C.B. Fisk Opus 137 delivered...

[KB7DQH]

http://www.eagletribune.com/local/x811212411/Christ-Church-parishioners-proud-of-2-5M-project

November 14, 2011
Christ Church parishioners proud of $2.5M project
Christ Church parishioners proud of $2.5M project

By Yadira Betances ybetances@eagletribune.com

ANDOVER — Instead of their Sunday best, several members of Christ Church wore work clothes to worship yesterday.

It was Pipe Sunday at the church at 25 Central St., where workers from C.B. Fisk Organ Co. of Gloucester delivered 3,000 pieces of pipes and wooden cases wrapped in blankets inside of an 18-wheeler.

Frank Rowe of the Campbell Highlanders played the bagpipes in the procession. Rev. Jeffrey Shilling Gill, who is the pastor, and Barbara Bruns, the director of music, carried the first pipe into the church.

"It's exhilarating because this is something we wanted for a long time and it's a fulfillment of a dream," Gill said.

Bruns agreed.

"This is just a miracle born out of people's wishes and commitment for future possibilities," she said.

The organ company built an Opus 137 for Christ Church. It features 2,002 pipes made out of wood and metal, two manual mechanical instruments with 28 voices and 40 ranks, and a one-horsepower blower which supplies the wind of more than 750 cubic feet per minute needed to play the organ.

For more than four hours yesterday, workers unloaded the pieces out of the truck one by one and like an assembly line, parishioners unwrapped them and then helped carry the pieces into the church.

One of the volunteers was Kyra Morissette, 12.

"It's exciting because it's a big change for us and I'm happy to say, 'Wow, I helped bring a part of that,'" said Kyra, a student at West Elementary in Andover.

For the next month, five organ builders will install the instrument up on the balcony specifically built to house the organ, said Dana Sigall of C.B. Fisk Organ Co.

After the organ is assembled, specially-trained singers will be at Christ Church for at least five months to adjust every pipe to the building's acoustics.

"Every pipe in the organ is listened to individually and as a chorus. It's a painstaking task but it has to be done in the actual space so we can tune it to perfection," Sigall said.

The organ will not be ready for use during worship until Easter, Bruns and Gill said.

Margot Bixby, who has been attending Christ Church since 1961, and Bea Pfister, a parishioner since 1967, watched from the altar as fellow members brought in the pipes and casings.

"To me, it means resurrection," Bixby said. "It's bringing new life into the church. I think music is the language of the soul and the new organ will enhance that."

Members of Christ Church started a capital campaign titled "Renew and Rejoice" in 2008 to replace its organ, despite the downtown turn in the economy.

"We did a lot of soul searching and decided to go on because we realized there would never be a perfect time," Gill said. "We had made some commitments and decided there were more benefits by moving on."

The congregation was behind the $2.5 million project. While some members made pledges over a three-year period, others gave a one-time donation. Donations ranged from $1 million to $100.

"I'm ever grateful for the outpouring of generosity even in these difficult economic times," Gill said.

Bruns said the pipes on the old organ had deteriorated. The console and pipes were also located in a separate room within the sanctuary making it difficult to hear the music.

In addition to the organ, Christ Church renovated the altar, ceiling and flooring to enhance the music.

Bruns took choir members to the renovated church and they sang in a capella "Rejoice in the Lord All the Way."

"Their faces were just beaming because now it has a more friendly acoustic atmosphere," she said. "In the same way it enhances our singing, each of the pipes on the organ will too."

Renovations at Christ Church

New balcony for the organ features wrought iron railing with a oak caps.

Wood details of the columns, beams, ceiling matches the existing work in the church.

Five new windows behind the altar reflect what existed there in the 1940s. They are now clear glass.

The altar was moved forward and a ramp will be installed to make it accessible to the handicapped.

The organ pipe chamber will be open to connect it to the parish hall area.

The ceiling was removed, reinforced and reinstalled for proper acoustics. Dormers, or windows extending from the roof, will be added for natural light.

Carpeting throughout the church was removed and replaced with slate, enhancing the acoustics and beauty.

A Romanesque arch leads to an apse or semicircle above the sanctuary featuring crowns, stars and crosses.

Eric
KB7DQH

[diapason]

"To me, it means resurrection," Bixby said. "It's bringing new life into the church. I think music is the language of the soul and the new organ will enhance that."

Just before I came onto the forum this morning, I was reading an article in an old copy of 'Organist's Review' about church acoustics and the writer quoted a vicar who had laid carpets in the church and replaced the pews with upholstered chairs as saying' the dry acoustic is better for the band'.  That article left me feeling very despairing about the state of church music, where the amplified dance band is seen to be the norm.  Your report, and particularly the quote from the Minister, gives me some hope for the future.

N

[AnOrganCornucopia]

I think I too was reading that article the other day - John Norman's Soundboard, I believe it was.