Viscount - Largest North American Installation

[theolog]

Hello, everyone!

In the interest of full disclosure, I am the organist who spec'd and designed this custom instrument in consultation with Viscount and Whitesel Organs. My endorsement to go with Viscount was based on extensive research, playing instruments from various builders, and seeing what they could offer within a given budget and clearly stated goals of the music program.

The generosity of our parishioners and movement of the Holy Spirit has been nothing short of amazing, and it's been a tremendous honor to be a part of this process!

Physis technology has gotten a bad rap, and Viscount's quality has increased greatly over the years. To be blunt, many of the youtube videos available suck. There are some, however, that show what Viscount instruments are capable of, and I couldn't be more excited about this project.

I was able to travel to play a three manual stock instrument by Viscount in Connecticut during the consideration phase of our project, and that was the final push that confirmed for me that Viscount was best for us.

I hope you will find this information interesting, and would be happy to answer any questions.

This is the only photo I have available of the partially-completed console (just finished last week):


And here is a link to the blog on construction and installation for anyone interested.
http://www.whiteselorgans.com/#!blogger-feed/cpz0

Thanks for sharing in the excitement. :-)

[radagast]

Going to Whitesel's site, they have a link to a story about this organ. So this is a hybrid? The player will have access to a library of 1000 Physis stops. So how is the console going to be laid out for this? Are all the stops for the pipe ranks?

I haven't personally heard anything negative about Viscount's Physis technology. It sounds fascinating. I haven't played one yet. Tell us more.

[nullogik]

Fascinating installation, please do keep us updated as the months progress.

Jeremy Filsell taught me many years ago and we have a Viscount Prestige at our Church so this has piqued my interest!

Allen, Rodgers and Walker Technical are three of the more established companies in the hybrid field. It would be interesting to hear the reasons why you did not go with them as Viscount, as far as I know, is pretty new to this market - although I note you are using Walker cabinets. Did you also have a look at Johannus as they have some very large installations in the US although not hybrid I believe.

[theolog]

radagast: My specification includes around 90 drawknobs. Pipes can be assigned (or not assigned) as the organist wishes through the console computer. So, you may have only pipes playing, only digital voices playing, or both playing together.

The 1000+ ranks can likewise be accessed through the computer. For example, "underneath" the Trompette-en-Chamade, there are 70 other digital voices that can be assigned to that drawknob. Each and every stop is like that.

Some stops like the 32' Bombarde may only have a handful of alternate voices, whereas something like an 8' Principal may have 100.

Additionally, like other builders, the organ will have various voicings that change at the push of a button. Those primary voicings will be "locked" after installation, however additional voicings can be set up by the organist or at the organist's request.

At a minimum, we will have:

French Romantic (primary specification)
E.M. Skinner-style
English Cathedral
Baroque

Though the console is based on the stock Viscount Overture model frame, everything about it is customized to the smallest detail. The Physis technology, Walker sound system, and fully customized build were the primary selling points for me and the parish.

All the "regulars" in Hybrid organ technology were considered. Several submitted proposals. All were quality products. Viscount was just the best fit for us.

If you'd like, I can post the specification tonight when I get home.

[jbird604]

Sounds like an amazing project! Ought to sound like a million dollars. I haven't heard a large custom Viscount, but I have heard and played some very nice-sounding smaller Viscount organs of recent vintage, and the sound and build quality are both impressive. They have come a LONG way since their appearance in the American market a few decades ago.

I have sometimes railed against the concept of having multiple stops accessible with a single knob, and I still think it's a bad idea for the typical organist in the typical small church. However, in your setting your vast library of available stops ought to give you a lifetime of pleasure choosing and using subtly different stoplists all the time. I do have to wonder how useful it is to have a hundred different varieties of Great Principal 8, though. Most of us would be delighted to have one truly authentic and lovely principal!

Please keep us posted on the progress. Looking forward to some videos.

[theolog]

John, it's almost unlimited possibilities! How exciting, right?
You may not have 100 principals, but other flues or even reeds available "underneath" each stop.

I was especially impressed with the quality of the stock console that I played in Connecticut.
The carpentry was nicer (as in elegant) and more ergonomic than any of the others that I played. Even the stock plastic keyboards were fantastic to touch, and in their appearance.

Of special note:

- Wooden "AWK" keybords with bamboo naturals and ebony sharps.
- Key cheeks are rounded instead of square.
- Brass instead of chrome toe studs.
- Customized general and divisional thumb pistons and toe studs to my preference.
- Moving/felted/wooden drawknobs with Trajan Pro font.
- Flues and couplers in black, reeds in red typeface.
- Custom thumb pistons (unlighted and non-translucent).

The sides of our pews have a stained glass window shape carved in them.
This detail was matched for the sides of the console (raised instead of carved), and the console colors were matched to the church via a pew sample sent to Italy.

The rear subwoofer cabinet will be housed inside a piece of pew screen from 1898, handcrafted into place, making it look like it was always part of the historic church.

I specified wooden expression pedals instead of rubberized ones, added a zimbelstern.

The zimbelstern and orchestral voices will speak as an "ethereal" division located atop the beam at the crossing, and the speakers will be completely hidden from view and/or camouflaged resulting in a lovely and realistic surround-sound effect.

[jbird604]

That's all wonderful. Happy for you and for the church. Please keep on posting about it.

[Josh]

St. John's Hybrid Austin/Viscount Organ Update: Pipe Repair Underway

Pipe Repair Underway on St. John's Church Austin Organ Pipes

While the organ overall is in excellent condition due to regular maintenance and previous repairs, some of the pipes of this organ needed some work to get it back to 100%. The dedicated, knowledgeable, and experienced staff of Whitesel Church Organs have begun the process of bringing some of the ranks of pipes back to their original condition. Here is a rank of Bourdon Pipes we have since refelted...

As you can see, these pipes were covered in packing tape. Packing tape might be great for mailing Christmas Presents to Grandma, but it's certainly not an acceptable long term 'fix' for pipes of this incredible quality. We are sure this doesn't meet the standards of Austin Organ Company, and it certainly doesn't meet Whitesel Church Organs' standards either. Our Head Pipe Organ Technician made the repairs. Take a look at the attachments to see before and after.

Now these pipes will be less likely to slip out of tune so quickly. Company President, Joshua Dove reinstalled them recently.

In addition to the Bourdon, we are also rebuilding all the reeds in the organ. That work will be complete soon, just in time for the arrival of the new Custom Viscount Organ Console!

[jbird604]

Looking good. Thanks for keeping us updated. I know you are excited. That should be an awesome-sounding organ when it's all done.

[Josh]

St. John's Hybrid Austin/Viscount Organ Update: Acoustical Cloth Replacement

The first step in the installation of this Viscount and Austin Organ Hybrid is updating the acoustical cloth located behind the beautiful plaster filigree panels of the chambers. The old cloth material is a heavy drape, and not the best type of material to transmit sound. The fabric was worn, and certainly dated with a drab brown color. It served the church well for many years, but was time for a change. The acoustical cloth Whitesel Church Organs uses is more conducive to allowing sound to pass through, and it also meets certain updated fire codes that weren't even in existence when the original drape style curtains were installed over 50 years ago. First, new custom frames were made by the construction manager, Jeff. Special care was taken for each of the frames to meet behind the plaster, this way the seams are completely hidden, and can't be seen. This gives the illusion of each chamber having one solid piece of fabric. If you look closely, you can see through the fabric. This is incredibly important to allow sound to escape the chambers. Many churches don't know the difference, and often use regular fabrics. This type of acoustical cloth also allows for proper ventilation of the chambers where pipes reside. This assists with tuning stability of the real windblown Austin Pipes. We removed almost all pipes, and also the swell shades in order to perform this work. The before and after can be seen in the attached pictures. The new color gives the illusion that nothing is there, and enhances the look of the beautiful plaster filigree.

[Josh]

St. John's Hybrid Austin/Viscount Organ Update: Delivery of Walker Technical Speakers

The entire order of custom Walker Technical Speaker Cabinets was delivered to the church. These speakers, and the specific way they will be wired and positioned, are the secret ingredient behind Viscount’s Physis Technology. In conjunction with the Physis Technology Platform, these speakers will create an incredible amount of movement throughout the sanctuary. When the new organ is played, you will hear stops moving from left to right, forward and backward, and up and down, with incredible clarity and realism. In the first picture, Andrew (organ and piano service/tuning apprentice/organ installer) and Dylan (marketing manager/organ installer), assist with taking the boxes inside. In the 2nd picture, you will see Ian assisting Joshua Dove, CEO/President of Whitesel Church Organs as well. Note that both Dylan and Ian are the upcoming FOURTH generation in the business. They have a genuine interest with working in the industry, and we are especially excited to have them involved on this special project.

Below is one of the three subwoofers used in this installation. It will give an incredible clarity to some of the lowest frequencies of organ. Many people don't realize that it's actually the pedal notes of the organ that drive congregational hymn singing. We often see churches purchase a new digital organ with an incredible console, but the installation lacks the proper and appropriate sound system. To us, the console is important, but the sound is just as important.

These speakers were chosen to give us the best and closest voicing to the current Austin Pipe Organ. This Custom Viscount Organ powered by Physis Technology will feature an all digital Cavaille-Coll inspired voicing, a baroque organ, an english organ, and a magnificent hybrid American Organ, using the existing Austin pipes as the base for our instrument.

[Josh]

St. John's Hybrid Austin/Viscount Organ Update: Chamber Space Construction

Before we can install the Walker Technical Speaker Cabinets, we had to construct additional chamber space. Currently, the entire Austin Pipe Organ is located on the left side of the church. Our intention is to vastly increase the soundscape of the organ. This will require sound to come from the right side of the sanctuary as well. We are also improving the range of the new organ by increasing the vertical plane of the sound by placing certain ranks of the organ up high in the transepts and also on a ceiling beam. You'll have to pardon us for not going too in depth about wiring, channeling, and some other specifics. Our competitors have been very interested in what we do lately, and how exactly we are capable of accomplishing such a favorable result.

There will also be an antiphonal organ and trumpette en chamade located on a beam in the rear of the church. Also pictured are the construction of our additional chambers on the right side being built. This will help direct sound out into the sanctuary. It will also hide all speakers and wiring from being visible to anyone. When complete, the chamber space will look like it was 'always there', and not obtrusive to anyone. We also coat the chambers in special black paint that makes for a wonderfully reflective surface. It also reduces the chance you will see inside the chambers should direct light hit it. Remember, the special speaker cloth we use in the chamber fronts is slightly translucent in order for the sound to properly escape.

[Josh]

St. John's Hybrid Austin/Viscount Organ Update: Chamber Speaker Installation

Once the speakers arrived, we began the installation in the chambers. Each speaker front is removed from it's outer box encasement. For the most secure and stable permanent placement of Walker Technical Company speakers, we first attach each speaker box, and then reinsert the speaker fronts. This method gives optimum stability. Each speaker serves a unique and independent purpose. Through Viscount's Physis Technology, these speakers will emanate sound in a way that seeks to replicate a pipe organ. Take a look at our completed wiring job. We make sure that not only the work you see is first class, but also the work you don't see. Once completed with the mid/treble speakers, we then placed the 200 pound Walker Technical Company subwoofer cabinet. Once Andrew is finished with his 1st class wiring job, we reinstall the swell shades that will control the volume of the pipes, and then finally reinstall all pipes in the swell chamber, including some repaired and re-voiced pipes. This will be Viscount's largest Hybrid Organ / Combination Organ in North America when complete.

[Josh]

Chamber Speaker Installation MORE PICS

Here are some more pictures.

[Josh]

St. John's Hybrid Austin/Viscount Organ Update: Antiphonal and Trumpette en Chamade

As we begin this important and careful work, we let the following scripture guide us through the process...

'Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,'-Colossians 3:23

The rear beam will feature an antiphonal organ with a complement of flute and celeste's, along with a trumpette en chamade. As you can see from the pics, there's nowhere to go from here, but up! This Custom Austin / Viscount combination organ is complete with custom Walker Technical Company Speaker Cabinets. Working at night in this space was like a dream. There are some pics of Jeff working hard with Joshua on installing the custom color matched speakers for the Antiphonal Organ and Trumpette en Chamade. Every speaker box must be installed without speakers first. Then we insert insulation, run wiring, and then replace the speaker fronts once box is secured to the beam from the inside. Once finished, over 900 feet of high quality commercial grade oxygen free wiring was used just for the speakers on this back beam.