Wild Air

 

 

Hey!  We made the paper!

On the front page of its Tuesday, June 17 edition, The Shelbyville News featured an article by Paul Gable about the St. Joseph organ project.  There’s a great picture of LeRoy Martin, one of the volunteers who was instrumental in the parish project to remove the old instrument.  It’s a good article, and well-worth a read!  Here’s the link:

http://www.shelbynews.com/news/article_3726b704-f584-11e3-8864-001a4bcf887a.html

 

 

 

Thad Reynolds

“UNBELIEVABLE!”

“I had no idea”
 
“How many pipes are there?”
 
Whenever we introduce church members to their pipe organ, these are the inevitable exclamations.  Most of them have seen the console of the organ, with its keyboards, pedalboard, stops, and buttons, and they believe that these parts constitute “the organ.”  Most have some vague understanding that there is more to a pipe organ than this.  Perhaps, they think, the pipe-part of the pipe organ is the 20 or 30 or 40 pipes, painted with gold, or silver, or whatever latex color adorns the sanctuary trim, that somehow affect the organ’s sound in some way.  There are many, of course, that understand that the pipes actually produce the music, but even for them, the inner workings of their pipe organ remains mysterious.  
 
Only a very few ever get the chance to really meet the wondrous musical machine that provides the stirring music of worship decade after decade.  The real working parts of the organ are often shut away or walled up in some dirty, inaccessible place.  Somebody (hopefully) comes in occasionally to “tune” the pipes (what do they really do up there, anyway???), but, apart from that. the mystery remains.
 
Finally, in the fullness of time, the organ begins to fail.  It starts off innocently enough.  A note or two fail to speak, or, perhaps continue to hang on after the organist releases the key.  Maybe there is a slightly windy noise when the blower is running.  Or, perhaps, some of the keys and other controls on the console fail.  The church trustees may respond with shock, or disbelief, or, worse, not respond at all.   After all, the pipe organ has been playing for fifty or sixty or seventy years – longer than most of the decision-makers have been alive.  And, (another commonly-heard remark), “the organ sounds just like it always has.”
 
It often takes a very public embarassment (see Curtis Davies’ post, below) to convince everyone that something finally needs to be done.  
 
Because we live in a “Dixie Cup” world, often the first thought is to replace the old organ with a shiny new digital (electronic) organ.  After all, the well-trained  salesman informs us, electronic organs never need service, can be set up in a day, and sound “as good as a pipe organ…  Well, most people can’t tell the difference.”  This is a time of great risk.  St. Cecelia and all the muses hold their breath, waiting to see if another great pipe organ with decades or even centuries of music left in its pipes, will be lost to false economy and people who “can’t tell the difference.”
 
The parish of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Shelbyville, IN was just such a church, and, clearly, its parishoners CAN tell the difference. How they arrived at the decision to preserve the old organ as an important part of their new Reynolds Associates pipe organ, and how the process moved forward is the subject of this series of blog postings.  Already, as work on the new organ begins, this parish has developed an intimate knowledge of their 1912 M.P. Moller organ.  How they did this will be the subject of the next posting.  Suffice it to say, their hands-on involvement got their hands awful dirty!   
 
 

A Thought for Today

June 20th, 2014

Organ playing is the manifestation of a will filled with the vision of eternity.
– Charles Marie Widor

 by Curtis Davies, St. Joseph Organist

 

Over the years I have been privileged to hear many organs, mostly in the US but also in Europe and the UK. Sound can be a powerful stimulant to the senses and it can also have profound emotional effects on an individual. Personally, I have generally preferred listening to organs that have the lush sounds of the more Romantic stops over the more distinct principles and mixtures from the Baroque period.

Now I had heard the organ at St. Joe several times as my children early on in their schooling went to the Catholic School and had attended Mass with them on several occasions. And so I was excited to finally get to sit down and play the organ at St. Joseph for myself.

Curtis Davies

The deep rumble of a full length 16’ Open Diapason in the pedal where it was more felt than heard, the shimmer of a Dopple Flute and the snarl of an Oboe. And perhaps the most pleasant surprise was the Vox Celeste on the swell that seemed to float thru the sanctuary on its way to some heavenly offering. Ahh yes, this was what I was hoping for.

But then the more I played and tried other stops the more I realized that this organ was dying! The shine began to fade as the ciphers started, dead notes, rushes of air because the pipe was pulled, stops that were entirely dead and dead notes across the same note of the entire Great on all stops! I left that initial encounter still elated at what was there, but disappointed that it was not quite all there!

Although I eventually learned to get around several of these road blocks and actually put temporary patches on some, the fact of the matter was that although it still sounded awesome, mechanically this organ was a shambles. Professionally I am a Ceramic Engineer/Glass Scientist and organ-playing, according to my wife, is just an expensive hobby. But once my family and I formally became part of the St. Joseph Church family, we dove right into the music program.

In our time at St. Joe, we have been blessed to have had three excellent priests all of whom clearly understood the value of sacred music in the worship service. With their encouragement, I began to ask reputable organ builders to come to Shelbyville and give their professional opinion about the state of the organ.

Thru the years, we had over 15 such builders crawl thru the innards of the “beast”. In my charge to them, all I asked just one question each time. “IF this was your parish and you were supporting the endeavors of this church’s ministries, what would you recommend we do with the organ??”

Of course we got 15 various answers, but one thing always seemed to be part of their answer – in less than 5 years over 50% of the organ will most likely NOT be playable, in less than 10 years, the organ will cease to play completely UNLESS immediate steps are taken to refurbish or replace several vital parts. Most often mentioned were that the old chests had deteriorated and the leather in numerous places was rotting away. The pipes were in excellent shape; the mechanical/electrical controls and wind systems were not. Now all we had to do is convince the congregation of the desperate state of affairs!!

During this time we changed priests three times and it usually took some period of adjustment from one priest to the next. But we finally got permission to form an organ committee. We had been meeting for a few months and we struggled with how best to proceed.

We had all the recommendations from the organ builders and knew the costs involved. Once again we had the thorny dilemma of having to deal with the monies in the Organ Savings account (or lack thereof). When we started, we calculated to have had somewhere around 15% of what it would take to refurbish the organ.

The idea of an electronic organ was put forth and based on the monies available began to look like our only viable option. And so we asked a prominent music store if they would be amenable to have the parish try one of their upscale electronic organs as an on-site “loaner” for a few weeks during Mass.

Although some parishioners said the electronic organ sounded OK, we never quite anticipated the overall adverse reaction to the electronic organ that occurred. Clearly there were some very definite opinions out there about this decision to go electronic. Plenty of opinions to be sure, but apparently not much money to back it up.

Or so we thought!

Believe me when I tell you that confession is good for the soul and there were numerous times when I needed to confess the less than Christian thoughts I had after a particularly difficult Mass with the “old girl”. Also it is hard to continually stand up and declare that the organ is on its last legs when the whole congregation just stares at you in total disbelief!

St. Joseph Catholic Church, Shelbyville, IN

Oh sure, we had several benefit concerts over the years and we raised a few thousand dollars here and there. Occasionally a deceased parishioner or their family would leave a bequest. However, it was becoming exceedingly clear that in spite of excellent intentions and efforts to raise the needed funds, we were not making any headway!

We needed and prayed for a miracle!

And then it happened! Ironically our miracle had absolutely nothing to do with the old wind chests or the mechanics of the organ. The electrical breaker apparently shorted out on the blower and the organ slowly “wheezed” into silence during a hymn. At first I couldn’t come to grips with what just happened and then I saw the stares from the congregation glaring up into the organ loft as they realized the music had stopped!!

I think I froze for a second or two, and then it hit me! The miracle we had prayed for JUST HAPPENED!! Quickly gathering my music, I went downstairs and up the main aisle with my music at my side. Sitting down at the Grand Piano in the front of the church I started to replay the hymn that was interrupted! My wife, the Cantor, calmly announced that the organ was being troublesome (That was an understatement!!) and we would start from the beginning!! The rest of the service was via our Grand Piano, but the aftermath of that incident was incredible!!

Until the problem was diagnosed, the organ “died” a few more times during service or during practice. It even happened during a Wedding Rehearsal! Finally the congregation seemingly came to grips with the obvious fact that the organ needed attention.

Fortunately, by that time we had all the mechanisms in place to start a campaign for funding. We so often speak about the Holy Spirit intervening and this is one instance where everything came together so fast and so completely that one has to believe this is one of those instances.

One of our organ committee members came up with the idea to have a “Pledge” drive. Now most people, including myself, cannot simply write out a check on the spot for several hundred or several thousand dollars. But IF members could make a small sacrifice over a period of time then the impact would be considerably more tolerable.

Our church bookkeeper cooperated in setting up a system where a “pledge” could be made over a 1, 2 or 3 year period or as a one-time donation. The church Finance Committee found this agreeable as well.

Thus it was that because of a “short” in the breaker box for the blower, we were finally able to put together a pledge campaign!

The results were absolutely phenomenal! In less than two months over 80% of the funds needed to refurbish the organ were committed. And in one last coup de grace (so to speak), a former parishioner on hearing of our project, sent a large (very large) cash donation that allowed us to announce that we had met our goal! With that we could now start the next phase of the project, calling Mr. Reynolds and signing the contract.

My family will be quick to point out that patience is not my strong suit and over the last ten years there were numerous occasions where I simply couldn’t come to grips with why God would allow this treasure to decay and just fade away! However as I was about to find out in vivid technicolor splendor, the truth in the old saying “that our time is not God’s time”. That was a frequent saying of my grandmother who was always quick to add – “BUT be faithful and he will provide’’. I trust you will concur that HE certainly did INDEED!

 

Just a Chuckle…

June 17th, 2014

Mathias Peter Moller (1854-1937) the business genius behind the Moller pipe organ.

In the history of the pipe organ, especially in America, the name M.P. Moller stands apart.  In well over a century of organ building, Möller produced a staggering number of pipe organs – over 11,000.  Considering the complexity of each instrument, this is a huge number, and makes Moller not only the largest builder in the world, it makes this Hagerstown, MD firm the largest builder ever.  Moller built some of the largest organs in the world, including the celebrated organ at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.  They also build some of the tiniest.  At different times, they built mechanical action (tracker) organs, tubular pneumatic organs, and electropneumatic organs.  They built for churches, schools, and civic auditoriums.  During the short heyday of the theater pipe organ, they built many of them as well, including the giant organ in Atlanta’s Fox Theater, an organ known simply as “Mighty Mo”. 

Of interest to us, they built the organ for St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Shelbyville, much of which is now becoming part of the new Reynolds Associates pipe organ under construction.

Eighteen-year-old Mathias Peter Moller arrived in New York City in the spring of 1872, after a three-week ocean voyage from his native Denmark.  According to Bynum Petty’s book, An Organ A Day, The Enterprising Spirit of M.P. Moller, young Mathias arrived with seven gold dollars in his pocket, which he exchanged for eleven paper dollars, and thereby made his first profit on his first day in his new home.  In a time when entrepreneurship was encouraged and success admired, Moller’s hard work, combined with very considerable business skills, would bring him that success, along with personal wealth and community standing.  In addition to the organ business, which eventually flourished in Hagerstown, Moller also started a luxury car company, was on the board of the local bank, owned a music store, and was a hotelier.  By all accounts, he was a deeply religious man, and he remained attached to his home country of Denmark all his life.

M.P. Moller's massive organ plant in Hagerstown, MD. St. Joseph's pipe organ was built here.

The Moller Company produced a quality instrument, and had a marketing department to insure success.  By the time the Shelbyville organ was built, the company had already produced well over 1,000 pipe organs.  At the height of the Roaring Twenties, ten years later, M.P. Moller would be producing an organ a day – a feat they equaled again in the post World War II period.  By that time, however, Mathias Peter Moller was gone.  He had passed away quietly on April 13, 1937, in his 83rd year.

At the time the Shelbyville organ was constructed, the sound of Moller organs was similar to that of other major builders in turn-of-the-century America.  The construction of the pipes, in particular, was excellent.  At that time, Moller was actually building three different kinds of pipe organs.  Until 1916, they continued to build mechanical (tracker) organs upon request.  The new electropneumatic organs were just coming into prominence.  But most organs like St. Joseph’s were tubular pneumatic, using a system of pneumatic tubes to provide the link between the keys and the pipes.  These organs had ventil stop actions that were often troublesome.  In fact, in later years, when asked to rebuild one of their own organs, the company would insist on replacing the old ventil chests with their solid and dependable pitman windchests, which they built until the company closed in 1992.

 

The interior of the 1912 Moller organ at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, Shelbyville, IN

I am a “cat person.”  And one thing I have learned about cats is that they are very stoic.  A kitty can be in terrible pain, and show no outward sign, unless you are very attuned to its moods and habits.  Sometimes, by the time they are obviously sick and hurting, they are in real crisis.

Pipe organs are similar in this regard.  The sound of the pipes themselves does not change appreciably, even though the decades have taken a heavy toll on the perishable parts of the instrument.  Mechanically, the organ can be at “death’s door,” and yet still sound magnificent to the casual listener.  This is especially true if the organist knows his instrument, and knows how to cover deficiencies and avoid the “klinkers.”  So it was at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Shelbyville, IN.  That the 1912 Möller organ was failing became obvious nearly a decade ago to the musicians that played it .  And how not?  Although the organ had been electrified in the 1970s, it had never had a major renovation.  It had functioned, Sunday after Sunday, and had seen several generations of St. Joseph’s parishoners through their long lives.

Yet, even though it was nearly non-functional, it somehow continued to serve the parish with its rich, glorious sound.

When the Möller organ first spoke into St. Joseph’s beautiful, consecrated space, William Howard Taft was President, although Theodore Roosevelt desperately wanted the job back.  The doughboys of World War I were still doing their school lessons.  That year, the great ship Titanic, went to a watery grave through a fatal combination of natural forces and human hubris.  Pius X was pope, and in 1903 promulgated a moto proprio entitled, Tra le Sollecitudini, that included instructions on sacred music.  In those instructions, the use of piano in Roman Catholic worship was “forbidden,” (along with other “frivolous instruments”), and the organ was recognized as the proper instrument to accompany sacred worship. 
 
During the Möller’s century-long life, the world changed.  Worship changed.  Organs also changed.  Many Christian churches, Catholic and Protestant alike, remained “traditional,” while other took a more populist approach, often emulating pop music sounds in an attempt to inspire the faithful.  Pipe organs designed in American during the mid-century (a time known as the “organ reform movement”), abandoned the rich warm sounds of earlier times for a more icy, transparent sound that many organists approved.  Now, organs have come full-circle as well, with a new interest in colorful Romantic sounds, such as are found in St. Joseph’s venerable instrument.
 
Costs also have changed.  They call it “sticker shock.” To anyone who hasn’t bought a house, or a car, or milk and butter for a number of years, today’s costs seem extravagant.  Imagine the church, then, that hasn’t been in the market for a pipe organ for over a century! 
 
So, as the Möller began to fail, Curtis Davies, the principal organist at St. Joseph’s, began to look toward the day when the church’s organ problems could be finally resolved, either in a new instrument, or in new life for the “old girl,” as the Möller was affectionately known.
 
Curtis is a very patient man.  Fortunately.
 
Tune in again to see what happened next!   

We Begin!!!

June 5th, 2014

Thad ReynoldsAs my wife has pointed out many times over the years, 11 pm isn’t a good time to start anything.  And yet I find myself, bone weary after another 16 hour day, at my desk starting to write.  After eight years of proposals, discussions, fund raising, ciphers, and dead notes; after birds and bats and Vox Humanas that don’t play, we began this week creating a new pipe organ for St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Shelbyville.  The venerable 1912 M.P. Moller organ, which has given over a century of (mainly) dependable service, is not going away, it is being reborn in a new, modern Reynolds Associates pipe organ.  The process will be in almost equal parts restoration and new construction.  Most of the pipes from the old organ will find a home in the new instrument, along with many new pipes.

After nearly 40 years in the pipe organ business, I have answered many questions from organists, pastors, and trustees.  One common element in many of these questions is an attempt to understand why it takes many months to create or re-create a great pipe organ.  As this project unfolded, I thought that it would be interesting and useful to provide a periodic blog of what we are doing, and how the project is developing.  So, we begin.

The venerable 1912 Moller pipe organ at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Shelbyville, IN on the eve of its rebirth.

What these blog postings are NOT is a daily or weekly progress report.  There just isn’t time to finite our progress to that degree.  Also, organ projects are not necessarily linear.  That is, they don’t always progress neatly from point A to point B.  Many individual aspects of the project will take months by themselves, while others will happen quickly.  I hope you will subscribe to Wild Air, and see what we are doing on the Shelbyville project.  It has its own blog category, so you should be able to point to it in the right margin of the blog page, and go directly to postings about this project.  While you’re there, if you have time, take a read through some of the other ramblings I continue to post.

You will see from our website, www.reynoldsorgans.com, that we are engaging in several exciting projects.  I won’t be able to blog them all, but perhaps the process of building a new organ for St. Joseph’s will help you to understand how these great instruments come to be.

Some postings will be out of sequence, since a great deal has already happened since we signed the contract last winter.  Hopefully, I will be able to catch you up!

We’re excited about this new organ, and I hope, after it’s finished, you will attend the dedication service and concert.  But that’s many months away!

I’m Back!

May 31st, 2014

I have to admit that in the press of things, I have not posted to this blog as regularly as I should. Often, while trundling down the road in my truck, I think of things I want to share, but keeping up with the office work has made it difficult to sit down and write.

We have recently completed several major projects, which are detailing on our main website, www.reynoldsorgans.com., and starting several others. One of these is a new organ for St. Joseph Catholic Church in Shelbyville, IN. In two days, we will begin dismantling the parish’s 1912 M.P. Moller organ. Most of the pipes from this very elegant old instrument will find a home in the new Reynolds Associates organ, which we hope to complete this fall.

For a number of years, I have wanted to document a project by doing a project blog. I have decided to do this as a separate category of this blog. I will provide the details as soon as I have it worked out. This will NOT be a day-by-day report. But, as interesting things happen, I will try to write about it. Many of our customers, even highly-trained professional organists, have no understanding of the complexity and sheer hard work involved in a major organ project. Please feel free to comment on what you read, or to ask questions. I will provide a few blog entries to bring you up to date.

Faith

August 15th, 2012

Faith is belief that has been fired in the kiln of adversity.

-Anonymous

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