Pedal wind pressure: 6"
 

(Manual III)

Gedeckt
Viole Aetheria
Vox Angelica tc
Flute d’Amour
Vox Humana
Orchestral Oboe

Tremulant
Chimes no change
Antiphonal Swell Sub
Antiphonal Swell Off
Antiphonal Swell Super

Wind Pressure: 5" except Vox on 4"

Great to Pedal
Swell to Pedal
Choir to Pedal
Solo to Pedal
Positiv to Pedal
Swell to Pedal Super
Choir to Pedal Super
Solo to Pedal Super

Swell to Great
Choir to Great
Solo to Great
Positiv to Great
Swell to Great Sub
Swell to Great Super
Choir to Great Sub
Choir to Great Super
Solo to Great Sub
Solo to Great Super

Swell to Choir
Solo to Choir
Swell to Choir Sub
Swell to Choir Super
Solo to Choir

Great to Swell
Choir to Swell
Solo to Swell
Positiv to Swell

Great to Solo
Swell to Solo
Choir to Solo
Positiv to Solo

Coupler tabs ¾” width.

Notes from the builder

            The term magnum opus is often used in the organbuilding trade quite freely to denote the apotheosis of an organbuilder’s career.  It is an impressive expression, and the organs which receive such accolades are usually equally impressive.  It is interesting to note, however, that the distinction of magnum opus can be an ephemeral one.  What a builder thinks of as his ‘biggest and best’ may be eclipsed just a few years later with an opus magnum novum.  In any event, at the outset of a project an organbuilder has termed his magnum opus, he inevitably approaches the creation of the instrument with great reverence and dedication.  When we received the contract to build our opus 47 for First Presbyterian Church in Ithaca, New York, we knew this would be our magnum opus and, regardless of whether a grander organ would leave our shop in years to come, took on the project in this way, making no little plans to design and build a pipe organ worthy of this special moniker.
            First Presbyterian is a grand Romanesque stone structure built in 1894 and located in the heart of downtown Ithaca.  The sanctuary seats 500 under a high barrel vault, coffered and richly ornamented with plaster florets.  The church enjoys a large and healthy congregation and an equally active music program, including a sizeable adult choir, children’s choir, and handbell choir.  In conjunction with the organ project, an acoustical renovation by Scott R. Riedel & Associates, Ltd. was executed to remedy less-than-desirable acoustics.  Previously, the entire floor of the room was carpeted, and the pews were cushioned in heavy velvet.  A completely new ceramic tile floor, new, and less-absorbent seat cushions, hardened wall surfaces, and a new rear wall designed to reflect sound randomly contribute to a lively and supportive acoustic, approaching 3 seconds of reverberation.
            The organ that preceded the new instrument began its life in 1901 as Austin’s opus 39 – a three-manual instrument of 47 ranks, including a five-rank Echo organ added in 1930.  The organ was installed in the front of the church behind a handsome white oak case crowned with a magnificent central tower rising nearly the full height of the sanctuary.  Designed in traditional early 20th-century style, the organ contained the typical myriad of foundation stops, with sparse trimmings of upperwork, undergirded by an ample and satisfying pedal department.  Sixty-five years later, Austin was called to rebuild the organ in keeping with the tonal thinking of the day.  The result was an organ of completely new pipework typical of late 1960s construction and voicing; the Echo organ was retained and unchanged.  With many manual stops sharing common basses, and the Pedal division largely borrowed from the manuals, there was little presence of foundation tone.  The scaling of the new pipework exacerbated this condition, with halving ratios employed that resulted in a thin bass and a treble ascendancy unwelcome in so dry a room.  The impressive 16´ and 8´ 1904 façade was completely replaced by much narrower-scaled pipes with English bay mouths, leaving large, odd-looking gaps in between the pipes.
            By the 1990s, the organ proved to be inadequate for the many demands the church’s music program as well as community performances placed upon it.  Additionally, mounting mechanical problems toward the end of the decade rendering the instrument increasingly unreliable led the church’s organist, George Damp, and the director of music, Larry Doebler, to realize that a completely new instrument was needed to correct the tonal inadequacies of the existing instrument and to fill all the needs of the vast music program.  The church named Dr. John Schwandt, curator of organs and professor of organ at Indiana University, as consultant on the project.  Dr. Schwandt recommended requesting proposals from lesser-known builders of high quality to build the First Presbyterian instrument.  After a national search, Russell & Company of Chester, Vermont was selected in late 2002 to build a new organ for the church.
            A profusion of new romantic organs in recent years, as well as a renewed reverence and interest in the work of early 20th-century American builders, specifically Skinner, was the milieu for the design and construction of this instrument.  While Russell & Co. have built several large instruments along French romantic lines, an American romantic/symphonic organ presented a new challenge: how to take all the lessons learned from our previous instruments, combine them with a century of progress in American organbuilding, and produce an organ of beauty that would prove useful in accompanying congregational song, playing choral and orchestral literature, and still be able to play the solo organ repertoire, all the while staying true to a ‘symphonic’ ideal.
            This challenge was met valiantly with an effective partnership between our firm and George Damp.  Having spent all his professional life as an organist, teacher, and church musician, George brought years of experience and a clear idea of what he wanted to the drawing board – a grand, large scale organ that would make Ernest Skinner proud, but would also not disappoint the likes of G. Donald Harrison; i.e. while orchestral voices and ensembles were of great importance, so too was the presence of well-developed and blended choruses in each division.
            Our initial proposal was for a three manual organ with a separately-enclosed Solo and Choir sharing one manual.  However, during our early discussions with the church music staff, it became clear that to fill all the demands placed upon it, a significantly larger, four-manual instrument would be better suited and would eliminate several reluctant compromises in the original design.  Having completed the rebuild of a four-manual Æolian-Skinner, opus 1433, for First Unitarian Church in Worcester, MA, and the building of a new, large three-manual French romantic organ for the Cathedral of St. Paul, also in Worcester, we felt ready to tackle our first new four-manual organ.  During the selection process, George visited Worcester’s First Baptist Church, home to a rebuilt Reuter for which we constructed a new, large four-manual Skinner-style console.  Skinner consoles have long been renowned for their visual elegance, impeccable craftsmanship and intuitive and comfortable ergonomics.  It was agreed First Presbyterian should possess such a console to complement the new organ.
            First Presbyterian has long been host to performances of choral and chamber music by numerous local ensembles, and the acoustical renovation that preceded the organ installation only made the space more attractive for outside groups’ use.  Knowing this led us to include in the initial proposal a small division designed for use as a continuo organ, to be placed at chancel level.  George was hesitant at first – it seemed like a water and oil situation to have such a division included in a grand romantic organ.  However, with a large, higher-pressure instrument as the main organ, George and Larry Doebler agreed that it would be futile to attempt to use it in continuo playing, and not only agreed to the division’s inclusion, but encouraged its enlargement.  What started out as a small five-stop division grew into a full-fledged low-pressure Positiv, complete with a Sesquialtera and a very gently-voiced four-rank Scharff.  Being placed at the level of the chancel further increases its usefulness with instrumental or vocal ensembles.  Its elegant case makes use of the crown and columns of the large throne chair that used to sit in the middle of the chancel, blending the case seamlessly with the rest of the chancel decoration.
            While spacious, the two front organ chambers had previously housed 47 ranks of pipes, including a very small pedal division.  One of the greatest challenges to the project was to make 79 ranks of pipes fit in these same chambers – including a large-scale independent pedal division with three 32´ stops – while maintaining access to each pipe and mechanism.  After much experimenting in the forgiving world of computer-aided design, a layout that achieved both of these goals was reached.  Aside from the Antiphonal and Positiv, the entire instrument is installed behind the organ case, with the Great, Solo and Choir divisions to the congregation’s left, and the Swell and Pedal on the right.  There is no ceiling over these chambers, allowing for a great deal of sound to ascend into the barrel vault over the chancel, creating a wonderful blending chamber of sorts, that then projects the sound well into the room.  Even from the center of the chancel, it is difficult to tell from which side sounds are coming.
            The Antiphonal organ is located high up in the right rear corner of the sanctuary. The Antiphonal Swell division, consisting of the original Echo organ with two additions, is housed in the former Echo organ chamber.  The two stops of the Antiphonal Great sit on a newly-constructed ledge in front of the chamber, with the pipes from the 8´ Prestant forming a simple and elegant façade.
            The console constructed for opus 47 indeed models the console at First Baptist in Worcester.  Built of quarter-sawn red oak and walnut with a hand-rubbed oil and stain finish, it complements the elegance of the renovated sanctuary and restored organ case.  With manual keys of 8th-cut ivory and ebony, and pedals of maple and ebony, the console immediately has a luxurious tactile feel.  Through many consultations with George as well as with the organists working in our own shop, the selection and layout of controls were designed to be as intuitive to the player as possible.  The stopjamb layout takes its cue from the tall consoles of English cathedrals; this provides the vertical space to lay out the complete choruses of each division in one line, making drawing every plena quick and straightforward.  Though a complete list of playing aids and mechanicals accompanies the specification, several are worth noting here.  With the choral accompanist in mind, the Swell is provided with ten divisional pistons, and pedal-to-manual combination couplers are available on each division.  A 99-level combination action is included with 16 general pistons and a sequencer; additionally, each piston can be easily modified as to which stops it affects, releasing the player from the distinction and restraints of divisional and general pistons.  Divisional cancels are also provided by pushing the division nameplate on the stopjamb.
            The key and stop action throughout the instrument is electro-pneumatic, a departure from our usual practice of employing slider and pallet chests.  The chests are modeled on late 1960’s Aeolian-Skinner pitman chests, with several of our own modifications.  Even the Positiv, speaking on 2 ¾” pressure, plays on a pitman chest and works beautifully, resulting in quick and desirable pipe speech, ideal for its anticipated continuo use.
            A design goal from the outset of the project was to make the organ large enough to have four complete manual divisions (seven, including the Positiv and Antiphonal Great and Swell), but to keep costs manageable, all the while not sacrificing quality.  To this end, we looked to the existing Austin pipework, all having been new (with the exception of the Echo) in 1969, to see what might be reused in the new organ.  While hard to believe this neo-baroque pipework could blend its way into an American romantic organ, we found much of the pipework was well-constructed and cut up low enough to permit its successful rescaling and revoicing in a very different style.
            Of the 40 completely new ranks of pipes added to the organ, all new choruses and flutes are constructed of 94% lead alloy, a practice we have long employed, allowing our voicers to achieve a degree of tonal superiority unattainable with the use of lighter, higher tin-content alloys.  In general, this allows the 8´ line to be weighty and warm, progressing through a velvety chorus to light and silvery upperwork – all mixtures in the organ are also of the same high-lead content.  The epitome of this construction and voicing style is the 8´ Montre on the Great, a 42-scale diapason more English than French, despite its name.  Being placed outside the Great expression box, the Montre’s tone is commanding, warm and strong, and is paired with the enclosed 44-scale 8´ Principal for lighter choruses.  True to the design objective, choruses through at least 4´ were provided in the three main manual divisions (Great, Swell, Choir), resulting in three very independent divisions that terrace and blend successfully for the performance of French literature.  With the old Great 8´ Principal revoiced as the Swell Diapason, and the 45-scale English Diapason in the Choir of special variable scale, the five combined 8´ Diapasons create a rich, singing tone that serves as a lush solo color, as well as the basis for the aforementioned well-blended choruses.
            One of the hallmarks of an American symphonic organ is the abundance of orchestral reeds, so carefully developed by the likes of Skinner a century ago.  Fittingly, opus 47 has a delicious array of imitative stops spread out amid the manual divisions.  The demand for these stops allowed us to use several ranks we had been storing in our stockroom for many years while the popular organ style called for very different reed stops.  In the Choir division, the Clarinet finds its traditional home, and comes to Ithaca as a restored Johnson Bell Clarinet.  In our study of early 20th-century American organs, a common finding was that the Choir division, while potentially having enough foundation tone, nearly always lacked the trumpet class reed timbre to assert itself against the Swell organ.  In this light, the second Choir reed deserves special note as an unusual stop, even in this age of rediscovered orchestral sounds.  The 8´ Waldhorn uses restored Aeolian pipes from the Higgins estate in Worcester, MA.  This medium-scaled capped trumpet is not quite a French Horn, and not quite a Trumpet, but something in between.  It has a chameleon-like quality in that it is a beautiful and haunting solo voice, but when drawn with the full Choir, it acts as a chorus reed, giving the Choir a definite presence amidst full organ.
            Two new reeds, the English Horn in the Solo, and the Orchestral Oboe in the Antiphonal Swell, were beautifully voiced by Chris Broome, turning out exactly as we had wanted them, and possessing striking imitative qualities.
            For climactic moments in both repertoire and accompanying, two solo chorus reeds are provided in the Solo division.  The enclosed Tuba Mirabilis has harmonic resonators from tenor F# and is voiced on 15” pressure, providing the traditional dark, smooth and powerful tone suggested by its name.  The 8´ Silver Trumpet, played on 10” pressure, serves to contrast with the Tuba for a different effect.  Envisioned in the same manner as the Solo Trumpet Harmonique at Yale’s Woolsey Hall, the pipes are constructed with French shallots and placed outside the Solo enclosure, yielding a brighter and brassier tone.  While neither stop is oppressively loud, when combined they yield a tone of refined power that can top full organ with single notes.
            Another criterion from early on in the project was to have a profusion of string stops of varying power and brightness to enable a truly orchestral string crescendo from pp to ff.  While there are the usual strings sprinkled throughout the Choir and Swell, the Solo strings truly cap the string chorus, possessing incredible intensity and brilliance.  Although the Solo was originally designed with one pair, the discovery of two ranks of Skinner orchestral strings in our stockroom led to the addition of a second set to be the pinnacle of the string chorus.  Voicer Ted Gilbert worked wonders with these two pairs – the Gamba is the quieter of the two, possessing an almost woody quality, whereas the ‘Cello represents the extreme limit of bright, powerful, shimmering string voicing.  Twelve ranks of string or undulating tone in the organ, from the Swell Flauto Dolce through the Solo ‘Cello, provide a seamless powerful crescendo, made even more effective with the use of double expression in the Solo.
            No symphonic organ is complete without an expression system that can fully restrain the power of the instrument and instantly change the dynamic of the stops drawn.  To this end, no fewer than six Skinner replica whiffletree expression motors are used in this organ.  While the Swell, Choir, and Antiphonal Swell are enclosed and expressive as expected, the Solo and Great warrant description of their expressive capabilities.  From the outset, we had designed the Great to be partially enclosed, mainly the reeds and upperwork.  Additionally, the Solo was to speak through its own shades into the Great box, providing the division with the aforementioned double expression.
            The Great organ’s expressive capabilities were expanded early on with the decision to enclose the entire division with the exception of the 8´ Montre and 16´ Principal.  Through careful scaling and voicing, the division doesn’t suffer its enclosure with the shades open, and contains the tonal resources necessary to lead enthusiastic congregational singing with all 500 seats filled, as well as to serve its traditional role in the performance of organ literature.  However, with the added benefit of 16-stage expression, these same tonal resources can be manipulated to match any congregation size, as well as provide another enclosed division of power for choral accompaniment.
            At the same time, to give the Solo and Great more independence from each other, we added a second set of shades to the Solo, allowing the division to speak directly into the chancel.  This provides the Solo division with a third expressive option.  As installed, the Solo swell box is behind the Great box and four feet higher.  The primary Solo shades open into the Great, with the Solo chancel shades being at the very top of the Solo box, four feet high, and opening directly into the room.  While giving an acceptable dynamic range, these smaller shades provide an enormous timbral range, noticed especially with the strings.  With the full Solo string chorus playing and the main Solo shades open, the full weight of the 8´ stops comes through – one can almost hear bows scraping across the strings.  However, when the upper shades open, the full range of upper harmonics from these stops erupts from the box, filling out the sound just when you thought it couldn’t be any brighter and more sonorous.
            The control of all these expression options is met with four swell shoes, including the crescendo shoe.  The Solo shoe normally controls the chancel shades. However, when the “Solo Double Expression” drawknob is drawn, the Solo shoe operates both sets of Solo shades, as well as the Great shades, in a set sequence to give the maximum crescendo possible.  Additionally, a second drawknob closes the Solo chancel shades should that be desired, and sets the Solo shoe to control only the main Solo shades.  The Great and Antiphonal Swell expression functions are independently assignable to any shoe, including crescendo.  When not assigned, the shades default to a position settable by the organist.  Harris Precision Products retrofitted two of their standard drawknob units with potentiometers to set these defaults, and thus these controls are seamlessly integrated into the console via rotating drawknobs.  All Swells to Swell is provided to afford simple control over the entire dynamic range of the organ, and indicators are provided below the coupler rail to show the position of each set of shades.
            The use of such sophisticated expression functions allows the organist to present the full dynamic range of the orchestra, and the use of the smaller Solo chancel shades allows for the ultimate in dynamic and timbral expression, a feature unique to this organ, and one we hope to further develop and use in subsequent installations.
            To complement the varied and colorful manual divisions, a large, independent Pedal division affords the appropriate bass sonority for whatever registration is drawn on the manuals.  Consisting of eleven independent ranks and 29 stops, the Pedal organ is augmented by judicious borrowing from the manuals.  Four 32´ stops are provided to underpin the instrument and provide a true feeling of gravitas.  From the initial planning phases of the project, it was made clear that no digital voices were to be used in the organ; thus, all 32´ stops play real pipes, or are derived.  The Bourdon, of generous scale, is voiced gently for use with the softest registrations, but with enough quint in its tone to be made stronger as more pedal stops are added.  The 32´ Principal, an extension of the 16´, uses Haskell pipes to GGGG#, the rest of the 32´ octave being a resultant.  The full-length 32´ Contra Posaune, also masterfully voiced by Chris Broome, gives plenty of weight and power to full organ, but without being brash or rattling.  For a ‘second’ 32’ reed, the Harmonics is a 10 2/3´ cornet, derived from the Great 16´ Double Trumpet and 16´ Gemshorn, giving the semblence of 32´ reed tone underneathsmaller tutti registrations.
            With the added features of sophisticated expression, as well as the inclusion of more-fully-developed choruses, First Presbyterian’s instrument represents a logical and successful extension and merging of the two dominant styles of 20th-century American organbuilding: the symphonic and American classic schools.  The instrument serves as a platform for the successful performance of a wide body of organ literature, as well as fulfilling its accompanimental roles.  In its design, construction, voicing and tonal finishing, we feel truly proud to call this instrument our magnum opus, regardless of what instruments leave our shop in years to come, and thank First Presbyterian for the opportunity to set our sights high and build an organ we have so long dreamed of creating.  We therefore commend this instrument to the glory of God and the people of First Presbyterian Church as a product of our finest craftsmanship.  May it long bring joy and inspiration to those who hear and play it, just as it has inspired us as organbuilders in its creation.
            Those working on the project included: Stephen Russell, David Gordon, Gail Grandmont, Carole Russell, Theodore Gilbert, Jonathan Ortloff, Larry Chace, Frank Thompson, Matthew Russell, Peter Walker, Allan Taylor, Eric Johansson, and Andrew Lawrence.

Notes from the Consultant

It is a privilege to offer a few words regarding Russell & Co. Opus 47.  In a world that so desperately hungers for and is in need of beauty, it is satisfying to have been a part of a long process that has ultimately yielded a thing of great beauty that will serve to inspire the generations yet to come.

I am a great believer in practicing gratitude whenever and wherever possible.  There is much to be grateful for and many to whom thanks should be given; first, to my former teacher and resident organist, Dr. George Damp, for having confidence in my counsel and experience to lead the First Presbyterian Church through this process; second, to Pastor Anita Cummings and the good people on the Sanctuary/Organ Committee of First Presbyterian Church--their courage and faith helped a somewhat hesitant congregation realize that it could indeed be greater than they have ever been; thirdly, to Mrs. Dorothy Park, whose extraordinary generosity made possible the creation of this beautiful instrument of grace; lastly, but certainly not least to Stephen Russell & Co.  The humility and openness with which they approached every aspect of this project should serve to inspire any institution contemplating an organ project.

My primary involvement in this project occurred before contract-signing.  It is my fervent belief that consultants should serve to provide general education and thereby enable church committees to make an informed decision about what is best for their congregation’s worship and community life.  However, before we could start to talk about organs, it was very important to have the bigger picture in perspective, namely the inferior acoustical properties of the room.  The committee wisely considered the importance of good acoustics which benefit congregational prayer, singing, oratory, as well as, but not limited to instrumental music.  Too often, acoustical improvements are perceived to “only make the organ sound better.”  In truth, such improvements are a side benefit to the organ, which is but one part of the worshipping community.  Scott Riedel provided acoustical consultation; the action taken on most of his recommendations yielded a vastly improved sacred space. 

After much study, travel, and listening with the committee, three quality organ builders were nominated to submit proposals.  After lengthy interaction with each builder and consequent evaluation of each proposal, the committee unanimously decided to award the contract to Russell & Co.  I could not have hoped for a better match of builder to client.  In keeping with my desire not to be a typical overbearing consultant, and aside from a few minor suggestions along the way, allowed the relationship of George and Steve to germinate unfettered by “too many cooks in the kitchen.”  It has been my great joy and delight to watch this project unfold with the intelligent collaboration between these two friends.  The beauty of this organ is a testament to their collective vision and the consummate craft practiced by all of the involved artisans.

The pipe organ, while not the only possible instrument for worship, remains the best single instrument to lead corporate worship because of its ability to sustain tones from soft to loud and from every pitch level.  A well-designed and constructed church pipe organ should enable an organist to creatively and expressively accomplish this musical leadership, often interpreting music of many different styles.  Just how to build these one-person ensembles is the subject of many an ongoing debate between builders and players.  It was my recommendation, however, that an organ of rich, warm tone and with ample variety of color from all pipe families (Principal, Flute, String, and Reed) be considered.  Too often, many institutions become bound by pedantic stylistic pursuits in regards to pipe organs.  Many of my well-intentioned colleagues remain effectively “stuck in the mud” with a need to pigeon-hole organs into this style or that, this period or that period.  Rather, the world needs more beautiful organs; organs that sound beautiful, inspire beautiful music making, never inflict aural pain on listeners, and within the context of the Church, help draw congregants closer to the Divine Presence.  After all, the great organ builders of the past were not striving to build instruments after someone else’s style, but to create organs suited to the rooms in which they were installed and reflecting the cultural identity of their time and place.  That Russell Op. 47 resembles in some aspects organs of the early half of the twentieth century is entirely irrelevant.  The fact remains that it is not an E. M. Skinner organ, an Æolian-Skinner organ, a Kimball organ, or any other organ.  Rather, I believe that this instrument transcends labeling of any kind.  In Stephen Russell, we have an organ builder with enough humility to attribute his growth from learning from his own past and organ building past, while not being bound to it.  In an ideal world, this is the goal of anyone trying to create a beautiful organ.  Opus 47 has richness of color, overall warmth, as well as clarity.  In previous periods of organ building, rich fundamental tone and clarity were thought to be mutually exclusive attributes; one could not have both.  The refined voicing and the mechanical perfection of the pitman windchest exemplify an organ which will allow many different organists to yield whatever inspired music they choose to make for the worshipping community at First Presbyterian Ithaca, confined only by the limits of their imagination.  Congratulations are due to the committee and congregation for investing in their future so well!

It is my hope that the present and future congregation of First Presbyterian Church, Ithaca will accept this graceful instrument for what it is; a gift from God, a heavenly glimpse of beauty for those of us still in the mortal coil, to be enjoyed and shared with everyone and anyone who gathers to worship in community.  Praise God from whom all blessing flow!

John D. Schwandt

Notes from the Organist

Now in my fifth decade of deep affection for the pipe organ, its music and its role in worship, I am brought to this point of extraordinary magnificence in the creation of the Op. 47 Stephen Russell organ. During these five decades, I have witnessed many trends and fads in organ building predilections. Here in my native Ithaca alone, I followed with horror the throwing out (literally) of the grand Victorian organ in Cornell’s Bailey Hall, only to be replaced with a squeaky, top heavy, so-called “neo-Baroque” instrument, which was subsequently moved elsewhere, and eventually sold. In the back of the sanctuary of this church, you will find a charming 1872 early American tracker organ which I was able to save from a nearby church who wanted “to get rid of it” –wishing now to have no organ of any sort, real or imitation. This diminutive instrument served our church for more than a year as its only organ and was built by Garrett House of Buffalo, the builder of the first organ for this church, dated 1862! The commitment of this church to the pipe organ as its primary medium for the leading of congregational song is all-the-more inspiring to me.

This instrument, in my view, transcends the fads of recent decades. The Organ/Sanctuary Committee, formed by this church in the fall of 2000 and guided by our organ consultant, Dr. John Schwandt, curator of organs and professor at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Bloomington, selected several organ builders to consider for the First Presbyterian project. This committee authorized my colleague Larry Doebler and I to travel far and wide to experience the work of the builders we had selected as finalists, each of whom subsequently visited the church to inspect the sanctuary space and existing organ. In the end, we all had no doubt that Stephen Russell and Company was the appropriate choice for us.

While we were confident that our new organ would be very fine indeed, we could not have anticipated the level of magnificence that has been achieved here by Stephen Russell and his colleagues. In my fifty years of playing pipe organs (I suspect approximately forty of which I knew enough to make credible assessments), I have never been privileged to play an organ so elegant, expressive and versatile as this one. The word synergy is one that I have never before been comfortable using. Now I have found in this powerful word, meaning “combined or cooperative action or force,” the perfect term to describe the wondrous process of the emergence and continuing presence of this organ. Beginning with the collective sharing of the original committee, through the guidance of Anita Cummings, pastor of this church at the outset of the project, through the securing of the beneficence of Mrs. Dorothy Park, church member and donor of funds for this organ, through the courage and vision of church members to undertake and fund the acoustical transformation of the sanctuary from sonically “dead” to vibrant and moderately reverberant, through the mutual respect and creative sharing of organ builder, consultant and resident organist, culminating in the mystical harmony of corporate speaking/singing and gentle through powerful leadership of the glorious organ, the ultimate synergy is what you are hearing today: the harmonious blending of thought, craft, sound and space that is far greater than the sum of its parts.

I offer abundant gratitude and the highest of commendations to master organ builder/voicer, Stephen Russell, to cabinet maker, David Gordon, the crafter of the splendid console which inspires and enables the player of this instrument to be connected to the pipes, to local electrical wizard, Larry Chace, an invaluable on site assistant in virtually all aspects of the project, to senior voicer, Theodore Gilbert, who is responsible for the sumptuous string ranks of this organ, to Carole Russell and Gail Grandmont, pipe makers, to Jonathan Ortloff and Matthew Russell, apprentices to Stephen Russell, who, together, made the largest of the pipes in this organ –low C of the Pedal Open Wood! ...and the many others who have had a hand in the three-year process of the emergence of Opus 47!George Edward Damp