The Aeolian-Skinner/Quimby Pipe Organ at St. Theresa Church

In 1932, when E. Power Biggs, one of the most prominent organists of the 20th century, arrived at Christ Episcopal Church on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he found the church possessed a two manual Hook & Hastings organ, Opus 1167 of 1883, listed on the Hook & Hastings opus list as having 25 registers. Among the choristers in Biggs’ men-and-boys choir was a youthful Charles Fisk, later to achieve fame as one of the more significant American organ builders of the second half of the twentieth century. The inadequacies of the Hook & Hastings organ must have been very apparent to Biggs; though the rector fired him in 1935 for neglecting his duties Biggs already had a very full recital program which often drew him away from his church work at this time. He did not remain organist long enough to see the Christ Church organ replaced. Erroneously, many have given E. Power Biggs the credit for the decision to purchase Aeolian-Skinner Opus 1007 and in developing the instrument’s tonal specification.

Christ Church, Cambridge signed a contract with the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company of Boston, Massachusetts for a new organ, the firm’s Opus 1007, on June 5, 1940. G. Donald Harrison was responsible for the organ. He was tonal director and President of the Aeolian-Skinner Company and probably the world’s foremost organ builder of his day. As in a few other instruments, including the organ for St. Mary the Virgin (Episcopal), New York, Harrison collaborated with Ernest White over the tonal design of the Cambridge organ. This collaboration resulted in an instrument in some ways atypical of Harrison’s work rather more clear and brilliant than most but somewhat lacking in basic fundamental tone. White’s ideas were taken to extremes when he was tonal director of the Hagerstown, Maryland firm of M. P. Maller, Inc., in the 1960s, but in this earlier period and moderated by the influence of Harrison they resulted in quite an impressive design in the American Classical style.

The Christ Church, Cambridge organ duly emerged from the Aeolian-Skinner workshop in 1941 and created quite a stir in the organ circles of its day for being what was then a very progressive and enlightened design. The instrument was featured on the company’s 78 R.P.M. promotional recording “Studies in Tone.” Unfortunately, however, in its original location the instrument suffered from less than desirable acoustics. The instrument was very large for the building and had to be crammed into every nook and cranny of the rather inaccessible chambers. The instrument was hopelessly buried and the sound was never able to get out properly. Furthermore, the building, which dates from 1761, is extremely poor for sound and the acoustics only exacerbated the shortcomings of the layout. By the turn of the twenty-first century the mechanism needed rebuilding and was also becoming very unreliable, so that there were numerous ciphers during the services. The church therefore decided to replace the pipe organ with a completely new one. The new organ was built by Schoenstein & Company of San Francisco as their Opus 149 of 2005. It is similar in size, with three manuals and fifty ranks, and has a much better layout. It was completed in 2006.

Christ Church, Cambridge advertised their vintage organ, Aeolian-Skinner Opus 1007, for sale and an agreement was reached for its purchase with St. Theresa Catholic Church in Sugar Land, Texas. St. Theresa Parish engaged the Warrensburg, Missouri firm of Quimby Pipe Organs, Inc. to remove the pipe organ, rebuild it and reinstall it in their church. The fine vintage pipework, much of it made of the highest quality frosted tin, was carefully restored and the voicing adjusted to compensate for the original lack of fundamental. New cases were designed by Father Stephen B. Reynolds, and the church’s architect, Duncan Stroik, and a new and more effective layout was planned. Furthermore with the very satisfactory acoustics of the St. Theresa Catholic Church the instrument now has an acoustical environment that enhances its sound, rather than detracting from it as the acoustics of the Cambridge church had done. The transformation has been amazing and the organ now sounds like the magnificent instrument that it always potentially was but which in practice it never had the opportunity to become.

The following is a list of associates of Quimby Pipe Organs, Inc., who participated in the rebuilding of the Aeolian-Skinner pipe organ: Mark Cline, Bart Colliver, Tim Duchon, Chris Emerson, Eric Johnson, Wes Martin, Brad McGuffey, Joseph Nielsen, Michael Quimby, Janille Rehkop, John Speller, and Elizabeth Viscusi. Others assisting with the installation were: George Gibson, Tom Martin, Brad Richards, David Richards, and Severin Zindler.

The tonal specification of the organ as rebuilt in St. Theresa Catholic Church is as follows:

GREAT ORGAN

Violone 16′ 61 pipes
Principal 8′ 61 pipes
Harmonic Flute 8′ 49 pipes * (1-12 from Bourdon)
Bourdon 8′ 61 pipes
Cello 8′ 61 pipes
Dulciana 8′ 61 notes from Choir
Octave 4′ 61 pipes
Koppel Flute 4′ 61 pipes
Twelfth 2⅔’ 61 pipes
Fifteenth 2′ 61 pipes
Seventeenth 1 3/5′ 61 pipes *
Nineteenth 1⅓’ prepared for
Fourniture IV 2′ 232 pipes
Cornet III TC 2⅔’ prepared for
Bombarde 16′ 61 notes from Pedal
Trompette Harmonique 8′ 61 pipes *
Bombarde 8′ 61 notes from Pedal
Great to Great 16′
Great Unison Off
Great to Great 4′

SWELL ORGAN

Flute Conique 16′ 73 pipes
Viola da Gamba 8′ 61 pipes
Voix Celeste 8′ 61 pipes
Rohrflöte 8′ 61 pipes
Flute Conique 8′ 61 notes ext
Flute Celeste TC 8′ prepared for
Principal 4′ 61 pipes
Nachthorn 4′ 61 pipes
Super Octave 2′ 61 pipes
Plein Jeu III 2′ 183 pipes
Contre Trompette 16′ prepared for
Basson 16′ 73 pipes *
Trompette 8′ 61 pipes
Hautbois 8′ 61 notes ext
Krummhorn 8′ 61 notes from Choir
Voix Humaine 8′ prepared for
Clairon 4′ 61 pipes
Tremolo
Swell to Swell 16′
Swell Unison Off
Swell to Swell 4′

CHOIR ORGAN
Enclosed

Dulciana 16′ 73 pipes
Principal 8′ 61 pipes *
Nachthorn 8′ 61 pipes
Viole 8′ 61 pipes
Viole Celeste 8′ 61 pipes
Dulciana 8′ 61 notes ext
Spitz Principal 4′ 61 pipes *
Rohrflöte 4′ 61 pipes
Nazard 2 2/3′ 61 pipes
Blockflöte 2′ 61 pipes
Tierce 1 3/5′ 61 pipes
Scharf III 1′ 183 pipes
Bombarde 8′ 61 notes from Pedal
Trompette Harmonique 8′ 61 notes from Great
Krummhorn 8′ 61 pipes
Tremolo
Choir to Choir 16′
Choir Unison Off
Choir to Choir 4′

PEDAL ORGAN

Principal 16′ 32 pipes
Bourdon 16′ 32 pipes *
Violone 16′ 32 notes from Great
Flute Conique 16′ 32 notes from Swell
Dulciana 16′ 32 notes from Choir
Octave 8′ 32 pipes
Gedeckt 8′ 32 pipes
Flute Conique 8′ 32 notes from Swell
Dulciana 8′ 32 notes from Choir
Choral Bass 4′ 32 pipes
Rohrflöte 4′ 32 pipes
Flute Conique 4′ 32 notes from Swell
Blockflöte 2′ 32 pipes
Mixture III 2 2/3′ 96 pipes
Bombarde 16′ 73 pipes
Basson 16′ 32 notes from Swell
Trompette 8′ 32 notes ext
Trompette Harmonique 8′ 32 notes from Great
Clairon 4′ 32 notes ext
Hautbois 4′ 32 notes from Swell

COUPLERS

Great to Pedal 8′
Swell to Pedal 8′
Swell to Pedal 4′
Choir to Pedal 8′
Choir to Pedal 4′

Swell to Great 16′
Swell to Great 8′
Swell to Great 4′
Choir to Great 16′
Choir to Great 8′
Choir to Great 4′

Swell to Choir 16′
Swell to Choir 8′
Swell to Choir 4′

All Swells to Swell
Manual Transfer

MIDI on Great
MIDI on Swell
MIDI on Choir
MIDI on Pedal

* Additions to the original tonal specification

Aeolian-Skinner Opus 1007
Rebuilt and Relocated by Quimby Pipe Organs, Inc. 2007