St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church
282 Suffolk Street
Lowell, MA
Images
2020-11-01 - Console (Photograph by Jeffrey H Smith/Jeffrey h Smith)
11/20 - Close up of Pedal 64’ (!) Resulting ( sic) Resultant (Photograph by Jeffrey H Smith/Jeffrey)
11/20 - Left stop jamb (Photograph by Jeffrey H Smith/Jeffrey h Smith)
2020-11-01 - Right stop jamb (Photograph by Jeffrey H Smith/Jeffrey h Smith)
2020-11-01 - St Patrick preaching to the Chieftains at Tara window (Photograph by Jeffrey H Smith/Jeffrey h Smith)
11/20 - Right Tower ( Pedal 16’ Open ) (Photograph by Jeffrey H Smith/Jeffrey H Smith)
2020-11-01 - Very small wooden pipe; speaking part less than 3” long and width about an inch (Photograph by Jeffrey H Smith/Jeffrey)
11/20 - Great chest awaiting reinstallation of pipes (Photograph by Jeffrey H Smith/Jeffrey h Smith)
2020-11-01 - 32’ Bourdon (Photograph by Jeffrey H Smith/Jeffrey h Smith)
2020-11-01 - Pedal 32’ (Photograph by Jefftey H Smith/Jeffrey)
2020-11-01 - Pedal 16’ Trombone ( wooden resonators; note the subtle flare) and Dulciana ( metal) (Photograph by Jeffrey H Smith/Jeffrey)
2020-11-01 - Organ in rear gallery (Photograph by Jeffrey H Smith/Jeffrey h Smith)
Consoles
Main
Notes
2013-09-07 - This entry describes an original installation of a new pipe organ.
Identified by T. Daniel Hancock, using information found in <em>The Tracker</em>, Vol. 57, No. 2.
-- -Database Manager
2024-04-22 - The organ is a 1906 Jesse Woodberry organ installed when the church was rebuilt after the 1904 fire. The Jesse Woodberry Company of Boston designed the new organ specifically for the Church. Not wanting to obstruct the grand stained glass window of St. Patrick preaching to the Chieftains at Tara, Woodberry designed a divided organ with pipes separated to provide a clear view of the window. According to an article in the Lowell Sun, this new organ was considered one of the finest in New England. The original cost was $11,000. The organ is of 4 parts: the Choir organ with 11 stops, the Pedal with 10 stops, the Great with 11 stops, and the Swell with 15 stops. The organ has 2,748 speaking pipes, 976 pipes on the Great, 964 on the Swell, 598 on the Choir, and 210 on the Pedal. There are also 27 pipes in the center section that are non-speaking (dummy) pipes needed to fill in the space artistically. These pipes are not included in the pipe count. Viewing from the floor, the organ’s pipes reach almost to the ceiling. We have been told it is the largest pipe organ built by Woodberry, and the largest surviving pipe organ in the City of Lowell.
The instrument had been unplayable for almost twenty years. This summer Andover Organ anticipates completing the full restoration of the organ. Andover Organ’s work included upgrading the organ’s console mechanisms and electrical control systems; re-leathering and fitting the pedal wind chests with new primary magnets; building new manual chests, cleaning, repairing, and adjusting the pipes for evenness of speech and tone; and repairing and re-leathering the large reservoir in the tower area.
-- Email from Ray Leavitt received 2023-05-09 -Paul R. Marchesano
Stoplist
Typed stoplist (Source: The Tracker, Vol. 57, No. 2) Source: Source not recorded Date not recorded
St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church
Lowell, Massachusetts
Jesse Woodberry & Co., 1906
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
GREAT SWELL CHOIR PEDAL
16 Double Open Diapason 16 Bourdon [1] 16 Dolce 32 Contra Bourdon
8 Open Diapason 8 Open Diapason 8 Violin Diapason 16 Double Open Diapason
8 Dulciana 8 Salicional 8 Ducliana 16 Dulcina [sic]
8 Gamba 8 Aeoline 8 Stopped Diapason 16 Bourdon
8 Doppel Flote 8 Voix Celeste 8 Clarabella 8 Flute
8 Melodia 8 Stopped Diapason 8 Viol d'Gamba 8 Violoncello
4 Octave 8 Quintadena 4 Wald Flute 16 Trombone
4 Concert Flute 4 Octave Acuta 4 Principal 16 Lieblich Gedeckt (Sw)
2-2/3 Twelth 2 Salicetto 2 Piccolo 64 Open Resulting [2]
2 Fifteenth 4 Flute Harmonique 8 Clarinet
Sesquialtera III Dolce Cornet III
Mixture II 8 Cornopean SANCTUARY ORGAN SANCTUARY ORGAN PEDAL
8 Trumpet 8 Oboe 16 Bourdon 16 Bourdon [2]
8 Vox Humana 8 Open Diapason
8 Gemshorn COUPLERS
NOTES 8 Clarabella Solo Tremolo
1. Divided at tenor f; borrowed to pedal. 8 Unda Maris Swell Tremolo
2. Resultant with Quinte from 32 Bourdon and 4 Salicet Flute Solo to Pedal
ground tone from 16 Bourdon. 2 Piccolo Choir to Pedal
3. "Three swell pedals" (Swell, Solo, and Tremolo Swell to Pedal
Crescendo) "to be placed over the Pedal Great to Pedal
Key-board with straight shoe faced with COMBINATIONS Pedal SuperOctave
rubber to prevent foot from slipping. Forte Great Organ Swell Super
4. "Combinations to be operated by push Mezzo Great Organ Swell to Choir
buttons placed between the key-boards, Piano Great Organ Swell to Great
Choir under Choir Keys, Great under Great Release Great Organ Swell to Great 16
Keys, and swell under Swell Keys, or will Forte Swell Organ Choir to Great 16
put them in with iron pedals over pedal Mezzo Swell Organ Choir to Great
key-board. Piano Swell Organ Great Super
5. Grand Crescendo Pedal, drawing and Release Swell Organ Solo to Swell
operating on Full Organ; drawing all and Forte Choir Organ Solo to Choir
with reverse movement reduce same to an Mezzo Choir Organ Solo to Great
Aeoloine without moving the registers. Piano Choir Organ
6. A set of 37 bells placed in the large Release Choir Organ
swell, operated with pneumatic hammers.
7. This specification retyped from facsimile Great to Pedal, Reversible
of 1906 publication. No explanation given Dial for Crescendo Indicator
for "Solo Organ." Dial for Bellows Indicator
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
[Received online from T. Daniel Hancock, 2013-09-05]
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