This past Tuesday evening I attended a beautiful service of Evensong to rededicate the pipe organ at St John's Episcopal Church. The 1893 Ferrand & Votey organ was repaired and restored by Redman Pipe Organs. The pipes in the loft of the church were moved forward to give them a more prominent placement.
The organ console is old but new to St John's. The original console was not salvageable, so the first restoration included a newly-built console. In the latest restoration, the working parts are enclosed in the antique console, which was originally painted white and only in need of a new coat of paint. The style of the piece fits perfectly with the architectural style of the church.
Fr Ron Clingenpeel, our interim priest-in-charge for two years, returned to St John's to take the service which was all-around wonderful. Our very own organist, LaDonna Alexander, played beautifully, along with Carol Britt, Head of the Department of Music at Nicholls State University. Dr Britt's Postlude performance of Johann Sebastian Bach's "In Dulci Jubilio" was splendid, indeed.
The organ, along with the people who attended the service, made a joyful noise unto the Lord Tuesday evening.
Hopefully someone will record it and post it on Youtube sooner or later.
ReplyDeleteDavid, I didn't see anyone recording the scene, but someone might have been out of my view.
DeleteKudos, congrats & blessings!
ReplyDeleteThanks, JCF. We're happy. :-)
DeleteMarvelous news. I had never thought much about the centrality of music to the service until I met my late husband, who was an organist and choir director for 40 years, but he opened my eyes, or should I say ears, to the importance of "a joyful noise." I'm sure all you at St. John's will be enjoying the renewed organ for many years to come.
ReplyDeleteWhen I first attended St John, the church had an electronic organ that was close to needing replacement, and that was when we first began exploring the idea of a restored older pipe organ. Since the church building dates from the mid-19th century, it seemed fitting to install a pipe organ if we found one that was the right size and the right price. The path to actually having the pipe organ in use in the church was long and winding, but we arrived.
Delete