aeolian-skinner.st-thomas.new-york-city.ny.us AEO-STTH.NEW Date: Sat, 25 Mar 1995 15:53:09 -0800 From: Timothy Tikker Subject: 1956 stoplist St Thomas NYC Chancel organ (long) Built by Aeolian-Skinner, as rebuild opus 205A (from original E. M. Skinner) GREAT (manual I; 3.25" wind) pipes: 16' Quintade 61 (low 17 ex 1st Diap, stopped) 8' Montre 61 (45 scale) 8' Flute harmonique 61 (48 sc) 8' Bourdon 61 (51 sc) 8' Gemshorn 61 (46 sc, 2/3 taper) 8' Violoncelle 61 (50 sc) 4' Prestant 61 (58 sc) 4' Rohrfloete 61 (59 sc) 2 2/3' Quinte 61 (67 sc) 2' Doublette I-II 85 (70 sc) 1' Octave 61 (82 sc; top octave = 2') 1 1/3' Plein Jeu IV-VI 294 (46 sc @ 8' C) 1 1/3' Klein Mixtur IV 244 (48 sc @ 8' C) 1' Scharff IV 244 (48 sc @ 8' C) 8' Cornet de Recit 150 (g0 - c''') 16' Rankett -- (POS) 8' Krummhorn -- (POS) 4' Rohrschalmei -- (POS) Cymbelstern UNENCLOSED POSITIV (manual II; 2.25" flues, 5" reeds) 8' Nason Flute 61 (mahogany) 8' Viole conique 61 (54 sc, 1/2 taper) 4' Principal 61 (63 sc) 4' Koppelfloete 61 2 2/3' Nasard 61 (chimneyed) 2' Octave 61 (72 sc) 2' Blockfloete 61 1 3/5' Tierce 61 1 1/3' Larigot 61 (77 sc) [1 1/7' Septieme -- (prepared; to be 80 sc)] [1' Principal -- (prepared; to be 84 sc)] 2/3' Fourniture IV-VI 294 (50 sc @ 8' C) Cymbale III 183 1/4' Jeu de Clochette II 122 (starts 1/4', 1/5') 16' Rankett 61 (1/4-L Vox Humana) 8' Krummhorn 61 4' Rohrschalmei 61 ENCLOSED POSITIV (manual II, 5" wind) 16' Quintaton 61 (12 ex Geigen, rest ex SW) [8' Principal -- (prepared)] 8' Rohrfloete 61 (low 12 old) 8' Viola pomposa 61 (50 sc, tapered) 8' Viola celeste 61 8' Dulciana 61 (old rescaled to 54) 8' Unda Maris 61 (new, 54 sc) 4' Prestant 61 (60 sc) 4' Nachthorn 61 [2' Principal -- (prepared)] 2' Hellfloete 61 (old Piccolo revoiced, 2" sc) [1' Piccolo -- (prepared)] 2' Plein jeu IV 244 (49 sc @ 8' C) 16' Buccine 61 (1/2-L Fagott, 4" sc) [8' Petite Trompette -- (prepared)] 8' Chalumeau 61 (1/2-L Clarinet) 4' Clairon 61 Tremulant 16' Sub Coupler 4' Super Coupler 8' Trompette en chamade -- (ANT GRAND CHOEUR) SWELL (6" wind) 16' Quintfloete 61 (53 sc; low 12 old revoiced) 8' Diapason 61 (45 sc) 8' Flute traversiere 61 (50 sc - not harmonic?) 8' Rohrfloete 61 (old bass revoiced) 8' Flute douce 61 8' Flute celeste 61 8' Viole de gambe 61 (54 sc) 8' Viole celeste 61 (54 sc) 4' Octave 61 (57 sc) 4' Flute a fuseau 61 (Spillfloete) 4' Fugara 61 (66 sc) 4' Dulciana 61 (68 sc) 4' Unda Maris 49 (old, tenor C) 2 2/3' Nasard 61 (65 sc) [2' Principal -- (prepared)] 2' Octavin 61 (68 sc) 1 3/5' Tierce 61 (76 sc) 2' Plein jeu VI 366 (47 sc @ 8' C) 2/3' Cymbale III 183 (49 sc @ 8' C) 16' Bombarde 61 (3.75" sc) 8' Trompette 61 8' Hautbois 61 8' Vox humana 61 (old, revoiced) 4' Clairon 61 Tremulant GRAND CHOEUR (top manual; 5" wind) 32' Quintaton 61 (some pipes old, stopped) 16' Principal 61 (starts 40 sc) 8' Octave 61 (46 sc -> 56 @ 4' C) [8' Flute ouverte -- (prepared - 50 sc op met)] 5 1/3' Quinte 61 (old Erzaehler cut down) 4' Octave 61 (56 sc) 3 1/5' Tierce 61 (62 sc) [2' Principal -- (prepared)] 2' Grand Fourniture IV-VII 319 (45 sc @ 8' C) Tierce Mixture V-IX 376 16' Bombarde 61 8' Trompette 61 (harmonic @ f#') 4' Clairon 61 (harmonic @ f#0) 8' Trompette en cham. 61 (gallery - non-coupling) ANTIPHONAL GRAND CHOEUR unenclosed: 16' Bourdon 61 (old pipes from stock) 8' Diapason 61 (12 old' 56 sc @ 4' C) 4' Principal 61 (57 sc - old?) 2' Plein jeu IV 244 1' Cymbale III 183 (48 sc @ 8' C) 16' Bombarde 61 8' Trompette 61 4' Clairon 61 enclosed: 8' Flute ouverte 61 (old) 8' Salicional 61 (old revoiced) 8' Voix celeste 61 (") [4' Flute -- (prepared)] 4' Aeoline 61 (old revoiced) [2' Piccolo -- (prepared)] ANTIPHONAL PEDAL 16' Principal 32 (32 sc) 16' Bourdon -- (ANT GC) 8' Principal 32 (42 sc - or ext 16'?) [Mixture V -- (prepared)] 16' Posaune 32 (1/2-L) PEDAL (chancel; 5" wind, except Bombarde unit: 10") 32' Contrebasse 44 (op wd) 32' Bourdon 44 (old) 32' Quintaton -- (GR CH) 16' Contrebasse -- (fr 32') 16' Principal -- (GR CH) 16' Bourdon -- (fr 32') 16' Quintade -- (GT) 16' Quintfloete -- (SW) 10 2/3' Grosse Quinte 32 (42 sc; rebuilt Gemshorn) 8' Principal 32 (44 sc) 8' Spitzfloete 32 8' Gedecktpommer 32 (55 sc) 6 2/5' Grosse Tierce 32 (50 sc) 5 1/3' Quinte 32 (57 sc - old?) 4' Choralbass 32 (56 sc) 4' Nachthorn 32 (56 sc) 2' Blockfloete 32 5 1/3' Cornet 96 (52sc; 4' 56 sc; 3 1/5' tapered) 2 2/3' Fourniture IV 128 (2' 1 1/3' 1', 46 sc @ 8' C) 1' Cymbale III 96 (1/2' 1/4', 48 sc @ 8' C) 32' Bombarde 44 (10" sc) 16' Bombarde -- (fr 32'; 7.5" sc @ 16' C) 16' Buccine 32 (1/2-L Posaune, 4" sc) 8' Trompette 32 8' Krummhorn -- (POS) 4' Clairon 32 4' Rohrschalmei -- (POS) 2' Zink 32 Source: Callahan, Charles: _The American Classic Oran: A History in Letters_, pp. 517-523; also stoplist from article in _The Organ_ (date?) ------------------------------ Subject: aeolian-skinner.st-thomas.new-york.ny.us As a supplement to the above-named Osiris listing of the 1956 GD Harrison stoplist (Aeolian-Skinner Opus 205-A, rebuild of E. M. Skinner Opus 205, 1913), I'm now submitting the stoplist of this organ after its rebuilding by Gilbert F. Adams, 1965-77. 7 divisons on 4 manuals and pedal, 61/32 compass O = old pipes, including Skinner and others provided by Gilbert Adams AS = Aeolian-Skinner pipes (some ranks incorporating EM Skinner pipes) ASG = Aeolian-Skinner, revoiced by Gilbert Adams N = new pipes GREAT (I) 16' Principal O 16' Bourdon N 8' Principal ASG 8' Flute harmonique ASG 8' Gedeckt ASG 8' Violoncelle ASG 5-1/3' Grossquinte N 4' Octave ASG 4' Rohrfloete ASG 3-1/5' Grossterz N 2-2/3' Quinte N 2-2/7' Grossseptime N 2' Octave N 1-1/3' Mixture V-VII N 1/2' Scharf IV N (3 reed stops prepared for) POSITIF (II) 16' Quintaton ASG 8' Montre ASG 8' Bourdon ASG 8' Viole ASG 8' Dulciana ASG 4' Prestant ASG 4' Cor de nuit ASG 2-2/3' Nasard ASG 2' Doublette N 2' Quarte ASG 1-3/5' Tierce ASG 1-1/3' Larigot ASG 1-1/7' Septieme N 1' Piccolo ASG 2' Fourniture IV N 1/3' Cymbale III N 16' Basson ASG 8' Trompette N 8' Cromorne N 8' Clarinette AS [?] 4' Clairon N VORWERK (II) 8' Spitzprinzipal ASG 8' Gedackt ASG 4' Prinzipal N 4' Koppelfloete ASG 2-2/3' Quinte N 2' Oktave N 2' Blockfloete ASG 1-3/5' Terz ASG 1-1/3' Quinte ASG 1' Schwegel ASG 1/2' Scharf IV N 1/3' Terzzimbel III N 8' Cornet de Recit (g0-d''') AS 16' Rankett ASG 8' Voix humaine N Tremulant 8' Trompette en chamade (Gallery) AS SWELL (III, expressive) 16' Bourdon N 8' Principal ASG 8' Flute harmonique AS 8' Bourdon ASG 8' Flute douce 8' Flute celeste AS 8' Viole-de-gambe ASG 8' Viole celeste ASG 4' Prestant ASG 4' Flute a fuseau AS 4' Fugara AS 4' Dulciana AS 4' Unda maris AS 2-2/3' Nasard ASG 2' Doublette N 2' Octavin ASG 1-3/5' Tierce ASG 1-1/3' Fourniture IV N 1/2' Cymbale III N 16' Bombarde N 8' Trompette N 8' Hautbois ASG 8' Vox humana AS 4' Clairon N Tremulant GRAND CHOEUR (IV) 32' Principal (low 12 from Pedal) ASG 16' Montre ASG* 16' Bourdon (prepared for) 8' Montre ASG** 8' Bourdon N 4' Prestant ASG 3-1/5' Grosse Tierce N 2-2/3' Nasard N 2' Doublette N 2' Quarte N 1-3/5' Tierce N 1-1/3' Fourniture IV N 1/2' Cymbale IV [III?] N 8' Grand Cornet V (c'-c''') N 16' Bombarde N 8' Trompette N 4' Clairon N GALLERY (IV) 8' Trompette en chamade (horizontal) AS Chamade Ventil PEDAL 32' Contrebasse AS 32' Bourdon AS 16' Contrebasse (ext 32') 16' Principal O*** 16' Bourdon (ext 32') 16' Bourdon (GT) -- 10-2/3' Grosse Quinte AS 8' Octave O 8' Spitzfloete ASG 8' Gedeckt ASG 6-2/5' Grosse Tierce ASG 5-1/3' Quinte ASG 4-4/7' Grosse Septieme ASG 4' Superoctave ASG 4' Flute ASG 3-1/5' Tierce ASG 2' Blockfloete AS 2-2/3' Fourniture IV AS 1/3' Cymbale III AS 32' Bombarde AS 16' Bombarde (ext 32') ASG 16' Posaune AS 16' Bombarde (SW) 16' Rankett (VW) 8' Trompette ASG [?] 4' Clairon ASG 4' Rohrschalmei AS 2' Zink AS *low 24 from E. M. Skinner facade pipes, rendered silent in 1956 rebuild **low 12 from E. M. Skinner facade pipes, which had been stopped and became the tenor octave of the 32' Quintaton in '56 ***low 12 ex AS 32' Quintaton bass, now unstopped Unison couplers only Manual TransferI/II Sources: - American Guild of Organists Centennial Convention Handbook: New York City, July 7-11, 1996' pp. 243-244. - Robert James' program notes to the CD_Pierre Cochereau: The Historical Saint Thomas Organ Series I_ (August Classics AUGCL 9001) The following comments are from the Robert James program notes: "Soon after William Self's arrival as Organist and Choirmaster in mid-1954, plans for a new instrument began to be formulated and a gift for construction and continuing stewardship was forthcoming from the Arents family. The Arents Memorial Organ was to be designed by G. Donald Harrison, who, according to Ernest Skinner, was 'formerly in charge of sending out men on maintenance work for Willis.' "The new design left only a handful of Ernest Skinner's original ranks, but relied heavily on the old Skinner chestwork to the extent of almost 70 percent of the stops. This was, in part, the undoing of the 1956 organ as time rolled on. "Tonally, the instrument featured all of the departures from classic organbuilding disciplines which had characterized Harrison's work for many years and which were schemed to distance Harrison from the Ernest M. Skinner organs: the reed-less Great, the profusion of Quintaton doubles, the flute-scaled mixtures, the small-scaled 8' Principals, the over-scaled 4' Principals, and the very un-French, narrow-scaled chorus reeds. The Quintatons were, of course, part of Harrison's goal of 'Gravity without weight,' a battle-cry introduced on an Aeolian-Skinner demonstration record. The same goal drove Harrison's attempts to emphasize the 4' line in principal choruses. "In the universe of chorus reeds, Harrison had developed a small-scale variant with relatively closed French shallots and weighted tongues in the bass. These were known at the Aeolin-Skinner factory as '909C's' after the organ at All Saints Church, Worcester, Massachusetts, where they were first installed. Unlike their continental French cousins, the bass and tenor were severely restrained in volume and color to 'correct' the natural tendency of the genuine, open-shallot French reeds to bloom in the lower end of the compass. The sound of the American Classic chorus reed was far from the weighty grandeur of Ernest Skinner's work and light years away from the glories of Clicquot and Cavaille-Coll. "Having 'corrected' the supposed imbalance between bass and treble, Harrison was still reluctant to place in many post-war instruments his new chorus reed on the Great, preferring to place an unenclosed battery of reeds, in large instruments, on the division dubbed Bombarde or Grand Choeur, as at St. Thomas Church... "Unfortunately, the heavy nicking and wide scaling of the Harrison upperwork both militated against any striking improvement in the clarity of tonal textures. One only had to step out into the chancel area to discover that any sense of clarity had disapeared, no matter how much upperwork was being used. The cornet-scaled upperwork, in fact, created and kind of quinty-fluty cacophony unsuited to the flue plenum. "Harrison believed that all one needed for the Romantic French Tutti was the combination of chorus reeds and mixtures (Aeolian-Skinner demonstration record). Perhaps Harrison arrived at the rather eccentric conclusion that the French Tutti was 'clarified' by omitting the Jeux de Fonds. This concept may further have led him to employ cornet-like scalkings in the chorus mixtures, as some would say, to the detriment of the flue chorus. "William Self reports that Harrison was unhappy with much of the organ, but was prevented from completing the instrument and even attempting to correct defects by his untimely death on June 14, 1956... "In the years after Harrison's death, minor changes were made in the 1956 Grand Choeur as directed by Joseph Whiteford. In 1963, cleaning and tonal regulation were necessitated by blasting for construction next to the church. Aeolian-Skinner then recommended Anthony Bufano and Gilbert Adams for this work. Bufano and Adams had been installation technicians for Aeolian-Skinner. "At roughly the same time, the slow deterioration of thousands of flexible leather parts contained in the windchests became evident through continuing failures of the action. The 1913 windchests were leaking so badly and had been releathered so frequently at great expense that new chests of a basically leather-free design were regarded by the church as an absolute necessity. "The tonal deficiencies of the 1956 organ had long been recognized by William Self and the many visiting recitalists. Plans were made of the replacement or revoicing of all manual principal choruses and new manual chorus reeds, Cromorne and classic Voix humaine. Versatility of the various new ensembles was to be enhanced dy differences of quality, not quantity. "After retaining Adams to address the immediate failures of the organ and to clean most of it beginning in 1964, officials at St. Thomas Church studied alternatives for their stewardship of the organ. They decided to enter on a program of replacing the Skinner components with new pallet-and-slider windchests to be built by Adams. Playing major parts in this decision were both the tonal advantages of this type of chest's note-channel wind supply and its use of a very small amount of leather as very-long-lived gaskets rather than as the moving parts of a pneumatic machine, thus saving an estimated $250,000 (1992 prices) for releathering the organ every 12 years. "The proposed new chests facilitated a rethinking of the tonal components of the organ, and the first work began on the Grand Choeur division behind the North chancel casework. It became as essentially French Great with possibilities of Grand Jeu de Tierce, Grand Jeu, and 32' Grand Plein Jeu. The E. M. skinner facade pipes, which had all been silenced in 1956, spoke once again. "Having established a 32' Plenum on the Grand Choeur, the Great then could take its rightful place in the overall design, with a 16' plenum and principal mutations contrasting with the flute series of mutations on the Grand Choeur. A three-stop slider-chest was added to the 1956 pitman chest for eventual inclusion of German Baroque chorus reeds. "Meanwhile, the Swell divison's 1913 pitman chests had been mortally wounded by water on Good Friday, 1965. New slider chests were constructed by Adams and furnished with new chorus reeds and other tonal changes. "The old, enclosed Positif was liberated from its swell box and completely recast as a French division based on the 8' Principal and provided with a new Adams slider-chest. The exposed Positif, rebaptised Vorwerk, also places on new Adams slider-chests, as redesigned to contrast with the interior Positif in texture, but not in volume. Most of the Pedal stops were substantially reregulated or revoiced in the course of time. "As the work progressed, the church undertook the improvement of the acoustics which had long been the obstacle to good projection of both Choir and organ..." ----------------------------- Subject: aeolian-skinner.st-thomas.new-york.ny.us Date: 01-Feb-98 at 19:02 From: Timothy Tikker, INTERNET:timjt@awod.com TO: 70771,1047 Subject: aeolian-skinner.st-thomas.new-york.ny.us Addendum: mixture compositions (source: Callahan, op. cit.) GT Kleine Mixtur IV: C 1-1/3 1 2/3 1/2 c0 2 1-1/3 1 2/3 c' 2-2/3 2 1-1/3 1 c'' 4 2-2/3 2 1-1/3 c''' 8 4 2-2/3 2 GT Mixtur IV-VI (324 pipes): C 1-1/3 1 2/3 1/2 c0 2 1-1/3 1 2/3 c' 2-2/3 2 1-1/3 1 c'' 4 2-2/3 2 2 1-1/3 1-1/3 c''' 8 4 2-2/3 2-2/3 2 2 GT Scharff IV: C 1 2/3 1/2 1/3 c0 1-1/3 1 2/3 1/2 c' 2 1-1/3 1 2/3 c'' 2-2/3 2 1-1/3 1 f#'' 4 2-2/3 2 1-1/3 c''' 8 4 2-2/3 2 GT Cornet de Recit V (150 pipes): g0 8 4 2-2/3 2 1-3/5 (to c''' only) (8' stopped; 2-2/3' and 1-3/5' tapered 2 half-tones; rest cylindrical; all 30% Sn; unisons 1/4 mouths, quinte 2/9m, tierce 1/5m) POS Fourniture IV-VI (219 pipes): C c0 1 2/3 1/2 1/3 c' 1-1/3 1 2/3 1/2 f#' 2 1-1/3 1 1 2/3 c'' 2 2 1-1/3 1-1/3 1 f#'' 2-2/3 2-2/3 2 2 1-1/3 1-1/3 c''' 4 4 2-2/3 2-2/3 2 2 POS Cymbale III: C 1/4 1/6 1/8 F# 1/3 1/4 1/6 c0 1/2 1/3 1/4 f#0 2/3 1/2 1/3 c' 1 2/3 1/2 f#' 1-1/3 1 2/3 c'' 2 1-1/3 1 f#'' 2-2/3 2 1-1/3 c''' 4 2-2/3 2 POS Jeu de Clochette II: C 1/4 1/5 c0 1/2 2/5 f#0 1 4/5 c#''' 2 1-3/5 CH Plein jeu IV: C 2 1-1/3 1 2/3 c0 2-2/3 2 1-1/3 1 c' 4 2-2/3 2 1-1/3 c'' 8 4 2-2/3 2 c#''' 8 5-1/3 4 2-2/3 SW Plein jeu VI: C 2 1-1/3 1 1 2/3 1/2 c0 2-2/3 2 1-1/3 1 1 2/3 c' 4 2-2/3 2 2 1-1/3 1 c'' 8 4 2-2/3 2 2 1-1/3 f#'' 8 4 4 2-2/3 2-2/3 2 SW Cymbale III: C 2/3 1/2 1/3 c0 1 2/3 1/2 c' 1-1/3 1 2/3 c'' 2 1-1/3 1 f#'' 2-2/3 2 1-1/3 c''' 4 2-2/3 2 GC Grosse Fourniture IV-VII (319 pipes): C 2 1-1/3 1 2/3 c0 2-2/3 2 1-1/3 1 c' 4 2-2/3 2 2 1-1/3 c'' 8 4 2-2/3 2-2/3 2 2 c''' 8 5-1/3 4 4 2-2/3 2-2/3 2 GC Tierce Mixture V-IX (376 pipes): C 1 4/5 2/3 1/2 1/3 G 1-1/3 1 4/5 2/3 1/2 c0 1-3/5 1-1/3 1 4/5 2/3 g0 2 1-3/5 1-1/3 1 4/5 2/3 c' 2-2/3 2 1-3/5 1-1/3 1 4/5 g' 4 2-2/3 2 1-3/5 1-1/3 1 c'' 5-1/3 4 2-2/3 2 1-3/5 1-1/3 g'' 8 5-1/3 4 2-2/3 2 1-3/5 c''' 16 8 5-1/3 4 3-1/5 2-2/3 2 f''' 16 10-2/3 8 6-2/5 5-1/3 4 3-1/5 2-2/3 2 unisons 46 sc, 18th halving; quintes 47 sc, 18th; tierces 49 sc, 18th ANT Plein jeu IV: C 2 1-1/3 1 2/3 c0 2-2/3 2 1-1/3 1 c' 4 2-2/3 2 1-1/3 c'' 8 4 2-2/3 2 ANT Cymbale III: C 1 2/3 1/2 c0 1-1/3 1 2/3 c' 2 1-1/3 1 c'' 2-2/3 2 1-1/3 c''' 4 2-2/3 2 PED Grosse Cornet III: 5-1/3 4 3-1/5 throughout (tierce tapered) PED Fourniture IV: 2-2/3 2 1-1/3 1 throughout PED Cymbale III: 1 1/2 1/4 throughout (sic) -------------------- END ------------------- Subject: aeolian-skinner.st-john-divine.new-york.ny.us.1954 Date: 06-Feb-98 at 08:51 From: Timothy Tikker, INTERNET:timjt@awod.com TO: 70771,1047 CC: 100023,2476