On the bench.
Welcome to ‘On the bench’, where craftsmanship meets innovation and where the timeless
art of organbuilding and restoration continues to flourish.
The core of the new instrument for Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Shawnee, Kansas comes from a 1916 Hook & Hastings, Opus 2371, originally installed in Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Cambridge, Massachusetts. As conceived by Hook & Hastings, the organ was comprised of two contrasting manual divisions, each richly appointed with contrasting yet well blending voices at unison and octave pitch. These were underpinned by a two-stop but large-scale Pedal division with a 16’ Open Wood and 16’ Bourdon.
After being deemed “redundant,” the organ was removed, with the pipes and Honduran mahogany casework being stored by the Organ Clearing House for several decades prior to being identified as a viable candidate for rebuilding, enlargement, and installation at Good Shepherd. A new mechanical chassis is being constructed for the instrument, including blowing plant, wind system, structure, electro-pneumatic windchests, switching system, and mahogany console.
The need to construct new mechanics and console have presented an opportunity for expansion, and as installed in Shawnee, the instrument will be increased in size by 50%. Additions made to the existing stoplist, indicated below on the stoplist, are sympathetic with documented examples from other, slightly larger organs by Hook & Hastings in the 1910’s, and include carefully selected and restored examples of historic American pipework. These include several ranks of pipes from a 1915 Aeolian organ. The expanded tonal specification is conceived of as a development of the original ensemble.
From the restoration of historic instruments to the creation of bespoke masterpieces, each project is a testament to our unwavering commitment to excellence. For the relocation, rebuilding, and enlargement of this 1916 Hook & Hastings organ, we have followed a careful process.
Design renderings.
Every aspect of the organ is carefully designed and modeled in 3D. This model shows the wind system, windchests, casework, structure, and pipes modeled to their actual lengths, ensuring accuracy and efficiency during the building process.
Pipework.
There are 1365 pipes in the organ, 43 of which are exposed to view in the façade. Each original pipe has been carefully restored in our workshop, with new pipework being scaled and constructed in a manner sympathetic to the Hook and Hastings tonal vocabulary.
Casework.
Following removal and over a decade in storage, the only existing component of the original case is the impost moulding, constructed of Honduran mahogany. This moulding will find its home atop new casework panels, constructed of mahogany and finished to match.
Console.
The console, designed in the style of Hook & Hastings instruments of the same period, features 45-degree drawknob jambs and delicately carved corbels. It is constructed from sapele mahogany, with ebonized mahogany jambs, key cheeks, and nameboard. The music rack is a copy of an original Hook & Hastings rack, modified with ebonized mahogany inlay replacing the usual cutouts. The organ is controlled by a Peterson ICS-4000.
GREAT
16 Bourdon TC [1]
8 Open Diapason
8 Melodia
8 Viola da Gamba
8 Dulciana
4 Octave [1]
4 Flute d'Amour
2⅔ Twelfth [1]
2 Fifteenth [1]
SWELL
8 Open Diapason
8 Gedeckt
8 Viole d'Orchestre
8 Voix Celeste [1]
4 Harmonic Flute
4 Violina
2 Harmonic Piccolo [1]
2⅔ Cornet III [1]
16 Fagotto [2]
8 Cornopean
8 Oboe
Tremolo
PEDAL
16 Diapason
16 Bourdon
8 Violoncello [1]
16 Fagotto [2]
8 Oboe [3]
8 Great to Pedal
8 Swell to Pedal
16 Swell to Great
8 Swell to Great
4 Swell to Great
NOTES
1. Addition, 2024.
2. Extension of 8' Oboe with 12 16' Fagotto basses, 2024.
3. Duplexing of 8' Oboe to Pedal, 2024.