The organ
in
the Sudbury United Methodist Church has been designed as a
broad-spectrum service playing instrument. While adhering to no
particular nationalistic school of tonal design, every effort has been
made to maintain the careful balance of principal choruses exemplified
in traditional German work, while leaning more to the robust and fiery
tone colors epitomized in English and French work. Though never an
ideal location, the chancel chamber installation has in the present
instance yielded a good result through careful redesign with no
impediment at the ceiling into the chancel. No other location was
feasible in this case because of limitations of available space.
Mechanical
design of the organ proved to be an enormous engineering challenge.
Indeed, it was initially thought by many that an organ with mechanical
key action would not be possible. Available space in the chamber and
construction details of the basement and hall areas all presented
limitations that required an unusual degree of creativity in the
design. Some idea of this may be seen in the fact that the control
system for the swell shades utilizes nearly ninety feet of cable and
twenty-two aircraft control pulleys!
Although
very much new, the organ does contain many parts recycled from older
organs. Portions of the manual windchests and some pipework are from an
1871 Hall & Labagh organ built originally for Marquand Chapel,
Princeton University and later in the chapel of the Bowery Mission in
New York City. A substantial portion of the pipework is from a J.H.
& C.S. Odell organ, believed to have been opus 73 of the firm,
built for Christ Episcopal Church, Tarrytown, New York, and later in
the auditorium of the Barlow School, Amenia, New York. Other builders
whose pipework is represented include Hook & Hastings,
Hutchings,
Jardine, and Roosevelt. The only new pipes in the instrument are those
of the facade and the Great Trumpet stop.
Tonal,
visual and mechanical designs are by Richard S. Hedgebeth, head of the
Stuart Organ Company, Aldenville, Massachusetts, builders of the organ.
Assisting in the project were Kenneth Ahlberg, John Alberti, David
Koziol, Christopher Lavoie, Randall Steere and Martin Walsh.
Recycled
parts were relocated through the Organ Clearing House, Alan M. Laufman,
Director.
The
Stuart Organ Company has worked closely with the organ committee of the
Sudbury United Methodist Church under the leadership of its chairman,
Paul Weiss, to produce this instrument. May it long endure as a living
testimony to the efforts of all involved, to the glory of God.
