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Organs in Leadville, Colorado

April 12, 2003
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Richard Peek is minister of Music of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In the small town of Leadville, CO, there are two good examples of 19th-century organ building. Leadville was not always a small town. In the second half of the 19th century, the rich silver, gold and lead deposits in the area produced a boom economy which drew a population of between 40 and 50 thousand people. In addition to the miners, many camp followers arrived which led to the creation of a colorful era which still draws thousands of visitors today to savor its interesting Victorian architecture and other mementos of its past. In addition to its gambling houses and houses of ill repute, there were banks, stores and churches. One of them was St. George's Episcopal Church which was patterned after St. George's Church in New York City. Its lot was purchased from the well-known Horace Tabor and it features hand hewn beams and Gothic arches of native timber. Its two-manual and pedal organ was purchased in 1880 from the George H. Ryder firm of Boston, MA. The facade pipes feature a blue and gold star pattern which reflected the original ceiling of the chancel. According to local tradition, the organ was transported by ox-cart over the Weston Pass, and installed in the church in the latter part of 1881. Since it was hand pumped, on the back of the organ case and walls of the blower room many names of various organ pumpers were carved and written.

The specification is as follows:

                                     GREAT

                  8' Open Diapason (bass pipes in facade)

                  8' Melodia

                  8' Dulciana

                  4' Octave

                  3' Twelfth (22/3')

                  2'             Fifteenth                                                

                                     SWELL

                  8' Stopped Diapason Treble

                  8' Stopped Diapason Bass

                  8' Keraulophone (Tenor C)

                  8' Oboe

                  4' Flute Celeste

                                     Tremolo                                                                                                                                            PEDAL

                  16'          Bourdon

Sw. to Gt., Sw to Ped., Gt to Ped.

There are 2 composition Pedals: One to draw full Great and one to reduce the Great to the Melodia and Dulciana.

The swell shoe is placed to the far right of the pedal board. Compass of the manuals is C to a'''. Compass of the pedal is C to d'. Mechanical action.

The organ seems to be very much as it was when first installed, with the exception of an electric blower which was added in 1953. The Keraulophone has the character of a  Violin Diapason and the 4' Flute Celeste is tuned straight rather than sharp which makes it more usable. The Swell Oboe has a penetrating quality which dominates the division. The Great ensemble is quite bright, even without a mixture. This is due to the resonant character of the room which is mostly hard surfaces.

The other organ of interest was built for the First Federated Church in downtown Leadville in 1889 by the William Schuelke Organ Company of Milwaukee, WI, as opus 67. When the church voted to leave downtown and move to the suburbs, they brought this instrument with them and the church is now known as the First Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). They also brought along with them their church bell which was cast by the McSeane Bell Foundry of Baltimore, MD, in 1870.

The organ specification is as follows:

                                    GREAT

                  16'          Bourdon (TC)

                  8'             Open Diapason (bass in facade)

                  8'             Melodia

                  8'             Dulciana

                  4'             Principal

                  2/3'         Twelfth (22/3')

                  2'             Fifteenth

                                    SWELL

                  8'             Open Diapason

                  8'             Stopped Diapason

                  8'             Salicional (bottom octave stopped)

                  4'             Flute Harmonic

                  8'             Oboe and Bassoon

                                    Tremolo

                                    PEDAL

                  16'          Bourdon

Sw. to Gt., Sw. to Ped., Gt. to Ped.

Mechanical action, electric blower (later addition).

Manual compass C to a''''; Pedal compass C to d'.

The swell shoe is to the right of the pedal board. There are again two composition pedals, one for the full Great (less the 2') and one to bring it down to the Melodia and Dulciana.

The instrument was restored in 1968 by Edward T. Bollinger of Denver, CO. The two organs have a similar sound, due to similarities in their specifications. However, the Great ensemble of the Schuelke organ is richer due to the addition of the 16' Bourdon. The Swell division also is richer and has more feeling of ensemble due to the addition of the Sw. Open Diapason 8'. Nevertheless, the Ryder organ is the more brilliant due to the better acoustical setting. In the Presbyterian Church there is a thick carpet which absorbs some of the organ sound.

Both organs possess well balanced principal choruses in contrast to many later organs which scaled the 8' Open Diapason so big that it drowned out the upper work. The facade has flats of Open Diapason pipes which alternate groups of yellow and green pipes, patterned in gold and white with gold mouths.

There is more to Leadville than its colorful past and spectacular scenery, and the organ enthusiast might well wish to explore these interesting and historic instruments.

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