OHS convention: 2015
2014-08-07 - Altered and relocated existing organ. Identified by John Igoe, using information from an unidentified web site. -- This was the 74th commission for a new organ received by Casavant. The original contract was signed on April 22, 1896, by Fr. Napoléon Leclerc, priest-in charge of the Paroisse Sainte-Anne in Woonsocket, RI. The price of the organ, which has 14 stops on two manuals and pedal, was $2,150. It was completed in the church before Christmas 1896. Its current replacement value would be approximately $450,000. The organ was installed at the Paroisse Sainte-Anne in Woonsocket, RI. The tonal finishing on site was directed by Claver Casavant. Interestingly, the feeder for the large bellows was activated by a hydraulic motor (un moteur hydraulique agissant sur les pompes du soufflet).<br>The organ was moved to Notre-Dame des Victoires Church in Woonsocket in 1918. It stayed there until 2000, at which time it was returned to its original home, now the St. Ann Arts and Cultural Center with the intent of restoring it, which never materialized. Subsequently moved to Amherst by Czelusniak et Dugal -Database Manager
2014-08-07 - Updated through information from William Czelusniak -- Lacking an immediate home for relocation, the organ was purchased and protected by Mr. S. Parkman Shaw, Jr., of Brookline, Mass., using the advice and services of Messrs. Czelusniak et Dugal, Inc., Northampton, Mass. The instrument was removed from Woonsocket into storage in March 2011. In November 2011, the South Congregational Church in Amherst, Massachusetts voted to purchase, restore, and install this historic tracker in their sanctuary (displacing a 1969, 2m, 15r, Berkshire Organ Co., Inc., West Springfield, Mass., E-P opus). Restoration will be executed by Czelusniak et Dugal with installation anticipated for September 2012. The Recit Hautbois is a TC-46 rank, with bass transmitted from the Gambe. This organ had been rebuilt, and altered slightly, in the 1940s, by the Morel Brothers, probably during its service in Notre Dame des Victoires, Woonsocket. At that time, the original wind reservoir with bellows was replaced by two new reservoirs from the Casavant factory. The Récit Hautbois was replaced by a Voix Humaine 8', 58 pipes, now to be reversed to the Hautbois stop. And, it seems, that the Octaves Grave coupler was rebuilt as Recit Aigu au Grand Orgue. The high-quality wind system and the altered coupler will remain in service as found, at this juncture. All other aspects of the instrument remain intact to 1896 construction, including the faux-grained casework and foreign-built string pipes! -Database Manager
Specification from Czelusniak et Dugal web site Source: Source not recorded Date not recorded
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