| Great (17 stops, 22 ranks, 1163 Pipes) | ||
| 16' | Principal | 58 Pipes |
| 8' | Principal | 58 Pipes |
| 8' | Principal II Ext. 16' | 12 Pipes |
| 8' | Chimney Flute | 58 Pipes |
| 8' | Viol d'Amour | 58 Pipes |
| 51⁄3' | Gross Quinte | 58 Pipes |
| 4' | Octave | 58 Pipes |
| 4' | Flauto Traverso | 58 Pipes |
| 31⁄5' | Gross Tierce | Prepared |
| 22⁄3' | Twelfth | 58 Pipes |
| 2' | Fifteenth | 58 Pipes |
| IV | Mixture (11⁄3') | 232 Pipes |
| III | Cymbal (2⁄3') | 174 Pipes |
| III | Cornet (22⁄3') c l | 102 Pipes |
| 16' | Trumpet | 58 Pipes |
| 8' | Trumpet | 63 Pipes |
| 8' | Tromba (Floating) | (58 notes) |
| Swell (17 stops, 19 ranks, 1097 Pipes) | ||
| 16' | Bourdon | 58 Pipes |
| 8' | Principal | 58 Pipes |
| 8' | Salicional | 58 Pipes |
| 8' | Voix Céleste | 46 Pipes |
| 8' | Stopped Diap. | 58 Pipes |
| 4' | Principal | 58 Pipes |
| 4' | Silver Flute | 58 Pipes |
| 22⁄3' | Nazard | 58 Pipes |
| 2' | Block Flute | 58 Pipes |
| 13⁄5' | Tierce | 58 Pipes |
| IV | Mixture (2') | 232 Pipes |
| 16' | Fagott | 58 Pipes |
| 8' | Trompette | 65 Pipes |
| 8' | Oboe | 58 Pipes |
| 8' | Vox Humana | 58 Pipes |
| 4' | Clarion | 58 Pipes |
| 8' | Tromba (Floating) | (58 notes) |
| Positiv (11 stops, 15 ranks, 858 pipes) | ||
| 8' | Principal | 58 Pipes |
| 8' | Gedeckt | 58 Pipes |
| 8' | Gemshorn (Bass from Gedeckt) | 46 Pipes |
| 4' | Principal | 58 Pipes |
| 4' | Koppel Flute | 58 Pipes |
| 2' | Octave | 58 Pipes |
| 11⁄3' | Larigot | 58 Pipes |
| III | Sesquialtera | 174 Pipes |
| IV | Scharff (1') | 232 Pipes |
| 8' | Cromorne | 58 Pipes |
| 8' | Tromba (Floating) | (58 notes) |
| Tremolo | ||
| Zimbelstern | ||
| Gallery Division (13 stops, 13 ranks, 785 Pipes) | ||
| 16' | Bourdon | 58 Pipes |
| 8' | Principal | 58 Pipes |
| 8' | Concert Flute | 58 Pipes |
| 8' | Gedeckt (Ext. 16' Bdn.) | 12 Pipes |
| 8' | Dulciana | 58 Pipes |
| 4' | Octave | 58 Pipes |
| 4' | Night Horn | 58 Pipes |
| 2' | Fifteenth | 58 Pipes |
| IV | Mixture | 232 Pipes |
| 16' | Trumpet (Ext. 8') | 12 Pipes |
| 8' | Trumpet | 65 Pipes |
| 8' | Tromba (Floating) | 58 Pipes |
| Zimbelstern | ||
| Pedal (17 stops, 13 ranks, 428 Pipes) | ||
| 32' | Grand Bourdon (Ext. Sub Bass) | 12 Pipes |
| 16' | Principal Bass | 32 Pipes |
| 16' | Principal (Great) | (32 notes) |
| 16' | Sub Bass | 32 Pipes |
| 16' | Bourdon (Swell) | (32 notes) |
| 102⁄3' | Contra Quint (Swell Bdn.) | (32 notes) |
| 8' | Octave | 32 Pipes |
| 8' | Gedeckt Bass | 32 Pipes |
| 8' | Bourdon (Swell) | (32 notes) |
| 51⁄3' | Quint | 32 Pipes |
| 4' | Choralbass | 32 Pipes |
| IV | Mixture (22⁄3') | 128 Pipes |
| 32' | Contra Trombone | Prepared |
| 16' | Trombone | 32 Pipes |
| 16' | Fagott (Swell) | (32 notes) |
| 8' | Trumpet | 32 Pipes |
| 4' | Clarionet | 32 Pipes |
| Gallery Pedal (6 stops) | ||
| 16' | Bourdon | (32 notes) |
| 8' | Principal | (32 notes) |
| 8' | Flute | (32 notes) |
| 4' | Octave | (32 notes) |
| 16' | Trumpet | (32 notes) |
| 8' | Trumpet | (32 notes) |
| 8' | Tromba (Floating) | (32 notes) |
| Couplers (Played Electrically) | ||
| ||
| Additional Specifications | ||
| ||
| Manual I | |
| 16' | Bourdon |
| 8' | Principal |
| 8' | ConcertFlute |
| 8' | Gedeckt |
| 4' | Octave |
| IV | Mixture |
| 16' | Trumpet |
| 8' | Trumpet |
| 8' | Tromba |
| Manual II | |
| 8' | Gedeckt |
| 8' | Dulciana |
| 4' | Night Horn |
| 2' | Fifteenth |
| 8' | Trumpet |
| 8' | Tromba |
| Pedal | |
| 16' | Bourdon |
| 8' | Principal |
| 8' | Gedecht |
| 4' | Octave |
| 16' | Trumpet |
| 8' | Trumpet |
| Couplers | |
| |
| Chancel Couplers | |
| |
| Additional Specifications | |
| |
While you read about Opus 114, you may get a sense of its color and textures by listening to Dr. Paul Davis playing it. Explore the three excerpted selections within the player below.
The Christ Lutheran organ began with a telephone call from Dr. Paul Davis asking if Andover Organ Company was interested in making a proposal for a new organ. A trip to Baltimore to meet the committee and to examine the building was quickly arranged. The organ was to be located in the rear gallery and was to have tracker action. In conversations with Dr. Davis, a preliminary stoplist for a three manual organ was drawn up. The Great division would be based on a 16' Principal with the other two divisions, Swell and Positive being based on an 8' Principal, and the organ would have around 60 stops.
The first problem was to deal with the rose window. Windows are the bane of organ builders because they are located in the most ideal organ placement areas where there is the most height. When it comes to a choice between the organ and the window, the window usually wins because it was there first. Christ Lutheran was no exception. The organ would be divided on either side of the window and have the Positive placed on the gallery rail in the Rück (back) position.
In designing an organ case, the architectural style of the building is paramount. An organ is usually the most massive piece of "furniture" in any building and one must be very careful or it can overpower a space. My aim has always been to make the organ look as though it has always been there. Christ Lutheran's exceptional gothic style quickly became the inspiration for the design. I wanted the case to be traditional gothic, but with a contemporary interpretation. Christ Lutheran also allowed me to combine two traditions, a case with the pipes encased in woodwork and carvings and the Victorian stenciling of the pipes. In the Victorian period, woodwork gradually disappeared above the impost and it was replaced with a fence of pipes that were decorated crating their own design, usually bands of gold and various colors combined with fleur de lis or other decorative designs. There would be no bands of color in these pipes; I wanted the case to have an upward thrust as though it would continue forever without being stopped by a visual fence. The original design for the organ was very similar to the case for the gallery division, divided with three towers and woodwork between utilizing carvings. The tower pipes would be stenciled in a contemporary way. The difference between what you see today and what I had originally drawn was that the towers protruded in an octagon shape and, of course, the largest pipes were of the 16' Principal instead of the 8' Principal you see.
As the visual design was being finalized, we found out that with the combined weight of the gallery, made entirely of concrete, and the organ, the church's foundation would not support the weight. The only other option was to place the organ in the front chambers where the previous Möller organ had been installed. The difference was that the new instrument would be cantilevered into the chancel area as far as possible without intruding on the worship space and line of sight views of the front window. To accomplish this, the former octagon towers were flattened to three pipes each. The manual divisions, Great, Swell and Positive would be located on the left hand side and would have suspended tracker action while the Pedal would be located on the right hand side and would be electrically operated. There would be two identical symmetrical cases facing each other. The original design for the rear organ placement was easily adapted to the new location.
There were some wonderful carvings that served as a screens for the Möller organ. It was decided that much of these carvings could be utilized in the new cases, including six of the eight angels. Two more would have to be carved. Other areas, such as the three panels above the console and the skirt around the imposts of the front cases were developed by cutting and piecing together from the available carvings. Since there was so much new carving to be done, David Calvo of Calvo Studios was commissioned to design and carve all of the panels for what is essentially four separate cases. David visited the Church to get the feel of the building and the existing carvings. The carving would take two and a half years. Assisting in the final carving was Tony Miscio of the Andover staff.
Early on in the design phase, Marylou Davis was contacted to get her input in the style of stenciling that would work in the building. She also visited the Church on several occasions, meeting with the committee and preparing numerous designs and mockups. Because the organ was now in the front of the Church, the stenciling design needed to work with the ceiling stenciling of the chancel, but in a more subdued version. Examining the many stencil patterns in the Church and Chapel, she found an interesting pattern that suggested a stone wall. Mirroring the image, she felt that would make an ideal pattern for the two outside pipes of each tower. These pipes would reflect a texture rather than making a bold statement. The colors were adjusted to match the stonework in the Church and a textured surface was applied in what would be the stonework. The center pipes were more problematic and after several designs were rejected by the committee I began to look though books on 13th gothic buildings and discovered in the Arena Chapel in Padua Italy, a mosaic diamond pattern surrounding the famous paintings by Giotto. Using the magic of Photoshop, I scanned our drawing into an actual photograph of the chancel area and colored the organ as I envisioned it and also scanned in the Giotto design and the design came together. I quickly showed the result to Marylou who added her color magic and suggestions, painted a full sized mockup that we hung on a fourteen foot ladder in one of the side balconies and showed it to the committee who quickly approved this design.
The smaller pipes in the case flats are made of 70% tin and have a mottled finish. The pipe metal is cast on a muslin cloth and normally the top surface is planed and then polished, however, we used the muslin side of the casting which provides a textured surface that results in a warmer appearance.
The case is made from solid quarter-sawn white oak purchased as an entire truckload to ensure that the color and grain would be consistent. The console uses contrasting walnut and the stop jambs have walnut burl veneers. The keys have ebony sharps with non-endangered ivory naturals. The drawknobs are pau ferro with engraved inserts. The combination action is solid-state and has 360 levels of memory. While the key action is tracker, the couplers are operated electrically. Above the music desk the center carved panel can be raised to expose a mirror that can be used when conducting the choir.
The whole purpose of an organ is about sound. The organ must lead the congregation in hymn singing and liturgy, accompany choirs and soloists and last of all to play the organ literature. The Christ Lutheran instrument is a very complete instrument worked out by Dr. Davis and tonal director John Morlock. Each manual and Pedal has a complete Principal chorus. There is a wide variety of Flutes from stopped wood to open wood, tapered metal, open and stopped metal, chimnied and harmonic. One interesting Flute that John has developed is the Silver Flute which is a tapered harmonic Flute. It gives a silvery tone similar to that of an orchestral flute, hence the name. There are strings in all manual divisions. One is the Viol d'Amour which has a tapered body and then bells flaring out on top. This was a favorite of the mid-nineteen century.
There are three Cornets on the instrument. A Cornet consists of 5 sets of pipes at five different pitches, 8', 4', 22⁄3', 2' and 13⁄5'. On the Great all five sets of pipes sound together on one stop and it has a large fluty, bold sound good for solos as well as the playing of the early French literature. The Swell has the Cornet divided into individual stops and they are milder, smoother and quieter than the one on the Great. The Positive has its Cornet, again separated with the 22⁄3', 2', and 13⁄5' stops combined in the III Sesquialtera. This sound has a Principal quality to contrast with the other Cornets.
The organ has many reeds including several Trumpets at 16', 8', and 4' pitches. The Great Trumpets are fashioned after the American Trumpets of the 19th century while the Swell reeds have a distinct bright French style. The Oboe is modeled after French builder Cavaille-Coll as is the Vox Humana. The Positive Cromorne is also French but based on the earlier builder Cliquot.
The Pedal contains the largest pipes in the organ with the 32' Grand Bourdon and the 16' Principal Bass, both made of wood and large enough so that a grown man could crawl through the bottom notes. The Trombone is a full length reed with wood resonators while the 8' Trumpet has metal resonators. Another interesting stop developed by John is the 4' Clarionet that combines the sound of a Clarinet with a Clarion so that it is useful both as a solo 4' cantus firmus, and as a chorus reed as well.
Because of the chancel installation, the acoustical situation was not ideal even with the cantilevering of the organ. A division in the rear gallery would be important to support congregational singing. The Möller organ had an antiphonal division in the gallery. It was an anemic sound and was not particularly effective. The new division has a full Principal chorus, a string, Flutes, a Trumpet and a large solo reed, the Tromba. It has its own two manual console and with some judicious duplexing and unification of the Bourdon and Trumpet turned it into an effective and versatile instrument on its own. The front organ can be played from the two manual console through couplers and general pistons. This division was installed in the Fall of 2005. This allowed the Church to have an organ playable throughout the construction period.
— Organ description from Donald H. Olson's Organ Dedication Comments.
ANDOVER ORGAN COMPANY people who worked on Opus 114
Matthew Bellocchio Team Leader – Installations – Mechanical Design – Key Action
Anne Doré Office Manager
Michael Eaton Key Action – Pipe Racking – Wind Systems – Tonal Finishing
Gary Entrémont Wiring - Installation
Donald Glover Reed Voicing – Tonal Finishing
Al Hosman Casework – Consoles – Installations
Lisa Lucius Secretary
Benjamin Mague Team Leader – Installations – Structure – Wind Systems
David Michaud Windchests – Wind Systems – Structure - Installations
Anthony Miscio Casework – Carving - Windchests
Fay Morlock Pipework
John Morlock Tonal Director – Voicing – Tonal Finishing
Donald H. Olson President - Case Design – Contract Negotiations
Bruce Perry Production Manager – Scheduling - Logistics
Casey Robinson Wind Systems – Pipe Racking – Key Action
Jonathan Ross Pipework – Tonal Finishing – Key Action
Craig Seaman Electronics – Wiring – Installations
James Stewart Wind Systems
David Zarges Windchests – Casework – Installations
Jay Zoller Mechanical Design
SUBCONTRACTORS who worked on Opus 114
A.R. Schopp's Sons, Inc. Pipemakers
Aug. Laukhuff Components – Pipemakers – Blower (Gallery)
Blackstone Valley Piano Key coverings
Pascal Boissonet Voicing consultant
Calvo Studios Carving Designs
David Calvo Carving
Columbia Organ Leathers Leathers
Eastern Organ Pipes, Inc. Pipemakers
Harris Precision Products Drawknobs
Jozef Lasota & Sons Pipemakers
Klann, Inc. Zimbelstern
Marylou Davis, Inc. Stencil Design and Stenciling
Marylou Davis
Gary Snyder
Nolte Organ Builders Pipemakers
Organ Supply Industries Components – Pipemakers
Otto Heuss Action Parts
P&S Organ Supply Keyboards
Donald E. Reich Pipemaker
Solid State Organ Systems Electronic Systems
Stinkens Orgelpijpenmakers Pipemakers
Zepher Blower Co. Blower (Chancel)
