2004-10-30 - ... still in very good condition desipte its years. ... electrified with minor tonal changes in 1912 by Hook & Hastings. -Database Manager
2022-01-10 - This large 1857 church is notable for having an interior that was redecorated by John La Farge in 1880, using an especially fine oriental carpet owned by the church as the palette and design reference. It is his only fully intergrated ecclesiastical project, including windows, woven runners, murals, and wall stencilling. It is a show stopper. This decoration exists in its entirety, except for small areas of loss and repair. The downtown church has struggled for the last 20 years with dwindling membership, and finally closed ca. 2017. A few years ago there was a flood in the basement which ruined the blower, and it was disconnected along with the organ's electrical power supply. The church was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2012, which includes strict guidelines for protection of the interior. The church building is now used as an event space for weddings, meetings, lectures, etc., but there are no plans to bring the organ back on line. The case and facade decoration are considered part of the designated 'interior', so the case needs to remain, unaltered, but the interior mechanism and pipework has no such protection. I last heard the organ during a Judy Ollikala-sponsored Worcester, Mass. AGO organ crawl to Newport in the late 1990s. The organ was in fragile condition then, but still in regular use. In spite of being electrified, the sound of an 1860s Hook was instantly recognizable, especially the reeds. -Scot Huntington
Typed stoplist from the Historic Organs table of the OHS PC Database Source: Source not recorded Date not recorded
United Congregational Church Newport, Rhode Island Hook & Hastings Opus 391 (1866) GREAT 16' Bourdon 8' Diapason 8' Dulcinana 8' Melodia 4' Octave 4' Flute 2-2/3' Twelfth 2' Fifteenth III Mixture 8' Trumpet SWELL 16' Bourdon 8' Diapason 8' Stopped Diapason 4' Flute 8' Violin 4' Violina 2' Piccolo 8' Clarinet 8' Cornopean PEDAL 16' Dulciana 16' Diapason 8' Gedeckt Gr-Ped Sw-Ped Sw-Gr 16,8,4' Gr-Gr 4'
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