The Reuter Organ Company, Lawrence, Kansas
St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, Alexandria, Louisiana, Opus 2218
A handsome and acoustically marvelous space, St. Francis Xavier Cathedral in Alexandria, Louisiana is truly a remarkable home for Reuter opus 2218. Given the historic beauty of the building and the care with which it has been restored, the goal of the project was to craft an instrument worthy of such a space and sensitive to existing resources. “We evaluated three designs from major organ builders,” says Jack Randall, an Alexandria architect and member of the cathedral’s organ committee. “The Reuter design was far superior to the others in that it was so respectful of the 100-plus year-old cathedral architecture, which is eclectic English Gothic style, rendered in indigenous brick on the exterior and wood and plaster on the interior. We were particularly impressed with two features of the Reuter design: 1) the antiphonal organ is completely concealed behind the ornate Gothic reredos; 2) the design of the façade pipes in the choir loft is truly beautiful and reflects the form and shapes of the reredos and the stained glass window above it, which depicts Christ ascending with arms upraised amid radiant clouds. The façade sits perfectly in the Gothic arch behind the choir.”
After much discussion, an organ design of 48 ranks was developed, using 17 ranks from the original organ and its subsequent rebuilds, including pipes from the Estey firm of Brattleboro, Vermont (1920s), as well as other builders and supply houses (1970s & 1980s). In June 2003, all of the salvaged pipework and mechanisms were transported to the Reuter facility in Lawrence, Kansas to be reconditioned and assimilated into the new instrument. After the installation, tonal finishing, and tuning—which happened over the course of about eight weeks—the organ was heard for the first time by the organ committee on Monday evening, November 24, 2003, and used for its first Mass on that Thanksgiving weekend.
Forty-three ranks are engineered into the tower chamber in the gallery, and the remaining five ranks and chimes are installed inconspicuously in a small chamber (the Echo division) behind the high altar. The Grande Orgue and Pédale are mounted high, front and center in the tower chamber. The Récit Expressif and Positif Expressif are installed at the back of the tower chamber behind large banks of mechanical shutters. The Echo division became the new home for some of the most beautiful and beloved sounds from the original Estey organ. Intended primarily for accompanying the cantors during Mass, the Echo is enclosed with a small bank of shutters mounted on the chamber ceiling. The polished copper and polished zinc speaking façade pipes of the Pédale 16¢ Montre are displayed in front of the gallery tower chamber, accentuating the Gothic arch and maintaining the traditional style of the building.
— Reuter Organ Co. /
S. Christopher Leaver
Photo: Reuter Organ Co. / Bill Klimas
Reuter Opus 2218
38 stops, 48 ranks
GRANDE ORGUE
16' Diapason (Positif)
8' Montre
8' Bourdon
8' Flûte Harmonique
4' Prestant
4' Flûte à Fuseau
2' Doublette
IV Fourniture
III Cornet
16' Contre Trompette (Récit)
8' Bombarde
8' Trompette en Chamade
Glockenstern
Cloches (Echo)
MIDI
RÉCIT EXPRESSIF
16' Flûte à Cheminée
8' Flûte à Cheminée (ext)
8' Salicional
8' Voix Céleste (TC)
4' Prestant
4' Flûte Ouverte
22/3' Nazard
2' Flûte (ext)
13/5' Tierce
IV Plein Jeu
16' Contre Trompette
8' Trompette (ext)
8' Hautbois
8' Voix Humaine
8' Trompette en Chamade (G.O.)
Tremblant
MIDI
POSITIF EXPRESSIF
16' Dolce
8' Diapason
8' Cor de Nuit
8' Dolce (ext)
8' Unda Maris (TC)
4' Octave Diapason (ext)
4' Flûte Traversière
2' Flageolet
11/3' Quint
III Mixture
8' Petit Trompette
8' Clarinette
8' Trompette en Chamade (G.O.)
Tremblant
MIDI
ECHO
8' Principal
8' Voix Aetheria
8' Voix Céleste (TC)
8' Bourdon
4' Octave
4' Flûte Ouverte
Cloches (Chimes)
Cymbelstern
ECHO PÉDALE
16' Bourdon (ext, 1–12 digital)
8' Bourdon (Echo)
PÉDALE
32' Acoustic Bass
16' Montre
16' Soubasse
16' Dolce (Positif)
16' Bourdon (Récit)
8' Octave (ext)
8' Soubasse (ext)
8' Diapason (Positif)
8' Dolce (Positif)
8' Bourdon (Récit)
4' Octave (ext)
4' Soubasse (ext)
32' Basson (ext, Récit)
16' Bombarde (ext, G.O.)
16' Contre Trompette (Récit)
8' Bombarde (G.O.)
8' Trompette (Récit)
4' Trompette (Récit)
8' Trompette en Chamade (G.O.)
MIDI
Orgues Létourneau Limitée, Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, Canada
The Lutheran Church of the Nativity, Alexandria, Virginia
Létourneau’s Opus 94 was completed in late 2004 with a dedicatory concert played by Haig Mardirosian, who also served as consultant to the project. Though physically a small instrument—measuring 11' wide, 11' tall and 8'9" deep including pedalboard—this 18-stop mechanical action organ was designed and voiced to produce an exceptionally wide variety of sonorities. Based on an 8' Principal and boasting a variety of other unison stops, the instrument has proven adept at accompanying the church’s liturgy and performing organ repertoire. Where practical, pipes in the bass octave have been shared between similar stops to save space (e.g., the Great 8' Chimney Flute and the Swell 8' Stopped Diapason share common pipes for the first 10 notes). The entire instrument is enclosed within one swell box—excepting the Great 8' Open Diapason and Pedal 16'-8' Bourdon—though the traditional dynamic relationship between Great and Swell has been preserved through voicing. The attached two-manual console features bone naturals and ebony accidentals, while the pedalboard features maple naturals with ebony accidentals.
—Andrew Forrest
Photo © Dupont Photographers Inc.
GREAT (enclosed with Swell)
8' Open Diapason (façade)
8' Chimney Flute
8' Salicional
4' Octave
4' Harmonic Flute
2' Fifteenth
11/3' Mixture III (Swell)
8' Echo Trumpet (Swell)
Swell to Great
SWELL (enclosed)
8' Stopped Diapason (wood)
8' Gamba
8' Voix Celeste (TC)
4' Principal
4' Spitz Flute
11/3' Larigot
11/3' Mixture III
8' Echo Trumpet
PEDAL
16' Bourdon
8' Octave Bourdon
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
General Tremulant
