Kegg Pipe Organ Builders commission

Kegg Pipe Organ Builders, Hartville, Ohio; Christendom College, Front Royal, Virginia

Landmark pipe organs come in a variety of forms, and lucky builders are usually afforded several such instruments over the course of a career. Rarely does one build for a truly landmark building. The Kegg company was chosen for one such building. 

The new neo-Gothic Christ the King Chapel of Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia, can be seen from the western end of Interstate 66, a few miles east of where it meets Interstate 81 in western Virginia. It is noticeable because it is surrounded by farm fields and thus dominates the commanding and romantic rolling hills. Designed by the firm of O’Brien & Keane of Arlington, Virginia, the traditional cruciform building seats approximately 750 with extended transepts and Lady Chapel in the apse. The floor contains complex wood patterns in oak and walnut and includes marble roundels of the Four Wounds of Christ. There are eight side chapels in the transepts. All the altars and the sanctuary rail were rescued and restored from closed buildings. There are many other unusual features of this building, and I invite you to explore these online. 

Any new building, particularly in this form and style, brings the question of anticipated acoustic. Here the college wisely chose to engage and listen to the advice of Scott R. Riedel & Associates of Milwaukee. The triple drywall in the large organ/choir gallery and double drywall throughout the balance of the building brings satisfying reverberation and excellent bass response. 

The new Kegg organ was chosen based on visits to Canton, Ohio, and the Kegg shop. Canton organs auditioned were at the Basilica of Saint John the Baptist and Saint Peter Church. Music director Dr. Kurt Poterack considered us based on the suggestion of organ instructor Dr. Jeffery Alban, and was impressed with the color and character of the Kegg organs, particularly the versatility of the relatively modest Saint Peter organ. The new Christ the King organ, while not small, was limited by available space and funds. At 47 ranks, it contains many elements sometimes considered luxuries for an organ of this size. The organ invites exploration.

With a strong choral program and traditional values, Christendom College attracts students in the liberal arts, many of which are drawn toward traditional liturgy and music. Their chapel choir consists mostly of interested and driven students that number twenty-five to thirty, and are well rehearsed. Having outgrown the limited space of the existing chapel, and the new building easily being able to have twice this number plus additional instrumentalists, the program is expected to expand. With our emphasis on choral accompaniment in organ design, the Kegg company was a natural fit to this plan. 

The organ is based on two manual principal choruses, one each in the Great and Swell. The Great is complete from 16′ through Mixture IV, including a strong Twelfth. The Swell is also 16′ through Mixture IV and is secondary to the Great with a more textured tone, ideal for choral work as well as polyphonic music. On this framework, the balance of the organ brings elegant texture and color. The Great French Quartet of 8′ stops is present and is balanced to reflect the ideals of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll late in his career, with a strong Principal and Harmonic Flute, paired with the secondary Rohrflute and Violone. The Great reed chorus is a set of strong Trombas, leaning this division to the English side of the channel. The flues of this division are on four inches pressure while the reeds are on six inches. 

The Swell is of course the workhorse of the organ during liturgies. It is complete with everything required. The strings are narrow, in the late 1920s Skinner style with the full compass Celeste. The Diapason is more narrow than the Great Principal with a texture that compliments voices. The 4′ Salicet is helpful as a third flue stop of this pitch and of a decidedly different character. Reeds here are brighter than their Great counterparts, but still in the English family. While the stop name says “French Trumpet,” that is relative to the “veddy British” nature of the Great Trombas. The Swell is on five inches of wind pressure.

The Choir is of English/American construct, designed primarily to augment the Swell in choral work. It contains the softest and loudest of the three celeste pairs in the organ, including a Voce Humana, which pairs with the Geigen Diapason. The mysterious Flute Celeste is a crowd pleaser and will go well with incense. The Clarinet is orchestral, dark and woody. The first of two Tubas in the organ is also home in the Choir. This stop is patterned after an E. M. Skinner design to be strong, smooth, and lyrical. This division is on four inches of wind pressure, except the Tuba which is on ten inches. 

The Solo contains the aristocracy of the organ. Here we find a lovely Doppelflute, which truly enjoys the reverberant room into which it speaks. The English Horn and French Horn are copied directly from 1920s Skinner stops while the heroic Tuba Magna is based on a Willis model, being full and rich with a complete spectrum of harmonics. This division enjoys several other stops drawn from other divisions for convenience. While only four important stops, the Solo is on three different pressures. The Doppelflute and English Horn are on six inches, the French Horn is on ten inches and the Tuba Magna is on eighteen inches.

The Pedal division has all the elements needed to provide solid support of the manuals with variety in dynamic and well as color. Here we find two stops using vintage pipes, at the request of the client. The 32′ Bourdon is a Skinner stop of 44 pipes that we extended to make a 32′-16′-8′ unit. The 16′ Open Diapason is a Kimball stop of 32 pipes. In addition to these, we find an 8′ Principal, identical to the Great Principal, a 4′ Choral Bass, 32′-16′ Trombone, and 8′-4′ Trumpet. In addition to these six independent stops, the Pedal includes borrows from the manuals of other useful stops to aid registration while not always relying on couplers. The Pedal speaks on six inches of wind pressure. 

The console is movable on internal casters. It and the organ case have Gothic elements to complement the room and rose window, which depicts the Liberal Arts. With bone and rosewood keys, the console contains all the features expected of a first-class instrument today. It is remarkably compact with pleasant proportions and is low enough to allow the organist to direct a choir on risers.

Installed in February of 2023 in less than three weeks by the exceptional Kegg crew, the tonal finishing was completed by Charles Kegg and Chris Soer in time for the opening of this fine new facility in April. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Drs. Poterack and Alban for their continued friendship and support. In your travels west of Washington, D.C., please stop in and see this new instrument in a grand new landmark building. 

Kegg Pipe Organ Builders

Charles Kegg, President and Artistic Director

Erika Barnes

Philip Brown

Michael Carden

Joyce Harper

Philip Laakso

Brian Mattias

Nick Myers

Bruce Schutrum

Christopher Soer

David St. John

Paul Watkins

 

Builder’s website: www.keggorgan.com

College website: www.christendom.edu/

 

GREAT (Manual II)

1. 16′ Violone 73 pipes

8′ Solo Diapason IV (from #2-5-33-34)

2. 8′ Principal 61 pipes

8′ Violone (from #1)

3. 8′ Rohrflute 73 pipes

4. 8′ Harmonic Flute 49 pipes 1–12 from #3

5. 4′ Octave 61 pipes

4′ Flute (from #3)

6. 2-2⁄3′ Twelfth 61 pipes

7. 2′ Fifteenth 61 pipes 

8. 1-1⁄3′ Mixture IV 244 pipes

9. 16′ Tromba 73 pipes

8′ Tuba (from #29)

8′ Tromba (from #9)

36. 4′ Tromba Clarion 61 pipes

Tremulant

Great 16

Great Unison Off

Great 4

SWELL (Manual III – Enclosed)

10. 16′ Gedeckt 73 pipes

11. 8′ Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Gedeckt (from #10)

12. 8′ Salicional 73 pipes

13. 8′ Voix Celeste 61 pipes

14. 4′ Octave 61 pipes

4′ Salicet (from #12)

15. 4′ Spitzflute 73 pipes

16. 2-2⁄3′ Nazard 61 pipes

2′ Flute (from #15)

17. 1-3⁄5′ Tierce 61 pipes

18. 2′ Mixture IV 244 pipes

19. 16′ Bassoon 73 pipes

20. 8′ French Trumpet 73 pipes

8′ Oboe (from #19)

21. 8′ Vox Humana 61 pipes

4′ Clarion (from #20)

Tremulant

Swell 16

Swell Unison Off

Swell 4

CHOIR (Manual I – Enclosed)

22. 8′ Geigen Diapason 61 pipes

23. 8′ Voce Humana 61 pipes

24. 8′ Melodia 61 pipes

25. 8′ Flauto Dolce 61 pipes

26. 8′ Flute Celeste (TC) 49 pipes

27. 4′ Octave 73 pipes

28. 4′ Open Flute 61 pipes

2′ Fifteenth (from #27)

29. 8′ Tuba (high pressure) 61 pipes

30. 8′ Clarinet 61 pipes

Tremulant

Chimes

Choir 16

Choir Unison Off

Choir 4

SOLO (Manual IV – Enclosed)

8′ Solo Diapason IV (from #2-5-33-34)

8′ Flauto Dolce (from #25)

8′ Flute Celeste (from #26)

37. 8′ Doppelflute 61 pipes

41. 8′ English Horn 61 pipes

Tremulant

38. 8′ Tuba Magna 61 pipes

8′ Tuba (from #29)

39. 8′ French Horn 61 pipes

Solo 16

Solo Unison Off

Solo 4

PEDAL

31. 32′ Bourdon, 42 EMS pipes, reconditioned, 14 new pipes

32. 16′ Open Diapason (wood), 22 Kimball pipes, reconditioned, 10 new pipes

16′ Subbass (from #31)

16′ Violone (from #1)

16′ Gedeckt (from #10)

33. 8′ Principal 32 pipes

8′ Subbass (from #31)

8′ Violone (from #1)

8′ Gedeckt (from #10)

34. 4′ Choral Bass 32 pipes 

2′ Cantus Flute (from #4)

35. 32′ Trombone 44 pipes

32′ Harmonics (derived)

16′ Trombone (from #35)

16′ Tromba (from #9)

16′ Bassoon (from #19)

40. 8′ Trumpet 44 pipes

4′ Clarion (from #40)

4′ Clarinet (from #30)

Pedal Divide 12/13

 

TONAL RESOURCES: 47 ranks, 41 stops, 2,825 pipes

 

INTER-MANUAL COUPLERS

Great to Pedal 8

Great to Pedal 4

Swell to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 4

Choir to Pedal 8

Choir to Pedal 4

Solo to Pedal 8

Solo to Pedal 4

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 8

Swell to Great 4

Choir to Great 16

Choir to Great 8

Choir to Great 4

Solo to Great 16

Solo to Great 8

Solo to Great 4

Pedal to Great 8

Solo to Swell 8

Swell to Choir 16

Swell to Choir 8

Swell to Choir 4

Solo to Choir 8

Pedal to Solo 8

Great / Choir Transfer

All Swells to Swell

 

ADJUSTABLE COMBINATIONS

40 memories per User

Unlimited Users

Great: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Thumb

Swell: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Thumb

Choir 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Thumb

Solo 1 2 3 4 5 6 Thumb

Pedal 1 2 3 4 Toe

General 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Thumb & Toe

General 11 12 13 14 Thumb

General Cancel Thumb

Set Thumb

Next 4 Thumb, 1 Toe

Previous 4 Thumb

Clear Thumb

Undo Thumb

Range Thumb

Memory Up Thumb

Memory Down Thumb

Transposer Up Thumb

Transposer Down Thumb

Crescendo A B Thumb

All Divisionals become Next with indicator

Thumb

 

REVERSIBLES

Great to Pedal Thumb & Toe

Swell to Pedal Thumb & Toe

Choir to Pedal Thumb & Toe

32′ Trombone Thumb & Toe

32′ Bourdon Toe

Adjustable Full Organ Thumb & Toe

 

ACCESSORIES

Swell expression pedal

Choir expression pedal

Solo expression pedal

2-memory adjustable Crescendo pedal

Concave and radiating pedal clavier

Adjustable bench

Numeric Crescendo indicator

Full Organ indicator

Transposer ±5 semitones

Integral performance recording sequencer

Pencil drawer

Cup holder

Kegg Pipe Organ Builders, Hartville, Ohio; Little Flower Catholic Church, Saint Louis, Missouri

When we were first approached by music director Chuck Chauvin of Little Flower Catholic Church, the conversation was long and rewarding. I immediately felt we were kindred spirits, so close were our thoughts and goals for the organ project. These boiled down to a new organ that would best address the musical needs of the parish, using what pipes were appropriate from the existing organ, and moving the organ pipe location into the room as much as possible.

As with many of our projects, this vibrant church has an active music program, and the existing pipe organ was deficient. The use of the organ in the Catholic Church has changed dramatically in the last seventy years. Also, the location of the musicians at Little Flower was changed some number of years ago. When the church was new, the musicians were in the small gallery and the ambulatory behind the arches. The organ pipes were placed in chambers behind the ambulatory—thus, the organ was quite removed from the room. When the choir and console were moved to the main floor, the distance from the organ pipes became even more of a problem. Several additional organ revisions were made to help, but none were completely successful.

With input from Dr. Horst Buchholz, then music director of the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, Chuck and I devised a plan for the organ. The existing Wicks organ from circa 1950 had several stops that would work well in a new Kegg design. Upon close inspection we realized that some of the stops we would use predated the 1950 organ and building, and were not built by Wicks. But all were well built and voiced, and were in keeping with the Kegg Romantic way of doing things. The overriding goal was to bring the organ forward into the room as much as possible. The structure of the gallery would not support the weight of the entire instrument, so the Great chorus and Pedal Octave were placed in a case on the gallery, with the balance of the organ immediately behind, speaking through the arched openings. The original chambers were made shallower and only contain the largest pipes of the Pedal and the new Tuba. The space behind the organ that was created by moving things forward now contains the blowers, bringing this important element up out of its basement dungeon.

One cannot speak of almost any pipe organ without discussing the room in which it is placed. This is particularly true of Little Flower Church. The building was built with a large budget, just after World War II. It is built of cut stone and round, with a curved dome ceiling containing a stained glass oculus. The dome is covered in acoustic plaster, and there is carpet on most of the floor and aisles. And yet, there is between two and four seconds of reverberation, depending on occupancy. Being a round room, sound produced is rewarding, bass-friendly, but inconsistent. As one walks the space, the acoustic image of the organ (the apparent origin of the sound) moves. It is frequently not where the organ pipes live. While disconcerting at times, the organ sound is always full and rich.

Space available dictated the size of the organ. As it is a modest three-manual organ of twenty-six ranks, we took full advantage of the Kegg philosophy of best use of resources. The Great and Choir divisions share many stops, and the large Swell has some extensions and borrows to add to the versatility, all while retaining the backbone of the instrument with required independent stops. There is a luxurious number of 16′ Pedal stops for an organ of this size, including a Gemshorn and open wood Diapason. The Tuba on ten inches pressure is in the style of E. M. Skinner and is located in its own expression box. The smooth tonality with independent expression makes this stop extremely flexible. It can easily solo out over the instrument or subtly add to it for additional tutti grandeur. With the box closed, it makes a lovely mezzo-forte lyric solo voice. The Great includes our Solo Diapason, which has found favor with many. This stop draws the Great Principal, the Pedal Octave, and the Great Octave, all playing at 8′ pitch. The effect of these three 8′ stops in unison is similar to a First Open Diapason, but with the clarity of a single fine principal. The tenor range is particularly compelling. The Trumpet stop is large and dark in the bass and becomes brighter in the treble, adding the needed fire to the ensemble. The balance of the organ is typical Kegg with a firm bass, rich mid-range, and clean treble.

The organ case is curved to echo the line of the gallery. It is concave in the center and curves forward into two corner towers before returning to the building wall on the sides. The panels of the lower case have the wood grain set at an angle, creating a pleasant visual effect behind the rail. To help with sound to the choir, the Choir division has expression shades on the side as well as the front, to send sound from this division directly to the choir area.

The console is movable and resides with the choir on the main floor. The case has custom carved panels with arches that echo the stone arches seen in the walls all around. The console is fitted with all the expected features, including, of course, the Kegg pencil drawer and cup holder, as seen in Facebook memes. Wine bottle is not included.

I thank Father Lawrence Herzog, pastor, and Chuck Chauvin for their constant support and drive that made this project happen. As with any major church project, a new pipe organ requires vision and determination. These two gentlemen represent a gold standard in this regard. Despite delays due to Covid and a myriad of related issues, their constant work made the project a success.

Kegg Pipe Organ Builders

Charles Kegg, President and Artistic Director

Philip Brown

Erika Burns

Michael Carden

Joyce Harper

Philip Laakso

Nickolas Meyers

Bruce Schutrum

Christopher Soer

Paul Watkins

Builder’s website: www.keggorgan.com/

Church’s website: www.littleflowerstl.org/

GREAT (Manual II)

16′ Gemshorn (fr #14) 12 pipes

8′ Solo Diapason III (fr #1, 2, 23)

(1.) 8′ Principal 61 pipes

8′ Harmonic Flute (fr #15)

8′ Gemshorn (fr #14)

(2.) 4′ Octave 73 pipes

4′ Harmonic Flute (fr #15)

2′ Fifteenth (fr #2)

(3.) 2′ Mixture IV 244 pipes

8′ Tuba (fr #19)

8′ Swell Trumpet (fr #12)

8′ Choir Clarinet (fr #20)

Chimes (Deagan) 25 notes

Great 16

Great Unison Off

Great 4

SWELL (Manual III, enclosed)

(4.) 16′ Gedeckt 73 pipes

(5.) 8′ Geigen Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Gedeckt (fr #4)

(6.) 8′ Salicional 73 pipes

(7.) 8′ Voix Celeste 61 pipes

(8.) 4′ Principal 73 pipes

4′ Salicet (fr #6)

(9.) 4′ Open Flute 73 pipes

(10.) 2-2⁄3′ Nazard 61 pipes

2′ Octave (fr #8)

2′ Piccolo (fr #9)

(11.) 13⁄5′ Tierce (TC) 37 pipes

1-1⁄3′ Larigot (fr #10)

(12.) 16′ Trumpet 85 pipes

8′ Trumpet (fr #12)

(13.) 8′ Oboe 61 pipes

4′ Clarion (fr #12)

Tremulant

Swell 16

Swell Unison Off

Swell 4

CHOIR (Manual I, enclosed)

(14.) 8′ Gemshorn 61 pipes

(15.) 8′ Harmonic Flute 73 pipes

(16.) 8′ Dulciana 61 pipes

(17.) 8′ Unda Maris (TC) 49 pipes

(18.) 4′ Principal 73 pipes

4′  Flute (fr #15)

2′ Octave (fr #18)

8′ Swell Cornet V (fr #4, 9, 10, 11)

8′ Swell Oboe (fr #13)

(19.) 8′ Tuba (high pressure, 61 pipes, separate expression)

(20.) 8′ Clarinet 61 pipes

Tremulant

Choir 16

Choir Unison Off

Choir 4

PEDAL

32′ Resultant (derived)

(21.) 16′ Open Diapason (wood) 32 pipes

(22.) 16′ Bourdon 44 pipes

16′ Gemshorn (fr #14)

16′ Gedeckt (fr #4)

(23.) 8′ Principal 44 pipes

8′ Bass Flute (fr #22)

8′ Gemshorn (fr #14)

4′ Octave (fr #23)

4′ Flute (fr #15)

32′ Harmonics (derived)

16′ Trumpet (fr #12)

8′ Trumpet (fr #12)

4′ Clarinet (fr #20)

INTER-MANUAL COUPLERS

Great to Pedal 8

Great to Pedal 4

Swell to Pedal 8

Swell to Pedal 4

Choir to Pedal 8

Choir to Pedal 4

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 8

Swell to Great 4

Choir to Great 16

Choir to Great 8

Choir to Great 4

Swell to Choir 16

Swell to Choir 8

Swell to Choir 4

Great/Choir Transfer

All Swells to Swell

ADJUSTABLE COMBINATIONS

40 memories per User

Unlimited Users

Great 1-2-3-4-5-6 (thumb)

Swell 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 (thumb)

Choir 1-2-3-4-5-6 (thumb)

Pedal 1-2-3-4 (toe)

General 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 (thumb/toe)

General 11-12-13-14 (thumb)

General Cancel (thumb)

Set (thumb)

Range (thumb)

Undo (thumb)

Clear (thumb)

Next (General piston sequencer, 4 thumb, 1 toe)

Previous (2 thumb, 1 toe)

Bluetooth Page turn (2 thumb, 1 toe)

REVERSIBLES

Great to Pedal (thumb and toe)

Full Organ (thumb and toe)

32′ Harmonics (toe)

ACCESSORIES

Swell expression pedal

Choir expression pedal

Tuba expression pedal

2-memory adjustable Crescendo pedal

Concave and radiating pedal clavier

Adjustable bench

Full Organ indicator

Transposer

Pencil drawer

Cup holder

TONAL RESOURCES

26 ranks, 23 stops, 1,595 pipes