Third Baptist Church Organ

Updates

2008-10-28T07:28:00.000-07:00

Here are a few overdue updates.
I went over to Illinois not long ago to see how the new console is coming along.
Things are progressing nicely. Unfortunately work is almost at a halt until the P&S keys arrive from England. The delivery date for them has been delayed considerably with no exact date known.

With the removal of the pipes in the south chamber, the only 16' pedal stops remaining were the two in the Swell, the softest and the loudest of the 16s. An interested homebuilder came and took two offset chests from this chamber, meaning it was finally time to disconnect the wind from some of the organ. Doing this disabled the pneumatic Pedal switches meaning there were NO pedal stops available. In order to make up for this, we rented a CM-100 from Wicks. This allows us via MIDI and a couple of powered speakers to have up to 12 digital stops, enough for some Pedal variety and even a few solo stops on the silent Great and Choir.
On Friday October 24, 5 of us attacked the south chamber to remove all of the components remaining. The amount of material that came out was too much for the dumpster, so most of it was stored on the second floor until a larger dumpster could be delivered.

That's all for now. The next step is waiting until the completed console and Great, Choir, Positiv, and Pedal divisions are all delivered after the first of the year.

Pipe Removal

2008-09-17T07:42:00.001-07:00

Over two days 5 men from Bogue organs removed almost all of the 35 ranks of pipework from the south organ chamber. Most of the pipes were packed in boxes for transport.

Larger pipes had to be packed loosely and were stored up and down the second floor hallway until taken out to the truck.This leaves only the Swell and Antiphonal divisions left for worship services. The 16' Lieblich Gedeckt is still playable (mostly) from the Pedal, however, at some point the switch that controls it will be removed, as it is in the south chamber. There are still a few 16' Open Diapasons remaining in the chamber. The chests must be removed before they can come out.

While they were here the Bogues also picked up all of the completed and revoiced reed pipes from Greg Caldwell. They will be back to get the remaining Open Diapasons and to pick up the console from Jim Schmidt. At this point we are waiting on P&S Organ Supply Company in the UK to deliver the 4 manuals for the new console, and unfortunately this company does not have a reputation for on-time delivery.

Speaking of chests, there are 16 windchests and 2 chime actions in this chamber that must be removed. We are looking for interested parties who would like to have them. They are in need of some releathering. If they're not taken, then they will be dismantled. If anyone is interested, please comment on this entry.

Regulators, which have been releathered recently, Peterson Relay parts, extra magnets and some old microphones that were placed in the chamber are going to be sold on eBay with proceeds going toward the organ restoration fund.

The next step

2008-08-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

After a bit of delay, the next step in the rebuild process is scheduled to begin this week. On Tuesday the Bogues will arrive with a truck to transport the pipes from the Great, Choir, Positiv, and Pedal division contained in the south chamber. This accounts for 35 ranks and well more than half of the organ. All of the organ components will be removed. Most will make their way to the dumpster, although some wood may be salvaged, and magnets, microphones, Peterson relay components will undoubtedly make their way to eBay.

Volunteers are welcomed to assist with the removal process and in carrying large pipes and components that will not fit in the elevator. Most help will probably be needed on Thursday and Friday.

July Update

2008-07-21T07:35:00.001-07:00

Progress continues. The date for removing the pipes of the south chamber has been moved back to mid- to late August. This gives us a few more weeks with the organ as it is. The reed revoicing, however, is right on schedule.

The Great Bombarde on the voicing machine. The pipes have been stripped and refinished, new brass wedges installed, and scrolls replaced where necessary.

Here's a few of the lowest French Horns. They also have been stripped and refinished. The double-scrolls have been cut out and will be replaced with single voicing scrolls. The domed covers have been removed (many of them were dented in) and replaced with flat covers.

Console Progress

2008-05-10T07:03:00.000-07:00

The new 4-manual console is progressing nicely. Here's a photo from May 9. Click it for a larger image.

First ranks leave the building

2008-04-08T11:39:00.001-07:00

On Friday April 4, the first complete reed ranks were removed from the Great, Choir and Pedal divisions. A team of 5 volunteers which included church custodial staff worked to remove the Choir Clarinet, the Choir French Horn, the Great 8' and 4' Bombarde, and the Pedal 16', 8', & 4' Bombarde. Pictured here are reed pipes crated for moving.

Organist Brent Johnson and Reed Voicer Greg Caldwell carrying low D of the 16' Bombarde to the elevator:
Bombardes and French Horns too large to be packed:The largest pipes were taken by trailer to a pipe shop in Illinois where they will be repaired and mitred to fit within the new layout of the organ. The remainder were taken to the shop of Greg Caldwell Organ Reed Restoration where they will be stripped, refinished and revoiced. This step will be completed by this summer when the entirety of the organ in the south chamber will be removed. The revoiced reeds will travel to the Bogue shop where the new contents of the south chamber will be assembled and tested.

Drawknob, stoptab, and piston layouts

2008-02-08T16:36:00.001-08:00

Here are the final layouts of all the engraved pieces. First, the sidejambs. Click the image to see it up close:

And then the tablet board and the pistons:

Console Updates

2008-02-07T07:12:00.000-08:00

The Stoplist, complete with some new nomenclature has been decided upon, and all drawknob faces and stoptabs have been ordered. All pipes are by Moller unless indicated. New ranks are being created by Organ Supply Industries and Eastern Organ Pipes. Here's the list.

GREAT

1. 16 Violone
2. 8 First Diapason
3. 8 Second Diapason - Kilgen
4. 8 Stopped Flute - New
5. 8 Melodia - Kilgen
6. 8 Gemshorn
7. 4 Principal
8. 4 Octave
9. 4 Harmonic Flute
10. 2 2/3 Quint
11. 2 Super Octave
12. III Mixture
13. III Cymbal
14. 16 Contra Trumpet - New
15. 8 Trumpet - Kilgen
16. 4 Clarion (from 15)
17. 8 Tuba Mirabilis (Choir)
18. Chimes
19. Zymbelstern
20. Tremolo
21. Great to Great 4
22. Great Unison Off
23. Great to Great 16
24. MIDI I
25. MIDI II
3 Blanks

SWELL
26. 16 Lieblich Gedeckt - Kilgen
27. 8 Geigen Principal
28. 8 Gedeckt (from 26)
29. 8 Viol d'Gamba
30. 8 Gamba Celeste
31. 8 Rohr Flute
32. 8 Flauto Dolce - New
33. 8 Flauto Celeste
34. 4 Principal
35. 4 Night Horn - New
36. 2 Flautino
37. III Plein Jeu
38. 16 Double Trumpet
39. 8 Trompette (from 38)
40. 8 Trumpet - New
41. 8 Oboe
42. 8 Vox Humana- Kilgen
43. 4 Clarion
44. 8 Tuba Mirabilis (Choir)
45. Tremolo
46. Swell to Swell 16
47. Swell Unison Off
48. Swell to Swell 4
49. MIDI I
50. MIDI II
3 Blanks

CHOIR
51. 8 Viola - Kilgen
52. 8 Viola Celeste - New
53. 8 Concert Flute - Kilgen
54. 8 Dulciana - Kilgen
55. 8 Unda Maris
56. 4 Fugara
57. 4 Flute d'Amour - Kilgen
58. 4 Dulciana (from 54)
59. 2 2/3 Nasard
60. 2 Piccolo
61. 8 French Horn
62. 8 Clarinet - Kilgen
63. 8 Tuba Mirabilis - New
64. Chimes
65. Tremolo
66. Choir to Choir 4
67. Choir Unison Off
68. Choir to Choir 16
69. MIDI I
70. MIDI II
3 Blanks

POSITIV
71. 8 Quintaton
72. 4 Prestant
73. 4 Rorhflöte
74. 2 2/3 Nasat
75. 2 Blockflöte
76. 1 3/5 Tierce
77. 1 1/3 Klein Quint
78. 1 Sifflöte
79. 8 Trechter Regal - New
80. Tremolo
81. Positiv to Positiv 4
82. Positiv Unison Off
83. Positiv to Positiv 16
84. MIDI
1 Blank

ANTIPHONAL
85. 8 Gedeckt
86. 8 Viol
87. 8 Viol Celeste
88. 4 Octave
89. 4 Triangle Flute - Formerly in Swell
90. 2 2/3 Lieblich Quint (from 85)
91. 2 Lieblich Flute (from 85)
92. 8 Trumpet
93. 8 Tuba Mirabilis (Choir)
94. Chimes
95. Tremolo
96. Antiphonal to Antiphonal 4
97. Antiphonal Unison Off
98. Antiphonal to Antiphonal 16
99. MIDI I
100. MIDI II

TIBIA
101. 8 Tibia - Wurlitzer
102. 4 Tibia (from 101)
103. 2 2/3 Tibia (from 101)
104. 2 Tibia (from 101)
105. Tremolo
106. MIDI

PEDAL
107. 32 Gravissima (Resultant) - New
108. 32 Resultant (Resultant)
109. 16 Open Diapason - Kilgen
110. 16 Violone (Great)
111. 16 Bourdon - Kilgen
112. 16 Lieblich Gedeckt (Swell)
113. 8 Octave - Kilgen
114. 8 Principal (from 109)
115. 8 Viol (Great)
116. 8 Bourdon (from 111)
117. 8 Gedeckt (Swell)
118. 4 Bourdon (from 111)
119. 4 Principal (from 113)
120. 2 Octavin (from 113)
121. 16 Bombarde
122. 16 Double Trumpet (Swell)
123. 16 Contra Trumpet (Great)
124. 8 Bombarde (from 121)
125. 8 Trumpet (Swell)
126. 4 Bombarde (from 121)
127. 8 Tuba Mirabilis (Choir)
128. MIDI
5 blanks

COUPLERS
129. Great to Pedal 8
130. Great to Pedal 4
131. Swell to Pedal 8
132. Swell to Pedal 4
133. Choir to Pedal 8
134. Choir to Pedal 4
135. Positiv to Pedal 8
136. Antiphonal to Pedal 8
137. Tibia to Pedal 8
138. Positiv to Swell 8
139. Tibia on Swell 8
140. Swell to Great 16
141. Swell to Great 8
142. Swell to Great 4
143. Choir to Great 16
144. Choir to Great 8
145. Choir to Great 4
146. Positiv to Great 16
147. Positiv to Great 8
148. Positiv to Great 4
149. Antiphonal to Great 16
150. Antiphonal to Great 8
151. Antiphonal to Great 4
152. Tibia on Great 8
153. Swell to Choir 16
154. Swell to Choir 8
155. Swell to Choir 4
156. Tibia on Choir 8
157. Tibia on Antiphonal 8
158. Great Choir Manual Transfer

INDICATOR LIGHTS
Wind
Crescendo Off
Sforzando I
Sforzando II
Transposer
All Swells to Swell

Initial Steps

2007-12-10T20:28:00.000-08:00

The first steps of work have been taken. In early November the Dan and Aaron Bogue came to take measurements of the chambers, openings, wind pressures, and pipe scales. They took several middle C's with them to serve as samples for the new Celeste ranks.

Dan Bogue, seen here checking the wind pressure of the Pedal Bombarde.

In addition, details regarding the new console were discussed. The new console will in many ways attempt to match the style of the current 1950's Moller console, while better matching the existing woodwork in the church.

Aaron Bogue taking down notes and measurements

Using the information gathered on this trip, plans for the completed organ and console will be drawn up, new pipe ranks will be ordered, and work will begin in the Bogue shop on construction of new components for the Great and Pedal chamber and on the new console.

Contract Signing

2007-07-22T17:09:00.000-07:00

Third Baptist church of St. Louis, Missouri has signed a contract with Bogue Organs of Downers Grove, Illinois for the rebuilding and enlargement of the church's pipe organ. The Bogue company was chosen by the church organ committee after a nearly year-long process. During that time multiple companies were invited to give their recommendations on the preservation of the church's historic organ.

The organ was originally designed by the Kilgen company of St. Louis and was installed in 1930 following remodeling of the church after a fire. The organ was designed to be 60 ranks, however, only 30 ranks were installed at that time. In 1949, the Möller Organ Company of Hagerstown, Maryland was contracted to complete the organ with 59 ranks. Many of the original Kilgen pipes and chests were retained and used in the new Möller organ. In 1951, the Kilgen console was replaced with a new 4-manual console built by Möller. Later one rank in the form of a Tibia unit rank was added to the organ. The organ is housed in three expressive chambers, two on either side of the chancel and one Antiphonal division in the rear ceiling of the church.

In the upcoming rebuild all of the existing pipework will be retained as will the current blower and motor, and expression shades. Everything else will be new, including a new custom 4-manual console, electrical system, relays, windchests, and reservoirs. Minor damage to some pipes will be repaired, and some partial ranks that were removed will be returned to use. 9 new ranks of pipes will be crafted, and the majority of the ranks will be restored to their original compass of 73 notes. This will bring the organ to a total of 69 ranks, or 4279 pipes, making it the 5^th largest organ in the City of St. Louis.

In addition the church has contracted with Greg Caldwell Organ Reed Restoration of St. Louis to repair and restore the existing reed pipes in the organ as well as voice the new reed ranks to be added to the organ.

In addition to the organ's current specification, a floating 8' Tuba Mirabilis will be added. An 8' Stopped Flute and a 16' manual Tromba will be added to the Great division, and an 8' Viola Celeste to pair with the existing Viola will be added in the Choir. A new 8' Trumpet will replace the current borrowed Trumpet in the Swell, and a 4' Night Horn will replace the existing 4' Triangle Flute (which will be relocated to the Antiphonal Division to replace the existing borrowed 4' Gedeckt). A new 8' Flauto Dolce will be added to pair with an isolated existing Flauto Celeste. An 8' Holz Regal will be added to the Postiv division. A previously removed portion of the 16' Open Diapason in the Pedal is being restored, and chimes that had previously been installed in the Choir division are being relocated to the Antiphonal. The entire rebuild works to create a more versatile service and concert instrument while still retaining the organ's English Cathedral/American Classic combination style.

Work is scheduled to begin in the church in June of 2008 with the removal of the Great, Positiv, Pedal, and Choir divisions housed in the chamber on the south side of the chancel, followed soon after by the reinstallation of these divisions and delivery of the new console. In August of 2008 the Swell and Antiphonal divisions are scheduled to be removed, and will be reinstalled in January of 2009. The entire instrument will at that time be tonally finished.

Funds for this project are being raised from the Third Baptist congregation and underwritten by a grant from the Third Baptist Foundation.