![]() ![]() New Orleans: Felicity Methodist
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IntroductionFelicity United Methodist Church is located at the eastern edge of the historic Garden District of New Orleans, in an area that might best be described as a "declining neighborhood." According to a plaque on the side of the building, the church's first structure was built in 1850, but was destroyed by fire in 1887. The present building -- which has not escaped damage from the periodic hurricanes that assail Louisiana's coastal region -- was built the following year.231 The interior of the building has been modified several times, occasionally as the result of repairing hurricane damage, occasionally in attempts either to modernize the building or to introduce some economical changes. When you look at the ceiling, for example, you will see a flat, hard surface, and you would be correct to think that it contributes to the lively acoustic of the room. That flat, hard surface is the third ceiling in the room, however, replacing a suspended ceiling that had been installed in an effort to reduce heating and cooling costs.
Catalog DescriptionThe organ in Felicity Methodist is one of Hook's "Size No. 7" instruments, as listed and described in a brochure of around 1881. Here's the general description from page 4 of that publication:230
The photograph to the right shows more clearly that the pipes are stencilled -- "richly ornamented," in the language of the brochure. The pattern of the stencilling (which has not been refurbished in this organ, but is original) is perhaps plainer than you might find in other "Size No. 7" organs, but the choice of a simple geometric border can be considered an element of "appropriate style," to use the words of the brochure again. You can also see in this photograph that the decorative elements of the case itself are minimal. The wooden structures at the sides of the pipes are quite plain, and only the cross piece -- which is placed at the same level as the top of the case behind the pipes -- has any carving or molding on it. The Keydesk
The StoplistThe description says the instrument has "18 Stops," and the rest of the page in the brochure itemizes eighteen items controlled by stop knobs. I've rearranged them slightly in this stoplist, not so I could "correct" anything, just to be consistent in the way we look at such lists.
Of course, you wouldn't expect a builder today to include the Tremolo or couplers in a stop count, but that was not unusual for the nineteenth century. The "Bellows Signal," which was originally used to tell the assistant to start pumping, can be seen as the equivalent of a blower switch, and we wouldn't count that either. The thirteen remaining stops, however, represent only 10 ranks of pipes. In the stoplist above, I've included the number of pipes controlled by each stop -- and they do add up to 525 pipes, just as the brochure promises. The single pedal stop is a "full-compass stop," and as such it has one pipe for each key of the pedalboard. Those manual stops that have 58 pipes are also full-compass stops, so that every note on the appropriate manual has a matching pipe in each of those stops. Some of the manual stops have only 46 pipes, however, and I've marked those with an editorial TC (for "tenor C") in brackets. Their 46 pipes begin at the second C of the manual keyboards, so they don't play in the first, or bass octave. The two "Stopped Bass" stops, however, play only in the first octave, as does the Bassoon. As you will see in the brochure description below, you might find similar divided stops called "Unison Bass" or "Common Bass," and in general, these stops control the bottom octave of a stopped flute -- the Melodia and Stopped Diapason in this case. The first twelve pipes are provided with a second stop knob so that you can use them as the bass pipes for the other short-compass stops -- the Dulciana and the Viola. Stops that are divided at this point -- at c rather than c' -- are provided chiefly for economic reasons. In the first place, the large 8' open pipes of the two associated stops (the Dulciana and the Viola) are not present, so there is a savings in the construction, packing and shipping of twenty-four of the largest pipes of the organ. Secondly, there is a savings in height. Look again at the stoplist. In the swell, there is no pipe over 4' long. The longest pipe of the Stopped Diapason is only 4' long, and the Bassoon is half-length in the bottom octave. On the Great, only the 8' Open Diapason extends to a full 8' octave. As we have seen above, those pipes are not contained in the case, they extend beyond its top. The second economic factor is then in a savings in height. Less space is required for the pipes themselves, so there is a savings in both materials and work in producing the case. All in all, "Size No. 7," or a similar design by another builder, was an economical choice for a church in the 1880's, providing a great deal of flexibility with a small number of registers. Tonal CharacteristicsWe can take another look at the catalog description of the "Size No. 7" organ and get a general idea of the sound of this organ -- or of what the firm wanted you to think was the sound of the organ. According to this description the sound of the Open Diapason is "very full and bold," but there is no description of the sound of the Octave or the Fifteenth. We are just told they are "full scale." Actually, the Diapason is of average scale, with a normal mouth width and cut-up for a principal. There is no excessive nicking, and the sound is indeed a full one, rich in harmonic development. The Octave and Fifteenth have a complementary sound, and the three together form a very convincing basic chorus. The first twelve pipes of the Melodia carry a different name on the stop knob than they have here in the brochure. They are, in fact, stopped wooden pipes, and they have the dark quality you would expect to hear. The rest of the Melodia is of open metal pipes that are harmonic above c'''. The sound is a full, rich, and colorful as you would expect from such a stop. In contrast, the Dulciana is quite soft -- "delicate" -- and has the balance between fundamental and overtones you expect in a principal. There is no principal stop on the Swell, and that's typical of small organs from this period. The string -- in the case of the Felicity organ a Viola -- is perhaps more "delicate" than "crisp," with a sound that is equal in dynamic level to the Dulciana. The Viola is small in scale, and its color is definitely that of a string, not a principal. The Stopped Diapason forms a similar parallel to the Melodia of the Great. The sound is similar in volume, but contrasting in color, and each of them has a distinct character in its timbre. The two harmonic flutes (the Melodia on the Great and the 4' Flute Harmonique on the Swell) also have distinct voices, that of the Swell being lighter and less commanding than the Great. The Oboe-Bassoon -- another divided stop -- is a small trumpet in both construction and sound, and this gives it a great deal of flexibility in such a small instrument. You can use it as a solo stop in the treble, while the Stopped Bass is coupled to the Pedal and you play the accompanying voices on the Dulciana. In contrast, you can use the same stop in the chorus by coupling it to the Great. The Pedal stop of the Felicity organ is a 16' Bourdon, just what you would expect to find on a small instrument. Made of wood, the stop is voiced to provide the maximum degree of fundamental pitch from such pipes. It can be used under the chorus of the Great as well as it can to provide a bass for the Dulciana or Stopped Diapason. The divided stops give an additional choice for coupling 8' stops to the pedal -- provided, of course, you don't play above the first octave. ConclusionAll in all, the Felicity Methodist Hook and Hastings organ is quite typical of the builder's work in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. The principals are traditional in scale and voicing, even though other builders were moving toward larger scales, more pronounced nicking, and a more fundamental, less colorful sound. On the other hand, the Melodia on the Great is a "sign of the times," included here as a replacement for the Clarabella of the earlier E. & G. G. Hook organs. The Dulciana is quieter than similar stops of a half-century or more earlier, while the Oboe is a compromise between a solo stop and a chorus reed. Altogether, this is a successful organ for its size, and the sound it produces in the room is rich, full, and exciting. © 2001 James H. Cook |