Mark Pace plays B. Rule & Co. organ, First Presbyterian, Knoxville

B. Rule & Company, New Market, Tennessee;

First Presbyterian Church, Knoxville, Tennessee

Brad Rule

The organ at First Presbyterian Church, Knoxville, Tennessee, represented in 1963 the ideals of the modernist side of the Organ Reform movement then in vogue. Like Modernism itself, asserting a dynamic of utter clarity of structure and form, Casavant Opus 2756 spoke boldly and brightly into the nave with nothing to hinder its clear tonal egress. Those who are old enough to remember that era recall it as an exciting time: dull, inarticulate organs hidden in chambers, voiced on high pressures and devoid of any “sparkle” were being replaced with articulate, bright instruments on low pressure, speaking directly into the space.

After fifty years of heavy use, a consensus had emerged from generations of First Presbyterian’s choir directors and organists that the instrument was too inflexible, too aggressive, and often tiring to listen to. Useful accompaniment stops were few and far between, and the full plenum was uncomfortably loud. Romantic-era organ literature did not come off well. Choir members often expressed dread if the organist had planned an energetic prelude! It did not help that the instrument spoke into an acoustically dead room.

Our first step was to make an analysis in an attempt to address the many complaints about the organ, which actually contained much beautifully made pipework and a well-thought-out stoplist. Below is a summary of our findings.   

Pipework

The scaling of the principals and flutes of the Pedal and Great was, surprisingly, very close to scales we ourselves would utilize for such a room, although most ranks increased in scale toward the treble more than we would have chosen. Some became so widely scaled in the treble as to be highly unusual.

Acoustics

Sound energy from the organ dropped off quickly in the room. For a room of moderate size (seating 350–400) the loss of energy was puzzling. Perhaps the aggressive voicing was an attempt to get the organ sound to travel the length of the acoustically dead nave.

Further investigation revealed, after some gentle tapping on the nave walls with our “proprietary acoustical sounding rod” (i. e., a long pine stick), that in many places the plaster was entirely loose from the solid brick walls. In addition, the ceilings of the side aisles consisted of Masonite pegboard. Pew cushions absorbed any remaining sound energy.

Esthetics

The once elegant neo-classical sanctuary had gone through a number of unfortunate contemporary alterations in 1963. The front walls of the church had been turned into one seamless Bauhaus curtain wall, with repetitive rectangles created by two-by-sixes, all covered with metal screening and painted white. A casual observer would assume it to be a huge cold-air return. The sanctuary also lost its lovely Tiffany chandeliers in the bid to bring everything up to date.

Solutions

Pipework: Further analysis of the pipework showed that, in the ranks that became unusually large in the treble, the mouths were also wider than normal. This, combined with open-toe voicing and no nicking, created an aggressive attack and an abrasive vowel sound: think of the short “a” when one sharply utters the word “scat” to an unwanted animal. The only remedy for this was to replace those pipes.

The two worst offenders in vowel sound were the 2′ Great Fifteenth and the Swell 4′ Spitz Principal. Replacing just these two ranks with properly scaled pipes aided considerably in bringing the organ into blend. The remaining ranks were effectively revoiced by closing toes, opening windways, and adding discreet nicking.

The large-scaled Pedal and Great trumpets were originally voiced with a distinctive curve so that the initial tongue slap on the shallot created an audible attack; this curve also contributed to a similar short vowel sound. Adding considerably more curve changed the character of these stops completely, resulting in a darker vowel sound with more fundamental tone.

The Swell Trumpet and Basson were replaced with new reed stops (8′ Trumpet and 16′ Clarinet) made by Fred Oyster and designed to meld tonally with this instrument. Both ranks turned out exceptionally well. New flue pipework was made by Janusz Lasota, and the gold, Roman mouth façade pipes were made by Organ Supply Industries.

Wind pressures were raised slightly to help create more fundamental tone and better control with closed-toe voicing. However, all of the flutes were left with open toes, as were most of the rather delicate Positive principal stops.

We augmented the Pedal division with a circa-1910 “mega-Bourdon” (as known in organbuilder parlance) on 4½ inches wind pressure to add significant weight under big registrations; this was a much-needed addition to the bass-deficient 1963 tonal scheme. A 16′ Principal was out of the question due to space limitations.

Acoustics: The walls in the problem areas were re-plastered and the pegboard in the aisle ceilings was removed to reveal hard plaster. This, along with removal of the pew cushions, made a distinct improvement in the room resonance, particularly in the bass.

Esthetics: we built two matching organ cases in Classical style to replace the 1963 metal grilles: in tone openings without organ cases we built new grilles after a pattern developed by Thomas Sheraton for library cabinet doors. The new grille design also nicely replicates the lead came tracework in the older stained glass windows. Former organbuilder and now architect William Dunklin designed the organ façades; it was a real pleasure to work with an architect who understood the esthetics and proportions of classical architecture as well as the musical requirements of the organ.

Console: the 1963 console with vertical jambs, while handsome, was bulky and tall. We built a new low-profile console with terraced jambs to make the work of an organist/choirmaster easier.

The new console specifications are as follows: cabinet of maple, to match existing pews and trim; terraced stop jambs and key cheeks of sapele. The oblique knobs are of pau ferro and maple, and the electric knob units as well as the knobs and labels are from Harris. The music rack is book-matched mahogany crotch burl with integral LED music light. The control system is a Peterson ICS-4000 with MIDI, 99 levels of memory, and sequencer.

Results: the sound of both organ and choir now projects nicely down the full length of the nave. The organ sings with a warm, pleasant voice, yet the clarity of the plenum is still excellent. It now handles literature from Bach to Duruflé very successfully. The instrument is ready for at least another half-century of good service to this congregation.

Many thanks to Denis Blain at Casavant for his advice on re-leathering the low-pressure Casavant pitman chests. Also to Mark Pace, organist, for hospitably making our installation as easy as possible.

B. Rule & Company staff:

Steven Lloyd

Hannah Martin

Naomi Martin

Julie Mundy-Sullivan

Brad Rule

 

GREAT (Manual II, wind pressure 2-11⁄16″, increased from 2″)   

16′ Diapason Dolce 1–7 from Gedeckt, new, 8–26 in façade 54 pipes

16′ Gedeckt revoiced 61 pipes

8′ Principal 1-17 new, in façade, revoiced 61 pipes

8′ Diapason Dolce ext 16′ Diapason Dolce 12 pipes

8′ Bourdon revoiced 61 pipes

4′ Octave revoiced 61 pipes

4′ Spireflute new 61 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Twelfth revoiced 61 pipes

2′ Fifteenth new from middle C 61 pipes

1-1⁄3′ Mixture IV revoiced 244 pipes

8′ Trumpet revoiced 61 pipes

SWELL (Manual III, enclosed, wind pressure 3″, increased from 2-3⁄4″)

8′ Chimney Flute revoiced 61 pipes

8′ Salicional revoiced 61 pipes

8′ Celeste revoiced 61 pipes

4′ Principal new from middle C 61 pipes

4′ Nachthorn revoiced 61 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Nasard revoiced 61 pipes

2′ Blockflöte revoiced 61 pipes

1-3⁄5′ Tierce revoiced 61 pipes

1-1⁄3′ Fourniture IV originally 2⁄3′, revoiced 244 pipes

16′ Clarinet new, replaces 16′ Basson 61 pipes

8′ Trumpet new 61 pipes

8′ Oboe revoiced 61 pipes

Tremulant

POSITIVE (Manual I, wind pressure 2-1⁄4″, increased from 1-7⁄8″)

8′ Spireflute replaces 8′ Quintadena 61 pipes

8′ Gedeckt revoiced 61 pipes

4′ Principal revoiced 61 pipes

4′ Koppelflöte revoiced 61 pipes

2′ Superoctave revoiced 61 pipes

1-1⁄3′ Nasat revoiced 61 pipes

1′ Sifflöte revoiced 61 pipes

1⁄2′ Zimbel III revoiced 183 pipes

8′ Krummhorn revoiced 61 pipes

Zimbelstern

PEDAL (wind pressure 3″, increased from 2-3⁄4″)

16′ Bourdon new, large scale, wind pressure 4-5⁄8′′ 32 pipes

16′ Subbass unaltered 32 pipes

16′ Violone revoiced 32 pipes

16′ Gedeckt from Great

8′ Principal revoiced 32 pipes

8′ Gedeckt revoiced 32 pipes

4′ Choral Bass revoiced 32 pipes

4′ Rohrflöte revoiced 32 pipes

2′ Nachthorn revoiced 32 pipes

2′ Mixture IV revoiced 128 pipes

16′ Trombone revoiced 32 pipes

8′ Trumpet revoiced 32 pipes

4′ Schalmei revoiced 32 pipes

 

Chamade to Great (wind pressure 4-3⁄4′′) 61 pipes

Chamade to Great 16   

Chamade to Positive

Chamade to Pedal

 

Couplers

Great to Pedal

Swell to Pedal

Positive to Pedal

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great

Positive to Great

Pedal to Great

Swell to Positive 16

Swell to Positive

Swell to Swell 16

Great/Positive Reverse

  

46 stops, 55 ranks, 2,925 pipes

Peterson ICS 4000 with MIDI, Record/Playback, Sequencer, 100 levels of memory

 

Pistons:

10 generals

5 divisionals each division

Next and Previous

Swell, Great, and Positive to Pedal reversibles

Chamade to Great reversible

Chamade to Positive reversible

Zimbelstern reversible

Swell expression pedal 16 stages

Programmable Crescendo pedal

 

Builder’s website: http://bruleorgans.com

Church website: www.fpcknox.org

 

Photo credit: Hannah Odom

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

Goulding & Wood Pipe Organ Builders, Indianapolis, Indiana, Fortieth Anniversary; Saint John’s Episcopal Cathedral, Knoxville, Tennessee, Opus 52 

The year 2020 was indeed an historic year for many reasons. As the calendar page turns to another year, it has become somewhat easier to see in retrospect that 2020 contained reasons for celebration even amidst a time of pandemic and stress. For Goulding & Wood Pipe Organ Builders of Indianapolis, 2020 marked forty years of operation and afforded a chance to look back at the arc of the company’s history. The capstone of this anniversary year was the completion of the firm’s Opus 52 organ for Saint John’s Episcopal Cathedral of Knoxville, Tennessee. This project is built on a solid legacy of organ building from the Indianapolis workshop.

John Goulding and Thomas Wood joined forces in 1980, combining shared experiences at the E. H. Holloway Corporation and individual backgrounds with Gratian and Holtkamp organ companies on the part of Mr. Goulding and, for Mr. Wood, experience at Indiana University School of Music including participating in the creation of its first electronic music laboratory while also serving as curator of organs. While from very different backgrounds, both men shared a lifelong love of the organ, its music, and the ideals of corporate worship. They inherited a particular understanding of the organ reform movement, then in its full maturity, and Mr. Goulding’s mechanical innovations including a unique windchest design, tremolo action, and schwimmer wind regulators. These raw elements formed an impressively strong foundation for the new firm, and the company quickly built a reputation for excellence and sophistication. 

Within the first six years of operation and first ten projects, the firm had expanded to the Chicago and Washington, D.C., metro areas. Installations in Durham, North Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia, soon followed, establishing a trend toward a significant presence in the Southeast. In the years that followed, Mr. Goulding and Mr. Wood built a strong team of like-minded organ builders who shared a solid commitment to building electro-pneumatic-action organs with the artistry and refinement usually associated only with mechanical-action builders. Musically, this achievement flows in large part from the firm’s exclusive windchest design. As an electro-pneumatic slider and pallet windchest, it marries the time-honored benefits of common key channels with the flexibility of remote key action providing for movable consoles and flexible coupling and control systems. The efficiency and simplicity inherent in this system have long been recognized for their contribution to the long-term viability of an instrument. Slider chests have few working parts to wear out, and when the time for major maintenance comes, access and scope of work are optimum for easy restoration. One of the specific design considerations for Mr. Goulding was ease of long-term renewal, so that an institution will not be saddled with exorbitant costs typical of many refurbishment projects.

As the organ reform movement began to shed some of its excesses and musical taste returned to more substantial ideas of tonal architecture, Goulding & Wood integrated the lessons learned about chorus structure with the aurally based craving for generous fundamental and variety of color. Already by 1989, this marriage is seen fully developed in the layout of the organ for the Church of Saint John the Evangelist located on the other side of Indianapolis’s downtown from the Goulding & Wood workshop. The stoplist of this two-manual organ comprises a wealth of 8′ stops, a wide variety of reed colors, and a carefully balanced scheme of principal choruses that allows organists to create plenums of several different levels of dynamic volume and tonal intensity. This organ was in some ways a working out of tonal ideas that laid the groundwork for the much larger instruments in the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta and Christ Church Cathedral in New Orleans. Brandon Woods, the firm’s voicer beginning with Opus 6 (1984), grew in his understanding of tonal structure and mastery of unifying the voice of each organ specifically for the acoustical environment in which it is placed. An assiduous student of past voicers, Mr. Woods relished restoring old pipework, particularly in the renovation projects the company undertook on instruments from many different builders and eras. He brought the lessons he learned from observing other voicers’ work to bear on his own treatment of pipes, both flue and reed. As the sole voicer, Mr. Woods exerted a strong bearing on the company’s musical personality. 

John Goulding, who oversaw the design and construction of the organs, was joined by his son, Mark Goulding, in 1985. The younger Goulding began first as the head chest builder, laying out and fabricating the slider chests. In time, he began overseeing installation crews and general shop organization. As the company continued to build larger and more complex instruments, the workshop saw a growth in size and sophistication. The addition of Computer-Assisted-Design supported the increase in refinement of mechanical and visual designs notably present in the instruments in Saint Meinrad, Indiana, and Greenville, South Carolina.

By the beginning years of the present century, Goulding & Wood had attained a national reputation of excellence. The founders were ready to pass along creative control to a new generation with the assurance that the company would continue to expand and develop along the trajectory they had established. In 2003 John Goulding and Thomas Wood retired, making the unusual decision to turn ownership of the company completely over to active members of the organ building team. The first project completed following this transition was the sixty-nine-rank organ for Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas, an instrument that boasts two 32′ stops, four independent full-length open 16′ flue ranks, and extensive carved casework in the Georgian neo-classical style.

Prestigious projects followed, including installations at Ball State University in Indiana and Loyola University of Chicago. No less significant to the company’s development, organs in Germantown, Tennessee, Macon, Georgia, and Lexington, Kentucky, maintained the company’s evolution toward a tonal ideal that favors choruses based on rich fundamental tone, a wide palette of vibrant colors, and a seamless blend building to a thrilling tutti. Goulding & Wood continued to go from strength to strength, earning acclaim for each subsequent instrument. As a natural part of this evolution, the company attracted and trained young talent. Several woodworkers came from the Indiana University Herron School of Art and Design, and these young artists have discovered a newfound passion for the pipe organ. Organists also found their way into the shop, enriching the conversations about tonal design and musical goals for each project. The company suffered an unexpected and painful turn when Mr. Woods passed away in 2016 shortly after a cancer diagnosis. Fortunately, the voicing room was in good hands as tonal responsibilities passed to Jerin Kelly (a member of The Diapason’s 20 Under 30 Class of 2017), who had extensive background in woodworking and as a musician in his own right. Mr. Kelly has followed closely in the footsteps of Mr. Woods, excelling both at refurbishing pipework from other builders and placing his own stamp on new organs.

The Goulding & Wood team continues to pair veteran craftsmen, many with tenures at the firm of several decades in length, with a younger generation of artisans, eager to push the company further into the future. This combination of seasoned experience and fresh ideas continues to bear fruit in exciting ways. The results are manifest to an extraordinary degree in the organ for Saint John’s Episcopal Cathedral of Knoxville, Tennessee, the firm’s fifty-second opus-numbered project. A comprehensive tonal design that furnishes organists with abundant resources for service playing and faithful rendition of repertoire is housed within handsome cases adorning the church with a panoply of architectural detail. The ornate cabinetry, including a wealth of hand-carved detail, asserts a commanding presence that nevertheless complements the architecture rather than competes with it. Warm polished tin pipes with gilded mouths echo the brightness of the room, and bespoke features, such as the linen-fold panels, delight the eye. The beauty, in both sound and appearance, is built upon a mechanical layout that is as ingenious as it is elegant, ensuring not only uncompromised reliability but also access to every component. 

The Knoxville organ is in many ways a summation of the learning, growth, and hard work that the company has seen over its forty-year history, yet it would be erroneous to think of it as a magnum opus. The artists of Goulding & Wood are continually expanding their vision to achieve ever more refinement in all aspects of organ building. As they look forward to the next forty years, the team is eager to approach each project with enthusiasm, professionalism, and excellence.

—Goulding & Wood Pipe Organ Builders

 

GREAT (Manual II)

16′ Violone 61 pipes

8′ First Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Second Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Violone (ext 16′) 12 pipes

8′ Harmonic Flute (1–12 Bdn) 49 pipes

8′ Bourdon 61 pipes

4′ Octave 61 pipes

4′ Open Flute 61 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Twelfth 61 pipes

2′ Fifteenth 61 pipes

1-3⁄5′ Seventeenth 61 pipes

1-1⁄3′ Fourniture IV 244 pipes

8′ Trumpet 61 pipes

8′ Festival Trumpet 56 pipes

8′ Tuba (Ch)

Tremulant

Chimes (digital, 37 notes)

SWELL (Manual III, enclosed)

16′ Gedeckt 61 pipes

8′ Geigen Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Gedeckt (ext 16′) 12 pipes

8′ Viole de Gambe 61 pipes

8′ Voix celeste (GG) 54 pipes

4′ Octave Geigen 61 pipes

4′ Traverse Flute 61 pipes

2′ Octave 61 pipes

2′ Piccolo 61 pipes

2′ Mixture III–IV 223 pipes

16′ Bassoon-Oboe 61 pipes

8′ Trumpet 61 pipes

8′ Oboe (ext 16′) 12 pipes

8′ Vox Humana 61 pipes

4′ Clarion 61 pipes

8′ Festival Trumpet (Gt)

8′ Tuba (Ch)

Tremulant

CHOIR (Manual I, enclosed)

16′ Dulciana (ext 8′) 12 pipes

8′ Open Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Second Diapason (Gt)

8′ Chimney Flute 61 pipes

8′ Dulciana 61 pipes

8′ Unda Maris (TC) 49 pipes

4′ Principal 61 pipes

4′ Spindle Flute 61 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Nazard 61 pipes

2′ Octave 61 pipes

2′ Recorder 61 pipes

1-3⁄5′ Tierce 61 pipes

1-1⁄3′ Larigot 61 pipes

1′ Cymbale III 183 pipes

8′ Clarinet 61 pipes

8′ Tuba 61 pipes

8′ Festival Trumpet (Gt)

Tremulant

Cymbelstern (5 tuned bells)

Nightingale (2 pipes in water)

ANTIPHONAL

8′ Echo Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Diapason Celeste 61 pipes

8′ Stopped Diapason 61 pipes

4′ Octave 61 pipes

4′ Spire Flute 61 pipes

2′ Fifteenth 61 pipes

1-1⁄3′ Mixture II–III 171 pipes

PEDAL

32′ Violone (digital ext) 12 notes

32′ Bourdon (digital ext) 12 notes

16′ Principal 32 pipes

16′ Bourdon 32 pipes

16′ Violone (Gt)

16′ Gedeckt (Sw)

16′ Dulciana (Ch)

8′ Octave 32 pipes

8′ Stopped Flute 32 pipes

8′ Violone (Gt)

8′ Gedeckt (Sw)

4′ Fifteenth 32 pipes

4′ Cantus Flute 32 pipes

2-2⁄3′ Fourniture IV 128 pipes

32′ Contra Bassoon (digital ext) 12 notes

16′ Trombone 32 pipes

16′ Bassoon (Sw)

8′ Tromba 32 pipes

8′ Bassoon (Sw)

4′ Clarion 32 pipes

8′ Tuba (Ch)

Tremulant

ANTIPHONAL PEDAL

16′ Stopped Diapason (ext) 12 pipes

8′ Stopped Diapason (fr Ant 8′)

 

Normal complement of couplers

Three manuals, 70 ranks, 3,884 pipes

Photo caption: Saint John’s Episcopal Cathedral, Knoxville, Tennessee (photo credit: Ben Finch)

See the video of the Saint John’s Episcopal Cathedral, Knoxville, Tennessee, organ:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHVZxHGWpCQ&feature=youtu.be