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In the Wind

June 16, 2005
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In last month’s issue of The Diapason we started to recount the fictional story of one church’s experience with the process of purchasing and installing a new pipe organ. We pick up the tale this month as the new organ actually arrives at the church. 

Note: All fiction is based on reality. While many of the episodes are derived from past experience, this narrative can be described as a reflection on an actual project that is nearing completion at this writing. Christ Church in New Haven, Connecticut is installing an important new organ built by Lively-Fulcher Organbuilders of Rocky Mount, Virginia. The Organ Clearing House arranged for the sale of the previous organ and prepared the striking building (designed by Henry Vaughan) for the new instrument with the renovation of the organ chamber and other related projects. These thoughts are not offered as an actual account of the project but those who participated will recognize vignettes . . .

Here it comes!

The organ committee worked hard to plan the day. The organ would arrive in a huge truck at one o’clock on Sunday afternoon. The pastor’s sermon recalled the words of the Besançon Carol of the Advent:

People look East, the time is near

of the crowning of the year.

Make your house fair as you are able,

Trim the hearth and set the table.

People look East and sing today,

Love the Guest is on the way.

He reminded us how hard we work to dress up our houses, both domestic and spiritual, for the coming of the Lord and suggested that the huge effort to purchase this new organ is an expression of that preparation. 

After worship we had a pot-luck meal. The organ committee showed us videos that had been taken at the organbuilder’s workshop during the open house last month. It was fun to see our fellow parishioners in that different setting. They showed slides of the people who work at the shop so we’d know them a little when they arrived, and they showed photos of the organ as it stood in the workshop. 

When the meal was finished we went outside and sat on the steps and the truck came around the corner right on time. What a special moment. Our church has been working toward this for years. The organ committee spent almost two years studying before making a recommendation to the parish. The organbuilder had to finish a couple of instruments before building ours, and once they started it took most of a year to finish it. And now this new instrument, a work of art created just for us, was sitting outside our church.

The truck driver opened the doors and we could see myriad fascinating shapes wrapped in blankets. Here and there a few pieces were exposed--we could see immediately that they were built with great care by skillful people. A ramp was set up from the truck to the church’s porch. Ropes and straps were untied and the first few pieces came off the truck. They let us carry some of them. As the parts were carried into the church, the blankets were draped across the backs of the pews. Four hours later, the church was full of the most extraordinary collection of crates, finished lumber, and mysterious gizmos. We wandered around looking at it amazed that anyone could possibly make sense out of it all. The organbuilders seemed confident enough. They walked around with us saying this is the Great windchest . . . this is the back panel of the Swell Box . . . here are the slider motors of the Swell and Choir . . . the façade pipes are in these crates--never touch them with your fingers . . .

Hoist away

The next week was an energetic flurry. Scaffolding was erected, hoisting equipment was hung in the organ loft. The workers opened crates and sorted out piles of structural parts. They took measurements and made marks on the floor and started sorting and lining up the organ parts. The floor frame was put in place in the chamber--they explained that the frame positioned the organ in the church and provided the locations for the organ’s legs and the various other parts that would be located on the floor of the organ. The biggest pipes of the pedal division would be against the walls of the chamber. Their windchests were put in place and the racks that would support the pipes were assembled and screwed to the walls. The biggest pipe would be first. It was rolled across the floor on dollies, tied to the hoist with canvas slings, and guided up through the opening into the chamber. It took eight workers to stand it up and hook it to the rack above the windchest. Imagine, all that bulk for one note! Someone said, “it’s a very special note.”

It’s alive

Heavy pieces of framework followed and in no time we could see the outline and bulk of the instrument. The windchests were hoisted into place, positioned by dowels. They were obviously very heavy, but it was amazing to see how carefully the workers handled them. Some of the workers carried the organ blower down the stairs to the basement. The electricians arrived and starting running wires to the blower, the organ console, and the organ chamber. The blower was turned on for the first time. The bellows came up, a few machines moved--like they were coming to attention. Someone from the church remembered scenes in the movies when the mad scientist throws a big switch, there’s a lot of noise, lightning, and smoke, and the monster strapped to the table opens its eyes. The organ came to life. 

The organbuilders crawled around inside the organ adjusting things, and pretty soon it was quiet in the organ. They tested notes and we could hear air blowing from holes in the windchests. And those big bass pipes were played for the first time. You could feel the sound from the floor through your feet. If you sat in a pew you could feel the sound through your back and backside. The organ came to life.

A few days later they were opening crates, unpacking pipes, and handing them up into the organ. There were thousands of them. Everyone was wearing gloves. Row after row of gleaming pipes stood in the organ looking like a choir waiting for its conductor. They tested notes. We could tell that it was rough and unfinished sounding. One of the workers joked, tuned at the factory. Another asked, where’s that can of Perma-tune? They rough-tuned a couple of ranks and we could hear how wonderful it would be. The organ came to life.

Two weeks after the organ arrived, the nave was cleaned up, the crates were gone, the blankets were folded and stacked (there were hundreds of them), the scaffolding was down, and everything looked great. All but two of the organbuilders went home. Those two settled in to a couple months of careful methodical work. One was up in the organ manipulating the pipes, the other sitting at the console.

Thousands of pipes. Each pipe got special individual attention. Each time they both listened. Sometimes they weren’t satisfied with the sound of a pipe and agreed to come back to it. The one at the console kept a list. Watching and listening to them was a lesson in concentration. Sometimes we could hardly tell the differences they were listening for--but they sure could. Someone from the organ committee remembered the meeting in which they were told how different organs could be. This kind of careful attention must really set an instrument apart from “the usual.”

Each pipe was made to sound right, one at a time. Each pipe was made to sound right in the church and with the other pipes in the stop; and each stop was made to sound right with the other stops. When a two-foot stop sounded good with the chorus but was too loud to use without the Mixture, they voiced it again. Gradually the organ was transformed. It had sounded like a street fair at first--now it was becoming refined. The organ’s voicers are just like coaches of diction, of manners, of refinement, and of excitement. Remember Rex Harrison and Julie Andrews, “She’s got it. By George, she’s got it!” 

It’s finished

We’ve heard little bits and pieces of organ music coming from the sanctuary. We’ve heard just enough that we’re sure it’s going to be terrific, but we can hardly wait to really hear it. We can hardly wait to sing with it. The organbuilder was very clear--we wouldn’t use the organ until it was ready. He wanted our first impression to be based on something he was satisfied with--anything as complicated as this has thousands of things that could go wrong. That confirmed our knowledge that we were working with an artist who really cared about his work. And besides, we already know what a cipher sounds like! 

So we waited. The organ committee kept us up to date about the progress. We knew that our organist was spending time with the organbuilder and we could sense that she was excited. Finally, one Sunday during worship one of the members of the organ committee announced that the organ was finished and we would use it in worship for the first time next week.

The church was packed. The new organ looked great. We had all seen the drawings and models of the design, but we were not prepared for the effect of the real thing. The effect was increased because we had gotten used to seeing tools, boxes, and other gear in the church, and for the first time since the organ was delivered everything was neat and clean. We started with a hymn. The organ’s sound was clear and natural. When we started to sing we felt as if our voices were part of the organ--or that the organ was part of our voices. It was like drafting behind a truck on the highway--the sound came from our mouths without effort. We knew right away . . . 

It’s part of the family

It’s been two years since the new organ arrived. Two Christmases, two Easters, two summers full of weddings. But it’s not just back to normal. First of all, we haven’t seen the organist run across the front of the church to try to fix a cipher. There was one Sunday when something went wrong and they had to call in the organbuilder, but it was fixed right away and no one seemed worried about it. But more important, our worship is really different. The music is alive and that makes the services alive. Our singing gets better and better--there’s nothing like a good leader. Our organist is practicing a lot and often letting us know how exciting this is for her. And when she plays we can tell. 

We’ve started a concert series. It didn’t take long for our community to realize that our church was a good place to go to hear music. It’s not that we think we’re running a concert hall but it’s great to have so many visitors. Someone once said that there’s no such thing as bad publicity--but there really is nothing like good publicity. 

The purchase of a new pipe organ is a gift that one generation gives to those that will follow. How many venerable organs do we celebrate today that represent a story like this experienced by those who came before us? A new organ is a symbol of strength, of vision, and of faith. A new organ is an expression of excellence--a manifestation of human skills and workmanship. A new organ is the introduction of a new chapter in the life of any church--a lifetime experience for those who participate in it, and an opportunity to combine a parish’s identity with both its past and its future. 

“The Past Becomes the Future”--a double meaning. Every moment of our lives we are moving between the past and the future. The future of a community of worship must be both informed and unfettered by its past. A tricky balance to be sure, but when you get it right you know it.

But, what if your church has a fine organ that’s falling apart? Not every old organ needs to be replaced. Some churches own older instruments that are just as good or better than new--you simply can’t tell because they don’t work. And an organ is not necessarily a poor instrument just because it doesn’t happen to work. There are countless modern examples of organ committees whose study has led to the restoration of their existing organ, and there are many outstanding organbuilders who specialize in shepherding a venerable organ through a rebirth or renaissance. Our narrative is just as appropriate for the rebirth of an old organ as for the commissioning of a new instrument.

Whichever choice is right for your church, the decision will take plenty of time, effort, advice, and money. The result of committing all that treasure of human and financial resources will be the gift your parish leaves to your children.

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