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The Parish Organ
The pipe organ at St. Mark's Episcopal Church was custom designed
and built for our parish by the firm of J. W. Walker & Sons,
Ltd. of Brandon, Suffolk, England. It arrived for installation
on Shrove Tuesday of 1991 and was blessed and first used in
services at the Great Vigil of Easter of that same year. While
the organ is designed with electric stop action, the keyboard
action is mechanical, or tracker. This means there is a direct
physical link between the player and the pipes, and not an electrical
one, as is usually the case. The two manuals and pedal are currently
served by 22 stops, or voices, comprising 29 ranks, or sets
of pipes voiced as a unit. At this point, the organ contains
some 1,612 individual pipes, all of which have been made by
hand. There are also places reserved for six additional stops
which are yet to be installed. This will bring the total to
28 stops, or 38 ranks. The case is made of American Red Oak
with hand-carved pipe shades depicting the four Gospel writers
in their traditional symbols: an angel for Matthew, a lion for
Mark, an ox for Luke and an eagle for John. The gold-leaf inscription
on the case is in Latin and is taken from the final verse of
Psalm 150: "Let everything that breathes praise the Lord."
In addition to having the organ blessed, its first year of use
was celebrated with St. Mark's first recital series, beginning
with a Dedicatory Recital given by Dr. Gerre Hancock of St.
Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue, New York City. Thereafter followed
seven other concerts featuring not only the organ but the Chicago
String Ensemble, the St. Mark's Brass Ensemble, and guest organists
from as far away as Switzerland. This series was made possible
in part by a generous gift from the family of Ellen Porter.
Every organist who has played it thus far has given the instrument
high praise for its flexibility, action, and warmth and breadth
of sound. Here are some of their comments:
"The instrument at St. Mark's Church
is a beauty in every way to play. The flexibilty, the finesse,
and the pure musical quality make the performer both admire
the organ and want to play it."
- Dr. Gerre
Hancock, School of Music, University of Texas at Austin
"St. Mark's has an organ of great distinction. It
is an instrument of unusual flexibility and musicality that
will only be enhanced with the addition of the anticipated
stops. At its completion, this organ will be one of the very
best of its kind in the country."
- Mr. Bruce
Neswick, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, New York City
"…an instrument built for the ages. The workmanship,
materials, and tonal finishing are all of the highest standard.
Artistically, the organ makes a very distinguished statement,
and will serve as a source of musical leadership in worship
and in concert for generations to come."
- Mr. Richard
Webster, Trinity Church Copley Square, Boston
"…a smashing success! Rarely have I enjoyed the
privilege of playing an organ which meets the needs of solo
repertoire and service music equally well."
- Dr. Robert
Poovey, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Rochester, New York
When the organ was built, space was left in the instrument,
as well as a financial investment made, for the addition of
eight other stops at some future point. These additions will
complete the design of the organ as it was envisioned by Walker
in 1991. They will serve to increase flexibility, broaden the
tonal colors, and lend a greater depth of fullness and sonority.
From time to time, events have been held in the parish to try
to raise some of the money needed for these additions. Through
these efforts, much of the money needed to add one of the large
pedal stops was raised and the stop installed just prior to
Advent of 1998. In November of 2000 we received a generous gift
from one of our choir members to have another one of the preparations
completed, the Sesquialtera. Now there are six stops remaining
to bring the organ to completion. As with other donations to
the church, any of these stops can be given and designated as
a memorial.
The complete specification follows:
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