Home Calendar Contacts |  Bio  |  Church Ministry  |  Recordings  |  Organ  |  Bagpipes  |  Teaching  |  Bach  | Presbyterian Church in Morristown Organ The tonal modification of what was a three manual, fifty-rank Austin organ (1959) occurred between 1993 and 1996. The 1959 organ was typical of its period; a neo-classic scheme, small scales, light foundations. The entire instrument was installed at one level behind a magnificent nineteenth-century case reminiscent of that at the Mormon Tabernacle. Most of the organ's power came from the unenclosed and centrally located Great and the Choir/Pedal reed unit, enriched by the addition of a half-length 32' Bombarde in 1985. This largely limited registrational possibilities for congregational accompaniment to "reeds-off/reeds-on" effects, the foundations and enclosed mixtures being too gentle to support singing in the 900 seat church. It clearly lacked the requisite dynamic levels and color for Romantic and Contemporary organ literature. The organ space had room for additions only in the Great, and to the side of the choir box. It was decided to take advantage of the Great's superior placement by providing two Principal Choruses. The larger one, with its bold Plein Jeu, supplies sufficient energy for a real flue tutti in the room. The secondary chorus functions more as a "normal" Great, though its presence makes it surprisingly effective as a large "Positiv", played against the Swell and the Choir. A soaring Flute Harmonique and wide-scaled flute Cornet also gain from their placement, and the Trompette unit has a chameleon-like way of succeeding in both 17th and 19th century French literature. The Great alone offers a wealth of possibilities for congregational accompaniment. The old Choir division functioned as a 2' Brustwerk. It needed to contribute more to the tutti of the instrument. Therefore, the old Great Principal Chorus was moved to this division; this chorus, capped by the 16', 8' and 4' chorus reeds, is equal in power to the Swell, but with a darker, fuller sound. The new Trumpet and Cromorne ranks figure prominently in the success of this division. New wide-scaled flute mutations were added as a foil to the bolder Great Cornet. The division now provides an extremely versatile enclosed Great for choral and congregational accompaniment, and also assumes its proper balance with the other divisions for the Romantic literature. The high-pressure Pedal reed unit is also available as an 8' manual reed in the Choir. The Swell was considerably expanded. A relaxed-sounding 8' Geigen and a 2' harmonic piccolo were added. The old 8' and 4' Trumpets were retained but were complemented by a new mezzo-forte French trompette unit. These two reed choruses co-exist quite happily and allow the division to assume by turns, several different personalities as the chorus reeds are mixed in various ways. A Vox Humana, on its own separate chest, had been added to the organ some years ago. It was felt during the rebuild that there was a need for a German-style cantus stop on that chest which could be borrowed to the pedal. As a result, the old Krummhorn from the original organ was sawed in half and the result is a pungent, authoritative Regal. The Pedal was given some valuable new colors. Most of the 16' manual reeds were borrowed to this division. In addition, the old Choir Erzahler and Swell Fagotto units were retained as independent unenclosed 16' and 8' Pedal stops, the reed functioning as a wonderful little Posaune. These additions, combined with the excellent existing flue chorus, provide Pedal resources of unusual lavishness in an instrument of this size. It was clear from the beginning of the rebuild that the provision of four manual flue and reed choruses on existing actions would leave little room for much else. A wish to make the instrument an excellent accompaniment for choirs and the desire for a wide palette of exotic colors led to a conservative addition of digitally-produced electronic voices produced by Robert Walker of the Walker Technical Company. Ideally, most of these stops should have gone into a fourth manual division, but the retention of the existing console dictated their distribution amongst the manual divisions. As a result, the Swell gained soft flutes, Flugel Horn, Vox Humana, Tuba and Trumpet Harmonique and the Choir three Celestes, Solo Flute, Clarinet and English Horn. In addition, the Pedal now has two new 32' flues, a soft string enclosed with the Choir, a Bombarde unit, and a large Flute Ouverte which provides remarkable breadth to an already heroic Pedal division. Harp and Chimes complete the complement of electronic voices. The console is MIDI-compatible and also utilizes a sequencer. A final addition in the rebuild was the inclusion of a Zimbelstern, built by Der Zimbelstern of Sussex, Wisconsin. The Zimbelstern can be regulated in speed and volume and its bells are perched directly in front of the Great division. Explicitly eclectic organs are a very tricky business. Unifying elements are essential. The 1990's rebuild stuck to a consistent voicing style: clear without transient noise, flue choruses with a real 8' foundation and singing 4' line, elegant reeds and an immaculate tonal finish. The Austin staff, comprised of David Broome, Fred Heffner, Zoltan Zsitvay and Chris Broome, achieved remarkable integrity of sound. This organ was built to last. It stands ready to serve the congregation and community well for many years to come. GREAT ORGAN CHOIR ORGAN 16' 8' 8' 8' 4' 4' 2 2/3' 2' IV III V 16' 8' 4'   Spitzprincipal Principal Spitzprincipal Flûte Harmonique Octave Spitzprincipal Twelfth Fifteenth Plein Jeu Scharff Coronet de Récit Bombarde Trompette Clairon Chimes 12 pipes 61 pipes 61 pipes 49 pipes 61 pipes 12 pipes 61 pipes 61 pipes 244 pipes 183 pipes 150 pipes 12 pipes 61 pipes 12 pipes electronic 8' 8' 8' 8' 8' 8' 8' 4' 4' 2 2/3' 2' 1 3/5' 1' IV 16' 8' 8' 8' 4'     Diapason Flûte Harmonique Rohrflöte Viola Viola Céleste Kleine Erzähler II Dulcet II Octave Koppelflöte Nasard Super Octave Tierce Blockflöte Mixture Clarinet Trompette English Horn Trumpet Cromorne Harp Tremulant 68 pipes electronic 68 pipes electronic electronic electronic electronic 68 pipes 68 pipes 61 pipes 61 pipes 61 pipes 61 pipes 244 pipes electronic 68 pipes electronic 24 pipes 68 pipes electronic   SWELL ORGAN PEDAL ORGAN 16' 16' 8' 8' 8' 8' 8' 8' 8' 4' 4' 4' 2 2/3' 2' IV 16 8' 8' 8' 8' 8' 8' 4' 4' 4' Spitzflöte Bourdon Geigen Flûte Traversière Bourdon Viole de Gambe Voix Céleste Dolcan Dolcan Céleste Prestant Flute Harmonique Lieblichflöte Nazard Octavin Plein Jeu Contra Trompette Trompette Trumpet Flügel Horn Vox Humana Trompette Harmonique Tuba Octave Trumpet Clairon Regal electronic 12 pipes 68 pipes electronic 68 pipes 68 pipes 68 pipes 68 pipes 68 pipes 68 pipes electronic 12 pipes electronic 61 pipes 244 pipes 12 pipes 68 pipes 68 pipes electronic electronic electronic electronic 68 pipes 12 pipes 61 pipes 32' 32' 16' 16' 16' 16' 16' 16' 8' 8' 8' 8' 4' 4' III 32' 16' 16' 16' 16' 8' & 4' 8' 8' 4'   Violone Bourdon Flute Ouverte Contra Bass Spitzprincipal Bourdon Erzähler Gamba Octave Spitzprincipal Bourdon Erzähler Super Octave Flute Mixture Ophicleide Ophicleide Bombarde Contra Trompette Fagotto Trumpets Bombarde Fagotto Regal Ancillary Reeds electronic electronic electronic 32 pipes from Great from Swell 32 pipes electronic 32 pipes from Great from Swell 12 pipes 12 pipes from Choir 96 pipes 12 pipes 32 pipes from Great from Swell 32 pipes 24 pipes from Great 12 pipes from Swell electronic COUPLERS TOE STUDS & PISTONS Great: Great 16 and 4 Swell 16, 8, and 4 Choir 16, 8, and 4 Choir: Choir 16 and 4 Swell 16, and 4 Great 8 Swell: Swell 4 Pedal: Great 8 and 4 Swell 8 and 4 Choir 8 and 4 Generals 1 - 14 Reversible Ophicleide 32' Reversible Violone 32' Reversible Great to Pedal Pedal 1 - 3 Swell Divisional Choir Divisional Great Divisional Zimbelstern PISTONS 14 Generals on Manuals 3 Ventils 1 MIDI Reversible per Division 8 Divisional Pistons per Manual