Buzard/Noehren rededication

Stephen Schnurr

Situated on a hill overlooking the city of Lewiston, Maine, the Gothic Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul is visible from a great distance in any direction. Its grand architecture beckons visitors from all over. The interior of the basilica is as sumptuous as its exterior. And among the many treasures of the edifice are the organs.

Lewiston was founded in 1795 along the Androscoggin River. Its industry was supported by cotton mills for many years. By the 1850s the Bates Mill, named for Benjamin E. Bates, for whom Bates College is also named, became the largest employer in Lewiston, remaining so for a century. In the late 1850s, French Canadians began to migrate to Lewiston for job opportunities. A section of Lewiston became known as “Little Canada,” and the city has celebrated its French Canadian character to this day.

Various Protestant congregations were formed, but it would be 1857 before the first Catholic parish, Saint Joseph, was founded. The parish, which was English speaking and serving primarily Irish immigrants, laid the cornerstone for a church along Main Street on June 13, 1864, and finished construction in 1867. The architect was Patrick C. Keely.

The Catholic Bishop of Portland assigned the Reverend Louis Mutsaers to minister to the French-speaking Catholics of Saint Joseph Church. With more than 1,000 souls in the French-speaking Catholic community, Saint Peter Church was founded in 1870, the first French ethnic parish in the diocese. Father Edouard Létourneau of Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, was named first pastor. The fledgling congregation moved to Saint John Chapel, the second floor of a house on Lincoln Street, coincidentally the first home of Saint Joseph Church. The first Mass, a wedding, was said on July 2, 1870. The Reverend Pierre Hévey became pastor the following year.

 

The first church

Father Hévey constructed a Gothic church building on Ayers Hill, on Bartlett Street between Ash and College Streets. The cornerstone was laid July 7, 1872, and the edifice was dedicated on May 4, 1873. The substantial building was 116 feet long, 32 feet wide, and crowned by a 160-foot bell tower. The total cost of the building, including land and furnishings, was approximately $100,000. The dedication Mass, attended by 2,000 and presided over by the Bishop of Portland, also witnessed the confirmation of 215 children. The parish school was opened in 1878, and a cemetery was developed. The Sisters of Charity of Saint-Hyacinthe would also establish a hospital, an orphan asylum, and a home for the aged, in addition to teaching in the school. A five-story brick school building accommodating 700 students was opened in 1883 at Lincoln and Chestnut Streets. A second school, for boys, was opened on Bates Street in 1887. By the close of the century, there were 1,721 students in the parish schools.

When Father Hévey left the parish in 1881, administration was turned over to the Dominican Fathers of Lille, France. About this time, Saint Peter became known as Saints Peter and Paul Church. By the late 1890s, church membership neared 10,000 persons, and galleries were added to the church nave, and the building’s basement was enlarged. A brick monastery was built for the Dominicans on Bartlett Street, a building that still stands behind the basilica today. The Dominicans would live here until they returned the parish to the diocese in 1987.

In 1902, Saint Louis Church was founded in Auburn, across the river, but this did little to lessen overcrowding at Saints Peter and Paul Church. In 1904, Father Alexandre Louis Mothon, OP, then pastor of the parish, retained Belgian-native Noël Coumont of Lewiston to design a neo-Gothic edifice to be built of Maine granite at an estimated cost of $250,000. Portland diocesan authorities were duly impressed with Coumont’s work and named him diocesan architect.

 

Building the present church

The final Mass in the old church was celebrated on February 5, 1905, after which the building was dismantled and demolished. A temporary wooden structure seating 1,200 persons was erected. Adjacent property was acquired, and construction of the lower church was commenced on February 22, 1906. Despite the collapse of a wall on November 9, the lower church was in use for Midnight Mass at Christmas, December 25, 1906. Father Mouthon had resigned and was replaced by the Reverend Antonin Dellaire, OP.

The parish would not complete the upper church for another three decades. In the interim, the diocese created three other parishes in Lewiston: Saint Mary, founded in 1907 in “Little Canada” with 820 families; Holy Family, founded in 1923; and Holy Cross, founded that same year with 575 families.

The diocese granted the Reverend Mannès Marchand, OP, pastor, permission to complete the upper church in 1933. A bid of $361,510 was accepted in April of the following year. Timothy G. O’Connell of Boston had become architect. Construction began in May, and the project would require some 516 boxcars of granite. Slate, copper, and limestone support the roofs.

The exterior was completed in 1935, crowned by twin steeples rising 168 feet with eight spires of granite and concrete. Two fairs would be held in the unfinished interior to raise funds for its completion. The interior was finished on July 18, 1936. The Most Reverend Joseph E. McCarthy, DD, dedicated Saints Peter and Paul Church on October 23, 1938. An all-male choir, recently formed, provided music for the occasion. The total construction price was estimated at $625,000. Five bells, cast for the previous church in 1884 by the McShane foundry of Baltimore, Maryland, were retained for the new towers. In 1948, the magnificent stained glass windows of the nave were installed to the designs of Boston’s Terence O’Duggan, at a cost of $40,000. The building measures 330 feet long, 135 feet wide, and the ceiling rises 64 feet. The pews seat 1,800 persons.

There was considerable posturing to making Saints Peter and Paul the cathedral of the diocese, supplanting Portland’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, founded in 1856 with its church built between 1866 and 1869 to the designs of Patrick C. Keely. Postcards of the Lewiston church were printed and sold, designating it a “cathedral.” However, the move of the seat of the bishop from Portland to Lewiston never occurred.

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 14 (Bastille Day), 1983. The second-largest Catholic church in New England, Saints Peter and Paul is exceeded only by Saint Joseph Cathedral of Hartford, Connecticut. In the past two decades, the building has been restored, a heroic multi-million dollar project. The first part of the project, the exterior, took nine years to complete. The interior restoration of the upper church was completed in 2002.

The church’s music history is remarkable. In 1872, a reed organ was acquired, and a Mrs. Martel became organist. Mr. Alcibiad Beique succeeded her. Considered an accomplished organist as he had studied in Belgium, Beique would play the opening program/Mass on the church’s first pipe organ, described below. Beique would leave Lewiston to become organist for the church of Notre Dame in Montréal, Canada. Mr. F. Desanniers next served the parish, though he died about a year after beginning service, having consumed poison thinking it was medicine. Henry F. Roy then served Saints Peter and Paul, remaining until 1925. George C. Giboin then served from 1925 until his death in 1945. From 1945 until 1966, Bernard Piché was organist, while Roland Pineau directed the choirs. Piché was of considerable repute, and was managed as a recitalist by the Colbert-Laberge management group. Pineau continued as organist and choir director until 1973. Luciene Bédard also served as organist, beginning in 1942 and continuing for 54 years. Ida Rocheleau provided music from 1973 until 1982. Kathy Brooks was named music director in 1990. Scott Vaillancourt became music director in 2003 and continues today.

In addition to choral groups for children and adults, the parish sponsored a boys’ band (Fanfare Ste. Cécile) from 1898 until 1947. An extensive boys’ choir for grades 5 through 8 (Les Petits Chanteurs de Lewiston) was established in 1945 and performed operettas and other works in Lewiston and throughout New England until it was disbanded in 1964.

 

The pipe organs

The first pipe organ for the parish was 1880 Hook & Hastings Opus 1011, a two-manual, 24-rank instrument located in the 1873 church. The case of ash measured 25 feet high, 13 feet wide, nine feet deep. The organ cost $3,500 and was dedicated on Thanksgiving Day, November 25.

The organ was removed from the building prior to demolition and reinstalled in the new lower church in 1906. It was rebuilt and enlarged by Casavant Frères of Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada, in 1916, as their Opus 665, retaining the Hook & Hastings case and much of the pipework.

In 2004, Casavant Opus 665 was sold to the Church of the Resurrection (Episcopal), New York City, where it was moved and rebuilt by the Organ Clearing House. A series of dedicatory recitals were held for this organ in its new home in 2011.

The upper church Casavant organs together make up the largest church organ in Maine. There are 4,695 pipes in five divisions in the rear gallery, 737 in three divisions in the sanctuary. A four-manual, drawknob console controls the entire organ from the rear gallery; a two-manual console in the sanctuary, which does not function at this time, controls the sanctuary divisions. The organ was designed by Charles-Marie Courboin of Saint Patrick Cathedral, New York City. The contract specification was dated April 4, 1937. Manual compass is 61 notes (C–C); pedal compass (concave, radiating pedalboard) is 32 notes (C–G). The instrument cost $28,000 for the gallery organ, $10,000 for the sanctuary organ. A fifteen-horsepower blower was provided for the gallery organ, and a one-horsepower blower for the sanctuary organ.

Courboin, who travelled to Saint-Hyacinthe to inspect the organ in the factory, played the opening recital on the completed organ, October 4, 1938. An estimated 2,000 persons filled the nave of the church, the first public event to occur in the upper church. The following was his program (a local choral group, Orpheon, also presented three works):

 

Part I

Concert Overture R. Maitland

Aria No. 3, Suite in D
Johann Sebastian Bach

Sketch No. 3 Schumann

Cantabile Cesar Franck 

Pastorale 2d Symphony
Charles-Marie Widor

Passacaglia and Fugue, C minor
J. S. Bach

 

Part II

Ave Maria Schubert-Courboin

Choral Prelude J. S. Bach

Choral No. 3 Cesar Franck 

The Lost Chord Sullivan-Courboin

March Heroique Saint-Saens

 

Casavant crafted the extensive woodworking lining the church nave, including an ornate screen in the sanctuary and the extensive wood supporting the organ and choir gallery, the transept galleries, and the narthex. The project utilizing Maine native red cedar and oak took a year and a half to complete.

Over the years, various renowned organists have concertized on the upper church organs. For instance, the Lewiston-Auburn Chapter of the American Guild of Organists sponsored Marcel Dupré in recital on Monday evening, October 4, 1948, along with three selections presented by the Saint Paul Choral Society. (Admission was $1.20, tax included, students $0.75.) The program for the organ’s tenth anniversary included works by Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederick Handel, Eric DeLamarter, César Franck, Mr. Dupré, as well as an improvisation on submitted themes—Yankee Doodle and Turkeys in the Tree Top.

The fiftieth anniversary of the Casavant organs was celebrated with a concert on October 4, 1988, given by Brian Franck, organist, with l’Orpheon, conducted by Alexis Cote and accompanied by Luciene Bédard. Alan Laufman of the Organ Historical Society presented Historic Organ Citation #100 for the upper church organs. The upper church organs were heard in recitals during the national convention of the Organ Historical Society on August 19, 1992.

The gallery Casavant has experienced only three tonal alterations since installation. During Mr. Pinché’s tenure, the Grand Orgue 16′ Bombarde was replaced by an 8′ Bourdon. The Solo 16′ Tuba Magna was replaced by a 4′ Orchestral Flute. And the Récit 8′ Trompette was replaced by an 8′ open flute. The 8′ Trompette rank was used for many years in the Casavant in the lower church. It is now in storage, awaiting restoration and reinstallation, or perhaps replacement with a copy, if necessary.

Saints Peter and Paul experienced its largest membership in the 1950s, with more than 15,000 souls on the records. Twenty years later, membership was less than half that number. In 1986, the Dominicans turned administration of the parish back to the diocese. In June of 1996, Saints Peter and Paul was “twinned” with nearby Saint Patrick Catholic Church.

On October 4, 2004, the Vatican raised Saints Peter and Paul Church to the dignity of a minor basilica. The basilica was inaugurated on May 22, 2005, by the Most Reverend Richard Malone, Bishop of Portland. In 2008, the basilica became part of the newly-formed Prince of Peace Parish, which in due time has included all the Catholic parishes of Lewiston. The parish today includes the basilica, Holy Cross, Holy Family, as well as cluster parishes: Holy Trinity, Lisbon Falls, Our Lady of the Rosary, Sabattus, and Saint Francis Mission, Greene (in the summer only). Holy Cross Church has a Casavant organ of two manuals, 25 ranks, installed in 1967.

Saint Mary Church would close in 2000 and become the home of the Franco-American Heritage Center. The Gothic edifice of stone was completed in 1927 to the designs of the same architect as Saints Peter and Paul. It is now used as a performing arts and cultural center, preserving much of the feel of the old church, including its stained glass windows. A photograph at the center’s website reveals that at least the twin cases of the church’s Frazee organ are still present. The organ itself is in storage at the center, awaiting funding for reinstallation.

Saint Joseph Catholic Church was closed October 13, 2009, and sits empty. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Now owned by Central Maine Healthcare, the redbrick Gothic building has been threatened with demolition, though these plans are on hold as of this writing. The building once housed a two-manual Henry Erben organ from 1870, long since replaced by an electronic substitute.

Saint Patrick Catholic Church, facing Kennedy Park along Bates Street at Walnut Street, was founded in 1886. The parish, under the leadership of Monsignor Thomas Wallace, built a grand Gothic church, completed in 1890. Monsignor Wallace was buried in the church crypt. On October 27, 2009, Saint Patrick closed its doors. Its 1893 two-manual Hook & Hastings organ, Opus 1580 (electrified about 1960 by Rostron Kershaw, with minor tonal changes), was removed for relocation to Holy Family Catholic Church of Lewiston, a project partially completed by the Faucher Organ Company of Biddeford, Maine. Completion awaits sufficient funding. This is the first pipe organ for Holy Family Church.

Despite losing its claim as an industrial center in the state, Lewiston today remains the second largest city in Maine, behind Portland. Auburn is located across the Androscoggin River from Lewiston, and the two communities are often considered a single entity. The Lewiston community has experienced a renaissance in recent years.

The seventy-fifth anniversary of the Casavant organs in the upper church was celebrated throughout 2013. The parish sponsors a summer recital series, and that year’s performers included: Karel Paukert; Chris Ganza with Karen Pierce (vocalist); Albert Melton; Randall Mullin; Jacques Boucher with Anne Robert (violinist); Ray Cornils; Julie Huang; Harold Stover; Sean Fleming; and the author. The final program of this series occurred on September 27, featuring Kevin Birch, organist, the Androscoggin Chorale, John Corrie, conductor, and the Men’s Choir of the Basilica, Scott Vaillancourt, director. The program included: Prelude and Fugue in E-flat, BWV 552i, Johann Sebastian Bach; Andante Sostenuto, Symphonie IV, Charles-Marie Widor; Cloches, Marcel Fournier; Carillon de Westminster, Louis Vierne; Sonata I, Alexandre Guilmant, and the Mass for Two Choirs and Two Organs, Widor. Some restorative repairs have been made to the Casavant organs by the Faucher Organ Company of Biddeford, Maine. Ongoing efforts are made to raise funds to complete the project and bring this world-class organ back to its original glory. 

 

Sources

A Rich Past—A Challenging Future: A Tribute to Ss. Peter and Paul Parish, Saints Peter and Paul Parish, Lewiston, Maine, 1996.

Organ Handbook 1992, Alan M. Laufman, editor, The Organ Historical Society, Richmond, Virginia, 1992, pp. 60–63.

“The Organs of the Church of Ss. Peter & Paul Lewiston, Maine,” Brian Franck and Alan Laufman, The Tracker, vol. 36, no. 2, 1992, pp. 8–13.

Newspaper clippings, Casavant contract information from the basilica archives.

 

Photography by Stephen Schnurr, except as noted.

Keith Williams

Buzard Pipe Organ Builders, Champaign, Illinois

Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, Charleston, South Carolina

1963 Noehren organ, St.
Richard of Chichester Episcopal Church, Chicago, Illinois

Robert Noehren (1910–2002) was an influential performer, recording artist, and teacher. He was for many years university organist and head of the organ department at the University of Michigan. Not satisfied with the work of contemporary American Neo-Baroque organbuilders, he founded his own enterprise, which built a total of 21 organs between 1954 and 1978. Noehren described his tonal style as an attempt to meld North German (Schnitger) principals with French classic and romantic reeds (Clicquot and Cavaille-Coll.)

Noehren himself performed the dedication recitals on his organ at St. Richard of Chichester Episcopal Church in Chicago, Illinois, on December 29, 1963. As originally installed, it had 1,885 pipes. Noehren also made recordings of the organ following its completion, which afford us insight into Noehren’s tonal philosophy and playing style on his own instrument. 

The organ remained basically unchanged over its 50 years at St. Richard’s. In 1996 the original electro-mechanical relay and setter board combination action were replaced with solid state equipment. At the same time a Zimbelstern was added and a 32’ Resultant stop was added to the Pedal, drawn from the original Subbass.

The instrument was installed above the gallery of the church, hanging from the ceiling on two beams in an exposed position. The Swell was enclosed at the rear of the beams, with the large, shared Great-Positiv windchest in front (see photograph below). The Pedal division was on two chests on the floor at the rear of the balcony.

By 2014 the congregation’s dynamic has changed, and they no longer required their organ and wished to find an appropriate new home for it. Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in Charleston, South Carolina, was in the market for an organ for their new sanctuary building and decided that the available Noehren organ would suit their needs admirably. Holy Spirit purchased the instrument and contracted with Buzard Pipe Organ Builders to remove and rebuild the organ for their new church.

The new installation required an entirely new layout for the organ, as well as casework sympathetic to the beautiful new sanctuary. The new casework carries all the new bass pipes of the Great and Pedal principals, replacing collapsed pipes that were formerly shared between both these stops. The organ was redesigned internally with a new layout, new floor and building frames, new Swell box, and a new and greatly augmented wind system and new blower.

The action in the organ is electro-mechanical. Originally the pipe valves were of the Reisner “floating valve” type patented by Roger Miles and George Gress. Despite the claim made by some that this kind of action never wears out, the valves in this organ were no longer reliable after 50 years. We have replaced all of the actions with new magnets and rewired the entire organ. This also enabled us to provide larger toe holes to properly wind bass pipes.

A peculiarity of Noehren’s original design was a sharing of low octaves throughout the instrument. For example, the bottom octave (1–12) of the Great 4′ Octave borrowed the tenor octave (13–24) of the 8′ Principal. The cumulative effect of these compromises (which Noehren felt were justified because they reduced cost and saved space) was a weakening of tone throughout the instrument’s lower range. We undertook to provide additional pipework in almost all cases to correct these deficiencies, and so new, independent bottom octaves have been provided for the Great 4′ Octave, 4′ Spitzfloete, and 2′ Octave, as well as the Positiv 8′ Gedeckt and 2′ Principal. The Swell flutes have retained the old system of borrowing, due to space limitations; however, their blend and balance have been carefully refined.

The organ has gained a new 4′ Koppel Flute in the Positiv; a new, large-scaled Subbass rank in the Pedal, and new Chimes. A new Oboe rank, specially designed with a Baroque influence, replaces the original Swell Trompette. This Oboe has an interesting character, somewhere between an Oboe and an English horn. It can both color the flues in the Swell in combinations, as well as providing an excellent solo sound.

Some rescaling was undertaken, as well as numerous repairs and very careful regulation of all the pipework, especially removing inconsistencies in the flue voicing. The Cromhorne and Trumpet ranks were rebuilt for speech and tuning stability. The Mixture stops, originally each of five (!) ranks, were reconfigured. The Swell Plein Jeu was lowered significantly in pitch and now cleverly works as both the expected “crown” of the division as well as providing a much more useful substitute principal chorus in combination with the Swell foundations.

Installation of the organ was completed in autumn of 2016, the final stage of which was a comprehensive tonal finishing of the organ in the superb and lively acoustic of the new church. The end result is a still-bright but much warmer sound, which fills the handsome new sanctuary admirably. The organ can lead the congregation in hymns and liturgy, accompany choral anthems, and serve as a convincing vehicle for a wide range of solo organ repertoire. The sound of the instrument is by no means typical of the sound of a new Buzard instrument, but we are proud to have been able to make this instrument much more versatile and put it into as-new condition for the Holy Spirit congregation. 

The organ was dedicated in a worship service and recital by Stephen Buzard on Sunday, February 12. A dinner and introduction to the organ was held at the church for the local American Guild of Organists chapter the following evening.

The organ as rebuilt comprises 26 independent stops, 37 ranks, and 1,853 pipes.

—Keith Williams

 

Buzard staff that were involved in the Holy Spirit project included:

John-Paul Buzard, President & Artistic Director

Charles Eames, Vice-President & General Manager

Brian Davis, Tonal Director

Keith Williams, Service Director

David Brown, Service Foreman

Shane Rhoades, Production Department Foreman

Mark Dirksen, Business Manager

Riley Ano, Tonal Assistant

Trevor Dodd, Service Technician

Viktoria Franken, Tonal Associate

Christopher Goodnight, Cabinetmaker

Max Konrad, Service Technician

Michael Meyer, Cabinetmaker

Dennis Northway, Service & Sales Associate

Jeremy Taylor, Cabinetmaker

Stuart Weber, Senior Service Technician

John Wiegand, Service Technician

 

Bibliography

Schnurr, Stephen J., Jr., and Dennis E. Northway. Pipe Organs of Chicago, Volume II. Oak Park, IL, Chauncey Park Press, 2009, pp. 109–111.

Houghton, Richard. “The Organs of Robert Noehren—Simplicity, practicality and economy.” Journal of American Organbuilding, Vol. 10, No. 3 (September 2015), pp. 8–14.

 

Original (1963) stoplist

GREAT (21⁄2″ w.p.)

16′ Quintadena (TC) 44

8′ Principal (1–12 Pedal) 44

8′ Rohrfloete 56

4′ Octave (1–12 from 8′) 44 

4′ Spitzfloete (1–12 from 8′) 44 

22⁄3′ Nasat (TC, Positiv Larigot)

2′ Octave (1–12 from 4′) 44

2′ Spillfloete (1–12 from Fl 4′) 44 

13⁄5′ Terz (TG) 37

III–V Mixture 244

16′ Dulzian (TC, Pos. Cromhorne) 

8′ Trumpet 56

SWELL (21⁄2″ w.p.)

8′ Bourdon 56

8′ Gamba 56

8′ Voix Celeste (TC) 44

4′ Flute Octaviante (1–12 Bdn) 44 

2′ Octavin (ext 4′) 12 

III–V Plein Jeu 244

8′ Trompette 56

4′ Clairon (ext) 12

Tremulant 

POSITIV (21⁄2″ w.p.)

8′ Gedeckt (1–12 Gt Rohrfloete) 44 

4′ Rohrfloete (Gt) 12

2′ Principal 56

11⁄3′ Larigot 56 

III–V Scharff 244

8′ Cromhorne 56

PEDAL (21⁄2″ w.p.)

16′ Subbass 32

8′ Principal 32

4′ Octave 32

2′ Octave (ext) 12

V Mixture 128

16′ Posaune (ext) 12

8′ Trumpet (Gt)

4′ Trumpet (Gt) 

 

Couplers

Sw/Gt

Pos/Gt

Sw/Pos

Sw/Gt 16

Gt/Ped

Pos/Ped

Sw/Ped

 

Setterboard pistons 1–4 all divisions and generals

 

34 stops

42 ranks

1,885 pipes

 

2017 stoplist

GREAT (21⁄2″ w.p.)

16′ Quintade (rescaled, in Sw box) 56 

8′ Principal (1–24 new, 1–21 façade) 56

8′ Rohrfloete 56

4′ Octave (1–12 new) 56

4′ Spitzfloete (1–12 new) 68

22⁄3′ Nasat (TC, Positiv Larigot)

2′ Octave (1–12 new) 56

2′ Spillfloete (ext)

13⁄5′ Terz (TG) 37

IV Mixture (11⁄3′) 224

16′ Dulzian (TC, Pos. Cromorne)

8′ Trumpet 56

SWELL (3″ w.p.)

8′ Bourdon 56

8′ Gamba 56

8′ Voix Celeste (TC) 44

4′ Flute Octaviante (1–12 Bdn) 56

2′ Octavin (ext 4′)

IV Plein Jeu 224

8′ Oboe (new) 68

4′ Clairon (ext)

Tremulant

POSITIV (21⁄2″ w.p.)

8′ Gedeckt (1–12 new) 56

4′ Floete (new, wood & metal) 56

2′ Principal  56

11⁄3′ Larigot 56

III Scharf 168

8′ Cromorne 56

Zimbelstern

Chimes (new)

PEDAL (21⁄2″ w.p., 4″ Subbass)

32′ Resultant (Subbass & Quintade)

16′ Subbass (new, larger scale) 32

16′ Quintade (Gt)

8′ Principal (1–21 new in façade) 32

8′ Quintade (Gt)

4′ Octave 44

2′ Octave (ext)

IV Mixture 128

16′ Posaune (ext, 1–12 1/2-length) 12

8′ Trumpet (Gt)

4′ Trumpet (Gt)

 

Couplers

Great to Pedal

Swell to Pedal

Positiv to Pedal

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great

Positiv to Great

Swell to Positiv

 

Accessories

General Cancel (thumb)

Combination adjuster (thumb)

Memory Lock (key)

Balanced Swell expression shoe

Zimbelstern volume adjustment knob

 

26 independent stops

37 ranks

1,853 pipes

John-Paul Buzard Pipe Organ Builders, Champaign, Illinois

Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church, Lexington, Kentucky, Buzard 2009–2010 renovation

Hayes Barton United Methodist Church, Raleigh, North Carolina, Buzard Opus 39, June 2010

I am proud to showcase a recently completed new organ, and a renovation project successfully accomplished by our service and tonal departments, to give a glimpse into the depth of our firm, and the differing types of projects that we regularly and successfully undertake.
Some years back The Diapason featured a renovation project of ours at First Presbyterian Church, also in Lexington, Kentucky. Word of the success of this project quickly sped through the community, and we were contacted by Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church’s music director, Clif Cason, about the possibility of giving their 1963 Rieger tracker action organ a mechanical and tonal “going over.” He and the parishioners at Maxwell Street Church liked the transparency and vigor of the organ’s neo-Baroque style, but weren’t convinced of the inharmonic noise in the flue voicing, nor the unstable and thin-toned reeds. The organ exhibited mechanical symptoms which signaled that work was necessary, and we discovered that the organ was impossible to tune, or keep in tune.
All of us had a turn to inspect this organ: general manager Charles Eames, tonal director Brian Davis, service department director Keith Williams, service department foreman, David Brown, and I. We discovered that the pallets had been covered in a foam-rubber substance, which was becoming sticky and gooey. Additionally, the felt bushings in the keyboards and pedalboard had worn to a point at which the action was clattery. The organ leaked wind inordinately, especially where the pull-down wires exited the slider chests’ pallet boxes.
We re-covered the pallets with felt and leather. All the deteriorated leather purses at the pull-down wires were replaced with felt punchings held down by small lead weights. Keyboards and pedalboard were restored, tracker “combs” that had been removed were replaced, small “bleed” holes were drilled into the slider chests’ tables, and the action was re-hung and balanced properly. Since re-regulating the action and eliminating the flaws we found in our initial inspection, we have discovered that many of the steel needle-axles that act as a bearing for the actions’ squares have worn and will on occasion jump out of their bearing clevises. Replacement of these axles will be a future maintenance operation.
Tonally, the organ was not a happy instrument. Years of heavy cone tuning had done its damage, especially to the small mixture pipes in the organ. Tuning scrolls on façade pipes and the larger flue pipes on the chests had been rolled down too far, and could not tune flat enough. Throughout, the sound was noisy, with a disproportionate amount of speech articulation, scratchiness in the tone, and in many of the small mixture pipes, quick speech to the point of over-blowing an octave. The reeds’ resonators were too short to couple to the pitches that the reeds’ tongues were producing, contributing to a thin and unstable tone. We all concluded that the existing flue pipes could be physically restored and the voicing amended for a significantly improved musical result. However, the reed pipes needed to be replaced.
Our tonal director, Brian Davis, came to us from Visser-Rowland & Associates and was not only intimate with the techniques of flue-regulation voicing, but also significant achievements in neo-Baroque reed making that had been made by German reed pipe maker Roland Killinger in the late 1960s. These developments produced neo-Baroque reeds of excellent tone and tuning stability, even though voiced on very low wind pressures. Ironically, just as Mr. Killinger’s experiments began to produce results, the neo-Baroque trend ended, and few of these new reeds were ever made—until this project.
All of the organ’s pipes (except the largest wood pipes screwed onto the case sides) came back to our workshop for cleaning, repair, and re-voicing. The damage to the small pipes by heavy cone tuning was too significant to warrant restoration of the cone-tuning system, so we installed stainless steel tuning slides on the smaller pipes, and restored (in many instances replaced) the scrolls on the larger pipes. While we had the pipes out we also removed the toeboards to vacuum clean the chest tables and sliders, and to manufacture toeboard overlays and new racking for the new reeds. We observed that the organ used modern-style spring-loaded slider seals, except that from about middle “C” on up these sleeves were sealed with diaphragms of pneumatic leather—all of which were ripped and leaking. No wonder this organ could not be tuned, and no wonder former technicians simply bashed and bashed those poor little pipes sharper and sharper with their tuning cones—because they weren’t receiving enough wind, because of the leaking leather! New slider seals sans leather replaced the originals. Not surprisingly, now the organ can be tuned, and stays in tune.
In order to get as much sound from the relatively small-scaled 16′ Subbass pipes (stamped “Lieblich” by the way), the corrugated tubing connecting the toe holes on the chest to the toes of the pipes screwed onto the case was replaced with larger diameter tubing, and we installed “lifters” onto the pallets, so that the pedal action would be able to open the pallets farther.
There was a half-length 16′ Posaune in the Pedal, but it was of such small scale, producing no fundamental pitch, that we opted to place a nicely scaled 8′ Trompete in its place. Music director Clif Cason envisions a second phase of the project to install a new full-length 16′ Posaune in the back of the organ, and a Pedal 16′ Offenbass in additional cases alongside the existing instrument. This may be tied into a long-hoped-for chancel renovation and re-configuration project.
The re-installation of the organ took approximately two weeks, and tonal finishing occupied three weeks. The result is a phenomenally clean, clear, transparent, buoyant, musical sound. The reeds are full and round, the direct result of Roland Killinger’s research from the 1960s. This organ, and our rebuilt organ at First Presbyterian Church, will be featured in the AGO regional convention to be held next summer in Lexington.
It is possible to work faithfully in a style that may not be one’s own when renovating an existing instrument. But this takes complete subrogation of one’s self from the tonal and mechanical equation. Our firm has the depth and experience to successfully undertake such a project, while at the same time developing our own personal style of modern organbuilding. Many know that I’m a romantic at heart. One of my colleagues said to my son at the recent AGO convention (to paraphrase) “It’s because of your father, that we can build modern romantic organs.”
The new organ at Hayes Barton United Methodist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina came about because the wonderful people on the organ committee had a romantic and emotional reaction to our organs at All Saints Episcopal Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and Williamsburg Presbyterian Church in Williamsburg, Virginia. They asked their consultant, Keith Shafer, why they needed to listen to any other builders’ instruments after hearing ours, because they knew in their hearts that they had fallen in love. But they followed the consultant’s discipline, and hearing others confirmed their impression of heart. They had to have a Buzard organ in their church!
Their organ project was coupled with a tremendously successful sanctuary renovation project, in which the visual and acoustical environments were transformed into a dignified, lively and holy place of worship. Organist David Witt spent endless hours coordinating architects, contractors, and consultants. The interior designer was Terry Byrd Eason and the acoustician was Dana Kirkegaard.
Engineering this instrument of 43 stops and 52 ranks was one of the greatest physical challenges for executive vice-president Charles Eames (also a Visser-Rowland alumnus). Every inch of roof gable, every nook and cranny of former organ chambers, and a space above a newly developed sacristy became home for the instrument, all of which can easily be reached for maintenance and tuning.
The warmth and breadth of the tonal palette encompasses a dynamic and lively Principal chorus as the backbone of the instrument, as well as flute, string, and reed choruses. No two stops of the same class are identical, which translates into tremendous tonal variety. The organ can accompany a single small child, through a choir of 100. And, the improved acoustics coupled with our voicing allows one to feel the sound all around oneself, and that one is always supported in singing.
During our last week of tonal finishing in early June, son Stephen came down to Raleigh from his last summer at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, and played an impromptu concert for the members of the church’s building and organ committees. Playing for about half an hour, the clarity of the Principal choruses was highlighted, then the softer, suave voices in the Swell and Choir as well as the lyrical reeds; then the organ’s orchestral nature shone in the Willan Introduction, Passacaglia, and Fugue. All agreed that they never thought pipe organs could sound this way.
Yes, I am a romantic at heart, a professional of mind, perhaps a pragmatist and dreamer all rolled into one. But so is everyone else on my staff, and we would love nothing more than to be a part of your worshipping community, whether it involves building you a new pipe organ, or renovating an instrument you have, with which you want to fall in love again.
—John-Paul Buzard

Maxwell Street Presbyterian Church, Lexington, Kentucky
1963 Rieger Orgelbau, Austria, mechanical action, 21 stops, 30 ranks
2010 renovations John-Paul Buzard Pipe Organ Builders, Champaign, Illinois. Completed October 15, 2010

HAUPTWERK Manual I 55mm wind pressure
8′ Principal 61 pipes
8′ Röhrflöte 61 pipes
4′ Octave 61 pipes
II Sesquialter 122 pipes
2′ Blockflöte 61 pipes
11⁄3′ Mixtur V 305 pipes
16′ Röhrschalmei 61 pipes*
8′ Trompete 61 pipes*
II–I 8′

POSITIV Manual II
55mm wind pressure
8′ Holzgedeckt 61 pipes
4′ Principal 61 pipes
4′ Koppelflöte 61 pipes
2′ Octave 61 pipes
11⁄3′ Quint 61 pipes
2⁄3′ Scharff IV 244 pipes
8′ Krummhorn 61 pipes*
Tremulant

PEDAL 55mm wind pressure
16′ Offenbass (* prepared for)
16′ Subbass 44 pipes
8′ Octavbass 32 pipes
8′ Subbass 32 notes
4′ Gemshorn 32 pipes
2′ Rauschpfeiffe III 96 pipes
16′ Posaune (* prepared for)
8′ Trompete 32 pipes*
4′ Schalmei 32 pipes*
Tremulant
I–P 8′
II–P 8′
(* denotes new pipes)

John-Paul Buzard Pipe Organ Builders, Champaign, Illinois
Hayes Barton United Methodist Church, Raleigh, North Carolina
Three manuals, 43 stops, 52 ranks, electric-slider action
Completed June 2010

GREAT (4-inch wind pressure)
16′ Lieblich Gedeckt 61 pipes
8′ Open Diapason 61 pipes
polished tin in façade
8′ Viola da Gamba 61 pipes
8′ Flûte Harmonique 61 pipes
polished tin in façade
8′ Bourdon 61 pipes
4′ Principal 61 pipes
4′ Spire Flute 61 pipes
22⁄3′ Twelfth 61 pipes
2’ Fifteenth 61 pipes
11⁄3′ Mixture IV 244 pipes
8′ Trompete 68 pipes
(doubled flue trebles)
8′ Tromba (Pedal)
4′ Tromba Clarion (Pedal)
8′ Major Tuba (Choir)
Tuba Solo (melody coupler)
Tremulant
Cymbalstern 14 bells
Chimes (digital)
Great-Great 16-UO-4
Swell-Great 16-8-4
Choir-Great 16-8-4

SWELL (4-inch wind pressure)
16′ Gedeckt Pommer 43 pipes
(1–18 from Great)
8′ Violin Diapason 61 pipes
8′ Stopped Diapason 61 pipes
8′ Salicional 61 pipes
8′ Voix Celeste 61 pipes
8′ Flûte Cœlestis 86 pipes
(Ludwigtone)
4′ Principal 61 pipes
4′ Harmonic Flute 61 pipes
22⁄3′ Nazard 61 pipes
2′ Recorder 61 pipes
13⁄5′ Tierce 61 pipes
2′ Full Mixture IV 244 pipes
16′ Bassoon 85 pipes
8′ Trompette 68 pipes
(doubled flue trebles)
8′ Oboe 61 pipes
4′ Clarion (ext Bassoon)
8′ Major Tuba (Choir)
Tremulant
Chimes (digital)
Swell-Swell 16-UO-4

CHOIR (4-inch wind pressure, except as noted)
8′ English Open Diapason 61 pipes
8′ Flûte à Bibéron 61 pipes
8′ Dulciana 61 pipes
8′ Unda Maris 49 pipes
4′ Principal 61 pipes
4′ Block Flute 61 pipes
2′ Doublette 61 pipes
11⁄3′ Larigot 61 pipes
1′ Fourniture IV 244 pipes
8′ Clarinet 61 pipes
8′ Tromba (Pedal)
4′ Tromba Clarion (Pedal)
8′ Major Tuba 61 pipes
25 inch wind pressure
Tremulant
Chimes (digital)
Harp (digital)
Celesta (digital)
Choir-Choir 16-UO-4
Swell-Choir 16-8-4

PEDAL (4-inch wind pressure, except as noted)
32′ Double Open Diapason (digital)
32′ Subbass (digital)
32′ Lieblich Gedeckt (digital)
16′ Open Diapason 32 pipes
wood and metal in facade;
1–6 12-inch wind
16′ Bourdon 44 pipes
8′ Open Bass 44 pipes
polished tin in façade
8′ Principal 44 pipes
polished tin in façade
8′ Bourdon (ext)
8′ Violoncello 32 pipes
polished tin in façade
4′ Choral Bass (ext)
4′ Open Flute (ext)
16′ Trombone 85 pipes
7-inch wind pressure
16′ Bassoon (Swell)
8′ Trumpet (ext)
4′ Clarion (ext)
8′ Major Tuba (Choir)
Chimes (digital)
Great-Pedal 8-4
Swell-Pedal 8-4
Choir-Pedal 8-4

Photo credit: John-Paul Buzard

800/397-3103
www.Buzardorgans.com

A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company, Lithonia, Georgia

Advent Lutheran Church, 

Melbourne, Florida

A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company, Lithonia, Georgia

Advent Lutheran Church, 

Melbourne, Florida

Advent Lutheran Church in Melbourne, Florida is a relatively young church, founded in 1982; services were first held in a realtor’s office. From these simple beginnings, this vibrant ministry has continued to grow in an unbounded manner. When the present sanctuary was built in 2003, they could not fund a pipe organ, but importantly made future provision for an instrument in their new sanctuary; the space provided for the pipe organ and the chamber was sealed closed in the front rock wall of the church.

In 2010, a pipe organ committee was formed. Their study included not only engineering and cost factors, but also the ability to pay for the organ without impacting the operating budget. In 2011, a special congregational meeting was held to approve the purchase of a pipe organ from the A.E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company, with installation to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the church’s founding.

When I first visited Advent Lutheran with our Florida representative, Herbert M. Ridgely Jr., I found we were blessed with a sanctuary where consideration had been given toward good acoustics and favorable placement for the organ. The front wall of the chancel is a solid concrete wall that lofts from floor to ceiling and is faced with native limestone. Beginning eleven feet off the floor was a 20′ x 20′ opening into the organ chamber. The floor for the organ was a solid poured-concrete slab capable of holding the tens of thousands of pounds of weight required for even a modest-sized instrument.

There are two choir lofts on the right and left sides of the sanctuary. The traditional choir is housed on the left side. The opposing niche on the right side is a space occupied by the accouterments needed for contemporary worship.

With the side locations of the choir lofts, and a sanctuary with more width than depth, our concern was that some choristers or congregants would be “around the corner” from the straight-on frontal exposure of the organ as it speaks into the sanctuary. We wanted to avoid an instrument that emphasized one division over another dependent upon where you were seated.

To provide more uniformity of speech, we planned the removal of the sidewall sections to the left and right of the organ chamber. Adjacent to the side openings were angled wall surfaces that we knew would reflect and refract the sound from the side alcoves behind the chancel wall into the room. These openings were finished with open, ornamental, oak grilles. In the chamber interior we placed the Great and Positiv windchests off-axis from the direct center, so they would be able to speak from the sides as well as the front exposure. The Swell division of the organ is laid out in a side-by-side configuration across the rear of the organ chamber. This minimizes the depth of the enclosed division and allows it to be spatially projected forward in an unimpeded manner to acoustically sit beside the pipework of the Great and Positiv. The result of the additional chamber openings and divisional placement is that the full resources of the organ are evenly heard throughout the room without any significant divisional bias. 

A constant challenge in organ building is having enough space in width, depth, and height. In this instance the internal chamber had “too much of a good thing” in terms of height. The loft inside the organ chamber went well over 25 feet above the top of the frontal opening, creating a significant tone trap that had to be addressed. The solution was to continue the Swell expression box roof over the Great and Positiv. The roof section was built with heavy timbers and made exceedingly thick, which provided an upper surface that was designed to be a refractory angle of incidence across a broad frequency spectrum to focus the organ resources out of the chamber. The end result is an even, coalesced diffusion of sound both inter- and intra-divisionally.

The organ case is built from hand-selected rift-sawn red oak, with a light-colored natural finish to match the church’s interior furnishings. The individual vertical segments of the façade and case are divided into multiple pipe flats that follow the radius of the front wall curvature. In this manner, the façade “bows” rearward from the cross to emphasize it as the central theme in the chancel.

The pipe shades at the top of the pedal towers are evocative of the concrete lace that holds the stained glass within the windows of the church. The polished surfaces of the organ façade pipes play on light in such a way that the façade takes on natural soft, even hues, melding with the church interior. The pipework in the organ façade contains the independent 16′ Principal, and bass registers of the 8′ Principal and the 4′ Choral Bass. 

We designed a terraced, drawknob console for this instrument. In addition to providing excellent sightlines for the organist to see both the choir and the congregation, its lowered profile makes it less dominant against the furnishings in the chancel. The console, including the built-in casters for mobility, is a diminutive 47½ inches tall. The console is built of red oak with a mahogany interior. The interior stop controls are turned of hardwoods with engraved inserts that were custom finished to match the bone and walnut keyboards. The keyboards are fitted with tracker touch.

Ever concerned with ease of registration and ergonomics, we were very careful in our design of the console interior. The drawknob and coupler controls are placed in the traditional locations with the Pedal and Swell stops on the left jambs, and the Great and Positiv on the right jambs. The stops are sequenced by pitch and family, with the primary division choruses aligned to be even to the manual into which they draw. The drawknobs feature oblique heads aligned on straight terraces, and angled inwards toward the performer, making the stops easy to see and draw because the stops on each terrace are within easy reach of the performer. 

For the combination system and relays, we used the new 8400 system from the Syndyne firm. All of the features that one comes to expect on a modern console control system are present—from multiple memories, to programmable crescendos, programmable sforzandos, blind checks, transposers, etc. The system allows centralized control for the combination system, playback/record, MIDI, and other functions, in a single integrated touch screen. One can save or import combination memories from and to an external USB drive, which provides infinite options to the performer. The screen and USB interface allows testing, configuration, and upgrades for the builder without the need for an external computer.

The organ chests are a combination of Blackinton-style electro-pneumatic slider chests and electro-pneumatic unit action chests for unit and duplex stops. 

The main manual chest winding system makes use of traditional spring-and-weight, ribbed regulators, and floating lid regulators that are fed from a large, central plenum. The enclosed reeds are provided with separate regulators to allow a pressure differential from the flue stops and permit independent tremulant control. All of the windchests are individually fitted with tunable concussion bellows for fine regulation. This allows stable winding that still maintains a presence of life.

Wind pressures on the organ are 3½′′ Great, 4′′ Swell flues, 5′′ Swell reeds, 2¾′′ Positiv, 3′′ Pedal and façade, and 8′′ for the Solo 8′ Festival Trumpet. The tremolos are electro-mechanical to provide a quiet, gentle, even undulation when the tremulants are engaged.

Prior to designing a stoplist, I find, as an organbuilder, it is incumbent to worship with the congregation. This cannot be a one-time event, as a church’s liturgy as it moves through the year is a rich pageant that cannot be conveyed, but has to be personally experienced to put the worship service in your own eyes, and more importantly your own ears. Personally, I find it illuminating to look into the eyes of the congregants who have asked me to build an organ for them. It instills me with the gravity of the task at hand and becomes a constant that I draw on throughout my working with the church. 

As I designed the stoplist, I envisioned an instrument where all of the resources could be considered for use in every service. I wanted a large enough specification to provide a rich palette of color and weight. It was important to avoid any sounds that were strident or overwhelming, as they didn’t have a place or use in this setting with this congregation. The ideal stop design would emphasize reliance on chorus massing to bring about larger stop dynamics which build upon one another. The goal was to design a specification that would allow gentle, sculpted voicing. 

Because of the German origins of the Lutheran church, I knew there would have to be an inclusion of the “Werkprinzip” in the specification. However, I also felt strongly that a single nationalistic focus would have been too limiting for this congregation. Ultimately the design of the instrument included many tonal facets that allow the organ to be a faithful purveyor of music from many periods, styles, and nationalities, in a cohesive, eclectic manner. Those who are familiar with our collective body of work will find present the balance of clarity and warmth that we seek in all of our instruments.

As we designed the principals, flutes, and strings in this instrument, we employed differing construction and materials in conjunction with careful scaling. The varied use of wood, metal, open, semi-open, stoppered, cylindrical, conical, and other variations, allow each flue stop its own unique voice and timbre. 

The organ is centered around the clean, robust principal chorus of the Great division. The 16′ Sub Principal of this division transitions from the façade into the slotted pipes of a Geigen Principal, which allows a thinner, defined register to ground the Great chorus. This stop is duplexed to provide an 8′ foundation for the Positiv principal chorus, and allows doubling of the 8′ line when coupled to the Great. The Great 8′ Bourdon and 4′ Nachthorn, in addition to being lovely solo voices, are valuable as thickening agents to the Great principal chorus, without overshadowing it. The enclosed Swell reeds are duplexed to the Great, which provides dynamic control of these stops by their enclosure.

The mixed media of wood, metal, stoppered, and open construction continues into the flutes of the Swell Cornet decomposé. These stops envelop one another and become almost svelte in their combined voice. The Swell Cornet is countered with a secondary principal-based Cornet in the Positiv division. In a departure from common practice, the individual Positiv mutations are placed on unit actions, which allow use of these stops at a variety of pitches and combinations. This becomes very useful for color and ornamentation and also facilitates the beginnings of building weightless mixture texture in the organ divisional ensembles by drawing these independent fifths.

For this instrument, we chose to employ strings of opposing qualities in the Positiv and Swell divisions. The Positiv 8′ Erzahler has a gentle broadness with a subdued edge-tone. It can support the most quiet and contemplative of moments in the service, and yet has enough body that, when coupled with the 8′ Holzgedeckt, provides the foundation for the Positiv principal chorus. In the Swell division, the gambas with their thinner scales, roller beards, and slotting have a keen and incisive, harmonically rich voice. These stops leave little doubt that they are strings and have a very distinctive edge-tone. The 8′ Gamba when drawn with the 8′ Rohr Gedeckt provides the foundational weight for the Swell principal chorus, and a compounded color that would be analogous to an independent 8′ Violin Diapason. 

With their large dynamic, the majority of the reeds were placed in the Swell enclosure. The 8′ Festival Trumpet is moderately scaled on relatively high wind pressure. With its thinner scaling and placed under expressive control, it can be registered into the full Great and Positiv choruses as a thinner ensemble reed when the expression box is closed. With the box open, it is an incisive, tightly drawn color that can bring a blaze to a solo line. The Swell reeds include a double tapered Oboe with lift lids and a large vowel cavity at 16′ and 8′ pitch, which balance against the éclat and fundamental of the large-scaled 8′ Trompette. 

The unenclosed manual reed on the organ is the 8′ Krummhorn in the Positiv division. It is built of brass with flared lift caps. By itself it is a very useful solo and/or ensemble stop, with the nose tone of a regal class of reed. It also effectively couples with the 8′ Holzgedeckt to provide a stop eerily reminiscent of the woody voice of a fine clarinet.

The Pedal division is grounded with three independent 16′ stops, including a large 16′ Posaune. It is a very complete pedal, with the gravitas to support the full forte of this instrument. The Pedal stops were given a forward position to eliminate shading and to allow gentler voicing. The result is a buoyant and harmonically rich pedal, where the inner voice is ever present. In addition to the independent registers, there are a number of manual-to-pedal duplexes, which broaden the available weight and color choices. 

The organ tonal finishing was accomplished by a team consisting of Arthur Schlueter III, Pete Duys, John Tanner, Bud Taylor, and Marc Conley. The organ was first used for worship in December 2012 and was dedicated on January 20, 2013 by organist Peter B. Beardsley. 

Every organ project has those individuals without which the project could not have been possible. In addition to thanking every single member of the congregation, the church council, and the organ committee, I personally want to single out senior pastor Reverend David Jahn, organist Lori Jahn, executive assistant to the pastor Carol Stanton, and organ committee co-chairs Pat Fuller and Jack Clark, for their very direct, hands-on work with our firm throughout this project.

Organ building is not the work of one person, but is a plurality or culmination of talents. We are very fortunate to have so many talented craftsmen and craftswomen at our firm. Our staff includes Arthur Schlueter Jr., Arthur Schlueter III, Shan Dalton, Marc Conley, Patty Conley, Bud Taylor, Robert Black, Dallas Wood, Al Schroer, John Tanner, Pete Duys, Barbara Sedlacek, Patrick Hodges, Jay Hodges, Kelvin Cheatham, Jim Sowell, Bob Weaver, Ruth Lopez, Michael DeSimone, Bill Zeiler, Chad Sartin, Steven Bowen, Jeff Moore, and Herbert M. Ridgely Jr. 

If you would like more information on this instrument and our firm, I invite you to visit the Schlueter Pipe Organ Company website at www.pipe-organ.com, write to me at A. E. Schlueter Pipe Organ Company, P.O. Box 838, Lithonia, GA 30058, or feel free to reach me at [email protected]. 

—Arthur E. Schlueter III

J.H. & C.S. Odell, East Hampton, Connecticut, Opus 644

St. Ann’s Episcopal Church, Bridgehampton, New York

From the Rector of St. Ann’s

The committee all agreed--something had to be done. For
years the church organ had been in irreversible decline, and the time had come
to act. I regarded this to be a daunting and confusing challenge in which we
needed professional counsel. Dr. Mark Andersen guided us through the various
options and needs of the decision-making process, and by July 2004 it was
agreed that J.H. and C.S. Odell of East Hampton, Connecticut be engaged to
restore the organ. It was a decision that we would never regret.

In September 2004, Edward and Holly Odell arrived to remove
the existing organ. Pipes were carefully laid out in special boxes. Frames and
blowers were removed--and those were only the things that I could
identify! It all happened remarkably quickly, and before long the truck was
driven away leaving a large space where the console had once stood, and a
spotlessly clean church where the disassembly had taken place.

The novelty of using just piano and occasional other
instruments wore off after Christmas, and we waited anxiously for the organ to
return. Our patience was not helped by tantalizing photographs and reports sent
regularly from the Odell factory showing the new instrument taking shape!

It was March 2005 (the day I was flying off on vacation)
that the Odell team returned. It was time to put the whole thing together, but
it was only two weeks before Holy Week, and three to Easter. Could it really be
done?

Eight days later I returned to find the church in wonderful
disarray with parts and pipes everywhere, and Edward Odell looking and sounding
confident, if a little tired. Yes, of course it could be done. The project was
running according to schedule. The organ would be partly voiced by Palm Sunday
and ready for Easter.

Every part was in place and every promise fulfilled. A
magnificent new console was carefully maneuvered into position. Pipes were
ready and being expertly voiced by Holly Odell. Cables and wires were
connected. The organ had life--and was indeed ready for Easter morning. It
was resurrection in a different form!

We have not looked back since then. Not only has this
instrument enhanced our Sunday worship, it has enabled us to host a season of
superb organ recitals over the summer, and earned for St. Ann’s Church a
reputation for being a place where good music can be found.
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Working with the Odell Organ Company has been not only a
proven right decision but also a joy. From the outset we not only admired the
professionalism of Edward and Holly Odell, but also came to share in their love
of organs and sheer depth of knowledge in their field. All these things,
coupled with their warmth and sense of humor, have made the whole process one
which we can reflect on with immense satisfaction. It is never an easy task for
a small parish church to embark on such a large project and investment, but we
know that we have learned and benefited so much from choosing the right organ
and the right builder.

The Reverend Tim Lewis, Rector

St. Ann’s Episcopal Church

Bridgehampton, New York

From the Consultant

As an organ consultant for nearly 35 years, I have had the
opportunity to design a large range of instruments from the smallest two-manual
to several five-manual instruments throughout the United States, England, and
Australia.

St. Ann’s parish is that wonderful combination of
sophistication in a relaxed atmosphere. It is many New Yorkers’ church away
from home, and the organ would have to meet the discriminating tastes of
parishioners who worship in some of the largest churches in the metropolitan
area.

There was not much with which to start--an old hybrid
Möller from the ’20’s that was on its very last legs after having several ranks
replaced over the years. I designed an organ specification capable of
accompanying a proper Anglican service, but in a size and fit that matched St.
Ann’s. After requesting bids from many organbuilders, it was clear that J.H.
& C.S. Odell had the talent to see the task through with outstanding
results. Tonally the organ now fits the space perfectly and is complete enough
in specification to satisfy even the most discriminating organists. The
craftsmanship is superb, and the voicing is clear and clean, leaning beautifully
toward the English tradition. The project has surpassed my expectations.

Mark Andersen, PhD

New Berlin, New York

From the Organbuilder

Our Opus 644 began life as what could be termed a “Heinz 57”
instrument, which is to say it featured a combination of pipes and parts from a
combination of organbuilders and suppliers. The console case and most of the
wooden pipes in the organ date from a five-stop 1927 M.P. Möller instrument,
which was then rebuilt and altered in the early 1970s. It was during this 1970s
rebuild that much of the original pipework was replaced.

As we found it, the organ was a unified instrument of modest
resources, most of them well made if not terribly well looked after. It was
unrefined, but met the basic requirements. In the 1980s a German supply house
Trumpet 8’ and Mixture III (inexplicably, a Zimbel based on 2?3’ pitch) were
added, along with a polished tin Gemshorn that was used to form a façade. The
entire organ was in a single expression chamber to the right of the chancel. The
existing electro-pneumatic unit chests, made from solid mahogany, were in good
physical condition, though the installation made maintenance access difficult
in certain areas.

In July of 2004, Dr. Mark Andersen (organ consultant to St.
Ann’s) approached us with a prospectus that included a rebuild and enlargement
of the organ. In addition to new pipes and new chest work, a new 3-manual
terrace-jamb console was part of this plan.

Dr. Andersen’s proposed stoplist would add a total of nine
ranks to the organ. The scheme had an immediate appeal, as it would expand the
resources of the organ to include a full principal chorus in the Great, as well
as a new 8’ Rohrflute to contrast the existing Chimney Flute in the Swell.
“Fleshing out” the Great with six new ranks allowed us to recast the remaining
resources to work as a mostly independent Swell division. The new scheme would
also extend the existing Trumpet to 16’ pitch to play from the Pedal and add a
small Cornet (a tenor C, 2-rank 12/17 combination, scaled and voiced to match
the new Great flute).

The challenge, of course, was to now somehow fit 19 ranks in
a space that before barely contained eight. Early in the design process it became
evident that much of the precious real estate in the organ chamber could be
reclaimed if the many offset chests for various ranks could be consolidated
onto a new single offset chest that would also provide for the new Trumpet 16’.
We also wanted to ensure the new chamber layout would permit adequate access
for service and, most importantly, tuning. Rebuilding the existing expression
shades and fitting them with new expression controllers made available space
that had been previously occupied by a pneumatic motor with an unwieldy linkage
system.

We developed a new 7’4? diatonic chest scale to accommodate
the new stops and the relocated Gemshorn. The existing Principal 8’ was
carefully revoiced to give it more moderate power, and the new principal ranks
were scaled and voiced to build from this new foundation. The new Great Bourdon
8’ was voiced using a special arch cutup schedule, which lent the pipes a color
that allows the stop to work superbly as both a solo and ensemble voice. The
Swell was given its own new 3-rank mixture based on 2’ pitch, and the existing
Zimbel mixture was recomposed into a more appropriate chorus mixture based on
11?3’ pitch for the Great.

Though the action for the new chestwork was specified to be
electro-mechanical, we milled all windchest toeboards to be no less than one
and one-half inches in thickness. This, along with proper attention to voicing,
successfully offset any pipe speech problems normally anticipated with this
type of action. Our windchests were made from solid poplar, with the exception
of the toeboard for the new Swell Mixture, which was milled from sugar pine.

The new console and case, both entirely of our own design
and manufacture, were milled  in
our East Hampton shop from solid quarter-sawn white oak, and stained and
finished to match existing fixtures in the sanctuary. The console interior
(stop jambs and key cheeks) was milled from solid walnut and finished with
hand-rubbed Danish oil. The façade pipes are polished tin, made to custom
specifications we developed and submitted to our friends at Giesecke. The new
flue pipes were built to our scales by Luc Ladurantaye Tuyatier of Lac Saguay,
Quebec.

Along with the standard complement of accessories, the
console features an integrated control system with multiple memory levels,
programmable crescendo and sforzando, 12-step transposer and MIDI interface for
record and playback ability. The digital Antiphonal division was contracted and
installed separately by Artisan Instruments.

Edward Odell

J.H. & C.S. Odell

Glück New York,

New York, New York

The Church of Our Lady of Loretto, Cold Spring, New York

This historic church, known for its remarkable collection of
stained glass windows, was recently restored, with a new instrument and a
marble chancel floor included in the renewal plans. Under the direction of Fr.
Brian McSweeney, Pastor; Frances Pergamo, Director of Music; and Fr. Richard D.
Baker of the New York Archdiocese, three organbuilders were each invited to
present their vision of an appropriate musical instrument. The smallest and
most stylistically focused proposal submitted, the new Glück organ occupies a
traditional position in the rear gallery to great acoustical advantage. While
the organ looks toward the French orgue d’accompagnement of the 1860s for both
its concept and tonal palette, it is certainly not intended to be a stylistic
copy.

The manual soundboards are placed side-by-side at impost
level, with the Swell to the right, its vertical shutters operated by direct
mechanical linkage. The two large wooden pedal stops stand on their own
windchests behind the organ. The Great organ incorporates some pipework from a
mid-1870s Levi Underwood Stuart organ of undetermined provenance. Interior
metal pipes are of 70% lead alloy, except for the Swell strings, which are of
50% tin. Wooden pipework is of pine and fir. The façade pipes are built with
English bay leaf mouths arrayed in a swag pattern after Gottfried Silbermann’s
façades of the 1740s.

The walnut keydesk en fenêtre sports beveled figured maple
jambs and pao ferro drawknobs. Both pedal and manual accidentals are Brazilian
rosewood. Compasses are 56/30; there is no combination action, but the three
unison couplers are reversible by toe paddles. The case is painted in various
shades of olive, with details in sapphire, ruby, and faux marbre. Architectural
design was by Sebastian M. Glück, who executed the Neapolitan-style angel,
tower finials, and buttress niches, which are suitably polychromed and gilded.
Color photographs may be viewed at the firm’s web site at
<www.glucknewyork.com&gt;.

The structural design and layout are the work of Albert
Jensen-Moulton, general manager of the firm, who was assisted in the
construction of the organ by Dominic Inferrera, foreman. Voicing and tonal
finishing were accomplished on site by Sebastian M. Glück, tonal director. The
organ was formally dedicated in a series of three recitals by Lana Kollath, Dr.
Jennifer Pascual, and the builder.

--Benito Orso

GREAT

8’               Open
Diapason

8’               Open
Wood Flute

4’               Principal

2’               Doublet

8’               Hautboy
(from Swell)

                       Swell
to Great

                       Swell
to Great Octaves

SWELL

8’               Salicional

8’               Voix
Céleste

8’               Stopped
Diapason

4’               Harmonic
Flute

8’               Hautboy

                       Tremulant

                       Swell
to Swell Octaves

PEDAL

16’           Open
Wood Bass

16’           Stopped
Bass

8’               Octave
style="mso-spacerun: yes">  from Great

8’               Hautboy
from Swell

                       Great
to Pedal

Swell to Pedal

                       Swell
to Pedal Octaves