THE AEOLIAN-SKINNER ORGAN

A HISTORY

There is no record of an organ in the first St. Luke’s Church building, which was destroyed by fire on December 21, 1862 . The second Church building was consecrated on May 20, 1865. In 1867 Garret House, an organ builder from Buffalo, New York, installed a one manual tracker organ which was used until 1888 when it was sold to Immanuel Lutheran Church for $150 and replaced by a new instrument built by the Johnson and Son Organ Company of Westfield, Massachusetts, Opus 704.

In 1894, a new and much larger St. Luke’s Church building was erected. The Johnson organ, which was tracker action, was rebuilt by the George S. Hutchings Organ Company of Boston, Massachusetts as Opus 351. At that time the tracker action was converted to pneumatic action. Alexandre Guilmant, organist of Trinity Church, Paris, France and a well-known composer of church music, was the first of the many distinguished artists who have played the organ at St. Luke’s.

This organ served the church faithfully for sixty years. In 1954 it became evident that rebuilding was impractical. A committee, chaired by Stanley Davis, selected the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company of Boston, Massachusetts to build a new organ.

C. Donald Harrison was president and chief tonal architect of the company. He was considered by many as the best tonal architect in the country and served as consultant during the building of the organ. Mr. Harrison died in 1956. Herbert Pratt served as continuing consultant until the organ was finished during the summer of 1957. Joseph Whiteford and Edward Gress did the final on-site voicing and tone regulating. Since organ pipes, if well made, cannot wear out, many ranks from the Hutchings and Johnson organs were revoiced and used in the new Aeolian-Skinner.

On September 8, 1957 , the new organ was blessed and dedicated as the Kate Vanderburgh Ashwell Memorial Organ and used for the first time at a regular church service. Vernon de Tar played a dedicatory recital on October 7, 1957 .

The organ served the parish from 1957 until the summer of 1984. At that time it became evident that it would have to be re-leathered. Paul Fischer of Erie, Pennsylvania was contracted to re-leather the organ. Work began January 2, 1985 and continued until the middle of May 1985. No tonal changes were made at that time.

In 1990, a new 8’ Trumpet was added to the Great manual. In 1992, a 32’ Bourdon was added to the Pedal organ. Stanley Davis gave this stop in memory of his wife Ruth Almy Davis. The sound of the bottom twelve notes of the 32’ Bourdon are produced electronically.

The present instrument, while not massive, is extremely flexible. In 1957, the Aeolian-Skinner Company took advantage of the architecture and construction of the building, to produce a clarity and presence that are notable contributions to this instrument as a work of art. The concept of the creation is tied together by one precious thread – the regard for the music. The organ itself is a combination of the best element of classic and romantic design, known as American Classic. The Great Organ is unenclosed while the Choir and Swell Organs are under expression. In design, the organ has adhered to the central objective of the production of music for the worship of God, as expressed in the Liturgy of the Episcopal Church.

In 1996, the Fischer Organ Company of Erie , Pennsylvania completed the replacement of all console and switch stack pneumatic actions, with solid-state circuitry utilizing computer controlled multiplexing. This is an electronic digital based system with no moving parts built by Artisan Classic of Toronto, Canada. Not only is this the most comprehensive system on the world market, it is among the most affordable. The four original, three hundred wire cables that connected the console to the organ chambers, have been replaced with a single six-wire cable the size of a lead pencil. This system provides the organist with unlimited control of stop registration. The sequencer feature enables the organist to record that which is being played on to a 3 ½” floppy disk. The organ will then play itself, much the same as a player piano does. The completion of this work has brought the 1957 Aeolian-Skinner organ up to the standards of today’s organ building industry. The cost of this work, though underwritten by the church, has been generously contributed to by personal donations of church members and friends. A sincere “Thank You” to all of those who have shown an interest in this project.

--Philip Welker – October 1996

In 1999 three new stops were added to the organ. Since there was no more space for pipes within the chamber three electronic stops were added. In the Choir the Rohr Schalmel 4’, In the Great a Gemshorn 8’, and in the Pedal a Bombarde 32’. These stops were called for in the original specifications of the organ, but due to a lack of space in the organ chambers they were not installed in 1957. The organ today is what Mr. Harrison and Mr. Whiteford had envisioned in 1957 when the organ was designed.

November 9, 2007 we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the organ with a recital by Joshua Stafford, currently a student at the Curtis School of Music in Philadelphia.

Interested in a tour? Call the office at 483-6405 to speak to our Director of Music, Ronald McEntire.

Organ Stop List

Aeolian Skinner Organ, Opus 1303 –1957

Installation of Solid State circuitry from the Artisan Classic Organ Company of Toronto by Paul Fischer and Son Organ Company of Erie PA - 1996

Swell Organ

Trumpet 8’ (Gt)

Hautboie 4’

Trumpette 8’

Fagot 16’

Plein Jeu III

Italian Principal 2’

Spitz Flote 2’

Viola Celeste 8’

Viola Pomposa 8’

Bourdon 8’

Glockenstern

Tremolo

Sw. 16’

Sw. Unison

Sw. 4’

Choir Organ

Krummhorn 8’

Block Flote 2’

Terce 1 3/8’

Rohr Nasat 2 2/3’

Koppel Flote 4’’

Rohr Schalmel 4’ *

Dolcan Celeste 8’

Dolcan 8’

Zimbelstern

Tremolo

Choir 16’

Choir Unison

Choir 4’

Great Organ

(unenclosed)

Clarion 4’

Trumpet 8’

Fourniture IV

Fifteenth 2’

Rohr Flote 4’

Octave 4’

Gemshorn 8’ *

Holtz Gedackt 8’

Principal 8’

Quintaton 16’

Chimes

Tower Bells

Gt 4’

Pedal Organ

Clarion 4’ (Sw)

Trumpet 8’ (Gt)

Trumpette 8’ (Sw)

Bombarde 16’

Mixture III

Super Ocave 4’ (Gt)

Quintade 8’ (Gt)

Octave 8’

Quintade 16’ (Gt)

Lieblich 8’

Montre 16’

Santbass 16’

Bourdon 32’ *

Bombarde 32’ *

Pistons

5 General Pistons and Toe Studs

Toe Studs Glockenstern & Zimbelstern

Tutti I & II

Gt. To Pedal

5 Pistons each for Gt. Sw. Ch. & Pedal

Reversibles

Sw to Ped, Gt to Ped, Ch to Pedal

San

Couplers

Sw to Ped, Sw to Ped 4’

Ch to Ped, Ch to Ped 4’

Gt to Ped, Gt to Ped 4’

Ped 4’

Sw to Gt 16’, Sw to Gt , Sw to Gt 4’

Ch to Gt 16’, Ch to Gt, Ch to Gt 4’

Solid State Circuitry for Midi and Digital Controls

2159 pipes

88 Levels of Memory

* Electronic