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St. Marks Lutheran Church in Butler, PA has a 4 manual Moeller organ. This organ was built by Moeller for this particular church. How could I find the original specifications when the organ was installed. I do not have the opus number.
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Re: Moeller organ specifications
I have some thoughts that might be helpful, along with lots of questions.
Is your quest based on simple curiosity, or do you have plans to restore or modify the instrument? Are you the current organist?
Researching Möller records can be difficult, especially if you don't have an opus number. There is an exhaustivebook in the works, but it is not yet published. Since we cannot refer toaquicklist you'll have to do some sleuthing.
What sort of evidence is there thatthe organ is no longer original?Is there any indication (such as a plaque) ofwhen the modifications were made? If you know who made the modifications perhaps you could track down the person(s) who made the changes; they may have some records pertaining to the original stoplist. The current organ technician/tuner may be able to provide information about who did the work and how to contact them.
The organ technician may also be able to see traces of the old organ inside the console or chambers. Sometimes original stop namescan be seenwritten on relays or on a crescendo mechanism. Sometimes you'll see an opus number stamped on a pipe (usually one of the "C" pipes); that can be a bit misleading though, since ranks were sometimes swapped.
Do you know the year the organ was installed? You might ask to look through the church records for that year - perhaps there was a dedication concert.
Another possibility is to talk to previous organists, if they are still around.
One resource that might be of help: your local AGO chapter. If they have a newsletter perhaps someone has kept an archive; a four manual organ should be of interest to local organists, and it is possible concerts or workshops might have been presented there. Sometimes the stoplist will be printed in a newsletter. -
Re: Moeller organ specifications
Does this help? Organ Historical Society seems to have a pretty good amount of Moller info in their database.
http://organsociety.bsc.edu/SingleOr...?OrganID=22232
- Building/Room: Sanctuary
- M. P. Möller (1954, Opus 8519).
- Current Status: extant, renovated. (Last update 2009-03-14.)
- 4 manuals. 5 divisions. 53 stops. 43 ranks. 37 registers. 2612 pipes. 61-note manuals. 32-note pedals.
- Electro-pneumatic chests [pitman].
- The organ is in gallery-level chambers at the rear of the room.
- Traditional style console with roll top. Console in fixed position, center. Drawknobs in vertical rows on angled jambs. Balanced swell shoes/pedals, standard AGO placement. Adjustable combination pistons. AGO Standard (concave radiating) pedalboard. Crescendo Pedal. Reversible full organ/tutti thumb piston. Reversible full organ/tutti toe stud. Combination action thumb pistons. Combination action toe studs. Coupler reversible thumb pistons. Coupler reversible toe studs.
- Additional notes.
- Identified through on-line information from Christopher Walchesky. -- Forty of the organ's ranks are located in the Gallery; however three of the ranks are located in a chamber in the Chancel as an Antiphonal division with its own seperate console. (Database Manager. 2005-12-12)
- Updated by Jim Stark. Replaced Wirsching organ of 1914. (Database Manager. 2008-10-20)
- Updated through on-line information from Jeff Scofield. (Database Manager. 2009-03-14) [/list]
- Stoplist.
- Stoplist copied from the factory specifications
Butler, Pennsylvania
[/list]
St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church
Möller Op. 8519 4/40 1954
** The Antiphonal comes from the pipework of the chapel
organ, which has swell shades to the chapel and chancel.
GREAT 3 1/2" wind SWELL 4" wind
16' Contra Viola 61 8' Diapason 61
8' Diapason 61 8' Stopped Diapason 61
8' Rohrflöte 61 8' Dolce 61
4' Octave 61 8' Unda Maris 49 tc
4' Spitzflöte 61 4' Gemshorn 61
2 2/3' Twelfth 61 4' Concert Flute 61
2' Fifteenth 61 2' Flageolet 61
IV Mixture 244 III Mixture 183
8' Trumpet 61 16' Double Trumpet 61
Sub 8' Trumpet 61
Unison Off 8' Hautbois 61
Super 8' Vox Humana 61
Chimes CH 4' Clarion 61
Tower Chimes Tremulant
Sub
ANTIPHONAL ** Unison Off
8' Principal Super
8' Gedeckt
8' Vox Angelica CHOIR 4" wind
4' Gedeckt 16' Lieblich Gedeckt 61
4' Vox Angelica 8' Melodia 61
Tremulant 8' Viole d'Amour 61
8' Voix Celeste 61
PEDAL 5" wind 4' Prestant 61
16' Principal 32 4' Chimney Flute 61 61
16' Bourdon 32 2 2/3' Nasard 61
16' Contra Viola GT 2' Blockflöte 61
16' Contra Dolce 12 SW 1 3/5' Tierce 61
16' Lieblich Gedeckt CH 8' Bombarde 61 (6" wind)
10 2/3' Contra Dolce SW 8' Clarinet 61
8' Principal 12 Tremulant
8' Bourdon 12 Sub
8' Contra Viola GT Unison Off
8' Contra Dolce SW Super
4' Principal 12 Chimes 21 (Deagan D)
16' Bombarde 12 CH (6" wind) Harp 49
16' Double Trumpet SW
8' Bombarde CH
8' Double Trumpet SW
4' Bombarde CH
[Received on line from Jeff Scofield March 14, 2009.]
[Received on line from Jeff Scofield March 14, 2009.]
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- Building/Room: Sanctuary
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Re: Moeller organ specifications
Dave S.
Thank you very much for the information. That is exactly what I was searching for.
Keith F
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Re: Moeller organ specifications
[quote user="Dave S."]Does this help?[/quote]It certainly does help.
Too bad that you didn't post it sooner though - it would have saved me typing out that novel. [:D]
Oh well... maybe my post will help someonewhenever there is noonline info.Comment
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