Note: Not extant. Not playable. (in this location)
2023-04-05 - This church was built in 1874 as a break-away congregation from the downtown Congregational Church, its congregation wanting to move to the upscale residential section of town across the street from the Norwich Free Academy. It was believed for some time, based on the circumstance of dates, that the organ may have been the two-manual Walcker exhibited at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition, but more recent research suggests the exposition organ found no buyers in the U.S. and was returned to Germany and installed at a church in Stuttgart. This then would have been a custom organ built for Park Church. It was installed in a chamber front and center with exposed tin facade pipes and woodwork above the impost. The eminent organist, composer, and teacher Eugene Thayer, had studied in Germany with Haupt where he became familiar with German instruments, was known as a proponent of Bach and classical organ music, was one of the dedication recitalists on the large E.F. Walcker installed in Boston's Music Hall and performed there with some regularity; and was organist at First Church in Boston which installed a large three-manual Walcker in 1869 for which Thayer may or may not have been responsible for its purchase (he was later quoted a saying he made a mistake in the selection of stops for the Swell organ, which suggests he was instrumental in either its acquisition or design). He was known to be favorably disposed towards the German-influenced Baumgarten organ company of New Haven, which folded after a major fire in 1871. Thayer's wife was from Norwich and her family was part of the break-away group which formed Park Church-- the Thayers making regular trips to Norwich to visit family. Eugene Thayer played the dedication concert on the new Walcker at Park Church, and was very likely either an official consultant to the church regarding the purchase of a new organ or at least influenced the selection of Walcker as the builder through family contacts. Had the more local Baumgarten company still been in existence, it is likely Thayer would have swayed the contract in their direction instead of Walcker. The Norwich Walcker utilized ventil-action cone chests (kegelade) and mechanical action. It was rebuilt and electrified by the Hall Company of New Haven, who likely replaced the Walcker chests with their standard e-p ventil chests. Typical for the company, Hall's work was shoddy and cheap so by the 1970s the organ was deteriorating. Rather than spending money to restore the century-old Walcker-Hall, the church opted instead to purchase a large and expensive custom-designed four-manual electronium, and the Walcker pipework was scavanged by an unknown individual, rumored to have been an organbuilder from Rhode Island. The chamber was reduced in size as it now only needed to accommodate the loudspeakers, the Walcker front was covered with new woodwork as part of an updating of the chancel area, with the facade pipes of the Walcker and woodwork above the impost being removed at that time and replaced with a grill within a central arch. The imitation instrument is now in a failing condition, lasting less time than either iteration of the previous pipe organ. No stoplist for the Walcker has yet been found. -Scot Huntington
2023-09-03 - The dedication concert was presented on Friday evening, November 12, 1875. The duties were shared by organists Geo. A Kies and H.W.A. Beale, assisted by the church's quartet and various soloists. The organ pieces were interspersed with vocal works. Mr. Kies played the Bach Prelude and Fugue in B minor; Hess Variations on "God Save the King"; an improvisation, and the Thiele Chromatic Fantasie. Mr. Beale played Rossini's William Tell Overture and his own Triumphal March. -Scot Huntington
2023-09-03 - Several things to note about this interesting organ and specification. The oak case front was designed in the Eastlake style by the architect, and built in America, presumably by the same firm that built the other wood decor in the church complex. The facade pipes were burnished tin. The chamber is wide, tall, and shallow, so the organ would have been stacked, presumably on three levels, with the winding on ground level. The chamber is tall enough that it is possible the two full-length pedal 16' stops might have stood on the second level with the rest of the sounding stops. The organ had Kegelade (cone chests) with ventil stop action, so the stop action would likely have been pneumatic like the Boston Music Hall organ, which would have made the combination pedals a relatively simple system, and would not have moved the stop knobs. Cancelling a combination pedal would therefore revert to the actual stop-knob registration. The stoplist is remarkable both for the well-appointed 6-stop pedal, the preponderence of manual Principal stops, and the provision of two complete and contrasting Principal choruses on Great and Swell. The absence of a solo Swell reed is notable, but like the Music Hall, the two Trumpets were likely of contrasting construction and tone. The provision of what is essentially a reversible pedal for the Great Trumpet is unusual, and suggests the use of the Trumpet for quick accents in musical passages, but also not unlike the chorus reed stopsbeing placed on ventil control in Cavaille-Coll instruments. The loss of this instrument is regrettable. Southeastern Connecticut is a bit of an organ desert today, devoid of all but one of the fine 19th-century instruments which once filled the local churches. This instrument would have been a stand-out in its day, and today would have been the best instrument in town. When Norwich was in its wealthy prime, the churches bought the best organs money could buy, and in the 20th-century they were all utterly ruined by Harry Hall of New Haven, including this one. Even after this instrument was superceded by a fake instrument (now totally failed), the pipework sat on their windchests for over a decade before they were scavanged by "someone from Rhode Island" in the early 80s. It is doubly regrettable the pipework of this organ lasted so long, almost to a point of modern salvation, when it was discarded at a time people should have known better. Sad too, no one responsible for replacing this organ with electronic junk is around to see the end result of their ill-informed decision. -Scot Huntington
Source: Organ Exhibition program November 12th, 1875
Norwich, Connecticut
Park Congregational Church
E.F. Walcker & Cie., Opus 298, 1875
Compasses: 58-note manuals, 27-note pedals
MANUAL I-Great Organ
1. 16 feet Principal or double Open Diapason Lower octave wood, then English tin
2. 8 feet Principal or Open Diapason Tin
3. 8 feet Hohlfloete or Melodia Wood-open
4. 8 feet Gedeckt or Stopped Diapason Wood-stopped
5. 8 feet Viola di Gamba Tin
6. 4 feet Octave or Principal Tin
7. 4 feet Rohrfloete (reed flute) Alloy 3/4 tin, 1/4 lead, half-stopped
8. 2 feet Octave Tin
9. V ranks Mixture-ground tone 2 2/3 feet Tin
10. 8 feet Trumpet Tin, open reed
Total 812 pipes
MANUAL II-Solo Organ
11. 8 feet Principal or Open Diapason Tin
12. 8 feet Spitzfloete (tapered flute) Lower octave wood, remainder tin
13. 8 feet Gedeckt or Stopped Diapason Wood-stopped
14. 8 feet Salicional or Dulciana Tin
15. 4 feet Octave or Principal Tin
16. 4 feet Flute d'Amour Wood-open
17. 8 feet Clarinet and Bassoon Wood, free reed
Total 406 pipes
MANUAL III-Swell Organ
18. 8 feet Principal Tin
19. 8 feet Lieblich Gedeckt or St. Diapason Wood-stopped
20. 8 feet Aeoline, softest stop in the organ Tin and wood, delicate string tone
21. 4 feet Octave Tin
22. 4 feet Flauto Traverso or Fl. Harmonique Maple wood, turned pipes, pierced
in the middle
23.IV ranks Cymbal-ground tone 2 2/3 feet Tin
24. 8 feet Trumpet Tin, open reed
Total 580 pipes
PEDAL
25. 16 feet Violin-Bass or Contra Bass Wood-open, heavy string tone
26. 16 feet Sub Bass or Double St. Diapason Wood-stopped
27. 8 feet Octave bass Wood
28. 8 feet Violoncello Wood
29. 16 feet Bombardon Wood, heavy reed
30. 8 feet Trumpet Tin, open reed
Total 162 pipes
Total pipes in the organ 1960
MECHANICAL REGISTERS-MANUAL COUPLERS.
1. Coupler-Manual II to Manual I.
2. Coupler-Manual III to Manual I.
3. Coupler-Manual III to Manual II.
COLLECTIVE PEDALS-DOUBLE ACTION.
1. Draws and withdraws registers Nos. 18-24 and 25-27
2. Draws and withdraws registers Nos. 11-17 and 25-28
3. Draws and withdraws registers Nos. 1-8 and 25-28
4. Draws and withdraws registers Nos. 1-10 and 25-30
5. Draws and withdraws registers Nos. 1-20 and 25-30
6. Coupler-Manual II to Manual I.
7. Coupler-Manual I to Pedal.
8. Coupler-Manual II to Pedal.
9. Coupler-Manual III to Pedal.
10. Tremolo-Manual III.
11. Tremolo-Manual II.
12. Trumpet-Manual I.
13. Crescendo and Diminuendo Pedal-Manual III.
Bellows supplied with wind by a Backus Water Motor of 30 inches. Regrettably, it is not possible to display the information about the sponsor of this pipeorgandatabase entry or if there is a sponsor. Please see About Sponsors on Pipe Organ Database.