St. Mary's Episcopal Church
1307 Holmes St.
Kansas City, Missouri 64106
1888 H. Pilcher and Sons Organ Co.
1927 Reuter Organ Co. Opus 257 using pipes from 1888 Pilcher
1990s Keith Gottschall / Mid States Pipe Organ Co. expansions using
pipework from Reuter, Gratian, Hinners, Stinkens, Geisecke, Willis,
Austin, Kimball and Kilgen and a 4 manual used M.P. Möller console
John Tyrrell designed altar pipe facade
2020 Reuter Rebuilt Console – 4 man. + Pedal. 46 Stops, 54 Ranks, 3193 Pipes. Electric key action. Electric stop action.
Associated Links
Specifications
* Pipes from Original Pilcher. ** Pipes from 1927 Reuter. *** From Wicks op. 4809, incorporated
| GREAT: | POSITIVE: | |
| 16' Gedeckt (ANT) (blank knob) | 8’ Spindle Flute | |
| 8’ Diapason | 4’ Flach Flute | |
| 8’ Rohr Bourdon | 2’ Principal | |
| 4’ Octave | 1 1/3 Larigot | |
| 4’ Harmonic Flute | 1’ Sifflöte | |
| 2’ * Fifteenth | 16’ Barp Pfeife | |
| IV Mixture | 8’ Tuba Major (GT) | |
| 16’ Fagot | 8’ Trompette en Chamade (GT) | |
| 8’ Trumpet | Pos/Pos 16’; Pos Unison Off | |
| 8’ Tuba Major | ||
| 8’ Trompette en Chamade | ANTIPHONAL ***: | |
| Gt/Gt 16', 4'; Gt Unis Off | 8’ Gedeckt | |
| 8' Gemshorn | ||
| SWELL: (ENCLOSED) | 8' Principal | |
| 16’ Gamba (extension) | 4' Gedeckt | |
| 16' Open Wood (PED) | 4’ Principal | |
| 8’ * Diapason | 2 2/3' Quinte | |
| 8’ * Gedeckt | 2' Gedeckt | |
| 8’ Gamba | ||
| 8’ ** Celeste | PEDAL: | |
| 4’ Principal | 32’ Bourdon (partial extension) | |
| 4’ Open Flute | 16’ * Open Wood | |
| 2 2/3' * Nazard | 16’ Principal | |
| 2’ Flute | 16’ Bourdon | |
| 1 3/5' ** Tierce | 16’ Gamba (SW) | |
| III Mixture (incl * and **) | 16' Gedeckt (ANT) | |
| 16’ Bassoon | 10 2/3’ Gross Quinte (from Bourdon) | |
| 8’ Trompette | 8’ Principal | |
| 8’ Vox Humana | 8’ Bourdon (extension) | |
| 8' Hautbois (from Bassoon) | 8' Gedeckt (SW) | |
| 4’ Clairon | 8' Gedeckt (ANT) | |
| Tremolo | 6 2/5’ Gross Tierce (from Bourdon) | |
| Sw/Sw 16’, 4’; Sw Unis off | 4’ Choral Bass (extension of Principal 8) | |
| 4’ Bourdon (extension) | ||
| CHOIR: (ENCLOSED) | 16’ Bombarde | |
| 8’ ** Melodia | 16’ Bassoon (SW) | |
| 8’ Erzähler | 8’ Bombarde (extension) | |
| 8' Erzähler Celeste | 4’ Bombarde (extension) | |
| 4’ * Principal | 16' Fagot (GT) | |
| 4’ Koppelflote | 8' Trompette en Chamade (GT) (blank knob) | |
| 2 2/3' Nazard (from Quinte) | ||
| 2’ ** Wood Principal | Reversibles: | |
| 1 1/3’ Quinte | Zimbelstern, Sforzando | |
| III Mixture | ||
| 16’ ** Clarinet | Couplers: | |
| 8’ Orchestral Oboe | Gt/Pd; Sw/Pd 8, 4' Ch/Pd 8, 4; Ant/Pd; Pos/Pd | |
| 8' Barpfeife (POS) (Blank knob) | Sw/Gt 16, 8, 4; Ch/Gt 16, 8, 4; Pos/Gt; Ant/Gt | |
| Tremolo | Sw/Ch 16, 8, 4; Pos/Ch; Ant/Ch; | |
| Ch/Ch 16’, 4’, Ch Unis Off | Pos/Sw |
Comments:
Overall, the strongest voices of this organ are late-romantic in tone; all the diapasons tend to be very round in tone, and lacking in hard-edged attacks. In 2021-2022 the Swell division was removed from the west tower chamber and placed in a new enclosure behind the facade in the east gallery; newly refurbished pitman chests were provided to replace the old 1927 ventil chests. Additionally, the Choir division was rebuilt and re-organized, with some new and some re-conditioned chests; it remains in the east tower chamber. The pedal bombarde and 8'/4' principal were also moved to the east gallery. The pedal 32/16/8/4' bourdon was collected into the west tower chamber along with the new blower. The POSITIVE division (formerly and confusingly called "Antiphonal") still hangs from the SE gallery; since that chest was overhauled in 2000 when that division was added, it was not addressed in the 2021-2022 project. The ANTIPHONAL division is a small, separate organ located in the NW rear gallery; it is playable from the main console and also from its own two-manual + pedal console.
OUR TWELVE REEDS:
Positive:
Barpfeife: This is pungent, growly, rankett - like voice, available at 16', 8', or 4' depending on which manual.
Tuba Magna: Round and dark in tone, and overwhelming.
Trompette en Chamade: The loudest stop on the organ; a bright trumpet sound. Mounted from the rear gallery.
Great:
Tuba Magna: same rank as above
Trompette en Chamade: same rank as above.
Trumpet 8': A wide, warm reed; more like a French Horn than a Trumpet.
Its sound thins out noticeably in the highest octave.
Fagot 16': A good clear 16' reed sound. Narrower scale and brighter voicing than the Trumpet.
Swell:
Bassoon 16': This is a lightweight reed, wide but not so loud.
Hautbois 8': From the Bassoon. Top octave borrowed from top octave of Barpfeife.
Trompette 8': A bright trumpet sound, but not as powerful as the great division reeds.
Vox Humana 8': Very soft and a little nasal.
Clarion 4': Also a bright reed, but again voiced to balance a secondary division.
Choir:
Clarinet 16': This is such a nice smooth color; it resembles an actual chalumeau clarinet tone.
Orchestral Oboe 8': Another pleasant gentle voice.
Barpfeife 8': Borrowed from the Positive. Another "Secret Stop"
Pedal:
Bombarde 16', 8', 4': This is the main Pedal reed, strong.
Bassoon 16': Borrowed from Swell.
Trompette en Chamade 8': This is the blank knob. to allow independent pedal access
OTHER NOTES:
Pedal Open Wood 16': This is a slow-speaking open wood diapason; it doesn't offer a very clear pitch, but it has plenty of gravitas. Pipes are in the choir division, and affected by choir shutters.
Pedal Bourdon: This is one long rank running from FFFF to g'', serving six different stop knobs in the pedal division- 32', 16', 10-2/3', 8'. 6-2/5', and 4'. The 32' octave only has true pipes down to FFFF; below that the notes are resultants (bourdon 16' combined with the Open Wood 16').