St. Phillip the Apostle, Saddle Brook

[douçaine]

Hi. I'm going to be reasoning with this organ a few weeks from now in a competition. I can't find any information whatsoever on the builder's (Peragallo's) website, and the competition folks never sent even a stoplist... does anyone know anything about this organ.
Thanks.

[michaelhoddy]

Peragallo organs, at least in my experience, are kind of a mixed bag. Some of the more recent ones are rather nice, and a few of the earlier ones, at least to me, were pretty rough and less than suitable in terms of tonal design and finishing. So hopefully this one will be one of the former! Peragallo, as you probably know, has the NYC/NJ Catholic church market basically wrapped up!

[beel m]

I agree with you, Michael, but would like to add that they don't seem to stick to their guns artistically like other builders. They built a "pipe organ" for a (what else) RC church in Wilmington DE which I've visited occasionally since the late '60s recently, and it has only 18 sets of pipes in a huge barn of a church. There are lots of electronic stops- in fact the organist suggested that they make a chorus reed digital instead of pipe to help tuning, and the Peregallos did not object. Also, that organist wanted deluxe consoles with fancy woods and keyboards as a first option, should more money become available, rather than more pipes. Again, no objections from the builder AFAIK. Apparently they're way more willing to give a church what they want than most organ builders who take their art seriously. And I question calling an organ with more Walker stops than pipe stops a "pipe organ", but oh, well!

Peragallo organs, at least in my experience, are kind of a mixed bag. Some of the more recent ones are rather nice, and a few of the earlier ones, at least to me, were pretty rough and less than suitable in terms of tonal design and finishing. So hopefully this one will be one of the former! Peragallo, as you probably know, has the NYC/NJ Catholic church market basically wrapped up!

[douçaine]

Interesting; I really wish companies wouldn't do that kind of stuff.
Since the competition is over, some comments on that organ. It was moderately French, but the balances were all wrong, there was insufficient 16' tone in the manuals, and there was excessive 32' tone in the pedals. A typical problem with American "French" organs. How I would have longed to turn that unusable-loud 32' Contre Bombarde into a nice 16' Montre or Gambe for the manuals... Very strangely, the only G-O reeds on this organ were mounted en chamade; the effect was a little overpowering. Vertical trumpets are so much more useful in French music (come to think of it, in all music). The console had a nice layout, though, and the action was delightfully light. It was fun to play, perhaps, but this is certainly not an instrument on par with the famous organs within 50 miles. But for a church with a vibrant music program, I would hesitate to call the builder out for this. They did solid work, and filled a nice room with dignified sound.