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Mudler-Hunter (1964)

St. Matthew's Lutheran Church: Sanctuary; front
628 N. Broad St.
Phildaelphia, PA

Images


before 2005 - Choir division pipework damage before 2005 renovation was begun (Photograph from an archival source: Church's Blogspot account, submitted by Jim Stettner/Jim Stettner)

2011 - Original 1891 Wm. King organ case and facade (Photograph from an archival source: Church's Blogspot account, submitted by Jim Stettner/Jim Stettner)

Notes

2022-05-02 - This entry represents a major tonal renovation of an existing organ including a new console. Identified from the parish Blogspot history page on an entry dated Sept. 13, 2011 which states, *"The current console, we believe, was installed by the Mudler Hunter company of Phildalphia when a major renovation of the organ was under-taken in 1964. By the mid 1960's, the organ reform movement was well underway throughout the world, although the methods in Europe were tempered in North America and leaned towards lower wind pressures, a flatter intonation, and less "Romantic" sounding stops. In 1964, the organ at Old Zion underwent an almost complete revision and rebuilding under the direction of Mr. Robert Whiting. Many ranks were removed, added, or moved within the organ, many not being in line with the original tonal or structural design of the organ. This unfortunate circumstance led to an inadequate and mixed-bag system that was not structurally or tonally sound out of the context of these building reforms. The organ as then left in a precarious situation for almost 30 years. Regular maintenance became difficult as pipes began collapsing from poor support, and other pipes were severely damaged by the pinch-tuning methods that were then in use."* -Jim Stettner


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