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The Organ
The Murray Harris/Wicks Organ, Op. 6388
Murray M. Harris (1866-1922) is generally regarded as the "Father of Organ Building in the West." Born in Illinois, Murray Harris moved with his family to Los Angeles in 1884. In 1889, Murray Harris relocated to Boston to receive his training in organ building with George S. Hutchings, at that time one of the nation's premier firms. Harris returned to Los Angeles in 1894 both to represent and install Hutchings organs and to establish his own organ building business. After a few short-lived partnerships, he formed his own company in 1898.
Fame and business soon came Murray Harris' way, and in 1900 he was able to attract a talented band of craftsmen from the East Coast to help him build better organs. This group included several famous organ builders, among them William Boone Fleming. Together, these gentlemen revolutionized the mechanism of the Murray Harris organ; the craftsmanship exhibited extraordinary attention to detail, and the voicing produced an ensemble in step with the orchestrally-inspired tastes of the day, but with an energy and drama all too rarely encountered. Murray Harris himself imparted a tonal signature which was coveted. His stature as the builder of some of the finest organs available in North America brought the company many significant contracts.
Murray Harris' first large organ in Los Angeles was of three-manuals and forty speaking stops for the First Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1901, he was awarded a contract for an instrument of forty-five speaking stops for Stanford University's Memorial Church (this remains intact today). From this prestigious beginning, the company grew rapidly, securing the contract for the Louisiana Exposition organ (Saint Louis World's Fair) of 1904. At the time, this was the largest organ in the world, with one hundred and forty stops (it would later become the nucleus of the organ in the John Wanamaker Store, Philadelphia). Due to cost overruns and litigation, the project spiraled out of control, and the board of directors deposed Murray Harris as President of his own company. He severed all ties with the company and for the next three years worked as an investment broker.
In 1906, Murray Harris re-entered organ building with the help of one of his former workmen, Edwin Spencer. Based upon a different type of windchest (sometimes built of pine, at other times redwood), the instruments from this era continued to exhibit the same marvelous tonal qualities of the earlier work, and in some cases exceeded them.
The new firm continued to build organs until 1913, when it was succeeded by the Johnston Organ Company. In that year, Murray Harris returned to the investment world; he died in 1922 while on a business trip to Arizona. However, the Murray Harris craftsmen continued to work through 1930, first as Johnston, then as the California Organ Company, and finally as Robert-Morton, who became prominent in both church and theatre organs. The company continued to employ many of the Harris concepts, scales, and voicing techniques. The firm's magnum opus was the four-manual organ for Bovard Auditorium at the University of Southern California.
The Murray Harris Organ, built for Saint Jean Baptiste, was a gift from Thomas Fortune Ryan, whose generosity made possible the construction of the new Saint Jean's. Built in 1913, the organ is perhaps the last instrument designed by Murray Harris, as the contract was completed by the Johnston Piano and Organ Company. The organ was blessed on Sunday, January 4, 1914, and first used that evening in recital by Gaston M. Dethier (1875-1958), who was Professor of Organ at the Juilliard School. The specification and scaling of the instrument were carried out by Arthur Scott Brook in collaboration with Murray Harris. Mr. Brook had most recently finished designing an instrument for the Fifth Avenue mansion of the Hon. William A. Clarks. The Italian Renaissance facade, which still stands today, follows the case design of the 16th-century organ of the Church of Santa Maria della Scala in Siena, Italy.
In the 1940’s, the Kilgen Organ Company of Saint Louis, Missouri, installed a new four-manual console to replace the original Murray Harris. The instrument continued to serve the parish until it became unplayable in the early 1990s.
In November 1999, a contract was signed with the Wicks Organ Company, Highland, Illinois. The organ contains 11 divisions, playable from a four manual console located in the lower gallery of the church. The organ contains 122 stops, 71 ranks of pipes, 14 pipe extensions, 44 digital stops, 57 digital ranks and a total of 4,204 pipes.
SPECIFICATION
Four manual and pedals 122 speaking stops, 142 ranks, 4,204 pipes, electric stop-action, solid state digital combination action. Digital stops by Walker Technologies.
H = original 1913 Murray Harris pipework. O = other pipe work W = new Wicks pipework.
UPPER GALLERY (back of church)
GREAT
16’ Double Open Diapason (W)
8’ Principal (H)
8’ Open Diapason (W)
8’ Gedeckt (H)
8’ Gamba (H)
4’ Octave (W)
4’ Flute (O)
2 2/3’ Twelfth (O)
2’ Fifteenth (W)
IV Mixture (W)
IV Cymbel
8’ Trumpet (W)
SWELL
16’ Lieblich Gedeckt (H)
8’ Violin Diapason (H)
8’ Clarabella (H)
8’ Stopped Diapason (H)
8’ Salicional (H)
8’ Voix Celeste (H)
4’ Octave (H)
4’ Wald Flute (H)
2 2/3’ Nazard (O)
2’ Piccolo (O)
1 3/5’ Tierce (O)
IV Mixture (H)
16’ Contra Oboe (H)
8’ Trumpet (H)
8’ Cornopean (H)
8’ Oboe (H)
8’ Vox Humana (H)
4’ Clarion (H)
Tremulant
Vox Humana Tremulant
Cymbelstern
CHOIR
8’ Principal (H)
8’ Rohr Flute (O)
8’ Viole de Gamba (O)
8’ Gamba Celeste (O)
8’ Flauto Dolce (O)
8’ Flute Celeste (O)
4’ Choral Principal (H)
4’ Harmonic Flute (O)
2’ Flautino (W)
1 1/3’ Larigot (O)
III Mixture (H)
8’ Cromhorne
8’ Clarinet (H)
8’ Fanfare Trumpet (Solo)
Tremulant
SOLO
8’ Grand Diapason (H)
8’ Doppelflute
8’ Gross Gamba (H)
8’ Gamba Celeste *H)
II Dulciana/Unda Maris (H)
4’ Octave (H)
4’ Flauto Major (H)
V Cornet
16’ English Horn
8’ Tuba Mirabilis (H)
8’ Fanfare Trumpet
Tremulant
PEDAL
32’ Principal
32’ Bourdon (H)
32’ Violone
16’ Open Wood (H)
16’ Open Metal
16’ Open Diapason (Great)
16’ Violone (H)
16’ Dulciana (H)
16’ Bourdon (H)
16’ Lieblich Gedeckt (Swell)
8’ Octave (H)
8’ Gedeckt (Swell)
8’ Violoncello (Great)
5 1/3’ Quint
4’ Super Octave (O)
4’ Flauto Major (Solo)
IV Grand Cornet
32’ Posaune
16’ Ophicleide (H)
16’ Bombarde
16’ Contre Trompette
16’ Contra Oboe (Swell)
8’ Tromba (H)
8’ Trompette (Swell)
4’ Clarion (H)
LOWER GALLERY (back of church)
GRAND ORGUE
16’ Bourdon
8’ Montre (W)
8’ Bourdon (W)
8’ Flûte Harmonique
8’ Salicional
4’ Prestant (W)
4’ Flûte Ouverte
2 2/3’ Quint
2’ Doublette (W)
1 3/5” Tierce
IV Plein Jeu (W)
16’ Basson
8’ Trompette
4’ Clarion
RÉCIT
8’ Principal Conique (W)
8’ Flûte Traversière (W)
8’ Viole de Gambe (W)
8’ Voix Céleste
4’ Flûte Octaviante (W)
1 1/3’ Larigot (W)
V Plein Jeu
8’ Cor Anglais
8’ Hautbois (W)
8’ Trompette Harmonique
4’ Clarion
Tremblant
PÉDALE
16’ Contrebasse
16’ Soubasse
8’ Octave Basse
8’ Flûte (Grand Orgue)
4’ Flûte
16’ Petite Bombarde
Chimes (Grand Orgue)
TRIFORIUM (front of church)
GRAND ORGUE
8’ Montre
8’ Bourdon
4’ Prestant
III Plein Jeu
RÉCIT
8’ Flûte Harmonique
8’ Viole de Gambe
8’ Voix Céleste
4’ Flûte Octaviante
8’ Hautbois
8’ Trompette de Fanfare
Tremblant
PÉDALE
16’ Bourdon
16’ Basson
TONAL FINISHING
Daniel Angerstein has been the master craftsman responsible for the tonal finishing and regulating of the entire organ. Each and every pipe has been carefully regulated to be useful within either the ensemble or as a solo stop. During his career, Mr. Angerstien has been involved in every aspect of the organ building art. As a young builder, he apprenticed with the famous Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company in Boston. He first established himself as a builder in association with the Kinzey-Angerstein Organ Company, Wrentham, MA, and went on to form his own company in 1983 as Angerstein & Associates, Stoughton, Massachusetts. At the request of the M.P. Moller Company, he assumed responsibilities in 1989, first as Associate Tonal Director, and later, Tonal Director until 1992. In that year, he returned to his work as an independent builder, voicer/tonal finisher, and consultant.
