J. Allen Farmer, Inc., Opus 58R
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Hook & Hastings Opus 1801
St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
This instrument was recently restored and installed in the rear gallery of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church by J. Allen Farmer, Inc. It was originally built in 1898 by Hook & Hastings for the Winslow Congregational Church in Taunton, Massachusetts. The church passed through several owners starting in the late 1980s. By 2005, the city condemned the building, and it was demolished.
The late Alan Laufman, founder of the Organ Clearing House, was desperate to find a new home for the organ before the wrecking ball did its work and set about contacting every organ builder and organist in his little black book hoping to find someone able to rescue it. John Farmer got wind of its availability, made a hurried visit up north to examine the instrument, and was immediately convinced that in spite of its broken trackers, layers of coal dust, and silent pipework (power had been cut to the blower), it was a musical gem in a completely unaltered condition by Hook & Hastings, the firm that so dominated the American organ landscape of the last half of the nineteenth century. In a few months’ time, John negotiated its purchase and later organized a crew to dismantle the organ, have it packed into a large semi-trailer, and then delivered to Winston-Salem, where it was safely stored in the Farmers’ large basement for several years, awaiting a new home.
John and his wife, Kristin (whom some readers might remember as a past president of the Organ Historical Society) are members of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church and were instrumental in shaping the interior design and four-second acoustic of the then newly constructed sanctuary (2000) that was served by a large one-manual instrument: lovely indeed, but insufficient to support a growing music program and 350 hymn-singing parishioners. John Farmer decided to create a unique opportunity for his home parish by donating the Hook & Hastings with only one condition: another organ shop would have to undertake its restoration. Only in this way would that small cloud of suspicion be removed from the project.
After some lengthy discussions, a St. Timothy’s organ oversight committee was formed and vested with making recommendations for the future of the gift. The committee recommended to the vestry that a fundraising project (outside the normal church budget) be undertaken to restore the organ and have it installed in the rear choir gallery of the sanctuary. A very successful campaign quickly raised all the funds for this ambitious project. At the same time, a series of “after service meetings” were held to apprise the congregation of the special opportunity that the church had been given. Bids were solicited from several respected organ restoration firms, but the committee insisted the Farmer firm be given an opportunity to bid as well. In the end, the contract was awarded to J. Allen Farmer, Inc.
Early in the process of restoring the organ, the committee made the decision not to embark on an item-by-item restoration but to preserve its essential elements and at the same time make those adjustments and additions that should be expected in a good modern instrument. To this end, they decided to preserve and restore the mechanical key action of the manuals, change the pneumatic stop action to electric stop action (thereby eliminating a sluggish system and its excessive wind noise), and add a modern combination action. The only stop to be added was a full length Trombone 16′. However, this presented the builder with a challenge since the only available space for the stop was a low ceiling alcove behind the casework. The solution was simple: move the existing pedal Bourdon 16′ onto new electric offset chests (1–12 mounted horizontally) and in its place, plant the new Trombone 16′ on the original pedal slider chest at the left side of the case, which has ample height for those very tall resonators. This also created the opportunity to make a 32′ acoustic stop using 12 new 102⁄3′ pipes in conjunction with the electrically fired Bourdon 16′—a useful, economical, and clever use of the space. The massive double horizontal-rise bellows (12′ x 6′) also came with two feeders that allowed the instrument to be hand pumped, albeit with considerable effort. However, a blower was provided if you did not want the exercise.
For an instrument over a hundred years old, it was in quite good condition. The pipework, cone tuned up to 1′ pitch, had suffered only minor damage through its tuning history. Yes, a thorough cleaning of all pipes, parts, and casework was mandated. Decades of heating the church with coal had covered every nook and cranny with a thick layer of soot. It was this task that members of the church were given. Over the course of the project, some 50 parishioners volunteered over 800 hours of work: cleaning, moving, and organizing the tens of thousands of organ bits and pieces. The Farmer shop tries to involve parishioners with all their projects. Not only does it reduce cost, but more importantly it gives people a real hands-on experience that conveys a pride of ownership not possible any other way.
The organ fits in the gallery as if the space had been planned for it. Kristin Farmer, the shop’s specialist in pipe stenciling and gilding, was responsible for restoring the organ’s polychrome façade. Even though the original paint had faded, she was nonetheless able to determine original colors and patterns. The façade makes a very elegant and dazzling statement.
The Hook & Hastings has proven to be a musical jewel in every respect. Possibly due to its relatively low wind pressure, it is not oppressive in its highly reverberant environment. The softer stops, flutes, strings and celeste, are particular delights. Among the reeds, the Clarinet stands out. To quote Mr. Farmer, “Although a clear reflection of the late nineteenth-century musical style, this 1898 organ also exhibits many of those qualities later exhibited in the American Classic style of the twentieth century—a very handsome organ to the eye and ear that I think successfully straddles both schools.”
Jack Mitchener, professor of organ in the Townsend School of Music at Mercer University, played the dedication recital in February 2015 to a standing-room-only crowd of over 500.
—John R. Shannon
Professor Emeritus
Sweetbriar College
GREAT (61 notes, unenclosed)
16′ Dbl Open Diapason 61 pipes Open metal, façade
8′ Open Diapason 61 pipes Open metal
8′ Viol da Gamba 61 pipes Open metal
8′ Viola 61 pipes Open metal
8′ Doppel Flute 61 pipes Stopped wood
4′ Octave 61 pipes Open metal
3′ Twelfth 61 pipes Open metal
2′ Fifteenth 61 pipes Open metal
11⁄3′ Mixture III 183 pipes Open metal
8′ Trumpet 61 pipes Tapered metal
SWELL (61 notes, enclosed)
16′ Bourdon (treble) 44 pipes Stopped wood
Bourdon (bass) 17 pipes Stopped wood
8′ Open Diapason 61 pipes Open metal
8′ Stopped Diapason 61 pipes Stopped wood
8′ Salicional 61 pipes Open metal
8′ Voix Celeste 61 pipes Open metal
8′ Aeoline 61 pipes Open metal
4′ Flauto Traverse 61 pipes Open wood
4′ Violina 61 pipes Open metal
2′ Flautino 61 pipes Open metal
3′ Dolce Cornet 183 pipes Open metal
8′ Vox Humana 61 pipes Stopped metal
8′ Oboe 61 pipes Tapered metal
8′ Cornopean 61 pipes Tapered metal
Tremolo
CHOIR (61 notes, unenclosed)
8′ Geigen Principal 61 pipes Open metal
8′ Melodia 61 pipes Open wood
8′ Dulciana 61 pipes Open metal
4′ Flute d’Amour 61 pipes Stopped wood
4′ Fugara 61 pipes Open metal
2′ Piccolo Harmonique 61 pipes Open metal
8′ Clarinet (TC) 49 pipes Open metal
PEDAL (30 notes, unenclosed)
32′ Grand Bourdon 12 pipes 16′ Bourdon & 1–12 102⁄3 Quint
16′ Dbl. Open Diapason 30 pipes Open wood
16′ Bourdon 30 pipes Stopped wood
8′ Violoncello 30 pipes Tapered metal
16′ Trombone 30 pipes Wooden resonators, full length
2,194 pipes, 38 ranks
Accessories
Couplers: Sw. to Ped., Gt. to Ped., Ch. to Ped., Sw. to Gt., Ch. to Gt., Sw. to Ch.
Combination Action: 8 general thumb & toe pistons
12 divisional pistons
Set and Cancel pistons
Tutti
Great to Pedal reversible
99 memory levels with LED display
Sequencer
Zimbelstern
Balanced Swell shoe
Crescendo shoe
Lights: music rack & pedalboard
Wind pressure = 3½ inches
Wind indicator
Blower on/off toe stud
Adjustable dogleg bench
Cone-tuned pipework
Equal temperament, a = 435
