aeolian-skinner.st-mark-episcopal.st-louis.mo.us AEO-STM9.STL Date: Mon, 8 Apr 1996 19:34:00 -0500 From: "John L. Speller" Subject: Aeolian-Skinner Op. 979: History & specs.(long) Since posting the Easter Music from St. Mark's Episcopal Church, St. Louis, I have received a couple of requests to post details of the organ, Aeolian-Skinner #979, including one from Larry Chase asking me not to spare the details (nobody ever said that before -- you asked for it!) Well, Aeolian-Skinner Opera 978 (St. Thomas More House, New Haven, CT), 979 (St. Mark's Episcopal Church, St. Louis, MO) and 980 (St. Joseph's Hospital Chapel, San Francisco, CA) were all basically similar instruments, probably inspired by Walter Holtkamp's instrument at Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Rochester, NY, which had been built the previous year. As G. Donald Harrison noted (letter in Charles Callahan's _The American Classic Organ_, p. 178) the St. Mark's instrument here was particularly successful, both because of the fabulous acoustics of the church and because it was built -- Holtkamp-style -- on completely open display, rather than buried in chambers as was the custom of the time. (It is my theory it was the first Aeolian-Skinner built ENTIRELY [as opposed to partly] on open display in a CHURCH [as opposed to secular buildings like the Germanic Museum in Harvard]. I have at least been unable to find anyone who can confirm or gainsay this. Can any of you?) A letter in the parish archives from Ernest White, 17 October 1963, claims that he and G. Donald Harrison collaborated on the tonal design. It also says that the instrument was originally intended to be larger and to contain among other things a Cornet decompose and Mixture on the Great, and a 4' Pedal Geigen. As it was the available funds turned out to be limited to $3,500 so the scheme had to be cut down to nine ranks. The contract was signed on 6 June 1938 and the instrument was dedicated with the church building on 15 January 1939. The organ was played at the dedication by Daniel Robert Philippi (1880-1955), who was organist of Christ Church Cathedral, St. Louis from 1927-41, and had previously been a pupil of William C. Macfarlane and assistant to both Leopold Stokowski at St. Bart's and T. Tertius Noble at St. Thomas', NYC, as well as one of the recitalists of the Pan Pacific Exoposition in San Francisco. He is mentioned in Chuck Callahan's book as playing the Bach Passacaglia in C minor on the St. Mark's organ. At the dedication Dan Philippi played a piece I don't know called "Vision" by Rheinberger as the prelude and Bach's Prelude in E minor (I don't know which one) as the postlude. The Christ Church Cathedral choir sang Wesley's "Lead me, Lord." On 5-9 1948 the A.G.O. held its Annual Convention in St. Louis, and one of the highlights of this was a "Symposium on Organ Design", chaired by Dr. William Harrison Barnes, G. Donald Harrison and Senator Emerson Richards. Harrison seems to have taken the opportunity to show Richards over the St. Mark's organ. The fruits of this were seen in an article by Emerson Richards on the instrument, entitled "World's Biggest Little Organ" and published in _The American Organist_ for October 1948. Emerson Richards got the date of the organ wrong -- he had it as 1941. Harrison doubtless told him it was built the year World War II broke out, but we Brits know that was 1939! Richards wrote "The buildup is unbelievable. While no register is very big in itself, the ensemble is as big and brilliant as that of a 25-rank organ ... It is a miracle of voicing and finishing. Every voice does something ... In spite of the feeling of strength and bigness, there remains a characteristic quality and suave restraint in the solo voices. This curious change in the effects of the voices between their individual and their ensemble uses is one of those fascinating enigmas that makes it possible to play this little organ for hours without any feeling of exhaustion." The whole organ was on 3" wind except for the C# side offsets of the Gr. 8' stops which for ease of winding are winded from static (4.1/2"). The original (and present) stop list is: GREAT 61 8' Principal sc. 44, 1/4 mth. 8' Spitzflute common Flauto Dolce 4' Nachthorn common Positiv type. Arched mouth below mid C. SWELL 61 (no extension octaves) 8' Bourdon 1-12 stopped wood. Rest common metal Stopped Diapason 4' Prestant sc. 56, 1/4 mth. Lowest two octaves slotted. III Rks. Plein Jeu all based on sc. 47 at 8' C, halving on 18th. note. C 22-26-29 c 19-22-26 f 15-19-22 f' 12-15-19 c" 8-12-15 Tremolo PEDAL 32 16' Bourdon 44 pipes 8' Flute extn. of Bourdon COUPLERS Swell to Great 16, 8, 4 Swell to Swell 16, 4 Great 4 Great to Pedal 8 Swell to Pedal 8, 4 Balanced Swell Pedal Creescendo Pedal Sforzando Toe Stud (reversible) (otherwise no combination action) Certain features are very interesting. The inclusion of the Flauto Dolce is very sensible since it is really rather more of a muted string than a flute and makes up for the absence of a string stop as well as being able to be used with the Nachthorn to create balanced flute combinations on both manuals. The Plein Jeu is a masterpiece of design. As you will note the breaks are all quite near the bottom so that it can be used with the octave couplers without screaming. Furthermore, used with the 4' Prestant (without an 8' stop) and with the 16' Swell to Swell coupler in its alto and treble registers it takes on a Cornet quality so convincing that I can never believe there isn't a tierce in it when I hear it. The Oboe is interesting -- Oh! there isn't one! The chief drawback of the organ is that as so much of the beef is on the Swell it is very difficult to accomplish satisfactory echo effects, except perhaps with the continual use of the Sforzando toe stud. In 1964, when they were working on the new Aeolian-Skinner at Christ Church Cathedral, St. Louis, Aeolian-Skinner (well Don Gillette to be precise) came in and transposed the 8' Spitzflute to 4' and the Nachthorn to 2'. (However anyone thought such gentle flutey ranks could create a decent chorus with a fairly substantial 8' Principal is a mystery to me. Needless to say it wasn't a success. If this was what was wanted it would have been better to add a 2' Italian Principal on a little chest at the front.) In 1989 the organ was releathered by the then Moller serviceman, the late Ray Churchtown, who attempted to reverse the tonal changes of 1964. This was all before my wife became rector. Churchtown's work was a disaster. The leather used was too thick and in order to get the action to work at all the pressure of the manuals had to be raised 1/2 an inch and the pedal by an inch. This has made the instrument too loud. Furthermore the new basses for the Spitzflute and Nachthorn came from goodness knows what (probably some old heap of Kilgen rubbish) and do not fit with the Aeolian-Skinner work at all. The church was considering legal action against Mr. Churchtown at the time he died from an overdose of vitamin pills (yes, really!) All this will have to be done over again when the church can find the money. Well, that's probably more than any of you wanted to know, so I will stop. I hope you find at least some of it interesting. John Speller ------------------------------