2023-01-02 - The recent relocation to Claremont represents the 5th home for this well-traveled organ. Originally built for Grace Episcopal in Stamford, N.Y., it has subsequently served churches in Claremont, N.H. 1978-1985; Boylston, Mass. 1985-1999; and Turners Fall, Mass. 1999-2018. The organ was carefully conserved in original condition-- one of the few Midmer trackers extant-- by Ed Boadway in 1978-79, had the 13-note Bourdon 16' expanded to 27 notes by Jeremy Adams in 1985, heavily altered tonally by an unknown source between 1985 and 1999, and altered again by Lubbert Gnodde in 2018. While the organ was in original condition when sold by Boadway to Boylston in 1985, it subsequently lost the entire right side of the case, circumstances unknown. The fourth owners, St. Andrews Episcopal, Turners Falls, merged with another congregation in Greenfield, Mass. in 2018. The building was sold to a developer to be converted to an Air B&B, who subsequently contacted S.L. Huntington & Co. to find another home before the organ would be removed and junked by contractors. Eventually, interest was raised through the trustees of Boadway's estate in Claremont, and St. Joseph's (which never had a pipe organ), to relocate the organ back to Claremont. The organ was removed and transported to Claremont by church volunteers, and reassembled by Vermont builder Lubbert Gnodde who made further restorative repairs to the reservoir along with additional tonal changes and improvements to the previously altered stop action. The organ was dedicated by Gnodde on July 1, 2018. -Scot Huntington
Source: Dedication brochure July, 2018
L. Gnodde LLC (2018)
orig. Reuben Midmer & Son, 1887
St. Joseph's Church R.C.
Claremont, N.H.
Compasses: 58/27
(*) 2018 alterations
(**) 1985-1999 alterations
MANUAL
Open Diapason* 8' Fr. tenor-e, orig. pipes rescaled at 4', now return to 8'
pitch, (orig. stop was tenor-c).
Stopped Diapason 8' Treble fr. tenor-e, original. (orig. tenor-c)
Stopped Diapason 8' Bass, original
Octave* 4' Old Violina, previously rescaled and repitched to 8',
now returned to 4'; 1-5 new, spurious Moller
Fifteenth** 2' Orig. Dulciana previously cut-down to 2', spurious trebles
Quint* 1 1/3' Spurious Moller pipes, breaks to 2 2/3' at middle-c
PEDAL
Ped. Bourdon** 16' 1-13 original; 14-27 spurious 1985
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