St Stephen’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, Brisbane
December 17, 2010
Albert Street Uniting Church, Brisbane, Queensland
December 17, 2010

St Stephen’s chapel, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Brisbane

This organ uses some parts of the Fincham Chamber organ which was known around Brisbane as ‘the Liturgical Organ’. It was decided to permantly house the organ in this chapel and to rebuild it to suit. The soundboard was cut down and all the foot-holes reworked. New pallets, keys, wind system and action were fitted. The pipework was rescaled and revoiced. The Stopt Diapason 8′ and Principal 2′ each have 3 octaves of new pipes to ensure that the organ suited the building. The new casework is made from French-polished Tasmanian Oak and the doors match the shape of Pugin’s West-end window. The stop knobs are turned ebony.

The top of the case has a lid in it to enable the sound to be directed to the ceiling of the chapel. Whilst this does not increase the volume, it does make the tone warmer and projects the sound better when the chapel is full. The separate stopped pipes on the side of the case help to identify that it is a pipe organ when the doors are shut. This also enables a larger scaling on the Stopt Diapason to provide a good foundation for organ tone.

The small organ offers a different playing experience to the organist. The sensitivity of the keys allow control over the attack and release of the pipes, making for nuances in the articulation not normally available in larger organs. Here, the organist hears the sound and speech first allowing for a more personal approach to the music. Of course, the voicing of each pipe in this situation is paramount to ensure the beauty and quality of tone audible not only to the congregation but the organist sitting two feet away.

Specifications
8'     Gedacht
4'     Rohrflute
2'     Principal
1 1/3' Quint

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