Church Organ

About the Great Organ…

The present organ at the Church of the Epiphany was rebuilt in 2007 by the firm of Luley & Associates of Pittsburgh.  A small 3 rank organ was also installed in the transept the same year.  The transept organ is connected to the Great Organ in the Gallery. The following is a history and description of the Epiphany Organ, provided by the present builder of the organ.

The original pipe organ in Epiphany Church was built in 1903 by the Austin Organ Company of Hartford, Connecticut. This was an interesting time of transition for most pipe organ builders in America, a time when new technology and innovation were often at odds with traditional craftsmanship and artistic integrity. Many factors contributed toward this tilt toward factory produced instruments of innovative mechanical design, but perhaps in the end the most satisfactory explanation has nothing to do with expanding new markets and remarkable technological innovation, but rather the natural decline of a stylistic period of pipe organ design loosely referred to as “romantic”, which is the latter of only two broad categories of pipe organ building up to this point, the earlier referred to as “baroque”. The majority of influential organs from the French, German, and English romantic schools were built in the second half of the nineteenth century. 

The original Epiphany organ employed a mechanism know as tubular pneumatic action, a conservative transitional approach where electricity play a minimal role in the control of pipes and console amenities. This complicated technology presented insurmountable problems from its earliest stages, and nearly all examples of this type of mechanism were discarded as quickly as funds were available. At Epiphany Church this happened in the late 1940’s, when a new electro-pneumatic control system and console was grafted to the original Austin mechanism. This too presented many liabilities which had to be endured for half a century, interspersed by several rejuvenations and minor improvements.

Finally the total condition of the instrument had to be addressed, and the failing condition of the mechanism together with the poor condition of the pipework pointed to only two possible solutions, either an entirely new instrument or a comprehensive rebuilding, which would utilize only the best of the pipes and the case and façade of the old organ. The second method was selected, which points to a broader trend in pipe organ design which could best be described as conservative and eclectic. This current trend in pipe organ building differs from work which found favor in the second half of the twentieth century, in that the whole approach is toward a specific historic style, and not toward a collection of voices representing every conceivable style from every period.  

The approach for the reconstruction of the Epiphany organ is essentially to impose a limit based on an historic model- in this case not literally but at least in theory. The pedigree of the existing Austin pipework was decidedly English Romanic, so it was very logical to construct the rebuilt instrument along these lines. The work of the London builder T. C. Lewis (whose masterpiece has been recently restored at Southwark Cathedral) is the historic model to which the Epiphany organ aspires, characterized by relatively uniform low pressures for reeds and flues, and bold diapason choruses capped by strong quint mixtures.

The beautifully restored interior of Epiphany Church now houses an instrument capable of fulfilling a variety of needs, from the liturgy of the church to solo organ concerts, in an acoustical environment that is perhaps the finest in the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

In 2007 a dedication concert series celebrated the restoration of the organ with international and local artists including James Noakes, Joseph Nolan, Marek Kudlicki, Charles Heaton, Andrew Scanlon, Alan Lewis, the University of Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Duquesne University Symphony Orchestra with Ann Labounsky.

Steve Anisko,  Peter Luley: pipe voicing and finishing  

EPIPHANY ORGAN SPECIFICATION

GREAT ORGAN

16     Open Diapason                              SWELL ORGAN

8       First Diapason                               16     Contra Viole

8       Second Diapason                           8       Open Diapason

8       Claribel Flute                                  8       Viole

4       Octave                                            8       Viole Celeste

4       Harmonic Flute                              8       Salicional

2 2/3 Twelfth                                           8       Voix Celeste

2       Fifteenth                                         8       Chimney  Flute

IV     Mixture                                          4       Principal

8       Tuba Mirabilis (CH)                      4       Flute

8       Trumpet                                          2 2/3 Nasard

4       Clarion                                           2       Octave

2       Flute

Choir Organ                                            1 3/5 Tierce

8      Dolce Diapason                               III     Plein Jeu

8      Stopped Diapason                           16     Fagotto

8      Salicional (Sw)                                8       Trumpet

8      Voix Celeste (Sw)                           8       Oboe

4      Pricipal                                            8       Vox Humana

4      Spiral Flute                                      4       Clarion

2      Octave                                                      Tremolo

2      Flute                                                         Super & Sub Couplers

III    Mixture

16    Tuba Mirabilis (TC)                        Couplers

8      Tuba Mirabilis                                 8      GT/PD, SW/PD, CH/PD

8      Cremona                                          4      CH/PD, SW/PD

4      Tuba Mirabilis                                 16    SW/GT, CH/GT, SW/CH

Tremolo                                                   8      SW/GT, CH/GT, SW/CH

Super & Sub Couplers                            4      SW/GT, CH/GT, SW/CH

Unison Off

Combination Action

Pedal Organ                                            General 1-12, Divisional 1-8

32     Contra Bourdon                             64 Memory levels

16     Open Wood

16     Open Diapason (GT)                     Expression

16     Contra Viole (SW)                         Swell, Crescendo

16     Bourdon

8       Principal

8       Bourdon                                         LULEY & ASSOCIATES 2007

4       Octave                                            Organbuilders

4       Flute

IV     Mixture

32     Contra Fagotto

16    Trombone

16    Fagotto (SW)

8      Trumpet

8      Tuba Mirabilis (CH)

4      Clarion