QuoteSOUTH DENNIS— Inside the white, steepled Congregational Church of South Dennis is a piece of history older than the United States itself — the pipe organ.
Built in 1762 by Swiss organ builder John Snetzler, the organ is reputed to be the oldest pipe organ in the country still in regular use, church organist Donald Enos said.
Only five organs crafted by Snetzler were imported to the United States before the American Revolution, according to the Smithsonian Institution's website. Of those five, only two remain — one in the Smithsonian and the one in South Dennis, Enos said.
A marvel to historians and organ connoisseurs, the organ is a "well-kept" secret to the general public, said Enos, who has played at the church for more than 30 years.
"It goes beyond 'lucky' to have that organ here," said the Rev. Dr. Paul Adkins, who has worked at the church for two years. "It's an absolutely amazing instrument. You look at it, and it has one keyboard, but you can't imagine the range of music that comes out of this one instrument."
The small organ has nine ranks of pipes, a set of foot pedals and 12 "stops," which are knobs that direct the air to certain pipes and alter the sound of the instrument. The organ can range from an airy, flutelike sound to the high-pitched metallic sound atypical of pipe organs.
Enos, who majored in piano at New England Conservatory, said he has played a lot of organs but the Snetzler sounds "so different" because of its pedals.
The combinations of stops used on each piece of music is up to the organist, Enos said. He described finding the right sound for each song as a "puzzle."
"I'm like a chemist," Enos said. "I have the piece there, and I experiment until I find the right sound. I don't find this a limited organ."
The church also is blessed to have Enos as its organist, Adkins said.
"Being a small church, you typically don't have that caliber of musician with that training," Adkins said.
The organ had a storied past before it found its way to the South Dennis church, Enos said.
Sometime in the 1700s, the organ was shipped from London to a privately owned music hall in Boston. In the late 1700s, it moved to a church in Providence, R.I.
It landed in South Dennis in the mid-19th century when the church acquired it for $600, Enos said.
Remarkably, it retains much of its original state, Enos said. A few pipes have been replaced through the years, foot pedals were added sometime in the 1800s, and it was electrified in the 1920s.
"I'm amazed at how young it sounds," Enos said. "For an old organ, it doesn't sound wheezy or sluggish."
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http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2012/07/14/south_dennis_church_boasts_historic_organ/ (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2012/07/14/south_dennis_church_boasts_historic_organ/)
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