[Vandalism in upstate NY]

You seem to suggest yourself that it is not as though one of the great wonders of the world has been lost, and in some ways perhaps it is better to have it gone than remaining, unwanted, unloved, unappreciated - and unfinished.

If that is the interpretation you take from my post, I will need to be even more careful with my words should I submit posts in the future. In a complicated situation like this where it is easy to overstate a case, I am afraid I erred on the overly cautious side.

 

The organ would never be a Stade or a Caen or any other pilgrimage instrument you care to name, but even as it was, it was better than many pipe organs in the area, and far better than the electronics I have heard.

 

I cannot speak for the mood of the congregation, as I only spent several hours at the church and do not care to speculate.

[Vandalism in upstate NY]

I read all the builder's report quotes, which are selective to say the least and don't deal with the nitty gritty about what each firm would *do*. What they mostly have in common is an earnest belief that the organ is really very nearly finished, a great deal of flattery for the person who made it (whom they will all know was a recent or current organist of that church) - oh, and by the way, there isn't much work about at the moment and could we have the job please?

 

As one of the builders who inspected the instrument and submitted a quote, I disagree with much of the above statement. Below please find examples from my quote letter.

 

Regarding the flattery:

 

"The repairs necessary to bring the organ into top playing order are, for the most part,

details that obscure a reasonably well-built organ. The organ looks handsome and is in a visual

style suited to the church. While the Great Trumpet may be considered bold enough to warrant

limited use for wedding processionals and hymn melodies, in general the organ is voiced with a

full but not aggressive tone quality. The many stops and division locations give the organist a

variety of ways to play at different volume levels and tone colors. I would have made some

different choices if I were building an organ for this church and the current music style, but the

organ as built has a good variety of resources to support the liturgy."

 

Some background. When I visited the church early this year, one thing the pastor told me was that they "had been told that what they had was a European Concert Organ, and this is not what we need." Some of the above paragraph was an attempt to explain why there are multiple stops and multiple manuals.

 

Regarding the nitty gritty:

 

1. Collapsing front pipes.

"Now that I understand [and explained in previous paragraphs, a combination of thin metal and insufficient

racking for the suspension system] what led to the distortion of the Great and Positive pipes it may be

possible to replace just the largest 5 pipes in each division, but below I quote a price for

replacing all of the façade pipes in the organ. This would be a prudent and conclusive choice.

The cost to replace the Great, Positive, and Pedal Principal façade pipes, supplied by [highly regarded

North American pipemaking shop] would be $x including installation with new racks

and voicing. The 10 Pedal Principal pipes would be replaced with polished zinc pipes, the Great

and Positive Principal pipes would be replaced with tin pipes that have copper liners in the feet

for pipes larger than 2’ C."

 

Note: If closer inspection of the smaller front pipes showed that they were in reasonable condition and the church trusted my judgment on that point, I would have been happy to only replace the center tower pipes. My sense was that they were looking for solutions that would remove all doubt for future repairs.

 

2. Sagging Chamade pipes:

The same pipemaking shop "recommended either replacing the largest 24 Trumpet pipes with polished

zinc or re-rounding the pipes and soldering copper liners inside the pipe. Replacing the

resonators with new polished zinc resonators is the less-expensive choice, at a cost of $y.

Another option suggested by a colleague ... would be to re-round the existing pipes

and build a new support system that cradles the pipes from below. This would be more of a

visual change but it would be less expensive and retain the existing pipes. I estimate this option

would cost $0.5y."

 

3. Electric combination action, piggybacked on a full mechanical stop action:

"I have spoken with the ... representative for ... the maker of the combination action. He

assures me that the system and its installation can be made to function correctly and he will, in

fact, be in the Glens Falls area after Easter. He suggested budgeting $z to have him assess

the installation and make any necessary modifications to make the system function properly."

 

4. Mechanical key action:

"In playing the instrument I noted that the Great keydip was a bit deep. On further investigation I

found that the pallets (valves) of the Great were only moving 1/8”, about half the typical

distance, so there is a chance (especially in the bass) that the pipes would not get full wind when

all of the stops are drawn on the Great. The Swell pallets were moving the typical 1/4". The

supplier from which Mr. DeMarse purchased small action components sells roller arms of

different lengths to allow builders to adjust the ratio between the key travel and pallet movement.

I have yet to see Mr. DeMarse’s drawings from which he built the keyboards and coupler

mechanisms. Once I have seen them and am assured that a more substantial fix is not necessary,

I would recommend replacing one or both roller arms for each key to allow the keydip to be

reduced and insure the pallets travel the typical 1/4". I estimate it will cost $q to replace

Great roller arms and regulate the action. As part of the action regulation, I would label

adjustment points in the console so a layperson can fix the occasional late-speaking note or

cipher (note that stays on) between regular maintenance visits."

 

5. Three points brought up by the church during the visit:

"The blower makes more noise than is desirable, and access for oiling is difficult, but moving it

outside the lower case of the organ presents the obstacle of unwanted steps. I recommend

rebuilding the blower box for easier access, making sure the blower is mechanically isolated

from the box with springs and flexible output tubing, and installing an intake duct that is lined

with sound absorbing material to minimize the blower noise, at a cost of $r.

 

Replacing all of the locks to ones that are keyed alike is something that either a locksmith or an

organ builder can do. I estimate it would cost $s to find appropriate locks, purchase them and

install them.

 

The flexible ducts used to connect the windchests to the main reservoir are not ideal because they

reduce wind flow for their given diameter and they will deteriorate over the next decade or so. I

do not think their replacement is urgent, but for budgeting purposes, the price for installing new

plywood ducts wherever possible would cost $t. Some organ builders use PVC pipe, which

may be appropriate here and would be less expensive."

 

Finally, regarding the structure:

"Regarding the weight of the organ, Mr. DeMarse says that he told the original structural engineer

for the balcony expansion that the organ would weigh 30,000 pounds and that the balcony was

built to accommodate this weight. I haven’t seen the drawings for the floor structure, but from

the look of the floor, I believe it is possible that some of the load points of the organ are not

directly over the steel installed for the balcony expansion, but it should be possible to add steel

running side-to-side attached to the organ case to let the existing balcony steel do its job. I would

be happy to consult with a structural engineer regarding support of the organ." I did not hear back from the church on this.

 

The organ was not a perfect organ. Some aspects of tuning and maintenance would always have been difficult. The voicing was not the most refined or engaging, but it was not bad. With the above items fixed, the organ would have been a good instrument.