PARISH of the HOLY EUCHARIST

George Jardine & Sons, New York, Opus Number 1123, 1893

Tonal revision by David Wallace, Portland, Maine, 1986
Bench by Nick Wallace, Portland, Maine, 2015
 
George Jardine (1800-1882) was born in Dartford, England and immigrated to America in 1836. The organ building firm of George Jardine & Sons was established in New York City in 1837 and continued to 1899.  During this time, the firm produced some 1,257  pipe organs. The Jardine firm’s earliest organs were barrel organs, which could play 22  hymns all on their own. Jardine soon discovered that organs with keyboards were more popular with organists with fingers. Sacred Heart is fortunate to be the home of opus 1123, a fine  two-manual, 15-rank example of 19th century American organ building.

Our Jardine organ was built in 1893 for the Russell Sage Memorial Church in the Far Rockaway section of Queens, New York. In 1985, with the coordination of the Organ Clearing House, the organ was sold to Sacred Heart Church. The organ was mechanically restored and tonally "rearranged" by David E. Wallace of Gorham, Maine. Existing pipework from the organ was used to provide a more versatile specification. The Great Mixture III was added at that time. A new Trumpet stop has replaced the Oboe on the Swell and a vintage Bell Gamba (Stevens) replaced the Dulciana on the Great.

Specification of George Jardine & Sons, Opus 1123

SWELL
Stopped Diapason 8’
Salicional 8’
Celeste 8’ 
Harmonic Flute 4’
Flautino 2’
Trompette 8’  (new, replaced original Oboe 8’)
 
GREAT
Open Diapason 8’
Melodia 8’
Dulciana 8’
4’ Octave
Bell Gamba 8’ (vintage Stevens pipework, replaced original crushed Jardine Gamba)
Octave 4’ (originally located in the Swell as Open Diapason 8’)
 
PEDAL (Standard AGO, 1985)
Subbass 16’
Bourdon 16’ (vintage Hook pipework)*
Violcello 8’ (vintage Hook pipework)*
*additions done by David E. Wallace & Co., 2019
 
COUPLERS
Swell to Great
Swell to Great Octaves
Swell to Pedal
Great to Pedal

 Fifteenth 2’
Mixture III (new, 1985)
 
Terms used: 
Rank A set of pipes, one per note, voiced to sound as a unit, i.e. principal (diapason), flute, string, or reed. 
Scale The ratio of length to width of the pipe. Generally, the larger the scale the louder the volume. 
Swell The top manual (keyboard), the pipes of which are enclosed in a box to the rear of the organ case. Shutters open and close to control volume. 
Great The lower manual (keyboard), the pipes of which are unenclosed and of a set volume which cannot be controlled 
Pedal The keyboard played with the feet. The pipes of this division are unenclosed and also of a set volume which cannot be controlled. 
16’ An octave below 8’ pitch. Generally the pitch used in the pedal—lower notes

 8’ The pitch one hears at the piano, i.e. A440. The lowest pipe in the rank is about 8 feet long.
 4’ An octave higher than 8’ 
2’ Two octaves higher than 8’
 Mixture A group of high pitched sounds which crown the basic organ sound 
 
 
These changes have been made with the goal of making the organ a superior service playing instrument while being sensitive to the historical importance of the 19th century sound: warm and inviting. Substantial gifts over the last 40 years have enabled the organ to grow with our music ministry. Thank you! You know who you are! There isn’t a Sunday that your generosity is forgotten!

As the organ reached its 123rd birthday, the need to address mechanical issues became apparent. With a very generous (and anonymous) gift, all work on the Swell and Great divisions has been completed. Total and meticulous rebuilding of the chests, the mechanical guts of the organ upon which the pipes are situated, have resulted in immediate and noticeable improvements in sound and in playing. Cracks have been repaired and leaks sealed. The expert craftsmanship of the Wallace firm is obvious and will make the instrument ready to perform admirably for the next 100 years.  The organ retains its original case and mechanical action.
 
The Backstory
While the people of Far Rockaway, Queens struggled with the problem of too much organ, up in Yarmouth, Maine, the people of Sacred Heart struggled with too little.  A  38-year old Hammond, ancient by electronic standards, was technically outdated and aesthetically mediocre, offering little support for community celebration in song.  Hopes for a new organ had been entertained for several years.  The 1978 remodeling of the church had reserved room for an organ in the sanctuary area.

An organ search committee was formed (Pat Siviski, Phil Thibault, Nancy DeWan, Don Hamalainen, Claudie & Gene Higgins, Ted & Gail Quigley Jan Nelson, and Roger Snow) to study the situation.  Their search put them in touch with Alan Laufman of the Organ Clearing House.

The organ was purchased for $5,000, giving the people of Far Rockaway room and financial support for their baptismal pool, while giving the people of Yarmouth an instrument capable and worthy of leading worship, and giving a fine old instrument a new lease on life!

On July 10, 1985, a crew from Sacred Heart Church in Maine flew to New York to dismantle the organ and bring it to its new home in Yarmouth. Only one full day was available for the work, so the night before the crew gathered for instructions from David Wallace on how to wrap pipes and how to handle them as though they were your best crystal!  The next day, after 10 hours of hard work, covered with dirt and sweat, the crew walked away exhausted, but exhilarated, too. The crew that dismantled the organ in New York included Nancy Crosen, Nancy & Terry DeWan, Jan Nelson, Pat Siviski, Lucille Thibault, Philip Thibault, David Wallace, Harry & Ruth Wines, hosts.

Back in Maine, David Wallace took over the restoration process.  A new pedal board was added, extending the pedal to modern standard specifications.  The blower was replaced because of the age and monstrous size of the original. A new mixture was built in Lawrence, Massachusetts by Pascal Boissonet, pipemaker. This replaced a 4’ Gemshorn on the Great that had been flattened.  (It looked as if someone had lost his balance and sat right on the pipes.)

All tonal changes, except the Mixture, were by David Wallace, using pipework from the organ itself, rescaling and revoicing it so that each rank properly complemented the others. 
Beyond these changes, the rebuilding process was a straightforward refurbishing of what was there.   The bellows was releathered, worn parts repaired or replaced, all leather and felt parts replaced, and the wood oiled.

The beautiful oak case was restored by a number of parishioners, notably Connie Harris and Claire Talbot.  Each piece was cleaned three times with mineral oil, then protected with two coats of satin varnish.  The original finish was shellac, which the years had given a distinct orange cast. 
Work began in 1993 on tonal finishing of the organ by David Jonston of Austin Organ Co.  In addition, attention was focused on the Oboe Rank, which needed revoicing, if not replacement.  Although paid for, the organ, as all of us aging instruments, continues to need general maintenance, upgrades, and replacements and as such we continue to welcome donations and contributions to the Sacred Heart Memorial Organ Fund.