Bedient Pipe Organ Company, Roca, Nebraska
John Griffen Residence, Seattle, Washington
Flexibility is not the first trait that comes to mind when contemplating centuries of organbuilding tradition. But, to John Griffen, that attribute was critical in choosing Bedient Pipe Organ Company to build his residence organ. Based on our Phoenix model (one of nine instruments in our Legacy Line), Opus 77 represents Bedient’s ability to listen to customers and respond.
Opus 77 is a two-manual and pedal organ with 12 stops, electric stop and combination action, and mechanical key action. The case and external wooden pipes are made of mahogany, with the internal wooden pipes made of poplar. The metal pipes are an alloy of 2% tin and 98% lead with the façade pipes featuring 23-karat gold-leaf gilding around the mouths.
The keyboard naturals are topped with bone, and the accidentals with ebony. Pedal naturals are made of white oak, and the accidentals are capped with moridillo. Stopknobs are made of cocobola. The pipe shade design, influenced by drawings by the French Baroque painter Jacques Stella, features an acanthus leaf and shell motif; the shades are made of linden or basswood. Manual and pedal windchests are slider chests. Some offset chests are tubular pneumatic, and others are electro-pneumatic, played by relay switches from the manual windchests.
Because the instrument is located in the Griffen residence, Bedient’s craftspeople first had to shrink the original Bedient Legacy Line Phoenix organ’s already compact size to fit into a room only 12’ x 22’ feet with a height of 9’8?. Our designer, Alan Baehr, accomplished this by subtracting nearly a foot from both case height and depth dimensions. The specification of this instrument was modified to meet Mr. Griffen’s needs and wishes for playing organ literature. In this case, the Great includes a Rohrflute 8’ in addition to the Principal 8’. Vibrant stops such as the Mixture and Cromorne were omitted from the specification due to the modest space occupied by the organ. The Quinte and Terz stops were put on the second manual instead of the first manual, where they usually reside on the Phoenix model.
Other modifications include Mr. Griffen’s request for a bass octave for the Principal 8’, normally a tenor c stop on the Phoenix. Those extra wooden pipes of the Principal and the bass of the Rohrflute are located to the back and side of the organ case. The organ also includes a Zimbelstern.
Delivery, installation, and voicing were in June 2005. John Griffen is currently playing a series of dedication recitals for friends.
—Gene Bedient
GREAT
8’ Principal
8’ Rohrflute
4’ Octave
2’ Octave
SWELL
8’ Gedackt
8’ Salicional (tc)
4’ Spitzflute
22?3’ Quinte
2’ Doublette
13?5’ Terz
PEDAL
16’ Subbass
8’ Flute
Couplers, etc.
Great/Pedal
Swell/Pedal
Swell/Great
Zimbelstern
Tremulant
Marceau & Associates Pipe Organ Builders, Inc., Portland, Oregon, has built a Choir Organ with remote console for St. Mark Lutheran Church, Anchorage, Alaska. Marceau’s Opus XXV, which was completed in 2005, comprises one manual of 56 notes. This organ was installed in the rear gallery of the church to allow for the choir to assemble and present repertoire from the rear of the church. The portable console allows for it to be located either in the gallery or in the front next to the existing Kenneth Jones pipe organ. This instrument has also been used in the church’s ongoing concert series. The organist is Caroline Valentine. The façade comprises pipes from the 8’ Gedeckt (1–7) and 4’ Harmonic Flute (1–7).
MANUAL (56 notes)
8’ Gedeckt (1–12 zinc, 13–56 50% tin)
8’ Salicional (1–12 zinc & Haskell style, 13–56 50% tin)
4’ Harmonic Flute (1–12 zinc, 13–56 50% tin)
