Above: The Trompette en Chamade rank
outlines the rose window in
the
rear gallery of the nave.
A
History
of the Organs at St. Paul's:
Prior to 1938, information about
the St.
Paul's Episcopal Church organ is sketchy, complicated by
incidents of
flood and fire. Following a fire which destroyed the
interior of
the church in 1938, a Pilcher organ of 17 ranks was
installed.
In the early 1980s the organ
was renovated by John Wolford of Evansville and the Wicks
Organ
Company, and
rededicated on March 28, 1982. A new console and
three new ranks
of pipes were added.
-Provided by the parish historian in November 2008.
The organ was rebuilt around
1980 by the James K. Shawhan Pipe Organs, while Fr. Sandy
was Rector of
the parish. Mr Shawhan, with the assistance of Mr.
Laisure and
David Weingartner removed all of the Pilcher components and
built new
components using a Z-tronics relay system. These
relays were
later replaced by John Wolford, an Evansville area organ
technician. A trumpet en-chamade was added in
the rear gallery, originally with the highest pipes in the
middle (see
small photo below). The trumpet en-chamade was later
redesigned
to have the highest pipes on the ends of the chest to
provide a better
view of the window (see larger photo above).
-Emailed from
David Laisure
Pipe Organ Service Co. of Fort Wayne, IN in March
2011.
St. Paul's Listings with the
Organ Historical
Society:
H. & W. Pilcher (1852,
Opus 21)
1 manual. 6 ranks.
Pilcher Bros., Chicago (1868,
Opus
109) 2 manuals. 12 ranks.
Henry Pilcher's Sons (1925,
Opus
1273) 3 manuals. 32 stops.
Henry Pilcher's Sons (1937,
Opus
1837) 3 manuals.
Henry Pilcher's Sons (1939,
Opus
1889) 2 manuals. 12 stops.
Source: Organ Historical Society Website
Six photos above provided by the David Laisure
Pipe Organ
Service Co.
Below: The small unified Wicks pipe organ in the
Viele Chapel of St. Paul's
(Previously in an Evansville residence)
