Cover
Buzard Pipe Organ Builders, Champaign, Illinois
St. James Episcopal Church,
Newport Beach, California
Sometimes, some things are just "meant to happen,"
in spite of ourselves. This would certainly be the case with this new pipe
organ, installed in the lovely new worship space at St. James Episcopal Church,
Newport Beach, California. My assistant met the rector at our exhibit at the
General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Denver, almost three years ago.
He took my business card and we offered him a few compact discs of our organs.
A few months later, I received an e-mail from a colleague
congratulating us on receiving the commission for this new organ. But, I hadn't
actually heard from the church, nor had I been in touch with the rector, except
to send a letter of thanks to him following the convention. The next thing I
knew the parish administrator was inviting me out to beautiful Newport Beach to
look over the architect's plans for the worship space.
If the evolution of this project can teach any lessons at
all, it should be that the organbuilder should always be involved with the
architect and the building's design from the very beginning. When I saw the
architect's plans (which by the time I saw them were quite well developed) I
was dumbfounded. The drawings showed an "organ pipe area" of 26 feet
in width (so far, ok,) but only 3 feet deep! When our space requirements were
communicated, our request was seen as though we were entering into some sort of
sparring match, as though we had asked for more space than we needed, just so
we'd have some negotiating room. The Associated Pipe Organ Builders of American
(APOBA) produces a fine publication directed to architects on planning the
space for pipe organs. This publication is undergoing its first revision and
reprinting this year. It should be required reading for every aspiring A.I.A.
member coming out of architecture school!
Fortunately, we were mostly able to convince the church that
we really needed what we asked for, and the result is this new pipe organ, the
28th instrument we have completed since opening our doors back in 1982. Even
with the correct amount of depth, the relatively low position of the rose
window and the location of the choir presented challenges to us. Because of
limited ceiling height and the requirement that the organ stay completely out
of the field of the rose window, we had to install the two manual divisions of
the organ a bit lower than we would have otherwise. The pedal pipes and the
façade are located on the casework band above the choir screen, serving
to provide the visual interest of the largest metal flue pipes interacting with
the window and the roofline.
Because this organ is located in a seismic area, we took
extra steps to make the organ's structure and the pipe racking more substantial
than would normally be required. Similarly, the tuning of this organ is
accomplished by rolling scrolls wound from the pipe metal, and flaring the open
ends of the small pipes with inverted cones, rather than more typical movable
sleeves. Our thinking was that even a small rumble could loosen tuning sleeves,
but with cone tuning there is nothing to move. The result is such
electrifyingly tight tuning, that we are considering tuning some of our
upcoming organs in this manner.
The organ's tonal style is inspired by the great English
cathedral organs of "Father" Willis, Hill, and the French instruments
of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. There must be warmth and singing nobility in
organ pipe sound, but there also needs to be a sense of urgency, éclat,
and fire. This is the inspiration in all our work, and is certainly apparent
with this instrument. The Great Diapason, while warm and singing, is not as
large a scale as its sound might cause you to think. The Principal chorus is
bold and sprightly, the flutes liquid and the strings sensual. The reeds are
beautifully balanced and combine just the right amount of fire and fundamental.
The pipes are made of various mixtures of pure tin and lead,
as well as copper for the horizontal Major Tuba, and wood for some of the
flutes. There is no zinc in any of the pipes in this organ, nor in any of our
recent work. Zinc, while cheaper and lighter, does not produce the same sound
as noble pipe-metal. For example, the strings use high tin-content metal all
the way down to the bottom of the compass. Part of the Great Organ is housed in
an expression box to give this modest instrument greater flexibility for
accompanying.
The organ's slider and pallet wind-chests are electrically
operated, and the console sports a multiple-memory level combination action and
a sequencer, so that the organist can record him or herself playing and can
then play the organ back. The casework is made of stained and finished red oak,
and the façade pipes are made of 75% polished tin, to catch and reflect
the beautiful colors of light shining through the rose window.
Mr. Thomas Foster, organist/choirmaster at All Saints
Episcopal Church, Beverly Hills, played the dedication recital. The organist at
St. James Church is Ms. Janet Harms.
Thanks to St. James Episcopal Church for commissioning us
for this instrument, and thanks also to my able staff: Brian Davis, associate
tonal director; Steve Downes, tonal assistant; Charles Eames, general manager,
chief engineer; JoAnne Hutchcraft, reception, proofreading; Robert Leach,
cabinetmaker; Stuart Martin, cabinetmaker; Kenneth McCabe, winding system; Evan
Rench, tonal assistant, pipemaker, shop manager; Jay Salmon, office manager;
Ray Wiggs, console and windchest construction; Keith Williams, service manager;
Jeff Danekas, service technician; Shayne Tippett, service technician; Stuart
Weber, service technician.
--John-Paul Buzard, President & Tonal Director
Buzard Pipe Organ Builders,
Champaign, Illinois
GREAT (4" wind)
Manual I - Partially Enclosed and Expressive
16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Lieblich
Gedeckt* (stoppered wood)
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Open
Diapason (polished tin in façade)
style='mso-tab-count:1'>
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Claribel
Flute* (open wood)
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Gedeckt
Flute* (wood, ext 16')
4' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Principal style='mso-tab-count:1'>
4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Flûte
d'Amour* (wood & metal, 16')
style='mso-tab-count:1'>
22⁄3' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Nazard* style='mso-tab-count:1'>
2' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Fifteenth style="mso-spacerun: yes">
13⁄5' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Tierce* style='mso-tab-count:1'>
11⁄3'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Fourniture
IV
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Minor
Trumpet (ext Sw Bsn)
8' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Clarinet* style='mso-tab-count:1'> style="mso-spacerun: yes">
Tremulant style='mso-tab-count:2'>
Cymbalstern style='mso-tab-count:2'> style="mso-spacerun: yes">
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Major
Tuba (horizontal, copper)
Gt/Gt
16-UO-4
Sw/Gt
16-8-4
MIDI
on Great
style="mso-spacerun: yes">
SWELL (4" wind)
Manual II - Expressive
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Stopped
Diapason (wood)
8' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Salicional
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Voix
Celeste (tc)
4' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Principal
4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Harmonic
Flute
2' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Recorder
2'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Full
Mixture IV
16' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Bassoon
8' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Trompette
8' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Oboe
4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Clarion
(ext 16' Bsn)
Tremulant
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Major
Tuba (Gt)
Sw/Sw
16-UO-4
MIDI
on Swell
PEDAL (4" wind)
32'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Subbass
(1–12 digital)
32'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Lieblich
Gedeckt (Gt, 1–12 digital)
16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Open
Diapason (1–12 digital)
16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Bourdon
(stoppered wood)
16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Lieblich
Gedeckt (Gt)*
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Principal
(polished tin in façade)
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Bass
Flute (ext 16' Bourdon)
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Gedeckt
Flute (Gt)*
4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Choral
Bass (ext 8' Principal)
4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Open
Flute* (ext 16' Bourdon)
16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Trombone*
(in Gt expression box)
16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Bassoon
(Sw)
4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Clarion
(Sw)
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Major
Tuba (Gt)
Gt/Ped
8-4
Sw/Ped
8-4
MIDI
on Pedal
Andover Organ Company,
Methuen, Massachusetts, has recently completed a new two-manual, 18-rank
instrument, Opus 112, for St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in Yarmouth,
Maine. The organ's design by Donald H. Olson and Jay H. Zoller dramatically
reflects the lines of the church's post and beam building. In June 1998, the
church was working with a borrowed 1840 Appleton organ, which sparked their
interest in mechanical action. In choosing a permanent instrument, they wanted
a detached console, so the congregation decided it would achieve more value and
flexibility with a new instrument.
"This organ's overall sound might be best described as
leaning heavily in the direction of the great American organs of the late 19th
century, particularly those built by E. & G. G. Hook Company of
Massachusetts. We are delighted with the work Andover has done to create such a
rich sound of considerable warmth and depth without sacrificing any of the
sparkle or brightness that are so necessary to a complete chorus," wrote
organist/choir director Jonathan Pelletier.
The organ is centered in the rear balcony. Project Manager
Benjamin Mague oversaw construction of the instrument. Shaker style
trumpet-playing angels and grapevines carved by Leo Lambert accent the fumed
red oak casework by Albert Hosman and David Zarges, which matches existing
finishes in the building. Case pipes are of polished tin. The console is
finished in fumed oak with burled walnut stop jambs and rosewood stop knobs.
Key action, stop action and swell mechanism are mechanical, designed by Jay
Zoller. Opus 112 has preparations for two additional ranks, which may be added
at any time as gifts or memorials.
The organ was installed in July, 2001 with voicing and
finishing by tonal director John Morlock in August. The dedication recital was
held November 11, 2001, featuring Albert Melton, cathedral musician at the
Cathedral Church of St. Luke in Portland, playing works of Buxtehude, Walther,
Bach, Mozart, Jacques Boyvin, Thomas Matthews and Arthur Wills. Organist
Jonathan Pelletier also provided special organ music at that morning's
dedicatory Sunday service.
For further information on this organ, please contact:
Andover Organ Company, Donald H. Olson, president; 1-888-ORGANCO (674-2626);
e-mail: <[email protected]>.
GREAT
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Open
Diapason
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Chimney
Flute
4' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Principal
4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Flute
(prep)
22⁄3' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Twelfth
2' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Fifteenth
II style='mso-tab-count:1'> Mixture
8' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Trumpet
SWELL
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Stopped
Diapason
8' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Viola
8' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Celeste
4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Silver
Flute
22⁄3' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Nazard
2' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Principal
13⁄5' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Tierce
8' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Hautboy
Tremolo
PEDAL
16' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Subbass
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Flutebass
(ext)
4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Choralbass
(prep)
16' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Trombone
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Tromba
(prep)
Couplers
Swell
to Great
Great
to Pedal
Swell
to Pedal
Austin Organs, Inc.,
of Hartford, Connecticut, has completed a new pipe organ for the Cathedral of
the Most Blessed Sacrament, Detroit, Michigan, as part of a massive $15 million
renovation project. The Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Detroit, the
900-seat Norman Gothic structure, built in 1913 of Ohio sandstone and Indiana
limestone, has been thoroughly cleaned and repointed. New mechanical systems, a
state-of-the-art sound reinforcement system, cleaning and conservation of the
cathedral's Willet stained glass have all underpinned striking liturgical
changes to the worship center under the direction of the celebrated architect
Gunnar Birkerts. The two-manual and pedal instrument consisting of 29 ranks, 32
stops, and 1,745 pipes is installed on Austin's trademark Universal Airchests.
The vault of the apse along with the instrument's favorable placement and
scaling create unusual clarity of tone in the cathedral's reverberant acoustic.
Design details include hooded reeds for both the Great and Pedal divisions,
heavy swell box construction for optimum expression, an over-length 12"
scale 16' Principal in the façade, and console equipment to control both
the new Austin along with the cathedral's 3-manual 1925 Casavant installed in the
west gallery. The specification of the new instrument was designed by the
builder in consultation with Dr. Norah Duncan IV, director of music for the
cathedral. Sales negotiation and installation assistance was provided by
Austin's Michigan representative, Holden Pipe Organ Company of Ferndale,
Michigan.
GREAT
16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Bourdon
(wood & metal)
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Open
Diapason
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Flûte
Harmonique (common bass)
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Viola
(GG)
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Bourdon
(ext 16')
4' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Principal
4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Flûte
Douce
2' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Fifteenth
IV
Mixture
(19 22 26 29)
8' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Trumpet
8' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Cromorne
Tremulant
SWELL
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Geigen
Diapason
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Chimney
Flute
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Viole
de Gambe
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Voix
Celeste (GG)
4' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Fugara
4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Flûte
Octaviante
22⁄3' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Nazard
2' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Octavin
13⁄5' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Tierce
III
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Chorus
Mixture (15 19 22)
16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Bassoon
(ext Hautboy)
8' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Trumpet
8' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Hautboy
Tremulant
PEDAL
32'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Resultant
Bass
16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Open
Diapason
16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Bourdon
(Gt)
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Octave
(ext)
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Bourdon
(Gt)
4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Super
Octave (ext)
16' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Posaune
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Posaune
(ext)
Schoenstein & Co.,
San Francisco, California, has installed a 25-voice, 30-rank organ at Sts.
Peter and Paul Church in San Francisco. The building, with its lofty twin
spires, is one of the most famous landmarks of the city. The church is very
large, but its acoustic is dampened with sound-absorbing tile. Space for the
organ in the second balcony is limited. Therefore, a relatively modest number
of voices selected for their carrying power and scaled to compensate for the
building's deficiency in bass and treble projection were placed under
expression in thick boxes simulating chambers but with exceptionally large
shade areas facing both nave and choir. The reeds, harmonic flutes, and strings
are based on the company's studies of French Romantic organs.
The casework was made by the founder of the company, Felix
F. Schoenstein, in 1891 for the firm's Opus 7 originally installed in St.
Marcus Lutheran Church, San Francisco, and moved to Sts. Peter and Paul in
1948. (Remnants of the 1891 mechanical action organ are presently in the care
of the Andover Organ Company and are available through the Organ Clearing
House.) The organ was dedicated by James Welch and the church's professional
choir, and has been recorded by him and by Thomas Murray.
--Larry Simpson
GREAT (Expressive)
16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Spire
Flute (TC)
8' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Principal
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Harmonic
Flute
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Stopped
Diapason (Sw)
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Spire
Flute
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Unda
Maris (TC)
4' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Octave
4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Chimney
Flute
2' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Fifteenth
11⁄3'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Mixture
IV
16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Bassoon
(Sw)
8' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Trumpet
8' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Cremone
Gt/Gt
4
SWELL (Expressive)
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Stopped
Diapason
8' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Gamba
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Celeste
(TC)
4' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Principal
4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Harmonic
Flute
22⁄3' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Nazard
2' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Flageolet
13⁄5' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Tierce
1'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Mixture
III
16' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Bassoon
8' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Trumpet
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Bassoon
& Oboe
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Vox
Humana
4' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Clarion
Tremulant
Sw
16-UO-4
PEDAL
32' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Resultant
16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Contra
Bass
16' style='mso-tab-count:1'> Bourdon
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Bass
(Gt)
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Flute
(Gt)
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Stopped
Diapason (Sw)
4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Octave
Bass (Sw)
4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Octave
Flute (Gt)
2'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Super
Octave (Sw)
1'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Fife
(Sw)
32'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Contra
Bassoon (Ext Sw, electr)
16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Trombone
(Ext Gt)
16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Bassoon
(Sw)
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Trumpet
(Sw)
8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'> Bassoon
(Sw)
4'
Oboe
(Sw)
