The Cathedral Organ
The pipe organ of the Cathedral of All Saints has been considered by many to be among the finest in the Northeast. In addition to its primary use in leading the Cathedral's services and accompanying the choir, it has served as an important recital instrument. The Cathedral's series of Sunday afternoon organ recitals, although of necessity recently discontinued, was a well-known offering to the musical life of the community for about forty years, and a very large number of musical events involving the organ have been hosted by the Cathedral during most of the last century. Visiting organists have always delighted in the opportunity to play the instrument in the wonderful acoustical environment offered by the building itself.
The maintenance of a pipe organ requires regular tunings and periodic minor repairs, of course, but as is the case with anything mechanical, occasional major cleanings and refurbishing are necessary. It has now been thirty years since the instrument received this kind of attention and, unfortunately, it has also suffered recent significant deterioration and some unexpected damage sustained during a period when extensive work was being done to the Cathedral roof. A campaign for funds for the restoration and improvement of the Cathedral organ will be announced soon, in the hope that funds can be raised through the efforts of the Friends of the Choir and the many faithful supporters of the Cathedral's music program.
A brief history of the Cathedral organ follows. There is evidence of an organ of some sort having been in place in the old foundry in which the Cathedral congregation first worshiped, and this instrument was probably moved to the Cathedral building at some point. An organ by Hilborne Roosevelt was contracted for but, since the Cathedral building was not yet ready for its delivery, it went instead to St. John's Cathedral, Jacksonville, Florida.
On the 8th of January, 1903, Bishop Doane signed an agreement with the Austin Organ Company of Hartford, Connecticut, for a fifty-eight stop organ for the Cathedral of All Saints. The instrument was to be disposed in five divisions: Great, Swell, Choir, Solo and Pedal, utilizing the first two arches of the south side of the choir, the first arch of the north side and the two arches immediately above these spaces on the triforium level. Apparently, the sections of the organ were first installed in the transepts and were later moved. Records are unclear about the progress of the installation, but the work did move slowly. By 1923, Opus 45 by the Austin Organ Company had become a large and distinctive instrument in the orchestral style, and a new four-manual direct electric action console was installed, turned 180 degrees from the wall. The Cathedral and its instrument, in demand for concerts and such events as the famous Albany Diocesan Choir Festivals of the 1930s and '40s, were in full swing in their musical ministry to the community and Diocese of Albany.Unfortunately, during and after the war years of the 1940s, the Cathedral and organ went through a period of deterioration and neglect. However, by 1956 a renewal was taking place and the Aeolian-Skinner Organ Company of Boston was engaged to rebuild the Cathedral Organ. The instrument produced was designed by G. Donald Harrison in the American Classic style of that time, and the great English master supervised the installation until his death, having tonally finished the Great and Choir/Positiv divisions. Designated Aeolian-Skinner Opus 1275, the new organ was finished by Joseph Whiteford and was considerably smaller than its predecessor due to budget constraints. Although most of the pipework was "used" material--some from the Austin instrument (notably the full-length open 32-foot stop in the Pedal) and much from other Skinner installations--it was used to great effect. Harrison had insisted that the building's acoustic be improved by the removal of large amounts of cork from its walls, a project which has continued.
In 1963, the forty-year-old console was replaced with a new and updated direct electric console from Austin, which was turned ninety degrees to permit better visual contact with the choir. Provision was also made for the addition of an Antiphonal division. Sadly, by this time the Aeolian-Skinner Company had closed its doors and subsequent work on the organ was contracted to Austin Organs, Inc., which was enjoying a major revitalization at the hands of some very talented people who had joined the staff, in particular, David A. J. Broome, an Englishman whose specialty was reed stops, who became tonal director of the company.
The celebration of the Centennial of the Diocese of Albany in 1968 was marked by the completion of the facade of stone covering the bare brick west wall of the Cathedral. At that point, it began to be feasible to think seriously about an Antiphonal organ. The Dean, the Very Rev'd David S. Ball, formed a fund-raising committee for the Cathedral organ under the honorary chairmanship of the Mayor of Albany, the Hon. Erastus Corning, 2nd. Progress was slow, mainly because it was necessary to have a substantial narthex screen built first, which would support and protect the Antiphonal organ, and the main organ was now in need of attention. In 1974, the organ was completely cleaned and all the leather parts replaced. All the reed ranks were returned to the Austin shop where they were reworked by Mr. Broome. In addition, a new Oboe was added to the Swell and the Swell 2-foot Octavin and Mixture were replaced.
The fund-raising activities continued, spurred on by the Friends of the Choir, and the long-anticipated Antiphonal organ, Austin Opus 45A, became a reality at last. It was dedicated on All Saints, Sunday, 1986, in a Solemn Evensong officiated by Bishop Ball, sung by the Cathedral Choir and preceded by an organ recital by John Fenstermaker, Canon Organist and Choirmaster of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco. The Dean, the Very Rev'd Gary Kriss, had pushed hard to make this event coincidental with the 25th anniversary of Lloyd Cast's tenure as Cathedral Organist and Choirmaster, and the Trompette en Chamade was given in his honor.
Lloyd Cast
Organ Specifications