Aeolian-Skinner, op. 932 1935

3 manuals, 77 ranks

Martin Ott op. 31 1983
1 manual, 3 ranks

According to The Great Book, a history of Calvary Episcopal Church, the current organ is the sixth pipe organ in Calvary's long history. In the fall of 1934, a great storm tore off the roof over the organ chamber and destroyed the organ installed in 1911 by the Kimball firm of Chicago. Adolph Steuterman, long-time organist/choirmaster of Calvary, ordered a new organ from the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company of Boston. The new instrument, opus 932, was installed in the spring of 1935, behind the facade from the 1911 Kimball, just six months after the order was made. This speedy installation was a result of The Great Depression and organ company's lack of work at that time. Today's wait for a comparable instrument is four to six years.

The original installation

Calvary's organ, built at a pivotal and important point of organ building in this country, represents a critical link between two different styles of sound. In 1935, the Romantic Era of organ building was quickly coming to an end. Several organs in Memphis, most notably the 1922 Casavant at St. Peter Catholic Church, are high examples of this style, which emphasized grandeur of tone, but lacked the ability to present music from different style periods, such as the Baroque Era (that of J. S. Bach). The new sound moved away from the “mass of sound for sound’s sake” towards a more balanced approach that looked both back into history and forward into the future.

Dr. Steuterman, along with G. Donald Harrison, president of Aeolian-Skinner, designed an instrument which so deftly “rode the fence” between the two periods that it almost defies description. The organ contains all the hallmarks of a beautifully romantic sound; the Clarinet, the English Horn and French Horn, as well as the Vox Humana, Oboe, 16' Swell Salicional, and 16' Choir Flute Conique (reused from the 1911 organ), and the lush string stops. In addition, they implemented the principles of Baroque organ building. Independent stops were provided to allow the presentation of J. S. Bach’s music as authentically as possible. Had he been alive at the time, Mr. Bach could have sat at the console and recognized enough stops to play his own music; this could not be said of the average organ in the Romantic period. Large organs built following Calvary’s were certainly more experimental in their concept, and in some opinions not as successful at looking towards the past and future. See the original specification.

The Chancel renovations of 1953 necessitated the re-location of the Great and most of the Pedal divisions of the organ to the north chamber (left) of the Chancel. The console was moved to its present location on the south (right) side. The Swell, Choir and Pedal Bourdon remain in their original locations.

Organs, like everything else, suffer from wear and tear over the years. By the mid-1980s the instrument was truly showing its age. Many of its leather components (leather is used in all kinds of flexible parts) as well as other mechanics were failing. A contract was made with the Reuter Organ Company to overhaul the mechanism and “tonally update” the organ. A strong parallel can be drawn here with the architectural world. During the 1960s and 1970s many historic buildings were torn down in favor of new, and now dated, architectural designs. The same can be said of the 1970s and 1980s in organ building. Many companies were either tearing out old organs without regard or making such changes as to render the instrument unrecognizable.

The Reuter Company in many ways did a good job with Calvary’s organ. They responsibly repaired and replaced mechanical parts that were failing, in some cases going over and above the contract terms. However, they also made some fairly severe tonal changes to the organ. Throughout the organ pipework was either replaced or rebuilt to conform to their ideals of what they thought the organ was supposed to be. What remained was an organ that tended more towards the “shrill” side, sometimes to the discomfort of the listener. The organ’s original sophisticated blend of the Baroque and Romantic had been sacrificed. See the Reuter rebuild.

An inspection in 2001 revealed that termites had destroyed part of the supporting structure in the north chamber. The chamber was cleaned, the termite damage corrected, and the pipework was reinstalled. Vintage pipework was located by the builders and donated to the project to replace what was removed in the 1985 rebuild. In addition, a tonal study was commissioned to examine the instrument and recommend possibilities for additional tonal work to restore the original sound. Upon completion we will be able to hear again the builders original intent for our Aeolian-Skinner.

The scope of the work?

Our goal is to restore the organ, insofar as possible, to the original design intended by Dr. Steuterman and Mr. Harrison. The North Chamber restoration project represented about 30% of the total work needed. Much work remains to be done on the South Chamber and Console.  Reuter’s 1985 rebuild changed the divisions in the South Chamber substantially. Since some pipework was moved from one place to another and much pipework was discarded and replaced, the South Side, especially the Choir division, bears little resemblance to the original organ design. In addition to locating vintage pipework or building replica pipework to replace what was discarded, seals on the chests where the pipes sit are now leaking and must be replaced.   See the current stop list.

In addition to work in the chambers, the console, where the organist sits, was in need of replacement. The original console for the organ was replaced in 1971, after 36 years of hard use. The 1971 console was renovated and rebuilt by Reuter as a part of the 1985 work. This was done so that the console would reflect the tonal and stop changes made by Reuter. This console was again re-worked in the early 1990s.  By 2008 the 1971 console was in great need of replacement. Many of the keys, especially on the Great, were not able to be leveled and the combination system was becoming increasingly unreliable.  Voltage on some of the components had been increased to try to improve reliability, creating some dangerous conditions.  In the spring of 2009 a contract was let with Richard Houghton to build a new console for the organ. Great care was taken to insure that the console would be prepared for the completion of the work in the Swell and Choir. As it happened, the console from Aeolian-Skinner op. 1082, (Christ Church, Bronxville, NY) was available. It's dimensions were almost identical to the Calvary console.  The console was gutted, the shell beautifully refinished, and Mr. Houghton was able to fit the new console without removing the old one. Mr. Houghton and his crew worked valiantly on the installation and Calvary did not go one Sunday without the use of the organ.

Why is the organ restoration important?

The Calvary Aeolian-Skinner organ represents an important but short-lived period in the history of American organ design, and the parish is indeed fortunate to have this unique and special instrument. Excellent music always has been a cherished and supported part of worship at Calvary, and Calvary has a long history of hosting special concerts open to the public. This superb organ warrants careful restoration and preservation consistent with the makers' intent.