Music Ministry

Organs & Instruments

CASAVANT ORGAN REFURBISHMENT AND ENHANCEMENT DETAILS

A project to refurbish the 1983 Casavant Frères organ and make tonal modifications to enhance and refine the tonal palette of the instrument, with respect to its original aesthetics.

TIMELINE

June 30-July 9 Removal of organ parts for transport to Canada
July-January Work occurs at Casavant shop in St-Hyacinthe, Quebec
February 9-March 27 Reinstallation of organ parts, tonal finishing and tuning
April 4 Easter Day - organ used in worship

MECHANICAL

Consoles - both Chancel and Gallery consoles will be rebuilt. The Chancel console will receive new keyboards, stop knobs, coupler tilting tablets, thumb pistons, a new solid-state combination memory system (256 levels) with USB backup, a new solid-state switching system to allow the console to plug-in at one of three connection points in the Chancel floor, and all console woodwork will be repaired and refinished. The Gallery console will receive new tilting stop tablets, thumb pistons, a new solid-state combination memory system (100 levels), a new solid-state switching system, and all console woodwork will be repaired and refinished. The Gallery console will also be provided with a feature to allow it to play the Chancel organ. To allow flexibility for various worship and music needs, the Gallery console will be permanently placed at the front of the balcony, east side. This will make it much easier to accompany choirs, soloists and instrumentalists from the balcony.
Swell Expression - the shutters for the Récit and Positif (playable on the third and bottom keyboards; pipes enclosed in separate chambers with shutters on the front to control volume) will be fitted with new gaskets and the enclosures sealed for greater effectiveness. This will prove most useful for choral accompanying so the organ can better support wide dynamic ranges of choral sound. The expression motor controlling the shutters for the Positif will also be rebuilt.
Wind - the main reservoir for the Grand-Orgue (playable on the second keyboard) will be rebuilt.

TONAL WORK

Reeds - all of the organ's chorus reed stops (trumpet, trombone) will be revoiced to increase fundamental tone for a richer sound and improve tuning stability. Special attention will be paid to the solo reed stops (oboe, english horn, crumhorn) to make them more colorful and effective. To this end, a new 16' Clarinette (clarinet) will be added to the Positif replacing the existing 16' reed stop.
Mixtures - these stops, which reinforce the fundamental pitches of the principal chorus, adding brilliance to the sound, will be addressed in various ways to improve their tonal qualities for better ensemble blend.

ADDITIONS/REPLACEMENTS

Résonance division - playable on the top keyboard, this division is designed to complement the Grand-Orgue. It is drawn from the Pedale division by adding treble pipes from notes 33-61 (pedal stops are typically only 32 notes). Allowing these stops to play in the manual brings a whole new dimension of sound to the organ by providing a powerful new manual ensemble. The Résonance features an abundance of 8' tone in foundations and reeds to reinforce the unison line for congregational singing and to act as a topping off of the full organ sound. Several solo stops from other divisions will be available on this manual as well.
Grand-Orgue - a new 8' Violon (string) stop to complement the existing 16' Violon
Récit - new 8' Hautbois (oboe) to replace existing stop which has been tonally unstable
Positif - new 8' Salicional (string) paired with a new 8' Unda Maris, a céleste stop, tuned sharp of the Salicional, producing an undulating sound when used together. This addition provides a secondary set of strings to contrast/complement the Récit Viole da gamba and Voix céleste. The Salicional will be extended to 16' in the manual and available in the Pedal also - perfect for choral accompanying.
Pédale - adding two derived stops from existing stops to reinforce the 32' harmonic series : a 10 2/3' Qunite and a two-rank Théorbe
Percussion - a new digital percussion package with Chimes, Harp and Celesta. These stops are updates of the digital percussions Schoenstein incorporated in the Wynne Chapel organ in 1992.
Façade - existing façade pipes of zinc will be replaced with new pipes of polished tin. All façade vibrations will be corrected.

When the project is completed, the organ's resources will total 8 divisions, 106 speaking stops, 92 ranks and 5197 pipes. 2010 Revised Organ Specifications

Unloading

Facade Before Work

Facade with Pipes Remned

Chancel Console

Gallery Console

Resonance Chest Installation

Gallery Pipework Reinstallation

Relit Right Side