Prof.Chip Ross: The Organ at High Street

The Organ at High Street - An Assortment

High Street Congregational Church, Auburn Maine

In the photo above, the front of the sanctuary is at the far end under the "little" steeple.

On the left is one of the six windows that grace the side walls of the sanctuary. Above, the Good Shepherd in the window at the front of the sanctuary, high above the organ case.

Budding Organists?

Back when they were early teens, every now and then my daughters Beth (far) and Sarah loved to come up after a service and play their piano pieces on the organ. But it was only a phase. >sigh<

Organ Builder's Nameplate

Dedication Plaque

Hanging on the wall behind the console, this plaque honors those who made it possible for High Street to have such a wonderful instrument.

Organ Specifications

Great
8' Diapason (61 pipes)
8' Spitz Flöte (61)
8' Salicional [from Sw]
8' Gedeckt [Sw]
4' Flute [Sw]
III Octave Chorus (183 pipes)
Sw to Gt, Sw to Gt 16', Sw to Gt 4'
Gt to Gt 4'
Pedal
16' Bourdon (32 pipes)
8' Flute (12; Bourdon Extn)
Sw to Ped; Sw to Ped 4', Gt to Ped

Swell
8' Gedeckt (72 pipes)
8' Salicional (72)
8' Voix Celeste (72)
4' Viola (72)
4' Flute (72)
2 2/3' Nazard (72)
2' Italian Flute (61)
8' Flügel Horn (72)
Tremolo
Sw to Sw 16', Sw to Sw 4'

One of the fundamental components in the organ are the "pouches", leather disks that flex up and down to allow air into the pipes, one pouch for each pipe on the organ. After 75 years and thousands upon thousands of "flexes", it's no wonder some of them began to fail as the leather deteriorated. Such a failure leads to a pipe that either won't speak, or one that refuses to stop speaking. Replacing the pouches one-at-a-time is a costly, time consuming process, as they are buried inside the wind chests, which are held together by many screws all of which have to come out, none of which are easy to get at! So as more of the pouches began to fail and leaks in other parts of the organ were developing, it was decided to have the whole organ releathered at once. This meant dismantling the chests and shipping them off to the shop where they were all replaced at once. This work was completed during the summer of 2007 by David Wallace. The new leathers should last another 75 years, David promises.

Above is a side-by-side comparison of an old, worn pouch and a new replacement.

Above are several pouches, glued into place on their pouch rails, with a pencil for size reference. To the right, pouch rails and their new leathers back from the shop, ready to go to work for another 75 years.

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