Worship & Music - New Chapel Organ
A Message from the Organ Committee
Music underscores the essential purpose of our worship, which is to promote the union of God with his people. When we are
receptive to what music offers, our hearts open to places words often fail to reach. And when we join together in song, that tangible link to one another’s presence reminds us of the greater presence of the very God we worship.
From its earliest roots, Anglican worship has been rich with song, often supported by the pipe organ. Certainly Saint David’s has always prized music, not only to enrich worship by offering our best, but also to create a ministry that strives to serve the entire church community. Thus in planning a new worship space, there seemed little doubt that it would house
a new pipe organ.
When the Organ Committee gathered in September 2001, it first set about considering the broadest picture: how would the needs of our expanding music program relate to the current state of pipe organ design into a solution that melded with the new building? The organ’s essential role would be leading song, both congregational and choral, as well as offering spiritual music for weddings and funerals, and at recitals. Moreover, the instrument’s appearance needed to be as compelling as the sound. 
Taking their responsibility to heart, committee members joined with our talented music directors and organ consultant, touring organs up and down the East Coast, researching potential builders, poring over details of proposals, educating church leaders and parishioners, and in turn, benefiting from their wisdom and guidance.
A short list of four builders was narrowed to two, and ultimately to the recommendation in 2003 that Dobson Pipe Organ Builders of Lake City, Iowa craft the new instrument. After two years of preliminary design and engineering, the Church entered into contract with Dobson in March 2005. Twenty-four
months later, on Sunday March 3, 2007, the instrument arrived and was unloaded in a ceremonial occasion assisted by hundreds of parishioners. After months of assembly, voicing and tuning, the organ was first heard in worship on Sunday, July 22, reaching completion in August. Through the superb talents of Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, and the generosity of so many in our congregation, we at Saint David’s are truly blessed to welcome this magnificent instrument into our Chapel, our worship home, for generations to come.
Joseph Bonn, chair
Peter Binnion
Elissa Fisher
Robert Gallagher
Clair Rozier
Amanda Smoot
George Vosburgh
Beth Wright
A Message from the Organ Builders
When Saint David’s parish set about to build a new worship space, it looked to its history with a modern eye. The design of the new Chapel pointedly recalls architectural details of the historic Saint David’s Church while incorporating necessary or desirable modern features. Likewise, when we were asked to design and build an organ for the new Chapel, we looked to organ building history with a modern eye.
Pipe organs have been used in Christian worship since the tenth century, eventually spreading from Rome throughout the Western world. Each region had its own musical culture and developed an organ building style to support it. Like languages, each organ tradition has a unique vocabulary and sound. When Europeans came to North America, they brought their traditions with them: organs in Mexico resemble Spanish instruments, those built in Boston and New York looked to English examples, and the great wave of German immigrants in the Midwest built organs in the traditions of their native lands.
In the same way that Saint David’s new Chapel incorporates old and new, each pipe organ we build represents our interpretation and advancement of the organ building traditions we have inherited. Op. 84 has many features typical of historic organs. It has a mechanical key action, a system of linkages that directly connect the keyboards to the valves, giving the organist an unparalleled sense of when the notes begin to play and, just as importantly, exactly when they stop playing. The component parts of the organ are housed in a large cabinet or case, built of solid white oak with traditional joinery. On the other hand, Op. 84 responds uniquely to the demands of present-day church music. Its console is not built directly into the case as one finds in older organs, but is brought forward to allow the choir to gather around the organist. To assist the organist in hymn playing and choral accompaniment, the console includes an electronic system that makes possible rapid changes in the combinations of stops.
While a pipe organ can be a beautiful piece of furniture, its first purpose is to produce beautiful sounds. Op. 84 brings together in a new way tone colors characteristic of German, French, English and American pipe organs. These sounds are not recreated in imitation of any specific historic organ, but are combined in our own way to suit the worship life of Saint David’s, the acoustical character of the Chapel, and the spirit
of our time. Most of the organ’s 2,751 pipes are made of alloys of tin and lead, with tin content ranging from 12% to 75%. The largest pipes, and some smaller ones as well, are made of wood, specifically yellow poplar, hard maple and black walnut.
The pipes are grouped in divisions, each being played from a separate keyboard, three by the hands and one by the feet. The location of the divisions within the organ case corresponds to the arrangement of the keyboards. The largest pipes of the Pedal stand on the floor behind the case. The Choir division, played from the lowest manual keyboard, is located at the first level behind the lattice grille. The Great, played from the second manual keyboard, is located behind the tall groups of pipes at the outside of the case; some of the smaller Pedal pipes are also located with the Great. Just below the window behind the upper
group of pipes is located the Swell organ.
Like the sound-producing parts of the organ, the visual design reinterprets historic precedents. The organ case’s overall shape is enriched with details that tie its appearance to the architectural design of the Chapel. Gilded carvings smooth what would otherwise be abrupt transitions between major case elements. The deliberately thin layer of paint allows the grain of the white oak underneath to show through, while the organ console’s stained cherry cabinetry has a mahogany interior. Overall,
the organ stands a little more than thirty-five feet tall, and weighs about 28,000 pounds. The blower (which supplies the air under pressure for the pipes) and some associated equipment are located in the undercroft for sound isolation reasons.
An instrument of this complexity comes into being only through the effort of many hands. We appreciate the thoughtful contributions of Frank Allen, Clair Rozier, Robert Gallagher, Jonathan Ambrosino and especially Dr. Joseph Bonn. Their efforts made it possible for us to build an organ that truly suits Saint David’s, one that will be a worthy servant of the worship life ofthe parish for many generations.
Dobson Pipe Organ Builders, founded by Lynn A. Dobson in
Lake City, Iowa, in 1974, has earned an international reputation for elevated standards of art and craftsmanship in organ building. Known best for the construction of mechanical-action instruments, the firm has also built electric-action organs for such notable venues as The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles and Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for
the Performing Arts. Upcoming projects include mechanical-action organs in West Hartford and Minneapolis, and electric-action organs in Dallas and Washington, D.C.
Information about St. David's organ is available on the Dobson Pipe Organ Builders website.