What did we do?
What did we do?Mark van Stolk, Ann Jones and I, representing the organ committee,
trucked to Indianapolis, January 10, 2006. We arrived on Tuesday
evening, staying at a bed and breakfast place within an easy walk
of the Goulding and Wood (G&W) organ factory.
The next morning the three of us took a three-hour tour of the
shop. G&W makes their own wood pipes, but orders most metal
pipes from Stinkens Pipe Builders in Holland, and metal display
pipes (the pretty ones on the outside) and "strings"
and "metal reed" pipes from Schop's pipe builder in
Ohio. They build all their own cases (the box that the organ goes
in), wind chests and consoles. At St. George's, the organ will
be placed in built-in "organ chambers", which take the
place of a case.
We spent quite a lot of time talking with the president of the
company (he is also the organist for a local Episcopal church),
Jason Overall, who answered questions and drew up a draft proposal
based on our discussions.
Wednesday afternoon, he took us to see two other G&W organs
in Indianapolis. Both were in Methodist churches. One was a large
80-rank (80 rows of pipes) instrument, and the other, at 12 ranks,
was smaller than the Reuter in our present church building.
The next morning we drove to St. Meinrad's Archabbey near the
Kentucky/Indiana border. St. Meinrad's has a 70-rank Goulding
and Wood which is featured on the organ CD "Celestial Fire"
played by Douglas Cleveland.
Of the three G&W instruments, the St. Meinrad organ was my
favorite. It was perfectly balanced, and in spite of the 6-7 second
reverb. time, spoke with amazing clarity. There was no harshness
of tone, but lots of fire from the Swell Reeds (which is as it
should be). I would describe it as "French", and it
was perfect for that setting.
My concerns about dealing with a younger organ firm (founded
1980) were allayed by the builders' willingness to accept input
from other builders and organists. This increases the chance of
getting an instrument that is just right for us. I have already
shared some ideas with the firm, and they are familiar with the
plans for the new building and its acoustical properties. G&W
are also working closely with our acoustical consultant.
The tonal philosophy of Goulding and Wood is that their instruments
must meet liturgical needs first. Not all builders consider this.
The most important job a 
church
organ has is to lead and support congregational singing. The next
priority is that it must accompany the choir, soloists, etc.,
and also be a concert instrument as called upon. These are our
priorities, and they are the priorities of the builder. I am very
confident that we will have one of the finest instruments in the
area.
G&W also has been inducted into the Association of Pipe
Organ Builders 
in America, www.apoba.com
by other fine builders. This means that they are respected by
other major pipe organ builders, and are held to the very highest
standards in organ building.
Once we contract the organ, G&W will orders the metal pipes,
the keyboards and other materials. 
G&W
will start to build the inner structure of the organ and the console
(keyboards). As the pipes are constructed and arrive, they are
"voiced" -- that is, their sound-specialist or "voicer"
works on them and adjusts them until they produce just the right
sound.
G&W only makes one organ at a time, so all fourteen craftsmen
focus all their attention on our organ for the 9-12 months it
takes to actually build the instrument. As all parts are completed,
the organ is assembled in the shop. They make further adjustments
to the sound, and it is tuned. When everyone is happy with the
final instrument, the organ is disassembled and 
packed
for shipping. Usually, the organ is packed into an 18-wheeler
and sent to its new home.
Once on-site, the supporting structures and mechanics are again
assembled and the pipes are put in the case or chamber. Again,
the voicer checks the sound and the organ is tuned. It is then
ready for use. During the assembling phase at the church, the
place is a mess, with pipes lying all over the church. This is
normal. In many churches, parishioners come over to help unpacking
the truck, a festive event - much like a barn-raising. The actual
installation should take about two weeks.
After the installation, G&W will send technicians over several
times to make adjustments as the instrument acclimatizes to the
new space.
Why does
it take so long to build? Why is it so expensive?Building any fine instrument is enormously labor-intensive. Each pipe is a musical instrument. Initially, our organ will contain about 1,500 pipes each with individual controls! These pipes will range from 16 feet to a couple of inches high. Imagine having to build all these individual instruments, with the finest materials, by hand! And then make them all blend perfectly together. This process is very slow and painstaking.
While G&W uses newer materials for the mechanics, the pipes are made in the same way they have been made for hundreds of years. This is no assembly-line production. Much of the cost of building an organ is in labor. G&W only works on one organ at a time, so for 9-12 months, fourteen craftsmen and a whole factory are dedicated to only our organ!
Phase 1)
The Vestry has approved funding for the first phase of the organ
-- to populate the organ with enough pipework to use two of the
three manuals (keyboards).
During this trip we carefully considered and selected the ranks to be included in the first phase and in the upgrade path for the future expansion. G&W is now writing a proposal to be presented to the church.
Once the contract is signed by all parties, the organ firm can begin to order parts and pipes. Actual construction should begin this fall. Installation of the organ in the new building is expected around September 2007 (but at least 6-8 weeks after the completion of the building, so dust has settled and temperature/humidity has stabilized).
Phase 2)
The second phase will come later as funds can be raised, and it
will "flesh out" the instrument with enough pipes to
make it very flexible (somewhere around 50 ranks). "Flexible"
defines an instrument that can play music from any time period
and in any type of performance. It will also be large enough to
fill the building with sound without sounding harsh or mean. The
larger size will also allow the organist to make the organ softer
or louder in smaller increments of sound, as ranks (organ sounds)
are added or subtracted.
An analogy would be to compare an organ with a box of crayons.
A box of eight crayons is adequate but not very expressive. One
can only do so much with eight crayons. A box of thirty-two crayons
would add immensely to the possibilities of the final picture,
and many more color combinations would be possible with the larger
box of crayons.
You can ask me. You can see the Goulding and Wood web site www.gouldingandwood.com.
During the construction of our Instrument, G&W will post daily progress pictures at: www.gouldingandwood.com/potd.htm
This website shows the innards of a typical pipe organ: http://webphysics.davidson.edu/faculty/dmb/py115/pipeorgan.htm
Once G&W has started building our organ, they will be sending us regular progress photos online.
G&W always welcome visitors, but if you wish to go there,
it would be good to contact the firm ahead of time. Our contact
is Jason Overall. They love to entertain visitors!
Most of the G&W instruments are in the Midwest and Southeast.
Their web site (www.gouldingandwood.com) lists all their organs
(or "Opuses"). The farthest-West organ is in Dallas.
There is also a G&W instrument in New Orleans which survived
flooding, loss of air conditioning for an extended period, and
despite all that is still in good shape.