Celebrating the Broadway Organ's 10th Anniversary!
Appreciating Broadway
For a church, the difference between vibrant life and
death is often the presence or absence of a dream, a
vision, and a purpose. Broadway
United Methodist Church in Indianapolis was once one of
the weathiest and most conservative churches in
Methodism. But then things changed. The
once-tony Fall Creek neighborhood became "the hood," and
the congregation dwindled from almost 5,000 members to
only a handful.
Many
churches in similar circumstances have closed, leaving
their old gothic edifaces to decay or to be
"redeveloped" as office buildings or condominiums. From
what members have told me, it was a near thing for
Broadway, but a Sprit moved the congregation.
Before they would close up and move out, they would use
up their church in service to God's people.
This formerly "country-club" church threw open its
doors, proudly proclaiming its covenant to "seek and
value" everyone. The church became a vibrant
center of hope in a neighborhood of need. Everyone
who sought the comfort and fellowship it offered was
welcomed. Although not without problems, Broadway
grew.
Music and the arts have played a vital role in the
rebirth of Broadway Church. Reynolds Associates
was fortunate to have been given the opportunity to
build a new 54-rank organ for the church sanctuary.
Although the organ still seems very "new," it has now
been a decade since it was first heard. During
those ten years, this three-manual instrument has led
the Broadway congregation in song, and has supported a
program of mangnificent choral and instrumental music.
It has been heard frequently in concert, including the
opening concert of the 2007 National Convention of the
Organ Historical Society.
On Sunday, March 18, from 2:00 to 4:00 pm, Broadway will
celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Reynolds
Associates pipe organ with a concert featuring
many of the organists who have played the instrument and
have been a part of its ministry.
Don't miss this wonderful program!
HEAR the Broadway Organ
The Fort Wayne Commandery Grand Organ
History's Voice

When you listen to an old organ, you are hearing the
voice of history. Unless the sound
of an organ has been intentionally altered, it will
continue to sound exactly as it did when it was first
given breath. So it is with a wonderful old organ
in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which we are helping to bring
back to life after nearly 30 years of silence.
In 1926, the Estey Organ Company installed its Opus 2525
in the Grand Hall of the Fort Wayne Masonic Temple.
This 15-rank organ has a fascinating history, which may
be found at the organ's website,
www.estey2525.com.
It is one of the very few remaining functional Estey
"luminous" organs, in which the stops are controlled
with lighted pushbuttons. These consoles were
called "cash-register" consoles, both because of the
appearance of the stop buttons, and because an early,
famous luminous organ was installed in the auditiorium
of the National Cash Register Company in Dayton.
But it is the voice, or, more properly, the voices of
this organ that are truly special. Although this
is not a large organ as pipe organs go, every stop in
the instrument seems to be a special revelation.
Last November, we took our friend, concert organist
Martin Ellis, to Fort Wayne to hear and try the
venerable Estey. He immediately fell under its
thrall, even though much of it didn't work very well,
and he received a harmless but surprising (!) electric
shock from one of the buttons while he was playing.
Still, the sound was so wonderful that Martin quickly
developed a sympatico relationship with this nearly
90-year-old organ.
The owners of the organ, the York Rite, are eager to
share their musical treasure with one and all. But
first, if it is not to be lost. the organ needs a full,
professional restoration. To help raise money for
this effort, we have produced a new compact of Martin
Ellis in concert on the Grand Commandery Organ.
The cd is entitled "Cor Glorieux," (a reference to one
of the unique "reedless reed" stops on the organ), and
is available at the website above for a tax-deductible
contribution of $20 or more to the organ fund.
Central Christian Church, Indianapolis
Releathering a Möller
A releathering project in an organ is really
nothing to fear!
Yet churches are often frightened into scrapping a fine
instrument (usually by someone who wants to sell them
something) with tales of horror about the fact that
electropneumatic organs need to be "releathered"
periodically.
After
57 years and repeated moisture damage from a problem
with the roof, the leather valves in the M.P. Moller
pipe organ at historic Central Christian Church in
downtown Indianapolis needed to be replaced.
Usually, releathering costs between 15% and 20% of the
cost of a similarly-sized new pipe organ. This
process renews the organ's windchests.
We began work on the organ two
days after Christmas.
As of this writing (February), the
pouchboards, primaries, and other parts are in our shop.
New leather, specially treated to prolong its life, is
being applied to these parts, which will be reinstalled
in the organ over the next several weeks. If
everything continues to go smoothly, we hope to have the
organ playable for Easter. Along with the
releathering work, we are also replacing the relays in
the organ, and installing a new blower in the basement.
In a later phase, we will upgrade the organ's console
system to state-of-the-art solid-state equipment that
will make the organ more flexible, and give Central's
music program musical possibilities undreamed-of when
the organ was built in 1954.
A pipe organ is a forever thing.
Dave Reynolds gets
"Into" his Work

The picture's too good not to
share! We recently completed major
repairs to the console and combination system on the
102-rank Schantz organ at East 91st Street Christian
Church in Indianapolis. At the very end of the
project, we found a tiny contact that needed a tiny
adjustment. Unfortunately, it was buried deep in
the mountainous console! Nothing else for it...
Dave climbed aboard and got the job done. Mission
accomplished!
Introducing Reynolds
Associates
New CD Released
We are delighted to announce the
completion of a new complilation of great organ music
played on seven different Reynolds organs. The new
compact disc, entitled simply Introducing Reynolds
Associates, os designed to demonstrate "our sound,"
across a range of large and small pipe organs. The
instruments featured range from the IV/77
Kimball-Reynolds at North UMC in Indianapolis to our new
8 rank organ in Bardstown, KY. The disc includes
both new organs and rebuild projects, played by three
different organists. Most of the music was
recorded live in concert, so, if you listen carefully,
you might even hear the distant sound of a Harley on the
street outside!
To learn more about this new
recording, e-mail us at
reyassoc@reynoldsorgans.com.
Seminar for Church
Musicians
For the Novice
Church Organist:
Making the Organ an
Effective
Instrument for
Worship
It's something we hear
frequently. Many church organists would like to be
more effective as musical leaders for worship, but have not had
enough (or any) pipe organ training. They are
confronted with an array of controls that one member of
a church board once told me "look like the cockpit of a
747." Oftentimes, they just use the presets that
previous organist had set. Sometimes they don't change them for years.
Mozart called the pipe organ the "King of Instruments."
No workshop can replace years of training, but what we
CAN do is give you some tips and tricks, and point you
toward music that can help you grow. Once you know
how the organ works, you can work toward improving your
skills and can have a lot of fun while you're at it!
The Seiminar is entitled "The
Organ for the Novice Church Organist." It will be
conducted by Martin Ellis and Thad Reynolds at 10 am on
Saturday, May 21. It is being sponsored by the
Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Bardstown, Kentucky,
as part of their celebration of their newly rebuilt pipe
organ (see article below).
Martin Ellis is principal organist and Associate
Director of Music at North United Methodist Church in
Indianapolis. He serves as organist for the
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra and accompanist and
staff arranger for the Indianapolis Children's Choir.
He has many published choral and instrumental works, and
is a busy concert artist on both classical and theater
organ. He is a frequent performer on the
Sanfilippo organ in Chicago, the largest theater organ
in the world, and recently returned from a seven-week
concert tour of Australia. Mr. Ellis will be
performing in concert on the "new" organ at Ascension
the Friday evening before the seminar at 7 pm.
To learn more about this great opportunity to develop some
new skills (and to meet people who are trying to do the
same), please check the .pdf description for the workshop
HERE,
and the invitation from the church and the registration
form HERE.
The cost is only $30 per person, and includes lunch.
Here's an even better idea! Come to the concert,
stay for the seminar, and make the weekend a
mini-vacation in one of the most scenic and interesting
places in this part of the country. Great places
to eat, excellent and unusual shopping, "My Old Kentucky
Home" (the actual one!), and the Bourbon Capital of the
World! What could be more fun?!?
Places in the seminar are limited, so act quickly!
UPDATE: The
Seminar was a great success! About 30 people attended,
and the feedback we received was very positive. We
discussed how to lead hymn-singing from the organ,
approaches to accompanying choirs and soloists, and
finding and selecting appropriate and playable solo
organ selections for the worship service. Special
thanks goes to the church for an excellent lunch, and to
the attendees who were willing to play for us.
Also, to Lorenz Corporation for providing us with a huge
amount of sample music to look through. And, of
course, to Martin Ellis for being willing to share his
knowledge and experience with us.
An interesting side-note
is that many of our attendees were church choir
directors.
We hope to do more of
these workshops. There is clearly an interest in
them!
Church of the Ascension, Bardstown, KY
Making A Small Organ
SPECIAL
First,
a personal note... If you have to
work away from home, there are few better places to have
to do it than Bardstown, KY. And, there are few
nicer peopler to work with than Karl Lusk and David
Pratt at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension.
When Dave Pratt first made contact with us, it was to inquire about repairing the
control systtem on their small (9 ranks) pipe organ.
The system had suffered at least three lightning strikes
over they years, which Dave, an electrical engineer by
trade, had worked to repair. Clearly, though, a
more permanent solution was needed!
When we first visited the church, we found that Dave and
Karl Lusk, the pastor, had done their homework.
When we explained some of the problems with the existing
installation, Karl told us, "I''m not and electronics
expert, but I know what a giant capacitor is!"
We talked about what this little organ could be, as
well. Space and budget for large additions were not
an option, but with some creative thought, we came arrived at
a new design that has turned what was built as a
little pracitce organ into a capable and versatile
church organ.
The Ascension organ got a full makeover. Pipes were
rescaled, repurposed, and revoiced. Major portions
of the
windchest actions were replaced. The console was
rebuilt with a new Peterson ICS4000 control system, new
controls, and keyboards. And finally, we added a
few digitally-generated stops to each division to
provide greater variety.
Previously, the organ was strictly a collection of principals and
flutes, all of very narrow scales. Because the
scales were so narrow, the effect in the room was a bit thin and harsh.
By broadening these scales and increasing the cutup (the
heights of the upper lips of the pipes), we were able to
give the organ more warmth and body.
To make the instrument more functional, and given space
limitations, we
added digital stops to provide strings (of which there
were none before), and reeds. With very careful
voicing of the digital sounds, we made them
knit successfully with the pipes. Key to this
process, of course, was knowing WHICH stops work well digitally, and
which DO NOT. The flexibillity of the integrated
control system allowed us to custom-program the organ to
take full advantage of both the pipe and digital stops.
And, as icing on the cake, chimes were also added to the
instrument!
Martin Ellis will play the dedicatory concert on the
Ascension organ on Friday evening, May 20, at 7 pm.
On Saturday, May 21, the church will host a workshop for
church organists (see the article above), conducted by
the Martin Ellis, with help from Thad Reynolds of
Reynolds Associates.
Try to attend the concert, and plan to spend the weekend
in Bardstown. It is the Bourbon Capital of the
World, and rich in history and culture. It also
has some of the best eateries around, including a
terrific Bosnian restaurant just across the street from
the church. Do, however, watch your speed if
driving downtown (but that's another story)....
Music at the Town Hall
Not Just Another
Organ Concert!
Just a brief word
about something a little different!
On February 6, the Mozingo Fund of the
Indianapolis Chapter of the American Guild of Organists
and Reynolds Associates jointly converted the stately
sanctuary of North United Methodist Church in
Indianapolis into an old town hall. That
afternoon, Randall Frieling, Martin Ellis, and the
Rinati Brass played a program of fun music,
not-necessarily-for-the-church.
The program included music for organ, piano, brass, and
just about every combiation of the three you can
imagine. Some of the selections included Dvorak's
Slavonic Dance No. 1 in C Major, Wagner's
Ride of the Valkyries, and scenes for Mussorgsky's
Pictures at an Exhibition.
The concert was for edification, but mostly for fun,
and recalled the days before tv and radio, when folks
went down to the Town Hall on Sunday afternoon to hear the local talent
play great music on whatever instruments they had
available. There were many wonderful pipe organs
in the town halls and coliseums of America, and music
didn't have to be Popular to be popular.
What a fun afternoon! Let's do it again soon.
Grace United Methodist
Church, Kokomo, IN
A Project to Renew
a Classic, Classy Austin
Grace United Methodist Church in Kokomo, Indiana
is a beautiful, Romanesque building with a
classic Austin organ that supports a classy music
program.
Under the guidance of organist and music director
Barbara Hobbs, Grace has a tradition of great sacred
music. The church's big 3 manual, 42 rank Austin
organ was built in 1964. This organ is the third
large Austin from the same period we have tackled.
Others include the III/32 (1968) at First United
Methodist Church in Mishawaka, IN, and the III/48
(1967) at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Michigan City, IN. Like these other instruments, the Grace
organ has the Austin sound - big and gutsy, but also
with the warmth and color that was, sadly,
uncharacteristic of many organs of the period.
Richard Piper, who was tonal director of Austin at the
time, expressed in a 1962 article why his company was a
"boat against the tide," at the time the Grace
organ was built..
(The academic) school of thought is devoted to the
organ as a solo instrument, believing little if any
worthwhile literature has been written for the organ
since Bach. They insist that the organ must
conform tonally and even mechanically to the instruments
of that period for which the music was written.
We are told by some that the organ must be either
romantic or classic and if we attempt a compromise we
shall produce a monster. This is unaldulterated
nonsense and the truth of this statement is proved by
the many fine organs, some of only moderate size, which
have been built in recent years by our leading builders
that successfully reconcile the needs of accompaniment
and the romantic and classic literature.
In the same way it is said that there can be no
compromise in design, so it is claimed that romantic and
classic voicing cannot be included in the same
instruments.
(These remarks are) a plea not to attempt to narrow the
scope of the organ until it is no longer a fitting
instrument for our churches.... The English, French and
Dutch organs may be ideally suited to those countries,
but they are not necessarily ideally suited to this.
We should endeavor to create our own tradition based on
a functional outlook.
Like the Michigan City and Mishawaka instruments,
the organ at Grace, Kokomo, is an organ for worship.
Our project included the renovation of the
Austin console, including restoration of the
ivory-covered keyboards, new stop rail and stop
controls, and a new Peterson ICS4000 integrated control
system, controlling all relay and combination action
functions. The organ console, which has to be
repositioned from time to time for various events, is
now connected to the pipes with a single CAT5 computer
network cable, instead of a thick, heavy, clumsy
umbilical cable that was a trip-and-fall hazard whenever
the console was moved.
Martin Ellis played a rededication concert at Grace on
Saturday evening, January 15, 2011. The concert
included works by Bach, Dubois, Langlais, Dupre, Vierne,
Bedard, and Sowerby. As a special unexpected
treat, Ellis teamed up with Barbara Hobbs on piano to
play a jazzy set of variations by Joel Raney on "Kum Ba
Yah." Portions of the concert are posted here.
John Knox Presbyterian,
Indianapolis
New
Organ Completed!
The new Reynolds pipe
organ at John Knox Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis
is now complete.
As is the case
with every Reynolds project, the pipes of this new
instrument were carefully voiced and regulated in
their acoustical environment. Tonal finishing is
the last step in creating an instrument that is truly at
home in its space.
The original pipe organ at Knox was
built by E.H. Holloway Corporation.
In 2000,
we made major improvements to the
instrument, including a new console and control system.
Although the instrument was striking in appearance, there
were numerous design problems, including how the
chests are supported, that could not be easily
corrected.
Throughout the planning process for
the new building, the John Knox congregation was
firmly committed to preserving its pipe organ,
and our firm was involved in the planning from the
earliest stages.
 |
|
The old Holloway
organ at John Knox. |
The instrument that has emerged from
these discussions is a new organ that retains many of
the fine pipes from the Holloway organ, as well as the
console and control equipment we added almost a decade
ago.
The new organ has all new windchests, winding system, blower, and several new
ranks of pipes.
All the existing pipes that are reused have been completely renewed and revoiced in our shop.
The physical installation began in May, and is nearly
completed as of this writing..
The original Holloway organ was a
two-manual instrument of 21 ranks.
The new organ will be a 22-rank instrument
The instrument has windchest preparation for two
additional pipe ranks..
We have included new principal stops in
the Great, a beefier Swell division, and more tone color
throughout. For reasons of space and cost, we have
added twelve digitally-generated stops.
The old Holloway organ was designed
with the Swell division in the center, with the Great to
the left and the Pedal to the right. The Swell was
enclosed with Plexiglas expression shutters that were
striking in appearance but distracting to worshippers.
In the new Reynolds organ, the Great is in the exposed
center of the organ, with the Swell to the left
(adjacent to the choristers), and the Pedal and inside
Great to the right.
The new sanctuary at John Knox is a
much better acoustical environment for the organ, with
more "life" than many much larger spaces we have worked
in.
A very important stewardship aspect
to this project is that the investments the church made
in improving the organ in the past all remain part of
this new organ. The money that was spent improving
the organ proved to be a good investment, indeed, since
these improvements made this project much less costly
for a congregation involved in the expense of
constructing a new building.
The dedicatory concert on the new
John Knox organ will probably be in October, and will be
announced here as soon as plans are finalized.
See the Specification of this Organ
Hear this organ
|
Michael Bennett
to Inaugurate Knox Organ
|
 |
Organist Michael
Bennett will play the dedication concert on the
new Reynolds Associates organ at John Knox
Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis on Sunday
evening, October 24, at 7:00 pm.
The church is located at 3000
North High School Road on the west side of
Indianapolis. The church can be easily
found by exiting 465 at 38th Street, and turning
south on High School Road.
Michael Bennett is the choral director of the
award winning
Varsity Singers,
A Cappella,
Accents, at Lafayetter Jefferson High
School in Lafayette, and also teaches advanced
class piano. Michael, a native of Roanoke, VA is
a proud graduate of the Indiana University
School of Music where he received his Bachelor's
degree in Organ Performance and the Master of
Music degree in Organ Performance and Choral
Conducting.
Mr. Bennett is the Director of Music at St.
John’s Episcopal Church, Lafayette, where he
continues to oversee and expand the parish’s
diverse musical offerings, directs the
multigenerational choir program, administrates
the concert series, and serves as organist for
all services. For five years Michael was
also the Assistant Conductor and Youth Chorus
Director for the Bach Chorale Singers.
As a concert organist, Mr. Bennett has
performed extensively across the Midwest and
East Coast, playing in cathedrals and for
chapters of the American Guild of Organists in
more than ten states. His most recent
collaboration was with the choirs of Vassar
College, where he made his discography debut in
a live performance of Mozart's Requiem,
K.626
The concert is free, and the public is
welcome.
|
Ready for Prime Time

For years, I have loved to discuss the organ - its music, its
history, the interesting people who make up its world, and to
share some of the war stories that naturally happen in the life
of an organ builder. Now, with the new Reynolds Organ
Blog, "Wild Air," I have the chance.
I will add to the blog page, sometimes regularly, sometimes
periodically. I will also invite people from my circle of
friends in the organ world to occasionally contribute their
thoughts and experiences.
To me, a blog site should be about musing - thinking out loud.
So, it doesn't necessarily have to be entirely consistent.
Readers will have the opportunity to respond to blogs with their
own comments.
After several months of work by me and my ever-obliging Internet
service provider, On-Ramp Indiana, our new blog is finally ready
to "go public." Click on the header above and take a peek!
New Ellis CD Completed
Martin
Ellis has recently produced a new compact disc recording
on the new Reynolds Associates organ at
St. Lawrence Catholic Church in
Muncie, Indiana.
The recording includes works by Bach, Vierne, Alain,
Mulet, and others on the 26-rank organ, in a setting
that is acoustically thrilling. Ellis plays with
energy, vitality, and panache.
This is a cd for people who love organ music. Even more
importantly, though, it is a cd for people who are just
discovering the intimate subtleties and massive
sonorities of the king of instruments.
Put this one permanently into your cd player or mp3, and
"Crank up the volume!
To purchase a copy of this recording, please e-mail us
at
www.reynoldsorgans.com. The cost is $15.
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Pope Benedict XVI on the Organ
"Music and Song are More than an Embellishment of Worship"
 |
Pope Benedict XVI is an
accomplished
pianist, who has eloquently expressed
the importance of the pipe organ in
worship. |
Traditional music
and traditional liturgy
have gained a new appreciation recently in almost all Christian
denominations. Even the Roman Catholic Church, which since
the Second Vatican Council has seemed inclined to throw the baby
out with the liturgical bathwater (to borrow an aphorism), has
shown new interest and a new appreciation for older established
worship formats.
Pope Benedict XVI visited his
home country of Bavaria in September, 2006, and dedicated a new
pipe organ in the Atle Kapelle in Regensburg.
According to an online article of the Catholic News Agency, the
Pope recognized the unique place the pipe organ holds in
Christian worship. His words are worthy of Balzac, and are
reminiscent of the French writers lofty comments about the King
of Instruments:
"Benedict, a piano player himself, has
been vocal about his deep appreciation for music, particularly
sacred liturgical music. After a brief description of the
process of restoration, which took eight years and almost one
million dollars to complete, the Holy Father arose and spoke to
the importance of music in the liturgies of the Church
emphasizing the “king of musical instruments,” the organ.
"Music and song are more than an
embellishment of worship," said the Pope, "they are themselves
part of the liturgical action."
The organ, "transcending the merely human
sphere, as all music of quality does, evokes the divine. ... It
is capable of echoing and expressing all the experiences of
human life. The manifold possibilities of the organ in some way
remind us of the immensity and the magnificence of God."
Read the Catholic News Agency
article in full
here.
Read the entire text of the Pope's remarks
here.
We couldn't have said it better!
St. John Cumberland United Church
of Christ
New Organ Completed!.

The new Reynolds Associates pipe organ for
St. John Cumberland United Church of Christ in Indianapolis has
been completed.
Following final voicing and regulation of the new instrument, it
was used in worship for the first time on June 28, 2009.
This fine new
instrument includes tonal material from the church's 1936 Kilgen
organ, along with new pipes, all carefully voiced and regulated
to blend seamlessly.
Although only 16
ranks in size, the new organ has a very well-developed ensemble,
and a wide variety of tone color in its specification.

While the pipes of the old Kilgen organ were hidden behind a
lattice screen, the new organ boasts an elegant new case front
and facade designed and built in our shop.
For an in-depth article about the new
Cumberland organ, click
HERE.
View the
specification of the new organ.
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High Street United Methodist Church, Muncie, IN |
Reynolds to Rebuild Historic
4-Manual Skinner Organ |
January 27,
1978 started out as an unusually quiet day in Muncie, IN.
The city was in the grip of the
worst blizzard anybody remembered – probably the worst in a
century.
For three days, High Street United
Methodist Church, a cavernous limestone building in the middle
of the city known as “Middletown, USA,” had been empty and
silent.
 |
| Jonathan
Reynolds, the youngest member of our firm, and vice
president for LEGO projects, offers his suggestions from
the High Street console. |
Nobody was around to smell the gas that was slowly filling the
building from a leak in the basement.
At any other time or in any other
circumstances, the disaster that was about to happen would have
been averted, but this day, High Street was becoming a bomb.
Maybe it was a spark
from an electric motor.
Perhaps it was a pilot light.
Whatever it was that ignited the
gas, the devastation was immediate.
A lesser building, without High
Street’s massive stone walls, would probably have simply ceased
to exist.
As it was, the overpressure of the
explosion was enough to lift the roof completely off the
building and set it back down again on the walls.
Windows were blown out, doors
demolished.
It all happened in a few seconds.
In the sanctuary, the
damage to the congregation’s cherished pipe organ , E.M.
Skinner’s Opus 803, was severe.
The 4-manual console was nearly
ruined, as were many of the pipes and mechanisms, especially in
the Swell division.
As soon as the building was deemed
safe, work began removing the splintered and sodden parts of the
instrument.
Almost immediately, the
congregation picked itself, resolving to restore both their
building and their ministry.
This required a leap of faith,
since, at the time, they had no idea how much it would cost to
save the building, nor even if it could be saved. Extensive
engineering studies showed that, despite the heavy damage, the
structure of the building was sound.
The
restoration that followed renewed
the English gothic magnificence of the building, while at the
same time modernizing it for the future.
The leap of faith paid off.
During the
months of rebuilding, the congregation actually
grew
in size, and the new mortgage was paid off only four years after
the disaster.
Along with saving the
building, the congregation also resolved to save the Skinner
organ, initially leading to perhaps the saddest chapter in this
tragedy.
A local individual who contracted
to rebuild the organ apparently engaged in a bit of
skullduggery, depleting the church’s funds for the project, and
resulting in the loss of several ranks of Skinner pipes, which
were probably sold.
Finally, almost two
years after the explosion, High Street contracted with the
Indianapolis firm of Goulding and Wood to put the Skinner organ
back into operation.
By this time, funds were very
limited.
G & W did a workmanlike job of
reassembling the organ, and attempted to revise the tonal
design.
Parts of the Skinner organ that had
not been damaged were reconnected, but not rebuilt because of
lack of funds.
Many stop knobs, including those
for about half the Pedal stops, did nothing, but represented
“prepared” voices to be installed in the future.
The organ remained in
this state for thirty years.
Organists had to struggle to avoid
the important stops that were missing, and also to cope with an
increasing frequency of mechanical failures.
When we assumed
responsibility for the care of the organ in 2003, it was with
the understanding that a new plan was needed for the
instrument’s rehabilitation.
The process of studying, preparing,
submitting, and approving a workable plan took nearly five
years, during which time the organ committee interviewed a
number of organ companies and considered plans from each.
I had had a long
experience with the High Street organ, going back to my college
days at Ball State University.
There, when I was an
aptly-described sophomore, I had one day expounded (pompously,
as I recall… pomposity is part of the sophomore experience,
after all) to my organ teacher, Fred Binckes, about the obvious
advantages of tracker action, low windpressures, unnicked pipes,
etc., etc., all of which I had read about, but about which I
really knew practically nothing.
With a phone call to
Jane Church, High Street’s beloved music director, it was
arranged for this young college student to spend a few practice
sessions at the four manual console of the great Skinner organ.
While I
missed a conventional ensemble (and still feel that this is a
weakness of most of these instruments), the experience of warm
flutes and diapasons, powerful, dark reeds, and the deep,
rumbling fundamental sound of the Pedal (all
three ranks),
was an epiphany for which I remain grateful.
The High Street organ
almost single-handedly brought me to an appreciation of the
American Romantic organ, an appreciation that has held through
the renovations of many Kimballs, Esteys, Möllers, and Kilgens.
The ideals of the Romantic,
including sweetness of tone, color, and warmth have also helped
me as we have redesigned later organs that had ensemble, but
lacked these essential tonal elements.
In January, 2009,
thirty years to the week after the disaster that nearly
destroyed High Street and its Skinner organ, the congregation
signed a contract with Reynolds Associates to begin the
renovation process.
The project looks toward a finished
product that preserves all the existing Skinner pipework, but
also includes a more workable ensemble.
When the organ was
built in 1930, Skinner had already begun the alliance with
Englishman G. Donald Harrison.
It was an alliance that would
revolutionize the American organ, but would ultimately force
Ernest Skinner out of the company he started and that bore his
name.
Harrison would eventually dub his
new style of organ design, “The American Classic Organ.”
In its best form, this design would
essentially be a Romantic organ with a more classical ensemble
structure.
Over time, though, ensemble would
win out over color, and for many years the pendulum would swing
far to that direction.
Now, as with all things, “what goes
around comes around,” and high Romantic organs, such as the High
Street instrument, are again cherished.
It would be impossible
and probably unwise to attempt to “restore” Opus 803 to its
original Skinner form.
About 25% of the original ranks are
now gone, and others have been repurposed in the organ.
Still, much of the elegance of the
original remains, and the thirty or so Skinner ranks remain the
tonal heart of this instrument.
Possibly, our tonal
design would be more recognizable to Harrison than to Skinner.
Each division will have a fully
developed principal ensemble, scaled and voiced appropriately to
the period.
The Pedal division, instead of
being just a bass presence will have a more developed palette
that will allow the performance of a wider assortment of service
music and organ literature.
The first part of the
process will include rebuilding many parts that have not seen
daylight since 1930, as well as parts that were patched up in
1980 due to lack of funds.
The tonal design of the Swell will
be improved, and the existing Great I division will become a
Positiv.
New additions to the Pedal will
include a 16’ Ophecleide and a 16’ Violone (both venerable Hook&
Hastings ranks), as well as a much-needed Pedal Principal.
The completion of the project will include
additions to the Choir and Pedal, and an exposed addition to the
antiphonal division that includes a new Principal and Chimney
Flute.
The console will be completely rebuilt,
including new keyboards, stop jambs and drawknobs, toe studs,
music desk, and lighting, as well as a completely new
state-of-the-art control system.
One part of the project
of which I suspect Skinner would have approved (although nobody
can be sure!) is the Peterson ICS4000® integrated control
system, fitted into the existing Skinner console cabinet.
This system will offer musicians a
wealth of new possibilities as they manage services and
recitals.
Skinner was a tinkerer and
inventor, and would likely have been intrigued by what is
possible when modern technology is applied to the organ.
(Anyone who is familiar with EMS
might suspect that he would, of course, claim to have invented
the ICS system, and would have followed up his claims with hotly
worded letters to the editors of the various organists’
journals!)
For more
information about this system, which we use exclusively on all
our projects, please visit,
www.ics4000.com.
The organ at High
Street United Methodist Church has a unique story, from its
design and installation by one of the organ world’s most
prolific and irascible geniuses, through near-destruction, to a
bright future in which its noble and elegant sound will continue
to uplift and inspire.
We are delighted to have the
opportunity to work with High Street United Methodist Church on
this exciting project.
Lilly-Thompson Organ at Gobin
Memorial UMC
Historic Kimball Organ to be Renovated
UPDATE:
The Gobin project is currently "on hold." After nearly 5
years of study, prayer, consideration, and fund-raising,
the Gobin congregation had finally raised the money needed to
rebuilt its magnificent and historic organ. This was
no small task, since the organ is large and the congregation
small.
Sadly, it has been reported in the local newspapers that the
church has been the victim of a large theft, amounting to nearly
a quarter million dollars.
The outcome of this sad situation, and whether any or all of the
money can be recovered, is still being determined. We pray
that Gobin will be able to proceed with its project, and will
report on the situation here when it has been adjudicated.
The congregation of Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church in
Greencastle has entrusted the renovation of its magnificent
4-manual pipe organ to Reynolds Associates.
The project, which will begin in
early 2010, will preserve this impressive example of
twentieth-century American organ building to inspire and uplift
future generations.
The instrument, on the campus of DePauw
University in Greencastle, is one of the most historic organs in
Indiana. Built by the Kimball Organ Company in 1929,
expanded by G. Donald Harrison of Aeolian-Skinner in 1947, and
rebuilt by M.P. Moller in 1957, the instrument was used for
decades as a teaching instrument for DePauw University under Van
Denman Thompson - the noted composer who was also the organist
for Gobin Church - Dr. Arthur Carkeek, and others.
Many of the twentieth-century’s greatest organists have
concertized on the big Kimball, and literally hundreds of
organists have learned their art at its four keyboards.
In recent years, the great organ has fallen
on hard times, as the effects of age and wear and tear have made
many of its resources unusable, and the whole instrument
generally unreliable.
Still, even in its present state, it is a wonderfully
impressive instrument.
We have attempted to maintain it and keep it in tune, but
clearly the congregation needed to make some basic decisions
about its future.
We approached this project from a variety of
different perspectives – historical, financial, and musical –
looking to put together a project that preserved the great
instrument at a cost this small congregation could manage.
The proposal that has been accepted by
Gobin’s hard-working organ committee and the church’s Trustees
preserves most of the original Kimball-Welte windchests, along
with tonal material from both the Kimball and Möller
incarnations. The
concentration will be on mechanical renovation, along with some
tonal restructuring that is necessary to correct existing
shortcomings. In
this project we will build on projects that have been done in
the past to preserve the congregation’s investment made over the
decades.
We anticipate that the project will take
approximately 12 – 18 months to complete, although the organ
will not be out of service for that entire time.
We will publish the final specification of the organ in
the coming weeks, so watch this site for more!
Gobin Church is still seeking funding for this important
project.
For specific information about the current
financial needs, as well as how to contribute to this project,
please contact Rev. P.T. Wilson, pastor of the church, at
(765)658-6010.
Read more about central Indiana’s three great Kimball organs,
HERE.
Organ Design Workshop in Michigan
City, IN
Pipe Organ Design: A "Conservative"
Approach
On Saturday morning, April 18,2009 the
Northwest Indiana Chapter of the American Guild of Organists
hosted a workshop featuring Thad Reynolds, President of Reynolds
Associates. The event was held at St. Paul Lutheran Church
in Michigan City, IN.
During the workshop, we discussed the
artistic, economic, environmental, and spiritual dimensions of
conserving older pipe organs. The discussion
included working definitions of restoration, renovation, and
rebuilding, as well as ways in which older tonal material can be
incorporated into a new instrument, where appropriate. We
also discussed care of the King of Instruments, including the
advantages of thorough twice-annual service visits that include
a full tuning of the instrument, instead of the "touch-up"
tunings that many organs receive.
We also reviewed the original and finished
specifications of a recent Reynolds project, considering the
many issues that contribute to the successful redesign of an
instrument.
If your AGO chapter or
church is interested in hosting a similar event, please
contact us at
reyassoc@reynoldsorgans.com.
Richmond, IN Project Completed
A New Brain for an Old Organ
Last fall, we received a request to examine the pipe organ
in historic St. Andrews Catholic Church in Richmond, IN.
The church had been struck by lightning, and the 15-year-old
control system on the church's 1947 Wicks pipe organ had been
badly damaged.
St. Andrews is typical of the beautiful worship edifices built
in the early twentieth century. As is the case with many
of these buildings, the beautiful architecture is matched by a
lively acoustic that is perfect for organ music.
The Wicks organ appears to contain tonal material from a
previous instrument, and many of the pipes are quite fine.
Instead of trying to repair the old control system, we
recommended a rebuild of the console, and complete replacement
of the controls systems with a Peterson ICS4000 Integrated
System. Installing the new system allowed us to remove all
vestiges of the original Wicks mechanical relays (the presence
of which may have contributed to the lightning damage), as well
as the previously-installed solid state equipment, and to
replace it with a new, compact, and much more functional system.
The new Peterson system carries a 10-year warranty against the
kind of damage the ruined the old system, and, perhaps more
importantly, can be quickly repaired in the unlikely event that
damage should occur. We are also able to easily
reconfigure the new system to accommodate changes when the
remainder of the organ is finally renovated.
Among the features of the new system are plenty of memory levels
for all the church's several organists, programmable crescendo
and tutti functions, full MIDI interface, and built-in
record/playback capability.
There remain a number of mechanical and tonal challenges to be
faced to bring this organ up into good condition, but St.
Andrews has taken a very major step along that road!
Renovation of an Antique Pipe Facade
Flora Organ Sounds Swell...
Now Looks GREAT, Too!
The 1914 Pilcher Case, following our
restoration.
After months of work,
the restoration of the 29 organ pipes that make up the facade
(pipe fence) of the organ at First Christian Church in Flora,
IN, has been completed. Along with the pipe facade
restoration, we also restored and refinished the lower case of
quarter-sawn oak. The case had looked so bad that it had
been covered by a curtain for fifty years!
The facade was part of an organ
built in 1914 by the Pilcher Organ Company of Louisville.
In about 1960, E.H. Holloway Corp. built a new organ for the
church, retaining the display pipes of the old facade, and
covering the lower part of the case with a velour curtain. The
zinc pipes had been repainted repeatedly, and had numerous
dents.
In 1998, Reynolds Associates rebuilt the Holloway organ, and
have subsequently made several tonal improvements to the
instrument. The visual restoration is the latest
improvement to the instrument, and one that gives a new elegance
and character to the craftsman-style sanctuary.
In our shop, we carefully
stripped and repaired the pipes, primed and basecoated them, and
applied decorative elements designed for the organ by Michael
Lenhart, who worked for the firm at that time. Missing
elements of the oak case, including a new center panel to fill
in the space where the original Pilcher keydesk had been, were
created in our shop by David Reynolds.
Along with the restoration work, we also built and installed new
expression shades, replacing the old hollow shades that were
loose and noisy.
To see a photo
gallery of this project, click HERE.
Upcoming
Concert Information.
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