Berghaus Pipe Organ Builders projects

A. Thompson-Allen Company, New Haven, Connecticut; Derry Presbyterian Church, Hershey, Pennsylvania

Editor's note: Click on the link above to view the front cover of the April 1951 issue of The Diapason and announcement of Opus 1132 for the Church of the Redeemer, New Haven, Connecticut.

The organ’s first career

In 1951 New Haven’s Church of the Redeemer, founded in 1838, moved into a neo-colonial structure designed by prominent local architect Douglas Orr. The new church was located in the city’s East Rock neighborhood and quickly took its place among Orr’s other distinguished buildings that remain popular to the present day.

The church’s organist-choirmaster, Hope Leroy Baumgartner (1891–1969), was assigned the task of designing a suitable organ for the new sanctuary. A student of Horatio Parker and Harry Benjamin Jepson, Baumgartner was awarded a Bachelor of Music degree from the Yale School of Music in 1916. In 1919 he was appointed to the faculty as an associate professor where he taught composition and music theory with distinction until his retirement in 1960.

As a teacher, Baumgartner was famous for his attention to detail, so it is no surprise that he took an intense interest in the designing of Church of the Redeemer’s new organ, to be built by the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company as their Opus 1132. The April 1951 issue of The Diapason carries a front-page article describing the completion of the new organ, noting:

The organ was designed by H. Leroy Baumgartner, organist and choirmaster of the church, associate professor of the theory of music at Yale University and noted composer. Professor Baumgartner spent several years developing the scheme for this instrument and provided detailed instructions for its construction, which included drawings specifying the placement of the controls at the console. A feature of the organ will be an unusually large number of mechanical controls, some of which were designed by Professor Baumgartner.

Baumgartner was especially known for accompanying oratorios as part of his music program, and he wanted an instrument that would facilitate complex registrational changes. Not only did he specify several highly unusual console controls, but he also had some idiosyncratic ideas about the design of the stoplist.

The founder of our company, Aubrey Thompson-Allen, was assistant to G. Donald Harrison while Opus 1132 was being negotiated. Harrison had become exasperated with Baumgartner’s incessant micromanaging of the details of the organ’s stoplist and console controls, ultimately placing a large stack of correspondence in Aubrey’s hands and asking him to go to New Haven to see if the contract somehow might be finalized and signed. Ultimately it was, and an order was given for an instrument of fifty-one speaking stops controlled by a three-manual console, with a floating Positive division that could be played from the Great or Choir manuals.

In an effort to wring the greatest number of stops from the complement of pipes, a number of compromises had to be made. To cite only one example, the 8′ Rohr Bordun in the Swell served also as the unison flute for the Great, Choir, and Pedal divisions, which had none of their own. To save expense, the design of the organ omitted the use of chest relays, with the result that this flute would not “travel” with any of the couplers and had to be drawn separately on any manual to which the Swell might be coupled.

For more than sixty-five years, Opus 1132 provided reliable and beautiful music under the hands of several musicians. Each of them learned to accommodate the organ’s peculiarities, including an amazingly complicated setterboard that controlled the combination pistons. The members of the Church of the Redeemer cherished their Aeolian-Skinner organ and maintained excellent stewardship of it, including a basic releathering of the chassis and the installation of a multi-level combination action in 2007, even as the congregation was beginning to contemplate its own future.

By 2018 the membership had dwindled to about 170 dedicated people, and they found it increasingly difficult to keep their large physical plant maintained to the standards they had set for themselves. After exploring possible mergers with other Congregational churches in the area, the members voted to close the church and sell the property, ending Redeemer’s 180-year history of service to New Haven. Consistent with the congregation’s strong commitment to its core values, more than $2.2 million was donated to other churches and entities having similar values and missions, including almost $800,000 set aside as the Church of the Redeemer Community Legacy Fund at the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven.

Unable to find a buyer willing to continue the building’s use as a church, after two years the congregation sold the property to a developer for conversion to apartments, with the stipulation that the external appearance of the church and its parish house would be preserved as a neighborhood landmark. The organ was offered for sale, and while several church delegations were enthusiastic about the instrument, none of them could undertake the project. As the deadline for interior demolition approached, the organ’s fate looked increasingly uncertain. Those who knew and loved Opus 1132 became anxious for the organ’s future.

In late September 2019, a committee from Derry Presbyterian Church in Hershey, Pennsylvania, which had been searching for an Aeolian-Skinner organ, heard about Opus 1132’s availability, and on October 4 visited Church of the Redeemer. Yale Institute of Sacred Music student Jerrick Cavagnaro engagingly demonstrated the instrument for the committee, and it was love at first sight. They were impressed by the organ’s musical qualities and excellent state of preservation, and in short order, contracts were drawn up and signed. On November 3 a farewell concert was played by several prominent local musicians, with members of the Derry Presbyterian Church present to formally receive the instrument. Removal of the organ began immediately afterwards, just as construction equipment started to appear on the property.

—Joseph F. Dzeda

Restoration and relocation of Opus 1132

The restoration of this fine Aeolian-Skinner was perfectly straightforward for us as we have restored a number of Skinner and Aeolian-Skinner organs over the last fifty years. After we removed the organ from Church of the Redeemer we proceeded to complete the restoration. We had releathered the organ ten years earlier, but this did not include restoration of the pipework and new gaskets for all the chests and windlines.

The flue pipes were cleaned, repaired, and fitted with new stainless slide tuners. The wood flutes were cleaned and shellacked, with the stoppers releathered. Then each stop was placed on my voicing machine to be regulated for power and speech. The wind pressures were reset to the factory records. All the pitman and unit chests had been fully rebuilt and were in perfect condition. Anything that was not done during the previous work was now completed, including new gaskets for all the pitman and unit chests and assorted windline flanges.

The original console and all relays and wiring were replaced. The old console was painted and was unsuitable to go with the other woodwork in the church. A new oak console with Peterson solid-state was built by Organ Supply Industries and was matched to the existing furniture in the new location. We made every attempt to replicate the appearance of an Aeolian-Skinner console, especially with knob, coupler, and piston layout.

We wanted to restore the organ tonally to the way that G. Donald Harrison had originally designed it. In the final specification the organ did not contain unison flutes on the Great, Choir, and Pedal. The unit Swell 16′ Rohr Bordun had to do the job on all manuals and pedal. GDH was dead set against this, and he eventually put the project in Aubrey Thompson-Allen’s (assistant to GDH) hands.

We have endeavored to complete the specification with the addition of:

• A new Skinner-style Choir 8′ Concert Flute.

• A repurposed 1930 Skinner Great 8′ Flute Harmonique.

• A repurposed Pedal 16′–8′ Bourdon, retained from the Hershey church’s former Reuter organ.

In its previous home the Pedal Bombarde was buried in a tone pocket in the Choir organ and was ineffective. We have relocated it, unenclosed, with the Pedal division just behind and slightly above the Great division. It is a fine “English Trombone” and is very successful in its new location. This and all of the other reeds in the organ have been beautifully restored by Broome and Company.

Relocating the organ designed for a completely different organ chamber presented many challenges, especially as Opus 1132 is much larger than the former organ. The entire organ was reconfigured and assembled in our erecting room. The organ had originally been installed either side of the chancel with the Choir, Positive, and Pedal on one side and the Swell and Great on the other. There were always pitch issues with the Great and Positive being in different locations, and it could be perilous to combine them!

The new chamber has the Swell and Choir in identical swell boxes on either side of the chamber, with vertical shutters on the front and diagonally on the sides, with the shades angled to project the sound out into the church. The Great and Positive, which are on chromatic chests, are installed next to each other with the treble end facing the chamber opening and passage boards between the chests for tuning access. This has eliminated the pitch differences that had existed. The entire organ is on one level except for the Great and Pedal zinc basses that had been in the façades of the Redeemer organ. These were cut to speaking length and placed on new chests above the Great and Positive. Aeolian-Skinner often did this when space was at a premium.

The Pedal organ has been placed at the back of the main chamber starting with the 16′ Contra Bass and continuing forward with the 16′ Bourdon and then the 16′ Bombarde. The mouths are at different heights to ensure adequate speaking room, and every effort has been made to have all of the windchests accessible for maintenance.

The entire wind trunk system is made up of either new galvanized metal or the original windlines unsoldered and reconfigured as needed. All of the Aeolian-Skinner flanges were retained.

The original Spencer blower was retained and restored by Joseph Sloane. The hubs and turbine fans had been badly damaged when the fans were removed to service the motor in the past. New fans and hubs had to be manufactured and installed, and the old single-phase induction motor was replaced with a new three-phase motor. We have found the single-phase motors to be unreliable after 70–100 years and warrant replacement for safety and reliability. Also, the blower never had a static reservoir, instead having a small Spencer pressure regulator. Not only did this have inadequate capacity, but it also allowed wind noise into the chamber through the windlines, caused by fan turbulence. We have installed a vintage Skinner reservoir over the blower to overcome these issues. Now up in the chamber the organ is silent with the wind on.

This very rewarding project was completed by the following members of the ATA Company:

• Kurt Bocco—reservoirs, wind trunks and installation.

• Joseph Dzeda—wiring and keeping the company in order during our many weeks away.

• Joe Linger—all windchests and installation.

• Sam Linger—all windchests and installation.

• Nick Thompson-Allen—pipe restoration and voicing and installation and tuning.

• Nate Ventrella—wiring and installation.

• Zack Ventrella—layout, console and wiring, installation, and tuning.

Also, we thank:

• Chris Broome—all reed pipe restoration.

• Joseph Sloane—blower restoration and installation.

• Bryan Timm and Organ Supply Industries—new console, new Peterson solid-state, new chests for the Great and Pedal basses and the two added stops, and the new pipes for the Concert Flute.

And finally:

• Grant Wareham—organist and liaison with the church, whose help and patience have been greatly appreciated.

—Nicholas Thompson-Allen

The musician’s perspective

Opus 1132 is a wonderful instrument. It is ideal for all types of choral accompanying, fills the room well for congregational singing, and can tackle almost any type of organ repertoire.

All five divisions are exceedingly useful and come together for an excellent chorus. The Swell gives everything I would expect from an Aeolian-Skinner Swell division, and the 16′ Clarinet doubles beautifully as a color reed. I’ve also found that removing the mixture and super-coupling the division into the chorus works very well for a “chorus-crowning” brilliance.

The addition of the Harmonic Flute gives added strength to an already-strong Great division. Similar in scale to the Principal Flute on the Newberry Memorial Organ at Woolsey Hall, it serves as a subtle third diapason from midrange down and scintillates impeccably in the soprano range. The rich, warm Montre and firm Diapason complement each other perfectly. The 2′ and Quint can serve as an alternate mixture before adding the Fourniture to crown the chorus.

A pair of Erzhälers on the Choir give the signature light Skinner string shimmer and are exceedingly useful for quiet moments either in repertoire or in services. The Koppelflöte and new Concert Flute make a beautiful pair and blend nicely with the Viola. The English Horn is predictably delectable. With a non-mounted cornet and a sparkling Cymbal, the Positive rounds out the organ nicely.

The Bombarde is at its best in the Pedal—it’s an excellent, present reed at both 8′ and 16′ pitch. The addition of the 16′ Bourdon, from the Reuter instrument (Opus 1499) previously installed in the space, rounds out the bass end of the Pedal division beautifully. Adding the 102⁄3′ Quint stop produces a strong 32′ resultant and anchors the organ perfectly.

It was truly a pleasure to work with Nick Thompson-Allen, Joe Dzeda, Zack and Nate Ventrella, Joe and Sam Linger, Kurt Bocco, and everyone at Thompson-Allen, who all worked very hard throughout this project. Through all the challenges this project threw them (including the physical puzzle of putting the pipework in the existing chamber, complex wiring, and pandemic-related delays), they displayed the utmost of professionalism. My thanks as well to Bryan Timm of OSI for the console, which is so close to Aeolian-Skinner specifications, I often forget it is, in fact, brand-new. I feel very lucky to preside over this fine organ.

—Grant Wareham

Total speaking stops: 59

Total ranks: 45

Total pipes: 2,794

Builder’s website: www.thompson-allen.com

Church’s website: www.derrypres.org

Cover photo by Robert J. Polett, Photographer

 

View a PDF of Opus 1132’s first front cover in The Diapason, April 1951, at the website. Click on the cover feature for the March 2022 issue.

GREAT (3¾″ pressure)

16′ Rohr Bordun (Swell)

8′ Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Montre 61 pipes

8′ Flute Harmonique (1) 61 pipes

8′ Rohr Bordun (Swell)

4′ Octave 61 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Quinte 61 pipes

2′ Super Octave 61 pipes

IV Fourniture 244 pipes

8′ Bombarde (Pedal) 17 pipes

Chimes (in Choir) (2) 20 notes

SWELL (4″ pressure)

16′ Rohr Bordun 68 pipes

8′ Spitz Principal 68 pipes

8′ Rohr Bordun (ext 16′) 12 pipes

8′ Viole de Gambe 68 pipes

8′ Viole Celeste (CC) 68 pipes

4′ Prestant 68 pipes

4′ Holzflöte (3) 68 pipes

2′ Spitzflöte 61 pipes

III Plein Jeu 183 pipes

16′ Bass Clarinet 68 pipes

8′ Trompette 68 pipes

8′ Oboe 68 pipes

8′ Vox Humana (4) 68 pipes

4′ Clarion 68 pipes

Tremulant

POSITIVE (3″ pressure)

8′ Singend Gedeckt 61 pipes

4′ Nachthorn 61 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Nasat 61 pipes

2′ Blockflöte 61 pipes

1-3⁄5′ Terz 61 pipes

1-1⁄3′ Larigot 61 pipes

III Cymbel 183 pipes

CHOIR (4″ pressure)

16′ Erzähler 61 pipes

8′ Viola 68 pipes

8′ Concert Flute (5) 68 pipes

8′ Erzähler (ext 16′) 12 pipes

8′ Kleine Erzähler (TC) 49 pipes

4′ Koppelflöte 68 pipes

4′ Erzähler (ext 16′) 12 pipes

8′ English Horn 68 pipes

Tremulant

8′ Bombarde (Pedal)

PEDAL (5″ pressure)

32′ Resultant (16′ Bourdon, 10-2⁄3′ Rohr Bordun)

16′ Contra Bass 32 pipes

16′ Bourdon (6) 32 pipes

16′ Rohr Bordun (Swell)

16′ Erzähler (Choir)

10-2⁄3′ Quint (from Bourdon)

8′ Principal 32 pipes

8′ Gedeckt (ext Bourdon) 12 pipes

8′ Rohr Bordun (Swell)

8′ Erzähler (Choir)

5-1⁄3′ Quint 32 pipes

4′ Super Octave (ext Princ) 12 pipes

4′ Rohr Bordun (Swell)

16′ Bombarde 32 pipes

16′ Bass Clarinet (Swell)

8′ Bombarde 12 pipes

4′ Bombarde 12 pipes

Chimes (Great)

Notes

(1) 1–12 Organ Supply Industries, 13–61 Skinner Organ Co. 1930, chest by Organ Supply Industries

(2) Old Chimes and action reused by Aeolian-Skinner in 1951

(3) Old Hall Organ Company pipes reused by Aeolian-Skinner in 1951

(4) Skinner & Son pipework, installed in chest preparation, 2007

(5) Pipes and chest by Organ Supply Industries, to Skinner scales

(6) Pedal Bourdon from previous organ by Reuter

 

2007 - Releathering, multi-level combination action, and addition of Skinner & Son Vox Humana

2020 - Relocation, completion of chassis and pipework restoration, additional stops as noted. Console by Organ Supply Industries, reed pipes restored by Broome and Company, LLC, Spencer Turbine blower restored by Joseph Sloane

Berghaus Pipe Organ Builders, Bellwood, Illinois

Saint Paul’s Memorial United Methodist Church, South Bend, Indiana

Every organ project is unique, but the unusual circumstances surrounding our introduction to the project at Saint Paul’s Memorial United Methodist Church make it stand out. The opportunity came to our attention after a friend of the firm took an architectural tour of the church, and Saint Paul’s was kind enough to allow us to assess the organ and provide several options for consideration.

When we inspected the 1902 Bennett Organ Co. instrument, the original leathers were deteriorating and the organ was unreliable at best. The process of converting the electro-pneumatic action to an electric-valve action had already begun, and the church was looking for a bid to continue that process and rebuild the rest of the organ in its original configuration.

In addition to furnishing the requested bid, Berghaus gave the option to convert the main chestwork to slider chests, reconfigure the chamber, build a new steel structure, new enclosures, new wind system, and new console in a much more comprehensive approach to rebuilding the instrument.

The slider chest approach appealed to Saint Paul’s Memorial, providing a multitude of benefits. The simplicity of a slider chest reduces the number of moving parts from the thousands to the hundreds, lowers the maintenance costs as a result, creates less chance of malfunction or failure, and provides a common wind channel for excellent tuning stability and blend.

Reconfiguration of the chamber allows for easier access and serviceability of the instrument. The new steel structure provides sturdy support for the 13-1⁄4-inch tongue-and-groove expression chamber walls and shades. New reservoirs and wooden windlines reduce noise and turbulence, providing a steady wind supply to the chests. New electro-pneumatic offset chests support the largest bass pipes. A new custom cherry console, built to AGO standards, provides the organist with a comfortable setting from which to play the instrument.

As the stoplist shows, many ranks of the original Bennett instrument still remain; however, some of the pipework was so badly damaged that Berghaus elected to replace it with vintage sources from our inventory. Our pipe specialists repaired all ranks and revoiced them to give the organ its signature sound with the new elements providing more color possibilities. The crowning of the organ is the 23-karat gold gilding of the original façade pipes, which makes the organ look as sumptuous as it sounds.

The organ was completed in November 2017. Over 200 people attended the dedicatory concert given by former Berghaus tonal director Jonathan Oblander on April 6, 2018.

—Brian Berghaus, President

GREAT (Manual II, unenclosed)

8′ Open Diapason (façade, existing, 61 pipes)

8′ Doppelflöte (existing, 61 pipes)

8′ Gemshorn (from inventory, Ruffatti, 61 pipes)

4′ Principal (existing, 61 pipes)

22⁄3′ Nasard (existing, 61 pipes)

2′ Super Octave (existing, 61 pipes)

11⁄3′ Plein Jeu III (existing and Berghaus inventory, 183 pipes)

Tremolo

Chimes (new action, 25 bars)

SWELL (Manual III, enclosed)

16′ Gedeckt (existing, 61 pipes)

8′ Open Diapason (existing, 61 pipes)

8′ Chimney Flute (existing, 61 pipes)

8′ Salicional (existing, 61 pipes)

8′ Voix Celeste (TC, from inventory, Wangerin, 49 pipes)

8′ Aeoline (from inventory, Estey, 61 pipes)

4′ Harmonic Flute (from inventory, Casavant, 61 pipes)

2′ Flageolet (existing, 61 pipes)

8′ Trumpet (existing, 61 pipes)

8′ Oboe (from inventory, Wicks, 61 pipes)

8′ Vox Humana (from inventory, Wangerin, 61 pipes)

4′ Clarion (existing, 61 pipes)

Tremolo

CHOIR (Manual I, enclosed)

8′ Geigen Principal (existing, 61 pipes)

8′ Melodia (existing, 61 pipes)

8′ Flute Celeste (TC, new, 49 pipes)

8′ Dulciana (existing and from inventory, Casavant, 61 pipes)

8′ Unda Maris (TC, from inventory, Casavant, 49 pipes)

4′ Flute Octaviante (existing, 61 pipes)

8′ Orchestral Oboe (existing, 61 pipes)

8′ Clarinet (existing, 61 pipes)

Tremolo

PEDAL (unenclosed)

16′ Open Diapason (existing and from inventory, Casavant, 56 pipes)

16′ Violone (façade, existing, 32 pipes)

16′ Bourdon (existing, 44 pipes)

16′ Gedeckt (fr Sw)

8′ Octave (ext 16′)

8′ Bass Flute (ext 16′)

8′ Still Gedeckt (Sw 16′)

4′ Choral Bass (ext 16′)

16′ Contra Fagotto (existing, 44 pipes)

8′ Fagotto (ext 16′)

 

Full complement of couplers

Peterson ICS-4000 combination action system

Record/Playback feature

Programmable crescendo and Tutti functions

Three manuals, 33 ranks, 1,909 pipes

Robin Côté

Robin Côté first grew up musically at Saint Joseph’s Oratory in Montréal receiving a strong musical training from Les Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal. It was also at that time that he was initiated to the organ, turning pages and pulling stops for Raymond Daveluy at the Oratory’s monumental Beckerath organ. Rapidly fascinated by the process of organbuilding, he joined the Juget-Sinclair team in 2002 to receive a complete apprenticeship. He went to France to work with Michel Jurine S.A.R.L. near Lyon to improve his understanding of French Symphonic organ design, nineteenth-century organ restoration techniques, and the traditional way of making polished tin façade pipes. Robin Côté learned every essential technique to build every part of the organ from metal casting to voicing. During numerous study trips, he had free access to the insides of many significant instruments of France, Spain, Sweden, Latvia, and the United States.

For twenty years, having contributed to the making of more than forty new organ projects as general organbuilder as well as designer and voicer, Côté has shared with his team the will of building organs without compromising anything in quality and refinement. That is why he evolved as one-third partner in 2013 and now co-owner along with Stephen Sinclair, taking part of the administration of the Juget-Sinclair workshop as president since 2018.

Even though this restoration project was performed years ago, I would like to dedicate this article to Gaston & Lucienne Arel, who were greatly responsible for the installation of this fantastic Beckerath organ. I had the chance to visit them at their house right before the pandemic lockdown. Gaston Arel died December 28, 2021, and this article is written in his memory.

Beckerath. I dare to argue that for any organist in Québec, as in the other Canadian provinces and the United States, this name remains significant and leaves no one indifferent. For many, Rudolf von Beckerath was the “star’’ organ builder who guided them through the rediscovery of the German Baroque organ and the possibility of articulation; while for others, it signified the end of the era dominated by super-legato. As for organbuilders, it seriously upset the order established in Québec in the 1950s; but also, it would have a profound influence on the organbuilding world, which has continued even to the present day, since Beckerath trained many apprentices who would become important organbuilders of the second half of the twentieth century. His instruments still fascinate young organists, organbuilders, and musicologists.

By the same token, carrying out the restoration of the organ of the Church of the Immaculate Conception could not be done without a certain emotional charge. Having myself bathed abundantly in the atmosphere created by the sound of the great Beckerath of Saint Joseph’s Oratory during my childhood in the oratory’s boys choir, and that of the Immaculate Conception during my training as an organist, I could only approach this project with deep respect. But before relating the different stages of the restoration project, I thought it good to go back to the origin to fully understand the context of ordering and installing this instrument. I would like to warmly thank Ms. Lucienne L’Heureux and the late Gaston Arel who agreed to share their memories, and to Russell J. Weismann for sharing some of his documentation on the Beckerath firm.

The origins of the 1961 project

Like many projects, one started with some particular circumstances. Installed in 1914, Casavant Frères Opus 565 deteriorated to the point where, in 1946, there was a need to carry out a major restoration. The console was replaced, but in the years that followed, Father Henri Lalonde, music director, reported that it 

would have caused countless hassles to all the organists who have used it since the installation. Mr. [Georges-Émile] Tanguay [the organist] started to complain about it only a few weeks after the inauguration. . . . [Raymond] Daveluy waited a year before requesting a complete review of the mechanism, which revealed two significant deficiencies. . . . Mr. [Gaston] Arel, since assuming his duties, had to return the tuner Mr. Philie [from Casavant Frères] every two or three months to repair the same defect, and always with the same results.¹ 

A decision had to be made about the future of this organ. It was therefore at the beginning of 1957 that Gaston Arel advised Father Lebel, parish priest, that there was an urgent need to act. Father Lebel replied quite simply, “You have carte blanche!”² As the Fathers began talks with Casavant to explore the avenue for a reconstruction of the existing instrument, news of the installation of the Beckerath organ for Trinity Lutheran Church in Cleveland, Ohio, came to their attention via their young organist, Gaston Arel.³

In the spring of 1957, knowing that Beckerath was working in Cleveland, but without further information, Gaston and Lucienne Arel decided to write to him to express the interest of the Immaculate Conception Church to acquire a new organ. To their surprise, as soon as the letter was delivered to Beckerath, he phoned them immediately. They informed him that there were several potential projects in Canada and that it would be worthwhile to visit Montréal and Québec City before returning to Hamburg. Beckerath’s visit came sooner than expected because, according to Gaston and Lucienne Arel’s memories, Beckerath was shocked to find that Trinity Lutheran Church had been lined with acoustic panels between the signing of the contract and the delivery of the organ. He then threatened to return to Hamburg with his pipes if the church did not correct the situation immediately. Beckerath was successful, and it took the church three weeks to remove the panels. Meanwhile, he went to Montréal to sell organs!

Palm Sunday of 1957 (April 14), Gaston and Lucienne went to Montréal airport to pick up the organbuilder. Lucienne remembers very well having recognized him instinctively! The same day, Raymond Daveluy, Kenneth Gilbert, and Lucienne and Gaston Arel met with Rudolf von Beckerath for dinner in a French restaurant in downtown Montréal. It was then that the first draft of the Immaculate Conception organ specification was born. In the blink of an eye, Beckerath worked out the stoplist on a restaurant placemat, still kept in the Arels’ personal archives.

Following this meeting, Beckerath went to visit the church and asked Gaston to come up and play some notes to get an idea of the acoustics of the place. However, a lady sneezed and Beckerath called Gaston, who was going to the organ loft, saying that it was no longer necessary to go up because he had heard the four seconds of reverberation! In the days that followed, Beckerath visited Queen Mary Road United Church and Saint Joseph’s Oratory. It must be said that Beckerath, having lived in Paris for nine years, spoke excellent French, which made communication easy for negotiating contracts in Québec, the largest French-speaking province in Canada.

Following the meeting, Gaston Arel wrote to request an official proposal, with or without casework, based on the stoplist made on the placemat, but asking to replace the five-rank Cornet in the Brustwerk, then requested, with a two-rank Terzian—Raymond Daveluy and Kenneth Gilbert having been convinced by the effect of this stop during their visit to the Cleveland organ.⁴ The initial proposal was sent in early June 1957. This initial project was to be installed on the first balcony and included forty-seven stops on three manuals: the Hauptwerk based on a 16′ Prinzipal, 32′ Fagott on the Pedal, and an 8′ Prinzipal on the Rückpositiv in two sections. The following June 20, Lucienne and Gaston Arel, accompanied by R. P. Henri Lalonde, went to Cleveland to play and hear the new organ. On his return from Cleveland, Arel wrote to Beckerath asking him to return a quote for the casework, also including a pedal coupler from either the Brustwerk or Rückpositiv.⁵ According to the writings of Gaston Arel, Father Lalonde “has not stopped talking about it to members of his community since he was so impressed. It is thanks to this good publicity that the business seems so assured.”⁶

However, the securing of this project required more than convincing the authorities of the church; it was first necessary to have the approval of the Provincial Father of the Jesuits in Montréal and then the assent of the Father General in Rome. It was not until the morning of September 9, 1957, that Gaston Arel received the final news that the Father General gave his approval for the project.⁷ As Arel wrote, “the first race being won, there is still a second one, which is financial.”⁸ It was necessary to secure the project with a back-up solution. The priest in charge of the finances requested another proposal for a reduced project saving $5,000–$6,000 CDN. The suggestion described by Gaston Arel was to base the Hauptwerk on an 8′ Principal and to remove the Gemshorn Celeste from the Brustwerk, but to include an 8′ Cromorne on one of the secondary keyboards.⁹ Following this request, the old organ was about to be sold for $7,000 CDN, and there were no longer any questions about reducing the organ. However, the Rückpositiv in two sections was not unanimously liked; Gaston Arel suggested to Beckerath to redesign the instrument with a single Rückpositiv. Arel also asked how long the assembly of the instrument would take and how many men would need to be lodged.¹⁰ More than a month later and still unanswered by Beckerath, Arel sent another letter asking for the weight of the organ. Finally, the letter came with all the requested information: the positiv in two sections was only to make room for the choirmaster and, in any case, it was more convenient to do it in one section. The installation was to require the presence of three men for three months.¹¹

The Fathers commissioned an engineer to find out if the first balcony could support the new organ. The idea was to ascertain if, in addition to having to demolish the second balcony, they should also strengthen the first. Thus they would only have to take out one loan for the preparatory work.¹² Unfortunately, the evaluation of the first balcony revealed a lack of solidity and therefore the obligation to strengthen the structure. The cost of this work was estimated at $20,000 CDN, bringing the total cost of the project to $50,000 CDN. The Father General of the Jesuits in Rome limited the authorities of the Immaculate Conception to $30,000 CDN, and the project ultimately had to be reduced to thirty-eight stops.¹³

Beckerath therefore returned a new, reduced proposal. He recommended placing the organ as far forward as possible on the second balcony to optimize the presence of the instrument in the church. The cost for thirty-eight stops was 100,382 DM, which was approximately $22,800 CDN.¹⁴ The Fathers could have $7,000 CDN for their old organ, so adding to the contract the excluded costs (transport, insurance, air tickets, work visas, 15% customs, installation and painting costs of organ), the whole should not exceed $37,000 CDN. According to Father Lalonde, it was the equivalent necessary for the reconstruction of the Casavant organ of 1914.¹⁵

Without having the exact date, the contract was signed by the authorities of the Immaculate Conception between March and May 1958, because the first payment was sent on May 21, stating that the contract was already signed. The organbuilder agreed to deliver the organ within the next twenty-four months.

It should be noted that according to the terms of the contract, the organ had to be paid in three installments: a first third upon signature; a second, eight months after the signature corresponding to the start of work; and the third upon presentation of official sea ​​transport documents, which means before the organ was even finished!¹⁶ The months passed, and the second payment was sent on January 20, 1959. Beckerath announced the end of the preparatory work for the construction of the organ to Father Lalonde, but that the construction of the parts could not begin until the completion of windchests of the organ for Saint Joseph’s Oratory, i.e., towards the end of 1959. Worse still, he announced that the union of woodworkers had wage increases applied to their members. This situation occurred twice during the execution of the contract and would have an obvious impact on the total price of the organ.¹⁷

A year later, Beckerath wrote to Father Lalonde at the end of April 1960 to inform him that he had made the final drawings for the casework of the new organ, and “that in view of the style of your church, I thought it right to choose rather classic shapes so that this case adapts well to the architecture of the nave.’’ He also announced that the Oratory organ had just been delivered, and that he would come to Montréal around September 1 for the voicing, bringing “the technical drawings to indicate the work to be done so that the new organ can be installed without difficulty.”¹⁸

In early 1960, a year before the installation, the Arels applied to the Canada Council for the Arts hoping to receive a grant for organ studies in Europe. They received their scholarship, and Gaston Arel hastened to write to Beckerath that he would leave with Lucienne on June 24 for a six-month stay. The trip was to include two months of instrument visits and a four-month internship with a master organist, possibly Helmut Walcha. Arel also mentioned that they would like to be able to stop in Hamburg to visit him and see the organ of the Immaculate Conception assembled in the workshop as well as to visit historic organs of the area.¹⁹ 

It was Beckerath who suggested that the Arels do their internship with Charles Letestu in Hamburg. With Letestu, they had very little to do with repertoire, but rather worked on articulation, historical fingering, and an innovative way of understanding music for that time. The Arels rented an apartment in Nienstedten in the western suburbs of Hamburg. They went into town to Letestu’s apartment for their lessons, which took place on a simple pedal clavichord! While in Hamburg, they visited Beckerath a few times at his home in Blankenese, a nearby village of Nienstedten on the banks of the Elbe.

When Beckerath had to leave for the voicing of the Oratory organ, it was the Arels who took him to the Hamburg airport. Beckerath told them at that time that he was worried about leaving for two months knowing that his wife Veronika was pregnant and that the child might be born before his return. The Arels reassured him by saying that they would be there to help his wife if needed.

According to legend, in the days after his arrival at the Oratory, he received a message that he put in his pocket to read later that evening. This message announced the birth of their son, Felix. Upon his return in November, Beckerath had the Arels over for dinner and told them about the dedication concert at the basilica on November 13, 1960. He also mentioned that he would transfer some stops to Immaculate Conception (16′ Soubasse) because they were too small for the dimensions of the basilica. At the Oratory, acoustic panels had been installed on the ceiling, greatly dampening the reverberation; but this time, Beckerath could not convince the authorities and had to react by having larger-scaled pipes delivered. Before their return to Montréal, the Arels also visited Lower Saxony in Beckerath’s company to visit historic organs. The experience was memorable because Beckerath knew which organs were worth seeing and hearing.²⁰

The following correspondence dealt with the delivery of the instrument. At the start of 1961 the organ was ready for delivery, but the Saint Lawrence River was still frozen. Some options were evaluated, such as getting the crates through the seaport of Québec City, but the cost was much higher. The transportation costs being at the expense of the church, the choice to wait for the opening of the Saint Lawrence Seaway on March 23 was self-evident because the cost of transportation via Québec City was $5,600 CDN, and the direct Hamburg-Montreal was only $3,850 CDN.²¹

Finally, the organ arrived safely in May. Having been informed of the arrival of the organ by his workers, Beckerath wrote to Father Lalonde to announce that he would come soon to finish and voice the organ while asking for the final payment, including the amount for the plane tickets (nearly $1,000 CDN).²² The organ was installed and voiced during the summer of 1961. Extensive media coverage preceded the inaugural recital, played by Gaston Arel on September 24, 1961, in commemoration of the 350th anniversary of the arrival of the Jesuits in Canada.

Following the imposing concert program, the numerous critics were unanimous as to the quality of the instrument and the organist’s playing, as illustrated by this extract by J. Keable from La Presse: “[. . .] rare that the organ gives emotion. At least as far as ordinary music lovers are concerned. Last night, Gaston Arel, on the new organ of the Immaculate Conception, achieved this feat.”²³ Without delay, the organ of the Immaculate Conception was played in concert and recorded numerous times. The organ concert society Ars Organi proved to be the great promoter of the instrument from the beginning.

Obviously, the project had its opponents, and many musicians expressed their opinion that it was unnecessary to have mechanical-action instruments to play early music. However, to quote Lucienne Arel, the small group formed by Daveluy, Gilbert, Arel, and Lagacé knew instinctively that these organs would have a definite impact on the generations to come. “It was too convincing, we couldn’t deny the obvious!’’²⁴ A question comes to mind, however, knowing the pre-Vatican II context: why a Germanic and Lutheran style instrument for a French-Canadian Catholic church? Gaston Arel’s response was spontaneous and unequivocal: to be able to play the music of Johann  Sebastian Bach. Musical desire transcends religious principles, and the authorities of the parish never questioned this choice.

The restoration of 2018

After more than fifty years of loyal service without major maintenance work, the organ of the Immaculate Conception had become mechanically unreliable and out of breath. The organ was still used extensively for both religious and educational purposes, as well as for the first round of the Canadian International Organ Competition. Although the idea of a restoration was launched almost ten years prior, it was not until 2018 that the funds were raised. We must salute here the dedication of the organist, Réal Gauthier, for his ability to repair the components of the pedal action, which were giving way one by one.

The organ condition before the work

We found in the manufacture of this instrument a great similarity with the great organ of Saint Joseph’s Oratory completed in 1960. Several components are identical, and most of the problems identified at the Immaculée were also found at the Oratory prior to its restoration in 2012. In general, the action was slowed down by friction, and the couplers required a complete readjustment. In the Pedal, the action had become completely misadjusted, and several parts were broken. The console had suffered the ravages of time—the hitch-down board, the expression pedal, and the pedalboard were extremely worn. The pearwood veneer on the keycheeks had lost its varnish, and dirt had settled everywhere. The case was stained with candle grease, and the only option was to repaint it, matching the original color. The primary reservoir was leaking, and the leather of the schwimmers under the windchests was starting to crumble. The pipework needed a lot of attention. The small pipes, having been tuned multiple times and at different temperatures, were collapsing at the mouth, causing many problems including instability of attack and tuning. The larger pipes were collapsing at the feet under their own weight, reducing the passage of wind. The result was a loss of sound volume and an unfocused sound and attack. The reeds, on the other hand, demanded full regulation of timbre and attack.

Restoration work

The restoration required more than 2,500 hours of work spread over four months from June to September 2018. All the mechanical elements were cleaned, repaired, and readjusted while minimizing friction. As the Hauptwerk’s pedal coupler (added by Helmuth Wolff in 1971) was from the beginning not easily adjustable, new brass wires with adjustable nuts were installed between the rollerboard and the backfalls. The grids of the windchests were leveled where the pallets are located. The pallets were also straightened and releathered. The pallet guides were then glued in place because they were known to fall from time to time causing ciphers as the pallet would become free to move laterally. All the leather in the wind system was replaced and the tremulants readjusted. The entire keydesk was restored to its original state. The pedalboard frame was reinforced, and a new adjustable bench was built. The original bench was placed next to the organ. A huge, sixty-foot scaffold had to be installed around the organ from the lower balcony to be able to reach all parts of the organ with a brush. The organ was repainted the same color as the original.

The 2,696 pipes were carefully cleaned and straightened. The scrolls were repaired and re-soldered where necessary. The lowest pipes of the Hauptwerk 8′ Prinzipal and 16′ Quintadena were suspended to prevent them from sagging further. The tin façade pipes were re-polished, and the zinc pipes thoroughly washed. Cracks in the 16′ Subbas pipes were filled with the same type of wood, and the stoppers were releathered. The reeds were all dismantled, the shallots leveled, the tuning wires adjusted, and the curves revised. Only two tongues had to be replaced. Each stop was regulated and tuned while respecting the original voicing.

In conclusion, we sincerely hope that this flagship instrument can still have a positive influence in the musical life of Montréal and Canada, and that this restoration will benefit students, teachers, organists, and the church community for a long time to come. We sincerely wish to thank all those who were involved in this project, particularly the Conseil du Patrimoine Religieux du Québec (Quebec Religious Heritage Council); the organist and music director, Réal Gauthier; the Canadian International Organ Competition (CIOC), represented then by John Grew and Thomas Leslie, for their dedication to this project.

1961 Rudolf von Beckerath

HAUPTWERK (Manual II)

16′ Quintadena

8′ Prinzipal

8′ Spitzflöte

4′ Oktav

4′ Blockflöte

2-2⁄3′ Nasat

2′ Oktav

2′ Flachflöte

Mixtur IV

16′ Fagott

8′ Trompete

RÜCKPOSITIV (Manual I)

8′ Gedeckt

8′ Quintadena

4′ Prinzipal

4′ Koppelflöte

2′ Gemshorn

1-1⁄3′ Nasat

Sesquialtera II

Scharf IV

16′ Dulzian

8′ Bärpfeife

BRUSTWERK (Manual III, enclosed)

8′ Holzgedackt

4′ Rohrflöte

2′ Prinzipal

1′ Sifflöte

Terzian II

Scharf III

8′ Dulzian

PEDAL

16′ Prinzipal

16′ Subbas

8′ Offenflöte

4′ Metalflöte

2′ Nachthorn

Rauschpfeife III

Mixtur V

16′ Posaune

8′ Trompete

4′ Schalmei

Notes

1. Pourquoi un orgue neuf, promotional media, R. P. Henri Lalonde, S.J. 

2. Interview of Gaston Arel by Robin Côté, 2020.

3. Lalonde.

4. Letter from Gaston Arel to Rudolf von Beckerath, June 1, 1957.

5. Letter from Gaston Arel to Beckerath, July 8, 1957. 

6. Ibid.  

7. Letter from Gaston Arel to Beckerath, September 9, 1957.

8. Ibid.

9. Ibid.

10. Letter from Gaston Arel to Beckerath, September 17, 1957. 

11. Letter from Beckerath to Arel, October 25, 1957.

12. Letter from Gaston Arel to Beckerath, October 22, 1957.

13. Letter from R. P. Henri Lalonde to Beckerath, February 20, 1958.

14. Letter from Beckerath to R. P. Henri Lalonde, March 13, 1958.

15. Pourquoi un orgue neuf, promotional media, R. P. Henri Lalonde, S.J.

16. Letter from Beckerath to R. P. Henri Lalonde, March 13, 1958.

17. Letter from Beckerath to R. P. Lalonde, February 12, 1959.

18. Letter from Beckerath to R. P. Lalonde, April 21, 1960.

19. Letter from Gaston Arel to Beckerath, April 25 1960.

20. Interview of Gaston Arel by Robin Côté, 2020.

21. Letter from Beckerath to R. P. Lalonde, January 6, 1961.

22. Letter from Beckerath to R. P. Lalonde, May 17, 1961.

23. La Presse, September 25, 1961.

24. Interview of Lucienne L’Heureux-Arel by Robin Côté, 2020.

A. Thompson-Allen Company, New Haven, Connecticut; Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia’s Society Hill

Society Hill is Center City Philadelphia’s oldest residential neighborhood, a one-quarter square-mile area that was first settled in the 1680s. It took its name from the Free Society of Traders, an association of merchants and landowners chosen by William Penn to shape the future of that growing city. During the nineteenth century, as Philadelphia’s population expanded westward away from the Delaware River, the area became rundown and disreputable, and by the end of the Second World War was one of that city’s worst slums. A successful urban renewal program begun in the 1950s largely returned Society Hill to its former character. Today it is known for its expanse of eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century row houses, traversed by narrow cobblestone streets lined with brick sidewalks and punctuated by street lamps after a design by Benjamin Franklin.

Saint Peter’s Church

Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church, at the corner of Third and Pine Streets, was originally intended as a “chapel of ease” for nearby Christ Church and was built to accommodate the burgeoning congregation of that parish. On land donated by two of William Penn’s sons, architect-builder Robert Smith (1722–1777) designed a church based upon Christopher Wren’s “auditory” style. With this plan, sightlines and speech clarity are of primary importance, especially for a worship service focused upon Scripture and preaching. The first services in the church were held on September 4, 1761.

It is an edifice of breathtaking elegance in its simplicity. To stand within its sun-drenched walls, absorbing the ambience of centuries, is to experience a whiff of eighteenth-century Philadelphia. Many civic luminaries have been members of Saint Peter’s. Mayor Samuel Powel, who lived just down Third Street, often shared his family’s pew with George and Martha Washington. 

Saint Peter’s is one of two churches of its type surviving in America, the other located in Cooper River, South Carolina, built in 1763. In these churches, the pulpit and lectern are at the opposite end of the main aisle from the altar, which is placed against the east wall, beneath a large Palladian window. Most of the tall box pews have seating on three sides. Following the readings and sermon, the congregation turns and faces the altar for the rest of the service. 

In 1832 Saint Peter’s and Christ Church parted ways and became separate parishes. Ten years later, the vestry commissioned William Strickland to build a new tower to accommodate a chime of eight bells given by Benjamin Chew Wilcocks. The soaring 210-foot tower and steeple are conspicuously out of scale with Robert Smith’s church, perhaps to allow the bells to be heard at a greater distance, or possibly to reflect the congregation’s desire to establish a strong visual presence in its neighborhood.

Earlier instruments

The first permanent organ for Saint Peter’s was constructed by Philip Feyring (1730–1767), who died the year it was completed. His two-manual instrument consumed almost half of the north gallery and caused regular complaints from those seated nearby that it was too loud. In 1774 the vestry voted to remove the organ and put it into storage until it could be sold. Fortunately, nothing happened for fifteen years, and then in 1789 Feyring’s organ was moved to a newly constructed organ loft above the altar, where it continues to cover most of the Palladian window behind it.  

This instrument served Saint Peter’s for more than fifty years and in 1815 was either rebuilt or replaced (vestry records are sometimes incomplete). Little is known about this second instrument apart from its short career in the church. In 1829 London-trained organ-builder Henry Corrie furnished a new instrument using some of the pipes from the 1815 organ. Corrie’s work served for twenty-seven years, but in 1855 local builder John C. B. Standbridge reported that it was beyond repair. The following year he signed a contract for a new instrument, dedicated in 1857.  

Hilborne Roosevelt rebuilt the Standbridge organ in 1886 and added a third manual to the console. Within two years, however, the vestry began to consider replacing the “double quartet” that stood with the organ in the loft, with a men-and-boys choir on the main floor of the church. Charles S. Haskell, a former employee of the Roosevelt firm, electrified the organ in 1892 and provided a four-manual console placed among the new choir stalls on the main floor. Additions in 1911 included a small Echo Organ, located within the walls of the original tower immediately behind the pulpit door, and a Choir Organ, placed unfortunately beneath an iron grate under the choir stalls in a basement chamber.

The Choir Organ suffered from constant dampness and regular water seepage, especially following a heavy rainfall. Eight years after the Choir Organ was installed, Haskell had to remove portions of that division for repairs. A contract dispute between Haskell and the vestry ensued in 1921, with the builder refusing to return the parts taken from the church. About 1928 the Choir Organ was completely removed, and its chamber abandoned.  

The Skinner organ

Weary of their troublesome instrument, parts of which were very old, the vestry contracted with the Skinner Organ Company to build an entirely new instrument, their Opus 862, finished in November 1931. It is a three-manual, 49-stop organ placed entirely within the organ case, which was enlarged (probably in the 1892 rebuilding) by bringing the façade forward to the edge of the organ loft. Nothing except Feyring’s case remains of the earlier instruments, and there is credible speculation that even it was made by David Tannenberg of nearby Lititz, Pennsylvania.  

As the Skinner organ approached fifty years old, its pneumatic leatherwork began to fail. Saint Peter’s vestry was committed to keeping the organ in good order, and much of the instrument was releathered as necessary to keep the organ playing reliably. At ninety-one years, the Skinner organ holds the record for the longest tenure of all of Saint Peter’s instruments. The current work is the first comprehensive restoration of this organ.  

—Joseph F. Dzeda

The restoration of Opus 862

The mechanism and pipework were found to be mostly complete. The original “vertical selector” electro-pneumatic console was long gone and had been replaced, first by an Austin tab console in the 1970s, and then by a solid-state console by David Harris in 1985. Richard Houghten updated and rebuilt this console in 2017, and it remains as such. All of the components of the 1931 chassis remain and have been fully restored.  

Opus 862 underwent tonal changes characteristic of their time. The 4′ Flute on the Great was replaced by a high-pitched mixture, and the Great 8′ Tromba, enclosed in the Choir expression box, was revoiced as a bright Trumpet. The Choir Nazard was replaced by a 4′ Principal. The Class A Deagan Cathedral Chimes were removed, along with their electric action, from the Swell box, and the Harp/Celesta was removed from the Choir box in preparation for tonal additions that were never realized.  

The pipework was mostly complete and has been restored to the original specifications except for one missing stop, the Swell Aeoline. This stop was a 75-scale string, also sometimes called Echo Gamba or Dulcet. These are very rare. We did replace it with a 75-scale Dulcet from an earlier Skinner. Also missing were the Harp and Chimes. These have been replaced with identical items from Opus 659.

The blower has been fully restored by Joseph Sloane, converting the original motor from two-phase to three-phase. The reeds have been restored by Chris Broome of Broome & Co., LLC, to the original specifications. The original reed tongues were gone and had been replaced with thinner tongues and reduced loading. Chris Broome has replaced these using the thickness and loading schedules as listed in the Skinner records. The goal of the restoration has been to restore the organ to “as built” condition throughout.

From the Skinner documents we have acquired, it is clear that Opus 862 was overseen and designed by Ernest Skinner personally. For point of reference, we are going to compare Opus 862 with Opus 836, Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown, New Jersey. We are including the original voicer’s charts for both organs. Opus 836, again from factory documents, was clearly overseen by G. Donald Harrison. The two organs are similar in many ways. The strings and flutes are identical for the most part, but the chorus reeds and principal choruses are quite different. As indicated in the reed voicer’s charts, the Swell chorus reeds are “Skinner” in 862, and the Swell chorus reeds are “English” in 836. The “Skinner” reeds are harmonic at 2′ F-sharp and the “English” reeds are harmonic at 1′ F#, and the harmonic pipes are spotted metal. The “Skinner” reeds have different shallots and loading producing a rounder, fuller, and refined tone. The “English” reeds are brighter with more “clang” and are reproductions of Willis reeds. The specifications of the “English” reeds were part of the exchange established between Skinner and Henry Willis III during their quid pro quo arrangement of exchanging Skinner’s mechanical innovations with Willis’s pipe construction and reed voicing details. Both of these reed choruses are beautiful in their own way, but the differences are very obvious.

The same can be said for the principal choruses. If you compare the two flue voicer’s charts, you will notice that there are no 1/4 mouths in 862. The upper work is more restrained in 862, and conversely more pronounced in 836. The biggest and most noticeable difference is that if you run up the scale on any of the Diapason stops, 862 gently fades, while 836 is pushed to the limit. I believe that this is due to the Willis influence as carried out by Harrison. It is interesting to note that Harrison abandoned both of these tonal set ups after 1932. These are both beautiful Skinner organs from the same period but realized differently by Skinner and Harrison.

—Nicholas Thompson-Allen

Frederick Lee Richards’s 1992 paper, Old St. Peter’s Protestant Episcopal Church, Philadelphia: An Architectural History and Inventory (1758-1991), provided much of the historical information cited above.

Builder’s website: www.thompson-allen.com

Church’s website: www.stpetersphila.org

Photo credit: David Ottenstein Photography (©2022 David Ottenstein)

 

GREAT (5″ wind pressure)

16′ Bourdon (Pedal) 17 pipes

8′ First Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Second Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Principal Flute 61 pipes

8′ Erzähler 61 pipes

4′ Principal 61 pipes

4′ Flute 61 pipes

II Grave Mixture (2-2⁄3′ – 2′) 122 pipes

Enclosed in Choir box 10″ w.p.

8′ Tromba 61 pipes

8′ French Horn 61 pipes

Chimes (in Swell box) 20 tubes

SWELL (Enclosed) (71⁄2″ wind pressure)

16′ Echo Lieblich 73 pipes

8′ Diapason 73 pipes

8′ Rohrflöte 73 pipes

8′ Salicional 73 pipes

8′ Voix Celeste (CC) 73 pipes

8′ Aeoline 73 pipes

4′ Octave 73 pipes

4′ Flute Triangulaire 73 pipes

2′ Flautino 61 pipes

III Mixture (C-14) 183 pipes

16′ Waldhorn 73 pipes

8′ Cornopean 73 pipes

8′ Oboe 73 pipes

8′ Vox Humana 73 pipes

Tremolo

CHOIR (Enclosed) (6″ wind pressure)

16′ Contra Gamba 61 pipes

8′ Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Concert Flute 61 pipes

8′ Gamba 61 pipes

8′ Dulciana 61 pipes

8′ Unda Maris (TC) 49 pipes

4′ Flute 61 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Nazard 61 pipes

8′ Clarinet 61 pipes

8′ English Horn 61 pipes

Harp (TC) 49 bars

Celesta (CC) 12 bars

Tremolo

PEDAL (6″ wind pressure)

32′ Resultant

16′ Diapason (bearded) 32 pipes

16′ Bourdon 32 pipes

16′ Echo Lieblich (Swell)

16′ Contra Gamba (Choir)

8′ Octave (ext Diapason) 12 pipes

8′ Gedeckt (ext Bourdon) 12 pipes

8′ Still Gedeckt (Swell)

8′ Cello (Choir)

32′ Fagotto 12 pipes (10″ w.p., ext Sw Waldhorn)

16′ Trombone 12 pipes (10″ w.p., ext Gt Tromba)

16′ Waldhorn (Swell)

Chimes

49 stops, 38 ranks, 2,457 pipes

Quimby Pipe Organs, Inc., Warrensburg, Missouri

Fifty Years and Counting

Fate, luck, and surprising interactions with others fascinated with the pipe organ were the impetus for the founding of Quimby Pipe Organs, Incorporated, in August 1970. The same scenarios have continued over the years until the company reached its fiftieth birthday this past August 2020.  

I was exposed to pipe organs when I was a fourth grader, while my father was accomplishing his residence work on his doctorate in agriculture economics at Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma. I was encouraged by my mother to join the boys’ choir at First United Methodist Church, Stillwater, where Mrs. Ben W. Martin was minister of music. One trip looking into the pipe organ chambers of the 1929 Hillgreen, Lane & Company Opus 959 was all that was necessary to start a dream. This experience paved the way or caused the orange shellac to start to flow as is often quoted. It is said that everyone who is an organbuilder and who passionately loves the pipe organ has orange shellac flowing in their veins.  

To me it seemed obvious that an organbuilder should know how to play the instrument and have an understanding of the repertoire. I studied organ under Professors Dr. Frederick W. Homan and Dr. William E. McCandless at the University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, where I completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music.  

Today I play the instrument for my own enjoyment and occasionally substitute. I did play for the First United Methodist Church, Warrensburg, for forty years, thankfully with a readily available substitute when I was required to be out of town working on pipe organ projects.  

Early influences

My formative years in pipe organ building were significantly influenced by Colin A. Campbell, a service representative for M. P. Möller, and Charles McManis, the legendary pipe organ builder in Kansas City, Kansas.

I started my adventures in organbuilding as a key holder with Mr. Campbell and subsequently was taught to tune before the age of fancy digital tuning devices. Of interest to pipe organ historians, I still have Mr. Campbell’s Peterson tuner, with tubes and only two pitch selections—he modified this function himself for fine tuning the pitch adjustment. Additionally, I learned to leather pouches and primary actions, restore reservoirs, loom cables for windchests and console connections, and to accomplish basic voicing techniques to correct speech problems, basic reed cleaning and regulation, and the basics of cutting up flue pipes, adjusting languids, and the proper use of toe cones. Considerable time was spent in learning how to quickly ascertain technical issues with tuning or on an emergency visit. Mr. Campbell was extremely fastidious regarding the quality of the work accomplished. Since cleanliness and precise order were virtuous in his eyes, he had no patience for instruments that were designed in such a way as to make tuning and maintenance difficult.

In the way that Mr. Campbell influenced my mind as a service technician, Charles McManis also influenced my mind regarding tonal design and flue voicing. He never abandoned voicing techniques such as nicking that were considered an abomination by builders of the Organ Reform Movement. He was never an advocate of voicing flue pipes resulting in a fluty timbre especially in principal chorus ranks. See his book, Wanted: One Crate of Lions—The Life and Legacy of Charles W. McManis, Organbuilder, OHS Press, 2008. In the course of completing my degrees I became intimately acquainted with his Opus 60, 1959, a two-manual electro-pneumatic instrument located in Hart Recital Hall, University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, Missouri. Two other instruments of his design left a lasting impression on me as well—his two-manual organ installed in South Street Christian Church, Springfield, Missouri, and his three-manual organ installed in Saint John’s United Methodist Church, Kansas City, Missouri.

1970s

This decade was a time of steady growth for QPO with one employee and the active participation of my wife Nancy Elizabeth, since deceased. In 1972, First Christian Church, Warrensburg—upon the recommendation of the UCM organ faculty and Dr. Conan Castle, director of choral activities at UCM and director of music at First Christian—selected QPO to build its Opus 1, a two-manual, 21-rank instrument, on which Charles McManis provided input. Opus 1 retained four ranks from their 13-rank Kilgen (1919), along with the case. The instrument was dedicated in September 1973. Coming up in 2023, Ken Cowan will perform the fiftieth anniversary recital.

Additional work accomplished in the 1970s included the restoration of a splendid two-manual, 14-rank mechanical-action (tracker) instrument by an unknown builder; the relocation of a two-manual, 15-rank Pfeffer tracker; the restoration of a one-manual, 10-rank Kilgen tracker; and the relocation of Möller Opus 5818. Two other two-manual instruments were also built during this decade.

1980s

The 1980s proved to be quite beneficial to the growth of QPO. In 1982 we were appointed curators of the Auditorium Organ, the four-manual, 110-rank Aeolian-Skinner Opus 1309, located in Independence, Missouri, where Dr. John Obetz was the principal organist. This appointment was the launching pad for future work because of the credibility that it gave to a young firm.

From 1985 to 1987 the Auditorium Organ went through an extensive rebuild where the leather throughout the instrument had prematurely failed. The console was also failing due to the extraordinary amount of use that it endured. At this time, it was decided to completely revoice the instrument. The revoicing work was accomplished by John Hendriksen, former head voicer of Aeolian-Skinner, and Thomas H. Anderson, former head of the Aeolian-Skinner pipe shop, who built four new ranks. This project resulted in a long-standing relationship with both John and Tommy. John was not only an excellent flue voicer but was also an artist at knowing the potential of vintage pipework. He was able to change their character by scale changes, changing cut ups, or adding nicking. Through Tommy’s guidance, old pipework could take on a completely new purpose and look.

One of our most pivotal occurrences was being selected as the builder at First United Methodist Church, Fort Smith, Arkansas. Ms. Nancy Vernon, chair of the organ committee, after extensively researching our work, believed in QPO and felt that our young firm would provide them with the best instrument. 

In addition to these, fifteen new instruments along with six rebuilds were completed during this decade.

1990s

The 1990s proved to be a pivotal decade. In 1991, I convinced Eric Johnson, who apprenticed with L. W. Blackinton and Associates, to join QPO. Eric brought with him the Blackinton slider chest design, which incorporated a different pallet design, along with other features that eliminated the need for slider seals. These windchests exceeded my expectations and allowed our pipework to be voiced to its full potential by eliminating the explosive attack experienced when using individual pipe valves.

In 1997, Eric, Michael Brittenback, organist of St. Margaret’s Church, Thomas Brown, and myself, embarked on a journey to Europe, led by Jonathan Ambrosino, to study notable English organs of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, along with the works of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. This fact-finding mission was in advance of building our Opus 50 (IV/71) at Saint Margaret’s Episcopal Church, Palm Desert, California, which was designed by Mr. Ambrosino. Also, on that same trip we were fortunate to have Stephen Bicknell and Jean-Louis Coignet offer their expertise. Todd Wilson recorded his CD Frank Bridge and Friends on the instrument at Saint Margaret’s (available on the web).

Ever since that trip, whenever possible, our instruments have an 8′ Diapason in each manual division with developed diapason and reed choruses. This was a radical shift in tonal design from the terraced diapason choruses of McManis. Our thoughts about solo and chorus reeds also evolved significantly. During this trip, Eric and I confirmed the significance of appropriate metal thicknesses for flues and reeds also. Years before I had noticed, quite by accident, how foundational timbre and balance in the overtone series was affected just by holding the body of the pipe. The English and French organs that we studied confirmed the need for heavier metal thicknesses. When I examined a spotted metal 8′ Diapason pipe built by T. C. Lewis, which showed no evidence of collapse, it prompted me to have the metal analyzed, which confirmed the addition of antimony and other trace elements in the metal.

During the 1990s we completed four four-manual, five three-manual, and thirteen two-manual instruments, along with over thirty rebuilds.

2000s

The first decade of the twenty-first century opened with the decision to expand our pipe shop and make and voice our own reeds whenever possible. This change made it possible to differentiate our reeds from that of other builders. Our head reed voicer, Eric Johnson, developed the chorus and solo reeds that we have become noted for their timbre and excellent tuning stability. The first instrument built with our new tonal philosophy was the three-manual, 55-rank organ located in Gano Chapel of William Jewell College, Liberty, Missouri. This organ was especially important to me as I was allowed complete freedom in the design of the instrument to express my own thoughts and creativity. This instrument still holds a special place in my mind, even with the passage of time.

In 2005, QPO was entrusted with the rebuild of the four-manual, 143-rank Aeolian Skinner Opus 150A located in the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York City, following the fire of 2001. The instrument was removed in 2005 and then returned in the early summer of 2008. Its first public use following the fire was on November 30 of the same year. The work was primarily a restoration except for a new replica four-manual console built to AGO standards, solid-state conversion, and the addition of two ranks. All Ernest Skinner windchests from his 1910 Opus 150 remain, with the exception of two unit chests. This job remains the single most demanding and rewarding job to date.

Other notable new instruments include: First Baptist Church, Jackson, Mississippi (V/155); Dauphin Way United Methodist Church, Mobile, Alabama (IV/71); Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church, Richardson, Texas (III/58); Kirkwood Baptist Church, Kirkwood, Missouri (III/43); and First Christian Church, Jefferson City, Missouri (III/46).

2010s

All of the instruments built in the 2010s have proven to be emotionally satisfying to their owners and consultants, when involved. The most challenging projects in this decade were Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, Illinois (V/143), and Dunwoody United Methodist Church, Dunwoody, Georgia (IV/100). 

When Eric Johnson and I first visited Fourth Presbyterian, we were astonished that the 1970 Aeolian-Skinner Opus 1516 was not able to effectively accompany congregational singing, even with a substantial Antiphonal division. Not much was heard past the fourth pew other than mixtures and the 32′ reed. The same issues accompanied its predecessor, the 1913 Ernest M. Skinner Opus 210. Leo Sowerby described the E. M. Skinner as a fantastic instrument for accompanying and softer effects, but devoid of a satisfactory ensemble. 

We were fortunate to develop a specification, with the assistance of Dr. John Sherer, that could lead congregational singing without being offensive, and, at the same time, perform the vast majority of pipe organ repertoire. The existing tone openings included one that spoke directly into the chancel and another, added by Goulding & Wood Pipe Organ Builders in their 1994 rebuild of the instrument, that spoke directly into the nave. The nave opening proved to be inadequate for optimal tonal egress, so we were able to create a larger opening by removing the solid decorative panels at the top of the case and replacing them with acoustically porous panels on which the original artwork was duplicated. We also designed and built a Positive division in a matching case in the balcony, opposite the main organ. By doing this, we achieved the satisfactory results we had hoped for. Dr. Sherer used the organ of Woolsey Hall, Yale University, as the demarcation point. Dr. Jan Kraybill’s recording, Live in Concert—The Quimby Pipe Organ of Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago (found at https://quimbypipeorgans.com/quimby-sound/) provides an excellent presentation. 

Dunwoody United Methodist Church did not want a new instrument, but the merger of two instruments from the past. Their desire was to create a new Romantic pipe organ. The instruments selected were 1912 Ernest M. Skinner Opus 195 and 1938 Casavant Opus 1600. The results exceeded my fondest expectations: that no one would be able to determine where repurposed original ranks were assigned in the new tonal specification. The hard surface chancel was a superb sounding board along with the high vaulted ceiling, making the acoustics of the room the best stop on the organ.

Other new instruments from this timeframe include the following: The Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew, Wilmington, Delaware (III/45); Central United Methodist Church, Concord, North Carolina (III/38); All Saints Episcopal Church, Southern Shores, North Carolina (II/18); Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Lafayette, Indiana (III/29); and First United Methodist Church, Athens, Georgia (IV/68).

Looking ahead

Despite Covid-19, the sixth decade for QPO looks to be very exciting. Work in progress includes the rebuild of Skinner Organ Company Opus 323 for Church of the Messiah, Rhinebeck, New York; tonal rebuild of the Schantz organ located in Trinity Episcopal Church, Indianapolis, Indiana; relocation and rebuilding of the IV/50 Skinner Opus 265, with Pedal 32′ Open Wood and Bombarde for Saint Bernard’s Catholic Parish, Madison, Wisconsin; a new IV/55 organ for First Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, North Carolina; and rebuild and enlargement of Austin Opus 1162 located in Hendricks Hall, University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, Missouri.

To ensure our work continuing well into the future, we have instituted a succession plan, prepared for us by Stinson Attorneys of Kansas City, Missouri. Present associates of QPO are as follows: Melody Burns, Nancy Dyer, Chris Emerson, Charles Ford, Eric Johnson, Kevin Kissinger, Bryce Munson, Michael Quimby, Brian Seever, Dan Sliger, Anthony Soun, Mahoney Soun, Chirt Touch, and Bailey Tucker.

—Michael Quimby

The photos on the cover page, left to right, top to bottom: 

˜The Cathedral of Saint Paul, Saint Paul, Minnesota

Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Lafayette, Indiana

Saint Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, San Diego, California

Photo caption: The Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew, Wilmington, Delaware