Winter Whole Number 86. Copyright 2004 Chicago-Midwest Chapter, Organ Historical Society. All rights reserved.

Transcription

1 The Stopt Diapason Winter Whole Number 86 Copyright 2004 Chicago-Midwest Chapter, Organ Historical Society. All rights reserved. A Rare View of Chicago s Musical Past Saint Martin Catholic Church, South Princeton Avenue and West Fifty-Ninth Street, Chicago, Illinois This extraordinary example of German Gothic architecture, built in 1894 and 1895, was designed by architect Louis A. Becker of Mainz, Germany, and executed under the supervision of Chicago s well-known architect, Henry J. Schlacks. Schlacks designed a matching campus for the church, including an imposing school (since demolished), rectory, and convent. Above is a rare glimpse of the interior of the church, within the first decade of completion, and of an organ of unknown manufacture. Approximately a century ago, this organ was replaced by a Johnson & Son organ, opus 543, built in 1880 for the Central Music Hall of Chicago and rebuilt for Saint Martin by Coburn & Taylor of Chicago. The Catholic parish was closed in 1990, by which time the Johnson & Son organ had been removed. The building is now home to another congregation. The above photograph is reproduced from The Work of Henry J. Schlacks: Ecclesiologist, published by the architect at Chicago, The Stopt Diapason, a journal devoted to the history of the organ in Chicago and the Midwest, is published quarterly by the Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the Organ Historical Society, Inc., a not-for-profit, educational organization. The Chicago-Midwest Chapter is a 501(c)(3) corporation incorporated in the State of Illinois.

2 From the President: Holiday Greetings To All! Our time of giving thanks is over and now everyone is preparing for the very busy Christmas season of music. By the time that you read this issue it will be time for a New Year, so I hope that your Christmas and New Year's Holiday was especially celebratory! This Fall, our Chapter has been very active in both organ concerts and organ crawls. We have had the opportunity to hear a wide variety of music played on a similarly wide variety of organs in the Chicago area. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Chapter Members Derek Nickels, Henry Sybrandy, Louis Playford, Eugene Mudra, and Susan Friesen for a most successful demonstration of the organs on the cold and windy day of the organ crawl in October in La Grange. In November, we were treated to a very special program of organ music by Chapter member Thomas Gouwens on the 1898 Lyon & Healy organ at historic Lakeview Presbyterian Church. We have been invited by this church to return every year for a program. Our many thanks to all of these churches who have invited us to hear their organs. The following future Chapter programs should be highlighted on your calendars now: January 16 th - 5:00 PM - Chapter Members recital at Cornelia Avenue Baptist Church in celebration of the Centennial of the 1905 Lyon & Healy Organ. CHICAGO-MIDWEST CHAPTER Board Members President: Robert E. Woodworth, Jr North Sheridan Road, #39B Chicago, Illinois (773) r.woodworth.jr@worldnet.att.net Secretary: Derek Nickels c/o Church of the Holy Comforter 222 Kenilworth Avenue Kenilworth, Illinois (847) (home) (847) , extension 17 (church) denickels@holycomforter.org Treasurer: George J. Horwath 4640 North Opal Avenue Norridge, Illinois (708) (847) (work) gjwath@comcast.net Members at large: Stephen J. Schnurr, Jr.* c/o Saint Paul Catholic Church Post Office Box 1475 Valparaiso, Indiana (219) (219) (fax) stephen.schnurr.mus.95@aya.yale.edu February 20 th - 4:00 PM - OHS Historic Organ Citation to be presented to Saint John UCC Church in Palatine in celebration of the 120 th anniversary of the Witzmann Organ - Chapter member MaryAnn Crugher Balduf will be the guest organist. March 12 th - Annual Spring Organ Crawl combined with the Chicago Chapter AGO featuring a tour of historic Kilgen organs of the north side of Chicago. Again, many thanks for all members who have renewed their membership and also a most hearty welcome to several new Chapter Members! See you at the next Chapter events! Bob Woodworth Jr. President Chicago-Midwest Chapter OHS Michael L. Shawgo 3200 North Lake Shore Drive, #2411 Chicago, Illinois (773) (312) (work) mlshawgo@jonesday.com Robert Voves** 1849 Manchester Westchester, Illinois (708) (residence) (708) x 220 (work) BobV@Lowrey.com Douglas Zimmer 383 Ridgewood Avenue Glen Ellyn, Illinois (630) (630) (work) dzimmer@cusd200.org * Editor, The Stopt Diapason ** Production Director, The Stopt Diapason 2

3 REMAINING CHAPTER EVENTS FOR ) Sunday, January 16, 2005, 5:00 p.m., a Chapter Members Recital at the Cornelia Avenue Baptist Church, West Cornelia Avenue and North Paulina Street, honoring the centennial of the 1905 Lyon & Healy organ of two-manuals, seven-ranks. Further information will be found elsewhere in this issue. 2) Sunday, February 20, 2005, 4:00 p.m., a recital and OHS Historic Organ Citation presentation at Saint John United Church of Christ, 1425 West Algonquin Road, Palatine, Illinois. Chapter member MaryAnn Crugher Balduf will play the c Emil Witzmann organ of one manual. Further information will be found in this issue. 3) Saturday, March 12, 2005, Annual Spring Organ Crawl, to be co-sponsored by the Chicago Chapter of the American Guild of Organists. This event will take place on the North Side of Chicago. This year s instrument selection will feature vintage Kilgen organs from various periods. Further will be forthcoming in the next edition of The Stopt Diapason. 4) Sunday, April 10, 2005, 4:00 p.m., a recital at the Epworth United Methodist Church of Chicago honoring the seventy-fifth anniversary of the 1931 M. P. Möller organ of three-manuals. Featured recitalist will be Chapter board member Stephen Schnurr. An OHS Historic Organ Citation will be presented at this event. Further information will be forthcoming in the next issue of The Stopt Diapason. CALENDAR OF AREA EVENTS If you know of an organ event in the chapter area which should be announced, please contact Stephen Schnurr (contact information found on page 2): 1) Sunday, January 30, 2005, 3:00 p.m., the Cathedral Arts Concert Series presents Chapter member Allison Alcorn-Oppedahl and Chapter Board member Stephen Schnurr in a violin and organ recital at Saint Mary of the Lake Catholic Church, 6060 Miller Avenue, Gary, Indiana. The organ, 1964 Casavant opus 2740, a two-manual, twenty-seven rank instrument, was featured at the 2002 National Convention of the Organ Historical Society. A free-will offering will be accepted. For further information or directions, telephone (219) ) Sunday, April 3, 2005, 3:00 p.m., the Cathedral Arts Concert Series presents Julie Ford of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, in recital at the Cathedral of the Holy Angels, Seventh Avenue and Tyler Street, Gary, Indiana. The organ is Casavant opus 2769, a two-manual, thirty-three rank instrument finished in A free-will offering will be accepted. For further information or directions, telephone (219) ANTIQUE ESTEY REED ORGAN FOR SALE ESTEY two-manual reed organ for sale, manufactured c Location: South Bend, Indiana. Mahogany cabinet; replacement bench of oak, stained mahogany. Blower included. Asking price: $1,000. For further information, contact Sandy Banks at (574) or Palantir786@hotmail.com. 3

4 MEMBERS RECITAL TO TAKE PLACE AT CORNELIA AVENUE BAPTIST CHURCH OF CHICAGO SUNDAY, JANUARY 16, 2005, 5:00 P.M. EVENT TO MARK CENTENNIAL OF SERVICE FOR LYON & HEALY ORGAN BY MICHAEL SHAWGO AND STEPHEN SCHNURR A Members Recital ushers in the New Year of Chapter events at the Cornelia Avenue Baptist Church, 1700 West Cornelia Avenue at North Paulina Street, Chicago. The program will be given by Louis Playford and Michael Shawgo. Louis and Michael will be playing a variety of selections, including some Victorian delights and piano/organ duets. Chicago-Midwest Chapter members are well-acquainted with this small, yet remarkable mechanical-action organ of two-manuals, seven-ranks. The organ is fully described in The Stopt Diapason, whole issue 74, Winter , pages 8 and 9. A native of Augusta, Georgia, Louis Playford holds degrees in piano from Syracuse University, St. Louis Conservatory of Music, and the American Conservatory of Music of Chicago. He began studying organ with Will Headlee during his senior year at Syracuse and continued his studies with Jack C. Good, Kathleen Thomerson, Jamie Garvey, and the late John G. Schaeffer. Currently he teaches at the Chicago Academy for the Arts, and serves as the organist and director of music at the Second Presbyterian Church and the assistant organist at the Chicago Temple/First United Methodist Church. He appears frequently as harpsichordist with Ars Musica Chicago. Michael Shawgo received his Bachelor of Music degree in organ performance from Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois. After college, he spent time in Atlanta, Georgia, where he studied with J. Marcus Ritchie at the Cathedral of St. Philip (Episcopal). After moving to Chicago in 1980, Mr. Shawgo was the organist/choir director at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Chicago, and later at the First United Methodist Church of Oak Park. In 1990, he became the organist/choir director at the Second Presbyterian Church of Chicago, where he remained until 2000, when he returned to the First United Methodist Church of Oak Park. At First United Methodist, Mr. Shawgo strives to inspire interest in and raise funds for the restoration of the church's four-manual 1925 E. M. Skinner organ. Mr. Shawgo is a member of the American Guild of Organists, the Organ Historical Society, and the Chicago Area Theatre Organ Enthusiasts. He also works as the Manager of Information Technology at the law firm of Jones Day in Chicago. Directions to Cornelia Avenue Baptist Church: From North Lake Shore Drive, exit at Belmont Avenue (3200 North). Proceed west on Belmont to Ashland Avenue (1600 West). Turn right (North) on Ashland and proceed to Cornelia Avenue. Turn left on Cornelia Avenue and proceed two blocks to the church, at the Southwest corner of Paulina Street. Parking is on the street. CHICAGO-MIDWEST CHAPTER OHS TO RETURN TO SAINT JOHN UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST, Palatine, Illinois, for Presentation of OHS Historic Organ Citation to Witzmann Organ, Sunday, February 20, 2005 BY ROBERT E. WOODWORTH, JR. Chicago-Midwest Chapter OHS members will remember their visit to the historic Saint John United Church of Christ in Palatine, Illinois, for the 2002 OHS National Convention that was held here in Chicago. Located in what is now the suburban community of Palatine, this parish was organized in 1846 in what was then a farming area known as Plum Grove in Palatine Township. The first services were held in a local schoolhouse and in private homes. In 1850, the members adopted their first church constitution under the name of the United Evangelical Congregation of Wickliffe, Cook County, Illinois, the same year that the first portion of what eventually became a ten-acre parcel was donated for a church site. The first church building was completed in 1854, and, following a fire in 1885, the cornerstone of the present church building was laid in September of that year. The organ probably dates from around 1885, contemporaneously with or shortly after the church s dedication. The organ bears no nameplate, but the initials E W can be found on pipework suggesting that the organ can be attributed to Chicago German immigrant organbuilder Emil Witzmann ( ). No other known organbuilders with the initials E W fit the circumstances and no other Witzmann organs are known outside of the Midwest. The one-manual, mechanical action instrument is located in a rear loft. The handsome case contains several fancy painted pipes from the Open Diapason. Stop controls are by knobs to the right and left of the manual. Further 4

5 information about the church and this historic Witzmann organ may be found in the 2002 OHS National Convention in Chicago Handbook. In continuation of the Chicago-Midwest Chapter OHS programming theme of A Year of Anniversaries, the Chapter and the church will be celebrating 120 years of service for this 1885 Emil Witzmann Organ. In honor of this occasion, the Chapter will be presenting the organ with an OHS Historic Organ Citation during the recital program. Featured recitalist for this occasion will be organist/chapter Member MaryAnn Crugher Balduf. Ms. Balduf returns to historic Saint John Church as she was the featured recitalist on this organ at the 2002 OHS National Convention in Chicago. An active Ann Arbor area performer and accompanist, MaryAnn Crugher Balduf s current accompanying credits include the Plymouth Oratorio Society, Ann Arbor Youth Chorale, Lenawee Community Chorus, Schoolcraft College Chorus and the American Chorale of Sacred Music. Her performance credits also include the Plymouth (Michigan) Symphony and the Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestra. She is a studio accompanist at the University of Michigan and a staff accompanist for Easter Michigan University and the Ann Arbor Public Schools. An organist and choirmaster since the age of fifteen, she has held positions in the United States and Europe, where she was organist-choirmaster for Anglican and military congregations and accompanist for the Seventh Army Soldier s Chorus. Most recently, she completed a twelve-year tenure at historic St. Luke s Church in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and is now much sought after as a supply organist throughout the Detroit Metropolitan area. After beginning her piano and organ studies with her mother, Clara Kaltrider Crugher, MaryAnn continued her private study with Frances Clark and Roberta Bitgood, and then with Eugene Bossart, Benning Dexter, and Maynard Klein at the University of Michigan. She is active in the Toledo Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, serves on the Executive Board of the Ann Arbor Chapter and has been National Secretary of the OHS. Directions From downtown Chicago: take Interstate 90 West 26 miles to Roselle Road and exit North toward Palatine. Proceed approximately one mile North on Roselle Road to Algonquin Road/Il-62. Turn left and proceed 1/10 mile to the church at 1475 West Algonquin Road. Processional Fanfare Program Noel Rawsthorne (b.1929) Entrée (en forme de Carillon) Théodore Dubois ( ) Toccata XI Georg Muffat ( ) Expressions for Organ Jean Langlais ( ) IV, VII, X Voluntary Maurice Green ( ) Piece d Orgue Jacques Nicolas Lemmens ( ) Offertoire Leon Boëllmann ( ) Introduction and Fugue in E Flat William Boyce ( ) Sechs Charakterstucke für Orgel, Opus 64 Rudolf Bibl ( ) IV Pastorale Pasticcio Jean Langlais ( ) Verset Louis Lefébure-Wély ( ) Sixty Short Pieces Flor Peeters ( ) No. 33 Cantique No. 46 March Miniatures for Organ Herbert Howells ( ) No. 6 Moderato No. 8 Poco Allegro No. 11 Moderato con moto No. 13 Allegro Giocoso Hymn, When in Our Music God is Glorified Tune Engelberg Festival Postlude, Opus 32 Uso Seifert ( ) 5

6 THE AUTUMN ORGAN CRAWL IN LAGRANGE AND LAGRANGE PARK Saturday, October 16, 2004: A Review BY ROBERT VOVES The 2004 Autumn Organ Crawl broke with recent chapter tradition: attendance seemed better than the typical wedding-conflicted Fall weekend, and the overcast, blustery weather was worse than the mild, clear days usually encountered this time of year. Chapter members met in the village of LaGrange and adjoining LaGrange Park, nearwestern suburbs of Chicago, to see and hear a variety of relatively recent (for OHS!) instruments of varying size and builders, in a variety of spaces. The day formally began at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, site of a forty-six stop (sixty-three rank) three-manual 1970 Casavant. After suitable introductions by chapter president Bob Woodworth and organist David Clark, Chapter Secretary Derek Nickels presented a not-so-mini-recital of works by DuMage, Bach, Dupré and Jongen. The printed program directed us to various registrations characteristic of this Phelps-designed specification. Following the musical presentation, the musical motifs in the sanctuary stained glass above the organ were pointed out to us. We then moved down the street to the First Presbyterian Church, where Chapter-member Henry Sybrandy is regular organist. Familiar with both the Brunzema portative in front and the Aeolian-Skinner in the gallery, Henry treated us to extensive registration examples played on the two instruments, after explaining the history of the building and of the organs therein. For the 1981 Brunzema opus 3, all four ranks and combinations thereof were employed in the Böhm variations on Wenn Nur den Lieben Gott. At the other end of the church, in addition to a nearly stop-by-stop demonstration of all of the organ s resources, the Barber Adagio in E and a Charles Ore Fanfare were among the selections used to present components of the Skinner sound of this 1962 forty rank instrument. The antiphonal organ, consisting of Estey components of the previous organ, is not functional. Those in attendance at this point were then assembled in front of the pipework for a group photo. Longtime Chapter-member Julie Stevens had prepared a wide-ranging set of menu choices for the lunch break. Most of our crowd gravitated to the Blueberry Hill Pancake House in the center of town, where we could catch up on the recent news about our various members and guests. It was a short one-block walk to our first after-lunch venue, the First Congregational Church, where chapter member Louis Playford presented a recital on the 1978 Van Daalen mechanical-action organ of thirty-two stops (fortyseven ranks). Louis is becoming a regular for demonstrating the organs at these crawls: his selection of pieces and performance, and accompanying notes is well appreciated. It was interesting to hear the authentic Dutch-style clatter of drawstop action emanating from the detached, reversed console between selections! This was the first organ visited this day at which the OHS tradition of singing a hymn was honored. After some open console time, some crawlers wandered through the church corridors to examine the 1960 s era Reuter organ installed in the chapel. Sadly, while the instrument could be seen in its loft location, the locked door prevented us from hearing the eight-rank instrument. We still had organs six and seven to see anyway, so off we went to Saint John Lutheran Church, a contemporary-styled building housing what began life in 1940 as a two-manual, eleven-rank Wicks pipe organ. Expanded in the late 1960 s by Wicks, the organ was recently brought to its present completed state of forty-three ranks, fifty-seven stops just last year by the Berghaus Organ Company. Gerald Kuker, director of music at Saint John explained the history of the instrument, after which Chapter-member Gene Mudra presented a short musical demonstration of the organ. Our final scheduled destination of the day was back north across town to adjoining LaGrange Park and the Convent of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, where the twenty-stop mechanical action Noack organ was installed in We were warmly greeted by Sister Emily Rokos, CSJ, who has been closely associated with the instrument since its conception. Chapter-member Susan Friesen, no stranger to this jewel of an instrument, performed the sixteen variations of the Pachelbel Chaconne in d minor as her demonstration of the organ, calling out the registrations as she played. For those who could attend all or part of the activities, it was a very satisfying day. Unlike many of the organs visited on these crawls, all of the instruments heard at this event are used regularly in worship; consequently, the physical condition of these organs was superior to what is sometimes encountered. 6

7 ANNUAL AUTUMN ORGAN RECITAL AT GREENSTONE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, CHICAGO A Memorial to Mim Davis: A Review BY DEREK NICKELS A perfect match of performer and organ took place on Sunday, September 26, 2004, at Chicago s Greenstone United Methodist Church (formerly Pullman United Methodist Church). The immediate past President of the Chicago- Midwest Chapter and former National President of the Organ Historical Society, Dr. William Aylesworth gave a commanding performance on the 1882 Steere & Turner organ known to many throughout the Organ Historical Society. The afternoon s performance of music by French, English, and German composers was also a fitting tribute to Mim Davis, the longtime organist at Pullman Church who made sure this magnificent instrument was lovingly cared for throughout her many years at the church. During the intermission, Chapter member Luther Gette and former and current pastors and church members fondly recalled Mim s loving and feisty dedication to the Pullman community and Greenstone Church. The greatest tribute to her, of course, is the fact that one of finest examples of nineteenth-century American organbuilding is still in its original location for all of us to enjoy. Dr. Aylesworth began the program with Louis Couperin s Chaconne. This work by the uncle of the famous François is probably best known in a transcription by Joseph Bonnet. This beautiful French overture sumptuously set the scene for three little gems by Jean-François Dandrieu. The former organist at the fashionable St. Merry of Paris wrote four books of Noëls as well as a Livre d Orgue. The Muzette, Flûtes, and Duo encores de chasse sur la Trompette extracted from this Livre d Orgue showed off varying ensembles with great panache. The Duo so often heard on some sort of reed-en-chamade, made a great transition to the full-throated sounds of a Steere & Turner Trumpet. After such French fun, the seriousness of the Prelude and Fugue in A minor by Charles Wesley was a sharp contrast. A flowchart for the family tree of the Wesley family is sometimes needed to keep proper track of all the hymns, writings, and compositions by this family one of the pillars in Methodism. Charles Wesley was the nephew of the founder of Methodism, John Wesley, and the son of another Charles, the one who wrote around 6,500 hymns. Keeping it all in the family, we next heard a work by Charles brother Samuel, his Fugue in B minor. The high esteem for J. S. Bach is obvious in the works of Samuel Wesley, for he was responsible for one of the first English editions of Bach s Well- Tempered Clavier. Two works by Samuel s son, Samuel Sebastian Wesley, concluded the first half of the afternoon s program: his beautiful Larghetto in F-sharp minor and famous Choral Song and Fugue. The second half of the program paid homage to Robert Schumann, one of the giants of German Romanticism who left us with Four Sketches, Six Canons, and Six Fugues on B-A-C-H written for the pedal-piano. The pianistic style found in all of these works is part of their charm when they are easily transferred to the organ. The Sketch in F minor, and Sketch in D-flat major from Four Sketches danced away on the principal chorus and flutes, respectively. Singing hymns accompanied by this instrument is always a joy. The Irish melody St. Columba that we were about to sing to the text The King of Love My Shepherd Is was beautifully prepared by the Irish English Romantic composer Charles Villiers Stanford. His charming setting of this melody in Opus 101, Six Short Prelude and Postludes, Set One, alternates the chorale melody between flutes on the Great and strings on the Swell. The afternoon concluded with a royal romp and bit of British flair, the 1948 Flourish For An Occasion by the former organist of St. George s Chapel, Windsor, Sir William Henry Harris. I m sure Mim was happy to know that the majestic sounds of the Steere & Turner that she had so lovingly cared for had once again inspired those of us who were there. NOVEMBER ORGAN RECITAL AT LAKE VIEW PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN CHICAGO A Recital by Thomas Gouwens: A Review BY DEREK NICKELS The November Organ Recital at Lake View Presbyterian Church by Thomas Gouwens on Sunday, November 21, 2004, provided a welcome escape from the cold winds whipping around outside. Thomas Gouwens is the Associate Organist at the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago and an adjunct faculty member of the College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. Dr. Gouwens earned a Bachelor of Music degree with majors in Organ and Piano Performance at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, and a Master of Music degree in Organ performance from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he studied with Robert Glasgow. For several years he participated in the International 7

8 Summer Academy for Organists in Haarlem, the Netherlands. Dr. Gouwens completed a Doctor of Musical Arts degree with honors in Organ Performance at the University of Kansas in 1997 as a student of James Higdon and Michael Bauer. He also completed the coursework for an additional major in Church Music at the University of Kansas. Dr. Gouwens is the current Dean of the Chicago Chapter of the American Guild of Organists and has served as Dean of the Holland Area and Lakeshore (Michigan) Chapters. The Lyon & Healy organ in Lake View Presbyterian Church was installed in 1898 as the company s opus 29 (factory number 1263). The organ is fully described in The Stopt Diapason, whole issue 79, Spring 2003, pages 12 through 15. The afternoon s recital began with the Toccata Undecima from Georg Muffat s most memorable work, the Apparatus music-organisticus of This work is a fascinating collection of twelve toccatas and an additional Ciacona and Passacaglia by this Austrian composer. Each of the toccatas contains several movements of varying meters, textures, and motives in the very free and improvisatory Italianate style. These pieces use very little pedal and are unfortunately neglected. It was a treat to hear something different and fresh. The English composer William Boyce is best known for his Ten Voluntaries for Organ or Harpsichord that was published after his death in Most of his voluntaries call for a trumpet or cornet stop to be used as a solo. This first example gave a chance to hear the Trumpet on the Great. Three of the six Schübler Chorales provided a glimpse of Bach in miniature. These chorale preludes are not really chorale preludes at all but transcriptions of movements from Bach s cantatas. The brevity, clarity and sparse texture of these six pieces make them effective pieces to showcase individual stops. Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 649, and its busy left-hand part for piccolo cello came off beautifully on the 8, 4, and 2 flutes on the Choir. Meine Seele erhebt den Herren, BWV 648, and Kommst du nun, Jesu, vom Himmel herunter, BWV 650, contrasted each other nicely with bright combinations of flutes. Felix Mendelssohn s Sonata in A major, Opus 65, Number 3, had great presence in this room. The central fugato section was framed by two sections of full organ. The concluding second movement seems to cry for a celeste of some sort. The absence of such a stop on the Lyon & Healy wasn t really missed the tremolo on the Swell provided the appropriate shimmer. Louis Vierne s Stèle pour an enfant défunt from his Triptyque, Opus 58, gave a great chance to hear the Doppel Flote on the Great, a beautiful double-mouthed stop. The softer flues on the Swell and Choir also provided the appropriate support. This piece was written as a Memorial for a Dead Child. Such a piece was effectively followed by Marcel Dupré s Cortège et Litanie. The haunting simplicity of the opening Cortège gradually melts away to a heroic conclusion on full organ. The crowd of people that attended was enthusiastic in their response. CHICAGO-MIDWEST CHAPTER NOMINATING COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES SLATE FOR CHAPTER BOARD OF DIRECTORS At the September meeting, Board of Directors of the Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the Organ Historical Society created the Nominating Committee to formulate the slate of officers of the Chapter for the term, according to By-laws. The Nominating Committee consists of: Robert E. Woodworth, Jr. (Chair), Eugene Mudra, and Louis Playford. The slate is as follows: President: Robert E. Woodworth, Jr. Secretary: Derek E. Nickels Treasurer: Susan Werner Friesen Board Members at-large (choose four): Br. Benjamin S. Basile, C.PP.S., James Russell Brown, Daniel Driscoll, Stephen J. Schnurr, Jr. All Chapter members are reminded of the following from By-laws: Additional nominations for Office may be made by petitions from the General Membership signed by no fewer than five Voting Members of the Chapter in good standing. Such petitions are to be mailed immediately to the Chair of the Nominating Committee, Robert E. Woodworth, Jr. Biographical information for the above candidates and a ballot will be mailed to Voting Members of record along with the next issue of The Stopt Diapason. Further, from the By-laws: Completed ballots shall be mailed by the Voting Members to a designated person. Ballots held by Members of record at the time of the mailing may also be cast directly at the Annual Meeting. Ballots will be distributed in no other manner and will not be available at the Annual Meeting. Ballots received after the Annual Meeting of the Chapter will be invalid. Tellers, appointed by the President, will rank the candidates for each office in numerical order according to the votes received. The ballots shall then be destroyed, and the number of votes cast for each candidate shall not be revealed. A plurality of votes cast shall be sufficient for election. 8

9 ORGAN NEWS COMPILED BY STEPHEN SCHNURR The Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago has announced the reorganization of ten West Side parishes into four worship sites, to take place by July 1, Spared from closure is the Basilica of Our Lady of Sorrows, 3121 West Jackson Boulevard, in the Garfield Park neighborhood. Chapter members are well-acquainted with the Basilica s 1902 Lyon & Healy (opus 90, factory number 1342), featured at both the 1984 and 2002 National Conventions of the Organ Historical Society and described in The Stopt Diapason, whole issue 54, pages 12 through 15. Also spared is Saint Malachy Catholic Church, 2251 West Washington Boulevard, which will be the worship center for the Near West Side. Saint Malachy houses a Kilgen & Son organ, opus 4518, installed in 1930 as a two-manual organ, and enlarged in 1931 as opus 4632, a three-manual organ. The Austin neighborhood will continue to be served by Saint Martin de Porres Catholic Church, housed in the former Saint Thomas Aquinas Church, 5112 West Washington Boulevard. This building has housed a 1934 Kilgen & Son, opus 5287, an organ some have thought to have been built originally for the Swiss Pavilion of the 1933 World s Fair in Chicago. This organ is described below. Finally, Saint Agatha Catholic Church, 3147 West Douglas Boulevard, will be the worship site for the North Lawndale neighborhood. This building is known to have housed 1925 Kilgen & Son opus Saint Malachy Church was founded in On July 3, some 250 men and boys gathered and erected the first frame church building within seven hours. The cornerstone of a permanent church, designed by James R. Willett, was laid on September 10, 1882, a Gothic building located at the southeast corner of Walnut Street and Western Avenue. For the dedication ceremony on December 21, 1884, the Reverend Thomas Pope Hodnett, in an unusual move for that era, invited pastors of neighboring Protestant congregations to attend the ceremony. In the late 1920 s, the city of Chicago commenced a project to widen Western Avenue which necessitated demolition of the 1884 church. Thus, in August of 1929, ground was broken for the present church, and the cornerstone of the old church was transferred to the new site on September 12, The Lombardian Renaissance building was dedicated on November 9, 1930, by George Cardinal Mundelein. The redbrick church with a Spanish tile roof featured a 120 bell tower. Members of the Chicago Civic Opera Company and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra participated in the dedication ceremony. Saint Martin de Porres was built between 1923 and 1925 as Saint Thomas Aquinas, an English Tudor Gothic building seating 900 persons and designed by Karl M. Vitzthum, a parishioner. That parish was founded in 1909 to serve Irish Catholics in the neighborhood. It was initially known as Blessed Joan of Arc when construction of the first church began on October 1 of that year at Fifty-First Avenue (now Laramie Avenue) and Washington Boulevard. The brick combination church and school building was estimated to cost between $50,000 and $60,000. By the time of the building s dedication on September 11, 1910, the parish name had become Saint Thomas Aquinas. The twelve-story tower is the tallest structure in the Austin neighborhood. It has been noted that George Cardinal Mundelein objected to the height of the tower, after which the Pastor, the Reverend Daniel J. Luttrell dedicated the cornerstone without the presence of the Archbishop. Monsignor Luttrell passed away on December 13, 1924, before completion of the church, and his funeral was the first to take place in the recently roofed-over building. The glorious stained-glass windows in the church were imported from Munich. A magnificent terra cotta altar was the focal point of the sanctuary, crowned by a thirty-foot bronze tower containing twenty statues, blessed on March 7, The Kilgen organ was dedicated on January 27, 1935, during a concert. In the parish s heyday, membership exceeded 2,000 families. Saint Agatha Catholic Church was built at the southeast corner of Douglas Boulevard and Kinzey Avenue between 1903 and 1906 to the designs of Chicago s Egan & Prindeville, in the French Romanesque and Byzantine style, seating some 650 persons, according to Chicago Churches and Synagogues. The parish was founded in 1893 for Irish Catholics in the Lawndale neighborhood, near Douglas Park. The present property was acquired at a cost of $18,000. A modest, one-story church building was in use on December 3, This building, designed by Martin A. Carr, was dedicated on September 1, After the turn of the twentieth century, additional lots were purchased for the growing congregation at a cost of $12,523. Ground was broken for the present church in October of 1903, with the cornerstone laid on June 26, The rusticated brownstone building costing $125,000 reflects the Celtic heritage in its ornamentation. The church was dedicated on May 27, 1906, during ceremonies by Archbishops James E. Quigley of Chicago and John Glennon of Saint Louis. At that time, some five-hundred families belonged to the parish. The interior features wood furnishings in black oak and is lit by windows by F. X. Zettler of Munich, Germany. Church buildings to be closed include Precious Blood Catholic Church, 2411 West Congress Parkway, which appears to have housed a 1923 W. W. Kimball of two-manuals. Saint Angela Catholic Church, 5758 West Potomac Avenue, will close, as will Our Lady, Help of Christians, 832 North LeClaire Avenue, both in the Austin neighborhood. It is not known what organs would have been in Saint Angela Church. A 1953 Kilgen Organ Company instrument is described below for Our Lady, Help of Christians Church. Closure also effects three North Lawndale churches: Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 2153 South Millard Avenue, reported by Michael Friesen to have had an electric-action Hinners organ; Presentation Catholic Church, 734 South Springfield Avenue, which housed a 1912 South Haven, 9

10 Michigan, Casavant organ, opus 5, a two-manual, twenty-two rank, thirty stop organ of tubular-pneumatic action; and Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, 1444 South Keeler Avenue, believed to have housed 1932 Wicks opus 1121, a twomanual, nine-rank organ. Precious Blood Church, West Congress Parkway and South Western Avenue, was organized on July 1, 1907, to serve English-speaking Catholics. The present site was acquired soon thereafter, and ground was broken for the present three-story combination church and school building on October 1. Archbishop James E. Quigley dedicated the building, designed by William F. Gubbins, on March 15, The church portion of the structure was designed to be converted into school rooms if needed, which never happened. In 1930, widening of Western Avenue caused the building to be moved eighteen feet west. The building is visible immediately fronting the Eisenhower Expressway. Saint Angela Church, at the northwest corner of West Potomac and Massassoit Avenues, was founded in July of 1916 with a membership of twenty-five families. By November, the first church was completed at Potomac and Menard Avenues. On April 28, 1949, ground was broken for the present church at a time when the parish had 7,000 persons on the roster. The Gothic building costing $750,000 was designed by Chicago s Joe W. McCarthy. The first Mass in the church was celebrated on December 23, Samuel Cardinal Stritch dedicated the church on May 18, Thirty-six stained-glass windows were installed by Chicago s Giannini and Hilgart, each measuring thirty feet in height and fourteen in width. Windows depicting the sacraments include images of Cardinal Stritch, the auxiliary bishops of Chicago, and the five priests stationed at the parish at that time. Our Lady, Help of Christians Church, West Austin, was founded from Saint Catherine of Sienna Church, then of Chicago, now of Oak Park. In 1901, the Reverend Louis A. Campbell, pastor of Saint Catherine, caused a frame church to be built for what would become Our Lady s Church at Iowa Street and Leamington Avenue. The parish was granted independent status in September of For the first few weeks, the parish was named Our Lady of Mercy. The Church was blessed on December 8, 1901, by Auxiliary Bishop Peter J. Muldoon. The pressed brick building seated 500 persons. By 1907, a new combination school and church building was erected at 849 North Leamington Avenue. This building housed a two-manual Hinners Organ Company instrument, contracted for in 1919, according to The Diapason. The present church was built in 1926 and 1927, with the cornerstone laid on August 8, 1926, by Auxiliary Bishop Edward F. Hoban. Gerald A. Barry designed by Italian Renaissance style building at the southwest corner of Iowa Street and LeClaire Avenue. George Cardinal Mundelein dedicated the building on November 13, The sanctuary was remodeled in Blessed Sacrament Church, West Cermak Road and South Central Park Avenue, was founded in 1884 as a mission to Catholics, mostly Irish, in the village of Lawndale, a suburb which was developed after the Great Fire of October The parish was initially attended by priests from Saint Pius Church, then at South Paulina and West Eighteenth Streets. The first church of brick was commenced in July of 1890 at the present site. The basement of the structure was in use for Christmas Day, The upper level was completed in The church was dedicated on December 13, 1891, by Archbishop Patrick A. Feehan. An addition was made to the church in 1903, whereupon the church was known as the church with the crooked aisle, as the center aisle curved at the point where the addition joined the original building. The final Mass in this building occurred on April 18, The present church was opened for Mass on Christmas Day The building seats 900 persons and was designed by McCarthy, Smith & Eppig of Chicago. Dedication of the Romanesque structure occurred on May 1, 1938, presided over by George Cardinal Mundelein. Construction costs were $206,000. Presentation Church was built between 1902 and 1909 to the designs of William F. Gubbins, architect of Precious Blood Church, in the Spanish Renaissance style and seating six-hundred persons. The parish was established on August 2, 1898, to serve Irish Catholic families. On September 8, ground was broken for a two-story combination church and school building, with the cornerstone laid on October 2. This original building was designed by Martin A. Carr in the Spanish Renaissance style, like the later church, and was dedicated on February 12, Ground for the present church was broken on October 19, The cornerstone was laid on April 26 of the following year. The lower level of the building was dedicated on August 2, and remained as the primary worship site for six years, until the upper church was complete. Work resumed on the upper structure on April 19, 1909, and the church was dedicated on August 15 of that year by Archbishop James E. Quigley. The debt for the building was retired in The Reverend George Lane, in Chicago Churches and Synagogues, notes that the façade was among the most ornate in Chicago and was of cut limestone with twin bell towers with copper-domed cupolas. Stained-glass works by the Munich studio of Chicago illuminated reproductions of artworks of Raphael, Murillo, and others. The church building had been closed in the 1980 s due to structural problems, and the congregation has been worshiping in converted facilities elsewhere on the campus. The parish boasted a membership of 1,300 families in the early 1920 s. Our Lady of Lourdes Church, one of two parishes of this name in the city, was founded in 1892 to serve Bohemian Catholics. Land had been acquired in the Marigold subdivision three years earlier for this purpose. Until 1896, the parish was attended from nearby Saint Procopius Church by the Reverend John Nepomucene Jaeger, OSB. A frame church was constructed at a cost of $6,000 and dedicated on October 23, 1892, by the Reverend D. M. J. Dowling, Vicar 10

11 General of the Archdiocese. Ground was broken for the present church on September 28, 1931, at the northwest corner of South Keeler Avenue and West Fifteenth Street. The cornerstone of the Romanesque style church was laid on November 8, The final Mass in the old church was held on June 18, The 1910 Weickhardt organ, purchased for $1,600, was rebuilt by Wicks for the new church. Bishop Louis B. Kucera of Lincoln, Nebraska, dedicated the church designed by Louis Guenzel on September 25, The building cost $73,000. The old church was converted into a convent and later a parish hall; it was demolished in The Czech language was spoken in the parish until In the late 1950 s and early 1960 s, the parish lost its Czech identity as new African-American families moved into the parish. Construction of the Eisenhower Expressway further changed the demographics of the neighborhood. According to The Stopt Diapason, whole issue 24, December 1983, volume 4, number 6, pages 28-34, the organ of the former Saint Thomas Aquinas Church now Saint Martin de Porres Church may or may not have come from the 1933 Chicago World s Fair. In any case, the church ordered a three-manual organ from Kilgen in 1934, to be installed in two divided chambers fronted by grilles in the choir gallery at the rear of the nave. The specification of the organ does differ from that at the World s Fair. A stop-key console was provided. Installation was to take place in December. A 7-1/2 horsepower Spencer Orgoblo was provided. Manual compass is the standard 61 notes (C-C); pedal compass is 32 notes (C-G). Specification of 1934 Geo. Kilgen & Son opus 5287: GREAT ORGAN (Manual II Enclosed with Choir, Swell (continued) 8 wind pressure) Swell Unison Off 8 Open Diapason (73 pipes) Swell to Swell 4 8 Flute Harmonique (73 pipes) 8 Gemshorn (73 pipes) CHOIR ORGAN (Manual I Enclosed with Great, 4 Octave (73 pipes) 6 wind pressure) 4 Flute Harmonique (73 pipes) 8 Open Diapason (73 pipes) 8 Tromba (85 pipes) 8 Melodia (73 pipes) Chimes (prepared) 8 Dulciana (73 pipes) Great to Great 16 4 Flute d Amour (73 pipes) Great Unison Off 8 Clarinet (73 pipes) Great to Great 4 Tremolo Swell to Great 16 Chimes (from Great, Chimes) Swell to Great 8 Choir to Choir 16 Swell to Great 4 Choir Unison Off Choir to Great 16 Choir to Choir 4 Choir to Great 8 Swell to Choir 8 Choir to Great 4 PEDAL SWELL ORGAN (Manual III Enclosed, 7 wind 16 Open Diapason (44 pipes) pressure) 16 Bourdon (44 pipes) 8 Geigen Principal (73 pipes) 16 Lieblich Gedeckt (extension, Swell 8 Gedeckt) 8 Gedeckt (85 pipes) 8 Octave (extension, 16 Open Diapason) 8 Viola da Gamba (73 pipes) 8 Flute (extension, 16 Bourdon) 8 Voix Celeste (from tenor C 61 pipes?) 8 Still Gedeckt (from Swell, 8 Gedeckt) 4 Flute Trave [sic] (73 pipes) 16 Trombone (extension, Great 8 Tromba) III Mixture (12 th, 15 th, 19 th 183 pipes) Great to Pedal 8 8 Oboe (73 pipes) Great to Pedal 4 Tremolo Swell to Pedal 8 Swell to Swell 16 Swell to Pedal 4 Choir to Pedal 8 ACCESSORIES 4 General pistons (thumb, above Manual III) 4 Great pistons (thumb, below Manual II) 4 Swell pistons (thumb, below Manual III) 4 Choir pistons (thumb, below Manual I) General Cancel (thumb, below Manual I) Great cancel bar Swell cancel bar Choir cancel bar Pedal cancel bar Great to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe) 11

12 Accessories (continued) Swell expression shoe Crescendo shoe (with indicator light) Wind and Current indicator light Great and Choir expression shoe Sforzando reversible (toe, with indicator light) The April 1, 1953, issue of The Diapason included an announcement of an organ then under construction for Our Lady, Help of Christians Church. The main portions of this three-manual instrument were placed in divided chambers in the choir gallery at the rear of the nave, with an antiphonal division in a chamber behind the high altar of the church. A second two-manual console was provided in the basement for a chapel and community hall organ. Louvered openings were provided for the antiphonal organ in both the church and basement for this purpose. Installation was scheduled for Autumn. Two Spencer Orgoblo s were provided, one of five horsepower for the main organ, one of one-and-one-half horsepower for the Antiphonal division. Specification of 1953 Kilgen Organ Company organ, church console: GREAT ORGAN (expressive in Chamber I) Antiphonal Organ (continued) 8 Diapason (61 pipes) 8 Concert Flute (85 pipes) 8 Hohl Flöte (61 pipes) 8 Salicional (85 pipes) 8 Dulciana (61 pipes) 8 Voix Celeste (from tenor C 61 pipes) 4 Principal (61 pipes) 4 Octave (73 pipes) 4 Koppelflöte (61 pipes) 4 Flauto Amabile (73 pipes) 2-2/3 Twelfth (61 pipes) III Mixture (183 pipes) 2 Fifteenth (61 pipes) 8 Trumpet (73 pipes) SWELL ORGAN (expressive in Chamber II) PEDAL ORGAN (expressive with Manuals) 16 Rohr Bourdon (85 pipes) 32 Resultant 8 Geigen Diapason (73 pipes) 16 Major Bass (32 pipes) 8 Rohrflöte (extension, 16 Rohr Bourdon) 16 Bourdon (56 pipes) 8 Viole de Gambe (73 pipes) 16 Contra Salicional (extension, Antiphonal, 8 8 Viole Celeste (from tenor C 61 pipes) Salicional) 4 Flute Harmonic (73 pipes) 16 Rohr Bourdon (from Swell, 16 Rohr Bourdon) 2-2/3 Nazard (61 pipes) 8 Octave (44 pipes) 2 Flautino (61 pipes) 8 Bass Flute (extension, 16 Bourdon) III Plein Jeu (183 pipes) 8 Cello (from Antiphonal, 8 Salicional) 8 Trompette (73 pipes) 8 Rohrflöte (from Swell, 16 Rohr Bourdon) 8 Oboe (85 pipes) 4 Super Octave (extension, 8 Octave) Tremolo 4 Block Flöte (extension, 16 Bourdon) 16 Trombone (extension, Swell, 8 Trompette) ANTIPHONAL ORGAN (enclosed in Chamber III) 8 Trompette (from Swell, 8 Trompette) 8 Principal (73 pipes) Specification of 1953 Kilgen Organ Company organ, basement console: GREAT Swell (continued) 8 Principal (73 notes) 4 Salicet (extension, 8 Salicional) 8 Concert Flute (73 notes) 4 Flauto Amabile (73 notes) 4 Octave (73 notes) III Mixture (from Antiphonal, III Mixture) 4 Fern Flöte (extension, 8 Concert Flute) 8 Trumpet (73 notes) 2-2/3 Quint (extension, 4 Octave) 2 Super Octave (extension, 4 Octave) PEDAL 16 Contra Salicional (32 notes) SWELL 8 Cello (32 notes) 8 Concert Flute (73 notes) 8 Bass Flute (from Antiphonal, 8 Concert Flute 8 Salicional (73 notes) 32 notes) 8 Voix Celeste (from tenor C 61 notes) 4 Flute (from Antiphonal, 4 Flauto Amabile 32 notes) 12

13 Pedal (continued) 8 Trumpet (32 notes) Information for this article was gathered from Four Catholic centers goal: boost West Side presence, by Michelle Martin, in The Catholic New World, September 26-October 9, 2004, pages 1 and 27; The Organs of the United States and Canada Database, compiled by George Nelson, Seattle, Washington; Chicago Churches and Synagogues: An Architectural Pilgrimage, by the Reverend George A. Lane, SJ, Loyola University Press, Chicago, 1980, pages and ; A History of the Parishes of the Archdiocese of Chicago, edited by the Reverend Monsignor Harry C. Koenig, STD, Archdiocese of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 1980, volume 1, pages 24-27, 64-66, , , , , , volume 2, pages ; Casavant South Haven opus list, compiled by Michael Friesen for 1995 Michigan National Convention of the Organ Historical Society; The Diapason, February 1, 1919, page 1, Kilgen for Chicago Church, April 1, 1930, page 33, April 1, 1953, page 3; Organs, Organists, and Organ Music at the 1933 Chicago World s Fair, by Michael Friesen, in The Stopt Diapason, whole issue 24, December 1983, volume 4, number 6, pages 21, Above, views of Holy Cross/Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church: left, a vintage postcard view of the exterior, from the collection of the author; right, a view of the interior of the church from the lower gallery. Photograph by the author. HOLY CROSS/IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY CATHOLIC CHURCH, West Forty-Sixth Street and South Hermitage Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, recently commissioned the Bradford Organ Company of Chicago to carry out restorative repairs to its 1915 Tellers-Sommerhoff organ. The parish is the result of the merger of the former Holy Cross and Immaculate Heart of Mary parishes. Holy Cross Church was founded in 1904 to serve Lithuanians who had settled in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. Efforts to organize a parish were begun as early as 1902, at the instigation of the Saint Vincent Ferrer Lithuanian Benevolent Society. The Society purchased the property for the parish on February 1, 1904, and the Reverend Alexander Skrypko was appointed the first pastor on June 30 of that year, a pastorate he would hold for thirtyseven years. The cornerstone of a combination church and school building was laid on December 18. Mass was first celebrated in the building on May 5, 1905, and the church was dedicated by Archbishop James E. Quigley on November 12. The architect was John Flizikowski. 13

14 Work on the present church of brick with limestone trim began in July of 1913, with the cornerstone laid on October 26. The edifice of brick with imposing twin towers was designed by Joseph Molitor and cost an estimated $200,000. On September 26, 1915, Auxiliary Bishop Alexander J. McGavick dedicated the new church of Romanesque influence. 1,400 persons can be accommodated in the solid oak pews. More than 2,000 electric light bulbs illuminate the interior, in addition to an array of colorful stained-glass windows, installed in the mid-1940 s by Chicago s Arthur Michaudel. Much of the interior painting was executed in the 1950 s by Adolph Valeska, a Lithuanian artist. (Immaculate Heart of Mary Vicariate, formerly located at South Ashland Avenue and West Forty-Fifth Street, was established on September 10, 1947, to serve Mexican Catholics in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. However, Claretian priests, which staffed the effort, had begun their ministry in the area a decade earlier. It would be March 5, 1944, before property was purchased and a permanent worship site was opened for use. Four storefront buildings had been purchased along Ashland Avenue and converted for religious use. Previously rented space was known as Our Lady of Guadalupe Chapel, but the Ashland Avenue site became known as Immaculate Heart of Mary. The building was dedicated by Samuel Cardinal Stritch on December 30, There is no pipe organ of record for this community.) The rear of Holy Cross church features two galleries, with the only organ of record for this parish in the upper gallery. Originally, the Tellers-Sommerhoff organ was of tubular-pneumatic action, with the console of the organ adjacent to the façade. Manual compass was the standard 61 notes (C-C); pedal compass was 30 notes (C-F). At a later time, the organ was electrified, a new supply-house console was provided to control the organ from the lower gallery, and the Choir division was added in a small chamber built to the North side of the upper gallery. (Dummy façades were added at each side of the central case.) It is unknown who carried out this work. Several decades ago, the organ fell silent and remained unused until the recent work. In November of 2004, many Chicago-area Lithuanians returned to the church to celebrate the centennial of the founding of Holy Cross, at which time the organ was played for the first time in many years. Present specification of 1915 Tellers-Sommerhoff organ: GREAT (Manual II) Swell (continued) 16 Open Diapason 8 Vox Humana 8 Open Diapason Tremolo 8 Grosse Flute (stopped wood, 24 open metal trebles) Swell to Swell 16 8 Clarabella (open wood) Swell Unison Off 8 Viol da Gamba Swell to Swell 4 8 Dulciana 4 Octave CHOIR (Manual I Enclosed, presently inoperable) 4 Flute d Amour 8 Flute III Mixture 8 Viola 8 Trumpet (12 open metal flue trebles) 8 Dolce Great Unison Off 8 Unda Maris Great to Great 4 1 blank tablet (probably 4 Flute) Swell to Great 16 8 English Horn (missing) Swell to Great 8 8 Clarinet (missing) Swell to Great 4 Tremolo Choir to Great 16 Choir to Choir 16 Choir to Great 8 Choir Unison Off Choir to Great 4 Choir to Choir 4 SWELL (Manual III Enclosed) PEDAL 16 Bourdon 16 Open Diapason (30 pipes) 8 Open Diapason 16 Bourdon (30 pipes) 8 Stopped Diapason 16 Violone (30 pipes) 8 Viol d Orchestre 16 Lieblich Gedeckt (30 pipes) 8 Vox Celeste (from tenor C) 8 Dolce Flute (open wood, 30 pipes) 8 Quintadena 8 Cello (metal, with beards 30 pipes) 8 Aeoline 16 Posaune (originally at 32 pitch, 12 basses removed) 4 Flute Traverso Great to Pedal 8 2 Flautino Swell to Pedal 8 8 Cornopean Choir to Pedal 8 8 Oboe 14

15 ACCESSORIES 4 General pistons and Cancel (thumb) 4 Great pistons and Cancel (thumb) 4 Swell pistons and Cancel (thumb) 4 Choir pistons and Cancel (thumb) General Cancel (thumb) Combination setter (thumb) Great to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe) Swell to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe) Choir to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe) Swell expression shoe Choir expression shoe Crescendo shoe (with indicator light) Sforzando Reversible (thumb and toe, with indicator light) Current indicator light MIXTURE COMPOSITION 15 th -19 th -22 nd, breaks back in top octave Information for this article was gathered from A History of the Parishes of the Archdiocese of Chicago, edited by the Reverend Monsignor Harry C. Koenig, STD, Archdiocese of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, 1980, volume 1, pages and , Chicago Churches and Synagogues: An Architectural Pilgrimage, by the Reverend George A. Lane, SJ, Loyola University Press, Chicago, 1981, page 134, and through onsite visit with Walter Bradford of the Bradford Organ Company. Above: the nave of Holy Cross/Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church, facing the choir galleries and organ. Photograph by the author. THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, River Forest, Illinois, has finished a project of significant and unsympathetic alteration to its former Skinner organ. Skinner Organ Company opus 641 was dedicated in recital on January 30, 1928, part of a $300,000 project for a then-new church campus. An overflow crowd attended a program by Herbert Hyde of Saint Luke Episcopal Church, Evanston, and Skinner firm representative, Miss Ruth Broughton, assistant organist of the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago, and Eric DeLamarter, organist of Fourth Church. Hyde opened the program with: Prelude and Fugue (B-flat major) and Bourree, Third Violoncello Suite, Bach; The Guardian Angel, Pierne; Govotta, Martini; Lullaby (manuscript), Hyde; and Caprice Heroique, Bonnet. Miss Broughton continued with: Allegro ma non troppo, Borowski; Fountain Reverie, Fletcher; Fanfare in D, Lemmens; Song Without Words, Bonnet; and Chorale, Now Thank We All Our God, Karg-Elert. Mr. DeLamarter concluded the evening with: Prelude, Clerambault; Spring Song, Bonnet; Carillon and Minuet, DeLamarter; Le Bonheur, Hyde. The memorial organ of thirty-six ranks (plus three preparations) cost some $20,000, supplemented by funds from the women s group of the church and from the building fund. The organ committee consisted of: Mrs. George Harvey Jones, congregant and an organist, Miss Broughton, and R. Lee Osburn. An unspecified Echo division was provided for at the console, with a chamber in a gallery at the rear of the nave. 15

16 Original specification of 1927 Skinner opus 641: GREAT ORGAN (Manual II) CHOIR ORGAN (Manual I Enclosed) 8 Open Diapason (61 pipes) 8 Concert Flute (73 pipes) 8 Waldflöte (61 pipes) 8 Kleine Erzähler (2 ranks 134 pipes) 8 Erzähler (61 pipes) 8 Gamba (73 pipes) 4 Octave (61 pipes) 4 Flute Harmonique (73 pipes) 4 Flute (61 pipes) 2 Piccolo (73 pipes) 8 Tromba (61 pipes) 8 Clarinet (73 pipes) Chimes (from Choir, Chimes) 8 French Horn (73 pipes) 8 Flügel Horn (73 pipes) SWELL ORGAN (Manual III Enclosed) Harp (61 bars) 16 Bourdon (73 pipes) Celesta (from Harp) 8 Open Diapason (73 pipes) Chimes (25 tubes) 8 Salicional (73 pipes) Tremolo 8 Voix Celeste (73 pipes) 8 Aeoline (73 pipes) PEDAL ORGAN 8 Flute Celeste (2 ranks 134 pipes) 16 Major Bass (44 pipes) 4 Octave (73 pipes) 16 Bourdon (44 pipes) 4 Flute Triangulaire (73 pipes) 16 Violone (44 pipes) 2 Flautino (61 pipes) 16 Echo Lieblich (from Swell, 16 Bourdon) III Mixture (183 pipes) 8 Octave (extension, 16 Major Bass) 16 Waldhorn (73 pipes) 8 Gedeckt (extension, 16 Bourdon) 8 Cornopean (73 pipes) 8 Still Gedeckt (from Swell, 16 Bourdon) 8 Oboe (73 pipes) 8 Cello (extension, 16 Violone) 4 Clarion (73 pipes) 16 Waldhorn (from Swell, 16 Waldhorn) 8 Vox Humana (73 pipes) 8 Tromba (from Swell, 16 Waldhorn) Tremolo Chimes (from Choir, Chimes) In the 1960 s, the organ experienced the addition of some ranks to the Great division. In the ensuing years, some additional alterations were made to the Great and Pedal divisions. In the present project, the original Skinner console has been completely replaced, a Gallery division was added in the space provided for the Echo, more Great pipework was replaced, and some ninety-eight electronic substitute voices were added. Information for this article was gathered from River Forest People Welcome New Organ, The Diapason, March 1, 1928, page 44, and Skinner Plus Ruffatti Plus Rodgers Plus Walker, The Console Crier, October 2004, page 1. Above: left, a vintage postcard view of Saint Paul Episcopal Church, Chicago, which housed 1915 Austin opus 579 of four manuals, burned in 1956, from the author s collection; right, the recently-renovated interior of Saint Paul and the Redeemer Episcopal Church. Photograph by the author. 16

17 While the primary mission of this journal is to present research on historic organs in the Chicago metropolitan region, we take note of three important installations of mechanical action organs, finished in Two of these instruments are to be found in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. Each remarkable instrument is the first by its builder in this region. Above, views of the Pasi organ in Saint Paul and the Redeemer Episcopal Church, Chicago. Photographs by the author. SAINT PAUL AND THE REDEEMER EPISCOPAL CHURCH, South Dorchester Avenue and East Fiftieth Street, Chicago, Illinois, has finished installation of its new Pasi Organ Builders, Inc., instrument. Opus 15 replaces M. P. Möller opus 8516, visited by this Chapter during its Spring Organ Crawl with the Chicago Chapter of the American Guild of Organists on Saturday, March 24, The earlier organs of Saint Paul Church and Redeemer Church are fully described in The Stopt Diapason, whole issue 70, Winter , pages A recent renovation project by the congregation has resulted in this important acquisition, the first organ in the Chicago region by the Seattle, Washington, firm of Pasi. The organ features mechanical key and electric stop action and was first used on Maundy Thursday, April 8, A dedicatory recital was presented by Douglas Cleveland on October 1, Manual compass is 58 notes (C-A); pedal compass is 30 notes (C-F). Specification of 2004 Pasi Organ Builders, Inc., opus 15: GREAT (Manual I) SWELL (Manual II Enclosed) 16 Bourdon 8 Bourdon 8 Principal 8 Viola 8 Rohrfloete 8 Celeste (from tenor C) 4 Octave 4 Principal 4 Spitzfloete 4 Rohrfloete 3 Quinte 3 Quint 2 Octave 2 Gemshorn IV Mixture (1-1/3 ) 1-3/5 Tierce 8 Trumpet IV Mixture (1 ) 8 Chamade (from middle C) 16 Dulcian 17

18 Swell (continued) Pedal (continued) 8 Oboe 8 Octave (from Great, 8 Octave) 4 Octave PEDAL 16 Posaune 16 Praestant 8 Trumpet (from Great, 8 Trumpet) 16 Subbass COUPLERS Great to Pedal Swell to Pedal Swell to Great ACCESSORIES Tremulant (affects entire organ) 12 General pistons (thumb and toe) 6 Great pistons (thumb) 6 Swell pistons (thumb) 6 Pedal pistons (toe) General Cancel (thumb) Great to Pedal reversible (toe) Swell to Pedal reversible (toe) Tremulant reversible (toe) Zimbelstern reversible (toe) Swell expression shoe 96 levels of General piston memory 12 levels of divisional piston memory Combination setter button (thumb) Sequencer (up/down) THE LUTHERAN SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY AT CHICAGO, East Fifty-Fifth Street and South University Avenue, has recently completed renovation of space now known as Augustana Chapel. Many windows look out upon busy Fifty-Fifth Street on one side and a peaceful courtyard on the other. There are, in addition, stained-glass windows crafted by the Lyn C. Hovey studios of Boston, Massachusetts. The two-manual, thirty-one rank organ by M. L. Bigelow & Co. of American Fork, Utah, was dedicated in early November of Manual compass is 58 notes (C-A); pedal compass is 30 notes (C-F). Key action is suspended mechanical, save for the Pedal Praestant/Octave, which is electro-pneumatic, and for electric pulldowns for the first twenty-four notes of the Great 16 Bourdon. The Bigelow organ replaces a Martin Ott mechanical-action organ of onemanual, which had been built for Christ Seminary-Seminex of Saint Louis, Missouri, and transferred to Chicago in The Ott organ has now been moved to the worldwide headquarters of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Chicago. Specification of 2004 M. L. Bigelow & Co. opus 31: GREAT (Manual I) Swell (continued) 16 Bourdon (1-24 from Pedal) 4 Open Flute 8 Præstant (zinc, tin, in façade) 2-2/3 Nazard 8 Chimney Flute (1-12 wood) 2 Conical Flute 8 Harmonic Flute (1-24 from Chimney Flute) 1-3/5 Tierce 4 Octave III Plein Jeu 4 Dolce Flute 16 Bass Clarinet (copper/metal) 2 Octave 8 Oboe (spotted metal) II Sesquialtera IV Mixture PEDAL 8 Trumpet (copper/metal) 16 Præstant (1-5 wood, 6-30 tin) 16 Bourdon (wood) SWELL (Manual II Enclosed) 8 Octave 8 Oak Gedackt 8 Bourdon (extension, 16 Bourdon) 8 Viola da Gamba (zinc, tin) 4 Octave (extension) 8 Voix Céleste (from tenor C, tin) 16 Posaune (1-12 wood, copper/metal) 4 Viol-Principal 8 Posaune (extension, 16 Posaune) COUPLERS Great to Pedal Swell to Pedal Swell to Great 18

19 ACCESSORIES Tremulant 8 General pistons (thumb and toe) 6 Great pistons (thumb) 6 Swell pistons (thumb) 6 Pedal pistons (toe) General Cancel (thumb) Great to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe) Swell to Pedal reversible (thumb and toe) Swell to Great reversible (thumb and toe) Tutti reversible (thumb and toe) Flexible Wind Bell Star reversible (toe) Swell expression shoe Sequencer (up/down, thumb and toe) Set (thumb) DEF (thumb) All next (thumb) Restore (thumb) 60 memory levels (up/down, with Clear, Lock, Copy, and Delete features) Views of the Bigelow organ in Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago s Augustana Chapel: above, left, the organ case; right, the left stopjamb; below, left, the Chapel interior; right, signatures inside the organ case. Photographs by the author. 19

20 Above: two views of the 2004 Paul Fritts organ in the newly-constructed DeBartolo Center on the campus of Notre Dame University. Photographs by the author. THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME, South Bend, Indiana, has acquired a new organ for its Chris and Anne Reyes Organ and Choral Hall in the newly-constructed $63.6 million Marie P. DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts, a building encompassing 150,000 square feet of floor space. The organ is a gift through a charitable remainder trust from the late Marjorie M. O'Malley. Mrs. O Malley and her late husband, Charles F., provided funding for the Holtkamp mechanicalaction organ installed in the rear gallery of the University s Basilica of the Sacred Heart in The DeBartolo Center also houses the 900-seat Judd and Mary Lou Leighton Concert Hall, the 350-seat Patricia George Decio Theatre, the 100-seat Regis Philbin Studio Theatre, and the 200-seat THX-equipped Browning Family Cinema. The organ of suspended-mechanical key and mechanical stop action was built by Paul Fritts & Co., of Tacoma, Washington, as opus 24. Situated in a gallery at the front of the hall, above a small stage, the organ has excellent tonal presence in a hall of fine acoustic. The façade pipes are of burnished tin. MANUAL I Specification of 2004 Paul Fritts & Co. opus 24: MANUAL II 16 Principal 8 Principal 8 Octave 8 Gedackt 8 Rohrflöte 8 Quintadena 8 Viol di Gamba 4 Octave 4 Octave 4 Rohrflöte 4 Spitzflöte 2 Octave 3 Quint 2 Waldflöte 2 Octave 1-1/3 Quinte III Nasat/Cornet (double-draw) II Quint/Sesquialtera (double-draw) IV-VI Mixture III-V Scharff 16 Trompet 16 Fagott 8 Trompet 8 Trichterregal 8 Baarpfeife 4 Schalmey 20

21 PEDAL Pedal (continued) 16 Principal* 16 Posaune 8 Octave 8 Trompet 4 Octave 4 Trompet 2 Nachthorn 2 Cornet* VI Mixture *Some pipes transmitted from other stops. COUPLERS Hauptwerk to Pedal Rückpositive to Pedal Rückpositive to Hauptwerk ACCESSORIES Variable Tremulant Wind Stabilizer Information for this article was gathered from onsite visits, University of Notre Dame press release, March 23, 2004, by Shannon Chapla, and builders websites. Below, more views of the Paul Fritts organ: left, the keydesk; right, the left stopjamb. Photographs by the author. The former Metropolitan Community Church building has been reopened by its new resident congregation, the Metropolitan Apostolic Community Church. As reported previously in The Stopt Diapason, the historic Richardsonian Romanesque structure at South Martin Luther King, Jr., Drive and East Forty-First Street was built as the Forty-First Street Presbyterian Church. This congregation later merged with the First Presbyterian Church, retaining the First Church name. When First Church moved to its present location in the Woodlawn neighborhood, the church on what was then known as Grand Boulevard was sold to the Metropolitan Community Church. In 2003, this congregation sold the building after lengthy court battles to the present congregation, founded at that time by members of Christ Apostolic Church and Metropolitan Community Church. Metropolitan Community Church has broken ground for a new structure at South Ellis Avenue and East Forty-Sixth Street. 21

22 1923 Skinner opus 348, a four-manual organ, remains in its original home on King Drive, though it is presently unplayable. The organ was visited by the Chapter during its Spring Organ Crawl with the Chicago Chapter of the American Guild of Organists on Saturday, March 28, 1928, and is fully described in The Stopt Diapason, whole issue 58, Winter , pages Above, Metropolitan Apostolic Community Church: left, the façade of the Skinner Organ; right, the four-manual console. Below, the First United Methodist Church of Oak Park, Illinois: left, the four-manual main console for the 1925 Skinner opus 528; center, the interior of the church; right, the two-manual console in the Chapel. Photographs by the author. THE FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, North Oak Park Avenue and Ontario Street, Oak Park, Illinois, is pleased to announce the forthcoming restoration project for the church s 1925 Skinner Organ Company instrument of four-manuals, forty-four ranks. The organ was installed in late 1925 and dedicated in February of Michael L. Shawgo, Music Director for the Church and Chapter Board member, reports that restoration of opus 528 will begin in January of The restoration will be made possible by a generous grant from the Joseph Bradley Charitable Foundation of Pennsylvania, along with funds provided by the congregation. Work will be carried out by the Spencer Organ Company of Waltham, Massachusetts, along with Chapter member Jeff Weiler of Chicago and Jonathan Ambrosino of Boston, Massachusetts, who will be responsible for pipework restoration and reinstallation. Expected completion date is May of 2006, in the year of the organ s eightieth anniversary. The organ was honored with a Historic Organ Citation (#269) by the Organ Historical Society on October 21, 2001, in the year of the organ s seventy-fifth anniversary. Further details will be forthcoming in a later issue of this journal. 22

23 THE AMERICAN ORGAN ARCHIVES OF THE ORGAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY ANNOUNCES THE ACQUISITION OF THE KARL HENRY BAKER COLLECTION OF BOOKS ON THE ORGAN SUBMITTED BY STEPHEN L. PINEL, ARCHIVIST The American Organ Archives of the Organ Historical Society is pleased to announce that it has acquired the Henry Karl Baker collection of books on the organ. Mr. Baker ( ) was an organist and schoolteacher living in Braintree, Massachusetts (formerly of Nashua, New Hampshire) and a life-long collector of books on the organ. For over fifty years he also operated the Organ Literature Foundation, a widely-used mail order source for organ books and recordings. The Baker collection contains over 1,250 books and six-hundred pamphlets on the organ, scores of folders with publicity material from many organbuilders, and dozens of foreign and domestic organ periodicals, some in complete runs. Primarily consisting of monographs and booklets in English, French, and German from the late nineteenth century to the present day, the collection also includes a number of books on theatre organs, electronic organs, and mechanical musical instruments. Virtually every important book on the organ published in the past century was in the Baker collection, as well as dozens of catalogues from organbuilders and many obscure organ pamphlets. The Baker collection contains one copy of every book sold by the Organ Literature Foundation and, as such, represents a unique historical record of what one industrious bookseller was able to offer to the organ world. The Baker family is presently winding up the business of the Organ Literature Foundation. Among the highlights of the collection are these titles: F. Bedos de Celles, L art du facteur d orgues ( ); J. Hess, Luister van het orgel (1772), J. van Heurn, De orgelmaaker (1804 5); J. Begg, A treatise on the use of organs (1808), D. Müller, Kurze Beschreibung der einzelnen Theile der Kirchenorgel (1848); M.-P. Hamel, Nouveau manuel complet du facteur d orgues (1849); J. Régnier, L orgue (1850 & 1862 editions); E. J. Hopkins & E. F. Rimbault, The organ (1855, 1870 & 1877 editions); The great organ in the Boston Music Hall (1866); F. H. Sutton, Some account of the mediœval organ case still existing at Old Radnor, South Wales (1866); Grand orgue de l église métropolitaine Notre- Dame de Paris reconstruit par M. A. Cavaillé-Coll (1868); A. G. Hill, The organ-cases and organs of the Middle Ages and Renaissance ( ); J. G. Töpfer, Die Theorie und Praxis des Orgelbaues (1888); G. A. Audsley, The art of organbuilding (1905; no. 33 of 250); and The Diapason (1909 to date; one of the few complete runs). Particularly noteworthy are the twenty books and published dedication reports from the late nineteenth century about the organs of A. Cavaillé- Coll and J. Merklin. These titles are uncommon and represent a valuable source of information on these important instruments. The Archives will add about five-hundred titles to its collection by this acquisition. A special bookplate noting the provenance of these books and pamphlets is being placed in each item added to the Archives. Stephen L. Pinel, Archivist of the Organ Historical Society, estimates that of these five-hundred titles, at least one hundred will be catalogued for the first time in an American library. To help defray the cost of the Baker collection, duplicate materials are being sold to private individuals and institutional collections, including the new Curzon Street Library of the Royal College of Organists and British Institute of Organ Studies in Birmingham, England. James L. Wallmann, a member of the Governing Board of the Archives, is preparing a catalogue of the Baker collection for publication by the Organ Historical Society. Michael Friesen, President of the OHS, said: The Baker collection is a tremendous addition to the American Organ Archives. Although the Archives is already the most complete collection of its kind in the world, many gaps were filled by this acquisition. Mr. Baker had one of the most remarkable collections in private hands, and we are grateful for the support of the members of the Organ Historical Society in making this acquisition possible. The Archives had previously purchased the Æolian Company organ contracts from Mr. Baker. The American Organ Archives is a closed stack, non-circulating collection of books, periodicals, and manuscripts on the organ housed in a special reading room at Talbott Library, Westminster Choir College, Rider University, Princeton, New Jersey. The collection has an international scope and contains over thirteen-thousand books and pamphlets about organs, organbuilding, organists, and organ music; 450 periodical titles, many in complete runs; fifteen-hundred sales brochures, catalogues, and promotional material from hundreds of organbuilders; manuscripts from and about American organbuilders; and other organ-related items. Additional information on the Archives and its sponsoring organization is available on the website of the Organ Historical Society ( The catalogue of the collection is available online at and through Rider University at library.rider.edu/about.html. 23

24 Christmas and New Year's Greetings to Each and Every One of You! Well, Turkey Day for 2004 is now history and I am sure that all of you are preparing for the usual and very busy season of music for Christmas and all of the other religious holidays at this time of year! I know that I am working on some very special programs for the season trying to wedge in the much needed practice time at the organ in between all of the holiday parties that I should (and/or really want to) attend. I hope that this New Year will bring all of your wishes and desires to fruition! Oh, the early and cold winds of October brought several Chapter Members together for our Annual Fall Crawl in and around the La Grange area. Many leaves had already fallen and this truly was a blustery day to gather, but warmth surrounded us as we heard a variety of music on a unique variety of organs in this western suburb of Chicago! We began the day at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, where Derek Nickels demonstrated the 1970 Casavant Organ to its fullest. Opening the program were several movements (Plein Jeu, Fugue, Tierce en Taille, and Basse de Trompette) of the DuMage Livre d'orgue. This was followed by the Bach chorale Kommst du nun, Jesu, von Himmel herunter. Owing to time considerations and the desire to show various registrations, Nickels played five of the Marcel Dupré Variations sur un Noël. Closing out his demonstration, Nickels chose the Choral of Joseph Jongen. Our thanks to Emmanuel Church and resident organist David Clark for hosting our first visit of the day. After a short and windy stroll across the street, our group arrived at the First Presbyterian Church of La Grange home of the 1962 Aeolian-Skinner Organ. Chapter member and resident organist Henry Sybrandy welcomed everyone by first demonstrating the 1981 Gerhard Brunzema organ in the front of the sanctuary. A series of variations by Böhm aptly demonstrated the many color combinations of this 4 rank organ. Retiring to the rear balcony, Sybrandy fully demonstrated the many and various stops of the Aeolian-Skinner before concluding his program with a Trumpet Tune by David Johnson. There was ample time for several chapter members to sit at the console and hear the lush sounds of this organ. Unfortunately because of snow and water damage 25 years ago, the historic Estey pipework that comprises the Chancel division of this organ is not playing. Ah, now is the time for our group to pick out a restaurant for lunch after perusing a list of restaurants in the area supplied by our own Julie Stephens, we finally decided on the appropriate listing of visiting Blueberry Hill. How wonderful this place was in being able to take on seating for our large group of organ enthusiasts! Now that we had finished our delightful lunch, our group headed south for one short block to the historic First Congregational Church of La Grange. Here in this present sanctuary of 1907 is housed a unique 1978 Van Daalen Organ. Situated in the center of the sanctuary is the very impressive case with a bronzed pipe façade and immediately in front of the case is the unusually large 2-manual console controlling the 32-stop and 47-rank organ. Chapter member Louis Playford began his demonstration with rousing hymn by Leonard Cooper Blanton Praise Ye, Praise Ye the Lord. Playford continued his program with Bruhns' Prelude in E Minor (The Little). Following this prelude were two chorales by Bach, Sanctify Us by Thy Goodness and Wenn wir in höchstein Nöten sein. A diversion to the classical French organ music brought us to three movements of Dandrieu's A minuit fut fait un Reveil. Closing out his program, Playford played the Adagio and Marcia from Widor's Symphony No. 3 in E Minor. While several other members sat down to play this unique console, we had time to look around the church to see the various historic stained glass windows both in the present sanctuary and the part of the church that really was the first sanctuary that was adjacent and now used as a large gathering room. On the way out the door we found time to stop in the chapel to see the 1965 Reuter Organ housed in the rear short gallery. 24

25 A short drive a few blocks away, we arrived at the 1969 imposing brick church of St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church. Here we found a 1969 Wicks organ that has been rebuilt with additional ranks by the Berghaus Organ Company in Chapter member Eugene Mudra opened his demonstration of this organ with the Introduction and Passacaglia in D Minor by Max Reger. From this point on Mudra played snippets of several pieces of music in demonstrating the various stops and sounds on this organ. Our many thanks to host musician of the church, Gerald Kuker, for his timely discussion of the renovation process of the organ and church building of this congregation. Now for our last stop of this long day the Convent of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, Chapel of Our Lady of Bethlehem. Here chapter member Susan Friesen was able to show the various qualities of the Noack Organ installed here in Unfortunately, I was not able to hear Susan play this organ since I had to dash off to play for a Mass at a church on the north side of Chicago. Susan is very familiar with this organ since she was able to play a recital here many years ago maybe she will be asked to return again for another recital. At any rate, what a glorious day (even though it was very cold and windy) to hear lots of organ music at several churches in the La Grange area! I should add many Chapter Kudos to the organists of the day - Derek Nickels, Henry Sybrandy, Louis Playford, Eugene Mudra and Susan Friesen. I am looking forward to our next organ crawl in March when we will hear several historic Kilgen organs of the north side of Chicago make sure that you join us! The next Chapter event on our schedule this Fall was the recital by Chapter member Dr. Thomas Gouwens at the historic Lake View Presbyterian Church in Chicago. Thom Gouwens is Associate Organist at the Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago and has a very impressive background in organ playing and studying organ on an international level. This high level of musicianship shined forth in his program at Lake View beginning with the Muffat Toccata Undecima. Here, the several passages of notes displayed several of the color combinations on the 1898 Lyon & Healy Organ. Showcasing the Trumpet stops, Gouwens next played the Voluntary #1 in D Major of William Boyce. One could not have a recital in Chicago without some of the music of Bach, so here were three chorale preludes: Ach bleib bei uns, Herr Jesu Christ, Meine Seele erhebt den Herren and Kommst du nun, Jesu, vom Himmel herunter. One of the block-busters of this day was the Sonata No. 3 in A Major by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. Here was the true test for endurance of both player and organ! Following this was the quiet Vierne Stele pour un enfant defunt from his Triptyque, Op. 58. Here were the beautiful sounds as only Lyon & Healy could produce. Closing out his program, Gouwens chose the Cortege et Litanie, Op. 19, No. 2 of Marcel Dupré. More Chapter Kudos to Thom Gouwens for this outstanding program on this historic organ. Speaking of historic, you should know that Lake View Presbyterian Church is now in the process of restoring the exterior of the church to one of its original appearances! Thank goodness the white exterior clapboard siding will be gone. By the way, I also understand that our OHS Chapter has been asked to return yearly to this church for continued programming what an honor! "Shuffle Off to Buffalo!" as promised, here are more 'musings from my trip to the 2004 OHS National Convention in Buffalo! Saturday July 17 th after the usual early morning large breakfast buffet at the Hotel, we adjourned to one of the conference rooms to hear Charles Kegg speak about the Difficulties in Organ Restoration. Mr. Kegg had trained with various organ builders including Schantz, Casavant, and A. R. Schopp s Sons and is well qualified to speak on the problems associated with the renovation of unique and historic organs. A short bus ride northerly took us to the first concert of this day our own Stephen Schnurr playing the 1954 Schlicker Organ at Trinity Episcopal Church. Amidst the splendor of the magnificent La Farge, Tiffany, Mayer (and many, many others) stained glass windows in this Romanesque building we were treated to a delightful concert by Schnurr. The opening piece on this historic Schlicker was the Bach Fantasia super Komm, Heiliger Geist with the Buxtehude Toccata in d following. Showing off many of the unique stop combinations on this organ was series of variations written by Sweelinck the Balletto del granduca. Especially well-played was the three movements of the Johann Gottfried Walther Concerto del Sigr. Meck, appropriato all Organo. Now it was our turn 25

26 to assist Mr. Schnurr in the singing of the hymn Look, o Look, the Sight is Glorious sung to the tune Bryn Calfaria. With a small mistake of this hymn tune in the Hymnlet, the assembled OHS ers sang mightily on this famous Welsh tune. Now for the tour-de-force of the day Schnurr closed his program with the Joseph Bonnet Variations de Concert (Op. 1). One would wonder if this French romantic piece would work well on this Schlicker organ well it did! If I am right, I think that this whole program was played only on the rear gallery organ with the rear gallery console thanks for a great program Stephen! Not really needing the bus ride for the few blocks walk, our group journeyed over to Saint Louis RC Church what an imposing edifice! Here in this church, tracing its roots as the first Roman Catholic church organization in Buffalo and a structure impressive enough to be considered a cathedral, we were treated to a recital by Will Headlee. The organ in this gothic structure dates back to 1903 and was built by the Chicago firm of W. W. Kimball. Later revisions were made to this organ by Tellers Organ Company in 1952 and more recently by William Kurzdorfer in the 1980 s and 1990 s. Headlee s program of organ music suited this organ very well beginning with two of Marcel Dupré s Trois Preludes et Fugues (Op. 7, 1918) No.1 in B Major and No. 2 in F Minor. The exquisite Air for Organ (1963) by Gerre Hancock followed the Dupré. Bach was represented by Headlee playing the Choral and three of the Variations on the Partita on Sei gegrusset, Jesu, gutig. Now showing off the many registrations from the softest stops to the very full organ was the Max Reger Introduktion und Passacaglia in d (1899). Again, it was our turn to sing a hymn in the wonderful acoustics of this building and it was the hymn Round the Lord in Glory Seated sung to the tune RUSTINGTON. Our thanks to Headlee for showing us the many sounds of this historic Chicago-built organ! I must admit that I just did not have enough of this organ and the imposing church, so I went back on Sunday to hear the organ in the context of the Sunday morning Mass. It was very moving to be here in this church that was in the midst of a declining neighborhood but is now being refreshed by new congregants moving into the neighborhood and renovating the historic homes. This church is now facing a new future since the interior was totally renovated in the very last few years! Another few short blocks northerly and we arrive at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church for a marvelous served meal in the basement we even had our choice of ham or chicken! Finishing off this huge lunch, we retired upstairs to the main sanctuary to hear host and resident organist James Bigham in a Hymn Festival. The program, with singing directions, was distributed and we followed the long list of hymns from the Lutheran Book of Worship. Bigham, with an abundance of technique led our assemble audience through a variety of hymns and hymn styles. Unfortunately for this interesting program, there were many times when this original Möller organ of 1949 and added substantially to in 1966, 1977, 1979, 1984, 1986, and most recently in 1997 was just really too large and overshadowed the mighty singing of the organists that filled the church. I must note that early on in the program there was someone in the front of the church that started waving a handkerchief and much later even I decided that it was time for a break and exit the program (and church) to get some fresh air! Now there was a little longer bus ride and also into a very mixed and poor neighborhood but here at the Jordan River Missionary Baptist Church (formerly the Kensington Methodist Episcopal Church) we heard a most delightful program by Randy Bourne on the 1919 Votteler-Holtkamp-Sparling Organ. Bourne is well-known for his unique and varied programs of music that are usually not of the standard repertoire. The Mendelssohn Wedding March from A Midsummer Night s Dream began the program followed by a Caspar Kock transcription of the Beethoven Moonlight Sonata the Adagio Sostenuto movement. Here again was Bach but in the form of another transcription by William Felton the Air on the G-String from the Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D. A real Bach piece followed with the Little Prelude and Fugue in G Minor. Composer Harry Thacker Burleigh was represented in a transcription by Richard Keys Biggs on the Song on an Old Negro Melody Deep River (1917). Closing out this afternoon s concert was the African-American Spiritual hymn I ve Just Come From the Fountain. Randy accepted the joyous applause especially from the several church members present in the audience! Well, tonight was another night when we were to have dinner on our own so I was able to join a couple of other organ enthusiasts in returning to the very same restaurant that I truly enjoyed the other night. Here again 26

27 was a wonderful dinner of seafood presented by the very attentive staff! Please contact me privately to learn of this restaurant and its location in Buffalo in case that you are in the Buffalo area! Just two blocks away we arrived at Saint Paul s Episcopal Cathedral for the evening festivities! Recently appointed Organist and Choirmaster Andrew Cantrill (having left his most recent position as Organist and Director of Music at Wellington Cathedral of Saint Paul in New Zealand) led the Cathedral Choir of Men and Girls through the music of a Choral Evensong service. Assistant Organist and Choirmaster Andrew Scanlon was the organist accompanist in the opening and closing voluntaries of Herbert Howells the Sarabande (in modo elegiaco) and the Master Tallis Testament. Other works in this Choral Evensong included the William McKie Introit: We Wait for Thy Loving Kindness, the Radcliffe Responses, Psalm #42 set to a chant by Howells, the Charles Wood Evening Canticles Service No. 2 in E Flat, and the Edward Bairstow anthem Blessed City, Heavenly Salem. Following a short intermission, it was time for the talented Andrew Scanlon to show his prowess on the cathedral organ. This organ began as the Hope-Jones Organ of 1908 (in the Gallery) then with additions by Rudolph Wurlitzer Manufacturing Co. in 1916 and In 1952 the Schlicker Organ Co. installed a new chancel organ with a console controlling both organs (chancel and gallery). Later additions by Schlicker appeared in 1960, 1967, 1975 and lastly in Most recently (in 2004) Robert M. Turner added two new twin consoles for this organ that seems to have sounds coming from every nook and cranny! Scanlon began his intense program with the Felix Mendelssohn Sonata No. 3 in A (Op. 65, No. 3). The Sonata II (1937) by Paul Hindemith followed and was extremely successful in demonstrating several of the quieter stops on this mammoth organ. Rounding out this program was the rarely performed Joseph Jongen Sonata Eroica. It is such a joy to hear this sonata by Jongen on this type of organ in a church that basically has sound appearing everywhere. This tour-de-force was handled like a pro from Scanlon. What an exciting close to this full Saturday of organ music! Again it was back to the Adam s Mark Hotel for more review of the OHS exhibits! Continuing sights and sounds of the Buffalo Convention will be included in the next issues of The Stopt Diapason. There is not enough time and space in this issue to report on a few other concerts by Chapter members that occurred this Fall so that will be included in the next Musings! Please remember the next Chicago-Midwest Chapter OHS programs: January 16 th 5:00 PM Chapter Members Recital at Cornelia Avenue Baptist Church 100 th Anniversary of the Lyon & Healy Organ February 20 th 4:00 PM Chapter Member MaryAnn Crugher Balduf in recital on the 1885 Emil Witzmann Organ at St. John s United Church of Christ in Palatine This organ will be presented with an OHS Historic Organ Citation March 12 th Annual Spring Organ Crawl combined with the Chicago Chapter AGO in a tour of Kilgen Organs on the north side of Chicago. April 10 th 4:00 PM Chapter Member Stephen Schnurr in recital at Epworth Methodist Church in celebration of the 75 th Anniversary of the Moller Organ. This organ will be presented with an OHS Historic Organ Citation See you soon at the next Chapter program! MUSETTE! 27

28 Above, views of the interior of Saint John United Church of Christ, Palatine, Illinois, to be visited by the Chapter for a recital and presentation of OHS Historic Organ Citation on Sunday, February 20, At right is the Witzmann organ. Photographs by Stephen Schnurr. The Chicago-Midwest Chapter of the Organ Historical Society gratefully acknowledges the monetary gifts of the following persons in addition to their annual chapter dues (as of November 13, 2004, for the year): Patron ($25 - $49) Mary Ann Crugher Balduf John Bryant Rev. Daniel P. Buck Robert Gadbois & Claire Gadbois Mary Gifford Joseph Gonzales Dr. Dennis E. Northway David C. Scribner William Shepard Julie Stephens Robert Voves Jeff Weiler Sponsor ($50 - $99) Br. Benjamin Basile, CPPS James R. Brown Alfred J. Buttler III Bruce Carlson Luther W. Gette Thomas Gouwens Kurt R. Hansen George J. Horwath Lowell Johnson & Millie Johnson Joseph G. Roberts Stephen Schnurr, Sr. & Betty J. Schnurr Stephen Shebenik Philip A. Underwood Friend ($5 - $24) Fred Beal Tracy Figard Michael Friesen David L. Hamblin, Jr. Norm Kinnaugh Allen B. Kinzey Michael Knuth Mark Konchan William A. Lang Rev. Thomas Lijewski Dr. Richard A. Livingston John MacKey Eugene A. Mudra Elizabeth M. Naegele Louis Playford Naomi Rowley Dr. Kirstin Synnestvedt Guarantor ($100 or more) William Aylesworth Berghaus Organ Company, Inc. Daniel Driscoll & Derek Nickels Robert Lester Porter, CPA Stephen Schnurr Michael L. Shawgo Robert Woodworth, Jr. Douglas Zimmer 28