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An Organ History of Saint James in the Woods Clintonville, Ohio
Timothy Smith
Though the 1929 organ may have had some musical integrity, its relocation to a remote spot proved less than satisfactory. Subsequent years of maintenance were carried out by the Durthaler Organ Company, but by the late 1960’s the organ was disappointing artistically and mechanically. At the inspiration of organist Susan Brattain, a capital campaign in 1969 raised funds for an entirely new organ, constructed in the Dutch High Renaissance style by John Brombaugh and Company of Middletown, Ohio. This new instrument of 572 pipes, the firm’s seventh organ, was free-standing in an oak case on the south wall of the chancel where the 1929 organ had originally stood. The Brombaugh was dedicated October 24, 1971 with a recital by Professor Arthur Carkeek of DePauw University.
Changes came to this organ as well. Two
additional stops were installed later in the 1970’s, adding 168 pipes to the
organ’s resources. In the 1980’s the collegiate chancel was altered, the reredos
was moved away from the wall, and the Brombaugh was placed on the center axis of
the nave
Early in the life of the Brombaugh organ, the parish embraced a regular practice of the Sarum rite, offering masses in the Anglo-Catholic tradition, which has continued to the present. While the Brombaugh spoke with distinct clarity, its dynamic range and tonal palette were somewhat static for the dry acoustics of the church. Too, the organ’s design around mechanical key action eliminated space for singers, and as a result of liturgical changes to the sanctuary furnishings, it was difficult to maintain a consistent choral ensemble. In 2008, the Brombaugh was offered for sale with the intention of installing an organ that would afford extensive choir seating. The replacement organ was to provide a wide dynamic range with part of the pipework enclosed, and all families of pipe tone represented in an American classic design.
The west gallery provided an ideal place for pipes. Inaccessible to people and therefore unsuited for any future expansion, it allowed organ components to be placed on the center axis of the nave acoustics. A densely-walled Swell chamber was built to house about half of the organ, and fitted with shutters for dynamic control. It was also clear that some pipes would need to be located near the choir for consistent pitch and rhythm.
As a sidebar to American organ design, the precedent of “remote” organ pipes is a topic of some interest. The growing use of electricity in the mid 1880’s led to astonishing innovations in organ building. Console and pipes were no longer placed in immediate proximity. The era of special effects had dawned with “Echo” divisions of organs being installed far away from the balance of a church organ, sometimes in remote towers, basement chambers, etc. The repertoire for these devices was yet to be composed and therefore their classical usefulness was questionable; nevertheless, the technology was impressive. Often such installations were in rooms of dull acoustics, and the “surround-sound” created (about fifty years before stereo playback would appear) must have been magical. Notable East-coast Episcopal churches did use such technology in the twentieth century, both to overcome dry acoustics and to accommodate a large choral program trying to flourish within limited building square footage. In the 1920’s in New York City, Grace Church Lower Broadway had a large organ over the west door, operated from a console in the east end where there was a fine choir and a substantial chancel organ. At that same time, Trinity Church Boston (seating nearly 2000) installed a similar arrangement, allowing a distinguished choir to process and sing from the altar area, while the bulk of the organ was far away on the center axis of the church. Trinity Church New Haven (seating 1200) has a more pronounced example, where the entire rear gallery is given over to an organ case, and a small chancel organ assists singers in a chancel that is quite distant.
In May 2009 the Brombaugh was purchased by The Church of Saint Michael the Archangel in Leawood, Kansas. Dr. Kevin Vogt, music director of the parish coordinated the move with staff from Paul Fritts & Co. of Tacoma, Washington. St. Michael’s dedicated their new building, seating one thousand, in June of 2009. With minor modification to upperwork, the organ is free standing in the rear gallery and is easily seen and heard.
The tonal scheme takes inspiration from
mid-twentieth century American organs. Two principal choruses are complemented
with 16’ manual stops to complete the tonal spectrum and limit strident overtone
domination. Flute ranks are of wood construction, both stopped and open for
tonal variety. Independent mutations (Nasard and Tierce) are available for solo
color and adapt to French or German repertoire. The Trumpet stop is the first
reed in the church. Installed in the Swell, it can be shaded dynamically and is
invaluable for solo and ensemble combinations. The strings are boldly scaled and
voiced for a broad, singing tone. Two tapered stops (the Choir Erzahler and the
Great Gemshorn) create incisive pitch at a gentle volume. A dedicated Pedal rank
lends breadth t
Timothy Smith, organist of the church, collaborated with David Melrose, president of Southfield Organ Builders of Springfield, Massachusetts in completing the organ of twenty ranks and 1100 pipes. Renovations Unlimited, Inc. of Grove City made needed revisions to the building to accommodate the new organ. Thirty-nine volunteers, parishioners and friends of Saint James, spent many hours in the spring and summer of 2009 helping in the organ’s preparation: Martha, Meredeth, Carolyn, Dana, Michael Beckett; Joe, Wendy, Eric Panzner; Eric Reasoner; Alexander and Andrew Martin; Mike and Diana McCullough; Todd Colquitt; Douglas Argue; Elise Feyerherm; Andrea Plant; Robert Hoon; Lynn Carter-Edmands; Isabel and Alan Brown; Jean and Betty Brown; Helen and Tim Smith; William Foster; Nathan and Morgan Rodgers; Jonah Kraut; Dusty Black; Barbara Hunt; Chase Maffe; Rick Warren; Jason Prati; Cindy Kollmer; Mike Herzog; Stephen Sollars; Mark Tegtmeier; James Train.
We are grateful also to Franklin Art Glass for restoring the east window, first installed in 1919, to Richard Sayre and Carolyn Beckett for photography, and to Jeanne Haber and David Homan for graphic design assistance.
The Reuter-Southfield Organ 2009 – 1215 pipes – 20 ranks – 3 ½” windpressure
Great 16 Gemshorn 61 pipes 24 zinc, 37 tapered 50% tin 8 Principal 61 pipes 17 zinc in façade, 44 50% tin 8 Traverse Flute 49 pipes mahogany, harmonic 4 Octave 61 pipes 5 zinc in façade, 56 50% tin III Mixture 183 pipes 8 Trumpet Swell 8 Choir Erzahler 61 pipes 14 zinc, 47 tapered 50% tin 8 Choir Prestant 37 pipes 4 Choir Prestant 12 pipes 8 Gedackt Swell 8 Gamba Celeste Swell 8 Gamba Swell 4 Gedackt Swell Swell to Great
Swell 16 Gedackt 12 pipes stopped pine, behind Swell box 8 Geigen 61 pipes 12 zinc, 49 50 % tin 8 Gedackt 61 pipes stopped mahogany 8 Gamba 61 pipes 10 zinc, 51 50% tin 8 Celeste TC 49 pipes 3 zinc, 46 50% tin 4 Geigen 12 pipes 4 Gedackt 12 pipes 2 2/3 Nasard GG 49 pipes narrow mouth 50% tin 2 Octave 24 pipes 50% tin 1 3/5 Tierce GG 49 pipes narrow mouth 50% tin III Mixture 183 pipes 16 Trumpet 12 pipes half-length bass 8 Trumpet 61 pipes 56 reeds Tremolo pneumatic
Pedal 32 Subbass #1-12 plays Gedackt as Quint 16 Bourdon 32 pipes mahogany, 24 in façade 16 Gedeckt Swell 16 Gemshorn Great 8 Bourdon 12 pipes 8 Geigen Swell 8 Gedackt Swell 4 Geigen Swell 16 Trumpet Swell Great to Pedal Swell to Pedal |
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From
early records, it appears the first organ in Saint James in the 1890’s was a
one-manual reed organ, foot pumped and fitted with an imitation period pipe top.
Following a substantial building enlargement in 1927, the parish undertook to
purchase its first pipe organ. The new instrument was constructed in 1928 and
dedicated May 26, 1929. The organ was located on the south wall of the chancel,
which was arranged in an English collegiate manner at the time. Growth towards
and beyond three hundred communicants of the parish in the 1940’s may have
accounted for changes to the organ. A Quonset hut had been added to the south
wall of the church, providing rehearsal and vesting space for the choir. In
order to accommodate more seating in the choir stalls, the organ pipes were
placed in a chamber inside the Quonset hut, with a tone opening cut through the
south wall of the chancel. The console was placed behind the pulpit on the north
wall, affording the organist a view of the singers for conducting. It was about
this time the east window was covered by the installation of the reredos.
behind
the reredos. The choir sang from a variety of locations in the years that
followed. Bruce Shull of Virginia (and later Joseph Zamberlain of Steubenville,
Ohio) maintained the organ, rebuilding some of the pure tin pipes that were
collapsing from metal fatigue. 
An
instrument built in 1966 by The Reuter Organ Company of Lawrence, Kansas (opus
1545) was selected for relocation to the Saint James gallery. It was first
installed in St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Tacoma, Washington, and moved to
Saint Joseph Cathedral in Columbus in 2004 as a practice organ for the cathedral
choir room. Additional pipes and components from a 1954 Reuter organ (opus
1049) built for Indiana University were acquired; three additional sets of pipes
were built. All the ranks were voiced into a cohesive new design particular to
the intimate acoustics of the church. A new ensemble of pipes for the choir was
provided, and a functional display of bass pipes created a new façade across the
gallery. The spotted metal pipes described below are a standard American alloy,
roughly half tin for brightness and half lead for resonance of tone.
o
the organ. Judicious duplexing of manual resources provides flexibility for
accompaniment.