St. James Episcopal Church
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Goulding & Wood Pipe Organ Builders
Indianapolis, Indiana
Stoplist
By Jason Overall
New organ projects can serve many purposes. They can crown sweeping renovations, mark significant anniversaries, or fulfill visionary plans for new facilities. St. James Episcopal Church of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, found an interesting, alternative reason to seriously consider a new organ. The people of this congregation recognized that a thrilling new instrument would serve as a handmaiden for a broader vision: revitalizing the entire music ministry of the parish. When they began serious discussions with potential organbuilders, the church did not have a permanent musician on staff. Their aspiration was to commission an organ both as a draw to candidates for the director of music position and as a clear sign that the congregation was poised to fully support an expanded music program.
St. James is a historic parish in a town rich with links to the past. While the congregation traces its origin as far back as 1819, the parish was formally organized in 1844. The church building dates from 1895 and includes a baptismal font given in memory of a Union general who worshiped there regularly during the occupation of Baton Rouge. At the beginning of the 20th century, the priest serving as rector began a formidable project of hand carving 36 wooden wainscot panels surrounding the altar. A central window by Louis Comfort Tiffany became the focal point of the sanctuary.
The current rector, Rev. Christopher Duncan, led the charge for a new organ as part of a broader campaign to elevate the music of the parish. The first conversations Goulding & Wood had with the committee were awkward at times, as the group was working without a strong leading musical personality. Many phone calls and visits to other organs helped educate the committee and elucidate the priorities for the new instrument’s resources. It became our task to help them discern their desires and design an organ that would ennoble their worship for decades to come.
This process yielded a modest two-manual instrument with an emphasis on accompanying congregational and choral song. We held fast to the reality that the organ would also need to faithfully render traditional literature once the church attracted the right musician. The design was a delicate balance between the financial resources the committee felt that the congregation would allocate and the musical resources that would attract a first-rate organist.
Ultimately, the organ contract was signed, and St. James began searching for a new organist. This search brought forward Shannon Gallier, a seasoned parish musician who had served congregations in Jacksonville and Atlanta. Gallier embraced the choice of organbuilder and the design, although he quickly began asking questions about the feasibility of expanding the stoplist. Within the first few months of his tenure, serious conversations began about not only adding a few voices to the Great and Swell but also creating a Choir division. He was able to solicit additional funds, and we incorporated fully reconditioned pipework from the previous organ to limit the increase in the contract price. We quickly modified building plans and embraced the chance to build the organ that the room deserved. Through Gallier’s steadfast guidance, we were able to complete the design in a musically satisfying way and even to augment the visual aspect in period-appropriate style with stenciled pipes. Gallier was able to harness the incipient vision of the congregation and channel it into a fully formed plan for vibrant musical leadership.
The resulting organ boasts a rich palette of colors full of subtlety and nuance. The Great principal chorus is bold, providing a strong frame to support the full organ’s ensemble. Within the plenum is a complete principal cornet, serving as a searing solo stop when used alone and offering shading possibilities for the chorus full to mixture. The Swell’s principal chorus stands in relief to the Great, serving well in dialogue and combining to create a thrilling tutti. The Great flute chorus comprises a hefty Bourdon available at 16′ and 8′ pitch, a smoky 4′ open cylindrical flute, and a commanding 8′ Harmonic Flute. A five-rank flute cornet in the Choir serves as a milder foil to the Great’s principal cornet, and the unison flutes within the Choir’s chorus serve an accompanimental function and are effective for continuo work. Harmonic flutes at 4′ and 2′ pitch sit atop the Swell’s Gedeckt, also available at 16′ and 8′ pitch. This brilliant combination speaks with clarity throughout the nave and supplies the piquant pungency required for so much French Romantic literature. The Swell’s Viole de gambe and matching Voix céleste are broad and harmonically rich, while the Choir’s Dulciana and Celeste contribute a gentler option useful in choral accompaniments. The Dulciana alone is a versatile stop, working as a small-scaled diapason rank and combining with the 8′ Chimney Flute to create a poetic unison line, engaging the ear with a color profile that develops from ponderous in the tenor range to bright and telling in the upper treble. Reeds in the organ span a similar spectrum, from the weighty Great Trumpet to the fiery Swell chorus of French parallel-shallot reeds. The Choir’s Clarinet, modeled after solo stops from E.M. Skinner instruments, has a dark, haunting quality full of personality and interest. As with all of our organs, the pipework was expertly built to our specifications by A.R. Schopp’s Sons of Alliance, Ohio.
St. James Church made a intentional investment in the musical liturgy of the congregation, taking deliberate steps to put the necessary pieces in place. In turn, they commissioned a new organ, reorganized the chancel for better arrangement of the musicians, and found an excellent director of music and organist to build upon their tradition, which was already strong. Along the way, they were open to modest corrections in course as Gallier, in his new role, was able to offer insightful improvements upon the initial plans. The parish is now in a very strong place to foster lively worship and musical excellence in a far-reaching program. We extend deep gratitude to Rev. Christopher Duncan and the organ committee for blazing the trail even when the path was unclear. Similarly, we greatly appreciate the enthusiasm, support, and suggestions of Shannon Gallier. His input and advocacy allowed us to expand our vision for the organ and provided the necessary support from the congregation to make these additions possible. We are thrilled to be a part of the fabric of St. James’s liturgical life as it continues to grow and develop.
Jason Overall serves as design consultant for Goulding & Wood, coordinating details of new projects with clients and providing ongoing support for installations throughout the country.
Photos by Shelby Lewis, except where noted.
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