Music
Organ
The organ at Trinity was installed in 1960 by Casavant Frères and is one of the finer organs in the Southern Tier. It is a three-manual instrument with 38 ranks of pipes, as well as three recently added electronic ranks (16', 32', 32') in the pedal division. A versatile instrument, it adds greatly to the worship experience of the parish.
The organ was a gift of generous parish supporters, Conrad and Virginia Klee.
The dedicatory recital was performed on September 26, 1960 by internationally acclaimed organist (and former parish son) M. Searle Wright.
Tthe 50th anniversary of this instrument will be noted in 2010.
Church Musician Peter Browne presented an organ recital on Sunday, January 31, 2010. He l performed works of Bach, Couperin, Lübeck, Mendelssohn, Hindemith, Langlais and Howells.
Organ Repairs Have Begun!
See also Recent Photos
Organ Repairs Needed
(The following also appears in the December 2009 Trinity Times.)
In case you had been wondering if the organ has sounded a little different over the past month or so, the answer is yes. All the work that is being done on the roof has had some unfortunate consequences for the organ. Despite all the precautions that have been taken (and there have been many), some of the dirt and dust generated by the construction has found its way into the organ chambers and mechanisms. Additionally, late in October, there was a weekend storm that dumped heavy amounts of rain in the Binghamton area, and a small amount of water found its way into the Swell division (the pipes behind the left-hand set of shutters in the chancel). Unfortunately, it takes only a small amount of water to create major difficulties in the internal control systems of the instrument.
Under each pipe in the organ is a small leather pouch that controls when compressed air is allowed into the pipe to make it sound. These leathers are extremely thin, and need to remain flexible in order to function properly. If they get wet, the same thing happens to them that happens to anything made of leather--they dry out, get brittle and eventually crack or rip. When that happens, as soon as the organ is turned on and air begins flowing through the system, the pipe above begins to sound, whether or not the organist is pressing that particular key. You may remember that happening one Sunday in October, when we had to finish the 10 a.m. service with the piano.
Will Dodge has been working with Bishop Pipe Organ Service and Casavant Frères, the builder of our instrument, to try to get the organ back into decent operating condition. As of this writing, the entire Swell division (all the pipes controlled by the upper keyboard) is disconnected so that Will can replace, one at a time, the damaged leathers. Having the Swell non-functional means that we have only about 2/3 of the organ working for services. The Swell division is critical for choral accompaniment as well as for variety in hymn playing and service music; without it, things will continue to sound different for a while.
Additionally, while this short-term repair work is being undertaken, it has become evident that some of the other components of the organ are also beginning to break down due to age. The organ will be 50 years old next year, and major repairs are generally expected from about 40 years on. Fortunately, during the 1980s Trinity began to plan ahead for these anticipated maintenance requirements, and established a fund for that specific purpose. The Organ Fund currently has sufficient funds to allow us to go ahead with all the necessary repairs to these damaged and aging components. While there will be some inconvenience, and a certain lack of flexibility (perhaps even through the upcoming holiday season), we're fortunate to be able to proceed with the work required. Thanks to the foresight of Art Doersam and the Vestry some years ago, Trinity's organ will be able to continue to fulfill its role in our weekly worship services: supporting the singing of the congregation, accompanying the choirs, and allowing for the presentation of a wide range of music as preludes, postludes, and incidental music.
I want to say a great big THANK YOU to Will Dodge for the many hours he's put in repairing the current damage as well as keeping the organ as functional as possible for our Sunday services. We are truly fortunate to have someone so talented and so generous in our midst. Thanks, Will!
Finally, there is an exciting possibility that in the coming months we may be able to go even further with our work on Trinity's organ, making some less urgent repairs, and refurbishing and updating some systems that are rapidly becoming obsolete. But more on that next time.
Peter Browne, Church Musician
November 15, 2009