Behind the Organ Façade

If you were in church this past week and happened to look up at the choir loft, you noticed that the entire organ façade is missing.  The 16’ Violon pipes have been removed and the 8’ Principal pipes have been packed up to be delivered to A. R. Schopp pipe makers in Alliance, Ohio. With the façade gone, the pipes behind are exposed so that you can have a much better idea of the real size and construction of Trinity’s Casavant pipe organ.

When you look into the pipe chamber, you see the shorter pipes of both the Great and Pedal division. In the middle at the back are the 16’ Quintaton pipes of the Great. The Quintaton pipes are capped with red felt lining. The Quintaton stands in front of the two expression boxes.  The one on the left (North side) is the Swell division. The one on the right (South) is the new Choir expression box.

Last week all the flue pipes (flutes, principals, mutations, mixtures) were unpacked and returned to their respective wind chests. This week and next, Burton Tidwell is voicing each of the pipes. What is voicing?

It is the skill of manipulating an organ pipe to make it sound. Each pipe must be made to play with the proper onset of sound (known as speech), sustained tone, and volume. This is distinct from tuning, which sets the pitch. Mr. Tidwell worked with Lawrence Phelps, the tonal designer of our organ, for seven years, so we are extremely fortunate to have a voicer who knows Phelps’ tonal aesthetic.

Another startling sight is to see the majestic Festival Trumpet mounted atop the Swell expression box and almost touching the ceiling. This organ stop was previously mounted behind the Choir box, where its sound was buried. The Festival Trumpet will now be able to produce a commanding, brilliant sound. This special organ stop was a generous gift of the Lyster family.

Other additions to the organ include a Sesquialtera II (2 2/3’, 1 3/5’) that has been mounted in the Swell chamber. This stop, used in combination with Flutes 8’, 4’, 2’, will create a Cornet (pronounced core-nay) which is called for in much organ literature to dialogue against the Cromorne reed stop.  A Larigot (1 1/3’ flute) has been added to the Choir. This high-pitched fifth-sounding stop is used to create a bubbly, shimmering effect in organ literature. A new Flute 4’ has been added to the Swell and the former Swell Flute 4’ has been moved to the Pedal division.

The Spencer Organ company will return at the end of March to install the organ console. At that time the organ will again be playable. The organ is expected to be ready for Easter Sunday services.  Please reserve the date May 22 for the Dedication Service of the organ, when the organ will be dedicated in the name of Glennes Garlick, Trinity’s long serving organist, who was responsible for obtaining the Casavant organ. Professor David Higgs, Chair of the Organ Department at Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY will be the organist for this occasion. Professor Higgs is an internationally known organist, and he will be playing a concert program designed specially to showcase our organ’s beautiful, restored sounds. Professor Higgs appears courtesy of Karen McFarlane Artists, Inc., Cleveland, OH.

Respectfully submitted by Ray Quick