TAO Articles

A Kimball in the Wilderness
St. John’s Cathedral
Denver, Colorado

Chancel Organ
W.W. Kimball 7231 (1938)
Restoration by Spencer Organ Company Inc. (2009–2012)

Gallery Organ
Spencer Organ Company Inc. and J. Zamberlan & Co. (2016) New Antiphonal Organ with Vintage Pipes

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The chancel organ at St. John’s Cathedral is Colorado’s biggest pipe organ, the last large surviving Kimball, and a memorial to notable Denverites. The gift of Senator Lawrence and Margaret Phipps, the Kimball is placed in memory of Mrs. Phipps’s father, Judge Platt Rogers (1850–1928), mayor of Denver 1891–93. Judge Rogers died on December 25, 1928, leading Mrs. Phipps to envision a new organ in the Episcopal Cathedral in the judge’s memory ringing forth on Christmas 1937.

The Phippses were avid music lovers. Mrs. Phipps played the piano and organ, and had a 1933 Kimball at home—an instrument that was not delivered on time, irritating the senator, who had intended the organ as a surprise Christmas gift. Thus, to get Kimball back in the running for the Cathedral job, sophisticated nudging was needed, which came in the person of George Boothroyd. Close friend of the Phippses and organist at Grace–St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Colorado Springs (1928 Welte with 1936 Kimball additions), Boothroyd probably drafted the stoplist for the Phipps Kimball. When his rector, the Rev. Paul Roberts, was installed as dean of Denver, Boothroyd became the Cathedral’s de facto organ advisor.

Once again, Kimball promised quick delivery: 80 ranks in six months, by Christmas 1937. Even with production still high in the 1930s, this was a daunting schedule, not helped when Boothroyd kept adding stops, which the Phippses kept happily funding. The original 80 ranks eventually grew to 95; Kimball threw in a Choir 4′ Viola to make 96, all the while keeping to the Christmas deadline. When the first trainload kept not arriving, nerves began to fray: from local organ man Fred Meunier (a key part of the Christmas promise) to Senator Phipps (who hadn’t wanted Kimball in the first place), and especially Cathedral organist Carl Staps (piqued at having been kept at arm’s length). The senator even suggested optimal train routing for the first carload, containing the Swell and some of the Pedal. It finally arrived November 13, and Meunier got it playing for Christmas amid an atmosphere of heavy disappointment. Not until March 22 was the entire organ all in. Kimball head voicer George Michel had already begun tonal finishing on March 13, completing it on April 11 in time for Easter. Palmer Christian played the dedicatory recital May 18.

With the Phippses dismayed, the organ crew demoralized, and the dean and Boothroyd disappointed, Kimball still managed to claim pride in their achievement. Of course, George Michel was no Walter Holtkamp or G. Donald Harrison; the 1930s Kimball tonal palette remained firmly in the late Romantic Anglo-American canon. Michel’s signature came in balancing a serious interest in ensemble with ultra-refined voicing and sheer excellence of pipe construction. No American firm of the day made better pipes: elegantly formed from the finest materials, gloriously substantial without any industrial feel, with wonderful, sophisticated touches. The hard, rolled zinc is so sturdy that strings are planted on the main chests from 8′ C without any upright racking; not one miter or seam has failed. Michel also pioneered the use of organ metal (instead of zinc) below 4′ C; the Pedal Geigen here is in spotted metal from 8′ D.

The tonal design follows a pattern Kimball established at the auditoriums of Minneapolis (1928), Memphis (1929), and especially Worcester (1933). But where those earlier instruments employed manual unification, Denver has none. The Pedal has only six extended registers, and the independent chorus 32-16-8-4-IV-32-16-8-4 dominates the ensemble almost like a French organ, only with butter-smooth tone. The Swell stoplist comes straight from the Anglo-American playbook, enriched with a second Trumpet, a third ultra-soft string pair, and a delicate Cornet. The Choir shows some corporate character in the Diapason, Octave, Trompette, and mutations, but is as much about color painting with its superb imitative reeds and Viola chorus. The Solo contains
rich Gambas, bold flutes, two crowning Tubas, and the expected French and English horns.

Divided into a strong unenclosed chorus and supporting enclosed voices, the Great is Michel’s most interesting composition. The First Open is flared two scales for a brilliant tone of particular resonance. The Second is formed of traditional cylindrical pipes, while the enclosed Third is half-tapered with narrow mouths, as is its companion Second Octave. The other chorus elements match the Second; the Fourniture has higher pitches than one might expect, while the tierced Full Mixture echoes an idea of the 19th-century English builder T.C. Lewis. Both harmonic flutes switch from 1/4 mouths in the natural length range to 2/7 for the harmonic portion. The Bourdon’s metal portion starts out with solid canisters, then receives internal chimneys at middle C; the first four chimneys are tapered, to graduate the introduction of rohr color. The sassy 16′ Quintaton (wood bass, metal treble) is as extroverted and plucky as any 17th-century example, albeit with smoother speech.

The first restoration challenge of any Kimball is that these organs contain considerably more mechanism per stop than other contemporary builders of “straight” organs. One Skinner key primary can exhaust as many as 15 note pouches; a Kimball primary, no more than six. Each mixture rank has its own stop action, surely a tuner’s convenience but one that gives a Kimball Plein Jeu five times the mechanism and requires three times the space as a Skinner. Regardless of class or pressure, every enclosed manual pipe tremulates; partial-compass celestes or stopped basses on open flutes were reserved for the smallest Kimballs (or, perhaps in their view, the corner-cutting of others). Where Skinner and Aeolian-Skinner avoided manual relays, considering them costly, complex, and action-slowing, Kimball assumed switching stations as a given for all but the smallest instruments, and incorporated as many primaries or unit actions (even for straight stops) as necessary—all creating more mechanism to restore. In similarly sized Swells between Skinner and Kimball, the Kimball can present the restorer with twice as much work.

Below chest level, the terrain is daunting. Kimball customarily provided separate reservoirs for manual basses, to promote steady wind and limit the tremulant’s reach. Thus, Denver’s 96 ranks are fed from 21 reservoirs, where Yale’s Woolsey Hall Skinner has 25 reservoirs, but for 197 ranks. Above chest level, the landscape isn’t much roomier. Early on, Kimball developed a fast, individual-pneumatic shutter motor to allow rapid accents. In the 1930s, this system was refined with additional pneumatics for the first few shutters, making them open only partway at first for subtler crescendos. This burly machinery works gorgeously, but is often mounted directly over a walkboard, which any technician taller than four feet quickly notices.

When it came to cramming all of these reservoirs, shutter pneumatics, tremolos, open flute basses, and full-compass celestes into a chamber, Kimball’s fearlessness was unmatched. In 1936, after Kimball sold an organ to a new Massachusetts church, the architect took away a quarter of the available room. Without flinching, Kimball compressed the same 51 ranks to fit. For Denver, what trouble were 16 more ranks, among them two open 16′ flues and an independent 32′ reed? It is the most cramped organ any of us has worked on—excepting, of course, other Kimballs.

Eight decades on, the several-month delay in completion seems trifling against Kimball’s real achievement: solid and interesting flue choruses, purring flutes, deluxe strings, uncanny perfection of evenness and timbre in reed voicing, and a pervading yet non-booming bass. In this distinctive 1930s Kimball juxtaposition of clotted-cream reeds against edgy diapasons, warmth remains the touchstone. While one could never mistake this for an on-axis installation, still there is a clarity that belies the instrument’s shockingly cramped installation, thanks to having the Great chorus right behind the facade, and a lack of transepts.

Still, it’s not surprising to see the console prepared for an Antiphonal. Nothing is known about Kimball’s, Boothroyd’s, or Staps’s intentions here, but 21 knobs were provided for manual stops, another seven for Pedal, and seven tablets (all unengraved) to accommodate one large floating department with separate Pedal. In 1941, Kimball (or perhaps Fred Meunier using Kimball stationery) mooted three specifications, none of which could have fit in the gallery proper without blocking the wide central window. By this time, Mrs. Phipps’s mother had died, and she thought to complete the Platt Rogers Organ with an Antiphonal, thus honoring both parents. But, with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941 came an injunction that US organbuilders use, in the first three months of 1942, only half the amount of tin used in that same period the previous year, and then cease to use any tin after March 31, 1942. Although they could not have known it, Kimball produced for St. John’s their final statement of what a grand organ should be.

For years, the organ was maintained by its installer, Fred Meunier, succeeded by the Morel establishment, and then Norman Lane. Along the way, minor repairs and restoration were undertaken, with solid-state equipment superseding the original remote relays and combination machines. In the 1980s and 1990s, several efforts were mounted to rebuild and recast the instrument. Both times the Cathedral got close to a contract, however, the company in question entered into bankruptcy. By the time Stephen Tappe arrived in 2004, he had already shepherded a 1929 Skinner restoration in Jacksonville and was bent on restoration. An Organ Task Force, convened in 2007 (with Tappe, Janet Thompson, Norman Lane, Richard Robertson, Michael Friesen, Gregory Movesian, Michael Jalving, and Susan Tattershall), affirmed a commitment to restoration. Spencer Organ Company was selected in 2007, renovated the blower in 2008, and in 2009 entered into contract for the full restoration.

The project aimed to be as conservative as possible. All actions and reservoirs were releathered to the highest standard. The original lacquer finish on all pipes was preserved, without additional coats for cosmetic purposes. Wood pipes remained in Denver, out of concern that they might be compromised if exposed to the New England climate. Having been cleaned once in 1965, the metal pipes were in fine shape. After re-rounding, the original tuning sleeves were refit, including Kimball’s distinctive friction-taped larger ones. All of this work was done at Spencer according to protocols worked out by Joseph Rotella, Jonathan Ambrosino, and Martin Near. Near superintended the pipe restoration with particular reverence, having known the Kimball from boyhood when his father, the Rev. Kenneth M. Near, served as a canon there from 1985 to 1991.

In tackling this project, Spencer extended its own staff with a family of previous collaborators. A crew from the Organ Clearing House joined in the organ’s removal during June 2009. J. Zamberlan & Co. staff helped with preliminary preparation of windchests, sending them on to Spencer for the balance of the restoration process. Samuel C. Hughes reconditioned the 21 reeds, retaining the original brass wedges and tongues but fitting new metal inserts (archiving the originals). Richard Houghten and his assistant Vladimir Vaculik took charge of all console renovation and electrical work, updating the control systems to SSOS MultiSystem. The console’s curvaceous Moderne lines still resound to the puffing of the original electro-pneumatic drawknob and tablet actions, carefully restored and adjusted.

For the reinstallation, the Zamberlan crew joined up, now with Visser-Rowland alum Jim Steinborn in the mix. (Based in Fort Collins, he is now the organ’s curator.) Having reviewed all the flue pipes in Waltham, Jonathan Ambrosino undertook the site finishing with veteran voicer Daniel Kingman, whose first-week dictum—“There is only one way through this organ: slowly”—became a project motto. Paul Jacobs’s rededicatory recital on November 11, 2011, included a memorably panoramic interpretation of the Elgar Sonata.

With the Kimball restoration under way, the task force continued to consider options in the gallery. All acknowledged that restoration would not magically transform the Kimball’s ability to lead a packed nave. Some of America’s finest builders put forth many intriguing possibilities, but what really captured the task force’s attention was news of a cache of 1899 Kimball pipework that had become available in Pittsburgh. Going on faith, Zamberlan and Spencer crews retrieved these pipes, while William Catanesye (at the time, a Spencer employee) sketched out a case design, taking certain cues from the chancel facade and inspiration from the chaste twin gallery case-fronts of a 1908 Hook & Hastings in Beverly, Mass., that Spencer had restored in 2006. In the end, Joe Zamberlan designed the Denver cases and organ afresh, but it was that initial drawing that sparked imaginations and sold the project.

Stephen Tappe had clear expectations for the Antiphonal. Naturally, it should aid congregational leadership, but also contain sufficient material to support the choir from the gallery. Finally, it should provide a few key effects the chancel organ lacked: soft 32′ and heraldic manual reed. Most of the Antiphonal pipes come from the Pittsburgh Kimball, which, it must be admitted, hails from a different aesthetic than the chancel organ. These pipes are voiced on 3¼” wind pressure and reflect a late 19th-century approach to construction and voicing. As Kimball’s pipe shop was in its infancy in 1899, some of the Pittsburgh pipes came from suppliers. The tin strings from G. Mack (a former Roosevelt pipemaker) are incisive in timbre yet delicate in strength. The diapasons resemble those of Carl Barckhoff, with healthy windways and slightly arched cutups. The Kimball-built, sprightly-toned stopped wood flutes recall Woodberry or Johnson, as do the thin, blending Trumpet and Oboe. Non-1899 registers are the Great Gemshorn (a fine Tom Anderson rank salvaged from another Spencer restoration) and new pipes from A.R. Schopp’s Sons. Schopp voicer Bob Beck did excellent work on the prompt facade Diapason, Violone, and 32′ Bourdon. For the Tuba, we turned to the magical touch of Christopher Broome. Scaled on the Skinner pattern and hooded from tenor F-sharp, the Tuba has a darker tone in deference to the chancel organ.

The Spencer and Zamberlan shops collaborated actively. The two Josephs co-designed the layout, windchest style, and wind system. Cases, structure, windchest parts, reservoirs, and blower cabinets were built at Zamberlan’s. The Spencer shop leathered the windchests and completed them with restored pipes, racking and testing. Everything was returned to Ohio for setup, and then sent on to Denver for installation. Jonathan Ambrosino helped with concept and tonal design, and did voicing work on flue pipes and the Vox Humana, which Martin Near, once again, put into beautiful condition. Sam Hughes reconditioned the Trumpet and Oboe. Spencer renovated a 1952 two-manual Aeolian-Skinner console with new tablets, expression shoes, and pistons. Houghten and Vaculik returned to update the entire organ to MultiSystem II, while SSOS provided a special touch-screen portal that permits the setting of chancel generals at the Antiphonal console without having to run downstairs.

Life sometimes imitates life. Without any specific intention, the narrow cases impart an unmistakable Kimball feel to the new Antiphonal, apparent as one squeezes and scrapes through an instrument that may not have arrived precisely on schedule. Thankfully, this time around the Cathedral has been incredibly patient and thoroughly supportive. Everyone is pleased, even relieved, at how natural the cases look, how unviolated the window remains, and how finished the gallery now appears. The tones from the Antiphonal are surprisingly gentle in the gallery proper. But with their ideal location against hard stone, these pipes sound full and clear in the nave, answering the chancel organ with a contrasting, respectful palette of color. The sum effect fills the room as never before. These various qualities were on good display at a gala concert last September, when Princeton University Organist Eric Plutz (who served as assistant organist at St. John’s in the 1990s) returned to grace the chancel console, with the Cathedral choir in the gallery led by Stephen Tappe and Lyn Loewi at the organ.

A project of this magnitude involves many hands. We are grateful to our staffs and colleagues whose myriad talents enriched the results. And, even as these projects presented as many challenges as rewards, this beautiful building has cradled us in our efforts. On and off now for a decade, we have entered this nave, its limestone walls marbled in a thousand hues of Connick blue, understanding that such an environment issues its own commandment to excellence. Kimball may have missed their deadline, but they stopped at nothing to shoot well past the mark. We hope our work is worthy of theirs and of this great Cathedral.

Joseph Rotella, President; Spencer Organ Company
Joseph G. Zamberlan, President; J. Zamberlan & Co.
Jonathan Ambrosino

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St. Cecilia Catholic Church
Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin
Johannus Orgelbouw B.V. • Ede, Netherlands
By Rick Bocock

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Since 1851, St. Cecilia Catholic Parish has played a pivotal role in the growing community of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. As implied by their chosen namesake, Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of musicians, music has always been important in the life of this church. Thus, it was only natural that, when it came time to build a new larger worship space to house their overflowing congregation, it was assumed that a noteworthy organ would eventually become the central instrument supporting the music of worship.

Plans for the new building began forming in 1999. But, as with many churches today, the decision on an organ was delayed under the assumption that costs would be too high and the production time too long to consider one in conjunction with a major building program. In 2015, the Reverend Eric Sternberg became pastor at St. Cecilia’s and soon noticed the omission. Moving quickly, he solicited advice on how to obtain the best organ for the church—one that would meet their high-quality standards, support their varied musical needs, and still fall within their means and their timeline. Following advice from multiple sources, he selected Johannus Orgelbouw b.v. of the Netherlands, through its area dealer Johannus Midwest of Bloomingdale, Illinois, to design and build their new Monarke organ.

Arriving at St. Cecilia’s for their first meeting in early 2016, Matt Bechteler and Gary Wood of Johannus Midwest found the new church already under construction: the foundation and floor were poured, the walls were up, and the roof was in place. At that initial meeting, it became apparent that suitable space for the organ’s audio system had not been provided in the building’s design. At the same time, Fr. Eric explained his desire for a significant musical instrument of great capability.

In consultation with Mr. Bechteler and Mr. Wood, we soon realized that the size of the audio system would be significant and would need to be quickly incorporated into the building’s plans. Happily, with the help of Val Schute of River Architects and Kraemer Brothers, the general contractor, we settled on the perfect space in niches behind the statuary on either side of the altar. Soon we had the construction drawings in hand to house our 112 speaker drivers and eight subwoofers inside two chambers. The space is large by audio system standards but still miniscule considering the 68 ranks of pipes represented.

River Architects, in conjunction with Yerges Acoustics, designed the room with favorable acoustics, enhancing both song and the organ. From the beginning, we decided to build on the room’s acoustics and focused the tonal concept on the great French organs of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. Their richness and varied tonal resources seemed perfect to support the music of the Mass in a space with this sort of resonant clarity.

While not a direct copy of any Cavaillé-Coll instrument, the tonal principles of the French Romantic style predominate in the tonal scheme of this organ. Meticulously voiced for the room, the organ’s sound is distinctly French, while at the same time sounding modern and fresh. With 53 stops, the gamut of French literature can be realized with authenticity. At the same time, the music of J.S. Bach comes across quite successfully, but perhaps with a bit of a French accent.

Tracey Tolzmann, St. Cecilia’s director of music and organist, reports that the first question she gets from new listeners is, “Where are the pipes?” to which she replies, “Well, the pipes are in France!” She also finds it easy to conduct the choir while playing the organ, taking advantage of the terraced console’s low-profile and its rolling platform. With only a single CAT-5 cable connecting the console to the main remote electronics cabinet, the console is relatively light and easy to reposition.

Fr. Eric sums up his experience this way, “The organ is the singular most important investment in our music ministry because it is at the heart of the musical tradition of the Church . . . (It) is a beautiful instrument built by Johannus for our parish. I confess I don’t know, or care, about the technical details. I am impressed by the quality of sound and very happy with the beauty of its physical design. After every Sunday Mass I get comments—how beautiful it is; how much they like it; how much it moves their hearts.”

We at Johannus US are pleased with the outcome of this project. Joining the conversation about the new building at St. Cecilia’s somewhat late in the process, in 20 weeks time we were able to design, build, and install a new fully-custom organ, complete with a handcrafted console personalized with the church’s carved logo, and had the organ ready in time for the church’s dedication. We are thankful for the team spirit shown by everyone on this project and we wish the people of St. Cecilia Parish many joyful years with their new Johannus Monarke organ.

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Rick Bocock is president of Johannus US.

Fr. Eric Sternberg, pastor
Tracey Tolzmann, director of music-organist
Matt Bechteler, Johannus Midwest, president
Gary Wood, Johannus Midwest, organ designer
Dwayne Linich, Johannus Organs Midwest, installation
Mark Synder, Music Solutions, installation
Jim Stout, JDS Builders, speaker arrays and mobile console platform
Val Schute, River Architects, building design
James Yerges, Yerges Acoustics, acoustic design
Kraemer Brothers, general contractor
Rick Bocock, Johannus US, design consultant

Hear this organ:

The Reuter Organ Company Centennial

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Reuter Organ Company.
Since its founding in 1917, they have successfully designed and built
more than 2,240 instruments for churches, concert halls, and residences.

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The Reuter Organ Company officially began operations on April 17, 1917. At that time, Adolph C. Reuter had worked in the organ industry for over 15 years and held supervisory positions at Wicks, Casavant, and Pilcher. He had been meeting with area businessmen since the beginning of the year to organize his own company. Before the end of the year, the new firm had installed its first organ at Trinity Episcopal Church in Matoon, Illinois. This organ still plays weekly services and will be featured in a recital this November—100 years and one day after it was first used on a Sunday morning.

Our last anniversary article in The American Organist (March 1992) gave a detailed history of the first 75 years of the company. For this issue, we decided to focus our attention on the last 25 years. Thus, the cover features our organ at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Springfield, Illinois, completed this past year, framed by photos of other instruments that we have installed over the last two decades. A biographical essay by JR Neutel, Reuter president, precedes the description of the Cathedral organ.

We invite you to visit the Reuter Organ Company website for additional information on our company and its history.

–Ronald Krebs, Vice President

From the President

My time with Reuter began in January 1980, just before my father, Albert Neutel, and Franklin Mitchell assumed control of the company. I spent the next six years working in the various aspects of organ building throughout the shop.

In 1986, I moved to Memphis to become a sales and service representative for the firm. At the same time, I was also asked to assist Franklin Mitchell with tonal finishing of an organ we had installed in Milwaukee. My experience with Franklin continued as we worked on many other instruments over the next eight years and I learned the art of voicing. Franklin was a consummate organist and we spent many hours talking about organ design and voicing. A day of voicing typically ended with him auditioning what had been accomplished and revealing the subtle nuances of color and blending he sought out in the voicing process as he played.

My time with Franklin taught me how to truly listen. For me, however, the art of listening was not limited to the sound of pipes. The more time I spent in the field in those early years, the more important it became to me to ask organists and choral directors what they expected of a pipe organ—right down to a stop-by-stop analysis. These musicians continue to share their knowledge and experiences with me and offer valuable insight that continues to guide our work as stylistic approaches evolve and technology advances.

In 1997, I returned to Lawrence to work alongside my father and learn more about running the business. At that time, my duties also included heading the Reuter tonal department, and we decided to retire the concept of the “tonal director.” For too long, and in too many firms, the director was also viewed as a dictator. I wanted our company to listen to, and be challenged by, our clients.

While Franklin was the artistic side of the organbuilding, my father was the businessman. His business acumen ensured that we would ultimately achieve this landmark year. My father was also a master at bringing out the best in folks. Under his guidance, the team was assembled that now leads the firm into the future from a modern, spacious facility. Today, he is enjoying his retirement in Florida.

Many of my conversations begin with “what do you think of this idea,” or “can we do this.” All our employees know that thinking outside the box often can lead to good things. When it comes to tonal concepts, our motto is the road is wide, but, if wrong, the tonal abyss is deep! This philosophy has resulted in the signing of many contracts.

While this narrative shares some insight into what I want Reuter to be, I want to commend and thank management and all the craftspeople—the organ architects/designers, the folks building the consoles, those who pour the metal and make the pipes, the chest builders, those who apply lacquer, the folks who assemble all the components—who have shared their talents in making Reuter what it is today. Each day for 100 years, the willingness and commitment to excellence by our employees has set our company apart.

I also want to thank all our clients. Every day brings a fresh adventure and the ability to learn something new. There are new places to see and new acquaintances to be made. It is an honor to work with you to the successful completion of each project. Dedicated to artistry and integrity, we remain at your service.

–JR Neutel

The Cathedral Organ

The story of the new organ at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield, Illinois, is like that of the building, one of renewal to much better than new. The building, dedicated in 1928 and featuring an interior fashioned after Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, was meticulously restored in 2009.

The core of the gallery organ began its service in 1971 as Reuter Organ Company’s Opus 1763, a three-manual, 43-rank instrument built for the Broadmoor Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi. The Broadmoor congregation has since moved on to both new quarters and worship style. During a hot summer week in 2015, the organ was removed and loaded onto two trucks to make its way back to Lawrence for comprehensive renewal.

The Broadmoor organ reflected the tonal priorities of an earlier time, with limited 8’´tone and an abundance of upperwork. As we now prefer a tonal design built upon strong foundational tone, several modifications were done to prepare the organ for its new purpose at the cathedral. As is customary in rebuilding organs of this period, a new Great chorus anchors the ensemble, with the existing choruses being redeployed and refurbished for secondary roles. Colorful solo sounds were added, including the restoration of four stops from the cathedral’s 1928 Wicks organ. A commanding new Trompette en Chamade completes the gallery organ.

In addition, a small Antiphonal organ was renovated and installed above the high altar. It is based on another vintage organ, Reuter Opus 703. Originally built in 1946 for a Methodist church in Greensburg, Kansas, Opus 703 later served Trinity Lutheran Church in Beatrice, Nebraska, from 1963 until 2014, when it was briefly used as a residence organ. This truly ecumenical instrument can be played from its own console or from the gallery.

The acoustic of this elegant building tends to favor low and midrange frequencies over the upper ranges. The strong treble qualities of the earlier instrument offer the ensemble a clarity and definition, while allowing the organ full advantage of the space’s qualities. The bass travels gently down the nave, while the 8’´foundations build energy and bloom in the warm ambience. The finished instrument easily fills the grand space and effortlessly leads a large congregation in song. There are abundant tonal resources for convincing performances of the organ literature. Just as important, it offers many opportunities for choral accompaniment, with complete, supportive choruses in each division.

The cathedral’s visual grandeur with its sympathetic acoustic makes for a most uplifting setting. We are honored to have been chosen for this important project, and we can all look forward to generations of inspired worship and music.

–William Klimas, Artistic Director

From the Cathedral Staff

It was late summer in 2015 when I was asked to serve on a committee for the purpose of renovating or replacing the cathedral pipe organ. My “yes” was instant. Our committee of four quickly decided to replace the old pipe organ. Knowing we had a specific budget to work with, the search was on for a vintage instrument that would meet our worship needs and become a focal point for sacred music of all kinds for the Cathedral community.

I’m delighted to say that the Reuter Organ Company was able to offer us a wonderful used instrument that needed a new home. Ultimately, JR Neutel and his staff installed an instrument that is nearly twice as big as the organ that was replaced and offers a much broader tonal spectrum than was ever available before. The instrument is a tremendous success.

–Mark Gifford, Interim Organist and Director of Music

In 2009, our Cathedral underwent a large-scale restoration. The project was a great success, but lacking in one area: the organ. I am so very happy that the Reuter Organ Company was able to finally supply the “missing piece” in the Cathedral. The instrument, and the service that has gone with it, has met and exceeded all of our expectations. The beauty of the Cathedral church and our liturgies is only enhanced by this great work of the Reuter Organ Company.

–Reverend Christopher A. House, Pastor, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

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Hear this organ:

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
Buffalo, New York
Parsons Pipe Organ Builders • Integrated Organ Technologies Inc.

New organ projects have the luxury of starting from scratch. After evaluating the acoustics, placement, and people, the builder can create a design that (hopefully) suits everyone, perhaps even himself. In the best situations, the builder is given carte blanche, much like a novelist with a blank page. It is often under such circumstances that masterpieces result.

By contrast, rebuilds are another breed altogether. They enjoy neither the luxury of restoration (with its discipline of no change) nor that blank page of new-organ creativity. In place of the novelist starting from scratch, the rebuilder is akin to the writer adapting a novel for the screen, with the characters and plots all largely in place. Still, the rebuilder hopes to find room for creativity, improvement, and transformation. After all, some of the world’s greatest organs are rebuilds; consider Saint-Sulpice in Paris or Woolsey Hall at Yale University. But in these instances, a sufficient infusion of new material allowed Cavaillé-Coll and Skinner to fashion a result fully recognizable as their own work. Our project at Holy Trinity, Buffalo hardly began so loftily.

The Buffalo organ’s many-chaptered history began as a 1949 three-manual M.P. Möller. In terms of construction and voicing, the best surviving pipes came from these original 43 ranks, itself a quaint number considering the subsequent enlargements that raised the tally to 151 ranks and eleven divisions. Much of this expansion came from Möller, who embellished the chancel sections, added a new Positiv, Grand Choir, and Solo, and eventually installed a two-manual gallery organ. Later in the 1980s, Allan Van Zoeren revoiced much of the chancel fluework, adding other voices and supervising colleagues in console revisions. While the organ unquestionably grew in color and scope, inside it was an ever-increasing web of chests, pipes, and challenging access.

In 1994, Charles Kegg took the organ in a new tonal direction. He revoiced certain stops for greater breadth and warmth, installed new chorus reeds in the Swell and Grand Choir and new upperwork in the Great and Swell, and enlarged the gallery Swell and Positiv. Much of this effort took the organ closer to its 1949 late-romantic roots, only now within the context of a vastly larger size. But even this project was insufficient to overcome the organ’s ungovernable mechanical nature, mostly due to accessibility.

We entered the picture in 2012 as the organ’s caretakers. With drafty chambers and pipes on numerous levels, this work was rarely satisfying. In time, certain failing aspects could no longer be ignored. Möller pipes in the facade and Grand Choir were collapsing, and certain chests needed releathering. But thanks to the gentle persistence (spearheaded largely by Dave McCleary and Matt Parsons) and the foresight of Intentional Interim Pastor Rev. Neil Kattermann to intervene on behalf of the congregation and organ, initial requests for repairs were eventually parlayed into a phased plan. First, the main organ (Great, Swell, Choir, Positiv, and Pedal) would be remanufactured: new windchests, winding, and swell boxes; the entire organ rewired with a new control system and five new manuals in the main console; collapsing pipes replaced; and modest refinements made in Grand Choir and Solo. Future phases include chassis replacement in the Grand Choir and Solo, and a complete overhaul of the gallery. As it has from the start, the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation generously funded this latest campaign, always convinced that Holy Trinity’s musical mission was of material benefit to the city of Buffalo.

In remanufacturing the main organ, we were given—at least mechanically—that all-important blank page. First, the church agreed to strengthen the chamber walls, to project tone and limit outside climate interference. At the same time, they agreed to increase the nave-facing opening, to aid in clarity and effectiveness of projection, thus making the chancel organ less dependent on augmentation from the gallery for normal Sunday use. An internal air circulation system (which we have done elsewhere with great success) combats stratification and helps keep the tuning stable. Finally, and critically, we could redesign the entire chamber.

Our engineer Peter Geise (an Eastman-trained organist who studied further at GOArt in Sweden) and our tonal director Duane Prill (also Eastman-trained, and Marian Craighead’s successor as organist at Asbury Methodist in Rochester) collaborated on the new layout. They strove for an arrangement that would make not only good musical and mechanical sense, but be as inviting to the tuner as the old layout had been daunting. In the old setup, the Great and Positiv spoke into the chancel; the Swell and Choir were against the right wall, with the Swell above. That division spoke mostly out of the chancel facade, while the Choir, down low, had an odd tonal access to the congregation through the former squat nave opening. Climbing through the organ was not for the faint of heart. Certain pipes could not be reached by any means (including portions of the Positiv 8′ Principal); indeed, the average child’s jungle gym was easier to navigate.

In our new layout, the Great is behind the nave opening, from which it speaks directly to the congregation. The Positiv is essentially where it was, speaking into the chancel as a mini-Great. The Swell and Choir are placed against the chamber’s rear wall, with shutters facing both chancel and nave. The Pedal is divided between the main Great chest (4′ Spitzflöte, mixtures), and lower level (flutes, principals, reed). Thick maple swell enclosures create a pianissimo new to this instrument; nave-facing shutters can be switched off for accompaniment. All of these improvements combine to give the organ an entirely different impact in the room: warmer, certainly clearer, and in every way more satisfying.

Slider windchests carry most of the material, with unit windchests for extended stops and chorus reeds. Among some electric-action devotees, slider windchests have an uneven reputation, particularly concerning poor repetition, unwelcome drawing between stops, and ugly releases from small pipes. In the windchest design, great care was taken to address each of these issues. To ensure responsiveness, each traditional pallet has an accompanying all-electric valve, breaking pluck and speeding response (an idea hardly new to us, merely carried out methodically here). Note order was planned such that no one group of notes would have an advantage in egress over any other (lessons learned from some of our other jobs using tierce-layout chests in chambers). Similar forethought was extended to the order of stops on each chest, to negate interference and drawing, and promote secure tuning and speech. Dividers inside the note channels isolate various stops from unwanted entanglements; careful adjustment of pallet springs (both main and tail) eliminates any unappetizing “weeping off” of trebles. The result has all the advantages of slider chests—tight tuning and uniform attack for chorus work—without undesirable side effects. Finally, given the space-efficiency of slider chests, and the fact that almost any winding system would be simpler than Möller’s, the former constricted feeling has given way to one of spaciousness and order. A generous stair-ladder connects the two levels, no walkboard is narrower than 18″, and every surface is bathed in LED lighting.

At first, this project involved no tonal changes. But once Duane Prill had reviewed all stops with musician James Bigham, together they agreed that certain minor aspects could be improved. A round robin of flute exchanges between Great and Choir, together with a vintage Concert Flute, has improved that complement of voices. The formerly mute nave facade has become a new Great 16’´ Principal, while a new 16’´ Violone replaces the old 16’´ Principal in the chancel facades. As stops were auditioned in the workshop, it became clear that Parsons had an opportunity afforded no prior rebuilder: to review all the pipes at the same time by one tonal team. Thus, Duane Prill seized the moment, revoicing the Great, Swell, and Positiv choruses, taming the Grand Choir upperwork somewhat, and making useful adjustments to solo voices such as the Flauto Mirabilis and Viole Celeste II. Extending over a six-month period, the tonal finishing put the organ within Parsons’s house practice, promoting a balance of warmth and clarity, accompaniment and repertoire, together with a natural but not antagonistic treble ascendancy.

 

Eight reeds were sent to Broome & Co. LLC for reconditioning, including chorus stops from the Great, Swell, and Pedal, and the Choir Trompette and Cor Anglais. Most are as before, but better (more uniform in timbre and secure in tuning). An exception is the Pedal reed, now speaking on nine-inch wind pressure and revoiced as a commanding melody voice. The remaining reeds were cleaned at Parsons, and altogether this array features outstanding examples of both neoclassical and orchestral colors. Apart from simple cleaning, the Grand Choir and Solo reeds await renovation in a later phase. However, the collapsing Grand Choir 32’´-16’´ reed was replaced by a new set from A.R. Schopp’s Sons, scaled and voiced by Broome along Skinner Waldhorn lines. Finally, the old “Tuba” (a strident voice made out of an old Cornopean, with little actual tuba quality) was replaced with the new Bigham Tuba, given in honor of Mr. Bigham’s 40 years’ service to this church. Also voiced by Broome, this superb stop equals any Willis or Skinner set, fully justifying our pleasure in working with this talented artist.

Control systems for a two-organ, two-console instrument, particularly when the consoles are not identical, are the most challenging and time-consuming to design and execute. With 11 divisions, 283 stop and coupler controls, and 189 pistons on the chancel console alone, some idea of the complexity comes into focus. In addition, Mr. Bigham was eager to preserve a number of nonstandard controls, making this one of the most complex systems ever. The challenge was ably met by the Virtuoso Control System from Integrated Organ Technologies Inc. In the past, activity at one console can affect the other adversely. IOTI’s innovative multiplexer reduces this complexity by enabling each console to control the entire instrument independently, one unaware of what is happening at the other. Dwight Jones, IOTI’s president, was on site on numerous occasions and patiently accommodated every request—a true colleague. In that same way, we have felt uncommonly welcomed by the Holy Trinity staff. Pastor Lee Miller treated us with unfailing cordiality through additional requests, changes, and obstacles. Anytime we needed something, buildings and grounds director John Busch was there; Linda Lipczynski is that smiling, helpful presence you wish ran every church office.

Finally, we give thanks to James Bigham, who knew the organ had its troubles but was initially averse to any change. Change it did, perhaps not in that far-reaching Saint-Sulpice or Woolsey Hall manner, but transformationally nonetheless. Mr. Bigham walked that road with us, tentatively at first, but with ever-increasing confidence as the results justified our efforts. In turn, his encouragement allowed us to do more than we had thought we could. That process has created, in our view, the best version of this organ yet.

For the stoplist, technical details, and photos: Parsons Organs and Facebook

Parsons Pipe Organ Builders

Richard B. Parsons, president
Calvin G. Parsons, vice president
Duane A. Prill, tonal director
Joseph Borrelli
Autumn Coe
Aaron Feidner
Dan Gagne
Peter Geise
Aaron Grabowski
Tina Macaluso
Tony Martino
David McCleary
Ellen Parsons
Matthew Parsons
Timothy Parsons
Brenda Rizzo
Dick Schaefer
Jay Slover
Dale Smith
Chad Snyder
Bernard Talty II

Integrated Organ Technologies, Inc.,

Dwight Jones
Maynard Fitch
Steve Mobley

On this project, Jonathan Ambrosino of Boston acted as in-house adviser to Parsons (client relations, chamber and windchest design), assisted Mr. Prill with all on-site tonal finishing, and wrote this article.

The Second Time Around
S.L. Huntington & Co. • Stonington, Conn.

By Scot L. Huntington

In 1816, a two-manual organ built in 1680 by Arp Schnitger—the most celebrated organbuilder of the Baroque era—was moved to the remote North Sea village of Cappel on the North Sea. This organ is now a mecca for builders and organists alike. In America, Hook & Hastings maintained an ever-changing catalog of second-hand instruments. William Johnson moved one of his early organs when he replaced it in 1874—it in turn being moved a third time in 1914. This month’s cover story features legacy instruments given a new lease on life in new and appreciative homes, acquired for a fraction of the cost of a new, purpose-built organ.

When New Haven’s St. Casimir’s Lithuanian Catholic Church closed in 2003, its organ needed a miracle. The organ, E. & G.G. Hook No. 750, found a home just blocks away at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in the Fairhaven section of New Haven, through the eleventh-hour efforts of organists Ezequiel Menendez and Britt Wheeler, and the pastor, the Rev. Dan McClearen.

The St. Francis gallery contained a modest 1950s Möller installed in an equally diminutive antique case, all dwarfed by the building’s vast scale and splendid acoustics. The Hook components were returned to our shop in Stonington, Conn., for restoration following OHS Restoration Guidelines, while the case pieces were treated in-situ by parish members. The original facade stenciling was faithfully replicated by decorative arts specialist Marylou Davis.

As can happen with things destined by the Fates, the physical size of the organ looks as if it were built for the place, with the top of the longest front pipe bisecting exactly the center rosette of the ornate rose window. The ensemble of instrument and place combine in a moment of impressive architectural drama that at long last befits this historic space. The instrument was dedicated at the Festive High Mass celebrating the parish’s 135th anniversary, played by organist Britt Wheeler.

Noted for a massive voice in its original home, this is tempered a bit in a new home over three times the size, ideally complementing the mysticism of the Catholic liturgy. It is at once both noble and grand, elegantly suave in the beauty of its individual piano and mezzo color registers, the reeds ringing with the famed Hook éclat, and all having an unexpected sweetness gifted by the church’s luxuriant acoustics. The congregational participation improved noticeably under the embracing breadth of the full ensemble, undergirded by the floor-shaking ability of the wooden Pedal Diapason—the largest-scale stop of its age and type in the state. This magnificent organ was treasured in its original home and now begins a second century of service in a majestic historic space just blocks away.

Valparaiso, Indiana, is renowned for two things: it is home to one of the country’s premier Lutheran universities, and some of the best popcorn in the U.S. is grown here. St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church had outgrown its historic downtown chapel and built a new contemporary church under the leadership of their energetic rector, the Rev. Patrick Ormos. His vision for the new church included an affordable pipe organ, and the “green” concept of recycling a legacy instrument appealed to him. Deeply appreciative of the rich Anglican choral tradition and conversant in organ construction, he was a builder’s ideal client. His wish list included only three requirements: an enclosed division, a chorus mixture for leading singing, and a Trumpet stop for playing wedding voluntaries. An anonymous parishioner stepped forward with a $200,000 gift, but tied to a time restriction.

It rains organs when you don’t have a place to put one, but when you need something specific, the well goes dry. Possible candidates, none ideal, came and went. With the clock ticking on the gift, an organ on Cape Cod was located through the Organ Clearing House. It lacked the wish list stops, but its excellent condition allowed spending limited funds on a slight enlargement. While carefully restored under OHS Guidelines, its slight alteration would properly characterize it as a rebuild. The new Mixture and Trumpet (with custom-crafted shallots) were exactingly copied from extant 1890s Hook examples. Now having a displaced Oboe on our hands, I elected to repitch it as a 16′ stop with a new bass in order to provide a traditional English “Full Swell”—a luxury in an organ this size. This was added above the contract as our gift for the good of the cause. The painted and widened case was stripped and restored to its original finish and proportions. A photo of the organ taken the year it was built along with bits of color found under layers of paint guided the restoration of the facade to its original design and colors. It was total serendipity that these hues harmonized perfectly with those present in the new space.

The tone of the 1889 organ is redolent of cigars and brandy—dark, lush, and foundational. The colorful flutes and strings speak with a German accent, the diapasons are warm and rich with era-appropriate understated upperwork, and the new reed chorus transforms the ensemble with the legendary refined fire of Hook reeds—a singularly thrilling sound unfortunately no longer available from modern reed makers. Modest at 16 stops, this is an instrument of unexpected color and musical versatility. The dedication concert was played by international artist Wolfgang Rübsam, whose perspicacious mother-in-law, Ann Walton, was chair of the organ committee.

The organ the fledgling organbuilder William A. Johnson installed in the Haydenville Congregational Church and Society (Haydenville, Massachusetts) was begun on speculation in 1848. Replacing it with a larger instrument in 1874, he took the organ in trade and moved it to the Congregational Church in neighboring Whatley with a new case and one stop change. When Whately bought a new Estey in 1914, the Johnson was sold for $100 to the Union Evangelical Church in Heath where it replaced a small reed organ, and it was transported up the mountain by ox cart. Playable but in poor condition for many years, it was the dream of lifelong member Ruth Johnson to see the organ restored. The church is small, and the project would have been beyond their means without outside help. The local Heath Agricultural Fair pledged one year’s proceeds to the cause, and a local resident pledged a one-for-one matching grant up to $75,000. A local newspaper ran a story about the project which, prompted donations from as far as 40 miles away.

The organ was restored as closely as possible to its original condition—the first in the country restored under the 2010 OHS Revised Guidelines for Conservation. The original speaking facade pipes were found inside the case and the original Greek Revival case was reconstructed using the proportions of the golden mean—the exact design gleaned from forensic clues found within the organ, the lengths of original facade pipes, and the dimensions of the original gallery. The case was regrained under the tutelage of specialist Marylou Davis, following faux-graining extant in the original church and under layers of paint on the surviving case pieces. The missing Great 8′ Flute was reconstructed based on extant examples, as were the missing parts of the original hand pumping system.

With the reestablishment of the original pitch and pressure, the organ again revealed the elegant and silvery Diapason tone for which Johnson was justifiably famous. The organ is decidedly Classical English in its deportment, and in the quiet of its mountain-top location, transports the listener back in time. The instrument was turned to face the congregation and the carpeted pulpit platform was rebuilt with a wood floor, greatly enhancing the organ’s presence in the room. The astounding dedication concert was played by Nathan Laube to an SRO audience that not only filled the foyer but spilled out onto the lawn. Laube played a surprisingly diverse program that showed that even an organ of this size and range is only limited by one’s imagination.

These three situations represent widely contrasting requirements and spaces—all now being served by organs representing the best of America’s rich organ heritage— instruments of enduring quality and classically inspired tone that have been given a new lease on life (one of these now entering a second century in its third home!). For further details on these instruments and more like them, please visit our website.

View the stoplist for St. Francis of Assisi, New Haven, Conn.
View the stoplist for St. Andrew’s, Valpariso, Ind.
View the stoplist for Union Evangelical, Heath, Mass.

Scot L. Huntington is a member of the American Institute of Organbuilders and is currently serving as chair of the AIO Editorial Journal Review Committee. His organbuilding firm, S.L. Huntington & Co., is a member of the International Society of Organbuilders.