TAO Articles

Our Lady of Czenstochowa Church
Coventry, Rhode Island
Kegg Pipe Organ Builders • Hartville, Ohio

By Charles Kegg

 

Each pipe organ we build brings something new to our table. Of course each instrument is different from any other we have built, but the relationship we have with Brian Mattias, director of music and organist at Our Lady of Czenstochowa Church, is also unique. Brian is an organbuilder, service technician, and owner of Potter-Rathbun Organ Company in Cranston, Rhode Island. He is active in the American Institute of Organbuilders, and I have known him for many years. Brian sees and hears new pipe organs from builders from all over the world at our annual conventions and had an unusually broad perspective when weighing the options regarding the builder for the new instrument for his church of birth, where he has been director of music for 32 years. It was indeed an honor to be chosen by someone as knowledgeable as he.

Brian had a long association with the previous 1927 Möller organ. He was quite fond of several of its 13 stops, and we agreed to include them in the new Kegg organ. Brian was intimately familiar with the Möller duplex pitman chests and knew that restoration was not an ideal long-term solution. Additionally, the organ’s tonal limitations clearly made a new organ the best option for his parish. Seven stops were retained in their entirety, while the Swell 16′ Bourdon 1–24 and the Great 8′ Melodia 1–31 were retained with new trebles. The Unda Maris is a vintage Möller Dulciana, identical to the original and provided out of Brian’s company’s stock. The majority of the 22 ranks in the new organ are new, as is the chassis and all the mechanics.

Like most organists I know, Brian really wanted a three-manual instrument. He had seen many examples of our small three-manual organs and suggested the same for himself. This is the smallest example of such a three-manual concept we have built, and with it we have stretched the boundaries of conventional organ design. All who have played the instrument agree that it succeeds as a three-manual organ. The entire instrument is enclosed in two expressive divisions, with the exception of the unenclosed Pedal 16′ Bourdon. The case and false facade pipes have been retained and restored. The third manual is called Choir and derives most of its stops from the Great. There are also several Swell stops that are duplexed onto this manual for convenience, including all the strings as well as the Oboe and the Cornet, which appear as a single stop. Of course this isn’t a proper independent division, but our way of building windchests allows us to create such a manual division at very low cost. The flexibility it provides makes this a most welcome addition.

An unusual feature of this organ is the Swell Mixture. In our original proposal, the Swell had no Mixture. Of course the Great has a complete Principal chorus with Mixture IV. Brian had heard several examples of small Kegg organs in small rooms where we have provided a synthetic Mixture, drawn from an Octave and an independent Quint. He requested we do this for the Swell Mixture. It would have been a bit of a gamble, as the Diapason in the Swell was retained from the original Möller and is not scaled as would be a new Kegg organ with a synthetic Mixture. In the end, we used not the Diapason for the unisons of this “trick” Mixture, but the Viole d’Orchestre. The effect is charming and most useful in choral work.

The Great has a new Principal chorus 8–4–IV as the backbone of the organ. The 8′ Concert Flute uses the bass of the existing Melodia for notes 1–31, with 32–73 being a new metal Harmonic Flute. We do this for entirely new stops as well. It gives the instrument a nice mf open wood 8′ flute, which is invaluable in both choral work and literature. The harmonic treble is treated as a true French-style stop where the volume ascends dramatically as you play up the keyboard. This gives this stop a beautiful solo quality, and with tremulant it is stunning. The new Clarinet is large, dark, and woody.

The three Swell strings, retained from the previous Möller, are delightful. Here again we retained the bass of the Möller 16′ Bourdon/Gedeckt, for notes 1–24. At middle C, it becomes a new metal Rohrflöte. The foundation flue stops have an additional octave of pipes at the treble to allow the octave coupler full compass on these stops to the top of the keyboard. The new Trumpet adds fire and exciting texture. The original Möller Oboe is an ideal Franck stop, as is the Möller Vox Humana.

“Full American couplers” may seem redundant and perhaps dangerous when an organ is designed this way. And frankly, it is both. Brian and I consumed much scotch during the discussions about this and all the other conventions abandoned on this organ. In the end, all the couplers are present for the clever musician who can use them with taste. I am constantly preaching, mostly to myself, that octave couplers are for special effects and not generally to be used at the end of every toccata and processional hymn.

In these days of shrinking budgets, electronic 32s, and hybrid pipe/electronic designs, we believe that this all-pipe concept is a more honest, long-lived, and musically satisfying way to build a modest organ.

A couple of fun final thoughts: When the construction agreement was signed, Brian asked what the opus number of his organ would be. When I told him it would be Opus 61, we both smiled, as 61 is a number that appears frequently in organbuilding. (It is the number of keys in a five-octave keyboard.) Brian has taken great pleasure in this curious happenstance! Also, Brian and his daughters, Alana and Kira, spent a week at the Kegg shop during the organ construction. While there, Brian spent time at the CNC lathe turning the wood stop knobs for his own console, while Alana and Kira helped assemble small parts and glue wood ladders together. Thus they appear on the shop crew list below.

The new organ is to be dedicated by John Schwandt. This dedication has been postponed due to COVID-19 and will be scheduled when the world can return to normal.

Many thanks to our friends in Coventry, including Fr. Jacek Ploch, Brian Mattias, Brian’s helpful daughters, Alana and Kira, and the many parishioners that helped with unloading and their tremendous excitement and support.

Charles Kegg is president and artistic director of Kegg Pipe Organ Builders, which he established in 1985. The Kegg Company is a member of the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America, and Charles is a past president of the American Institute of Organbuilders.

Website: KeggOrgan.com

Kegg Pipe Organ Builders
Charles Kegg
Phil Brown
Joyce Harper
Mike Carden
Phil Laakso
Bruce Schutrum
Cameron Couch
Brian Mattias
Alana Mattias
Kira Mattias

Irvin Boudreaux
Practice Organ
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Nolte Organ Building • Milwaukee, Wisconsin

By John M. Nolte

Every successful organ project begins with a dream or vision. The maxim attributed to Thomas Edison is also true: “Vision without execution is just hallucination.” Irvin Boudreaux’s vision of his own practice instrument began when he was a private student of Warren Hutton at the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. The most popular practice organ on campus was the 1974 Holtkamp two-manual and pedal tracker with three 8′ ranks: Manual I Rohrflöte, Manual II Copula, and Pedal Pommer. There were no stops or couplers, just 154 pipes to help you learn your music. Irvin thought about this off and on for a number of years. Playing three-manual instruments got him thinking about a larger instrument—one more manual and one more rank. Over the years he shared his ideas with a number of builders of trackers. Each one modified his vision in order to build his instrument their way.

I met Irvin at an organbuilders’ convention. He liked our display of wood pipes, including several nontraditional samples—a Spitzgedeckt, a Rohrflute, a Violin, and overblown and double overblown Gedeckts. Could we make pipes for his practice organ if he built it? Of course. Then he asked if we could do a tracker instrument with no stops or couplers. That would be easy enough, I said, and I started to imagine a complex network of wires and valves and squares. That wasn’t what he had in mind. He didn’t want rollerboards or lots of tracker squares.

We have a saying in our shop: “In the design stage, the number of options is infinite.” Irvin’s requirements eliminated most of our options, making things much easier.

Small portative organs with one rank of pipes and a short compass have the pallets in line with the key spacing, and everything can be made to fit. Going to a full compass with large bass pipes would need some adaptation. And then Irvin requested that the pipe arrangement be in major thirds, since that makes for better pipe speech.

These conversations did not happen at just one dinner at just one convention. The vision germinated over a period of two or three years, and the breakthrough came when we suggested offsetting the pipes as we normally do when the bass pipes or facade pipes are too large to fit on the main chest. In this case, the offset scheme was a little extreme. All 61 pipes in each rank would be offset. With the valves on the key centers, the air would run through tubes to each pipe. Once this concept was in place, we were commissioned to draw up the design and asked to quote pipes for two manuals and pedal.

Even in the design stage, we are still working with a vision, but when the client starts to commit resources to a project, his vision is on the road to becoming a reality. The first pipes we made were three octaves of Rohrflutes. We also made a three-octave chest to test the action concept. Since the chests had to be below the keys, we opted to have the tail of the key lift the pallet to play the note. This meant that gravity would hold the pallet closed when the key is at rest. With no pallet springs at all, our action played the pipes, but the repetition rate was a little too slow for rapid playing. A very light spring was added, and the result felt just like a good harpsichord action. When Irvin came to test out the action, comparing it to many of the finest organs in America and Europe, he pronounced it the best he had ever played!

Irvin still had to choose between two manuals or three. Cost was a factor, as was the practical problem of fitting three chests with pallets between the keys and pedals. A larger issue was the ability to get the right sounds out of wood pipes. When the Internet became a useful tool for ordinary people to share information, I had acquired digital photocopies of the documentation of the scales of the 1610 Compenius organ from a Danish museum. However, all of the notes were in Danish. Fortunately, on the web page of the Mechanical Music Digest, I ran across Matthew Caulfield, whose hobby was translating old Danish manuscripts. Now these scales are available in spreadsheet form with notes in Danish, English, and German, the latter translation graciously provided by Angelika Hesse, who was with Giesecke & Sohn at the time. The scales for Irvin’s Gemshorn and Principal are based on the Compenius scales. When we held an American Institute of Organbuilders midyear seminar on voicing wood pipes, we invited as one of the presenters Mads Kiersgaard, since he restored the Compenius organ in 1985. Irvin was also invited to attend. When he heard the sound of the Compenius Principal, the vision was refined, including the invisible sphere of sound. The Rohrflute on Manual I has a stopped bass, and then the stoppers are drilled out to form the chimney starting at middle C. There is a treble ascendency, so it functions well for solos and can accompany itself. The Principal on Manual II is voiced evenly throughout the compass. The Gemshorn on Manual III is voiced with a hornlike quality distinct from the Principal. Its bass octave is the Spitzgedeckt offset to the left. The Pedal Bourdon is voiced with a full fundamental. It becomes slightly quieter in the treble range.

The case was the final aspect we designed. Irvin wanted the entire visible organ to be furniture-quality maple and walnut. In the 1970s, I had been given a walnut tree. Rather than cutting it down and leaving a stump, I dug out the stump with the trunk of the tree and had a local sawmill cut it into boards. Walnut stump wood is highly figured, and the grain patterns reflect the stresses placed on that part of the tree as it grows and leans one way or another. This wood is featured on the music rack and the doors in front of the storage compartments on either side of the keyboards. We also had in stock several very wide walnut planks. These helped us choose a frame and panel case style with each panel made of a single wide board. The manual keyboards were made by Laukhuff, with walnut cheeks and sharps and maple naturals.

We held an open house in our Milwaukee shop before the organ was moved to its Baton Rouge home. Irvin catered the open house. His vision had become a reality. Now that it is in his home, where the visual and aural beauty invites him to sit down and play, Irvin reports:

Playing this instrument is pure joy. The organist faces the pipes, which are literally a couple feet away from the player, and the sound reaches the ear immediately . . . which allows the organist to hear every nuance in the pipes’ speech and his or her touch. With the pipes arranged in major thirds, the sound appears to come from all directions (which it does), and soon you realize phrasing and the resolution of technical problems become second nature.

The biggest problem first-time players have is that everything you put into the instrument is immediately sent back to you . . . including mistakes! Never have I played any instrument that helped you clean up your technique so quickly.

In preparing this article, I looked into the Holtkamp practice organ at Tuscaloosa for the first time. The 1974 date surprised me. I began working at American Organ Supply Company in Milwaukee in the fall of 1973. At that time, American Organ supplied all of the wood pipes that Holtkamp used in their organs. One of my first experiences in making wood pipes was a small part of the inspiration for Irvin’s vision for his own special instrument. Small world.

John M. Nolte is the founder and owner of Nolte Organ Building in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Website.

All photos, including the cover, by John Balance, Baton Rouge, La., except as noted.

Postscript

What if this is not exactly your vision? The organ action is modular so that it can be configured for one, two, or three manuals. We have a preliminary design for a one-manual and pedal continuo organ of up to twelve ranks portable enough to be moved in an elevator from a lower chapel to the main church. The action can be used for any appropriate combination of ranks. The casework is custom and can be more ornate, simpler, or even nonexistent. Irvin has another vision for a three-manual and pedal organ in a French Classic style of about 50 ranks with the console out from under the organ, where the organist can hear better. That requires two tracker squares for each key, but again, no rollerboard. Another client had a much different vision. You can see it at BlackstoneOrgan.org.

First Cumberland Presbyterian Church
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Allen Organ Company • Macungie, Pennsylvania
by Jeff Ayers
Stop List
 

When entering the Woodmore neighborhood of Chattanooga, Tennessee, observers will notice a large stone Gothic structure with soaring heights and stunning architecture. Upon walking into First Cumberland Presbyterian Church, you will immediately notice the 70-foot-tall brick walls, stone floor, hand-painted ceiling, and the organ, strikingly flanked by stained glass windows and pipework.

For more than 40 years, Bruce Clark has served as the organist at First Cumberland Presbyterian Church. In 1980, he oversaw the installation of the 48-rank Fratelli Ruffatti pipe organ that originally included approximately 40 electronic voices to help fill out the specification. After two lightning strikes, the electronic voices were no longer serviceable, and repair parts were unavailable.

The church music committee began looking at various solutions to deal with the failing pipe organ. The musicians and committee knew that quality digital voices would be required to fill the gaps of the pipework and provide color and versatility. They also wanted a technologically advanced, high-quality console that would be capable of controlling all voices and would fit aesthetically within the beautiful sanctuary.

The Allen Organ Company of Macungie, Pennsylvania, was ultimately selected to build the new four-manual console to control the 48 ranks of Ruffatti pipework and an additional 100 ranks of digital stops.

Jeff Ayers, president of Allen Organ Studios, was the consultant on the project and oversaw the design and project management during the installation of the new pipe-combination organ. Alan Buchanan, lead engineer with Allen Organ Studios, was lead installer. As with all pipe-combination projects, it is imperative that the digital ranks be voiced and scaled correctly for flawless integration with the existing pipework in order to create a cohesive ensemble. The church’s musicians, together with the Allen Organ Studios team, worked tirelessly to create not only a cohesive instrument, but one that would also be a musical showpiece for the area.

Bruce Clark petitioned for an instrument that would have enough variety of colors to play the vast repertoire performed by the dynamic music department of First Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Internationally acclaimed concert organist Hector Olivera developed an eclectic specification for the Allen Organ Company with samples incorporating the different schools of organbuilding. According to Olivera, “My vision for this organ’s specification was based on two things: the church service and the written organ literature. I wanted a certain number of 8′ diapasons as well as fiery reeds, solo color reeds, a beautiful variety of flutes, and lots of string celestes.”

The massive oak console includes 147 rosewood drawknobs, rosewood manual and pedal sharps, and elegant Skinner-style key cheeks. Allen’s exclusive GeniSys Controller with color touch screen offers the organist ultimate control, including 128 memory levels, hundreds of additional sounds, and other advanced features.

Due to the sonic demands of pipe-combination organs, a sophisticated audio system was strategically designed and placed within the chambers to create the effect of additional ranks that flawlessly blend with the existing Ruffatti pipes. The Allen Organ Company also designed a new solid-state switching system to replace the original relay system.

With installation completed in March 2019, music director Gerald Peel reports that the new console and Allen digital additions have far exceeded their expectations. The integrity of the sounds, as well as the versatility of the new instrument, has made available a greater variety of music and styles for the music program at First Cumberland Presbyterian. This versatility has also provided new opportunities for artists and ensembles, including twelve weeks of special programs featuring the organ in solo and ensemble concerts. These events culminate with a performance by Hector Olivera in fall 2020. Bruce Clark is thrilled with what this new instrument brings to worship. The articulate tones of the Ruffatti and the variety of 8′ digital voices, lush strings, and ample solo voices provided by Allen Organ make for an instrument that is unrivaled in the region.

The Renovation of the Christ (Crystal) Cathedral Organ
Garden Grove, California
Fratelli Ruffatti
Padova, Italy
Stop List 1
Stop List 2

By Francesco Ruffatti

What an exciting journey! The story started in 1970, when our firm was contacted by Richard Unfried, the organist of the Garden Grove Community Church in Garden Grove, California. Negotiations began for the manufacturing of a very large five-manual instrument. It was to be installed in a building that, in addition to being a formal sanctuary, was also used as a drive-in church, featuring large glass doors overlooking the parking lot, making it possible for people to follow Dr. Robert Schuller’s service from their cars.

The contract for a new organ was signed in May 1972, but the project was stopped soon after, pending the decision to build a new church on campus. An idea was already in place for the construction of the Crystal Cathedral, but it did not materialize right away. The organ project therefore continued, and in 1974, Dr. Schuller and his wife, Arvella, came to visit the Fratelli Ruffatti workshop in Padua, Italy, to witness the construction of the instrument. Three years later the organ was in place and was inaugurated by Richard Unfried. Following concerts included various organists, among whom were Diane Bish, David Craighead, and Virgil Fox.

Soon after the organ opening, at the end of August 1977, Virgil Fox made a memorable direct-to-disc recording on the instrument, a very demanding task that required playing the entire program with only brief intervals between pieces. There was no opportunity for editing. During those sessions, the first digital tape recordings in the U.S. were also made. I was there for the event, which took place at night to avoid traffic noise.

In 1979, the Crystal Cathedral was being designed by famous architect Philip Johnson, and plans began to transfer the two-year-old Ruffatti instrument to the new environment. It was soon clear, however, that a more complex instrument was needed for the larger space of the cathedral. Virgil Fox was appointed by Dr. Schuller as organ consultant, and the opportunity arose to acquire the 1966 Aeolian-Skinner that was being removed from Philharmonic Hall in New York. Dr. Schuller did not miss the occasion and purchased the instrument. In October of the same year, at a meeting in Philip Johnson’s offices in New York, Piero Ruffatti, Philip Johnson, Virgil Fox, and Arvella Schuller approved the new specifications. This was not an easy task because of Virgil’s requests for an overwhelming number of additions. In the end, Arvella Schuller was able to set a firm limit to the project. During the following days Piero worked in the New York offices on the general visual layout of the instrument, which Philip Johnson approved.

The Ruffatti organ was combined with the Aeolian-Skinner, and several additions were made by Ruffatti. The project was made possible by a very sizeable donation by Mrs. Hazel Wright from Chicago, a viewer of the Hour of Power television program that was then broadcast from Garden Grove throughout the U.S. and internationally. The new instrument in the Crystal Cathedral was named after her and is still today referred to as “Hazel.”

At the end of October 1980, acting on suggestions by Virgil Fox, I made a visit to the Riverside Church in New York and to the Wanamaker organ in Philadelphia to study various stops that would then be manufactured in the Ruffatti workshop for the new String division. It was during one such visit, on October 25, that Virgil Fox died.

The new instrument, among the largest in the world and featuring what was at the time the largest drawknob console in the world, was inaugurated in 1982 with a gala concert by Pierre Cochereau, organist of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, and recitalist Ted Alan Worth, with orchestra conducted by Jean-Marc Cochereau and a thousand-member choir formed of several area choirs. A number of concerts followed during 1982 and 1983 by some of the most notable artists of the time.

Over the years, a number of additions to the instrument were carried out by curators John Wilson, Guy Henderson, and Brian Sawyers, bringing the total number of pipes to 16,000 and making the instrument one of the largest in the world.

Harsh conditions in the building, including rainwater leaking from the ceiling’s glass panels, as well as the severely reduced maintenance in recent years, caused the whole instrument to fall into severe disrepair.

In the period between November 2013 and March 2020 the organ was disassembled, carefully restored, then put in storage for a rather long time prior to the completion of the building’s total renovation. It was then reassembled, a task that was carried out under the direction and supervision of Piero Ruffatti. At that point, three of my voicers and I carried out the task of voicing and tuning the over 16,000 pipes of the instrument. The sound of all pipes was checked and rebalanced to the remarkable new acoustics.

The iconic Hazel Wright Organ now has a new life, and plans are in place for formidable musical activity, thanks to the wisdom of the Most Reverend Kevin William Vann, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, and the leadership of director of music John Romeri and cathedral organist David Ball.

Francesco Ruffatti is the tonal designer for Fratelli Ruffatti, and personally performs the tonal finishing on many new Ruffatti organs. He also finishes most of the historic restorations performed by Ruffatti, and is known internationally as a lecturer on the subject. Website.

RESURGAM

By Frederick Swann

Few pipe organs in history have received as much attention as has the iconic Fratelli Ruffatti instrument dedicated in May 1982 in the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. For many years it was seen and heard weekly by millions of people via television throughout the United States and in over 130 foreign countries on the Hour of Power with Dr. Robert Schuller. In addition to those who heard it on recordings, tens of thousands experienced it live for over three decades in religious services, solo recitals, and a variety of musical presentations.

It is generally known that the plan for this instrument was made by Virgil Fox, who died prior to the installation. The1977 Ruffatti in the former worship space of the congregation was combined with the 1966 Aeolian-Skinner in Philharmonic Hall in New York City. The Ruffatti firm added several new divisions, all controlled by what was, at the time, the largest drawknob console in the world: 5 manuals, 363 drawknobs, 68 coupler tablets, and a myriad of control assists. The organ was an instant success. Many carefully considered changes and additions were made in the early years. The stoplist accompanying this article is the final result. No changes were made during the renovation.

Over the years the organ was used on a daily basis. It was beautifully maintained by curators John Wilson, Guy Henderson, and Brian Sawyers. Mr. Sawyers continued the work with various helpers for many years after the death of Mr. Wilson and the debilitating illness of Mr. Henderson. The lack of heating and air-conditioning in the building resulted in many large windows being open for 24 hours most days throughout the year. The accumulated dirt from blowing winds and visits of birds and insects plus drastic variations in temperature and humidity took a heavy toll on the organ. Portions ultimately became unusable despite the dedicated efforts of the curators.

In October 2010 Crystal Cathedral Ministries filed for bankruptcy. In February 2012 the entire campus of architecturally stunning buildings, including the 78,000-square-foot Philip Johnson glass cathedral and the original church (now known as the Arboretum), was purchased by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, California.

You can perhaps imagine the joy felt when the diocese announced that the Hazel Wright Ruffatti in the cathedral and the Fred Swann Aeolian-Skinner in the Arboretum would be retained and that the cathedral organ would undergo a thorough restoration. Thankfully, both Bishop Kevin Vann and cathedral rector Fr. Christopher Smith are organists and realized the significant part the organs could play in the planned dynamic music program of the cathedral. It was soon announced that this would be under the direction of John Romeri and organist David Ball. A truly significant music ministry has been established by these gentlemen and staff.

In 2012, a committee of diocesan organists and clergy was formed under the direction of Msgr. Art Holquin. After due investigation and consideration, the decision was made to entrust the renovation of the organ to Fratelli Ruffatti. I was asked to be advisor and consultant throughout the several-year project, and I have been honored to accept these duties.

All pipes were cleaned, repaired, or replaced as necessary, and the chests restored or replaced. As mentioned, no changes were made in the specification.

The organ was removed from its chambers starting in December 2013. The work, supervised by Piero Ruffatti, was accomplished by six workers from the Ruffatti factory plus cathedral organ curators Brian Sawyers and Scott Clowes. The assistance of four riggers was required. The pipes were all carefully laid out rank by rank, covering the empty floor of the cathedral—an impressive sight—before being carefully packed for shipping.

The console, chests, and most pipes were shipped by sea to the Ruffatti factory in Padua, Italy. The Ruffatti company subcontracted Brian Sawyers to work on some of the pipes plus most of the Aeolian-Skinner pipes and some chest actions in his shop not far from the church. Major cleaning and all necessary repairs were finished by all on schedule, but the instrument could not be returned to the cathedral due to unexpected major repairs needed on the 10,000-plus windows. Meanwhile it was decided to keep the five-manual gallery console (Möller 1990), and it was sent to Italy, where it received an amazing transformation by Ruffatti.

Consequently it was necessary for the entire organ to be placed in a climate-controlled warehouse in May 2016. It was finally taken to the cathedral, and reinstallation began in January 2019. This was largely completed five months later. However, the enormous amount of wiring and careful detailing continued for months.

Although the entire organ remains in place as before, all visible woodwork portions have been painted a beautiful white color to blend with changes in the cathedral interior. Most exposed wooden pipes were also painted white.

When the organ was first tested we were all shocked. Due to the physical changes made in the cathedral interior, the organ sounded as if it had been designed for another building, which in reality it had been. The new acoustic was excellent, but the organ was much too bold a sound for the space. This necessitated the revoicing of almost every one of the more than 16,000 pipes. This enormous task was accomplished by Francesco Ruffatti and three assistants from the factory working two eleven-hour shifts each weekday for almost three months. The cathedral was closed to visitors except on weekends so that the work could be done in quiet. The flue revoicing was accomplished by the end of November 2019, and the reeds were started in December and continued in February 2020.

The Ruffattis have given unstintingly in every way to assure the success of the entire renovation project.

The remodeled Christ Cathedral was dedicated in mid-July 2019. A large Walker Technical Company digital organ has accompanied all Masses and programs and will be used until Easter 2020. The Walker voices that had been installed in the Ruffatti organ for bona fide reasons and used successfully for years are being replaced with the latest technology.

Finally, a bit about the most frequently asked question over the years. Many have wondered about the problems associated with the tuning of the organ. Keeping the organ sounding well was a challenge ever since the initial installation. The tuning was always done in evening hours. The tuning held well, but on warm mornings it was not possible to couple unenclosed and enclosed divisions. I always hoped for cloudy or overcast Sunday mornings, as coupling was then possible. By most afternoons, heat rendered the organ almost unusable. But, as soon as the sun went down the tuning quickly settled in perfectly.

This is why recitals were always played in the evening. When it was announced that all windows in the remodeled building would be sealed and air-conditioning installed, we became very hopeful. But since the organ is located at such a variety of heights and locations in the building, it has so far been impossible for the air-conditioning to reach them all. Consequently, the same challenges still exist with having all divisions maintain the same pitch at all times. This will continue to be worked on; meanwhile, learned knowledge and experience will be helpful for the most effective use of the organ.

Frederick Swann was director of music and organist of the Crystal Cathedral 1982­–98. Upon retirement he was designated director of music and organist emeritus, and the Aeolian-Skinner organ he had been instrumental in securing for the Arboretum was named the Fred Swann Organ.

“Resurgam” was published in its original form in the April 2020 issue of The Diapason. Used by permission. Photography: Challenge Roddie

Because of the severity of COVID-19, the May Rededication Weekend of the Hazel Wright Organ has been rescheduled. The Rededication Concert will now be played on Sunday, January 3, 2021, at 7:30 p.m. by Paul Jacobs, Hector Olivera, and Fred Swann, with special guests Michael Barone and Diane Bish. Monday will be filled with workshops and various presentations, and on Tuesday, January 5, 2021, the Pacific Symphony and organist Paul Jacobs will present a program for organ and orchestra at 7:30 p.m. Further details and ticket information are available at ChristCathedralMusic.org, as well as by email (music@christcathedralparish.org) or phone (714–620–7912).

A new book by David Crean is being published; it will be available for purchase during the January Rededication Weekend events and may be ordered at a later date. It will consist of the history of other organs over the years in the buildings of the Crystal Cathedral congregation, with major and detailed emphasis on the Hazel Wright Organ in the cathedral.

Wesley United Methodist Church
Muscatine, Iowa
C.B. Fisk Inc.
Opus 153
Stop List

By David C. Pike

In January 2018, C.B. Fisk was, for the first time in its 57-year history, commissioned to replace a church organ that had been destroyed by an act of God. On March 6, 2017, a tornado swept through downtown Muscatine, Iowa, a small industrial city on the banks of the Mississippi River. During its brief, circuitous path through town, the tornado’s 115-mile-per-hour winds toppled the tall masonry chimney of Wesley United Methodist Church. The chimney’s stone-work came crashing down onto the roof over the pipe organ chamber. The roof collapsed, and in the blink of an eye Wesley’s 1983 four-manual 94-rank pipe organ, the largest in the state of Iowa, had become a heap of twisted, shattered pipes and woodwork. Except for minor damage to one of the sanctuary’s splendid stained glass windows, virtually nothing else in the church building was touched.

As the rebuilding process began, Sally Potter, organist at Wesley, contacted us to determine our interest in submitting a proposal to replace the ruined organ. It was clear that the organ committee was going about their business with care and thoroughness; they had by then done extensive research into potential builders. Following visits to our Chicago instrument (Opus 123) and to those in Bloomington and Evansville, Indiana (Opuses 135, 91, and 98), the committee decided that Fisk should be their organbuilder. In dialogue with Sally, specifications for a three-manual instrument with attached console and two divisions under expression were developed, and a contract was signed with the church in January 2018. Sally’s directives with regard to Opus 153’s tonal design included “efficient,” “lean and mean,” “colorful,” “some Sturm und Drang,”  and “attentive to recitalists.” As part of the Jackson Concert Series, organ recitals, free to the community, have been a part of Wesley’s outreach since 1981. Sally insisted that the new instrument be a “destination” that would attract the profession’s most distinguished organists from around the world. Moreover, Muscatine is less than an hour by car from the University of Iowa, where Gregory Hand presides over a fine organ department.

The Fisk process is one of collaboration. To accomplish the visual design, for example, we build a physical 1:16-scale model of the church interior, and the organ case is designed in three dimensions within this model. This approach affords church people the opportunity to participate in the design process, either in person at our workshop in Massachusetts or via shared photos and video. Alongside our visual designer Charles Nazarian, the clients enjoy in-depth involvement in the creation of a suitable and distinguished case design. Sally Potter and the Wesley team were wonderfully conscientious and communicative throughout design development, and, on account of the collaborative process, they can claim a certain ownership in the final case appearance. A distinctive design attribute worth mentioning is the use of local Muscatine mother-of-pearl for stopknob faces and toe-stud labels.

Opus 153 is home to 39 stops, 34 of which are independent voices and 9 of which are reeds. The two expressive divisions, Choir and Swell, are placed side by side at impost level and are oriented back to front. The Great windchests are located above the two expression boxes, immediately behind the upper facade, while the Pedal chests are to either side, outboard of the two boxes. There are numerous plusses to this arrangement, which we had used once previously in our Opus 112 at St. James’s Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia. Placing the Choir and Swell divisions low and in close proximity to the choir singers is advantageous for both ensemble and intonation. Keeping the Great pipework up high allows its organo pleno to sing out naturally, well above the singers’ ears, and at the same time enables it to best support congregational song, in large part due to early acoustical reflections from the ceiling close overhead. Significantly, we were able to salvage, rebuild, and revoice three partial ranks of wood pipes from the heap of rubble that was the former organ: the Choir Gedackt 8′ (CC–a#1), the Choir Flûte conique 4′ (CC–g#0), and the Swell Quintaton 16′ (CC–AA#). Thus, a fitting and much-appreciated material and tonal connection to the ill-fated 1983 instrument was realized.

The organ’s tonal profile follows the Fisk practice where every stop counts. Nearly all stops are modeled after or derived from historical European antecedents, and each has something important to say. No stop is a mere placeholder. Equally compelling is the way in which all stops are compatible with one another. Not only does the player have available authentic sounds for the performance of a diverse literature, but there also exist boundless possibilities for smooth orchestral-style crescendos and diminuendos. This is made possible by the inclusion of a state-of-the-art solid-state combination action (for rapid stop changes) as well as through judicious use of the expression boxes. The accompanimental functions that a church organ must serve are thus also well addressed—from supporting a child’s solo voice to leading the most boisterous of hymns or anthems.

The tonal variety of Opus 153 is ably demonstrated by the two complete principal choruses (one 16′-based, the other 8′-based), four different ranks of strings (including the Swell 16′ Quintaton), five 8′ flutes and three 4′ flutes of widely varied construction and timbre, and eight reed voices of diverse provenance. The historical models are mostly German Baroque (Arp Schnitger and his school) and French Romantic (Aristide Cavaillé-Coll), but with some German Romantic influence (a string stop after Friedrich Ladegast). Whether playing pp, ff, or anywhere in between, this organ exhibits an alluring warmth and depth of tone, excellent expressive capabilities, sonic balance, versatility, and poise. It is musically satisfying in all respects and gratifyingly sensitive and responsive to the touch. Fine, enveloping organ tone is the result of using sufficiently large scaling, employing quality materials, working with carefully designed and well-built pipework, and allowing these pipes to speak naturally on relatively gentle wind pressure. A superior tracker key action, achieved through sound mechanical design, attentiveness to detail, and precise adjustment, allows the player to employ a variety of touches and achieve the desired multiplicity of articulations.

The music program at Wesley is a joint effort, with the choir conducted by music director Ric Smith, and Sally presiding at the organ. Installation took place in April and May of 2019, and finish voicing ensued throughout the summer and into the fall. The inaugural festivities occurred on Sunday, November 24, 2019, beginning with a morning Service of Dedication and continuing with a rousing, expertly played recital by Nathan Laube, professor of organ at the Eastman School of Music. To a full house, Mr. Laube performed a far-reaching and meaty program of works by Charles-Marie Widor, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, J.S. Bach, Nicolaus Bruhns, Jean Jules Aimable Roger-Ducasse, Jehan Alain, and Maurice Duruflé. As an encore, the audience was treated to the flamboyant Corrente Italiana of Juan Cabanilles.

Here in Iowa—in the city revered as the “Pearl Button Capital of the World”—mindful, purposeful, and tasteful eclecticism has produced a tracker pipe organ capable of convincingly playing almost any literature from any period. The commissioning of Opus 153 represents a resurrection of sorts for Wesley United Methodist Church. We, the artisans of C.B. Fisk, are delighted to have had the opportunity to build this marvelous instrument, and we hope that it will serve and enhance the musical culture of Wesley and the town of Muscatine for centuries to come.

David C. Pike is executive vice president and tonal director of C.B. Fisk Inc. Website:

From the Organist

The space at the front of our sanctuary had held the E.M. Skinner organ since 1912, when the church was built. The impressive Casavant Opus 3564 replaced it in 1983. Then a tornado changed the view. When suddenly faced with a gaping hole where those instruments had been, the people of Wesley knew what to do. In true Methodist fashion a committee was formed, study material on organ design was passed out, and work was begun to assure that following generations would continue to be served by an organ of superior quality.

Gregory Hand agreed to serve as consultant. His guidance was invaluable as we defined our needs, visited instruments locally and in St. Louis and the Chicago area, and developed the request for proposals. In the committee’s discussions we described “warm and inviting” tones with the primary purpose of encouraging congregational singing. When Richard Hoskins shared his fondness for Fisk Opus 123 at St. Chrysostom’s Episcopal Church in Chicago, we felt that we had found that sound. We confirmed our suspicions with a trip to both Indiana University and First Presbyterian Church, Evansville, Indiana, where Robert Nicholls shared his continued joy in Opus 98. Before such a momentous commitment, however, we still needed to be assured that there wasn’t someone to be found who had a negative experience with those Fisk people and their instruments. I contacted all of the churches with organs of a comparable size and received 100 percent positive responses from people who are inordinately
fond of their pipe organs.

When we signed the contract with C.B. Fisk, we became part of the Fisk family. There were visits of Fisk members to Muscatine and of the committee to the workshop in Gloucester. There were many emails, telephone discussions, and exchanges of photos. Throughout the design process the people of Fisk listened to our needs and desires as carefully as they later listened to the sounds of pipes in our acoustic through months of voicing. Twelve-hour days of uncompromising work (I mean it—don’t use the word compromise around a Fiskie) for six short months resulted in the large piece of functional art holding that space at the front of the sanctuary. The names of the people of Fisk who contributed to this project are on a plaque inside the case. They are special to us.

That collaborative effort resulted in a congregation and community with ownership and pride in the instrument that many now know as “Gracie Pearl.” (See her Facebook page.) Many people, a broad representation of our congregation and community, carried her in on unloading day with the leadership of Scout Troop 127. Terry Eagle of the National Pearl Button Museum in Muscatine provided the materials that became stopknob faces and toe-stud labels. What was once a mussel in the bottom of the Mississippi is now adding a unique beauty to the stunning woodwork of the case.

Standing behind the Cross with Crown of Thorns is a statement of Grace offered freely to all without judgement of worthiness or righteousness. Her responsive touch makes musician and machine extensions of each other as her music ministers to both the listener and the performer. She offers a Bach fugue to bring order to a chaotic world, a plaintive melody by the oboe or clarinet crying tears of pain or love too deep to express with words, flues to dance life into a weary world, majestic reeds to declare victory of love over power and community over division. She can encourage a divided people to sing with one voice, and we pray that she will for many generations.

Sally Potter
Wesley United Methodist Church

The Cathedral of Christ the King
Superior, Wisconsin
Glück Pipe Organs • New York City
Stop List

By Sebastian M. Glück

 

From the time that the Cathedral of Christ the King was dedicated on Christmas Day of 1927, the goal of building a suitable pipe organ had been elusive. The neo-Romanesque structure and its campanile are built upon a raised platform and stand nobly against the Wisconsin sky. Romanesque churches feature thick masonry walls with small windows that encourage ample reverberation, yet 1937 witnessed the carpeting of the sanctuary and the installation of sound-absorbing materials covering the ceiling and the upper walls of the nave, annihilating reverberation. In recent decades, the choir, accompanied by a failing hybrid unit, sang from a low-ceilinged gallery above the narthex, struggling to reach the crossing. In 2003, Scott R. Riedel & Associates Ltd. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, were retained as acoustic and organ consultants. The sound-absorbing materials were removed, and the choir was relocated into the Epistle-side transept. New terrazzo paving and a coffered plaster ceiling graciously doubled the reverberation time. The hybrid unit was sold, and the cathedral used a piano as its primary musical instrument.

Several years ago, I was invited by the cathedral to design, build, and tonally finish an organ with the clear mission to serve the Catholic liturgy, congregational singing, and organ and choral literature. There was no interest in adopting the technical or tonal whims of any temporary organbuilding trend that might prove regrettable in the future. The specifications were built upon the features held in common by the organs of the important eras and cultures of organ composition and building. That information was filtered through the registration guidelines handed down by tradition, performance practice treatises, and composers’ scores. Such tenets distilled the stoplist toward a practical design that endures rather than frustrates.

The Musical Blueprint

What began as a two-manual design grew to three manuals in light of how much substantive literature called for a third, and how the nuances of choral accompaniment could be expanded. Historical study confirmed that an expression enclosure was not a requirement for the third manual, and I walked the conservative path of an unenclosed eight-rank Positiv division in the Gospel case, with the Great in the Epistle case. These divisions enjoy the spatial separation of a Baroque Positiv in a dorsal case while keeping the organ entirely on one level for the sake of tuning stability.

Pipe organs of moderate size may exhibit some predictability in tonal design if the builder is a conscientious steward of a client’s funds; each indulgent frill that supplants a requisite voice is an extravagant waste—a disservice to music, liturgy, and education. Instruments of this size can be conceived with measured additions to the safety of the template, increasing color and utility without being irresponsible. My ethical obligation to keep the instrument free of artificially generated voices served to focus the stoplist and curb tonal temptation.

The forthright core of the Great division is its diapason chorus, with the bottom octave of the 8′ standing in the speaking facade. The large-scale 8′ Harmonic Flute, which takes its lowest ten pipes from the Open Diapason to maintain open tone throughout the compass, is joined by the 16’/8′ wooden Bourdon unit and the Viole de Gambe borrowed from the Swell. The 4′ Spire Flute is voiced and finished such that it can be used in unconventional combinations with other flue stops for a variety of tonal colors. The firm, round Trumpet is also duplexed to the Positiv.

The Swell division is located in the triforium of the Epistle side of the sanctuary, with shutter fronts opening into the sanctuary as well as to the transept behind the Great windchest. This second set of shutters prevents the Swell from sounding distant and directs its tone toward the choir stalls in the transept.

The Swell’s slotted 8′ Open Diapason is immeasurably useful in the liturgy as well as in the performance of organ and choral music. The Swell diapason chorus is marked by a brighter mixture than that of the Great, and although it contains only three ranks, it bears two unisons and a single quint to maintain clarity in voice leading. Incisive French strings of slotted construction take their traditional places, and the undulant makes a good pair with the Diapason as well. The parent rank stands behind the shutter front near the Great windchest, as it is duplexed onto the Great to complete the quartet of stops for the fonds d’huit.

The choir of Swell flutes includes the elements of the Cornet Composé. With only one tierce combination in the instrument, I chose flute scales for the mutations. Principal-scaled mutations cannot weld into a Cornet, yet the 8′ -2⅔’ -1 3∕5′ flute combination can, in a good acoustic, convince one that there is a Sesquialtera present. This places the Cornet in a position to enter into dialogue with the half-length cylindrical reed in the Positiv while still contributing to the Grand Jeu. An unexpected feature of the capped, full-length 16′ Bassoon is that when drawn in the Pedal by duplex action, it sits beautifully beneath the strings as a surrogate Violone and adds color and pitch identity to the pedal line in softer combinations.

The Positiv borrows a bit from the Georgian chamber organ and a bit from the Continental Baroque, but is neither. The utility of the 8′ Dulciana cannot be overstated, especially when it leans more toward an Echo Diapason than the type of neutered, bland string placed in American organs of a century ago. The two-rank mixture is not high-pitched, as the Positiv differentiates itself by its position, weight, and texture without having the upperwork separate from the ensemble. The 8′ Clarinet is notably bold and broad, voiced brightly so as to work well in both French organ repertoire and characteristic soli in English anthems. The Herald Trumpet, which plays from this manual, is placed in the triforium on the Gospel side of the sanctuary and is the most brilliant stop in the organ.

The Pedal division is derived from four boldly scaled unit ranks and carefully selected mezzo-forte stops either borrowed or extended from the manual divisions, with the 8′ Principal in the Gospel facade. The 16′ Dulciana, extended from the Positiv, is worth its weight in gold for its utility and elegance, and allows for the forcefulness of the 16′ Open Wood Bass to fully undergird the ensemble. The Pedal reeds, despite their brassy flair, are warm and round, rolling dramatically down the nave.

The Visual Element

It is a challenge to design and build an organ after another builder’s recommended alterations have been made to the edifice. A freestanding organ in a resonant case, recessed slightly into one of the transepts, would have been ideal, but reinforced concrete platforms projecting into each transept were already in place at the direction of the previously selected builder. Worshipers and visitors to the cathedral had been looking at those empty shelves and gaping holes in the transept walls for a decade and a half, and expected a resolution. In addition, three fine mosaics in the Byzantine style had been commissioned for each of the building’s apses, and their beauty had to remain in view.

As a preservation architect attuned to precedent and context, I felt that merely placing an open array of pipes on each shelf was no more than a facile evasion of artistic responsibility. The cathedral organ cases combine pendant pairs of pipe stockades with wooden casework. The former is a nod to what Midwestern American builders were producing for Catholic churches at the time the cathedral was built, and the latter was inspired by my walk-through of the permanent stage settings of Palladio’s Teatro Olimpico of 1585, in which he used classical architectural elements in forced perspective to create the illusion of greater height and depth in the built environment.

Beyond the Walls

The area’s organists and academics have taken note of this instrument in part because it offers a new perspective on the performance of the post-Mendelssohnian organ repertoire without rejecting any of the structure of the golden age of the instrument. In a region that until recently has favored the interpretive neoclassicism of the last century, organ students are welcomed to a new pipe organ of a more inclusive academic style.

Large-scale choral works and the hundreds of pieces written for organ with solo instruments or orchestra will be more authentically experienced in this peaceful, spiritual, resonant space. The Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, Twin Ports Wind Orchestra, Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra, Duluth-Superior Symphony Chorus, Superior Diocesan Chorale, and myriad collegiate ensembles have a new resource through which to expand and vitalize the musical life of the region.

Sebastian M. Glück is artistic and tonal director of Glück Pipe Organs in New York City. He is also an active lecturer, author, and consultant in the field.

Photos by Sebastian M. Glück, including the cover, except as noted.