The Church of the Holy Trinity Roman Catholic (German)
140 Shawmut Avenue at Cobb Street
Boston, MA
Note: Not extant. Not playable. (in this location)
Images
1877 - Organ in rear gallery (Photograph from an archival source: Parish History: Holy Trinity German Catholic Church of Boston: A Way of Life 1844-1994 by Robert J. Sauer, submitted by Jim Stettner/Jim Stettner)
ca. 1935 - Church exterior (Photograph from an archival source: Parish History: Holy Trinity German Catholic Church of Boston: A Way of Life 1844-1994 by Robert J. Sauer, submitted by Jim Stettner/Jim Stettner)
1877 - Engraving of new organ in the choir gallery (Photograph from an archival source: Taken from convention brochure, via Ed Boadway, submitted by Scot Huntington/Scot Huntington)
ca. 1900 - Church exterior (Photograph from an archival source: Historic postcard from Diocese website, submitted by Scot Huntington/Scot Huntington)
Consoles
Main
- 3 manuals
- 45 stops
- Key action Type: Mechanical With Pneumatic Assists
- Stop action Type: Mechanical
Notes
2004-10-30 - Gt. couplers and action contained pneumatics. Badly damaged by fire in 1950s. Some materials used in replacement organ. -Database Manager
2014-10-02 - Rebuilt and revoiced by Conrad Olson, who had worked for Hook & Hastings. --Leonardo Ciampa -Database Manager
2014-10-02 - In 2008 the church was closed and its assets transferred to the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.<br>
In 2014 the pipework of the organ was being removed by the Organ Clearing House. -Database Manager
2021-02-04 - During the 19th-century, the church interior was the second largest in Boston after Holy Cross Cathedral which was nearby. The congregation was ethnic German, and had a long history of outstanding church music up until the point the church was closed by the diocese and consolidated in 2008. The organ was the fourth largest 19th-century Hook instrument in the Boston environs until the firm created several four-manual organs there in the 20th century. Like the triumverate of monumental Hastings organs of this era: Holy Cross Cathedral, Philadelphia Centennial Organ, Cincinnati Music Hall, this instrument had heroic scaling and voicing with monumental Great and 9-stop Pedal divisions. In 1957, the church suffered a serious fire in the tower which reputedly heavily damaged the organ. The church was rebuilt, and Conrad Olson reconstructed the instrument in the unencased "Holtkamp" style, reusing 24 of the original 55 Hook ranks on new electro-pneumatic pitman wind chests and modern multi-reservoir wind system with a multitude of pressures. -Scot Huntington
2021-02-06 - The dedication brochure states "the combination pedals are double-acting, and operate without affecting combinations previously made by the registers". Taken literally, this would suggest the stop action was pneumatic and the combinations were "blind", i.e. operate without moving the registers. This would suggest the combination pedals hitched down, and when released the former hand-drawn combination would be restored. This suggests a level of engineering complexity not typical in organs of this era, but may have been employed in the large Hastings monumental organs at the Philadelphia Centennial, Boston's Holy Cross Cathedral, and the Cincinnati Music Hall also completed this year-- all which had pneumatic stop action, and unlike this organ, also had a Crescendo device.
The monumental case was of ash trimmed with walnut, the largest decorated wood Diapason pipes formed the case sides, and it measured 35 feet tall, 24 feet wide and 20 feet deep. -Scot Huntington
Stoplist
Source: Organ Dedication brochure Source: from Boston Organ Club Newsletter (November 1968) May 21, 1877
Boston, Massachusetts
Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church
E. & G. G. Hook & Hastings No. 858 1877 3 manuals, 45 stops, 54 ranks
____________________________________________________________________________
GREAT ORGAN SWELL ORGAN
16' Open Diapason 58 16' Bourdon [wood] 58
8' Open Diapason 58 8' Open Diapason 58
8' Gamba [tin] 58 8' Stopped Diapason [wd] 58
8' Doppel Flote [wood] 58 8' Salicional [tin] 58
8' Gemshorn 58 4' Octave 58
8' Hohlflote [wood] 58 4' Flauto Traverso [wd] 58
6' Quinte 58 3' Nasard 58
4' Octave 58 2' Flautino 58
4' Flute Harmonique 58 Cornet 4 ranks 232
3' Twelfth 58 8' Cornopean 58
2' Fifteenth 58 8' Oboe (with Bassoon) 58
Cornet 4 ranks 232 8' Vox Humana 58
Mixture 4 ranks 232
8' Trumpet 58 PEDAL ORGAN [higher pressure]
4' Clarion 58 16' Open Diapason [wood] 30
16' Violone [wood] 30
CHOIR ORGAN 16' Bourdon [wood] 30
16' Lieblich Gedact [wd] 58 12' Quinte [wood] 30
8' Geigen Principal 58 8' Octave [wood] 30
8' Melodia [wood] 58 8' Violoncello 30
8' Dulciana 58 4' Super Octave 30
4' Flute d'Amour [wood] 58 16' Trombone [wood] 30
4' Dolce 58 8' Trumpet 30
2' Piccolo 58
16' Cor Anglais 58
8' Clarinet 58
MECHANICAL REGISTERS PEDAL MOVEMENTS
Great Organ Separation [piston] Forte Great with appropriate Pedal
Swell to Great, Coupler [piston] Piano Great with appropriate Pedal
Choir to Great, Coupler [piston] Forte Swell with appropriate Pedal
Swell to Choir, Coupler Piano Swell with appropriate Pedal
Great to Pedal, Coupler Great to Pedal reversible
Swell to Pedal, Coupler Adjustable Swell Pedal
Choir to Pedal, Coupler
Tremolo Swell
Bellows Signal
[Received from Steven E. Lawson 2017-11-30]
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