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New Organs

October 22, 2007
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J. Zamberlan & Co.,
Wintersville, Ohio
Oakmont Presbyterian Church, Oakmont, Pennsylvania

The firm’s Opus 2 began as a two-manual Möller of 16 ranks and 1,054 pipes, built in 1991 as Opus 11826—quite possibly one of the last instruments produced by Möller. When inspected in the spring of 2004, several of the principal ranks already exhibited signs of collapse; in addition, the 4′ chest cantilevered out over the choir had begun to droop, and access within the chamber was a challenge.
The church expressed interest in expanding the instrument to three manuals. A new Great, securely cantilevered out from the chamber façade, is now ideally located to lead congregational song. All pipework of this division is new except for the mixture, which was retained but rescaled with some new pipework, to be lower in pitch. Five decorative panels from previous choir light enclosures were refinished and the highlights gilded before being attached to the front of the Great casework. The old Great chest inside the chamber has become a Positive, with the locations formerly occupied by the collapsing Principal 8′ and Octave 4′ now filled by a Viola 8′ and Prestant 4′, which are much happier in the allocated space. The low octave of the Viola is on an offset chest with the new Trompette 8′. A 3-rank Scharff was installed on a new toeboard where the old mixture was located. The Swell was retained as is, due to restricted space.
Although not part of the original proposal, in the end the wind system within the chamber was essentially rebuilt, replacing long runs of Flexaust with solid conductors and adding winkers to all divisions. Although the bottom part of the chamber now includes a full-length Bombarde 16′ (the low 18 resonators are mainly of copper and lie on their sides) unified to 8′ and 4′, access is much easier. Wind pressures are 75 mm for the Great, 87 mm for the Swell, 76 mm for the Positive, and 80 mm for the Pedal.
A new three-manual console was provided as well. Its curved, terraced stopjambs place a large number of stops within convenient reach of the organist, while also providing for a lower overall profile. The shell is of quartersawn white oak, stained and finished, while the interior is of Honduras mahogany, including the music rack, finished with oil and paste wax. Stopknobs, piston bodies and expression shoes are of bocote, while the stopknob disks, toe stud labels, piston faces and nameplate are laser engraved on certified legal ivory. The keyboard naturals are of fine-grained bone, with sharps of ebony. The compasses are 61/32 and the temperament is Kellner.
The organ now comprises 25 ranks and 1,551 pipes. It was dedicated on Sunday, June 26, 2005, by Dr. David A. Billings, director of music and organist at the church.
—Joseph G. Zamberlan
740/765-9028
[email protected]

GREAT (Manual II)
16′ Bourdon (Pos)
8′ Diapason
8′ Bourdon
8′ Viola (Pos)
8′ Gemshorn (Sw)
4′ Octave
2′ Fifteenth
11⁄3′ Mixture III–IV*
8′ Trompette
Cymbelstern
Chimes*

SWELL (Manual III, enclosed)
8′ Rohrflöte*
8′ Gemshorn*
8′ Gemshorn Céleste (from c13)*
4′ Spitzprincipal*
4′ Rohrflöte (ext)*
4′ Gemshorn Céleste (ext)*
2′ Spitzoctave (ext)*
11⁄3′ Quinte (ext)*
16′ Contre Trompette*
8′ Petite Trompette (ext)*
4′ Clarion (ext)*
Tremulant*

POSITIVE (Manual I)
16′ Bourdon*
8′ Viola
8′ Gedackt (ext)*
4′ Prestant
4′ Gedackt (ext)*
2′ Gedackt (ext)*
22⁄3′ Sesquialtera II (from c13)*
1′ Scharff III
8′ Trompette (Gt)
8′ Schalmei*
Tremulant*

PEDAL
16′ Principal*
16′ Bourdon (Pos)
8′ Octave (ext)*
8′ Gedackt (Pos)
8′ Rohrflöte (Sw)
4′ Choralbass (ext)*
4′ Gedackt (Pos)
32′ Bassoon (electr)*
16′ Bombarde
16′ Contre Trompette (Sw)
8′ Trompette (ext)
4′ Clairon (ext)

*from Möller

Swell to Great
Positive to Great
Swell to Positive
Swell to Swell 16′
Swell Unison Off
Positive to Swell
Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
Positive to Pedal
Positive to Pedal 4′

Tutti
Manual transfer switch I/II

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