Presbyterian Church
Miles City, MT
Opus 1602
"Original Specifications"
Great
8 Gt. Open
Diapason
61
8 Gt. Gross
Flute
61
8 Gt.
Gemshorn
61
8 Gt.
Dulciana
61
4 Gt. Harmonic
Flute
61
Great Unison
ON/OFF
Swell (Enclosed)
16 Sw.
Bourdon
49
8 Sw. Open
Diapason
61
8 Sw.
Gedeckt
61
8 Sw.
Salicional
61
8 Sw. Voix
Celeste
61
8 Sw.
Aeoline
61
4 Sw. Flauto
Traverso
61
8 Sw.
Oboe
[labial]
61
Sw. Tremulant
Sw. Tremulant
Swell to Swell
16'
Swell
Unison ON/OFF
Swell to Swell
4'
Pedal
16 Ped. Open
Diapason [wood] 30
16 Ped.
Bourdon
30
16 Ped.
Lieblich
Gedeckt 30
Couplers
Swell to
Pedal
[8]
Great to
Pedal
[8]
Swell to
Great
16,8,4
Finger Pistons
(Mechanical)
Swell & Pedal 1 - 3
Swell & Pedal 1 - 3
Great &
Pedal
1 - 3
Foot Levers
Rev
[Gt. to Ped.]
(rev)
Pedal Movements
Swell
Expression
(bal.)
Crescendo
(bal.)
Action: Tubular-Pneumatic
Voices: 16
Stops: 16
Ranks: 16
Pipes: 859
Notes
The organ is housed behind an
impressive oak casefront with 27 large gold facade pipes including the
first 17 pipes of
the Great 8' Open Diapason. The facade is comprised of one flat flanked by two towers arranged: 5 - 17 - 5, plus some
"tomato can" dummies around the sides of the towers and above/behind the central flat.
the Great 8' Open Diapason. The facade is comprised of one flat flanked by two towers arranged: 5 - 17 - 5, plus some
"tomato can" dummies around the sides of the towers and above/behind the central flat.
The Great is directly behind the
facade with the Swell overhead. The Pedal Bourdon and Lieblich Gedeckt
are divided on
diatonic chests on either side of the Great, and the Pedal Open Diapason is along the back wall behind the manual divisions.
diatonic chests on either side of the Great, and the Pedal Open Diapason is along the back wall behind the manual divisions.
The Swell 16' Bourdon borrows
its bottom 12 notes from the Pedal 16' Lieblich Gedeckt. These 12 Pedal
pipes are offset on
chests screwed to the outside, sides of the swellbox. The action is tubed to the chest from both the main Pedal chest below
and the Swell chest behind.
chests screwed to the outside, sides of the swellbox. The action is tubed to the chest from both the main Pedal chest below
and the Swell chest behind.
The Unison ON/OFF functions are
located atop the right side of each respective manual keycheek.
Melvin
W. Dunn
Salt Lake City, UT.
1969
"Tonal Changes &
Releathering"
Great
8 Gt. Open
Diapason
61
8 Gt.
Gemshorn
61
8 Gt.
Dulciana
61
4 Gt.
Octave
61
4 Gt. Harmonic
Flute
61
Great Unison
ON/OFF
Swell (Enclosed)
8 Sw. Open
Diapason
61
8 Sw.
Gedeckt
61
8 Sw.
Salicional
61
8 Sw. Voix
Celeste
61
4 Sw. Flauto
Traverso
61
2 Sw.
Octavin
61
III Sw.
Mixture [19-22-26] 183
8 Sw. Oboe
[labial]
61
Sw.
Tremulant
Swell to Swell
16'
Swell
Unison ON/OFF
Swell to Swell
4'
Pedal
16 Ped. Open
Diapason [wood] 30
16 Ped.
Bourdon
30
16 Ped.
Lieblich Gedeckt 30
Couplers
Swell to
Pedal
[8]
Great to
Pedal
[8]
Swell to
Great
16,8,4
Finger Pistons
(Mechanical)
Swell & Pedal 1 - 3
Swell & Pedal 1 - 3
Great &
Pedal
1 - 3
Foot Levers
Rev
[Gt. to Ped.]
(rev)
Pedal Movements
Swell
Expression
(bal.)
Crescendo
(bal.)
Action: Tubular-Pneumatic
Voices: 16
Stops: 16
Ranks: 18
Pipes: 981
Notes
In 1969, Melvin W. Dunn of Salt
Lake City was contracted to do some releathering and make tonal
changes.
It is unclear what releathering he did, but it seems quite certain that he at least releathered the two original regulators.
The Great 4' Octave replaced the original 8' Gross Flute. The Sw. 2' Octavin is actually a principal, not a harmonic flute,
and replaced the original 8' Aeoline. The III Mixture replaced the original 16' Bourdon. New offset chests were added
for the bass of the Mixture, and placed outside the swellbox. The original pipes are in storage in a closet in the narthex of the church.
The organ was rededicated February 1, 1970.
It is unclear what releathering he did, but it seems quite certain that he at least releathered the two original regulators.
The Great 4' Octave replaced the original 8' Gross Flute. The Sw. 2' Octavin is actually a principal, not a harmonic flute,
and replaced the original 8' Aeoline. The III Mixture replaced the original 16' Bourdon. New offset chests were added
for the bass of the Mixture, and placed outside the swellbox. The original pipes are in storage in a closet in the narthex of the church.
The organ was rededicated February 1, 1970.
In 1979, Harold B. Curryer of
Spokane, WA. releathered the chests for around $2-3,000.00.
However, it turned out that he did not actually releather all the components of all the chests.
However, it turned out that he did not actually releather all the components of all the chests.
In 1991, Mr. Curryer releathered
the console and crudely raised the pitch at a cost of $3,519.00.
In 1994, Meadway & Stettner
Pipe Organs of Monroe, WA. refurbished the organ. All of the pipework
was removed and cleaned.
All stopped wood pipes had their stoppers releathered. The wood tuning slides on the Swell 4' Flauto Traverso were cleaned,
repaired, and graphited for easier tuning. Damaged Haskelled basses were repaired. The console pillow pneumatic couplers,
which had evidently been overlooked by Curryer in 1991, were releathered as were the Swell stop action pillow pneumatics.
The two chests added by Dunn in 1969 for the bass of the III Mixture were moved inside the swellbox to be expressive
with the rest of the stop, and numerous windleaks were suppressed.
All stopped wood pipes had their stoppers releathered. The wood tuning slides on the Swell 4' Flauto Traverso were cleaned,
repaired, and graphited for easier tuning. Damaged Haskelled basses were repaired. The console pillow pneumatic couplers,
which had evidently been overlooked by Curryer in 1991, were releathered as were the Swell stop action pillow pneumatics.
The two chests added by Dunn in 1969 for the bass of the III Mixture were moved inside the swellbox to be expressive
with the rest of the stop, and numerous windleaks were suppressed.
In August, 2005, Clint Meadway
and Jim Stettner again returned to minister to the ailing organ.
In 2000, the church had undergone some improvements. One of these was a drop ceiling in the parish hall under the sanctuary.
This included the kitchen directly beneath the organ. The problem here is that Estey had wisely cut holes in the chamber floor
for a cold air dump. One of these was actually capped in the kitchen renovation. The other simply lets the cold air get trapped
between the chamber floor and the kitchen ceiling. The result of the presence of the excessive cold air in the winter is that the organ started having more and more problems with ciphers. So, during the 2005 work, the original brass tubing bundles were all removed, and new, thick leather gaskets were installed at all junctions. Many of these junctions barely had any remaining leather to see,
and some were just wood-on-wood. If the wood shrunk from winter dryness, gaps appeared and ciphers developed.
When reassembled, new, longer screws were used with compression springs to maintain a tight fit. The church will uncap the one cold air dump and then allow both of them to vent into the kitchen again. Additionally, the remaining chest pneumatics were releathered.
This included the 30 primary pneumatics of the Pedal 16' Bourdon/16' Lieblich Gedeckt chests; the 12 primary pneumatics of the offset,
elevated 16' Lieblich Gedeckt bass chests, the 30 primary pneumatics of the Pedal 16' Open Diapason chest, and 27 of the 30 individual note pneumatics for the Pedal 16' Open Diapason. At this time, the entire organ has now been releathered.
In 2000, the church had undergone some improvements. One of these was a drop ceiling in the parish hall under the sanctuary.
This included the kitchen directly beneath the organ. The problem here is that Estey had wisely cut holes in the chamber floor
for a cold air dump. One of these was actually capped in the kitchen renovation. The other simply lets the cold air get trapped
between the chamber floor and the kitchen ceiling. The result of the presence of the excessive cold air in the winter is that the organ started having more and more problems with ciphers. So, during the 2005 work, the original brass tubing bundles were all removed, and new, thick leather gaskets were installed at all junctions. Many of these junctions barely had any remaining leather to see,
and some were just wood-on-wood. If the wood shrunk from winter dryness, gaps appeared and ciphers developed.
When reassembled, new, longer screws were used with compression springs to maintain a tight fit. The church will uncap the one cold air dump and then allow both of them to vent into the kitchen again. Additionally, the remaining chest pneumatics were releathered.
This included the 30 primary pneumatics of the Pedal 16' Bourdon/16' Lieblich Gedeckt chests; the 12 primary pneumatics of the offset,
elevated 16' Lieblich Gedeckt bass chests, the 30 primary pneumatics of the Pedal 16' Open Diapason chest, and 27 of the 30 individual note pneumatics for the Pedal 16' Open Diapason. At this time, the entire organ has now been releathered.
|
125th ANNIVERSARY RECITAL
MILES CITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH Friday, 21 Oct 05 Edwin L. Stickney M.D. Reger Toccata Bach O Thou of God O Sacred Head Now Wounded Christ Lag in Todesbanden Jesus Christ, Our Lord Williams Bryn Calfaria Rhosymedre Purvis Forest Green Proulx Beloved, Let us Love Bernstein A Simple Song Claudia Stickney Fife Lang Tuba Tune Held O Come, O Come Emmanuel Joy to the World Post Old Hundreth Young Crusader Hymn Bach Credo |
Sources
Estey Opus List
James Stettner
Edwin L. Stickney M.D.
Back