2008-11-14 - Identified through online information from Dr. Michael Elsbernd. -- First Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, purchased the 1968 Führer organ from Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Decorah, Iowa, on August 14, 2008. Good Shepherd had purchased the Führer organ from Trinity Episcopal Church, Princeton, New Jersey, in 1978. It is currently in the workshop of the J.F. Nordlie Company, where John Nordlie and his staff have done restoration work and installed 27 new pipes (16' Bourdon) to the pedal division. The Führer organ is scheduled to be installed in Christ the Victor Chapel at First Lutheran Church, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, during the week of November 24, 2008. The only other tonal modification to the Führer organ, aside from the additional 27 notes of the 16' Bourdon, is a recomposition of the mixture. Führer built the mixture as a II Zimbel. Acoustically, that pitch series was not a good match for the small chapel the organ will serve. John Nordlie lowered the pitch of the mixture, keeping it in two ranks, making it instead, a Scharff. The pedal Bourdon and its windchest are designed to connect with the pedal pull-down mechanism, acting in a way similar to a pedal harpsichord. The organ committee wrestled with the issues of keeping the organ preserved as it was originally built, or making modifications in order to get the most economy of a very small instrument. The committee worked with John Nordlie throughout the process and felt that John's solution would prove true to the spirit of Führer's original design while expanding its versatility in order to better serve the musical/liturgical needs of the chapel. -Database Manager
2014-12-28 - The Pedal Bourdon is now labeled Subbass. -Database Manager
Stoplist from church web site Source: Source not recorded Date not recorded
Sioux Falls, South Dakota First Lutheran Church - Christ the Victor Chapel Alfred Führer 1968 1 manual, 5 stops, 6 ranks _________________________________________________ MANUAL 8' Gedackt 56 4' Rohrflöte 56 2' Principal 56 II Scharff 112 (altered 2008) PEDAL 16' Subbass 27 (added 2008) [Received from Steven E. Lawson 2014-12-26]
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