Cover Feature

Létourneau Pipe Organs, 

Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, 

Canada, Opus 133

Waldensian Presbyterian Church, Valdese, 

North Carolina

From the Director of Music

Waldensian Presbyterian Church of Valdese, North Carolina, first and foremost wanted a new pipe organ that would stand the test of time. As a church that honors Presbyterian traditions while celebrating its Waldensian heritage that spans hundreds of years, it was important to the congregation to find an organ builder that would enhance the Waldensian tradition of French music and have the longevity to carry them into the future. Létourneau delivered, beyond expectation.

During the months of February and August, you can hear the congregation at Waldensian Presbyterian Church singing joyfully the hymns of their heritage in French. While only used weekly for two months of the year, the Waldensian Hymnal is a small book of French hymns that are embedded deeply in the members’ hearts and are heard frequently outside of the worship services.

Previously, Waldensian Presbyterian Church had a two-manual, electro- pneumatic pipe organ that served the congregation and community for thirty-five years. When the time came for this instrument’s electrical system to be overhauled, one among many serious problems, the church decided refurbishment was not an option. The task ahead of discerning what form a new pipe organ should take and choosing an organ builder was daunting, but the committees involved were determined to make the best choice possible for the future of the church. 

When discussions about replacing the deteriorating organ first began, it was important the end result would be an instrument that reflected the congregation’s heritage and would support the beautiful sounds and colors of French music. The church was also aware of its important responsibility in the Valdese community, and the purchase of a new pipe organ was something that the congregation felt would enhance this local role for generations to come. 

In addition to the sound and quality of the instrument, which were of upmost importance, it was also essential that the instrument looked as though it had always been there and not appear as an afterthought. The sanctuary of Waldensian Presbyterian Church is a historic building on the National Register of Historic Places, and the installation of a new pipe organ had to involve as few changes as possible to the building. This presented a challenge that Létourneau gladly accepted, and their Opus 133 does indeed fit seamlessly into the sanctuary. The organ project also provided an opportunity for a modest reinvention of the sanctuary, with new slate flooring and freshly painted walls.

With just fifteen stops, Opus 133 has rich and luscious sounds that easily fill the room without ever overpowering it. It can also, however, be played so softly that listeners are enticed to listen closely. The ingenious expression mechanism for the Récit division allows organists to have remarkable dynamic control over the music. The pedal stops have beautiful supportive tones that can be felt as well as heard throughout the room. The versatility of the instrument is really striking, and while its main purpose is to support congregational singing and lead worship, it also scintillates as a recital instrument. Further, the instrument is enjoyable to play, and as an organist, it feels as though it does all of the hard work. It can be played with a light touch and demands excellence and sensitivity in musicianship.

In summary, Waldensian Presbyterian Church is thrilled with their new Létourneau pipe organ and is looking forward to the years to come as it establishes itself in our community as a regular presence. It was a pleasure to work with Létourneau on this project. They took in to account all of the needs and desires of our congregation and the quality of the resulting instrument truly exhibits the remarkable pride they take in their work.

—Leslie Overcash, Director of Music

From the Builder

We were delighted to be asked to build an organ for Waldensian Presbyterian Church of Valdese, North Carolina. Our many visits to the church revealed a kind, receptive community that wanted to make decisions in the best interests of future generations. It was equally clear that their new organ was going to serve as an outreach tool within the area’s musical community. In keeping with their desire for excellence, the organ’s installation followed a successful sanctuary renovation that saw the removal of thick blue carpet from the nave as well as a reconfiguration of the raised worship platform.

After the church’s decision had been made to sign a contract with Létourneau, we learned the final two proposals the organ committee had been considering were radically different. The first was for an electro-pneumatic unit organ offering over 30 stops based on half as many ranks while our proposal, the second, was for a 19-rank pipe organ with mechanical key action. The whole reason the church was considering a new organ in the first place was due to continuing failures with their previous organ, a divided instrument flanking the chancel’s central apse on the sanctuary’s front wall. Undistinguished from the outset, this electro-pneumatic pipe organ increasingly suffered as it aged from a myriad of problems including a recalcitrant console, unpredictable electrical gremlins, winding issues and collapsing pipework. The ongoing problems with this instrument in the end underscored our arguments in favor of a timeless key action and a straight specification in which every stop has a distinct role to play.

Questions about what kind of key action was best suited to Waldensian Presbyterian Church’s situation probably seemed esoteric to some on their organ committee, but one point on which the committee was unanimous was the organ’s visual design: the new instrument had to integrate smoothly into the sanctuary’s spare, attractive architecture. Our efforts focused on using the chancel’s small apse, which had been an open space prior to the church renovations with seating for the church choir. Now installed, the organ uses the apse’s heavy curved wall and domed ceiling to project tone into the church much like a traditional organ case. As anticipated, the apse seems to amplify the Pédale division’s single rank, the 16′–8′ Bourdon, as needed from its location at the very back of the instrument. 

Our designer, Claude Demers, devised the instrument’s elegant façade with its three towers of pipes while the casework features blue and gold trim to harmonize with accents already present within the church. The organ’s polished façade pipes are from the bass of the Gr-Orgue 8′ Montre stop and are made from a 70% tin alloy. Behind the façade, the Gr-Orgue windchest sits directly under the thick archway leading to the apse, which helps again reflect sound into the church.

The Récit division resides between the Gr-Orgue and the Pédale 16′–8′ Bourdon rank. A tight enclosure, its expression mechanism is based on the example seen in the C. B. Fisk instrument at Chicago’s St. Chrysostom’s Episcopal Church. The Récit’s expression box has shades not only on its face but also on its two sides. Thanks to offset arms coming off the mechanism’s vertical shafts, the first portion of the expression pedal’s travel cracks the sides open before the shades on front of the box begin to move. The effect is remarkably sensitive and smooth dynamic control throughout the expression pedal’s travel.

The two-manual console is detached and reversed from the organ case, offering the organist an excellent view of the sanctuary. The console shell was made from solid red oak with its side and back panels incorporating carved details repurposed from a redundant modesty rail. The mechanical key actions drop into a channel under the console, passing under the pedalboard before going into the instrument behind. As is our custom, the terraced stop jambs and toe piston rails are made from a richly stained walnut while the stopknobs are made from turned ebony. The electric stop actions are controlled by a multilevel capture system from Solid State Organ Systems with 128 levels of memory, an adjustable crescendo pedal, a reversible Grand jeu piston, and eight general pistons along with a general piston sequencer.

In keeping with the Waldensian community’s French origins, we accentuated some of the French elements within the specification. For example, the Récit strings are potent, allowing organists to shade the Gr-Orgue 8′ flute and to a lesser degree, the 8′ Montre, for a rich fonds sonority. The organ’s most delicate stop is the Récit’s charming 8′ Bourdon, which fades to a murmur with the box closed. Adding the charismatic 4′ Flûte octaviante and 2′ Octavin creates a light secondary chorus that serves beautifully in the context of accompanying or performing solo repertoire. Like the strings, the Récit’s 8′ Trompette is big enough to color the Gr-Orgue thanks to its generously scaled resonators (8′ C measures just over four inches in diameter) and domed Bertounèche shallots.

The Gr-Orgue is based on a large 8′ Montre, generally following a 42 scale, with somewhat relaxed voicing that never takes on a hard edge. The composition of the Gr-O 8′ Flûte à cheminée is more complex than its nomenclature suggests: stopped wooden pipes make up the bass octave, shifting to a chimney flute in metal, then moving to “koppel” shape caps, and finally transitioning to open cylindrical pipes with narrow mouths similar to a Nachthorn at the top of the compass. The stop is treble ascendant with enough power at its top end for a solo line against various Récit combinations or to accompany itself. The Gr-Orgue’s three-rank Cornet was scaled and voiced as a solo voice, building on the 8′ and 4′ flutes to produce a powerful, singing sonority.

We expect the new Létourneau pipe organ at Waldensian Presbyterian Church will serve the church for many future generations, and we remain grateful to the church for giving us the opportunity to build Opus 133 with mechanical key action. Many new friendships were made throughout the project, and we especially enjoyed working with the church’s Director of Music, Leslie Overcash, and the Chair of Worship and Music, Wes Garrou. The organ’s formal service of dedication took place on January 28, 2018, with Dudley Oakes at the console playing works by J. S. Bach, Duruflé, Utterback, and Karg-Elert.

—Andrew Forrest, Artistic Director

Fernand Létourneau, President

Dudley Oakes, Project Consultant

Gr-ORGUE – Manual I –
80 mm pressure

8′ Montre 58 pipes

    façade of 70% polished tin

8′ Flûte à cheminée 58 pipes

    1–12 stopped wood, 

    13–32 chimney flute, 

    33–44 “Koppel” cones, 

    45–58 open flute

4′ Prestant 58 pipes

4′ Flûte ouverte 58 pipes

    tapered construction

2′ Doublette 58 pipes

22⁄3′ Cornet III 174 pipes

    12-15-17, large scale, 

    tapered construction

11⁄3′ Plein jeu IV 232 pipes

Tremulant

RÉCIT expressif – Manual II – 85 mm pressure

8′ Gambe 58 pipes

8′ Voix céleste (from g8) 51 pipes

8′ Bourdon (wood) 58 pipes

4′ Flûte octaviante 58 pipes

2′ Octavin 58 pipes

8′ Trompette 58 pipes

Tremulant

PÉDALE – 100 mm pressure

16′ Bourdon (wood) 32 pipes

8′ Bourdon (wood) 12 pipes

    ext 16′ Bourdon

Couplers

Récit au Gr-Orgue

Gr-Orgue à la Pédale

Récit à la Pédale

The console’s capture system is by Solid State Organ System:

128 levels of memory

4 divisional pistons each for the Gr-Orgue and Récit

2 divisional pistons for the Pédale

8 general pistons plus a general piston sequencer. 

There is a reversible and programmable Grand jeu piston as well as a 30-stage crescendo pedal.

Two manuals, 15 total stops, 19 ranks, 1,081 pipes

Gr-Orgue Plein jeu IV

c1 to b12 19 22 26 29

c13 to b24 15 19 22 26

c25 to b36 12 15 19 22

c37 to b48 8 12 15 19

c49 to a58 1 8 12 15

Quimby Pipe Organs, 

Warrensburg, Missouri

Two organs in North Carolina

In 2017, Quimby Pipe Organs (QPO) completed the installation of two small-to-medium sized instruments in North Carolina. Both projects incorporated pipework or mechanics from the churches’ preceding instruments, as the work would not have been feasible in either case given all-new construction. However, both projects resulted in organs that function mechanically as if they are all new, and both have entirely new tonal identities that align with modern QPO practice. Accordingly, both have been given QPO opus numbers, and each is, in its own way, an exploration of what should constitute a modern-day American multum in parvo organ, where comparatively few ranks of pipes yield surprising results: instruments that are flexible, musical, and artistically satisfying. Each organ plays with the authority of a much larger instrument than its size would suggest.

Opus 73

All Saints Episcopal Church

Southern Shores, North Carolina

We were invited to visit All Saints Episcopal Church by Organist and Director of Music Steve Blackstock because we had previously worked with him to relocate an 1878 Marshall Brothers organ, which was electrified and rebuilt by Ernest M. Skinner in 1912 and is now situated in a new case on QPO electro-pneumatic slider windchests at Holy Redeemer-by-the-Sea in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Blackstock asked us to assess All Saints’ 1948 M. P. Möller organ, Opus 7721. Originally five unified ranks, the organ had grown to nine, enclosed in a freestanding case in the rear corner of the room. There were some pleasant sounds in the instrument—particularly the stopped wood flute—but the disposition of these voices at various pitches over two manuals and pedal was not entirely successful; there was a lack of flexible, contrasting ensembles.

Several options were investigated, including either the relocation of a mid-nineteenth-century Hook tracker or a mid-twentieth-century Austin. But the ideas that resonated most with Steve were those which Michael Quimby and I developed for the expansion and radical rebuilding of the existing Möller.  

The approach was straightforward: the existing enclosed mechanical chassis would become the Swell, and a new unenclosed Great division would be added on a new Quimby-Blackinton electro-pneumatic slider chest. The best of the existing pipework would be retained, and after careful restoration, rescaling, and revoicing, would find a place in the new tonal concept, though not always at the same pitches or divisions as before. One independent Pedal rank was added—a Pedal Octave that plays at 8′ and 4′.

Although the existing Möller unit windchests were retained in the new Swell, having been releathered recently, efforts were made to provide more of a “straight” ensemble in the Swell, with unification judiciously used for added color and flexibility, rather than to create ensemble.

Not one new pipe was constructed for the project. Rather, ranks were carefully selected from our extensive inventory of nineteenth- and twentieth-century American pipework for integration into the ensemble. The end result is not a patchwork of individual voices, as one might expect, but rather, a cohesive, flexible ensemble. This is not only due to the quality of the vintage pipework, but also to the unique facility of Michael Quimby to identify which ranks will work to achieve the intended result, and also to the ability of Head Voicer Eric Johnson and staff voicers Samantha Koch and Christopher Soer to carry out the work. Also essential is our fully functional pipe shop, where cleaning, restoration, modification, and repair can happen as required alongside construction of new pipes.

Several church members participated in passing pipes into the organ. One couple, key donors to the project, also assisted, and knowing that there were no new pipes in the organ, inquired as to the provenance of the pipes. In response, I told her that the pipe she had in her hand came from an organ formerly at a church in St. Louis, Missouri. She was stunned. She had attended there as a young lady, and it was, in fact, where she had met her husband, who was also helping to pass pipes. We quickly figured out that we were installing pipes that had played at the time that she would have heard the organ—a happy coincidence that added dramatically to the significance of the instrument for these two.

New casework was designed by QPO and constructed by members of the church to expand and complement the existing enclosure. The new casework is intentionally somewhat transparent, and the pipes of the Great division are visible at different times during the day when overhead light passes down from skylights overhead. The façade pipes are vintage zinc basses, here painted with pearlescent white bodies and rose gold mouths, which complement the open, light-filled character of the church. The existing console was rebuilt and placed on a moveable platform dolly.  

The existing 8′ Trumpet was extensively revoiced and extended to play at 16′ and 4′. It is at once brilliant and foundational and forms a grand underpinning for the full ensemble. A pair of early-twentieth-century strings yield characteristic, lush string tone in the Swell, and the unison rank extends down to 16′. The 16′ Contra Viola is surprisingly versatile: in addition to making an effective double to the new Great Diapason chorus, it is soft enough to serve as a whisper bass (with the Swell box closed) under the 8′ Dulciana, yet harmonically intense enough to combine with the 16′ Gedeckt and synthesize a 16′ Diapason.

The organ was completed in September 2017 and was dedicated on Sunday, October 1. On Sunday, October 15, Dorothy Papadakos accompanied the 1920 silent film, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Opus 74

Central United Methodist Church

Concord, North Carolina

Susan Renz Theodos, director of music at Central United Methodist Church in Concord, North Carolina, contacted us regarding a project for a possible new organ because of her previous experience playing our Opus 34, of three manuals and thirty-three ranks at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, Litchfield, Connecticut (1992). Developed in tandem with then organist Thomas Brown, Opus 34 is a QPO multum in parvo instrument dating from before our work had shifted into the mature Quimby tonal style.  

In working together with Susan after her visit to a more recent project at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Roanoke, Virginia (Opus 66, 2010), we developed a proposal for an equally effective three-manual organ, slightly expanded, which would have the same versatility and nuance as Opus 34, but expressed according to a more Romantic approach: with heroically scaled chorus work and characteristic, harmonically developed individual voices that lock together into seamless, coherent ensembles.

The resulting instrument makes use of select existing pipework from the church’s former 1973 Casavant (Opus 3179), new pipework constructed by Quimby, and select vintage ranks from QPO inventory. New electro-pneumatic slider windchests were constructed for all straight manual ranks and electro-pneumatic unit ranks for all pedal and extended ranks. The winding system and interior structure of the organ are all new. In order to help make the project more cost-effective, we refurbished and rebuilt a three-manual console, constructed by another builder in 2000, for an organ that is now redundant. With new mahogany interior, console lid, and bench top, the refinished console is a splendid match for the church’s neo-Classical interior.

The use of existing Casavant pipework in combination with our own inventory was attractive to the church, not only because it was fiscally responsible, but because they understood it to be environmentally responsible when compared with new construction, and therefore, good stewardship in several senses. The transformation to the carefully selected principals, flutes, strings, and mutations is stunning; none of the reused ranks bears any resemblance to what existed before. The previous instrument was weak in the unison range, and top-heavy with piercing upperwork. Individual foundation voices were bland and blended poorly, with little support for choral accompaniment or even congregational song. The transformed ranks, having been recomposed, rescaled, and radically revoiced, now form colorful, expressive Diapason ensembles at a wide range of dynamic levels.  

Our approach to rescaling and revoicing old ranks of pipes that came from the church’s previous organ is conceptually similar to the practice of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll in nineteenth-century France. His organs at Notre Dame de Paris and Saint-Sulpice incorporate significant percentages of eighteenth-century Clicquot pipework, but those old ranks of pipes were successfully transformed to contribute to a new tonal aesthetic by Cavaillé-Coll.  

New and vintage reeds were provided, custom voiced in-house; these range from the throaty Cromorne in the Solo-Choir, to the lyrical Oboe and fiery Trumpet in the Swell, to the brilliant Harmonic Trumpet in the Solo-Choir, and finally, the dominating, spectacular Tuba in the Great. The Harmonic Trumpet, available at 16′, 8′, and 4′ on manuals and pedal, can serve in the Great as chorus reeds with the box closed, as a soft or loud 16′ reed in the Pedal, and with the box open as an exciting climax to full organ at all three pitches. The Tuba is intended strictly for solo use and is voiced on 12 inches wind pressure so that individual notes can be heard over full organ.

Also of note are the variety of 8′ and 4′ flutes, several of which are vintage, and which contrast and combine with each other effectively. The Swell strings are revoiced Casavant pipework and contrast a more broadly voiced Viola Pomposa and Celeste in the Solo-Choir.  Together with the Swell Spitzflute and Celeste, a wide range of undulants is provided, which can be combined in surprising ways.

The organ was completed in November 2017 and was dedicated by Bradley Hunter Welch on Sunday morning, April 15, 2018, with a recital following the same afternoon.

—T. Daniel Hancock, A.I.A., President

Quimby Pipe Organs, Inc.

Quimby Pipe Organs, Opus 73

GREAT (unenclosed)

16′ Contra Viola (Swell)

8′ Open Diapason, 49 pipes, 1–12 common with Pedal 8′ Octave

8′ Hohl Flute, 55 pipes, 1–6 common with Swell 8′ Gedeckt

8′ Gedeckt (Swell)

8′ Viola (Swell)

8′ Dulciana, 61 pipes

4′ Octave, 61 pipes

4′ Spitzflute (Swell), 1–12 Swell 8' Gedeckt; 13–61 2′ Flageolet

2′ Fifteenth, 61 pipes

11⁄3′ Mixture III, 183 pipes

16′ Contra Trumpet (Swell)

8′ Trumpet (Swell)

8′ Oboe (Swell)

Zimbelstern

SWELL (enclosed)

16′ Gedeckt, 97 pipes

8′ Gedeckt (ext)

8′ Viola, 85 pipes

8′ Voix Celeste, TC, 49 pipes

4′ Principal, 73 pipes

4′ Stopped Flute (ext)

4′ Viola (ext)

22⁄3′ Nazard, 49 pipes, 1–12 common with Swell 8′ Gedeckt

2′ Octave (ext)

2′ Flageolet, 61 pipes

13⁄5′ Tierce, TC, 37 pipes, top octave repeats

16′ Contra Oboe, TC, 61 pipes

8′ Trumpet, 85 pipes

8′ Oboe (ext)

4′ Clarion (ext)

Tremulant

PEDAL

32′ Resultant (fr 16′ Bourdon)

16′ Bourdon (Swell) 

16′ Contra Viola (ext Swell 8′ Viola) 

8′ Octave, 44 pipes, 1–17 in façade

8′ Gedeckt (Swell) 

8′ Viola (Swell)

4′ Super Octave (ext)

16′ Trombone (Swell)

8′ Trumpet (Swell) 

8′ Oboe (Swell)

4′ Clarion (Swell) 

4′ Oboe Clarion (Swell)

Two manuals, 18 ranks, 1,111 pipes

Builder’s website: 

https://quimbypipeorgans.com

Church website: http://allsaintsobx.org

Quimby Pipe Organs, Opus 74

Kegg Pipe Organ Builders, Hartville, Ohio

Our Lady of Fatima Church, Lafayette, Louisiana 

From the organbuilder

When we were first approached by music director Keith D’Anna to rebuild the Hoffman pipe organ at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Lafayette, Louisiana, we recognized the builder’s work and were familiar with it. The organ is installed in large open chambers at the sides of the sanctuary. Most of the original organ was in the left chamber, quite far away from the choir seating area, making use of the organ with the choir difficult. Unwise changes to the original organ, made largely by hobbyists, needed to be addressed. In addition to rebuilding the organ mechanically, there was the desire to bring parts of the organ closer to the choir loft on the right side of the church as well as transform it into an instrument that was in the style of late Cavaillé-Coll circa 1885, in part to reflect the French heritage of this parish. This was a tall order. Our solution was a complete rethinking of the organ both mechanically and tonally. 

The rebuilding of an existing pipe organ can be the most daunting task for an organ builder. When successful, it can be one of the most rewarding as well, but the path to success can be fraught with peril. Pipe organs built in the United States in the 1960s pose a particular challenge. These organs were usually honest best efforts by builders, but few have stood the test of time. They tend to be excessively light in the bass, thin in the middle, and shrill at the top. Coupled with the change in desires for an instrument that will better support both lay and trained singers, these organs frequently leave congregations wanting. To rebuild an organ and make it into an instrument that will serve well and age gracefully requires the builder to be flexible, finding the assets in the instrument and taking advantage of them while introducing new elements to build a cohesive instrument that meets the needs of the client.   

The original organ was built on electro-pneumatic pitman wind chests. These chests we have rebuilt to new condition. All existing pipes were measured for scale, metal thickness, mouth width and cutup, along with judgments regarding sound. Placed on paper, these measurements were then considered as though the organ were completely new. Existing stops that would fit in the new plan were retained. Those that would not were discarded. Many retained stops were placed in different locations to contribute in a new way. A new expression enclosure was built for the Recit giving more room for additions. Mixtures were recomposed. New pipework was added as appropriate, including new 8′ and 4′ stops of substantial scale. The Positif was a division that did not fit well into the new scheme, nor did the pipe spacing on the chest lend itself to larger scales. In the end, this division was retained largely intact as a foil for the new Grand Orgue when playing lighter polyphonic works. 

The right chamber was largely empty, which gave us a blank canvas to work some magic. Here are located new Pedal Subbasse and Bombarde stops along with an entirely new Choeur division. The Choeur is located directly behind the choir area with expression shades facing both the choir and nave of the church. The nave shades can be closed when working with the choir to more easily balance the organ with the voices. In order to facilitate choral accompaniments, this division has many stops duplexed onto a floating Bombarde division, effectively providing the organist two manuals of organ resources that are close to the singers. 

The Grande Orgue has rich unisons that easily support the upperwork, which is topped by a Cymbale III. Though three ranks, this last stop is only one pitch partial higher than the Fourniture. When added it brings sparkle without impact. The Grande Orgue’s principal chorus is powerful and dignified. The Flute Ouverte is wood and contrasts nicely with the metal Bourdon. The Bombardes are the largest of the three reed choruses and are shared with the Pedale.

The Recit contains all that might be expected. The principal chorus here is lighter than the Grande Orgue. The strings are narrow in the Cavaillé-Coll tradition. The reeds are bright and fiery. This reed chorus is the brightest of the three in the instrument. The composed cornet here is light and lyrical in contrast to the commanding Grande Orgue Cornet III.

The Choeur has many duties including accompanying most of the choral work. Thus it is designed as a second Recit rather than a typical Choir division. The Gambe is more broad than the Recit Salicional, providing a clear unison line. A wide range of dynamics is available from the mystic Flute Celeste through the Trompete chorus. This reed chorus is the darkest of the three on the organ and has proven to be the workhorse chorus for hymns and choral work. Note that the Gambe also plays at 4′ pitch, providing a third level of 4′ tone that is between the Principal and the Flute Conique. Such a stop is most welcome when the choir needs a small boost of pitch support when the 4′ Principal is more than needed. Also in this division are a strong Harmonic Flute and a Cromorne, both at 8′ pitch. The Cromorne is in typical Cavaillé-Coll style, being strong, round, and dark with a slight hint of edge at the center of the tone.

The Pedale is complete with a full principal chorus through Mixture III. It has all the color and power to support the manuals and to dominate when required. Reasonable borrows from the manuals appear here for convenience. The 32′ stops are note-by-note recordings of specific stops, not digital recreations. They are kept in balance with the rest of the organ for proper blend.

In the rear of the church is the dramatic Fatima Trompette. This stop is in polished brass with flared bells. It is on 6-inch pressure, which is not excessively high; its position gives it the presence that is needed. The bass is round and tuba-like and grows in point as it ascends. It can be brought into the full organ with the blessing of the congregation yet bring the bride down the aisle with aplomb.

The net result is not a Cavaillé-Coll organ, but a unique instrument that is clearly built by the Kegg company and heavily influenced by late Cavaillé-Coll work. Our Lady of Fatima Church is a gratifying and reverberant space with hard surfaces all around. The organ fills the room evenly throughout the dynamic range. While most at home playing French Romantic works, it is quite capable of playing other styles with conviction. Its ability to support and encourage congregational singing has received much praise. 

We are grateful to Father Michael Russo and music director Keith D’Anna for their support and faith throughout the project. We are also grateful for very special help from Lesha Theriot and John Steinman, whose contributions to the project were invaluable.

—Kegg Pipe Organ Builders

Charles Kegg, President and Artistic Director

Philip Brown

Michael Carden

Cameron Couch

Randall Crawford

Joyce Harper

John Johnson

Philip Laakso

Bruce Schutrum

Dwayne Short 

GRANDE ORGUE (II)

16′ Violon Basse 73 pipes

8′ Montre 61 pipes

8′ Violoncelle (ext) 

8′ Bourdon 61 pipes

8′ Flute Ouverte 61 pipes

4′ Prestant 61 pipes

4′ Flute a Cheminee 61 pipes

2′ Doublette 61 pipes

Cornet III 183 pipes

11⁄3′ Fourniture IV 244 pipes

Cymbale III 183 pipes

Tremblant 

16′ Bombarde (Ped)

8′ Bombarde (Ped)

4′ Clairon (Ped)

Grande Orgue 16′

Grande Orgue Unison Off

Grande Orgue 4′

8′ Fatima Trompette 61 pipes

RECIT (III, enclosed)

16′ Salicional 73 pipes

8′ Diapason 61 pipes

8′ Flute a Cheminee 85 pipes

8′ Salicional (ext)

8′ Voix Celeste (TC) 49 pipes

4′ Prestant Conique 61 pipes

4′ Koppel Flute 61 pipes 

22⁄3′ Nasard 61 pipes

2′ Doublette 61 pipes

2′ Flute (ext, Flute a Cheminee)

13⁄5′ Tierce 61 pipes

Plein Jeu III 183 pipes

16′ Basson-Hautbois 73 pipes

8′ Trompette 73 pipes

8′ Hautbois (ext)

8′ Voix Humaine 61 pipes

4′ Clarion (ext)

Tremblant

Recit 16′

Recit Unison Off

Recit 4′

8 Fatima Trompette (G.O.) 

CHOEUR (I, enclosed)

16′ Bourdon 73 pipes

8′ Bourdon (ext)

8′ Flute Harmonique 61 pipes

8′ Gambe 85 pipes

8′ Flute Dolce 61 pipes

8′ Flute Celeste (TC) 49 pipes

4′ Prestant 61 pipes

4′ Flute Conique 61 pipes

4′ Gambette (ext)

2′ Doublette (from Mixture)

2′ Flute 61 pipes

1′ Piccolo (ext, Gamba)

Mixture IV 244 pipes

Scharf IV (from Mixture)

16′ Trompete 85 pipes

8′ Trompete (ext)

8′ Cromorne 61 pipes

4′ Clairon (ext)

Tremblant

Choeur 16′

Choeur Unison Off

Choeur 4′

8′ Fatima Trompette (G.O.)

POSITIF (IV)

8′ Bourdon 61 pipes 

8′ Cor de Chamois 61 pipes

4′ Prestant 61 pipes

22⁄3′ Nazard 61 pipes

2′ Quarte d’Nasard 61 pipes

11⁄3′ Quinte 61 pipes

Cymbale III 183 pipes

8′ Rohr Schalmei 61 pipes

Tremblant

Positif 16′

Positif Unison Off

Positif  4′

8′ Fatima Trompette (G.O.)

Etoile

BOMBARDE (floating)

8′ Bourdon (Ch)

8′ Gambe (Ch)

8′ Salicional (Rec)

8′ Flute Harmonique (Ch)

8′ Flute Dolce (Ch)

8′ Flute Celeste (Ch)

4′ Gambette (Ch)

4′ Flute Conique (Ch)

16′ Bombarde (Ped)

8′ Bombarde (Ped)

8′ Trompette (Rec)

8′ Hautbois (Rec)

8′ Cromorne (Ch)

4′ Clairon (Ped)

8′ Fatima Trompette 

Bombarde on Pedale

Bombarde on Choeur

Bombarde on Grande Orgue

Bombarde on Recit

Bombarde on Positif

PEDALE

32′ Principal*

32′ Bourdon*

16′ Contrebasse*

16′ Violon Basse (G.O.) 

16′ Subbasse 44 pipes

16′ Salicional (Rec)

16′ Bourdon (Ch)

8′ Octave (1–12 Violon Basse) 32 pipes

8′ Subbasse (ext)

8′ Bourdon (Ch)

4′ Choral Basse (ext)

4′ Flute (Ch)

Mixture III 96 pipes

32′ Harmonics (derived)

32′ Contra Bombarde*

16′ Bombarde 85 pipes

16′ Trompete (Ch)

16′ Basson-Hautbois (Rec)

8′ Fatima Trompette (G.O.)

8′ Bombarde (ext)

8′ Trompette (Rec)

4′ Fatima Trompette (G.O.)

4′ Clairon (ext)

4′ Cromorne (Ch)

* electronic

Grande Orgue to Pedale 8′

Grande Orgue to Pedale 4′

Recit to Pedale 8′

Recit to Pedale 4′

Choeur to Pedale 8′

Choeur to Pedale 4′

Positif to Pedale 8′

Positif to Pedale 4′

Recit to Grande Orgue 16′

Recit to Grande Orgue 8′

Recit to Grande Orgue 4′

Choeur to Grande Orgue 16′

Choeur to Grande Orgue 8′

Choeur to Grande Orgue 4′

Positif to Grande Orgue 16′

Positif to Grande Orgue 8′

Positif to Grande Orgue 4′

Choeur to Positif 8′

Pedale to Recit 8′

Grande Orgue to Choeur 8′

Recit to Choeur 8′

Positif to Choeur 8′

All Swells to Swell

Choeur Nave Shades Closed

Grande Orgue / Choeur Transfer

Control system and pedal voices by Virtuoso (IOTI)

30 memory levels per user

Unlimited users

63 ranks, 47 stops, 3,691 pipes

Glück Pipe Organs,

New York, New York

Saint Patrick Catholic Church,

Huntington, New York

Roosevelt Organ No. 408

In 2003, I purchased Frank Roosevelt’s three-manual, thirty-six rank Organ No. 408 before the wrecking ball struck Brooklyn’s Schermerhorn Street Evangelical Lutheran Church. The Roosevelt organ, contracted for in 1888, begun in 1889, and completed the following year, enjoyed renown while Franz Liszt’s student, Hugo Troetschel, presented 250 bi-weekly recitals during his 52-year tenure as organist. As the Roosevelt organ was being dismantled, a project was initiated for it to be reconstituted in its historic configuration for Princeton University under the aegis of the late David Messineo, university organist. Dr. Messineo’s vision was to install it within the 1916 Aeolian organ case in Proctor Hall, which had been designed by Ralph Adams Cram as the elegant graduate dining hall of the campus. The Aeolian was supplanted by a Gress-Miles organ in 1968, but we felt that bringing the Roosevelt there, with a replica of its original console and limited combination system, would give students an accurate idea of what an untouched Roosevelt sounded like, and more importantly, how it would have to be played without modern solid-state equipment. Upon Dr. Messineo’s death in June 2004, the project abruptly was ended, so I reserved the material within our company’s selection of heritage pipework until such time as a suitable home could be found for it. 

A decade after saving the Roosevelt from the landfill, it became obvious that it would take a very special type of church, synagogue, homeowner, or school to take the leap of faith to historically reconstruct a heritage cultural property that they could not hear or see. I was left with little choice but to market the Roosevelt as the core of a new instrument, but did not wish to disperse it rank-by-rank, the fate of so many antique instruments. With the understanding that its genes had to carry on in a different way, I knew it was unlikely that all of it could be used, and some contemporary tonal elements might be included to make it viable for modern musical ministry. The goal was to keep its spirit alive.

The opportunity presents itself

Saint Patrick Catholic Church is a vast, lofty, reverberant building constructed in 1962 and equipped with M. P. Möller’s Opus 9751 from the start. That gallery organ was the unfortunate product of the joint influence of the firm’s “special tonal consultant,” Ernest White, and their tonal director, John Hose. Too small for the room and voiced barely to energize the pipes, it was from its inception frustratingly inadequate for liturgical use. Sparse allocation of the organ’s twenty-one ranks among three manuals and pedal forced the elimination of essential voices in what likely should have been a well-appointed two-manual instrument. Subsequent alterations to the stoplist accomplished nothing, and the organ was still suffering mechanically after technical work was executed. Upon careful examination, I determined that insurmountable scaling irregularities precluded it from forming an effective core for a new instrument, and that the parish would accrue no benefit from retaining any of its mechanical infrastructure.

I entered into a situation for which ideas already had been presented, so as an architect, organist, and organbuilder, I had to make my case with clarity as the last man “at bat,” and had to risk proposing something so different that it would either be rejected or embraced. I proposed that the Roosevelt organ be incorporated into two new organs at either end of the building, controlled by twin mobile consoles that emphasized the elegant richness of natural materials so that the organs would not be seen as utilities. A single aggressive organ blasting from one end of the very long room would be less effective than two more elegantly voiced instruments dividing the task. With no substantive literature written for an “antiphonal” division, I chose a modified continental model. The labor is divided between the two organs, but the use of assisted rather than mechanical action would make them playable separately, together, or simultaneously by musicians at either end of the building.

Countless volunteer consultants offered their strong opinions about tonal design, builders, and the merits of pipeless sounds, with a nebulous consensus that the Möller organ should be rebuilt, supplemented by an “antiphonal” division, real or artificial. The prevailing notion that circuits and speaker cabinets could fill the artistic gaps with a shrug of the shoulders was proclaimed the path of least resistance. Swimming with vigor against that tide, I proposed two complete all-pipe organs of contrasting character, albeit constitutive elements of a grander whole.

There is always room for a pipe organ, even if there is not the willingness. Each house of prayer holds only so many people and will accommodate the appropriate number of pipes to accompany their voices. Despite the absence of sanctuary chambers and the cries of “no room for pipes,” I proposed the centuries-old practice of suspending the chancel cases from the sheer walls of the building, and designed the large gallery case to embrace the rose window. The organs’ cases complement the architecture without distracting from liturgical proceedings, and the chancel cases are located high enough to remain in tune with the gallery organ.

I am grateful to have worked with and for composer, conductor, organist, and tenor Matthew Koraus, FAGO, director of music, whose enormous talent, vision, commitment, and patience helped bring two new organs to the parish.

The new instruments

Roosevelt’s standard wind pressure of 31⁄2 inches determined the wind pressure used for the Saint Patrick instruments. The Roosevelt pipes, once cleaned and winded, would dictate to me the tonal direction of the organ’s new stops. Roosevelt’s work after the first few years deliberately followed a template from which the firm rarely deviated, so even the presumption of “what would the company produce today?” was treading on thin ice. The historical material was a point of departure in a new venture.

Visually, my mission was to design three organ cases that acknowledged the modernity of the church building but would bear my stamp as an architectural classicist. Following half a century of blank white walls, the size and depth of the cases, particularly those that flank the sanctuary, presented “the shock of the new” to some parishioners. With choirs, orchestras, and congregation surrounded and coordinated by sound, the new arrangement has been fully embraced. With a sumptuous mobile console at each end of the building, the liturgical and musical flexibility, and the ability for two musicians to play simultaneously, have fostered a new understanding of the organist’s duties in the parish.

The Gallery Great is anchored by a 16′ Violone, which was rebuilt from the Möller Pedal 16′ Principal. This gives the reader a good idea of just how under-scaled the Möller instrument was. The Roman-mouthed Roosevelt Great 16′ Double Open Diapason—gilded, stenciled, and sand painted—had to be abandoned with the magnificent case in Brooklyn, and sadly went down with the building. Soaring harmonic flutes stand alongside Roosevelt’s signature double-mouthed flute, as well as his wonderful 8′ Trumpet with tin-rich resonators and schiffschen shallots. 

The Great Chorus Mixture is composed slightly lower than most and voiced with some restraint. The original Roosevelt tierce mixture could not be retained as a second mixture for budgetary reasons, and with only one mixture in the division, I opted for a new quint mixture for clarity. The Roosevelt Great tierce mixture has found a new home; it is being included in our firm’s reconstruction of Roosevelt Organ No. 4 of 1873, his earliest surviving effort, at The College of Mount Saint Vincent, overlooking the Hudson River. The Great Mixture had been stolen from that organ in 1969, and the Brooklyn stop will sing again among its siblings. 

The Swell harbors the largest concentration of original tone with nine Roosevelt ranks. The warm 8′ Diapason, often absent from the American Swell, supplants the ubiquitous addiction to the 16′ Bourdon. The new Plein Jeu lends clarity to the Pedal when coupled, with no break from its 15-19-22 composition until G#33. With space and budget for only one Cornet combination, it was placed in the Swell, where it is under expression, can be folded into the reeds, and can enter into dialogue with either the Corno di Bassetto or Clarinet. The Swell reeds are rich and warm for anthem work, a balance made possible by the more brilliant manual reeds elsewhere in the organ.

The Choir division is cast with a nod toward traditional structure, without taking it too far into the neo-Classical realm.  The new muted undulant is completely uncharacteristic of Roosevelt’s work; both brothers preferred a second Choir 8′ string of contrasting character, and the Unda Maris appeared in a mere one percent of their 538-instrument output. Tenor C of the Dulciana is marked #400 408 ECHO Choir DULCET G. MACK JULY 1889; this rank was originally built as the 4′ Dulcet for Roosevelt’s 1892 four-manual, 109-rank magnum opus No. 400 for the Chicago Auditorium Theatre, the pipes for which were in production at the same time. The division’s flute choir and subtle Carillon are joined by a notably bold 8′ Corno di Bassetto. Two commanding Trumpets, one enclosed and one not, play from the Choir manual but are not necessarily of the Choir. The new Herald Trumpet, voiced on six inches wind pressure, is in the expression enclosure, and the 8′ Tromba is the former Swell 8′ Cornopean. At six-inch scale with harmonic spotted metal resonators, it was incorporated into the Saint Patrick Pedal as an 8′ and 4′ unit, with the top 17 pipes retained for its use as a powerful manual Trumpet for processions and fanfares and to cap the full organ without standing apart.

The Gallery Pedal is a stack of independent flue ranks, with Roosevelt’s seismic 16′ Open Wood Bass sitting beneath purely tuned 102⁄3′, 62⁄5′, and 44⁄7′ pitches in the bass to reinforce the 32′ line. The magnificently brassy, rolling 16′ Trombone, with its wooden shallots and blocks and sleeved zinc resonators, is so powerful that it triggered burglar alarms and summoned police during the tonal finishing phase of the project. 

The partially unified organ flanking the sanctuary supports and encourages congregational singing by helping to maintain coordination, tempo, and pitch. The front organ is of a lighter and gentler character than the main organ because of its use in more intimate services and its proximity to the parishioners and clergy, yet it is still large enough to use for the performance of a sizable segment of the concert literature.

The sparkling Great and Positiv inhabit the Gospel case and the mellower Swell, with its Skinner-style Flügel Horn, is in the Epistle case. Roosevelt’s splendid Clarinet takes up residence in the Positiv, and the three 16′ Pedal stops (string, flute, and warm reed) keep the bottom from dropping out. The instrument enjoys its own personality, with the resources to enhance liturgy and to acquit a respectable body of the literature. The two cases are widely spaced. There is directional distinction and balances must be heard in the room, yet the acoustic brings them together in the nave.

The combined organs easily lead large choral forces, support full congregational singing, and contain gentle, accompanimental voices at both ends of the building to provide subtle, evocative, and meditative effects for life cycle events and introspective portions of the Mass. Over the centuries, organbuilders and composers have established particular conventions regarding which stops and combinations of stops must “live” in particular divisions, and if these rules are set aside, many works cannot be played as intended. I have tried to honor those requirements in the design of this dual instrument.

Pipe organ building is an interdisciplinary craft, and every instrument, traditionally the vision of the tonal director, is a group effort. In addition to our significant suppliers (OSI, A. R. Schopp’s Sons, and Peterson Electro-Musical Products), these instruments were made possible by the capable staff of Glück Pipe Organs: Albert Jensen-Moulton, general manager; and technicians Joseph di Salle, Dominic Inferrera, Dan Perina, the late Peter Jensen-Moulton, and Robert Rast.

—Sebastian Matthäus Glück

Builder’s website:

www.gluckpipeorgans.com

Church websites:

stpatrickchurchhunt.org

stpatrickhuntingtonmusic.weebly.com

GALLERY GREAT – Manual II

16′ Violone 61 m

8′ Open Diapason 61 m

8′ Violoncello (ext 16′) 12 m

8′ Concert Flute [a]

8′ Doppelflöte 61 w R

4′ Principal 61 m

4′ Flauto Traverso (harm.) 61 w&m

2′ Fifteenth 61 m

IV Chorus Mixture 244 m

8′ Trumpet 61 m R

Zimbelstern

8′ Herald Trumpet (Choir)

GALLERY SWELL – Manual III

8′ Diapason 61 m R

8′ Cor de Nuit 61 w R

8′ Salicional 61 m R

8′ Voix Céleste 61 m R

4′ Principal 61 m R

4′ Flûte Harmonique 61 m R

22⁄3′ Nazard 61 m

2′ Octavin (tapered, harm.) 61 m R

13⁄5′ Tierce 61 m

III–IV Plein Jeu 212 m

16′ Bassoon (ext 8′ Hautboy) 12 m

8′ Trumpet 61 m

8′ Hautboy 61 m R

8′ Vox Humana 61 m R

Tremulant

GALLERY CHOIR – Manual I

8′ Violoncello (Great)

8′ Dulciana 61 m R

8′ Unda Maris (TC) 49 m

8′ Gedeckt 61 w R

4′ Gemshorn (cylindrical) 61 m R

4′ Flûte d’Amour 61 w R

2′ Blockflöte 61 m

II Carillon 122 m

8′ Corno di Bassetto 61 m

Tremulant

16′ Herald Trumpet (TC, fr 8′)

8′ Herald Trumpet 61 m

8′ Tromba [b] 17 m R

GALLERY PEDAL

32′ Double Diapason [c] 12 w

16′ Open Wood Bass 32 w R

16′ Violone (Great)

16′ Subbass 32 w R

16′ Lieblich Gedeckt 12 w R

    (ext Choir 8′ Gedeckt)

8′ Principal 32 m

8′ Violoncello (Great)

8′ Bass Flute (ext 16′) 12 w R

8′ Gedeckt (Choir)

4′ Fifteenth 32 m R

4′ Gedeckt (Choir)

2′ Bauernflöte 32 m

32′ Harmonics [d] 38 m

16′ Trombone (maple shallots)

32 m R

16′ Bassoon (Swell)

8′ Trumpet 32 m R

8′ Bassoon (Swell)

4′ Clarion (ext 8′) 12 m R

CHANCEL GREAT– Manual II

8′ Open Diapason 61 m

8′ Spitzflöte 61 m

4′ Principal 61 m

2′ Fifteenth (ext 8′ Open) 24 m

IV Mixture 244 m

CHANCEL POSITIV – Manual I

8′ Rohrgedeckt 61 w&m

4′ Offenflöte (ext Gt 8′ Spitz) 12 m

2′ Nachthorn (ext 8′ Rohr) 24 m

11⁄3′ Quintflöte 49 m

    (top octave repeats)

1′ Zimbelpfeife (8′ Rohr)

8′ Clarinet 61 m R

Tremulant

CHANCEL SWELL – Manual III

8′ Viola 61 m

8′ Viola Céleste (TC) 49 m

8′ Holzgedeckt 61 w

4′ Fugara (ext 8′ Viola) 12 m

4′ Koppelflöte 52 m

      (C1–G#9 Gedeckt)

2′ Piccolo (ext 8′ Holzged) 24 m

8′ Flügel Horn 61 m

Tremulant

CHANCEL PEDAL

16′ Contrabasso (ext Sw Viola) 12 m

16′ Sub Bass (ext Pos Rohr) 12 w

8′ Principal 32 m

8′ Spitzflöte (Great)

8′ Viola (Sw)

8′ Rohrbordun (Positiv)

4′ Choral Bass (ext 8′ Princ) 12 m

4′ Offenflöte (Positiv)

16′ Waldhorn (ext Flügel Hn) 12 m

8′ Flügel Horn (Swell)

4′ Clarinet (Positiv)

[a] C1–B12 common with Doppelflöte, C13–C61 from Flauto Traverso

[b] Unenclosed; extension of Pedal 8′ Tromba

[c] Independent 102⁄3′ stoppered pipes play with 16′ Open Wood for C1–B12; breaks to 32′ Open Wood at C13

[d] 102⁄3′ wood + 62⁄5′ metal + 44⁄7′ metal (with internal chimneys); composition changes as it ascends the scale, with mutations dropping out

m = metal

w = wood

R = Roosevelt

Chancel Organ: Opus 16 (16 ranks, 1,058 pipes)

Gallery Organ: Opus 17 (46 ranks, 2,564 pipes)

Dedicated September 14, 2014

Gallery: Blackinton slider chests; chancel: electric valve chests with reeds in electropneumatic pouch chests.

Andrew Forrest began with Létourneau in February 1999 and, as the company’s artistic director, oversees all of the company’s various projects. He travels regularly to meet with clients, to supervise the company’s on-site tonal finishing, and to speak about the pipe organ. Areas of particular interest for Forrest include pipe scaling and reed tone. Among others, he has completed studies of the Wanamaker Organ’s String division and the 1955 Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ at Winthrop University. He was on the organizing committee for the joint AIO-ISO 2010 convention in Montréal, and from 2011 through 2014 served on the board of directors for the American Institute of Organbuilders. More recently, Forrest was elected vice president of the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America in the spring of 2017. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario.

The Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec is an important and historic location for the Catholic Church in North America as it was here the Church of Our Lady of Peace (Église Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix) was built in 1647. It became the first parish church north of Mexico in North America in 1664 and was dedicated as the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception (Église Notre-Dame-de-l’Immaculée-Conception). Ten years later, the church was made the cathedral of the newly established diocese of Québec under Bishop François de Laval. The cathedral was almost completely destroyed during the battle for Québec in 1759 and was rebuilt between 1766 and 1771 from the remaining walls to resemble the previous building.

Further changes and improvements to the cathedral’s design took place in the nineteenth century, including the addition of a neoclassical façade, and the cathedral was elevated to the status of basilica in 1874 in honor of the diocese’s founding 200 years earlier. In the twentieth century, a devastating fire on December 22, 1922, forced the parish and diocese to rebuild again from singed outer walls. The reconstruction project took eight years, and while modern construction materials and techniques were employed, the cathedral’s architecture was again modeled after its predecessors.

The church was home to a pipe organ by an unknown builder as early as 1657, and this was followed by a number of instruments of increasing size and complexity by Robert Richard, Thomas Elliot, Louis Mitchell, and the Casavant brothers among others. Casavant’s Opus 211 from 1904, an electric action instrument with 46 stops over three manuals and pedal, was destroyed in the fire of 1922. The rebuilding of the Cathedral-Basilica in the years following saw the installation of three new pipe organs by Casavant Frères between 1924 and 1927: a seven-stop instrument for the Chapel of St. Louis, a 25-stop instrument for the sanctuary, and a grand 69-stop instrument in the church’s gallery. The organ in the Chapel of St. Louis remains as it was in 1924 apart from two stops having been swapped between the Grand-Orgue and the Récit divisions. While the history of the sanctuary organ follows, the gallery organ currently awaits rebuilding after some spectacularly unskilled alterations in the 1970s and a corrective reconstruction from 1983 through 1985.

The sanctuary organ was built in 1924 as Casavant’s Opus 1024 and is installed behind the first two triforium bays on the south side of the sanctuary; it is invisible from the nave. The instrument’s terraced two-manual console was originally installed opposite in the north triforium where it was situated in the midst of an amphitheatre-like arrangement of benches. The organ was built with electro-pneumatic wind chests with ventil-style stop actions and is tonally similar to other instruments from the period with its generous number of foundation stops. When the gallery instrument was installed in 1927, the sanctuary organ was made playable from the gallery organ’s enormous four-manual console.

Subtle differences from Casavant’s conventional practices at that time include the placement of the 8′ Trompette stop in the Récit division instead of the Grand-Orgue, as well as the inclusion of independent mutations stops in the Récit. It is said the French composer and organist Joseph Bonnet was responsible for the placement of the 8′ Trompette, having drawn an arrow on the organ’s proposed stoplist to move the stop from the Grand-Orgue to the Récit. Bonnet was likely consulted on the organ’s specification by Henri Gagnon, a gifted Québecois organist and titulaire at the Cathedral-Basilica from 1915 until his death in 1961. Gagnon lived in France from 1907 to 1910 and studied with Eugène Gigout and Charles-Marie Widor among others; he returned to France during the summers of 1911, 1912, 1914, and 1924 for further studies with Widor and Bonnet.

From the start, the instrument served the parish’s daily Masses, providing commentary on the liturgy and accompanying students from the nearby Grand Séminaire. Opus 1024 and the students from le Grand Séminaire were also sometimes heard in alternatim with les Petits Chanteurs de la Maîtrise (the chapter’s boy choir) who would sing from the gallery, accompanied by the gallery organ, Opus 1217.

The transfer of le Grand Séminaire to new facilities in the Ste-Foy neighborhood of Québec City in 1959 brought an end to the singing of the daily Mass in the cathedral. The explicit need for a sanctuary organ disappeared as a result, and with the instrument reportedly suffering from electrical problems, Opus 1024 was switched off at the blower’s breaker and abandoned.

It wasn’t until after Marc d’Anjou’s appointment as titular organist to the cathedral in 1993 that Opus 1024 was heard again from the distant gallery console. Some cleaning, minor repairs, and tuning followed, and this helped show the organ’s potential utility. The sanctuary console was carried down soon after from the triforium to the floor of the sanctuary where it was installed to the south of the altar. To provide the console and its electro-pneumatic mechanisms with wind, a crude flexible wind line was lowered from the triforium level inside a nearby column. From the column, the wind line snaked across the floor to the console where it entered through a hole cut into the side panel. The organ itself later suffered some minor water damage while the exterior of the cathedral was being sandblasted, but the affected portions were repaired soon after.

The contract to restore the sanctuary organ was awarded to Orgues Létourneau after a thorough evaluation process and a generous grant was provided to the cathedral towards the costs of the organ’s restoration by the Conseil du patrimoine religieux du Québec. A formal contract was signed in March 2014, the console was removed and wrapped for transit the following August, and the instrument itself was dismantled one month later. The wind chests’ internal components, some wind system elements, and much of the organ’s pipework were removed for transport to and restoration in the Létourneau shops.

The restoration of the instrument’s electro-pneumatic wind chests was a straightforward but time consuming process. All old leather diaphragms on the pouchboards were removed and replaced, while the primary actions were completely restored with new leather, felts, and leather nuts as well as new threaded wires. The wind chests have ventil-type stop actions, meaning the chests are subdivided laterally into chambers under each stop. The flow of wind to each chamber determines if the stop above plays with the flow being governed by a pneumatically operated valve. Given the quantity of wind going to each stop, these ventil valves are necessarily large and their prompt operation via pneumatics is paramount. The ventil stop actions were thoroughly restored with new materials similar to the originals and adjusted on-site for optimal operation.

The organ’s wind system was also comprehensively restored, including the recovering of its two enormous single-rise wind reservoirs and the blower’s static reservoir. The external curtain valve regulators were all restored, the flexible wind line connections under each chest were replaced, and the Récit’s tremulant unit was refurbished. The original nine-stage expression motor was replaced with a new pneumatic whiffletree-type unit with 16 stages.

Opus 1024’s pipework was cleaned and repaired as needed in our pipe shop. We experimented with softening the Grand-Orgue’s 8′ Montre stop for a less overbearing presence but its already-smooth tone only became more flute-like. We found ourselves working at cross purposes with this stop’s nature, having been built to a large scale from heavy lead and voiced with wide slots as well as leathered upper lips. We reduced the strength of the stop only slightly but removed the leather from the upper lips, improving the pipes’ tone and speech. We also recast the Grand-Orgue 8′ Salicional—its original voicing sounded more like a Dulciana with little intensity or specific color­—to produce a rich string tone with enough presence to color the other foundation stops.

New II–III Fourniture and 8′ Trompette stops were added to the Grand-Orgue, with the Trompette extended to 16′ pitch to play in the Pédale. Our goal for these new stops was to sound as if they might have been part of the original instrument, and in this respect, the composition of the new mixture might seem conservative by modern standards. The scaling and breaks for the Fourniture were developed after studying mixture stops in other Casavants from the same era as well as the Grand-Orgue’s 2′ Doublette. Breaks occur at every C after the third rank enters at c13, while the scaling of the individual ranks follows a halving ratio progression that slows considerably as the pitch ascends over ¼′.

The new 8′ Trompette was modeled after Casavant examples from the 1920s (including the 8′ Trompette in the Récit) and has tapered shallots with long, narrow triangular openings and leathered faces in the bass octaves. The spotted metal resonators were built to a generous scale (8′ C = 5′′Ø) and are harmonic starting at f42. Our harmonic-length resonators for new stops usually follow the same scale as their non-harmonic counterpart of the same length. Put another way, the first harmonic resonator is the same length and diameter as the natural length pipe one octave lower. Casavant’s harmonic-length resonators in the mid-1920s, however, employed narrower resonators; there is still a jump in diameter transitioning from natural to harmonic length but the increase is roughly eight pipes larger rather than a full octave (or twelve pipes).

Space within the instrument was limited from the outset, and adding two new stops was a feat in packaging. The first seven pipes of the Pédale 16′ Flûte ouverte were originally laid horizontally from the floor to the sloping ceiling at the back of the chamber but from there, the stop continued as a wall of vertical wooden pipes beside the Grand-Orgue and finished up with the smallest pipes arranged vertically behind the Grand-Orgue’s passage board. To make way for the new 16′-8′ Trompette rank, the vertical pipes alongside the Grand-Orgue were relocated to lie horizontally within the chamber as well as at the base of the triforium arch at the very front of the instrument. Having now opened up a corridor beside the Grand-Orgue, the 16′-8′ Trompette rank was installed here on two wind chests with most of the 16′ octave mitred to fit under the chamber’s sloping roofline. The new II–III Fourniture stop is likewise located at the front of the instrument under the triforium arch, where it sits above one of the 16′ Flûte’s horizontal pipes.

The console’s original pedalboard had a compass of 30 notes and, further, did not radiate as much as an American Guild of Organists standard pedalboard.  The console was too narrow to accept a new 32-note pedalboard so we rebuilt the console’s chassis to be 8 inches wider, providing space for additional drawknobs in the process. The original expression pedal assembly was considerably offset with the Récit pedal lining up with note a#23 on the pedalboard. We rebuilt the expression pedal assembly to fit into its current central location, conforming to AGO standards, while its frame and pedals were also recovered with new chrome. The console was fitted with new thumb pistons and dome-shaped toe pistons as well as contrasting ebony and Pau Ferro oblique draw knobs to resemble the originals. Opus 1024’s two original pedal ranks were provided with two additional pipes each to correspond with the new pedalboard’s 32-note compass. The enlarged console returned to the cathedral on a new two-piece platform, enabling its movement throughout the sanctuary.

The console features 46 draw knobs for the sanctuary organ’s stops, couplers, and other ancillary controls. Once the gallery organ has been rebuilt, the sanctuary console will be ready to play the gallery organ blindly through a common piston system with 300 levels of memory. The row of 34 tilting tablets above the Récit manual will permit the gallery organ’s four manual divisions to be coupled as desired to the sanctuary console’s two manuals and pedal. Registrations for the gallery organ will be programmed in advance on general pistons at the gallery console but once done, the gallery stops can be brought into play at the sanctuary console by activating the “Appel Tribune” tablet and using the same general pistons. Aside from multiple memory levels, the rebuilt sanctuary console offers a general piston sequencer, four programmable Crescendo sequences of 30 stages each, and record-playback capability.

After reinstalling the organ’s restored components and testing the instrument’s mechanisms, the instrument’s voicing was thoroughly reviewed and adjusted as needed. Tonal changes to the 1924 materials were kept to a minimum aside from the changes mentioned earlier, but all of the organ’s original stops were carefully adjusted for improved consistency and blend. The voicing for the new II–III Fourniture and 16′-8′ Trompette was meticulous to ensure these new stops built smoothly on the instrument’s fortissimo without sacrificing color or excitement.

The restoration and enlargement of Opus 1024 was carried out on an expedited timeline, and the first sounds after the organ’s return to the cathedral were heard in February 2015. The renewed instrument was first heard by the public a few weeks later on Easter Sunday (April 5) when the organ was rededicated and blessed by the Archbishop of Québec, His Emmence Gérald Cyprien Lacroix. M. d’Anjou, the cathedral’s titular organist, then played a short recital that demonstrated the organ’s graceful versatility, its vivid palette of colors, and, when needed, its grand presence. Since then, the instrument has been heard regularly within the cathedral’s liturgy as well as a concert instrument in accompanimental and solo roles. Orgues Létourneau is honored to have been selected for this prestigious restoration project, and we expect our work to renew this elegant instrument will serve the cathedral for decades to come. It was our distinct pleasure during the project to work closely with Marc d’Anjou, Gilles Gignac, and Monsignor Dénis Bélanger at the cathedral, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their support and assistance at every turn.

Casavant Freres, Opus 1024 (1924), restored, enlarged, and revoiced by Orgues LОtourneau (2014)

Grand-Orgue

16′ Bourdon 68 pipes

8′ Montre 68 pipes

8′ Flûte harmonique 68 pipes

8′ Salicional 68 pipes

8′ Bourdon 68 pipes

4′ Prestant 68 pipes

22⁄3′ Quinte 68 pipes

2′ Doublette 61 pipes

II–III Fourniture (new) 183 pipes

8 Trompette (new) 68 pipes

Recit expressif

16′ Quintaton 68 pipes

8′ Principal 68 pipes

8′ Viole de gambe 68 pipes

8′ Voix céleste (TC) 56 pipes

8′ Mélodie 68 pipes

4′ Violon 68 pipes

4′ Flûte douce 68 pipes

22⁄3′ Nazard 61 pipes

2′ Octavin 61 pipes

13⁄5′ Tierce 61 pipes

8′ Trompette 68 pipes

8′ Hautbois 68 pipes

8′ Voix humaine 68 pipes

Trémolo

Pedale

32′ Flûte (resultant) —

16′ Flûte ouverte 32 pipes

16′ Bourdon 32 pipes

8′ Flûte (ext 16′ Flûte) 12 pipes 

8′ Bourdon (ext 16′ Bourdon) 12 pipes

4′ Flûte (new, ext 8 Flûte) 12 pipes

16′ Bombarde (ext, Gr-O 8′) 12 pipes

8′ Trompette (fr Gr-O) —

Couplers

Gr-Orgue à la Pédale

Gr-Orgue aigu à la Pédale

Récit à la Pédale

Récit aigu à la Pédale

Gr-Orgue unisson muet

Gr-Orgue grave

Gr-Orgue aigu

Récit grave au Gr-Orgue

Récit au Gr-Orgue

Récit aigu au Gr-Orgue

Récit unisson muet

Récit grave

Récit aigu

Accessories

10 General pistons

6 Grand-Orgue pistons

6 Récit pistons

6 Pédale pistons

100 levels of memory

Récit expression shoe

Crescendo shoe

3 Tutti adjustable pistons

Transposer

Record/Playback mechanism

The console is prepared to play the gallery organ once it has been rebuilt at some point in the future. The gallery organ stops will be accessible via the General pistons plus the Tutti and Crescendo settings.  There are tilting tablet couplers for each of the gallery organ’s divisions, allowing them to be coupled as desired to the chancel console’s two manuals at 16′, 8′, and 4′. Also included is an “Unification des expressions” (All Swells to Swell) control plus ventils for both the gallery and chancel organs.

Stephen Schnurr is editor and publisher of The Diapason and director of music for St. Paul Catholic Church, Valparaiso, Indiana. His most recent book, Organs of Oberlin, was published in 2013 by Chauncey Park Press (www.organsofoberlin.com). He has authored several other books and journal articles, principally on pipe organ history in the Great Lakes region.

This article is a continuation of a feature in the August 2015, June 2016, and July 2017 issues of The Diapason. This essay was delivered as a lecture for the Midwinter Pipe Organ Conclave on January 19, 2015, in La Grange, Illinois. The research for this project provides a history of a number of pipe organs in the village, but not all. For instance, organs in residences and theaters are not surveyed.

The Convent of the Sisters of St. Joseph in La Grange Park, Illinois, is the home of the Sisters of St. Joseph, established on this site on October 9, 1899, by Mother Stanislaus Leary. Mother Leary had been superior of her order in Kansas and came to Chicago to seek medical help as her health was failing. She was accompanied by others of the order. The pastor of nearby St. Francis Xavier Church, La Grange, invited the sisters to settle in the relatively new suburb.

The sisters opened a school for girls in September 1900. Some of the students were boarders. Soon, the sisters would open another school for boys. Nazareth Academy, now co-educational, is still located on the La Grange Park motherhouse campus.

On July 14, 1900, the cornerstone of a motherhouse and chapel was laid. The chapel contained an organ built in 1929 by M. P. Möller of Hagerstown, Maryland, Opus 5555, a two-manual, eight-rank instrument. The contract was dated March 20 of that year, with a projected completion date of June 1. Cost was $3,200.00, with one-third due upon completion, one-third in two equal payments at four and eight months thereafter, without interest. The electro-pneumatic action organ had a detached console of walnut, with “Gold Bronze” façade pipes and grille. Stop control was by tablets above the upper manual. Wind pressure was 5 inches. Pitch was specified at A=440 Hz. The Chicago agent for Möller, and the installer of the organ, was Ford & Reynolds.

1929 M. P. MЪller Opus 5555

GREAT (Manual I)

8′ Open Diapason (scale 44, wood 

    basses, 73 pipes) 

8′ Dulciana (scale 56, metal, 73 pipes)

8′ Melodia (wood, 73 pipes) 

4′ Flute (ext, 8′ Melodia)

Chimes (prepared)

SWELL (Manual II, enclosed)

16′ Bourdon (wood and metal, 97 pipes)

8′ Stopped Diapason (ext, 16′

    Bourdon)

8′ Salicional (scale 60, metal, 73 pipes)

8′ Dolce (fr Great, 8′ Dulciana) 

8′ Voix Celeste (TC, scale 62, metal, 61 

    pipes)

4′ Flute d’Amour (ext, 16′ Bourdon)

22⁄3′ Nazard (ext, 16′ Bourdon)

2′ Flautino (ext, 16′ Bourdon)

8′ Oboe Horn (metal, 73 pipes)

1 blank tablet

PEDAL

16′ Sub Bass (“big scale”, stopped wood, 

    32 pipes)

16′ Lieblich Gedeckt (fr Swell, 16′

    Bourdon)

Couplers

Great to Pedal

Swell to Pedal

Great to Great 16

Great Unison Off

Great to Great 4

Swell to Great 16

Swell to Great 8

Swell to Great 4

Swell to Swell 16

Swell Unison Off

Swell to Swell 4

Mechanicals

Tremulant

Crescendo Indicator by light

Adjustable combinations

3 Great and Pedal

3 Swell and Pedal

Pedal movements

Great to Pedal Reversible

Balanced Swell Pedal

Grand Crescendo Pedal

The present chapel of strikingly modern design was built in 1967 and 1968 to the designs of John Voosen of Chicago. The motherhouse and chapel were dedicated on Sunday, September 29, 1968. Sister Mary Victoria Rokos, SSJ (later known as Sister Emily), convent organist, was charged with developing plans for a new organ. She sought the advice of persons at Northwestern University of Evanston. The Möller organ was sold and removed.

The result was a recommendation of the Noack Organ Company of Georgetown, Massachusetts, to build a new two-manual, 20-stop, 31-rank organ of mechanical key and stop action in a free-standing case in an elevated balcony at the rear of the nave. A landmark design for the neo-classical organ revival movement in the Chicago metropolitan area, the organ was to cost what was then a large sum of money, $40,000.

The convent purchased a smaller Noack organ as a temporary instrument until the larger organ was completed, at which time the smaller organ was removed to the Academy on the campus. This organ has since been relocated elsewhere. Opus 42 was inaugurated in recital by James Leland on July 14, 1968. The one-manual, mechanical-action organ was provided with a pull-down pedal. 

1968 Noack Organ Company
Opus 42

MANUAL

8′ Gedackt (4 stopped wood basses, 

    remainder metal, 56 pipes)

4′ Stopped Flute (12 open trebles, 

    metal, 56 pipes)

2′ Principal (metal, 56 pipes)

In the summer of 1969, Noack installed its Opus 44, blessed on August 15. The Positive is in Brustwerk position, with Great above and Pedal to the sides. A dedication recital was presented by Benn Gibson on November 9.

1969 Noack Organ Company
Opus 44

GREAT (Manual I)

8′ Principal (in façade, 56 pipes)

8′ Chimney Flute (56 pipes)

4′ Octave (56 pipes)

4′ Spielflöte (56 pipes)

2′ Nachthorn (56 pipes)

V–VI Mixture (11⁄3′, 312 pipes)

8′ Trumpet (56 pipes)

POSITIVE (Manual II)

8′ Gedackt (56 pipes)

4′ Koppelflöte (56 pipes)

2′ Principal (in façade, 56 pipes)

11⁄3′ Quinte (56 pipes)

II Sesquialtera (122 pipes)

III Cymbal (1⁄2′, 168 pipes)

8′ Krummhorn (56 pipes)

PEDAL

16′ Subbass (32 pipes)

8′ Principal (in façade, 32 pipes)

8′ Gedackt (32 pipes)

4′ Choral Bass (32 pipes)

IV Mixture (22⁄3′, 128 pipes)

16′ Bassoon (32 pipes)

Couplers (toe lever, hitch-down)

Great to Pedal

Positive to Pedal

Positive to Great

Accessory

Tremulant (toe lever, hitch-down)

Opus 44 was the first permanent installation of a modern tracker organ in a Catholic institution in the Archdiocese of Chicago. In its early years, it was a frequently used recital instrument. Performers have included Marie-Claire Alain, Christa Rakich, David Hurd, and Gustav Leonhardt.