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Rooted firmly in historic principles, Opus 126’s tonal design is a unique blending of elements chosen specifically to meet the musical needs of both Episcopal liturgy and university instruction, as it serves both St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and the East Carolina University School of Music. Responding to the organ committee’s request for an instrument that “convincingly plays a broad range of organ repertoire, but which is especially sympathetic to Romantic tonal ideals,” we looked to the work of the late 19th-century French organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll as a tonal point of departure. French Romantic organs, including those at Caen, Toulouse, Rouen, Lyon, and, in Paris, St. Sulpice and Sacré Cœur, were thoroughly reviewed to distill the essence of the work of Cavaillé-Coll and his contemporaries; surviving Classical French instruments in Houdon, Souvigny, and Poitiers were studied, as were several noteworthy North and Central German instruments from the time of Buxtehude and Bach.
All told, the Grand Orgue, Positif, and Récit divisions contain ten 8’ flue stops of widely varying timbres. When drawn together they form the fonds d’huit, or 8’ foundations, a combination of stops frequently called for in French 19th- and 20th-century scores. The organ’s twelve reed stops are also worthy of note. The French chorus reeds, modeled after the work of Cavaillé-Coll to capture the drama of his cathedral organs, create one of this organ’s most formidable effects. Complete French Romantic reed batteries are available in both the Grand Orgue and the Récit divisions at 16’, 8’, and 4’ pitch, and the Pédale division borrows its reed battery from the Grand Orgue. In the Pédale the Bombarde 16’ is extended downward to 32’ pitch, giving the organ its climax stop at the bass end of the tonal spectrum. The Récit Hautbois, imitative of oboe tone, is more restrained and vocal, while the Positif Cromorne has a more extroverted personality reminiscent of the clarinet. Finally, the organ boasts a high-pressure reed stop, the hooded Tuba Mirabilis, designed and voiced for soloing hymn melodies and for accompanying large processions. While constructed in the French manner, its heavier tongues and high wind pressure give the Tuba a marked nobility of tone. Housed within the Positif division’s expression box, its great power can be held in check or given free rein.
In order to give the organ the ability to perform music from earlier periods as well, certain stops were added to this Romantic core. Two German reeds—the Grand Orgue Trommeten 8’ and the Pédale Posaune 16’—with their greater ability to blend with fluework, differ greatly from the splashier trumpets of France. The Trommeten, a gentle chorus reed, is modeled after a similar stop found in the 1642 Brunner organ in Tellingstedt, Germany. The Posaune, based on that found in the Arp Schnitger organ in Dedesdorf, provides a smooth, foundational underpinning to the manual choruses, allowing for very convincing performance of the German Baroque repertoire. Thus, complete well-balanced flue choruses are found in each manual division, and all reeds and mutations necessary for authoritative performance of the Classical literature are present.
In order to enhance Opus 126’s flexibility and expressivity, two of its three manual divisions—the Positif and the Récit—were placed under expression in heavily built wooden enclosures fitted with louvers controlled by the organist.
Early and frequent exchanges of ideas and opinions among architects Atkin, Olshin, Lawson-Bell, liturgical designer Terry Eason, acoustician Dana Kirkegaard and our own firm made possible an acoustic all too rare in modern ecclesiastical buildings. That this acoustic should have been obtained in a visually satisfying yet peacefully beautiful setting is all the more a testament to the virtues of such cooperation.
Charles Fisk often repeated the statement, “The most important stop on any organ is the room,” and that sentiment is made manifest in this building, which inspired us to rise to new heights in our work.
– David Pike and Gregory Bover
C. B. Fisk & Co.
The Perkins and Wells Memorial Organ • C. B. Fisk, Opus 126
44 voices • 57 ranks • 3,119 pipes
Grand Orgue, 61 notes, Manual en façade
Montre 16’
Montre 8’
Salicional 8’
Flûte conique 8’
Flûte harmonique 8’
Prestant 4’
Flûte ouverte 4’
Quinte 2 2/3’
Doublette 2’
Tierce 1 3/5’
Plein jeu harmonique II-VI
Plein jeu VI
Bombarde 16’
Trompette 8’
Trommeten 8’
Clairon 4’
Positif expressif, 61 notes, Manual II enclosed
Principal 8’
Cor de Nuit 8’
Prestant 4’
Flûte douce 4’
Nasard 2 2/3’
Doublette 2’
Tierce 1 3/5’
Plein Jeu IV
Cromorne 8’
Tuba Mirabilis 8’
Récit expressif, 61 notes, Manual III enclosed
Bourdon 16’
Viole de gambe 8’
Voix céleste 8’
Flûte traversière 8’
Bourdon 8’
Flûte octaviante 4’
Octavin 2’
Plein jeu IV-V
Cornet III (from tenor G)
Basson 16’
Trompette 8’
Hautbois 8’
Clairon 4’
Pédale, 32 notes
Bourdon (ext) 32’
Contrebasse 16’
Montre (GO) 16’
Bourdon (Rec) 16’
Octave 8’
Flûte conique (GO) 8’
Salicional (GO) 8’
Octave 4’
Contre Bombarde (ext) 32’
Bombarde (GO) 16’
Posaune 16’
Trompette (GO) 8’
Trommeten (GO) 8’
Clairon (GO) 4’
Alternating stops have two stop knobs, one in the Grand Orgue and one in the Pédale. The stop may be used in one division or the other, but not simultaneously unless the Grand Orgue to Pédale coupler is drawn.
Couplers and Accessories:
Positif expressif to Grand Orgue
Récit expressif to Grand Orgue
Récit expressif to Positif expressif
Grand Orgue to Pédale
Positif expressif to Pédale
Récit expressif to Pédale
Récit expressif to Pédale 4’
Octaves graves
Key Action:
Direct mechanical (tracker), except for the largest pipes of the organ, which are pneumatically controlled. A Kowalyshyn Servopneumatic Lever provides a pneumatic assist (similar to a Barker Machine, but more refined) to the Grand Orgue key action. It includes an “Octaves graves” coupler, which couples the servopneumatic lever to itself, one octave lower. It therefore couples the Grand Orgue to itself at sub-octaves and any division coupled to the Grand Orgue also appears on the Grand Orgue at sub-octaves.
Stop Action:
Solenoids, electronically controlled.
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