Music Ministry
Organs
Sanctuary Organ
2010 Revised Organ Specifications
and Richard Owen Snyder by Stephanie Ambrose May and Valerie May Snyder
The Gallery Organ is dedicated to the Glory of God in memory of Mrs. Willie Hopkins Kidd by her son, Dr. Frank H. Kidd, Jr.
May 15, 1983
Rededicated to the Glory of God, April 25, 2010
A Brief History of Organs in the Sanctuary of Highland Park Presbyterian Church
In September of 1941, with the completion of Mark Lemmon's gothic-inspired sanctuary for Highland Park Presbyterian Church came the first pipe organ in the congregation's history. The three-manual and pedal organ was built by the W. W. Kimball Company of Chicago and consisted of 34 speaking stops, 38 ranks and 2392 pipes. The organ served through the late 1960s when mechanical problems became prevalent. Correspondence from the time indicates that "duct tape" was used to seal wind leaks. A committee was formed to evaluate the situation and discussions for a new organ progressed to the point that Casavant Frères of St-Hyacinthe, Québec submitted a proposal (including a drawing for a new organ case), which remains in the files of the Music Department. Ultimately, a contract was signed with Otto Hoffman of Austin to renovate and expand the existing Kimball organ.
Unfortunately, the rebuilt instrument suffered greatly. Every available space of the organ chamber was filled with organ parts making maintenance access difficult. In addition, the quality of work was not to the highest standards, and within a few years a committee was again formed to evaluate the organ. Proposals were received from some of the finest builders of the day. This time, the committee selected Casavant Frères to build a new instrument for the church. The former Kimball-Hoffman organ was sold to a church in Concordville, Pennsylvania and in early 1983 the Casavant was delivered and installed. Dr. Frederick Swann, then Director of Music for the Riverside Church in New York City and consultant to the organ committee, played the dedication on May 15, 1983. Since that time, some of the world's finest organists have given recitals on the instrument: Marie-Claire Alain, Diane Bish, David Briggs, Naji Hakim, Simon Preston, Stephen Tharp, Thomas Trotter, John Walker, John Weaver and others.
About the Casavant Frères Organ
A striking feature of Highland Park's sanctuary is the beautiful façade of the Casavant Frères organ.
The furniture division of Casavant constructed the white oak casework that surrounds the pipes comprising parts of the Pedale Montre 16', Octavebass 8' and Grand Orgue Montre 8', perfectly matching the existing woodwork. A striking feature of the organ is the horizontal copper Trompette-en-chamade located in the center of the façade.
Hidden behind the façade and side grillwork is the main organ chamber, surrounding the Chancel in a shallow "U". At its largest points, the chamber is 42 feet wide, 23 feet high and 5 ½ feet deep. The floor of the chamber begins approximately two feet below the lowest point of the façade and the ceiling rises to a height approximately five feet below the tallest point in the center of the façade. At the top center of the façade, above the organ chamber, is an enclosed space where several organ mechanical components are located. Seventy-seven ranks of pipes occupy the organ chamber over two levels comprising the Chancel Grand Orgue, Recít, Positif, Resonance and Pédale divisions.
The Gallery organ, positioned on two cantilevered structures to either side of the Resurrection Window over the balcony, is a 15-rank organ comprised of three divisions: the Gallery Grand Orgue (west side), Écho (east side) and Pédale (both sides).
The full resources of both the Chancel and Gallery organs can be played from a moveable four-manual and pedalboard console in the Chancel. Three connecting locations in the Chancel floor are provided to allow the console to be moved freely and connected to a location where convenient. Three small cables from the organ console connect to plugs at each location: power, multiplex (communicates the actions of the organist to the organ chamber, activating the correct stop [sound] when pulled, or note when a key is depressed) and audio/visual (for a TV monitor which provides "eyes" for what the organist cannot see from behind the console).
The two-manual and pedalboard Gallery console is permanently positioned at the front of the balcony, east side. This console has full control over the Gallery organ with limited control of the Chancel organ via preset combinations.
The wind for the organ is provided by four blowers: a 6 H.P. main blower underneath the Chancel and three smaller blowers, one each for the Trompette-en-chamade and the two sides of the Gallery organ.
From the Organbuilder
Originally installed in 1983, the Casavant organ at Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas was one of the very first instruments designed by Jean-Louis Coignet, then recently appointed Tonal Director at Casavant. A real "flagship" for our firm, the celebrated Highland Park organ has been featured in numerous organ recitals and concerts over the years.
The refurbishment project we have completed recently is aimed primarily at enhancing and refining the tonal palette of the instrument, this, in connection with a most successful chancel remodelling. From our very first discussion with Organist Michael Shake, it was agreed that the general character of the instrument should be preserved.
While the organ's overall tonal orientation was French, it showed a definite influence from the Organ Reform ideals, as exemplified by the marked articulation in the pipe speech, the noticeable predominance of upperwork over fundamental tone, and the general approach to reed stop voicing. Our current Tonal Director, Jacquelin Rochette, who joined Casavant not long after the original organ installation, elected, for the Chancel organ, to propose some mixture revisions and to have most reed stops reconditioned or revoiced for a smoother, warmer tone. In order to reinforce the eight-foot line, the upper Pédale was extended to the manual compass, thus making these large-scaled stops playable with the original manual stops. A pungent Violon 8' was added to the Grand Orgue. In the Positif, the original Baroque-style Quintaton 16' and Douçaine 16' were replaced respectively with a Salicional and a Clarinette, both playing at sixteen- and eight-foot pitches. This division offers now more fundamental tone for accompaniment. Both the Récit and Positif expressions were revised for greater effectiveness. The original façade pipes of zinc were replaced with new polished tin pipes. With the exception of making the Contre Trompette 16' playable from the manual, work on the Gallery organ was limited to tonal regulation.
On the mechanical standpoint, the organ was still in good working condition and only required minor attention, with the exception of a thorough cleaning. The two original consoles were extensively rebuilt with solid-state systems. The Chancel console was provided with new manuals, stop jambs, coupler board, drawstops, etc. Interestingly, it is now possible to play the Chancel organ from the Gallery console through twelve preset combinations.
We, at Casavant, feel truly honored to have been entrusted the refurbishing of this important Casavant organ, and we wish to extend our heartfelt thanks to all the people we have worked within the last years, for their confidence and cooperation during the entire process.
We also want to acknowledge the essential role played by Michael Shake in this project. Michael's passion, dedication and patience have been instrumental in the success of this endeavour.
Simon Couture
Vice President
Casavant Frères
