few unaltered Skinner ranks. This set the stage for the church’s conscientious caretaker, Andrew “Ace” Ahrens, to prepare for the new instrument. The chamber was rehabilitated and shortened, and the rear portion sectioned off into a new blower room. Keeping the entire instrument out of the basement sealed it from the worst effects of dampness. In the church itself, floors were refinished, and a bit of new carpeting replaced a great deal of old. The organ arrived in April 2018 and was brought into use in May, the builders being beautifully seen to by Ace and other vestry members. Brent Erstad gave an opening concert on July 7, assisted by tenor Andrew Brown. He and Dan Moriarty have been playing this summer.

It is wonderful to work with a church that suffers no confusion of aims. Not even six months from the first email, Saint John’s had contracted with
Bigelow. Having decided what was right, they dove in headfirst, kept sharp at every turn, and celebrated in style. It is always a delight to work with such fine people and good builders. The best part comes in knowing that the people of Saint John’s now have a tasteful organ as timeless as their parish, their building, and their faith.

—Jonathan Ambrosino

From the rector

Over three years ago, when Saint John’s Church on Fishers Island was facing the challenge of replacing the failing ninety-year-old Skinner organ, installing another pipe organ was not the preferable option. In fact, the challenges of maintaining the current instrument, the weather fluctuations on the island, and the limited use of an organ in this seasonal summer chapel were all compelling reasons to go the digital organ route. However, St. John’s was also gifted with a plethora of accomplished organists who had visited the church over the summers, connected with our vestry and congregation, and encouraged us to consider another opportunity to install a new pipe organ in the church. 

We are a congregation that loves to sing, and we value an instrument that not only provides the backdrop to our voices, but also can join with us as a living presence in the worship space. Brent Erstad and Jonathan Ambrosino walked with us down the road towards another pipe organ and encouraged the welcoming of a new instrument. When we met Michael Bigelow and read his carefully prepared proposal, we knew that he was the one who would not only create a wonderful and appropriate instrument for the church, but also would do so in a way that honored our history and supported our future with a beautiful instrument. 

Over two years later, we were pleased this summer to share the voices of the W. Richard Bingham Memorial Organ, Bigelow Opus 42, in an inaugural concert played by Brent Erstad. The congregation is very appreciative of the new instrument and we have launched an organ concert series this summer that we hope to continue in the future, featuring not only organ recitals, but also silent films with organ accompaniment, spirited hymn sings, and a three-day choir camp on the island for students from a local independent school. We look forward to continuing these offerings as an outreach not only to our church community, but also to the community of Fishers Island and beyond. 

Saint John’s is immensely grateful to all those who contributed to this project: the many donors whose support made this a reality, especially the family of W. Richard Bingham after whom this instrument is named, the counsel and expertise of Jonathan Ambrosino and Brent Erstad who shepherded us through the process, the artistry and skill of Michael Bigelow and his team at Bigelow & Co., and the support of the vestry and members of St. John’s Church. We look forward to many years of enjoyment as this new organ adds its voice to ours in celebrating all of the moments of our spiritual journey for generations to come.

—The Reverend Michael Spencer

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Buzard Pipe Organ Builders, LLC, Champaign, Illinois, Opus 33, 2006

St. Francis in the Fields Episcopal Church, Zionsville, Indiana

Zionsville, Indiana is a quaint community about 30 minutes north of Indianapolis. It has retained its rural character, but added modern coffee shops, restaurants, and shopping along the historic Main Street. Farms dot the outlying area, inhabited primarily by today’s generations of their founding families. Horses are kept for sport. Until only last year, Main Street featured an equine and tack shop, where one could purchase saddles, bits, and bridles, and be measured for a custom-made pair of English riding boots.

St. Francis in the Fields Episcopal Church sits on a lane in the newer part of town. The church was originally built in 1968. An early 20th-century Sanborn tracker-action organ was renovated and installed by Goulding & Wood in 1988, and the church was expanded to its present and complete form in 1997. Indianapolis architect Tim Fleck, of Woolens, Molzen, and Partners, designed and finished the space.

These days it is a luxury for a small rural church to have a pipe organ of any description, and St. Francis used their old tracker organ to its greatest and fullest extent. However, as the parish and its music program grew, the old instrument was found wanting. In 1992, their rector, The Rev. Sandra Michels, invited me to visit, having heard of the success of our then new organ at the Episcopal Campus Chapel at the University of Illinois. We met, and I offered several recommendations for instruments of differing size.

The church wrestled with a “catch-22.” The building is not so big as to require a large organ to fill it with sound for vigorous hymn-singing. However, the ambitious choral program of traditional Anglican offerings really cried out for tonal variety—which only a somewhat larger instrument could offer. And, of course, since no one at the church really knew what pipe organs cost, the price came as a real shock. The organ project was shelved, and, as the parish continued to grow, the then new organist/choirmaster Lee Barlow took up the cause afresh for a new instrument.

Lee was acquainted with the many tonal and mechanical benefits of slider chests, and the discipline that they bring to good organ design. But he also wanted to take advantage of the flexibility that unit work can bring to a well-designed pipe organ, as long as it did not in any way compromise the instrument’s integrity.

Having some stops appear on unit chests also became advantageous as we learned that the organ’s initial purchase price had to be limited to a fixed dollar amount, based upon a donation received from a very generous parishioner. Although the donation was certainly significant, the amount was less than a tonally complete organ would cost. We had to design an organ that could at least initially be built for the amount of the single donation—and be efficiently expandable to the proper size as succeeding contributions were received. Partially because unit stops are more expensive than stops planted on slider chests, they make good candidates for preparations, and easier reductions to an organ’s initial purchase price.

Initially, more stops were prepared for the future than the printed specification shows. Although it was against my nature to do so, I had a positive feeling that the church would reinstate the important stops in time for them to be included as the organ was constructed in the shop, and indeed they did!
The limited balcony space was also an issue. Therefore we opted to place the Great in a case projecting over the balcony rail, and place the Swell and Pedal divisions in a case centered on the balcony floor, at the rear wall, behind the choral singers. We kept the Swell and Pedal case simple, echoing the classical architectural design of the chancel and its furnishings. The slightly more fanciful Great case relates to the building’s round window frames in its use of rounded towers with rounded pipe shades. Roman mouths in the façade pipes tie both cases together nicely. The cases are made of 11⁄2" thick solid white oak, with walnut and basswood accents. The front case’s pipe shades are carved—albeit by machine—in a 19th-century pattern. The console is also made of 11⁄2" thick white oak, with polished walnut interior accents, keyboards, slips, nameboard, and drawknob wings.

The action is primarily electrically operated slider and pallet windchests. The unit stops have expansion chambers built into every note’s toe and valve holes, to replicate the speech and repetition characteristics of the slider chest magnets. Our treatment of the actions and chests encourages beautiful speech, and reconciles the slight difference in repetition characteristics between the slider stops and the unit stops.

In small organs, every note of every stop is crucial to the entire organ’s tonal structure. And, dividing the organ with the Great over the rail poses some listening challenges for the organist. We like for the Swell to balance the Great. Absent a Swell 8¢ Diapason, the Swell Salicional and Stopped Diapason blend together to create a composite foundation tone, and balance the Great Diapason. Once the foundations are set, their choruses are built up from these references. Since the Swell is further away from the listeners in the nave, the Swell Salicional sounds very bold indeed at the console. But, for accompanying, it is at a perfect point for softer contexts when the expression box is partially or fully closed.

The Open Diapasons in our organs are very personal musical statements, and I pray that organists and organ purchasers will give me artistic license to grow and evolve as time passes. Those of you who have followed my work during the last 15 years will note that our earlier Diapasons were larger in scale than those we’re building now. Especially in smaller organs, a slightly smaller scale, blown on a moderate pressure, can be cut-up and voiced to produce a beautifully warm, solemn sound, and still have plenty of “urgency” to the tone. Here we have Diapasons that are warm indeed, with a compelling palette of upper partials. The result is warmth without fatness, and an uncanny ability to blend with upper pitches to keep the entire chorus interesting, without becoming “spiky.”

Just as Diapasons are the meat of the sound, the reeds, strings, and flutes are the spice in the cooking! The flutes are all different, and colorful. The Great uses our cheeky 8' Flûte à Bibéron, or “baby-bottle” flute; the Swell, a smoky wooden 8' Stopped Diapason. The 4' flutes’ construction is opposite that of the 8' stops, so that their sounds blend better, and provide contrast between divisions. The Swell strings are lush and beautiful, and lend themselves nicely to being super-coupled with the expression box closed at just the right moment in an anthem or improvisations. The Swell and Pedal Bassoon/Oboe is fundamental and mildly powerful in the bass, but becomes more hollow and plaintive as it enters the manual compass. As is typical of our Oboes, it is primarily meant to color the flues for accompanying, but is also a lovely, lyrical soft solo voice. The Swell Trumpet is slightly on the dark side, in deference to the nature of the small room, but remains interesting by virtue of the open, tapered shallot openings, and slightly thinner tongues, weighted at the ends. When installed, the Pedal Trombone, an independent Pedal reed, will be on slightly higher pressure so that it can have a measured profundity. The future Tuba (note I have not used the adjective “Major” in its nomenclature) will be on moderately high wind pressure; its top three octaves will be horizontally mounted at the top of the Swell case’s pediment.

Thanks to the rector, The Rev. Sandra Michels; organist/choirmaster Lee Barlow; and Dr. Marilyn Keiser, who assured the church that this organ would not be too big for the space! Thanks also to the dedicated people on my staff who continue to build some of the most inspired instruments in America!

—John-Paul Buzard



Charles Eames, executive vice-president, chief engineer, general manager

Brian K. Davis, associate tonal director, head voicer, director, tonal department

Phillip S. Campbell, business manager

Keith Williams, director, service department

Stephen P. Downes, pipe preparation, racking, tonal associate

C. Robert Leech, cabinet maker

Stuart Martin, cabinet maker

Jenaiah Michael, receptionist

Evan Rench, pipe maker, voicer, racking, tonal associate

Jay K. Salmon, office manager

Lyoshia Svinarski, cabinet maker

Shayne Tippett, winding systems

Ray Wiggs, console, electrical systems, wind chest construction

From the organist/choirmaster

The reality of a new instrument was launched by a financial gift from one of St. Francis’s founding members. The new organ needed to support the congregation for service music and hymnody; accompany the choral music, which spans 500 years’ worth of literature; play a majority of the organ literature; and accompany diverse instruments for our concert series.

After hearing and seeing many organs, talking at length with organbuilders, and reviewing various proposals, it was clear that John-Paul Buzard’s thoughtful proposal of a two-manual, 27-rank specification and double case layout would provide an instrument that would meet the requirements of our space and music program. Much gratitude goes to our organ consultant, Dr. Marilyn Keiser, who both affirmed the project’s vision and confirmed John Buzard’s proposal as its realization.

Working with John Buzard and company was pure pleasure. John’s enthusiasm knew no bounds when it came to discussing any aspect of the new organ. He was always open to questions and willing to answer in detail. We are very grateful to him and Chuck Eames for wrestling around the prepared stops; we look forward to installing the Pedal 16' Trombone, the solo 8' Tuba, and the Great and Pedal 16' & 8' Gedeckts.

John’s knowledge and skill are self-evident in both the visual and sonic beauties of the instrument. The organ design was impressive on paper, but in three dimensions it is absolutely magnificent. Visually, it has given a henceforth unknown height to the rear gallery. Musically, its softest sounds fill the room, yet at its fullest it flattens not the ear. It is a joy to play, and it beckons practice. Many and most gracious thanks to you, John-Paul Buzard, for bestowing upon us a masterpiece of your artistry.

—A. Lee Barlow

St. Francis in the Fields Episcopal Church, Zionsville, Indiana, Buzard Opus 33

20 stops, 27 ranks

GREAT (Manual I, 4" wind pressure)

16' Lieblich Gedeckt (stoppered wood, preparation)

8' Open Diapason (polished tin, façade)

8' Flûte à Bibéron

8' Gedeckt Flute (ext)

4' Principal

4' Spire Flute

22⁄3' Twelfth

2' Fifteenth

13⁄5' Seventeenth

11⁄3' Fourniture IV

8' Oboe (Sw)

Tremulant

8' Tuba (high pressure, horizontal, atop case, prepared)

Great to Great 16-UO-4

Swell to Great 16, 8, 4


SWELL (Manual II, expressive, 4" wind pressure)

8' Stopped Diapason (wood)

8' Salicional

8' Voix Celeste (tc)

4' Principal

4' Harmonic Flute

2' Recorder

2' Full Mixture IV

16' Bassoon

8' Trompette

8' Oboe

Tremulant

Cymbalstern (7 bells)

8' Tuba (Gt prep)

Swell to Swell 16-UO-4


PEDAL (various pressures, partially enclosed & expressive)

32' Subbass (1–12 digital ext, prep)

32' Lieblich Gedeckt (1–12 digital ext, prep)

16' Bourdon (stoppered wood)

16' Lieblich Gedeckt (Gt prep)

8' Principal (polished tin, façade)

8' Bass Flute (ext Bourdon)

8' Gedeckt Flute (Gt)

4' Choral Bass (ext Principal)

4' Open Flute (ext Bourdon)

16' Trombone (preparation)

16' Bassoon (Sw)

8' Trumpet (ext Trombone)

4' Shalmei (Sw Oboe)

8' Tuba (Gt)

Great to Pedal 8, 4

Swell to Pedal 8, 4

Wesley Roberts is Professor of Music at Campbellsville University, where he teaches piano, organ, and musicology, and has been a member of the faculty since 1982. He has presented concerts as pianist and organist throughout the United States, in Europe and in Asia, including premieres of works by the Dutch composers Hans Osieck, Johan van Kempen, and Kees Weggelaar, and the American composers Tom Johnson and James W. Moore. He is the author of articles and reviews in British, Dutch, and American journals, and co-author with Maurice Hinson of The Piano in Chamber Ensemble, 2nd Edition, published in 2006. Dr. Roberts has served as a visiting professor at the French Piano Institute in Paris and at Shanghai Normal University, and is currently organist at Calvin Presbyterian Church in Louisville.

A century-old slice of music history arrived on the campus of Campbellsville University in central Kentucky in early 2007, when a Farrand & Votey organ was moved from Nashville, Tennessee, to the George W. and Marie T. Ransdell Chapel. The organ was built in 1894 for Christ Church in downtown Nashville, as a modest instrument of approximately fifteen ranks.1 Over the course of many years, it has been rebuilt and enlarged to its present size of 51 ranks and 3,014 pipes. That Campbellsville University could acquire such a treasure was in itself a miracle, considering few universities nowadays are in a financial position to afford an organ of this size. But the miracle of a pipe organ is that it can be rebuilt and enlarged for much less expense than the purchase of a new instrument. Such would be the story of Farrand & Votey’s pioneering instrument from the 1890s.

The organ’s origins
At the time Christ Church contracted with Farrand & Votey for an organ in June 1894, the church was moving into a new sanctuary and desirous of a fine instrument for its new facility. William R. Farrand (1854–1930) and Edwin Scott Votey (1856–1931) worked for Whitney Organ Company in Detroit, and when Whitney retired in 1887 the two joined to establish their own company. The company was soon expanded through the acquisitions of two small organ building firms, Granville Wood (1890) and Roosevelt (1892). Always seeking new innovations, Farrand & Votey employed the most modern construction techniques of the time, using several recent developments patented by Roosevelt and a few of their own. Their technique paid off handsomely, for they quickly reached national attention with important installations in key locations across the United States. At the Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago, they exhibited two organs, including a four-manual instrument in Festival Hall. Undoubtedly, these accomplishments attracted the attention of Christ Church, as it did others.2
Farrand & Votey’s new organ for Christ Church was a three-manual instrument of approximately fifteen ranks. It was played for the first time during the opening services for the new building on Sunday, December 16, 1894. The organist was accompanied by a quartette plus a “chorus choir” of three ladies and fourteen men. The organ used the newly developed electro-pneumatic action, a revolutionary technique for the time; called ventil, it had a separate wind supply for each stop, with individual valves for every pipe. Its keyboard was attached to the instrument, as in tracker actions, although the original plans had called for it to be set across the chancel in a detached console. The organ was considered the best that could be obtained for the time and was the only one of its kind in the southeastern United States. As might be imagined, the organ quickly became a source of pride for the church and city.
The new instrument drew its electrical power from a series of four large batteries for key action, and obtained wind pressure from a water pump. The batteries were expensive to maintain and proved to be unreliable. Little to no maintenance seems to have taken place during the first dozen years. During this period, there were no fewer than seven different organists. In 1906, Arthur Henkel was hired as organist/choirmaster, and entrusted to care for the instrument. A committee was formed and before the end of the year, Orla D. Allen, a builder who had been with Farrand & Votey, was contracted to restore the instrument. Allen installed a new electrical Holtzer Cabot rotary transformer, or motor-generator, for key action and a Ross hydraulic engine for wind pressure. He releathered the organ, rebuilt much of the internal workings of the console, and moved the latter across the chancel, as the original plans detailed. The work took six months and was said to be thorough and complete in church documents.
In the years to follow, the organ served as the principal musical vehicle for worship services and concerts. Henkel gave concerts on the new instrument to demonstrate its capabilities. One such concert program, dated December 5, 1909, included J. S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor and Boëllmann’s Suite Gothique, as well as lesser-known works by G. M. Dethier, Edwin Lemare, and Edward d’Evry.

Additions and repairs
A set of chimes with twenty tubes was presented for the organ by Jane Washington Ewing in memory of her husband Felix Grundy Ewing in 1936. They were dedicated and heard for the first time on October 28, 1936.3 Later, a Schulmerich carillon was given by Louise Bransford McGavock in memory of her parents, William Settle and Noda McGavock Bransford, in late 1944. With no place to install the gift, a front tower for the church was constructed in 1947, and the carillon was installed therein.4
By 1940, Henkel had noted to the church that the relays between the console and the organ had deteriorated to the point that repairs were needed.5 Pilcher Organ Company from Louisville, Kentucky, was engaged the same year to install a new console (with relays built inside) and seven new ranks. Company records show that by the time work was complete, Pilcher had added nine new ranks. These consisted of a Gemshorn 8′ on the Great; Vox Celeste 8′, Aeoline 8′, and Trompette 8′ on the Swell; Flute Celeste 8′ and Unda Maris 8′ on the Choir; and a Flute 8′, Octave 8′, and Super Octave 4′ in the Pedal. In addition, three ranks were revoiced: the Trumpet 8′ (Great), Oboe 8′, and Vox Humana 8′ (Swell); and the Clarinet 8′ (Choir) was given new bass. By the time work was finished in September 1940, the organ was said to have been enlarged to 2,438 pipes.6 Pilcher’s fee for these additions and service was $7,298.7
Further expansion of the organ began to be discussed after World War II, and a new console was installed by Möller Organ Company in 1955. This console, the third for the organ, is still in use today. Tonal improvements were made a few years later in 1959.
Henkel continued service at Christ Church until his retirement in 1959. He had served a total of fifty-three years as organist-choirmaster, and in honor of his ministry, the church dedicated the organ to Henkel upon his retirement. He was succeeded by Peter Fyfe, who served in the same capacity for the next thirty-five years, until 1994.8 During Fyfe’s years of service, many fine musicians from around the country came to Nashville and played the organ in either church services or concerts, including Leo Sowerby, John Scott, and Fred Swann, among others. An unusual event was the first performance of a Mass for Moog synthesizer and organ given in Christ Church by Nashvillian Dr. Gregory Woolf in the early 1970s.9
In 1967, Fyfe and Christ Church turned to A. W. Brandt and Company of Columbus, Ohio, for extensive work, releathering much of the instrument and repairing pneumatics and pipe boards. An extensive contract detailing the operation was signed in September for the sum of $16,535. The Choir organ was expanded in a second agreement with Brandt two months later, which called for the installation of six new stops in the Choir and one in the Great. Additions in the Choir included a new Rohrflute 8′ (replacing the Concert Flute 8′), Spitz Principal 4′ (replacing the Rohrflute 4′), Nazard 22⁄3′ (replacing the Flute Celeste 8′), Blockflute 2′ (replacing the Harmonic Piccolo 2′), Cymbal III (replacing the Geigen Principal 8′), and Krummhorn 8′ (replacing the Clarinet 8′). A new Gedeckt 8′ (replacing the Doppel Flute 8′) was placed in the Great. The total cost for these additions was $6,730.
The maintenance and care of the organ was entrusted to Dennis Milnar in 1968 and has remained with him and the Milnar Organ Company to the present day.10 A newcomer to Nashville from upstate New York, Milnar soon established his own company and developed a business that has serviced organs throughout Tennessee and in surrounding states. Under Milnar’s guidance, a new Tierce 13⁄5′ was added to the Choir in 1974. Additional work was done on the organ throughout the 1980s, including releathering the console pneumatics in 1981, converting the Double Open Diapason to a 32′ Sub Bourdon in 1984, releathering the wind chests in 1987–88, and installing a Scharf III, Trombone 32′, and other stops in 1989. The expression machines were releathered in 1991.

Liturgical renewal—changes at Christ Church
While many of these changes were being made to the organ, discussion within Christ Church began to develop following World War II on the placement of important items within the chancel. Those concerned with liturgical renewal suggested the baptismal font, pulpit, and altar of the church be brought forward from the back wall to the front of the chancel for closer contact with the congregation. Similarly, efforts to study the possibility of placing the organ in the balcony began during the 1960s after Peter Fyfe had been organist for several years, but there was never a coordinated effort to any of these ideas until after 1980, when Rev. Tom Ward became rector. Ward enthusiastically supported changes in the liturgy laid out in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, and it was through his encouragement that church leaders studied and retained a liturgical consultant to suggest changes. A new design was approved in 1990, which called for the altar table, with adjoining pulpit and baptismal font, to be moved close to the front of the chancel, and for an extension of the balcony to relocate the organ and choir therein. The initial changes to the front of the chancel were completed in 1992 with the installation of a new altar. Shortly thereafter, discussion turned more decidedly toward moving the organ and choir to the balcony, and plans began to be developed to reinforce the balcony and enlarge it for this purpose. As these plans developed, various organ consultants agreed that the Farrand & Votey could not satisfactorily be reworked and reinstalled in the balcony. Consequently, the decision was made to purchase a new organ rather than move the existing instrument to the balcony. Renovation of the balcony for this purpose was completed in 2003, and an impressive 60-rank Lively-Fulcher organ was installed. The new organ was played for the first time on June 1, 2003, by church organist Michael Velting.11 With these changes complete, the church no longer needed its Farrand & Votey organ and placed it up for sale.

An organ for Ransdell Chapel
About the same time, the initial stages of designing the new Ransdell Chapel for Campbellsville University were beginning. Upon learning of the availability of the Farrand & Votey organ in October 2003, University Organist Nevalyn Moore and Wesley Roberts approached University President Michael Carter and received permission to investigate the possibility of acquiring the instrument for the new chapel. As they visited the church and played the organ, they realized that the organ would serve well as both a service organ to support the university’s chapel services, and a concert organ to support the academic program. Upon Moore’s and Roberts’ recommendation, with the assistance of Dennis Milnar, the organ was purchased for $30,000. The university then engaged Milnar Organ Company to convert the console and relays to solid-state technology, rebuild, redesign, move, and install the instrument in Ransdell Chapel.
The purchase of the organ at the early stages of design for Ransdell Chapel enabled architects to provide adequate space and facilities to house the instrument. Groundbreaking for the chapel was on October 25, 2005. Two additional stops were offered as gifts to the university for the organ. James and Nevalyn Moore, Campbellsville University School of Music faculty, gave a Zimbelstern, and Maynard and Jewel Faye Roberts of Ocala, Florida, gave a Trumpet en Chamade.
Excitement grew over the next year and a half as Ransdell Chapel was being built. As construction neared completion, Milnar began delivery of the organ in February 2007, in a series of six weekly trips from their shop in Eagleville, Tennessee. The initial delivery on February 20 brought many of the largest parts of the organ, including the huge wooden Sub Bourdon pipes and wind chests. Students and faculty joined the Milnar crew in unloading its precious cargo from week to week as pipes and equipment arrived.12 The Central Kentucky News Journal featured a front-page story on the organ in its April 5, 2007 issue.
The installation was completed in time for the dedication of Ransdell Chapel on April 18, 2007. University Organist Nevalyn Moore was at the console for the momentous occasion. Later in the summer, the Trumpet en Chamade arrived and was installed in the rear of the chapel for antiphonal effect. The chapel was also equipped with a Bechstein concert grand piano built in 2002, and a new Yamaha upright piano in an adjoining class/rehearsal room. Both instruments were gifts from friends of the university.
The organ was formally dedicated in a recital by Nevalyn Moore on September 4, 2007. On the program were selections by Albert Travis, Johann Sebastian Bach, Gordon Young, James Moore, Jean Langlais, and Charles-Marie Widor. The organ has since come to be admired in its new setting for its visual and musical beauty, and treasured for its capabilities and rich heritage.

Christ Church Cathedral
Specifications of the original Farrand & Votey organ13

GREAT
16′ Double Open Diapason*
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Viola de Gamba
8′ Doppel Floete
4′ Octave
22⁄3′ Octave Quint
2′ Super Octave
Mixture III*
4′ Trumpet

SWELL
16′ Bourdon
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Salicional
8′ Stopped Diapason
8′ Gemshorn
4′ Flute Harmonique
Cornet (?) ranks
8′ Oboe
8′ Vox Humana*
Tremolo
*To be added later

CHOIR
8′ Geigen Principal
8′ Dolce
8′ Concert Floete
4′ Rohr Floete
2′ Piccolo Harmonique
8′ Clarinet

PEDAL
16′ Open Diapason
16′ Bourdon
8′ Violoncello

Couplers
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
Choir to Pedal
Swell to Great Sub Octaves
Swell to Great Unison
Swell to Great Super Octaves
Great Octaves
Choir to Great Sub Octaves
Choir to Great Unison
Swell to Choir
Swell Octaves

Ransdell Chapel
Farrand & Votey organ
Redesigned and rebuilt by Milnar
Organ Company, 2007

GREAT
16′ Quintaton
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Gedeckt
8′ Gemshorn
4′ Octave
4′ Koppel Flute
22⁄3′ Twelfth
2′ Fifteenth
V Fourniture
8′ Trumpet
III Scharf
8′ Trumpet en Chamade
Unison Off
Great 16
Great 4
Chimes
MIDI to Great

SWELL
8′ Open Diapason
8′ Stopped Diapason
8′ Salicional
8′ Aeoline
8′ Vox Celeste
4′ Flute Harmonic
4′ Gemshorn
2′ Principal
III Plein Jeu
II Sesquialtera
16′ Contra Fagotto
8′ Trompette
8′ Oboe
4′ Clarion
8′ Trumpet en Chamade (Gt)
Tremolo
Unison Off
Swell 16
Swell 4
MIDI to Swell

CHOIR
8′ Rohrflute
8′ Dolce
8′ Unda Maris
4′ Spitz Principal
22⁄3′ Nazard
2′ Blockflute
13⁄5′ Tierce
III Cymbel
8′ Krummhorn
8′ Trumpet en Chamade (Gt)
Tremolo
Unison Off
Choir 16
Choir 4
MIDI to Choir
Moore Zimbelstern

PEDAL
32′ Sub Bourdon
16′ Principal
16′ Quintaton
16′ Bourdon
8′ Octave
8′ Flute
8′ Cello
4′ Super Octave
32′ Trombone
16′ Trombone
8′ Trumpet
4′ Clarion
MIDI to Pedal

Couplers
Great to Pedal 8, 4
Swell to Pedal 8, 4
Choir to Pedal 8, 4
Swell to Great 16, 8, 4
Choir to Great 16, 8, 4
Swell to Choir 16, 8, 4
Great/Choir Transfer

Pistons
Generals: Thumb 1–6 & Toe 1–9
Swell: Thumb 1–6
Great: Thumb 1–6
Choir: Thumb 1–6
Pedal: Thumb 1–6 & Toe 1–6
Swell to Pedal: Thumb & Toe
Great to Pedal: Thumb & Toe
Choir to Pedal: Thumb & Toe
SFZ: Thumb & Toe
Combination Adj.: Thumb
Cancel: Thumb

Expression
Swell
Choir

Compass
61-note manual
32-note pedal

Memory System
Peterson ICS-4000

From the builder
When Christ Episcopal Church in Nashville, Tennessee, asked us to market their Farrand & Votey organ for them, we took the project to heart. The organ had been under our care for almost 40 years, and this project became personal.
I thought we had a possible new home for it in Nashville, but that did not materialize. Professor Wesley Roberts, of Campbellsville University in Kentucky, read an advertisement of ours and called us. After several discussions, Wesley, Nevalyn Moore, and I met at Christ Church. The organist of Christ Church, Dr. Michael Velting, gave a demonstration of the instrument, and they were impressed. I told them if we could redesign the organ to be on one level, instead of several, within a good room, in a good location, the organ sound would be enhanced.
We were so pleased when the university decided to purchase the organ and commission us to redesign, rebuild and install it in their forthcoming new chapel. That was the beginning of a long successful project. There were two major factors that made the project successful. First was the university’s willingness to make the necessary repairs and upgrades to the organ. The second was the architect, Jeff Bennett, who was enthusiastic about the organ and open to our recommendations.
The organ room at Christ Church was about 15 feet square with a height of about 25 feet. The tonal opening that faced the congregation was in front of the Choir box wall, and allowed limited egress of sound. The opening facing the Choir was larger, and allowed most of the sound egress. Both openings supported pipe façades with lovely hand-painted pipes. The limited floor space made it necessary to have the organ speak at several levels. Fortunately, it was an inside room, and the organ enjoyed good tuning stability.
The new home in Ransdell Chapel gave us an area that is 58 feet wide and 18 feet deep, with 26 feet of height. This area has complete temperature and humidity control. The outside walls of the organ area consist of eight-inch thick block, ridge insulation and a brick exterior. The ceiling has two layers of 5/8-inch drywall and the concrete slab floor is about 12 feet above and behind the stage. The sound projection is fantastic.
The architect provided us with new Swell and Choir chambers. These virtually soundproof enclosures have six-inch thick insulated walls, with two layers of 5/8-inch thick drywall on the inside with another layer outside. The doors are made of insulated steel, providing a most effective crescendo of sound.
Pipes that were once placed deep in the chamber were placed in an unobstructed position. The 32′ Bourdon spoke under the Choir and Great windchests and about 18 inches from a large bellows; it now has five feet of unobstructed space to develop its full sound and bounce off a solid wall. The listener can not only hear this powerful stop but also feel its reverberating tone. This is also true for the 32′ Trombone and the 16′ Principal, which were in the back of the old chamber behind the Swell box.
The organ now speaks with greater clarity and the volume has increased by at least 50 percent. To crown the organ, the parents of Professor Roberts donated funds to add a beautifully made
(A. R. Schopp’s Sons) Trumpet en Chamade. We mounted this on the rear wall at the height of the main organ. The large-scaled, flared copper reed has a warm strong sound that truly crowns the instrument without taking away from the grandeur of the main organ.
To hear and see this instrument today with its software-based organ control system (Peterson ICS-4000) and think back to its beginning with a water pump for air pressure and batteries to operate the magnets, speaks volumes about the reigning king of instruments.
—Dennis Milnar

Noack Organ Co., Inc.,
Georgetown, Massachusetts
Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, La Crosse, Wisconsin

From the director of music
The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe consists of several buildings and various outdoor devotional areas and religious sculptures located on 100 scenic acres just outside the city of La Crosse, Wisconsin. It is the vision of its founder, the Most Reverend Raymond L. Burke, who was the Bishop of La Crosse at the time the shrine complex was begun, then became Archbishop of St. Louis, and who recently was appointed Prefect for the Apostolic Signatura in Rome, but who has continued his leadership role at the shrine. Although the shrine facilities are still a work in progress, the heart of the shrine, the Shrine Church, was recently completed and was dedicated on July 31.
This magnificent church is built in a richly decorated traditional style, cruciform in shape with a large dome above the crossing. The architecture is the result of a collaboration of Michael Swinghamer of River Architects in La Crosse and Duncan G. Stroik, professor of architecture at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. The church seats approximately 450 persons and is a wonderfully reverberant space. It is a building of national significance.
A suitable instrument was needed for this inspired space, and we were very fortunate in securing the Noack Organ Company of Georgetown, Massachusetts as the builder. In addition to my duties at the shrine, my primary position is that of music director and organist at the Cathedral of St. Joseph the Workman in La Crosse. We had already arranged for Fritz Noack to build two new organs for the cathedral (to be completed in August of 2010) when it became apparent that the Shrine Church had progressed faster than anticipated and would need an organ by summer 2008. The Noack firm was selected to build a very substantial three-manual instrument for the shrine.
The organ is located in a high choir loft at the rear of the nave. It is first and foremost an organ for liturgical use, but it is also a fine recital instrument, and in fact our liturgical practice includes the performance of substantial solo organ repertoire, so these purposes are not clearly distinguished. The liturgical aspect demands that the organ also serve effectively as an accompanying instrument both for the great choral/organ literature and for congregational singing. This organ has already demonstrated that it does all of these things very well.
The beautiful organ case, based on a design by Duncan Stroik, is thoroughly integrated into the room, both visually and aurally. The placement of the Swell division at the lower level of the main case is ideal for working with the choir. The Great is at the top for optimal projection down the nave, the Pedal is in side towers, and the Chair organ is located in the traditional location on the rail of the loft. The instrument speaks with perfect clarity in the room. The well-designed stoplist provides a versatile assortment of beautiful timbres which, while lovely individually, work together to form a coherent and balanced ensemble. The console is detached to make working with choir and orchestra practical. The key action is mechanical and the stop action is electric, with an extensive combination action and multiple channels of memory, providing excellent control over the touch and easy management of registration.
This outstanding Noack organ, optimally designed and placed, will provide many years of exciting and profoundly spiritual music for the Church at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
—Brian Luckner, DMA
Director of Music and Organist
Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe

From the organbuilder
We had already planned a large new organ for the Roman Catholic Cathedral in La Crosse, Wisconsin, with Dr. Brian Luckner, who directs a superb program of sacred music there. While funding for that instrument was still under way, I received a phone call from him asking simply if we would be interested in building first a three-manual organ for the new church under construction at the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe near La Crosse. He would trust me completely with the tonal design, as we had already done much mutually beneficial brainstorming “inventing” the cathedral organ(s) and we knew quite well what sort of organ would be best for the Shrine Church. The case, however, was to be built according to the design by architect Duncan G. Stroik, of South Bend, Indiana, who was in charge of the interior design of the church.
We organ builders may have a reputation of dislike for cooperation with architects, a reputation that has its root in an outdated scenario where architects act as if they know everything about designing any visually important aspect of a building, including organ cases, and where organ builders consider themselves great architects.
Actually, I was delighted to accept this promising challenge. Several of my closest family are professional architects, and I have always respected and enjoyed close cooperation with members of that profession. Just to avoid discord, my firm’s contracts always state that we are ultimately responsible for the entire design of our organs, including the case. Duncan’s plan proved to be elegant, and respectful of the finest classical traditions, and we were happy to retain all of its décor and overall flair. We merely modified the shape to reflect the actual layout of divisions and the precise dimensions of the speaking front ranks (Diapason 16' on the main case and Dulciana 8' on the Chair). We were fortunate to engage James Lohmann, who has carved most of the beautiful pipe screens on our organs to date, for the pipe shades, tower consoles, and angel heads to float below the Chair case. Partially because of the relatively short time between contract and planned dedication of the church, we engaged the woodworking firm of Hawkes & Huberdeau (both partners having learned their trade in our shop!) of Amesbury, Massachusetts, to make the solid mahogany case. This unusually festive-looking organ bears testimony to a successful cooperation between all designers and craftspeople who poured the essence of their skill into this challenging project.
The technical design of the instrument, including the intricacies of balancing the Chair organ beyond the edge of the organ loft, and the electrical stop and combination action, were competently detailed by our Ted Brinduse. I myself enjoyed doing all the pre-voicing at the shop, while the on-site finishing was beautifully achieved by our David Rooney. Our team also included Aaron Tellers, Alan Meyers and Frank Thompson, with Eric Kenney (as he has for over thirty years) supervising. In moving the organ to La Crosse and the on-site erecting of the large parts on the instrument, we again had the capable help of the “A-Team” from the Organ Clearing House. Considering that at the time of the installation, the church was still a bustling construction site on a hillside surrounded first by several feet of frozen snow and later foot-deep mud (and no access for the big truck), their job was particularly appreciated.
I often have been asked what style we normally follow in the design of our instruments, and I usually try to avoid formulating a reply. The only honest answer would be: our own contemporary style, which, I might hasten to add, respects and is inspired by many historic styles that have given us a rich gift of organ music. The tonal architecture of North German Baroque organs is, of course, part of this gift. We also find that reeds that could have been made in France in 1800 actually work rather well in this context. I have made New England my home for almost half a century now, and so it may come as no surprise that stops such as our Bell Gamba (one of our favorites) and Oboe do not stray too far from those of the Hook brothers. To me the greatest achievement is to turn what could easily be a faceless collection of unrelated parts into one cohesive, musically attractive instrument. Our focus is on touching the listener’s heart, rather than to be completely governed by the goal of providing accurate media for the performance of a specific literature. If that appears as though we are avoiding an important task and opportunity for the organ, fear not. It often comes as a surprise that so much of idiomatic literature sounds, at least to our ears, so “right” on this instrument. Perhaps therein lies the secret: a truly beautiful sound will take precedence over a mediocre, but “correct” sound. As I noted above, I probably should avoid trying to define our style.
A few details may be of interest. Most of the Diapason chorus and strings are made of 70% tin, except for the Great Diapason 8', which is of almost pure hammered lead. Most flute chorus pipes, including the 5-rank mounted Cornet (after Dom Bedos, but all ranks open) are from “common metal,” an alloy of 70% lead and 30% tin. The wood pipes are from select, standing-grain pine. All stopped metal pipes are soldered shut after having been tonally finished in the church; the smaller open metal pipes are cone-tuned. Zinc is used only to provide strength on the lowest part of the Trombone resonators. All reed boots are made as solid wooden units, but the reed blocks are the conventional hard lead type. The lowest seven pipes of the Double Diapason are shared by Great and Pedal; all other ranks are independent.
The temperament is after Vallotti—a slightly unequal system in which the thirds over C, G, and F are rather pure and get coarser with more sharps and flats, and all fifths are either pure or twice as tempered as in equal temperament (which is still quite “nice”). Wind pressure is 80mm (31'8'), provided by a blower in a separate room with a small static reservoir and large parallel-opening bellows and solid wood ducts in the organ—to provide a complete noise- and turbulence-free, calmly “breathing,” quite stable wind system.
The organ has slider windchests and a self-adjusting mechanical key action without any assist devices, except for the largest front pipes, which are on pneumatic offset chests. Trackers are wooden, running in wooden guides. Rollerboards are solid aluminum (tubular often being unpleasantly audible). The sliders are moved by solenoids; there is an eight-level combination system from SSOS. The freestanding keydesk has bone-covered natural keys. The fancy stop knobs are moved by Harris propulsion magnets and are set in fiddleback maple stop terraces. The swell action is mechanical.
Before the shrine opened, I had the opportunity to bring a small group of attendees of the AGO national convention from Minneapolis for a preview visit to the shrine. When Brian Luckner played a multi-faceted program with elegant articulation and thoughtful registration for us, my style worries quickly evaporated. I was even more assured of this organ’s ability to fulfill its true role at the church’s four-hour dedication service with Brian, who also had composed a large amount of the music, again at the keydesk providing a wealth of wonderful music.
We owe much thanks to the founder and director of the shrine, the Most Reverend Raymond L. Burke, its music director Dr. Brian Luckner, the executive director of the shrine, Sister Christa Marie Halligan, and the architects Duncan G. Stroik, Michael Swinghamer, and Sherry Wall, all of whom supported us in the most sincere manner. Seldom have we undertaken a large job in which so much mutual trust and support carried us to a successful completion.
—Fritz Noack, FAIO
President, The Noack Organ Co., Inc.

AGO post-convention organ crawl
Fritz Noack led one of the most interesting organ crawls imaginable, following the Minneapolis AGO convention. The twenty of us, who were the lucky ones to take part in this, got to see and hear his latest opus in a church (a shrine, actually) that is not yet open to the public. A scenic two and a half hour bus ride alongside the Mississippi River took us to La Crosse, Wisconsin, where the new Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe was having the finishing touches applied to its extremely ornate Italian Renaissance structure, housing a three-manual, 40-stop mechanical action (electric stop action) Noack organ in the rear balcony. To say that this was a unique treat would be a gross understatement.
Brian Luckner ably demonstrated the organ, proving that it is comfortable in many styles of repertoire. Well winded, elegantly voiced, with comfortable action and beautiful casework (African mahogany, like the pews in the new building), the organ seemed to reveal an endless array of possible colors from old (Buxtehude) to Romantic (Vierne) to contemporary (Leighton). It handled it all with aplomb! The shrine was opened in July, and pilgrims can take the half-mile walk up the path to the church to witness a glorious building housing a spectacular organ. Our trip was capped with a lunch served at the Pilgrim Center and another scenic trip back to the Twin Cities, including seeing a bald eagle flying over the river!
—Jonathan Dimmock
San Francisco
<www.jonathandimmock.com&gt;

GREAT — Manual II
16' Double Diapason 51 pipes 70% tin, front, C–F# = Ped Dbl Diap 16'
8' Diapason 58 pipes hammered lead
8' Chimney Flute 58 pipes 30% tin
8' Viola 58 pipes 70% tin
4' Octave 58 pipes 70% tin
4' Harmonic Flute 58 pipes 30% tin
22/3' Twelfth 58 pipes 70% tin
2' Fifteenth 58 pipes 70% tin
8' Cornet V c'–c''' 125 pipes 30% tin, mounted
11/3' Mixture IV–VI 318 pipes 70% tin
8' Trumpet 58 pipes 70% tin

SWELL (enclosed) — Manual III
8' Diapason 58 pipes 50% tin (C–F Haskells)
8' Gedackt 58 pipes 30% tin
8' Bell Gamba 52 pipes 70% tin (C–F = Diapason 8')
8' Celeste (from G) 51 pipes 70% tin
4' Octave 58 pipes 70% tin
4' Recorder 58 pipes 30% tin
2' Gemshorn 58 pipes 30% tin
2' Mixture IV 232 pipes 50% tin
8' Cornopean 58 pipes 30% tin
8' Oboe 58 pipes 70% tin

CHAIR — Manual I
8' Stopt Flute 58 pipes 30% tin
8' Dulciana 58 pipes 70% tin, front
4' Prestant 58 pipes 70% tin, front
4' Chimney Flute 58 pipes 30% tin
22/3' Nasard 58 pipes 30% tin
2' Octave 58 pipes 70% tin
13/5' Tierce 58 pipes 30% tin
1' Whistle 58 pipes 30% tin
1' Sharp III 174 pipes 70% tin
8' Cremona 58 pipes 30% tin

PEDAL (AGO pedalboard)
16' Double Diapason 32 pipes 70% tin, front
16' Stopt Bass 32 pipes wood
102/3' Quinte 32 pipes wood
8' Diapason 32 pipes 50% tin
8' Gedackt 32 pipes 30% tin
4' Octave 32 pipes 50% tin
16' Trombone 32 pipes zinc and 30% tin
8' Trumpet 32 pipes 30% tin
4' Clarion 32 pipes 30% tin

Petty-Madden Organbuilders, Hopewell, New Jersey, Op. 53

Dobbs Chapel at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, Georgia

Petty-Madden has installed its second organ at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Atlanta. The first, a large three-manual electro-pneumatic instrument built in the 1980s, is located in the church’s primary worship space. The second instrument was commissioned for the recently completed Dobbs Chapel at Trinity.

The new mechanical-action organ for Dobbs Chapel is contained within a case of painted and stained hardwoods. In order to fulfill the church design team’s vision of an organ with minimal visual intrusion into the chancel, the organ case is unusually deep—eighteen feet to be exact—with the Swell division located behind the Great and Pedal. Since most of the organ is tucked behind a false wall, its physical massiveness is not apparent to the eye.

Planning, designing and producing an organ typically present new challenges for the organbuilder. Throughout the entire project, mutual trust and respect proved to be the coin of the realm, making working conditions exceedingly pleasant and rewarding. The quality of talent and cooperation gathered around the conference table produced extraordinary results. The chapel architecture is lavishly elegant in its simplicity; the acoustics—even for a space that seats less than 200—are as good as it gets; and the organ is ideally suited—both visually and aurally—for its home.

The quality of ingredients in large part determines the quality of the finished product. Petty-Madden has long maintained and demonstrated that lead is a noble metal and that the popularity of organ pipes made with high tin content is based more on myth and misconception than common sense. All principal pipework, including the polished façade, and open flutes are made from an alloy that is 60% lead and 40% tin. The quantity of lead is further increased to 75% in the stopped flutes and the Pedal Posaune. Of the flue pipes, only the Viola and Viola Celeste are made predominantly of tin. The principal chorus is at the same time bold yet gentle; there is a certain vocal breathiness in the speech of the flue pipes; the reeds are colorful, quick and consistent in attack and timbre; the ensembles are tight and cohesive, and the tonal style eclectic.

An organ should work as beautifully as it sounds, too. The mechanical key-action is light and responsive, inasmuch as a smooth, sensitive tracker action was a “given” from the outset of the design process. Instead of traditional wood, inert carbon fiber rods are used for the trackers and the hornbeam tracker squares are fitted with virtually frictionless acetal bearings, which ride on stainless steel axles. The wind chest pallets and key channels are designed for optimum wind supply to the pipes and minimum “pluck.” Pneumatic tremulant controls are located outside the organ case in the blower room; thus, the tremulants are silent. The wind system for the organ is also silent. The wind trunks are constructed of birch and have multiple-cut miters to minimize wind turbulence. Of particular interest is the construction and location of the Swell division. Positioned low in the rear of the case, the Swell must speak through the Great, thereby creating a remarkable cohesion with the latter. Second, the thick walls and shutters of the Swell contain a dead air space sandwiched between the inner and outer wooden surfaces; all of this results in an extraordinary expression rarely found in most organs. Indeed, with the shutters closed, “full Swell” can only be heard faintly when coupled to the Great foundation stops. A gradual pressure of the foot on the expression pedal unleashes a dramatic crescendo worthy of any romantic literature ever written.

Finally, the organ case is totally integrated with the elegant and simple architecture of the chapel. Graceful Ionic columns on elevated pedestals support the entablature under the pedal towers, pipes of the Great Principal in the center flat frame the window behind the organ, and the raised panels of the case mirror those found in the chapel wainscoting. The recessed console is constructed of quarter-sawn red oak and the pipe screens in the pedal towers are bundles of metal cylinders held together with hand-carved wooden ribbons.

—Bynum Petty


GREAT (Manual I)

8’ Principal

8’ Chimney Flute

4’ Octave

4’ Hohl Flute

2’ Block Flute

22⁄3 Sesquialtera II

2’ Mixture IV

8’ Trumpet

Tremulant

Swell to Great


SWELL (Manual II)

8’ Viola

8’ Viola Celeste

8’ Stopped Flute

4’ Principal

4’ Koppel Flute

2’ Octave

1’ Mixture IV

8’ Trumpet

8’ Oboe

Tremulant


PEDAL

16’ Subbass

8’ Principal Bass

8’ Gedackt Bass

4’ Choral Bass

16’ Posaune

Great to Pedal

Swell to Pedal


Mechanical key action

Electric stop action

8-level combination action

8 general combinations

4 divisional combinations per division

61-note manual compass

32-note pedal compass

Manual keys of laminated construction with polished bone covers
on the natural keys and polished ebony on the sharps

Pedal keys made of maple; sharps capped with African blackwood

70 mm (± 2.75”) wind pressure throughout