Fanfare by John Cook

Tate Addis plays Requiescat in Pace by Leo Sowerby on the Patrick J. Murphy & Associates Organbuilders Opus 47R at Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Johnson City, Tennessee.
Recorded live at the dedication concert. 

The new organ comprises 46 ranks, 2,709 pipes, across three manuals and pedal. It is featured on the cover of the December 2023 issue of The Diapason: https://www.thediapason.com/content/cover-feature-patrick-j-murphy-associates-opus-47r

Murphy’s Opus 47 was a complete overhaul of M. P. Möller Opus 7435 (three manuals, 22 stops), built for the First Presbyterian Church of Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1946. In 1965 the instrument was rebuilt by Möller and enlarged to 25 stops. In 2004, Patrick J. Murphy & Associates was engaged to perform a comprehensive overhaul (to become their Opus 47) that included new electric slider windchests, new winding, additional foundational flues and reeds, as well as comprehensive revoicing. In 2018, the congregation sold their building and moved into a smaller facility. In January of 2021, Patrick J. Murphy & Associates purchased, removed, and stored the organ at its own expense until a suitable new owner could be located. In the spring of 2021, Nick Andrews, director of music at Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Johnson City, Tennessee, contacted Murphy about an organ for the church. 

The new installation, now Opus 47R, incorporates the 2004 updates of new slider windchests, console, and pipework additions along with most of the pipes retained from Möller Opus 7435R, with all pipework regulated for the new space. The thoroughly revised interior layout sits atop a new purpose built chassis and new winding system.  This new structure includes two-inch-thick expression enclosures and shades. The impressive new case was designed and constructed to complement the architecture of the building, and incorporates façade pipes that were either new in 2004 or formerly interior Möller 16′ Diapason pipes. 

For information: www.pjmorgans.com

Patrick J. Murphy & Associates Organbuilders, Stowe, Pennsylvania; Saint John’s Episcopal Church, Johnson City, Tennessee

 

From the builder

As is often stated by the Organ Clearing House, with the closing of many churches, pipe organs become available for purchase and relocation. Such is the situation that befell M. P. Möller Opus 7435R.

But first, a little background. M. P. Möller Opus 7435 was built for the First Presbyterian Church in Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1946. Installed in divided chambers located high within the chancel, the organ contained three manuals and approximately 22 stops. In 1965 the instrument was rebuilt and enlarged by Möller to 25 stops. The rebuilding was typical for the time, along with refreshment of the windchest actions, a Scharf and extensive Bombarde unit (32′, 16′, 8′, 4′) were added.

By 2004 the instrument was once again showing signs of mechanical wear and tear as well as a need for tonal rebalancing. Patrick J. Murphy & Associates, located in Stowe, Pennsylvania (just ten miles away), was engaged to perform a comprehensive overhaul (to become our Opus 47) that included new electric slider windchests, new winding, additional foundational flues and reeds, as well as comprehensive revoicing. The majority of the Great was relocated outside of the cramped chambers to allow greater tonal development within the acoustically challenged space. Digital 32′ stops and percussions from Walker Technical Company were added as well as one of our very first signature low-profile drawknob consoles.

Unfortunately, no sooner had the instrument been dedicated than the First Presbyterian Church had a schism that resulted in several key leadership persons departing, including the organist and organ financial donor. The position of organist remained mostly vacant, filled primarily by a string of supply musicians, except for the last person to hold the post. Finally, after facing mounting debt and declining membership, the downtown building was sold in 2018, and the congregation relocated to a dramatically smaller facility outside of the city, leaving the building and most of its contents behind, including the organ. A new owner for the organ was sought.

In January of 2021 Patrick J. Murphy & Associates purchased, removed, and stored the organ at its own expense until a suitable new owner could be located. As is often the case, locating a similar situation that supplied chambers limited the number of opportunities to find a home.

Fortunately, in the spring of 2021, Nick Andrews, director of music at Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Johnson City, Tennessee, who had learned of our work through word of mouth, inquired with us about either a new or rebuilt instrument. While my first visit to Johnson City was to discuss a new free-standing instrument that “might” utilize material from the existing 1960s Möller already installed second hand, the distinguished architecture of the room provided me with a vision of incorporating our Opus 47 into a new, free-standing instrument. Early on we engaged the superlative talents of Frank Friemel to produce an inspired design and rendering, after which he informed us that this was to be his swan song. Our staff performed all the remaining design and construction work except for the all-new case, which was entrusted to R. A. Colby Inc., located just 1.8 miles (and one turn) away from the church. Construction began in the fall of 2022, and installation started in the spring of 2023.

The new installation, now Opus 47R, incorporates our 2004 updates of new slider windchests, console, and pipework additions along with most of the pipes retained from Möller Opus 7435R, with all pipework regulated for the new space. The thoroughly revised interior layout sits atop all new and quite substantial framing and is supplied by a new winding system. This new structure is capped by our all-new two-inch-thick expression enclosures and shades. The façade pipes are a combination of formerly interior Moller 16′ Diapason pipes and façade pipes added in 2004, all professionally modified and painted by Organ Supply Industries to an exceptional result.

The pipe voicing, unfortunately partially entombed in its former location in Reading, came into full blossom within this acoustically friendly space. My first service hearing the instrument under Nick’s superlative playing gave me the closure of feeling like this could have been where this instrument was meant to be all along.

We wish to thank director of music Nick Andrews for his easy, straightforward manner and support, and also all the leadership members and congregation of Saint John’s for their support and for the opportunity to provide Opus 47R with a good home. We also wish to thank Frank Friemel, the staff at R. A. Colby, and Organ Supply Industries for their excellent work. And finally, I wish to thank everyone on my staff who worked tirelessly and diligently on this installation.

—Patrick J. Murphy

From the director of music

Saint John’s Episcopal Church is located in scenic Northeast Tennessee in the heart of downtown Johnson City. Known locally as “The Rock Church,” the original building was constructed of native river rock from the Nolichucky River in 1905. For many decades leading up to the late 1990s, the seating capacity of the 1905 nave restricted the rapidly growing parish, resulting in the use of overflow seating in the narthex of the church for multiple services on Sunday morning. In 2000, the congregation broke ground for a new nave with a seating capacity of up to 400 people. The new nave was completed and consecrated in November of 2001. Like the original 1905 structure, river rock was also incorporated into the new building. Designed by Memphis, Tennessee architect Jim Williamson, the nave is featured in the book Architecture for the Gods (Book II) by Michael Crosbie.

A 1960 Möller of 28 ranks was relocated to Saint John’s from an Episcopal church in a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, in the fall of 2001 and was completed in early 2002. For the next twenty years, the aging Möller suffered ongoing mechanical and tonal issues. In January 2020, two years after I was hired as director of music, the organ mechanically failed from ciphers and wind leaks and was unusable for services. After submitting a written report to the church vestry, an organ committee was formed to investigate our next steps for the instrument. After initially meeting with several builders, the covid pandemic halted the progress of the organ committee until January 2021. In early 2021, I contacted Patrick Murphy to see if he would be willing to assess our instrument and make a proposal. While visiting onsite, I inquired about his Opus 47 (formerly of First Presbyterian Church, Reading, Pennsylvania, which had been listed on the Organ Clearing House website for some time) as a candidate for relocation. After examining the measurements of the room, it was deemed that Opus 47 would indeed fit within the footprint of the former instrument.

After a trip in May of 2021 to listen to and play several fantastic instruments of Patrick’s in Baltimore, Maryland, I made a recommendation to the organ committee to pursue the proposal for relocating Opus 47 to Saint John’s. In December of 2021, the vestry of the church voted to accept the proposal from Murphy and signed the contract. The installation for Opus 47-R began in June of 2023 and was completed a few months later in early September. The new casework has transformed the room, and it truly looks like it was always meant to be there! The instrument is full of rich 8′ tone on each division and houses a plethora of 16′ tone in the pedal division—as every instrument should! I am grateful to the entire team at Patrick J. Murphy & Associates who helped rebirth this amazing instrument! Opus 47-R has a very bright future for many decades to come!

—Nick Andrews

Director of Music

Builder’s website: www.pjmorgans.com

Church’s website: stjohnstn.org/

Photo credits: Patrick J. Murphy

GREAT (manual II)

16′ Lieblich Gedackt (Swell)

16′ Gemshorn (ext) 12 pipes

8′ Principal 61 pipes

8′ Harmonic Flute (1966) 61 pipes

8′ Gemshorn 61 pipes

8′ Bourdon* 61 pipes

4′ Octave 61 pipes

4′ Flute 61 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Twelfth (1966) 61 pipes

2′ Super Octave 61 pipes

1-1⁄3′ Mixture IV (encl w/Choir)* 244 pipes

8′ Trumpet (encl w/Choir)* 61 pipes

8′ Tromba (prepared for)

8′ Trumpet (Swell)

Great 16

Swell to Great 16-8-4

Choir to Great 16-8-4

Chimes (digital – 37 notes)

Great MIDI

Great/Choir Transfer

SWELL (manual III, enclosed)

16′ Lieblich Gedackt (ext) 12 pipes

8′ Diapason* 61 pipes

8′ Gedackt 61 pipes

8′ Viole 61 pipes

8′ Viole Celeste (TC) 49 pipes

4′ Principal 61 pipes

4′ Harmonic Flute 61 pipes

2′ Flautino 61 pipes

2′ Plein Jeu III–IV* 232 pipes

16′ Contra Trumpet (ext)* 12 pipes

8′ Trumpet* 61 pipes

8′ Oboe* 61 pipes

8′ Vox Humana (2023) 61 pipes

Tremulant

Swell-16-UO-4

Swell MIDI

CHOIR (manual I,  enclosed)

8′ Geigen (1966) 61 pipes

8′ Viola 61 pipes

8′ Concert Flute 61 pipes

8′ Dulciana 61 pipes

8′ Unda Maris (TC) 49 pipes

4′ Fugara 61 pipes

4′ Nachthorn 61 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Nazard* 61 pipes

2′ Blockflute* 61 pipes

1-3⁄5′ Tierce* 61 pipes

1′ Scharff III (1966) 183 pipes

8′ Clarinet 61 pipes

Tremulant

8′ Trumpet (Great)

8′ Tromba (prepared for)

Choir to Choir 16-UO-4

Swell to Choir 16-8-4

Harp (digital)

Celesta (digital)

Choir MIDI

PEDAL

32′ Double Open Diapason (digital)

32′ Contra Bourdon (digital)

16′ Open Diapason (digital)

16′ Principal (1946/2023) 56 pipes

16′ Gemshorn (Great)

16′ Violone (digital)

16′ Bourdon 44 pipes

16′ Lieblich Gedackt (Swell)

8′ Octave (ext)

8′ Bourdon (ext)

8′ Gedackt (Swell)

4′ Choralbass (ext)

III Mixture*  96 pipes

32′ Contra Trombone (digital, w/Choir)

16′ Trombone (ext, 2023) 12 pipes

16′ Contra Trumpet (Swell)

8′ Trumpet (Great)

4′ Clarion (Great)

Great to Pedal 8-4

Swell to Pedal 8-4

Choir to Pedal 8-4

 

46 ranks (47 when completed), 2,709 pipes

* = 2004

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

David Engen

David Engen holds degrees in organ from St. Olaf College and the University of Iowa, and a master’s degree in software engineering from the University of St. Thomas. He has been in the organ business since 1970. He is currently president of Grandall & Engen, LLC, in Minneapolis where he shares duties with vice-president David Grandall.

Editor’s note: many of the organs mentioned in this article can be found with stoplists and pictures at the website of the Twin Cities Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.

Charles George Hendrickson, 85, died at his home in Saint Peter, Minnesota, on December 17, 2020. He was born June 10, 1935, in Willmar, Minnesota, to Roy and Frances (Eklund) Hendrickson. Roy Hendrickson was an attorney and member of the board of directors at Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, from which Charles graduated in 1957. His intent was to continue in nuclear physics, but he once admitted to me that during his time of graduate study at the University of Minnesota, aspects of nuclear physics were “beyond me.” He taught physics at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, Union University in Jackson, Tennessee, and Northeast State University, Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

I believe it was after his father’s death that his mother became secretary to the president of Gustavus Adolphus. It was she who introduced Charles to the woman he would marry, Birgitta Gillberg, a language teacher at Gustavus Adolphus and later at nearby Mankato State University. He taught physics at Mankato State, and he and Birgitta were married in Sweden in 1964. They had two sons: Eric and Andreas. Birgitta preceded him in death by two years.

In 1964 he started building his first organ in rented space in an old canning plant in Winthrop, an instrument for nearby First Lutheran Church. The three-manual organ of thirty-four ranks, which has since been enlarged, had the first Rückpositiv division in Minnesota. David N. Johnson, then of Saint Olaf College, played the dedication recital.

Philosophy

I first met Charles at about the time the Winthrop organ was completed in 1966. He was measuring pipes in the new Holtkamp organ (Job Number 1778) at my home church in Minneapolis, Westwood Lutheran Church, Saint Louis Park. He told me of the upcoming David Johnson recital at Winthrop, which I attended. I started working for him in 1970 and continued for much of the time until 1984.

Charles was a fan of the architect Mies van der Rohe and ascribed to his “less is more” philosophy (although in the shop we often changed it to “more is more”). Most of his designs with casework are simple boxes. He also much admired the work of the organbuilder Robert Noehren, whose unit organs on all-electric action were a big influence.

More than one hundred organs came from the Hendrickson shop, ranging in size from a one-stop, one-rank portable “organetto” (Opus 19) to his “magnum” Opus 92 of four manuals and seventy ranks for Wayzata Community Church in Wayzata, Minnesota. Most of his organs were built for churches, but many were built for colleges (both concert halls and practice rooms), and several were built for individuals. There was a series of three three-stop portativ organs built for touring groups, the first for the Saint Olaf Choir, designed to fit through the door of a Greyhound bus.

Many organs had mechanical action, and in general the smaller organs were unit organs on all-electric action. These followed the Noehren philosophy of unification, where octave unification was avoided if possible.

One of Charles’s notable innovations was the use of plywood Subbass pipes. Built in the shop, they were made of three-quarter-inch plywood. In the ravages of Minnesota’s wild seasonal humidity swings, almost every old organ we encountered had splits in the big pedal pipes. Plywood avoids this, and these pipes were used in virtually every organ. He also exclusively used aluminum for the façade pipes above 4′, made by Justin Matters of South Dakota.

Another unique feature of the small unit organs has to do with celeste and tierce stops. In a very small organ it is difficult to justify the expense of either of these. Both are typically the softest stops, and both can be either string or flute scale. We found that if the tierce is borrowed from the celeste (tuned flat instead of sharp), you can have both in a single stop by adding just a few more pipes. One tunes the tierce perfectly from middle C up, then tunes from there down for a pleasant flat celeste (beats tend to get too wild in that range if tuned to the perfect tierce). It is an inexpensive compromise that is of great benefit to a tiny organ.

Friends and collaborations

Some of the best organs to come from the shop during my time were designed in conjunction with friends who acted as consultants. Among those were Merrill N. (“Jeff”) Davis, III, of Rochester, Minnesota, and William B. Kuhlman of Luther College, Decorah, Iowa.

Both pushed Charles to some of his most inspired designs, visually and tonally. Opus 4 was a pair of positiv divisions added to a Wicks organ in memory of Jeff Davis’s first wife at the Congregational Church in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. In an acoustically dry room, these positivs pulled the sound of the enclosed Wicks into the church. This was but the first collaboration. Many other projects resulted in very unique and unusual instruments over the years.

Bill Kuhlman was behind what was to become the first mechanical-action organ constructed in Minnesota in the late twentieth century. This was a thirty-six-rank teaching organ for Luther College (Opus 10) in Decorah, Iowa. As a successful teacher, Bill had many students study on that organ who went on to careers in music.

Other consultants included Robert Kendall and Robert Thompson of Saint Olaf College and Kim Kasling, then of Mankato State University.

Significant instruments

I had personal experience and/or input in almost all of the organs from Opus 1 through Opus 70, and it would be tempting to tell stories of each one. Except for the three portativs, no two were alike. (Fritz Noack once told me that when you mass-produce organs, you have an opportunity to replicate your mistakes!)

One overriding memory I have is that every time we built a mechanical-action organ, the shop looked forward to building electric action. When we were lost in the wiring of electric-action instruments, we would long to build another tracker.

Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, Opus 10, two manuals, 36 ranks

After the Winthrop organ had launched the company (we cleaned and added to it some years later after a Christmas Eve fire), all organs through Opus 9 were built in the Hendrickson garage and backyard. Starting with the Luther College organ (Opus 10) the operation moved to the current shop location at the north end of Saint Peter in an industrial park. The shop was built during the winter of 1970–1971. During the first rainstorm in 1971 the skylights leaked, and several of us frantically covered the Luther windchests in the middle of the night to prevent damage.

There was a lot of overcompensation in design. The pallets were large, we had complex bleed holes in the channels, and we used foam slider seals. Having a heavy coupled action, it had optional electric couplers. The horizontal trumpet was on electric action and played at 16′, 8′, and 4′ on the Great and at 8′, 4′, and 2′ on the Pedal to create maximum “blast.” There were prepared stops in each division. Perhaps the most unusual feature was that the whole organ could be moved around Koren Chapel at Luther with an air flotation system by one person! Gerald Near wrote his Second Fantasy for the dedication concert.

Jensen-Noble Hall of Music was opened in late 1982 on the Luther campus, so the Hendrickson company was engaged to move the organ into a teaching studio in the spring and summer prior to the opening. Being the only employee left who had helped build it, I wound up in charge of disassembly and reinstallation. We were able to take what we had learned from building about a dozen tracker organs in the intervening years and apply those lessons to what became a successful renovation. Since there was no need for the flotation system in a studio, we removed it and built a new and more reliable pedal action in that space. Pallet openings and pallets were reduced in size, resulting in a lighter action that no longer needed electric couplers. The blast from the horizontal trumpet at multiple pitches was not needed in the smaller space, so the trumpet was placed on mechanical action and lower wind pressure, speaking from the Great channels. Three of the five prepared stops were added. It continues to function, fifty years after construction, as a teaching and practice organ under Bill Kuhlman’s successor, Gregory Peterson.

Saint John Lutheran Church, Owatonna, Minnesota, Opus 34, three manuals, 51 ranks

Saint John Lutheran Church is a huge A-frame building, but the typical front transepts are in the back balcony. Floor to ceiling windows in the balcony provide wonderful light, but the acoustic issues for a gallery organ are significant since glass does not reflect bass. Charles’s solution was to cantilever the main organ as far into the room as possible and to provide a very large Rückpositiv as well as a prominent horizontal trumpet.

Since there was virtually no unification on the manuals, I talked Charles into building slider windchests. We opted to try the Holtkamp slider chest design with all-electric magnets on the channels rather than pallets with pull-downs. Forty-five years later the organ continues to serve the church—as does Shirley Erickson, who was organist when the organ was installed!

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Mankato, Minnesota, Opus 35, three manuals, 59 ranks

Following right behind the 51-rank Owatonna organ, we tackled what would briefly become the largest mechanical-action organ in Minnesota. (The Fisk organ at House of Hope Presbyterian Church, Saint Paul, followed very soon thereafter.) Kim Kasling was consultant, and Jim Dorn was organist. An original plan for a high, stacked organ in the right front of the nave eventually became a balcony installation. Again, a large Rückpositiv was in the design, but the ancient church balcony could not hold its weight if placed in the normal location on the rail. It sits instead on the floor, right behind the keydesk, with new steel beams under the floor to hold the weight.

A huge Great division with two mixtures sits above a relatively small Swell, with Pedal split and across the back inside the organ. There are many pipes from the previous organ spread throughout, as well as a 32′ Bourdon from the old Soul’s Harbor organ in Minneapolis and a 16′ open wood diapason discarded from the Sipe rebuild of the organ at Christ United Methodist Church in Rochester, Minnesota. The church interior has been tastefully remodeled since the organ went in, and there is now less carpet than there had been.

First Lutheran Church, Saint Peter, Minnesota, Opus 45, two manuals (with a third coupler manual), 44 ranks

First Lutheran Church in Saint Peter was the Hendrickson family church. Founded in 1857 by Swedish immigrants, 164 years later it retains its Swedish roots, although services have been held in English for 100 years. It has always been closely connected with Gustavus Adolphus College, which is just a mile away. On Mother’s Day, May 13, 1962, the old church was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. Charles was already involved in organ renovations, and there was an existing organ fund.

The firm of Harold Spitznagel and Associates of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, designed the new church to replace the old one on land purchased on the edge of town. The first service was held in the new edifice on September 5, 1965. The sanctuary was half a cube, 76 feet on each side and 40 feet high topped with clerestory windows. The congregation did not want to suffer another fire, so this building is made of concrete and brick. As a result, the sanctuary has incredible acoustics for music.

To avoid having a temporary electronic organ, Charles assembled parts he had on hand into an eight-rank exposed organ that he leased temporarily to the church. The four-second reverberation made this mongrel organ surprisingly successful. It was later rebuilt for another institution.

In 1975 plans began in earnest for a new organ. The original concept had four manuals with a Rückpositiv division. Fundraising and unrelated issues delayed the project, and in a period of high inflation the organ shrank by the month. We finally decided to start over and took the tonal design of the Luther College organ as a starting point. The entire Luther organ can be found within the specification of the First Lutheran organ. One major difference is inclusion of a coupler manual.

This became the flagship demonstration organ for the company, being located just a mile from the shop and in a room with incredible acoustics. What many do not realize is that the asymmetrical design of the organ case is inspired by the brick sculpture on the front wall of the church (the story of Creation). The pipe shades are inspired by the bird figures in that sculpture. The asymmetrical “Family of Man” and the birds are at the top.

Saint Wenceslaus Catholic Church, New Prague, Minnesota, Opus 47, three manuals, 43 ranks

Robert Thompson of nearby Saint Olaf College was consultant for this organ and gave the organ a decidedly French accent, although this is a congregation of Czech descendents. This was the only organ built during my time at the shop with supply house chests, ordered from Laukhuff. Robert Sperling always voiced in a Germanic style. Initially, the Recit 8′ flute sounded like a quintadena. After reworking it with higher cutups and nicks, it was the stop that elicited the most comments from visitors. Sperling thought he had ruined it. The whole time he was revoicing he grumbled that he was turning it into a 1920 Möller Melodia!

First Unitarian Church, Rochester, Minnesota, Opus 49, two manuals (with third coupler manual), 24 ranks

Merrill N. Davis, III, of Rochester was the consultant for this project. Fondly called “The Bell Organ,” the 2′ on the Ripieno division is a Glockenspiel; there is a wind-driven Zimbelstern; the Continuo mixture is a Glockenzimbel, which starts at 2⁄5′ pitch and includes a tierce on every note. The unison on the F above middle C is the F above high C of a 2′ and had to be voiced with a magnifying glass. Like First Lutheran Church, it has a third coupler manual. The casework is walnut, and the Continuo division in Rückpositiv position has no façade.

Saint John’s Lutheran Church, Kasson, Minnesota, Opus 57, two manuals, 29 ranks

Merrill N. Davis, III, was again consultant. Kasson is not far from Rochester. This organ was conceived with a big blockwerk on the Great based on a 16′ Principal with a big mixture. There are two cornets on the Great—a four-rank mounted cornet of flute scale, and a three-rank Sesquialtera of principal scale, along with a dark trumpet. Originally the Swell did not couple to either the Great or Pedal. These couplers have since been added. What started as an unsuccessful 1′ Principal on the Great was changed to 8⁄9′ to add spice to the ensemble and to the two cornets. The organ was originally tuned to Chaumont temperament.

Saint John’s Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Opus 63, three manuals, 47 ranks

Saint John’s Lutheran Church in south Minneapolis is one of the biggest rebuild projects we undertook. Hillgreen-Lane had rebuilt the previous organ (perhaps a Hall) in 1959 at 32 ranks. Our 1983 rebuild significantly enlarged the organ and made access for tuning and servicing much easier than it had been in the Hillgreen-Lane organ. Many ranks were retained. Much of the Pedal is recycled from the Hillgreen-Lane. A string had been converted into an 8′ Gelind Gedackt by Hillgreen-Lane, but the scale was very small and the caps did not seal. We rescaled it again. We presume it had been Hillgreen-Lane that had soldered two diapasons together end-to-end to make a 16′ Salicional, which was retained. This organ had one of the early multiplex relay systems, this one donated by Dirk Moibroeck of Cincinnati (ICMI).

Union Presbyterian Church, Saint Peter, Minnesota, Opus 64, two manuals, 11 ranks

Though far from a significant organ, Union Presbyterian Church is an example of the smaller all-electric unit organs that were quite successful. Union Church’s acoustics were horribly dry when the organ was designed, but when the chancel was modified for the new organ we discovered a small space with a very warm acoustic. When the organ was first played the room amplified it too much! We dropped the pressure and revoiced everything. For many years this was the location of a well-attended hymn festival, and the organ has often been used with various instruments. A small-scale trumpet was added in later years, and the relay and combination action were recently replaced with current technology. The 4′ Octave, mixture, and trumpet are on the right side near the console. The Bourdon/Rohrflute and 8′ Principal trebles are on the left side behind the choir. The Swell is in the middle behind the grill, with the largest 16′ Subbass pipes (plywood) on its roof. Organist at the time, Charles Eggert, was consultant.

Saint Joseph’s Catholic Cathedral, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Opus 78, three manuals, 62 ranks

The two largest organs were built after I left, and I have never seen the Sioux Falls organ. Nonetheless, it is a significant instrument in a large and very reverberant space.

Wayzata Community Church, Wayzata, Minnesota, Opus 92, four manuals, 70 ranks

The company’s magnum opus is in a suburb west of Minneapolis. C. Charles Jackson gave funds for it, and Charles Hendrickson’s long friendship with sculptor Paul Granlund at Gustavus Adolphus was the genesis of the sculpture (“Aeneous Aegis”) in the middle of the organ case. For many years this was home to an extensive organ concert series under staff organist, Diana Lee Lucker. Charles attended most of these concerts. Following Diana Lee’s retirement, this series ceased.

Trinity Episcopal Church, Excelsior, Minnesota, Opus 111, two manual, 29 ranks

Trinity Episcopal Church had been home to a five-rank Möller organ (Opus 8026). The new organ was impetus for a complete church remodel project, which is quite successful with movable chairs and hard surfaces. The Hendrickson organ includes pipes from the Möller as well as pipes from a practice organ (Opus 20) built for the University of Wisconsin in Eau Claire that was repurchased. Andreas Hendrickson designed the unusual façade.

Shop stories

The Luther College organ had a flotation system, which Charles developed the summer of 1971. Each iteration of his design resulted in the call to everyone in the shop to come and stand on a piece of plywood to see if it would float with the added weight. We eventually had a winner that was installed on the organ.

The Rochester Unitarian organ was playing in the shop when Jeff Davis came to see it. He did not like the relationship between the 4′ and 2′ of the Continuo division, so a new rank was ordered and the ranks affected were re-racked.

There was a fire at the shop on November 15, 2013, that originated in one of the light fixtures. Even though the majority of the building was left intact, insurance deemed the structure a loss, and a new building was put up in its place. Amazingly, only one wood pipe rank was in the shop at the time. The remainder of that particular project was stored down the hill in the nearby shop warehouse.

Children of the shop

Most organ shops have spinoffs, and Hendrickson’s shop was no exception. Notable among the “children” of the shop is Lynn Dobson, of Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, Ltd., of Lake City, Iowa, founded in 1974. I succeeded Robert Sperling as voicer in 1979 and remained until 1984. My company, Grandall and Engen, LLC, of Maple Grove, Minnesota, has been operating since 1984 and does tuning and enhancements for many clients in the Twin Cities area and western Wisconsin, including a number of universities. The third offshoot is Rob Hoppe, of Robert D. Hoppe & Associates of Algoma, Wisconsin, founded in 1986. He often builds new organs with digital enhancements. Charles’s two sons, Eric and Andreas, took over the business when Charles retired in 2015 and continue today.

 

Read more about Charles Hendrickson here.