Church of St. Mary the Virgin (Episcopal)
Photo (c.1940) by Ernest White

Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company, Inc.

Boston, Mass. – Opus 891 (1932)

Electro-pneumatic action

4 manuals, 54 registers, 44 stops, 59 ranks

The Aeolian-Skinner organ now in the gallery was installed in 1932, the work of G. Donald Harrison of the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company. Planning for a new organ dates back to at least May 1929, when the church submitted a plan and photo to Ernest M. Skinner, then head of the Skinner Organ Company. Several months later, Skinner sent a proposed case design (see below). Although the old Jardine organ had been on its "last legs" for many years, the delay in its replacement was primarily due to a lack of financial resources. Finally, at the March 14, 1932 meeting of the Board of Trustees, the Rector announced that G. Donald Harrison of Aeolian-Skinner had offered to build a new organ having four manuals and 86 ranks, but could install the first portion (59 ranks) for a consideration of $25,000 (which was $3,000 less than a proposal offered in 1930). Despite the Treasurer's concerns about the "general conditions of business and finance" brought on by the Great Depression, this was a very good price and the Trustees agreed to proceed, with installation to take place during the summer months. It was further agreed to postpone construction of an organ case, a cost-saving suggestion made by Raymond Nold, Organist & Director of Music. (As of 2012, the organ still lacks a proper case, yet it is hoped that someday funds will become available.) Finally, on April 29, 1932, the contract between Aeolian-Skinner and the Trustees was signed, with Aeolian-Skinner indicating that the organ would be completed by October 9, 1932. The total cost was $28,884 (less a $125 allowance for the old gallery organ and blower), which included removal of the old organ and platform, construction of a new platform and necessary wind and electrical conduits, lighting in the organ area, and preparation of the blower room. Perhaps most importantly, the contract stated that "the organ shall be built under the exclusive supervision of Mr. G. Donald Harrison, especially as regards the tonal ideas."

It should be noted that in January 1932, the Skinner Organ Company had merged with (or "bought out the competition" of) the pipe organ division of the Aeolian Company of Garwood, N.J., a firm best known for its residence organs, forming the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company. Although both Ernest M. Skinner and G. Donald Harrison were designing organs for the new company, many clients were favoring the specifications by Harrison that were a profound departure from the orchestral tonal palette espoused by Skinner. Harrison had recently completed a notable organ (1931, Op. 851) in Trinity College Chapel, Hartford, Conn., that incorporated a lighter and brighter Choir division on low wind pressure, and a fairly small-scaled metal 32' Bombarde in the Pedal, rather than the large-scaled wood Bombarde that Skinner preferred. The Trinity Chapel organ was a turning point in Harrison's career.

The new organ for St. Mary the Virgin would take Harrison's ideas a few steps further. Raymond Nold, organist of the church, collaborated with Harrison to design an organ that marked "a return to the principles of the classic organ, the organ of the Thomas-Kirche, and the older French and German Builders." Toward that goal, the typical Choir division was replaced by a Positif, and a brilliant Bombarde division would take the place of an orchestral Solo organ. Nold's notes in the Dedication Program stated that emphasis was placed on ensemble, the curbing of 8' Diapason tone and enormous increase in upperwork, transparent French reeds instead of opaque "modern" reeds, and a metal 16' Principal in the Pedal rather than a booming open-wood Diapason. He went on to say, "An interesting detail of the scheme is the Flûte Conique in the Swell organ having, as a distinguished authority remarked, all the good qualities of the Bourdon with none of its faults. In the Pedal organ a Flûte Ouverte, with its clear and beautiful tone, replaces the more usual and commonplace Bourdon." The organ at St. Mary's was Harrison's official start of the "Classical Revival" and the first of his instruments to be called an "American Classic" organ, a term coined by Sen. Emerson Richards. Much has been written about Mr. Skinner's outspoken objections to Harrison's radical designs, scaling, and reeds.

Due to inevitable delays and perhaps detailed attention to voicing, the first phase of the organ was not completed until January 1933. At last, the highly anticipated organ was dedicated at 8:30 pm on Wednesday, January 11th, in a recital performed by Palmer Christian, eminent Professor of Organ and University Organist of the University of Michigan. Christian's program included works by Benedetto Marcello, Arcangelo Corelli, J.S. Bach, Philip James, Karl Weigl, Jean Huré, Sigfrid Karg-Elert, Joseph Jongen, Max Reger, and Charles-Marie Widor. A few weeks later, a series of four recitals was played by Ernest White, who would become organist of the church in a few years. In 1934 recitals were given by Hugh Porter and E. Power Biggs, and in the fall of that year a series of eight recitals (arranged by Raymond Nold and impresario Bernard LaBerge) was played to a packed church by Günther Ramin, Charles M. Courboin, Winslow Cheney, Carl Weinrich, Virgil Fox, Charlotte Lockwood, E. Power Biggs, and Palmer Christian.

Proposed Case by Skinner Organ Co.

(Sept. 8, 1929)

Following are the specifications of Aeolian-Skinner Opus 891 as it was originally designed and installed in 1932: